Lucius pulled up his sleeve and saw the outlines of the Dark Mark clearly burning into his skin. He threw his glass into the fire, which made the flames roar as they consumed the Firewhiskey. Lord Voldemort needed him and Lucius would have to pay dearly if he did not reply to his Lord's summons.

He picked up his cane and cloak on his way outside. Just like Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor was protected with various spells, which made apperating impossible. A safety precaution all the Death Eaters had used on their houses. Lucius strode out back into the morning sun and disapperated from the grounds with a loud crack.

Several hours later, Lucius was on his way to see the Rohart family. He actually didn't like the family but they were loyal servants of Lord Voldemort and he was sent there to discuss some important matters for an upcoming raid. Given that he'd had little sleep during the last night and had been awoken so abruptly, this mission made him utterly annoyed.

Lucius reached the mansion and tapped the door with the silver snakehead of his cane. A small female house-elf clad in a dirty cloth opened the door and bowed deeply.

"Show me to your master," Malfoy hissed.

"Yes, Mister Malfoy,' the creature squeaked.

Lucius followed her through the mansion. It was a stylish, immense, luxurious building, yet gaudy and a completely different interior than what Malfoy was used to.

As the house-elf was slowing down, Lucius kicked her so hard that she flew several feet further and landed on the thick carpet. She quickly scrambled back to her feet and continued on her way.

The house-elf stopped in front of big oak doors, located at the back of the Mansion.

"My master will be with you soon, Mister Malfoy," said the house-elf. She bowed deeply and ran off as quickly as she could.

As Lucius stepped closer, the doors swung open of their own accord, revealing an ornate drawing room with four dark green velvet armchairs by the fireplace. He took the liberty of seating himself in one of the chairs and waited for his host to arrive.

Dahlia pulled the door of her room shut behind her and magically sealed it to keep her parents out. It was still rather early and she hoped she and Madeira could sneak out of the house without anyone spotting her. They chose to go out through the backyard and so avoid passing the dining room where her parents would most likely be having breakfast.

Her hand had just touched the doorknob when she heard a voice calling her name. She slowly turned around to face her father.

"I would like an explanation from you, Dahlia" he said.

"An explanation for what?" Dahlia asked innocently.

"Don't try to play your tricks on me, Dahlia. They might work with your collection of boyfriends but I am your father. Where have you been all night?" he asked.

"Father, I've just turned twenty five. I've been celebrating my birthday!" she said.

"If you are going to lie to me, you'll have to come up with something better than this. You're not going to tell me that you've been celebrating on your own all night," her father said.

He kept his voice low and steady and that was a sign that he knew more. Dahlia realized that as well but her temper was rising so fast out of irritation for her father's inquiry that she couldn't control the volume of her own voice.

"I've been with Madeira all the time! For Merlin's sake, am I on trial here?" Dahlia screamed as she glanced to her friend in the hope she'd help her out.

"Dahlia, I've just told you that you shouldn't lie to me. Madeira was with Raidon all night," he said.

"You surprise me father, I didn't know you had a crystal ball," Dahlia hissed.

"I don't need such a thing to know what you've been doing. Your brother sent me an owl this morning and wrote that Madeira spent the night with him. Unless your friend has the ability to be at two places at the same time, you are lying to me and you know that I will not tolerate it," her father said.

Shit. She was going to have a serious discussion with her brother about keeping his mouth shut. What was she going to do now? She knew that her father always put his wand on the breakfast table, so she assumed that he was unarmed as well. But she couldn't hex her own father, even if she hated him so much now.

"Now tell me the truth Dahlia. What have you been up to? Fucking the brains out of another boy you found somewhere? I bet you dumped him when you grew tired of him? Is that it? Don't think you can keep that a secret from us!" he shouted.

The times that her father had raised his voice could be counted on one hand. At those moments however, he had been outraged and the consequences had been severe. Her parents knew small bits from her conquests. They had heard rumours but she never had the slightest idea that they knew this much or that they even believed the rumours. There was no easy way out of this so Dahlia decided to put up a fight. The battle was already lost before it began.

"No, I wasn't fucking just a boy actually. It was a marvellous wizard! Speaking of bets, I've won him fairly as a birthday present! He took me to heaven and back!" Dahlia screamed from the top of her lungs. "Twice!"

"Shut up! Spare me the details; I don't want to hear about it! You are a disgrace to this family! Your mother and I have always done everything that lay in our power to build the respect we deserve and you're not going to ruin the good name of this family!" her father shouted.

At that moment, a door behind him opened and Dahlia's mother appeared. "Darius, please! I heard you screaming all the way in the dining room. We have a guest remember?" her mother said.

"Fine! If I'm a disgrace for the family, then it might be better if I leave!" Dahlia said and turned her back to her parents. Just as she opened the door and was about to step out, she turned around. "By the way, he's got a gorgeous tattoo just above his perfect shaped arse and he's the best fuck I've ever had!" With those last words, she slammed the door shut and disapperated with Madeira as soon as they left the house.

Dahlia's mother, Ariana, walked toward her husband. He was shaking with rage now.

"Come on, Darius, let's finish our breakfast," Ariana said as she tried to calm her husband.

"No, it's no use. I've lost my appetite anyway," Darius hissed. "Ariana, what is to become of our daughter if she keeps on with this?"

"We'll sort that out later, go see to your guest now," Ariana said.

Darius sighed deeply and straightened his back. His wife gave him a little encouraging kiss on his lips before he attended his duties.

Just before he was about to open the doors to the room where his guest was waiting for him, he stopped. He took a deep breath to calm his temper and entered the room with a fake smile on his face. Darius saw his guest sitting in a chair near the fire and strode over to him.

"Welcome, Lucius."