Discaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling not myself.
Beta: cocobyrd87
A/N: I just want to say thanks to everyone for all the support you guys have given this story. We've officially passed 200 reviews! Which is awesome! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Sorry for being away so long, school really caught up with me. Hopefully I can get a bit of a break here and get caught up with everything!
R/R!
Chapter Eleven: New Years Disasters
Draco settled at the breakfast table with a tired yawn before he tugged a plate of toast towards himself and helped himself to a few pieces, smiling as he noticed his favourite raspberry jam was already sitting by his elbow. His parents were both seated at the table, but neither spoke to him, experience had taught the Malfoy parents that their oldest son was completely ridiculous in the morning, at least until he had drank his first cup of coffee; then he became a normal person again (well at least as normal as a Malfoy could be).
Orion had yet to make an appearance, but it seemed sleeping in was a luxury the younger teen adored; it was very apparent that sleeping in was something new for him, and no one in the family -close or extended- felt the need to rouse the young teen before he woke on his own.
"Are we going to Parkinsons tonight?" Draco asked, setting down his empty coffee cup.
"I believe so," Narcissa responded, smiling lightly at her oldest son. "Lucius?" She asked her husband.
"We're going. We will have to prepare Orion a bit however, since our family is not having our annual party this year," Lucius murmured. "This party at the Parkinson's will double as the usual Death Eater affair, so certain people will be there and despite our desires to shield Orion, he will be exposed to certain people," he said, lifting an eyebrow at the two other Malfoys. Both nodded in understanding, Draco already mentally vowing to keep an eye on his brother for the duration of the evening.
"Is Orion well enough to go to this event?" Narcissa asked, furrowing her brow delicately.
"He's been over his cold for a few days 'Cissa. I'm sure that as long as he takes it easy, as he has been doing, he'll be fine," Lucius reassured his wife. "Besides, he needs to learn how to handle going to social functions like this," he added.
Narcissa nodded, though she still looked mildly worried; Orion very much brought out her mothering instincts.
"I'll keep an eye on him Mum," Draco piped up, flashing his mother a reassuring smile as the door to the small, personal dining room pushed open and Orion stumbled inside sleepily.
Narcissa flashed Draco a smile and set about loading Orion's plate with food and pouring him a glass of orange juice. Orion flashed his Mother a thankful smile and set about digging into his food. He'd gotten more used to be treated this way by his family, and he had begun to really appreciate and enjoy all the little things that they did for him on a daily basis.
He was really going to miss everyone when he and Draco returned to Hogwarts in a few days time. He very nearly giggled at the thought; if anyone had told him a year ago that he would miss Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy he would have thought they were nuts. If anyone had told him he would miss Tom Riddle, he would have had them bloody committed. He flushed and bent his head, busying himself with his food while his family all regarded him curiously though no one chose to comment.
-Blood-
Tom sighed as he watched Bellatrix dance about the room; the entire inner circle was meeting with him at Riddle Manor (well the entire inner circle barring Lucius and Severus, they already knew what was going on). He wondered how he was going to spring this news on his most loyal followers. Obviously they needed to be made aware of the situation, of how important Orion was to him. He'd hate for the young teen to be hurt due to some overzealous follower.
Moving subtly in his chair, he felt the eyes of his followers immediately fall on him and he smirked; that was something he did enjoy immensely about being a Dark Lord. Everyone was so in-tune with his behavior or emotions, always keeping an eye on him and moderating their own behavior to keep him pleased. It was a rather invigorating notion and feeling.
"I take it you all have been made somewhat aware of the situation concerning the Malfoy family?" He drawled after he took a sip from his wine glass. There was a general murmur of agreement and nodding from the assembled group.
"Is it true then?" Nott asked curiously. Tom kept the atmosphere more lax with his inner circle then at meetings that also included his outer circle members.
"Yes," Tom responded, ignoring the shocked gasps that sounded from a few people.
"Lucius and Narcissa's youngest son, Orion, was kidnapped at a few days old from St. Mungo's hospital by Lily and James Potter. We also believe Albus Dumbledore to be involved," Tom began, giving the shortened version of the story.
"This past summer, Harry Potter was seized from his muggle home and placed in St. Mungo's to recover from physical abuse. While in treatment, the Healer discovered extensive glamour charms on young Mr. Potter. Removing them, she discovered that the young teen, that we and the world thought to be Harry James Potter, was, in fact, Orion Pollux Malfoy, the lost son of Narcissa and Lucius." He sipped his wine again, allowing everyone to absorb what he had just said.
"So Harry Potter is really Orion?" Fenrir Greyback asked a frown forming as he thought over the implications of that news.
"So what happened to the real Harry Potter?" Rabastan Lestrange asked.
"It is believed that he died shortly before Orion was kidnapped from the hospital. Lucius is trying to track down the Potter's personal Healer to figure out everything."
"What of the prophecy? Is it still active?" Avery asked. This news had the potential to change everything.
"As far as I can understand, the prophecy is null at this point. Harry Potter is dead. Yes, when I went to the Potter's house on Halloween I marked who I thought to be Harry Potter, but that is the only part of the prophecy that applies to Orion. So, as far as I'm concerned the prophecy is no longer a part of this war. Orion has chosen to remain neutral for the foreseeable future and his entire family is, as we all know, of a darker inclination," he added with a slight twist of his lips.
"Why are you telling us this My Lord?" Avery asked curiously. He and the others were curious as to why the man was telling them all this. Obviously this news did impact the dark cause as well as the Malfoy family, whom everyone knew was close to the Dark Lord, but Avery wanted to know why they were discussing it currently.
"Because Orion will be accompanying his family to the Parkinson Ball tonight and I felt the need to warn you all that any slight against my godson is something I will not tolerate," The Dark Lord drawled dangerously.
"G-godson?" Avery squeaked. It made sense in a way; the Malfoy family had always been close to their Lord, but to name him godson to their youngest child? Well, that was surprising.
"Yes Avery, Godson. Narcissa and Lucius named me godfather to their youngest child when they found out they were pregnant once again," Tom explained.
"Therefore you all understand why I would take it very personally and be very upset if something or someone were to upset or hurt him," he said, narrowing his red eyes as he regarded the gathered group. He doubted any of his followers would do something to Orion, but he also wouldn't be surprised of Bella or someone were to try and win his favour by acting out. It wouldn't be the first time, after all.
"We will make sure the young Malfoy has an enjoyable time and endeavor to make sure nothing bothers or upsets him, my Lord," Parkinson said while the others nodded in agreement.
"Good," Tom said, finishing off his wine and rising. "Now, I suppose I shall see you all tonight." He finished with a wave of dismissal. Soon the house was empty and Tom flooed back to Malfoy Manor to get ready for the evening. He knew better then to attempt to run away or avoid Narcissa's ministrations. Stepping out of the fire and into the family sitting room, he wasn't at all surprised to see Severus and Lucius sitting, playing a game of chess and clearly waiting for him.
"How did it go?" Lucius asked as soon as Tom was clear of the fire. His eyes remained on the game, however his tone was serious.
"It was at as well as could be expected. We'll have to keep an eye on the ones we were already worried about," Tom said with a shrug, "but they've all been made aware of the situation and know the consequences for any negative behavior," he added. Lucius nodded and stood, moving away from the game, Severus following after him.
"Well we already suspected we'd have to watch certain individuals," Severus said silkily. "Orion will be with Draco and all his classmates; they'll make sure to keep him happy and safe."
"Draco is very protective over his little brother," Tom mused, ignoring Lucius' groan.
"He's more then just protective," The blond grumbled as the men walked towards their respective rooms to get ready for the evening. "He takes protectiveness to a whole different level. I'll be surprised if he allows Orion out of his sight at all this evening. He barely lets him out of his sight in the house and from what I hear he's not much better at school. He's lucky that Orion is so tolerant and willing to let Draco be so overprotective." Lucius said as he slipped into his own rooms only to be accosted by his wife.
"I expect to see all three of you ready to go in half an hour," Narcissa said, glowering at Lucius and Tom. "We are not going to be late for the Parkinson's ball," She added, her tone turning menacing, ignoring her husband's yelp as she dragged him into the bedroom after basically chasing Severus and Tom away.
-Blood-
Orion was sprawled on Draco's bed as he watched his brother fuss over his appearance in the full length mirror in his room.
"Mum said half-an-hour Dray," Orion reminded his brother for what had to be the tenth time.
"My hair," Draco whined at his little brother, not really making any sense to Orion as he applied more product to it. Apparently Draco was going for something called the casual look. Orion just couldn't understand why; if it was supposed to be the 'casual look', Draco needed to apply seemingly endless amounts of gel to his already tousled locks.
"Your hair looks fine," Orion grumbled, sitting up carefully on the bed, lest he rumple his nice clothes and have to change.
"Just fine?" Draco pouted, looking at his reflection in the mirror once again.
"Sorry, I meant perfect, stunning, gorgeous, amazing," Orion drawled sarcastically.
"One day you will care about these things little brother," Draco grumbled, shooting the younger teen a mock disappointed look.
"I highly doubt it," Orion said cheekily. Draco shot his brother another look before checking
himself in the mirror one last time.
"Fine, this is as good as its going to get," Draco huffed. "Lets go meet Mother, Father and the others," he said, tugging Orion off the bed and straightening his clothing.
The youngest Malfoy was wearing a pair of black dress trousers, black dress shoes and a baby-blue dress shirt. Over this outfit he was wearing an open black robe which had a silver design on the hem. Draco was dressed similarly to Orion, though his dress shirt was a deep emerald green.
"Dray!" Orion whined as his brother began to finger comb his hair. "We're going to be late," he admonished as his brother looked at him curiously. Draco huffed again and led the way down to the receiving room, which was where the family would be flooing from.
Entering the room, Orion wasn't surprised to find everyone waiting for them. Narcissa was dressed in a gorgeous, floor length gown that was a silvery-blue colour that accented her eyes. Lucius was dressed similar to the boys, but his shirt matched Narcissa's dress. Severus was in black, as always, though his robe did have an emerald green hem. Tom was also wearing black, though his shirt was blood red, like his eyes. All in all, they were a well-dressed, fancy group.
"Shall we go then?" Lucius asked, eyeing Draco teasingly. Draco huffed but nodded and followed his parents through the floo, with Orion following behind him and Severus and Tom bringing up the rear.
Stepping out of the green flames, Draco smiled as he was cordially greeted by the Parkinson family, which consisted of Pansy and her parents. As the greetings ended, Orion and Draco headed into the main ball room to find some food while Narcissa went to chat with her lady friends and Lucius, Severus and Tom went to speak to the other men at this event.
Orion glanced around curiously, staying close to Draco as soon as he had finished with his greeting and subsequent introduction to Pansy's parents.
"Nice decorations," the young blond murmured as he paused to look at an ice sculpture. Draco nodded in agreement, looking around the slowly filling ballroom for his usual group of friends.
"Come on, I see Blaise and Theo," Draco murmured, carefully leading Orion across the dance floor and to a corner of the room with some comfortable chairs. As soon as they were seated amongst their peers, a house elf popped into existence asking if they wanted anything to eat and drink.
"Wine and a selection of Hors d'oeuvre," Draco said with a smirk.
"Can I just have a butter beer?" Orion asked; he knew Draco would share his food with him.
Their parents allowed Draco to drink the occasional glass of wine, and seeing Blaise and Theo having a drink made it alright for Draco as well. Orion was a different matter, not that the young teen was much of a drinker in the first place. Even during Quidditch parties in the Gryffindor Common Room he had never really indulged in the drinks that the twins or Seamus had managed to smuggle in.
"Yes sir, Tipsy be getting that for yous right away," The elf squeaked before disappearing.
"Have a good Christmas then?" Blaise asked the blond pair, grinning at Orion.
"It was really nice," Orion said shyly, returning Blaise's smile. He rather liked the tall, Italian teen.
"Yea? Getting anything good?" Blais asked, waggling his eyebrows teasingly. Draco groaned, chuckling at his best friend's antics.
"I-I guess so," Orion look bemused at the question; he wasn't sure what constituted a 'good' Christmas present in the terms Blaise was using. He loved every single item he had gotten and he was still floored at the generosity his family had shown him, even though they constantly reassured him that it was normal. Draco wrapped his arm around Orion, giving his brother a quick hug as the house elf appeared with food and requested drinks.
"Thank you," Orion said shyly as he accepted his butter beer, ignoring the elf's 'eep' of surprise as he looked over the plate of food.
"Here, you'll like these," Draco murmured, pointing out a few different items on the plate. Orion was still adjusting to the different class of food that the Malfoy's ate. He still was adjusting, especially since the majority of food he had eaten since leaving St. Mungos had been at Hogwarts. His few months at home before school he had been on a special diet to try and counteract some of the effects of his malnutrition. Orion was still on nutrients potions and on what the Healers called a 'see-food diet', but at least he wasn't on the special diet he was on before school started.
"Thanks Dray," Orion said sheepishly. Eventually he hoped to figure this stuff out, learn all the in's and out of elitist pureblood society, but for now he was happy that he had a big brother who was patient enough and willing to help him. He nibbled at one of the suggested tidbits, smiling in pleasant surprised as he realized it did, indeed, taste good. Draco chuckled at his brother's expression before turning to engage Theo in a conversation about their potions' assignment.
"So Orion, you ready to go back to school? Or are you sort of dreading it?" Blaise asked, sipping his wine casually.
"I honestly don't know," Orion murmured. "For a long time Hogwarts was home, it was the only place I wanted to be really, but now..." He shrugged and smiled. "I guess I have mixed feelings. I want to go back and see everyone and stuff, but I also just want to stay home." He grinned again at the notion of some place other then Hogwarts being home.
Blaise nodded in understanding; he couldn't fully understand everything Orion had gone through, especially as Harry Potter, but he could sympathize with the younger man, or at least he could try to sympathize.
"Did you have a good Holiday Blaise?" Orion piped up suddenly, changing the subject away from uncertain waters.
"Yea, we were in Italy with my family mainly, but it was really nice and warm," The Italian teen said with a smirk and an exaggerated shudder.
"S'not that cold," Orion said, ignoring Draco's chuckling and mumbling about Orion always being cold. "Shush you!" Orion said, nudging his brother in the ribs with his elbow.
"You're not exactly the best candidate to lecture someone about whether or not it's cold. You're always cold," Draco said with a chuckle.
"Shush!" Orion said again with a stubborn smile, he wasn't always cold. He just liked wearing layers, which was it. Blaise chuckled at the easy teasing that went on between the two brothers. It was nice to see, especially since Orion had been so hesitant and timid to begin with. The young teen was still fairly timid around everyone but he seemed to be much more relaxed then he had been at the beginning of the year.
Theo chuckled and tapped Draco's shoulder, drawing him back into conversation about classes as Blaise and Orion began playfully discussing the weather.
"So, this is where you've all hid," Pansy drawled as she, Daphne and Millicent all sauntered over to the relatively secluded corner their male counterparts had cloistered themselves in.
"Seems like it," Draco said, glancing around as he realized that the ballroom had completely filled up and it seemed like everyone had arrived.
"Come on," Pansy said, tugging on Draco's arm. "You need to mingle, we all do."
Orion sighed, biting his lip nervously; he had felt fine in the secluded corner, but the prospect of walking around the ballroom and mingling with adults and other teens just didn't exactly seem like fun to him. It actually made him sort of anxious. Draco frowned at his brother's anxious behaviour but nodded his agreement to Pansy, these events were primarily social events after all and social meant mingling.
"You'll be fine, just stick with me," Draco said, wrapping a reassuring arm around his brother.
"That's why we come to these events, to socialize. Traditionally this is where pureblood families scope one another out and make business alliances or marriage alliances. Not too many families indulge in that anymore, but the tradition of getting together is still important," he explained as the group of teens began to wander the crowded room.
Occasionally adults or other teens would call out to them, but nothing to extreme happened, at least not until a slightly intoxicated Bellatrix Lestrange sprang out of the crowd and grabbed Orion and Draco, dragging the pair of shocked boys into the cloakroom, much to the shock of the little elf manning the area.
"So this is the newest little Malfoy!" The insane witch purred, dragging her nails down Orion's face, both boys far to shocked to really comprehend what was going on.
"Aunt Bella?" Draco hissed pulling his brother against his side protectively. No one ever knew how the insane Death Eater was going to react, sometimes she could be unfailingly kind and sweet and other times she'd crucio you without a second thought.
"Yes Dragon?" She asked brightly, using his mother's childhood nickname for the tall blond. "I just wanted to meet my new nephew, especially since he's the reason our Lord's gone through so much. First the pain of losing his godson and then the pain caused by Harry Potter, all the duels, all the ruined plans, and then the pain of finding out the person you want to kill is the one you lost!" Bella cackled.
"None of that was Orion's fault, he and Uncle Tom talked and worked things out," Draco hissed, carefully maneuvering the now shaking Orion behind him.
"He deserves to be punished Dragon!" Bella hissed. "Even if our Lord doesn't want him punished, he deserves it. If he were a man he'd step forward and accept his punishment. Instead he's a little puppy, hiding behind his big brother. Some Malfoy; he brings nothing but shame to your family's name." She hissed, hands clenching around her wand. Draco wondered vaguely how she had even gotten a wand, being an Azkaban escapee and all.
"Go away Aunt Bella, before Uncle Tom or Father catch you here!" Draco hissed, though he was nervous, there wasn't much he could do if the insane woman decided to attack the pair of them.
"Do not presume to tell me what to do Draco," Bella hissed, her face turning ugly with the use of his given name. Quicker then either Orion or Draco could fathom, her wand was trained on Draco.
"Crucio!" She hissed, the beam of light hitting her oldest nephew as he let out a tortured scream as the curse hit him, knocking him backwards into his brother and fell, convulsing onto the ground.
Orion panicked, he could feel Draco writhing and twitching on top of him, his voice hoarse with the intensity of his screams. Scrambling free, the Gryffindor part of his mind took over and he charged forward, plowing into Bella and knocking the pair of them to the ground.
As her concentration broke and her wand went flying, the curse was lifted from Draco, leaving the older teen lying, panting on the ground as Orion and Bellatrix tussled. Orion had the advantage of speed and surprise, however after a few short seconds, Bellatrix's size and weight were the advantage and she easily grabbed the young teen and dragged him to his feet. Slamming him against the wall, she wandlessly summoned her wand to her.
"Attack me," She hissed, training the wand at Orion's throat. "How I'd love to gut you, watch your blood spill all over the pretty, polished floor," She teased, the tip of her wand digging into Orion's neck, blood welling from the spot.
"But, alas I can't kill you. I can punish you though!" She teased, dragging her wand over his neck. Orion made an eeping noise as the wand connected with his flesh, dragging over and over his sensitive skin as Bella whispered something in latin.
He couldn't understand what she was saying, couldn't hear her due to the blood pounding in his ears. It hurt though, it hurt so bad. Tears ran freely down his cheeks as he sluggishly struggled before he was finally dropped. As he hit the ground, he was made aware of shouting and spells flying about, a hand falling onto his shoulder and someone pulled him into their lap.
He still couldn't hear what was going on, but he could see flashes of light from spells and he was sure something was happening. Finally, his eyes closed and fell into blissful unconsciousness.
-Blood-
"Where are Draco and Orion?" Blaise asked Pansy as he and Theo rejoined the girls during their walk about the ballroom.
"No idea, we thought they were with you," Pansy said with a frown. Glancing around, she didn't spot the trademark Malfoy blond hair, except when she saw Narcissa and Lucius talking to her parents.
"Maybe they went to get some air? It might have been a bit much for Orion," She suggested with a small shrug.
"Maybe..." Blaise trailed off, not looking at all convinced. "Let's go ask Lucius and Narcissa," he said, steering the group towards the adults only to see a house elf pop up next to Pansy's parents.
A moment of conversation and suddenly all four adults, closely followed by Severus and the Dark Lord bolted towards the coat room.
"What the hell," Theo mumbled, looking at his friends curiously.
"Something must have happened," Daphne mused thoughtfully. Loud shouts were soon heard, as the music had quieted with the disappearance of Pansy's parents from the ball. After what seemed like an eternity the shouting stopped and Pansy's parents reappeared, both looking slightly harassed.
"We'd like to thank you all for coming," Lord Parkinson said, after casting a spell to make his voice project. "However, due to some unforeseen circumstances we must call tonight's festivities to an end earlier then planned. Please make your way to the floo or to the safest apparition point post haste. Thank you once again for coming." With that, they disappeared back into the cloak room.
All five Slytherins looked at one another worriedly; not much would cancel a New Years ball early, so whatever had happened must have been bad. Quickly all of Pansy's friends were collected by their parents and rushed to the floo, and the poor girl was left standing in the empty ballroom wondering what the hall had happened.
-Blood-
As soon as the ballroom was cleared, Tom hoisted Orion into his arms and Lucius took Draco. Thanks to Lord Parkinson bending the wards, the family was directly able to apparate out of the cloakroom and into Malfoy Manor. Severus had taken care of Bellatrix, stunning her and taking her back to Riddle Manor for her to be punished, at a later date.
"What the hell did she do to them?" Lucius roared once both boys were settled in Draco's bed, parents and godparents hovering around them.
"Crucio," Severus said as he fed Draco some potions he'd created to counteract the effects of the Cruciatus curse.
"She hit my son with a Cruciatus" Lucius hissed while Narcissa let out a pained little gasp and smoothed back Draco's hair.
"What about Orion? What did she do to him?" Lucius hissed as Severus began casting diagnostic spells at his youngest son.
"No idea," Severus mumbled while Tom shuffled about, not sure what to do but unwilling to leave lest he go to his Manor and actually kill Bellatrix.
"Something to his throat," Severus mumbled, gently touching the bruised skin. Orion was unconscious still and Draco had been placed in a drugged sleep until the pain potions kicked in.
"His vocal chords are damaged," Severus mumbled, though he seemed to be mainly talking to himself. "Burnt," he mumbled, shooting up and rushing to his potion bag.
"What?" Lucius asked frantically. "What did that bitch do to my child?" He hissed, wanting to grab Severus and shake the answers out of him.
"She cast the bruciato* curse," Severus hissed at his friend as he poured potion after potion down Orion's sleep slackened mouth. Carefully he rubbed the boy's damaged throat, trying to help the potions move down the damaged organ without causing Orion unnecessary pain.
"The bruciato curse? What is that?" Narcissa asked worriedly, still seated with Draco though her eyes were fixated on Orion's face.
"The burning curse," Tom said, falling roughly into a chair. "It's a dark spell, designed to burn a victim from the inside out while killing them slowly. It only stays in the area where the spell is initially cast, like the arm or stomach for example. Though it doesn't usually kill because it can be stopped, it can cause permanent damage if not stopped quickly," he added, looking worriedly at Orion.
"Will he have more damage Severus?" Narcissa asked the man, once he was done with the potions.
"He has sustained some major damage to his vocal chords. He likely won't be able to speak for a few days; however I believe we caught it before anything to bad could happen. At most he'll have a very husky voice and may not be able to speak beyond a certain chord. He may have residual pain occasionally, but we'll only be able to tell with time."
Narcissa nodded, her face turning hard as she looked at Tom.
"I want to speak to Bella when you do. She has crossed the line this time, she attacked my children," The woman said, her silver-blue eyes, so like those of her youngest son, flashed dangerously and the Dark Lord could only nod in agreement. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black was not a woman he wanted angry at him. She may appear dainty and delicate but attack her family, especially her children, and you'd find out just what a Black was capable of.
*bruciato: Burnt in Italian (or so I'm told)
A/N: Want updates on my stories? Follow me on twitter BloodyRed_Queen