Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was quite difficult to write, since it's hard to find (innocent) humour when we're talking about the Death Eaters. And there isn't much known about how the Malfoy family interact with each other in Harry Potter, so some characters might be a bit OOC here. Anyway, I've compensated it with a slightly longer chapter than usual, so forgive me. :')
Without further ado, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own HP nor FSN.
Warning: a baby King is coming! OOC characters, and too bad, Shirou!
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"Merlin's beard!" Someone from the meeting room...cursed?
Arturia Pendragon, the ex-Once and Future King and ex-student of the Magus of Flower, spurted out her milk in an uncharacteristically undignified manner. Narcissa, her mother, immediately fussed over her, but Arturia paid her no mind because since when Merlin has a beard.
And the more she eavesdropped on the meeting, the more she learned stupidly-unnecessary things about Merlin, true or not.
"—By Merlin's moldy pants—"
"—at in the name of Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts—"
"—Merlin's saggy left—"
Arturia screamed like a (baby) banshee in an attempt to drown out the damn word.
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Arturia eyed the...individual in front of her curiously.
She had never seen this kind of being before; he/she was small in comparison to a normal human, with spindly arms and legs, oversized head and eyes as well as pointed bat-like ears. Arturia frowned at the individual's state of clothes—it was dirty and tattered, presumably made of an old pillowcase. Said individual met her gaze in wonder, his/her large, bulbous eyes widening to the point Arturia could see her own reflection on them.
Their impromptu staring-match was broken by her father, Lucius, who kicked the individual's back.
"Get to it, Dobby," he sneered at the individual, now made known to her as Dobby.
Dobby whimpered pitifully but obeyed nonetheless. He (judging by the name, Arturia assumed Dobby was a male) waved his hand, and baby Arturia immediately began to float. While Dobby cleaned her diapers, the former King stared at her new-father in shock and disappointment.
Lucius must've seen something in her eyes, because he let out a long sigh before crouching in front of his floating daughter.
"Your mother is ill, dear," he said gently, disregarding the fact that little Regina might be too young to understand. "She won't be here for a while so please bear with Dobby while she recovers."
Lucius used his cane to prod Dobby not-so-gently, prompting the poor being to squeak.
"S-Sir, yes sir!" he wailed. "Dobby shall take care of Young Mistress—"
"Not so loud, you dumb elf," Lucius interjected harshly, smacking his servant on the head. "You're lucky my daughter is here or I would've used Cruciatus on you. Be a good elf and punish yourself later."
Arturia didn't know what 'Cruciatus' is, but it must be something terrible as Dobby started trembling in fear. Despite his emotional turmoil, however, Dobby's magic never wavered as he gently lowered Arturia onto the mat. Lucius tsked at him, before leaving his daughter's room to attend a meeting.
Arturia wanted to comfort the poor elf (?), but before she could do anything Dobby began to bang his own head on the floor.
"Oh, Dobby is a bad elf!" he cried loudly, apparently punishing himself per his master's order. "Bad, bad!"
Arturia scrambled to stop him. She waved her tiny hands in front of the elf, but it was futile—Dobby was too busy injuring himself to notice his charge.
After the sixth bang, Arturia had had enough.
"Aaaahhhh!" she screamed, startling Dobby out of his act. He blinked dizzily, before clambering to fuss over her.
"D-Dobby is sorry," Dobby sobbed, bowing his head in front of her. "Young Mistress must have been disturbed—"
"Aah, aah," Arturia cooed, patting Dobby's shoulder awkwardly. She couldn't offer comforting words to the poor elf, so she hugged him instead.
Dobby froze, unfamiliar with the gesture of kindness.
Arturia was unbothered by Dobby's lack of response, but it still broke her heart to see this poor elf being mistreated by her own father. Shirou had hugged her before, to comfort her intimately for the first time—and the gesture had taught her that she doesn't have to fight and kill to save someone. She rubbed the servant elf's back, noticing the terrible state of his clothes once more.
Arturia pulled away from the impromptu hug. She looked down at her baby romper, thinking that it wouldn't fit Dobby, before looking around until her eyes fell on her baby bonnet, dangling off the side of her crib.
She made a grab at it to no avail; her current body was simply too short. Dobby, thinking that she wanted to wear it, flicked his hand, prompting the bonnet to fly and land on her head, fitting itself snugly.
Arturia pouted, took off her bonnet before giving it to Dobby.
Dobby stared at the bonnet, stunned.
It was then Arturia realised that the bonnet wouldn't have fitted his head due to his large ears. She blushed in embarrassment, but before she could retract her hand, spindly fingers tentatively touched the hat.
"Y-Young Mistress wants to give Dobby her bonnet?" Dobby asked hesitantly.
His voice was so hopeful that Arturia nodded without thinking. She released the bonnet so that Dobby could inspect it.
"Young Mistress has given a bonnet," he said in wonder, hands clutching at the piece of clothing. "Young Mistress gave it to Dobby."
Arturia, not understanding the implication, nodded slowly.
Dobby looked down at the unexpected gift, pursed his lips before hiding the bonnet beneath his clothes/pillowcase.
"D-Dobby is grateful of Young Mistress," he whispered to her, voice full of reverence. Though, a moment later, he deflated. "Young Mistress is not Master, however, so Dobby is not fully free."
Arturia blinked at him rapidly. Did she just do something significant?
"But Dobby can act more independently now because Young Mistress gave Dobby her bonnet," he said to Arturia as he moved to kneel before her. "Dobby knows Young Mistress is powerful, her magic is strong, but Young Mistress is still young. So, Dobby will protect Young Mistress. Dobby wishes to serve Young Mistress!"
That day, Arturia accidentally gained her first 'knight'.
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June, 1980
It wasn't long before Arturia realised that her family...well, wasn't exactly affiliated with good people.
Her father never brought her to any of his meetings, nor did he allow his guests to see her. It was strange to have known only three...no, four individuals in total by the time she was a year old: her father, her mother, her unborn-brother and Dobby. Oh, there are many other house elves in Malfoy manor, as Dobby had claimed, but they were busy with other tasks. He never said anything about her relatives though, nor did her parents; so as she waited eagerly for her brother to be born, Arturia wondered if she had no other relatives.
Well, until Bellatrix Lestrange happened.
"Awww, what a pretty itty bitty baby!" Bellatrix, her newly-introduced aunt, cooed at her.
Arturia blinked at her, before squirming in discomfort as Narcissa's grip on her torso tightened. Bellatrix must've noticed the subtle gesture because her smile stretched into a disturbing smirk, and Arturia swore she saw madness in her aunt's eyes. It reminded her too much of that deranged Caster of the Fourth Holy Grail War, and that couldn't be good.
"Have you taught her our family values, Lucius?" Bellatrix then turned to Lucius, who was seated beside Narcissa. "Especially the Blacks'?"
"...Regina is too young, Bellatrix," her father replied hesitantly. Arturia noted that he seemed somewhat unnerved by her aunt too. "We will begin teaching her when she's—"
"Nonsense, Lucius," her aunt sneered, before smiling sweetly. "At the very least, have you shown her the beauty of the Unforgivable curses?"
Unforgivable curses. That doesn't sound pleasant.
"Well, not yet. But—"
"Hah! What a disappointment," Bellatrix rolled her eyes as she threw her hands up. "I don't want my niece to be a pansy like you, Lucius. Makes me wonder how did you become our Lord's second-in-command; I could count the number of times you use the Killing Curse on the fingers of one hand!"
What curse again?
"My task as the Dark Lord's right-hand man is to control the Ministry and bring it down from the inside out," Lucius seethed. "I am not a barbarian like you, Lestrange."
"And where's the fun in that?" Bellatrix laughed, as if whatever Lucius had said was a joke. "It used to be such a fun torturing the Muggles with you, Malfoy. That was one reason why I allowed you to marry my dear sister. Where's the old you?"
Having fun torturing who? Arturia began to see why she'd never met her aunt before this.
"I have a daughter now," Lucius retorted. Arturia noticed his grip on his cane tightening. "My stakes are higher than before. You don't understand because you don't have a child—"
"Bullshit!" Bellatrix shrieked, so suddenly that it startled everyone in the room, including her own husband Rodolphus Lestrange. "Your child has become a weakness, Malfoy! You've lost your fangs! Why, I ought to tell my Lord—"
"What?" Lucius reeled back. "Don't be unreasonable—"
"Um, honey..."
"Who, me?" Bellatrix stood up as she screamed. "We are the Death Eaters! Lord Voldemort's most trusted! We are supposed to serve our Lord to the best of our abilities—"
"Honey—"
"Our continuation matters too!" Lucius stood up as well. "We Purebloods are required to produce heirs and continue our lineage—"
"Oh, so you prioritise fucking my sister over serving our Lord?!"
"Why you—"
"HONEY!" Narcissa suddenly screamed, jolting Arturia out of her daze. Both her father and her aunt turned to her mother, shouting "What?!" at the same time.
Arturia looked up to see her mother's pale face.
"I think my water just broke."
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I am going to have a younger brother.
Those words kept repeating in her mind since last night.
Arturia could not help it. Never has she ever had a brother by blood. In the past, she'd only had Kay as a surrogate older brother—and by the time she accepted kingship, Kay was no longer her brother but one of her subjects and part of her loyal knights.
Becoming a King is no longer being a human.
But now, she wasn't King Arthur, the Ruler of Britain; nor was she Saber, the King of Knights. She was now Regina Malfoy, daughter of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy family until her brother was born. Lucius did sometimes lament on the fact that his firstborn was a girl, yet Arturia was pleased with her current situation.
Because finally, she could afford to be human.
Well, actually not entirely, at least not in the conventional sense. Arturia still had her enormous magical core, and her entire family was magical. In fact, as her father had always boasted to his colleagues, the Malfoy was an esteemed pure-blooded family and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight in the British Wizarding World. It seemed she would never escape the notion of royalty, no matter in which dimension she lived.
Not to mention 'Regina' literally means 'queen'. At least, this time she was free to act like a girl (not that she really know how at the moment), and not have Merlin behind her back who'd curse her with a transgender spell. She had had enough of his rubbish.
Anyway, it finally registered in her mind that she was going to have a younger brother. Because of this, Arturia wished to see her newborn brother as soon as possible. Lucky for her, her father brought her along to the hospital. Leaving little Regina alone with her mad aunt was undoubtedly a big no-no.
Of course, Dobby followed her. Lucius was confused at the house elf's apparent eagerness to serve his daughter, but he shrugged it off. Arturia knew her father loved her, but he simply didn't have the time to give her attention. Usually, Narcissa took care of little Regina, but pregnancy drained her energy much more quickly, so Dobby would have to do.
Her father still mistreated Dobby but at least, Dobby didn't have to punish himself whenever Lucius wasn't around. Arturia had to practically order Dobby to stop punishing himself, and she was thankful Dobby could understand what she meant despite her limited vocabulary.
("S-stahp! Stahp! Dowie stahp!"
Arturia thought Dobby was telepathic, because he did stop banging his head against the wall afterward. He still had to pretend to punish himself whenever Lucius was around and ordered him to, though.)
Anyway, Dobby was here to accompany her so that she didn't have to be lonely in the children's waiting room. He showed her magic tricks unlike what Merlin had ever shown her, so Dobby did a pretty good job entertaining her as she waited for the news of her brother. It was an unexpected, bizarre life, but Arturia was pretty content with her fate now. Well, it'd be better if Shirou was here, or at least any of her acquaintances and friends from her previous life...
Suddenly, Dobby froze. He canceled his magic, causing the dancing mini lion to poof out of existence. Arturia looked at her elf quizzically when Dobby moved to stand in front of his Young Mistress, facing the door.
"Wot's wong, Dowie?" Arturia asked in a whisper as she started to get agitated as well. Dobby's behaviour greatly resembled that of her knights in the past, when an enemy was nearby.
"Stay behind Dobby, milady," the house elf said cautiously. "Dobby sensed a...no, two individuals with unusual magic heading to this room. They are dangerous."
Dobby flicked his hand and suddenly, they were both invisible. Arturia was astonished; this was just like her Invisible Air, but a lot more versatile.
"The Wizarding World is at war now, milady. Young Mistress is Master's only heir right now, so Young Mistress is a target. Dobby will protect Young Mistress!"
This was the first time Dobby admitted that a war was going on right now. Arturia tensed, preparing to face whatever is coming to her, even though she didn't know what to do as a mere baby. She wasn't even sure if she retained her strength as a Servant.
Finally, the door opened to reveal...a harried red-haired man holding two babies.
"Alright, here we are!" The man exclaimed. Hurriedly, he put the two babies on the mat, not noticing that they were not alone in the room. "Didn't expect the room to be empty, but you guys have each other so I'll leave you both here for a minute, alright? I'll be right back."
Then, the man left the room just like that, leaving the two babies in the room.
It didn't take long for Arturia to realise that they were twins, probably boys judging by their attire. They were around the same age as her, with thin red hair and wide, blue eyes. A pang filled her chest; the red hair reminded her so much of Shirou. If only they looked a bit more Asian with golden-brown eyes...
Arturia decided to remain invisible and observe them. They're the next two people she'd met after her mad aunt, and maybe...maybe, she could make friends! Like normal people! Not that she knew how to befriend babies, but…Why are they sniffing the air?
Arturia raised an invisible eyebrow as both babies began crawling around with nose up in the air. Eventually, they zeroed in on the general direction where she and Dobby were hiding. Arturia narrowed her eyes; that can't be normal—
"S-Saybah?" One of the twins blurted out.
Arturia blinked rapidly. She must've heard wrong.
The other twin snapped his head to his brother, face paling. He turned around to crawl to the other direction, before hiding behind a weirdly-shaped chair.
The first twin didn't care though; he simply called out again, "Saybah? Dat you?"
That can't be…
"S-Ch-Chiyou?" Arturia whispered. Dobby, through some telepathic skill, understood her, so he removed the disillusionment charm.
The boy jumped in surprise when she and Dobby appeared out of thin air. He paused a bit upon seeing the house elf, before quickly landing his gaze on her.
An impromptu staring match ensued.
The baby boy was the first to move closer. Dobby took a step forward threateningly, causing the boy to halt in his tracks; but Arturia shushed him and took wobbly steps forward.
"S-Saybah?"
Arturia nodded.
"Chiyou?"
The boy nodded vigorously.
"Sayb—buh?!"
"Ye idjyot!" the reincarnated King yelled at her Sheath as she hit him awkwardly in the head. "Wai ye taek so long? Ah been waitin' in Abalon sins foreba!"
Shirou stared at her in incomprehension.
Dobby cleared his throat, before translating in monotone, "'You idiot. Why you took so long. I've been waiting in Abalone since forever."
Arturia wanted to correct Dobby, but she decided not to. There was a more important matter to address, mainly the boy in front of him.
Said boy knitted his brows in confusion. "Uh, wat?"
The nerve of this man… "Da pwomise."
"Pwomise? Wat pwomise?" Shirou asked innocently. "Yuu mean da hot pot? But Chastaa happen', so…" (But Caster happened, so…)
"Chastaa?" Now it was her turn to get confused. Hot pot? Caster? She was pretty sure they were unrelated to their promise. Well, maybe the hot pot in Avalon, but not Caster.
It was then Arturia realised that this was probably not her Shirou, but an alternate Shirou who'd undergone a different Fifth Holy Grail War. The reincarnated King deflated, losing hope all over again. At least, another Shirou was here so...He can't be all that different from her Shirou, right?
"Diff'n Saybah, huh…," Shirou muttered as he came to the same conclusion. Then, he paused, before slowly turning to face the weirdly-shaped chair where his twin was hiding.
"...Achaa?" Shirou called. He turned back to Arturia again with his finger pointing at the chair. "Achaa's here too, ya now."
Achaa? Archer? That red-clad, sarcastic Archer from the Fifth Holy Grail War? Arturia scrunched her face in discomfort. Well, it shouldn't be the King of Heroes right? Because that would be even more troublesome. Why was the red Archer here, anyway?
Shirou, noting her sour expression, frowned.
"...Doncha now dat he's also Chiyou Emiya?" ("Don't you know that he's also Shirou Emiya?")
Arturia needed a few seconds to digest his words.
"...Wat?"
"Acha," Shirou repeated. "He's Chiyou Emiya. Yuu don' now?"
"Acha...He...Chiyou...But...Wat?" asked Arturia intelligently.
While she was dealing with the information overload and the implications as to why and how is Archer (of all people) Shirou Emiya, baby Shirou waddled towards the hidden Archer behind the chair. He began tugging at his...twin's (?!) onesie to coax him out of the hiding corner, but Archer refused to budge.
Arturia, still in a daze, followed Shirou. She peeked over the chair and there he was, an exact replica of baby Shirou, sulking in a corner.
"Ac…," Arturia shook her head. Shirou moved back to give her room so that she could face the other twin directly. "...Chiyou?"
It was a few seconds of no response, before the boy slowly looked up to see Arturia in the eye.
"Ah, um…," he stuttered. Then, he lifted one hand to wave shyly. "H-hullo, Altolia"
Arturia slapped his face awkwardly.
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Meanwhile, with Dumbledore
"...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"
Dumbledore's eyes flicked between Sybill Trelawney, a professor candidate whom he was interviewing, and the door behind her. The old wizard could hear a commotion behind the door and his magical sense picked up a familiar trace. However, he didn't have the time to chase after the presumably-spy because Trelawney was not finished.
"...And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…," Trelawney continued droning, possessed by an unknown entity as a prophecy was told directly to him. It was promising; the prophecy might be a key to end this bloody war, and despite his initial skepticism against this potential professor, Dumbledore felt hope for the first time.
"And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives—"
Suddenly, her harsh voice was interjected by another distinct voice, even though they all came out from Trelawney's mouth.
"Wait! I told you already that there's an updated version of this prophecy!" Trelawney's face contorted in panic, glowing eyes widening as her hands flailed as if to stop someone from...from doing something.
"H-huh?" Her expression once again abruptly shifted to bewilderment, turning her head around to see...nothing behind her. It was as if she was acting as two different people. "But, the Seer—"
"She might have a few more seconds, quick—"
Then, Trelawney collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut, falling unconscious right in front of a baffled Dumbledore.
...What in the name of Merlin had just happened?
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And there we go. Of course, the prophecy would have to change, but I decided not to say to what exactly. This way, I'll have more freedom on what plot should I write in the future. That, and I'm horrible at writing archaic English for prophecy.
Anyway, August is coming and I'll be back to uni soon—so I probably won't have any further update till New Year's Eve. Sorry about that.
Thank you for reading!