After they had helped everyone at the Burrow clean up the dead bodies, and tend to the wounded wedding guests and order members that had stuck around to help fight the Death Eaters, the five Vikings that had been left behind to protect the wedding goers, were finally returning back to their village to report to the King.
They were battered, bloodied and tired, as they apparated to the middle of the lot in their village. They attempted to straighten themselves up before presenting themselves before the King, even though they all knew he wouldn't be offended by their battered state.
"Should we wait till tomorrow to report to him?" Gunnar asked flatly, even though his face betrayed him, showing how nervous he truly was.
"If you want to chance getting flayed, sure." Balder said flatly, just wanting to report to the King, answer any questions he has, so he can go to bed for a few hours before going back to Diagon Alley to make that Dung-guy shit himself.
"I just mean, won't he be annoyed that we woke him up?" Gunnar pressed on, not wanting to get shouted at by the King for waking him up.
"What makes you think he's already in bed?" Colborn asked annoyedly as they group made their way up to the King's front door. "It's only ten at night you twit!"
"You never know!" Gunnar snapped nervously looking at the front door nervously as they knocked on the door, and waited for the King to answer.
Suddenly the door swung open wide, revealing the King, shirtless wearing square spectacles and holding a book in his left hand. For a man who hasn't seen any action in a handful of years, the King was still in good shape, especially considering he hasn't been seen training in any way for a couple years.
"You never know what?" Abraxus asked flatly as he looked down at the five young bloody men before him, before gesturing for them to come in.
As they passed they each spared a quick glance at Abraxus, not ever being able to recall a time they ever heard any stories about the King ever getting that many scars. It's not as though they are hard to miss, seeing as the King and Brynjar are the same size in height and just about the same size in build. Brynjar being just a little bit bigger than the King in build.
Abraxus noticed them all staring at his chest and all the scars that adorned it, quirking his eyebrow slightly as he made a mental note, reminding himself to tell these young men the story of how he got these scars.
They all bowed slightly before crossing the threshold, taking care to line up single file against the wall of the living room before Balder began to speak.
"Gunnar was afraid we would wake you sir." Balder said flatly looking Abraxus, all the while standing at attention. "He thought we should wait until tomorrow to report the nights events to you."
"Very considerate of you young man, but I am a night owl." Abraxus said with a slight hint of a playful tone to his voice, so slight an untrained ear would not even notice it. "Why do you think you never see me outside until the late morning?"
Gunnar could only nod in response to Abraxus' words, unsure of how to respond to the question he would normally respond to his friends with cheek.
"For Odin's sake boys! You spend all your time with my daughter!" Abraxus declared loudly, as he looked among the five boys that stood before him like imperiused soldiers. "If I haven't disposed of any of you yet, or banned you from spending time with my daughter, I think you are safe to be laxed around me. I may be the King but I am not a King in the Days of Olde, I do not even have a throne!" Abraxus said with a slight laugh to his voice as he gestured around his modest house. "The only reason I AM the King is because of my bloodline AND because your parents and other family members asked me to take the title."
Four of the five boys exchanged shocked and confused looks amongst each other down the line, except for Balder. Abraxus walked down to Balder who looked the King right in the eye, and held the stare until the King spoke.
"When did they tell you?" Abraxus asked Balder, who dropped his eyes to his boots for a second before bringing them back up to look the King in the eye once more.
"Will they get in trouble?" Balder asked boldly, feeling his friends petrified stares on his right side as he held a firm stare with the King.
"If I said yes would you tell me?" Abraxus asked, his face unreadable and cold.
"No." Balder replied, a little shaky but with a firmness nonetheless.
"Good." Abraxus replied as he clapped Balder on the shoulder with his right hand. "A true friend and Viking answer m'boy. They would not get in trouble for having told you because quite honestly, I thought it was common knowledge amongst the whole village." Abraxus continued as he walked over to his fireplace and place the book he had been reading on the mantle, before turning back to the five boys. "I mean, it's not as though the meeting over asking me to take back the title of King was a secret meeting no one was supposed to know about. However, that is another conversation topic for another time." Abraxus said dismissively as he came to stand in the middle of the line of Viking's, leveling each of them with a serious look before asking, "Now, what happened at the wedding tonight?"
Balder stepped forward, and thrust his right hand out toward Abraxus.
Abraxus looked down at Balder's hand and saw two small white pieces of paper, then looked back up into Balder's face before taking the two pieces of paper. Abraxus looked at the five boys watch him with such intensity, he was nervous as to what he would read or see on the other side of these papers.
Slowly he turned the papers over, and when he saw what was on the other side of them, his stone-cold composure broke.
The five of them exchanged relieved and happy looks as they watched a beaming smile spread across the Kings face.
"By the Goddess Frigg, she is beautiful, isn't she?" Abraxus beamed, as he continued to look upon the picture of his daughter and Brynjar all dressed up, leaning against one another. "Astrid, the boys have returned with a gift for you." Abraxus called out randomly, startling the boys standing there, not realizing that Brynjar's mum and the King spent a lot of time together. "Where did she get this dress?" Abraxus asked as he beamed down at the picture of his tomboy daughter in a beautiful scarlet dress.
"I believe Cuyler said Hermione took her dress shopping." Colborn said flatly, staring straight ahead at a picture of Asta when she was a little girl, hoisting her first successfully decapitated enemy head proudly. He couldn't help but smile and wonder what she would have been like if her mother hadn't been such a cunt, while at the same time grateful he never has to know.
"Hello boys." Astrid greeted regally, while the line of boys made their way over to her and each placed a kiss on her cheek and gave her a hug, as they normally did, before returning to their previous positions. "You brought me a gif-" Astrid stopped short as Abraxus moved next to her and raised the picture into her line of vision. "Oh my…. Abraxus she looks beautiful! The both of them look adorable!" Astrid stuttered, as a stray tear streaked down her cheek.
"We," Balder gestured down the line of his friends, "Cuyler, and Mrs Weasley thought you both would like to have a nice picture of Asta and Brynjar all done up since you didn't have one. So, we first and foremost wanted to deliver them to you both, before we reported the events of the night."
Just as Balder finished his piece there was a knock at the door.
As Abraxus made his way over to the door to see who was coming to visit at this hour, Astrid was hugging each of the boys with a vice like grip for the wonderful picture they have given her.
"Astrid… Can't breathe!" Eindride choked out as Astrid squeezed him tightly, making her chuckle before she released him.
"Cuyler m'boy!" Abraxus boomed as he gestured for Cuyler to come in and join the others in the house.
"Cuyler mate! What happened after you left with them? Is everyone alright?" Balder asked earnestly, forgetting he was in audience with the King.
"Everyone is safe, everything is fine now and everything is good." Cuyler explained in short as he took his place in line next to Arvid.
Abraxus came back to stand in front of the line of young men and eyed them all carefully before asking his question again.
"What happened at the wedding tonight?" Abraxus asked the collective group of boys before him, leveling them all with a commanding look.
"Honestly Sir, it will probably be easier to show you." Balder said flatly, stepping forward and bowing his head slightly, gesturing for the King to look into his mind to play through the nights events.
Abraxus looked between the six of them, each one nodding their head slightly in his direction in agreement before returning his gaze back to Balder, "Would you care to go first then m'boy?"
"Not at all Sir." Balder answered flatly, stepping forward and lowering his head.
Abraxus brought his first two fingers up to Balder's temple and closed his eyes, letting scenes from the wedding play out in his mind. He saw his daughter come rushing out of a rickety looking house. Then he saw something that made him lose his concentration; he saw "himself" and the other boys kneeling at his daughters' feet pledging their loyalty to her.
Abraxus' hand fell from Balder's temple and his eyes searched each of the boys eyes for the truth.
"You… you all… knelt before her…" Abraxus couldn't believe what he saw. He couldn't believe that they pledged their loyalty to his daughter, without force or obligation dictating they do so. "Why?" Abraxus asked as he looked from each of the boys before him in wonderment.
The boys exchanged looks with each other, unsure of how best to answer the King's question. After a moment of complete silence, Arvid stepped forward to answer his question, much to the King's surprise.
"We honestly don't know why Sir." Arvid began nervously, as he forced himself to maintain eye contact. "It just felt like the right thing to do. You're not mad are you?"
Abraxus snapped his head towards Arvid, snapping out of his trance at the younger man's question.
"Why would you think I would be mad?" Abraxus asked, looking startled at the thought that they would think he would be mad at the respect and honour they showed his daughter.
"You look as though you are offended Sir." Gunnar answered flatly, turning to look at the King. "We still first and foremost follow your command, we just also naturally look to Asta for leadership. None of us are really sure what made us decide to kneel at her feet, it just felt like the right thing to do."
"I am the furthest thing from mad, m'boy." Abraxus stated as he brought his hand back up the Balder's temple and continued to watch the events from the night unfold.
Abraxus made his way down the line, pausing briefly at each boy to question them on things he saw that he wasn't sure he saw correctly or understood.
After he saw what Eindride had to show him, he looked down at the young man and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, causing Eindride to look up into the King's penetrating eyes.
"Size does not define strength m'boy." Abraxus began, giving Eindride's shoulder a squeeze. "If you want proof of my statement, just look at my daughter."
Eindride could only stare into the King's eyes, completely caught off guard by the King's words. He didn't expect, nor did he really want, the King to take pity on his self-consciousness.
"Of course, Sir." Eindride replied nervously, afraid the King may think of him as weak now. "My apologies, Sir. I wasn't calling Asta-" Eindride began but was cut off by the King.
"You need not apologize m'boy!" Abraxus boomed, clapping the young man on the back. "You are strong like an ox! Just because your build is smaller than the others, doesn't mean you are weak."
"Right, Sir." Eindride replied firmly, not wanting to anger the King, or continue this discussion while his friends were around. But Abraxus was not finished making his point.
"You may think being the smallest man in the village is a hard burden to bare, but I suggest you ask Brynjar what it is really like to be the biggest man in the village." Abraxus suggested, giving Eindride a wink before starting to move towards Colborn to continue the replaying of the nights events. "You might just find out it's not all it appears to be, speaking from personal experience. Before Brynjar came along, I was the biggest man in the village."
Abraxus left them all with that thought, as he continued his task. The five that were not currently reliving the nights events exchanged shocked looks with each other. The King was by no means small, he and Balder were almost the exact same size, but the King had Balder by an inch or two in build-size.
When he got to Arvid, he looked at the young man before him with a smirk on his face that unsettled the younger man.
"What is so funny Sir?" Arvid asked uneasily, as he studied the King wearily. Knowing from his experience with Asta that a smirk is never a good thing to see on an Akeldama.
"Kneeling before Asta was your idea." Abraxus stated more than asked the young man before him, causing Arvid to tense up. "You always surprise me young Arvid." Abraxus added before raising his hand to Arvid's temple, freezing in shock as he saw his wife, or what he thought was his wife, and his daughter grappling with each other on the ground.
Abraxus pulled his hand away from Arivd's temple and stared blankly at the wall past the young man's head. His mind was reeling; recalling images of the night he ended his wife's life, then playing over what he had just seen Arvid witness that night.
"Who the hell was that?" Abraxus asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper, his eyes still trained on the wall behind the line of young men.
"We didn't get a name Sir." Arvid said flatly, determined to not show how terrified he was that the King was angry and so close to him at the same time. "When Balder and I saw her and started dueling her, we called for Asta and Brynjar, and Asta went berserk."
"I'm sure you saw what Arvid said to Brynjar after he showed up to help us, Brynjar just said she is a different witch." Balder replied flatly, looking down towards Abraxus and Arvid. "Cuyler, when they met up with you, did they tell you her name?" Balder asked, hoping Cuyler would say yes.
"Yes they did." Cuyler replied nervously, turning his head to look at the King, who was now staring intently into Cuyler's eyes. "Her name is Bellatrix, they first met her at Blondie's manor, where the Snakeman is holing up."
Abraxus' head snapped towards Astrid who, normally donned a regal expression, looked mortified.
"Abraxus…. Is it possible?" Astrid asked in a whisper, as her eyes appeared to become glossy.
"Son of a bitch." Abraxus growled, before abruptly turning away from the line of young men, and rushing into his study with Astrid on his heels.
As soon as both of them were out of view, the six young men broke their rigid line and began to talk in panicked tones.
"You didn't show him?! And you didn't think to tell me not to show him?! What the fuck mate!" Arvid exploded in an angry whisper at Balder, who looked as though he was going to burst.
"Well I fucking thought it would have been common sense to NOT show the King that his daughter was fucking letting loose on his dead wife's doppelgänger! You idiot!" Balder snapped back, annoyed at the fact that Arvid never used his head when it mattered most.
"Well I wasn't about to lie to him was I?" Arvid snapped back, squaring up to Balder. "The man already fucking hates me! The last thing I need would be for him to have found out I hid something from him! He'd have my fucking head on his wall!"
"Maybe if you weren't such a provocative pig all the time, you wouldn't be on the King's shit-list!" Balder spat, barely containing his rage.
Right before Arvid could get another word out, they heard the study door open and scrambled back to their previous spots, waiting to see if the King was finished with them or not.
The King came into view, closely followed by Astrid who looked more nervous now than she did before.
"Summon my daughter and Brynjar." Abraxus commanded, before summoning his house-elves. "Asger! Dagmar!"
Two house-elves appeared before them with a faint pop, mimicking the stance the six boys have held since they entered the King's home. One wearing a child sized dress with an apron over top of it, and the other wearing child sized dress slacks and a white shirt with an apron as well. Both had long pointy noses and large bat ears, and both were very well built.
"Yes, Sir." They said in unison, bowing slightly before Abraxus.
"I am having an emergency meeting in five minutes. I know I promised you the night off, but would you please be able to whip up a few quick snack items for the meeting?" Abraxus asked his elves kindly, as Astrid started setting up the chairs around the table in the other room. "I will truly give you tomorrow morning off, you both can sleep in in exchange for tonight, what do you say?"
"Anything for you, Sir." Asger said with a bow.
"No trouble at all. Thank you, Sir." Dagmar replied with a curtsey, before they both vanished with a pop.
"All of you can run home and get cleaned up, but I want you back here in ten minutes." Abraxus said coarsely, before turning to Cuyler. "Did you summon them?"
"Yes Sir. They should be on their way now." Cuyler replied flatly, staring at the fireplace intently.
"Good, thank you. Now go home and get cleaned up, we've got a long night ahead of us." Abraxus commanded as he shooed them out of his house, before collapsing into his chair by the fireplace. "Odin help me."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"How did they find you guys?" Asta asked as she handed a plate of sandwiches across the table to Ron. Unable to help openly admiring the house that they were using for shelter. It was dark and dingy and she loved it! Everything looked so old and used it gave the house wonderful character.
"I don't know." Hermione said annoyed by the fact that she can't figure out what happened.
"It can't be the trace, it breaks at 17. That's wizarding law." Ron said before he took a bit of his sandwich.
"You said his name." Malfoy said from across the room, sitting in the doorway to the kitchen. "His name is taboo, and before you try and blame me for what happened back there, I tried to tell you but you told me to keep my trap shut." Malfoy added when he saw Harry rise to his feet in anger, making Harry slump back down into his chair.
"You're right Malfoy, I'm sorry." Harry said flatly as he buried his face in his hands, wishing none of this was happening. "Is there any other useful information you have on Vol-…. You-Know-Who, that you could tell us?" Harry asked in an impatient, exhausted tone.
"He does." Hermione answered for him, hoping if she stood up for him Harry and Ron would take it easy on him. "When I used the veritaserum on Asta and Brynjar, I also tested Malfoy and he said he would be willing to tell us everything he knew."
"Correction." Malfoy stated as he stood up from where he sat and made his way into the kitchen a little way, stopping short of the group and leaning against the wall. "I said I would divulge that information to Granger, knowing the information would be shared with all of you, naturally."
"Why will you only tell Hermione, knowing she is going to tell us anyway?" Ron asked angrily, glaring at Malfoy trying to figure out what he is up to.
"Because, Weasley, Granger is fair and won't make sarcastic comments and impatient noises while I'm answering her questions. Therefore, telling her this information alone will not make me want to tear my bloody hair out." Malfoy explained in his usual condescending tone, making Ron's ears turn pink.
Asta and Brynjar watched the exchange with expressionless faces. Clearly, they knew that there was some animosity between Blondie and Harry, Ron and Hermione; but they never expected this much tension and anger.
Hermione watched Malfoy and Ron exchange heated words with a slight blush on her face, knowing there is most likely other reasons Malfoy would want to be alone with her. Hermione looked up and saw Harry and Ron staring at her blushing face in confusion, before they could ask her anything Asta spoke up.
"So Harry," Asta began, nodding slightly at Hermione's grateful look, "this is your house?"
"Wha- yeah, it is." Harry answered disinterested as he raked his hands through his hair in frustration. "My God-Father left it to me in his Will. Sorry it's a mess I haven't been here since he died, couldn't bring myself to come back."
As Harry said this, Asta saw a flash of bushy black hair and a tight black corseted dress, and suddenly felt a wave of anger and sadness wash over her.
"The black-haired bitch killed your God-Father?" Asta asked with a slight shake in her voice.
"How did you know?" Harry asked nervously, as he watched Asta's eyes change from sympathetic to murderous.
"You're not the best at Occlumency." Asta began as she admired the light fixture in the kitchen. "Every time you think of your God-Father, who had the most awesome name by the way, you see her face."
Harry's body stiffened at the mention of his weak Occlumency skills, knowing all too well that Hermione will rip him a new one for not having mastered the craft. He caught the look in Asta's eye at the mention of Bellatrix and thought it was curious, seeing as he was sure she doesn't even really know her.
"You have something against Bellatrix Lestrange?" Harry asked sincerely, eyebrow quirked in curiosity as he watched Asta's face harden. "Have you met her before?"
Brynjar moved himself closer to her, in case she lost control again, while Malfoy moved back to his spot in the doorway, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Asta tensed up at the question as images of the cruel black-haired bitch flashed across her mind, and she unconsciously balled her fists.
"You can say that." Asta growled, as Brynjar came up behind her and rubbed her upper arm, making her loosen up a bit.
"It's a…. It's…" Brynjar struggled to explain to find a way to explain Asta's hatred of Bellatrix, but didn't want to upset Asta with the story again. "It's easy enough to explain, but it's a story we don't tell." Brynjar explained calmly, while nodding his head down towards Asta with wide eyes, hoping Harry would understand what he was trying to say and drop it for now.
"Ah…. I see…" Harry nodded as he rose from his chair and stretched. "Well I think Ron, Hermione and I have some things to discuss. Guys?" Harry said flatly as he gestured for them to follow him.
"Potter." Malfoy called, causing the trio to stop dead in their tracks before spinning around to face Malfoy, who had moved next to the kitchen table.
"What Malfoy?" Harry asked with a small bite in his tone as he eyed the platinum blonde man with cold eyes.
"Which room is can I take while we are staying here?" Malfoy asked flatly, face calm and unreadable, no trace of his signature smirk anywhere. "I'm assuming we will be using this house as shelter for a while, and would rather not ruffle any feathers, for fear that the lovely raven-haired witch might fry me." Malfoy added, nodding slightly towards Asta, who narrowed her eyes.
The three of them exchanged shocked looks with one another, unsure if the man before them is actually Malfoy. They, both separately and collectively, can never a time when Draco Malfoy was polite and didn't insult one of them. Yet, they heard him first hand just ask a civil question without being his normal asshole self.
"I can be polite you know." Malfoy said with a slight hint of irritation to his voice at their collective shock that he was being civil.
"Okay, but none of us have ever had you speak in a civil manner to us though." Ron said flatly, face still showing his utter shock. "So you can understand our surprise at the fact that you just said something to us without calling one of us names."
Malfoy rolled his eyes before looking at each of them, noticing an odd glimmer of something in Hermione's eyes, before moving on to Harry.
"Right. Fine. I can understand." Malfoy said slight agitation in his voice, as he gripped the back of the chair in front of him to help keep his cool. "Now back to my question; which room can I take?"
"Uhh, any room but Sirius'. That room is off limits." Harry said flatly as he carried himself across the threshold and disappearing from view. Ron followed closely behind Harry, but Hermione hesitated slightly. Still in shock at the fact that he was so civil with the boys, seeing as she knows how Malfoy really feels about her.
"You alright Granger?" Malfoy asked with a slight smirk and a quirked eyebrow, shaking Hermione from her stupor and causing her to blush furiously.
"Ye.. yeah, I'm fine." Hermione replied nervously as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, just as Ron called for her.
"Hermione? Are you coming?" Ron called from the stairs, making Hermione jump slightly.
"Yes, I'll be right there Ronald!" Hermione called back, before coming down into the kitchen to grab her beaded bag off the table, quickly glancing at Malfoy who was watching her intently. "Thank you for being civil with them….. Draco." Hermione added softly before turning and exiting the kitchen, leaving Malfoy, Asta and Brynjar alone.
Asta started to walk around the kitchen, admiring the dark woodwork, and the worn-out surfaces and cooking tools. She couldn't get over how beautiful this house was! She loved it when a house was dark in color, dark was easier to deal with than blindingly bright.
"This house is really-" Asta began but stopped and quickly reached for her necklace. "Is yours-" Asta began but was cut off by Brynjar.
"Going off? Yeah." Brynjar finished her sentence for her before bounding out of the room and taking off up the stairs, with Asta on her heels.
They ran up the stairs and called for the trio frantically, not knowing which room they could be in seeing as they most likely cast a silencing charm around the room.
"Harry! Hermione! Ron! Is everyone alright?" Brynjar shouted down the hall, not knowing which room the trio was in, and not wanting to just barge in on their conversation. A moment later, Harry poked his head out of a doorway down on the far end of the hall with a confused but worried look on his face.
"Everything is fine. Why?" Harry asked nervously as he briskly made his way towards the two Viking's, worry clearly etched on their faces.
"Our pendants…. But if you guys didn't summon us…" Brynjar trailed off, whipping his head around to find Asta starring at him with wide eyes. "We've got to go. What is the address here?" Brynjar asked hurriedly as Asta tore back down the stairs.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Hermione replied in a shaky voice as she watched Brynjar glance nervously between the three of them. "Is everything alright?"
"I… I don't know… We're being summoned by someone, and we just need to know where to come back to. Thank you for telling us the address, we will be back as soon as possible." Brynjar said as he took off down the stairs towards where Asta was pacing nervously.
"What if something happened to one of the guys? What if we left to soon?" Asta said nervously, as she played with her hair nervously.
"Only one way to find out." Brynjar said flatly as he took her hand and squeezed the pendant, disappearing on the spot, reappearing in none other than Asta's sitting room.
"What the-" Brynjar began to say before getting cut off by the King.
"Emergency meeting." Abraxus ordered from behind them, causing them both to whip around to face him.
"What happened?" Asta demanded, walking up to her father. "Did they all make it back? Did anyone they were protecting get killed?"
"Ask them for yourselves. We are gathered in the dining room." Abraxus stated as he ignored her questions and made his way into the other room.
Asta and Brynjar followed closely behind Abraxus as he led the way into the dining room. As soon as they crossed the threshold they both let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding as they saw all their friends gathered around the table.
"Oh thank Odin!" Asta breathed out as she bent down with her hands on her knees to support her. While Brynjar just raked his hands through his hair and let out a ragged breath.
"Why did you summon- wait where is my mum?" Brynjar asked frantically, as he searched the room for a sign of his mother. "Is she hurt? Is that why you summoned us? What happened to her?"
"I'm fine my son! Relax!" Astrid said with a chuckle as she opened her arms for her son to come hug her.
Brynjar sighed and made his way towards his mother and hugged her tightly, and kissed her head before she shoved him back noticing his wounds that haven't been tended to yet.
"Come here and let me fix you up." Astrid said firmly as she summoned a chair over to her son, before summoning a first aid kit while inspecting Asta quickly and seeing her wounds that also had been left unattended to. "You're next Asta. I mean honestly, why didn't you two fix your wounds?"
"We got sidetracked." Asta said flatly as she lowered herself down into her chair, watching Brynjar intently as he shed his shirt. Brynjar caught Asta starring at him and flexed his muscles, snapping her out of her trance. She immediately smirked and narrowed her eyes at Brynjar, who smirked at her and winked.
"Alright. Now, let's get to why I summoned you two here tonight, and am holding this meeting." Abraxus said abruptly, snapping everyone back to reality.
Everyone in the room straightened up in their chairs and wrested their arms on the table, listening to the King with rapt attention.
"Asta, where did you meet that woman you were bludgeoning tonight? Who is she?" Abraxus asked sternly, looking at his daughter with unnerving eyes. Trying desperately to penetrate her mind, but to no avail. She is a strong legilimens and occlumence.
"The first night Brynjar and I left, at Blondies manor, she is his Aunt." Asta said flatly, her body tensing up at the mention of that horrid woman. "She's a lot like him." Asta added, nodding her head toward the portrait of Abraxus the first with a look of utter disgust on her face.
At the mention of his many a great grandfather, his body tensed up and his face flooded red in color.
"Vile… Twisted…" Abraxus bit out before snapping his head back up to his daughter. "Wait she's that woman sized, blonde boys Aunt?" He asked hurriedly, his eyes scanning his daughters face, then Brynjar's for signs of joking.
"Yes, she is." Brynjar said as he rose from his chair and made his way behind Asta and pulled her chair out so she could switch spots, and get her wounds healed.
"She'd be dead if you had let me hang behind at the wedding…." Asta grumbled as she took her seat before Astrid, who chuckeled and rolled her eyes.
"Can you fetch the Blonde boy? Bring him here." Abraxus, more or less, ordered Brynjar, who nodded and got up and disapparated on the spot.
"What do you need the boy for Abraxus?" Astrid asked curiously as she finished up with the wound on Asta's stomach, before vanishing all the first aid equipment.
"Questioning." Abraxus said gruffly, before rising to his feet. "If you all will excuse me, I will be right back." He added, before quickly exiting the dining room, Astrid following at his heels looking nervous.
"Ohhhhh I have a bad feeling I'm about to find out that Blondie is a not-so-distant relative." Asta said as she leant her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples.
"What makes you say that?" Colborn asked nervously, looking at Asta in confusion.
"Just a feeling I have." Asta said flatly, just as Brynjar came in with Malfoy in tow.
"Relax! He's not going to kill you!" Brynjar said from the other room, before poking his head into the dining room quickly and asking, "he's not, right?"
Collectively the seven young Vikings shook their heads while suppressing laughter.
"Just get in here Blondie! He's not even in here!" Brynjar growled, before picking Malfoy up by the back of his shirt and carried him into the dining room.
As Brynjar came in carrying Malfoy, Balder got up and shoved his chair towards Brynjar, who plopped Malfoy down in it and bound him to it. Malfoy nervously looked around the room and saw the portrait of Abraxus the first, and shuddered at how much Asta looked like him. He looked around the room and took in all the skulls that were lining the walls and all the poison and potion bottles that filled a cabinet behind where, he assumed, the King was sitting.
"Long time no see Blondie!" Balder said playfully as he slapped Malfoy on the back, making Malfoy cough from the sheer force of the slap. "Sorry mate."
"Why does he want me here? What can I possibly offer him when he has an army of large men under his command?" Malfoy pleaded nervously as he looked between all the people around him.
"Before he stepped out he said he wanted you for questioning." Eindride said flatly, looking at the scrawny blonde man panic with a smirk.
"If you cooperate, it will be painless. If you refuse, it will be painful." Abraxus boomed as he walked back into the dining room, making Malfoy tense up and the young Vikings straightened up.
As Abraxus reached his chair, he turned his attention to Malfoy, who looked as though he had just seen a demon. He was visibly shaking and sweating, clearly nervous about what was to come. Abraxus looked around the table and saw all eyes were on Malfoy, except Malfoy's eyes which were glued to him.
"Brynjar, calm him down." Abraxus ordered as he opened a rather hefty book that he carried in with him. "Then put on your shirt please, I do not wish to watch my daughter drool over you for the next few hours we will be here."
As soon as he finished his sentence a decanter on the bar by the window in the dining room shattered, startling everyone in the room except for Asta and Abraxus. Abraxus looked up and saw his daughter starring at him with angry eyes and a red face, making him smirk slightly. He looked at Brynjar, who was also smiling at Asta, clearly not embarrassed by his words.
Brynjar made his way to the curio cabinet behind the King and grabbed a confidence potion from the shelf, and unstoppered it. He made his way back to Malfoy and held the bottle up to the smaller man's lips, luckily Malfoy didn't fight him and just drank the potion.
"You think I didn't notice you starring at him when Astrid was healing his wounds?" Abraxus said with a condescending tone, as he flipped through the book he brought out.
"Uhhh, do you know where my mum went Sir?" Brynjar added as he was searching the area around the chair Asta was sitting in for his shirt. "I believe she took my shirt with her."
"She's in my study son." Abraxus said dismissively as he focused on what he was reading.
Brynjar left the room to go find his mother, just as Abraxus moved around the table and stopped in front of Malfoy, holding the book out so Malfoy had a clear view of it.
What Malfoy saw made his heart drop into his stomach. He was looking at his family tree. His family tree that was on the wall of his parents' parlor room back at the Manor. How did he get a copy of it?
"You recognize this I take it?" Abraxus said in a growl as he set the book on the table and pushed Malfoy's chair up to the table so he could better examine the book.
"Yes. It's my family tree." Malfoy said flatly as he studied his own face on the page before him, then looked immediately at his Aunts face and cringed.
"Do you recognize that name there?" Abraxus growled as he pointed to a name near his Aunt Bella.
"Seraphina Black…?" Malfoy read aloud in a questioning tone. He had been forced to study his family tree until he had it memorized, and there is no "Seraphina Black" on his family tree back at the Manor. "No Sir. I have never seen that name on the family tree I studied."
"Seraphina is, I mean, was your Aunts twin." Abraxus growled as he snatched the book away from Malfoy and sent it back to his office. "I never understood why her parents, your grandparents, cast her away until the day I killed her." Abraxus explained in an ominous tone, before looking from Malfoy to his daughter, who looked mortified.
"You mean to tell me that that woman…. That vile, insane, disgusting woman is my Aunt?!" Asta ground out through clenched teeth as she starred daggers at her father. "Why didn't you tell me there was two of them?"
"I never thought you would meet her, therefore I didn't think it was relevant." Abraxus stated matter-o-factly as he returned his daughters glare.
Just then Brynjar and Astrid came into the room, Brynjar back in his bloodied-up shirt, and Astrid looking as nervous as ever.
"What did I miss?" Brynjar asked as he pulled a chair up next to Balder and plopped down.
"Well I just found out that I'm related to Blondie, and the black-haired bitch is my mother's fucking twin!" Asta said angrily before letting her head smack down onto the table with a hard thud.
"Ha! Ha! Very funny. No really, what did I miss?" Brynjar said sarcastically, looking around the room at all the hard faces looking at Asta with a nervous expression, before looking at the King who solidified Asta's words with a nod. "You're not joking… How in the hell is this even possible?! I thought Seraph-she grew up in the village?"
"She did, but she was adopted by my in-laws when she was a baby. Clearly her birth parents could sense something about her that they didn't like, and that's why they dumped her in the woods hoping she would die there." Abraxus said mostly to himself, as though he was thinking out loud as he stared at his dead ex-wife's name in the book before him. "I don't see why they would get rid of someone who was demented enough to fall in with their crowd. Especially seeing as her twin is just as bad as she was, if not worse."
There was absolute silence around the room for what felt like an eternity, as everyone there absorbed this information and tried to process it all. Finding out Seraphina has a twin sister, was a shock but not unbelievable. Finding out that the platinum blonde Malfoy was the raven-haired bitch's nephew, surprising seeing as Malfoy was cowardly compared to his Aunt. Finding out that Asta was related to these people, completely off the rails mental.
"Does your Aunt have any children?" Abraxus asked Malfoy, breaking the silence in the room.
"No Sir." Malfoy replied steadily. He was completely grateful for this potion Brynjar gave him, if it wasn't for that he would be a babbling idiot.
"Is she married?" Abraxus pressed on, getting a fierce look in his eye.
"She was Sir, she killed him when he proved to be weak." Malfoy answered with a shudder as he recalled the night his Aunt Bella killed her husband in their foyer. He could suddenly smell the pool of blood again as he recalled watching her use severing charms on the man while he was still alive. He could hear her cackle as she looked down at the pool of blood that was forming around the mans severed limbs.
For a moment, Malfoy let his guard down and Abraxus looked in his mind and saw the grisly sight that made Malfoy shudder. All the blood and the sight of the mangled body, he could feel Malfoy tense up. For a moment, he actually felt bad for the small blonde boy, being exposed to things he clearly was not comfortable with.
"Look, Sir," Malfoy began, looking around the room full of Vikings nervously, "anything you want to know I will be happy to tell you. I just recently became part of his inner circle a couple weeks before your daughter and the big guy took me hostage, so I don't have a lot of information, but anything I know I will tell you." Malfoy said flatly as he leveled the King with the most sincere look he could muster. He must have said something right, because the King's expression softened a little and he lowered himself down into his chair.
"You would rat out your family? Your brethren?" Abraxus asked with a hint of mock in his voice, and an unreadable expression on his face.
"They are not my brethren." Malfoy replied angrily, his hands starting to shake with anger. "I was forced to take the mark. I was forced to do his bidding. I will rat out my family, because family would not force someone to do the things I was forced to do."
Abraxus studied the boy carefully, noting the hatred he sensed in the boys voice. A small part of him felt bad for the boy, but the rest of him knew that was how the world worked, at least his own world.
Abraxus nodded his understanding, and waved his hand vanishing the ropes that bound the small man to the chair, earning him a confused look from the small man.
"I have no doubt that you won't run away. However, I would like for you to come with me to my study, I believe I have something you may be able to help me with." Abraxus said evenly, signaling for Astrid to accompany them, making Malfoy relax slightly at the fact that she would be with them.
"Yes Sir." Malfoy said bravely as he rose to his feet and followed the King and Astrid out of the room. Leaving the eight young Vikings in the dining room, confused as to what the King would need Malfoy for that he couldn't discuss in front of them.
"What do you think he needs with Blondie?" Colborn asked, brown eyes wide with confusion as he stared at the entrance to the dining room.
"I don't know." Brynjar said flatly as he looked in the same direction as Colborn, confusion written across his face.
"I called it did I not?!" Asta proclaimed loudly, before throwing her head back against her chair in annoyance. "I'm fucking related to Blondie! Why me?" Asta concluded, looking at Brynjar as though he could make this fact not be true anymore.
"I can't believe Seraphina wasn't a true-born Viking!" Gunnar said in a shocked tone as he looked between Asta and Brynjar. "She was fucking mental enough to be a Viking way back when, wasn't she?" He added, running his hand through his hair before slumping in his chair.
Asta looked around at her friends, they all looked tired, confused and bored.
"How did things go after we left the wedding?" Asta asked, after a small awkward silence, in hopes to diffuse the tension.
Balder let out a ragged breath before running his hand through his hair, and rocking on the back legs of his chair. "It went about as well as before you two left." Balder began with a forced chuckle as he looked at Asta with tired eyes. "That black-haired witch got a hold of her wand and managed to catch Arvid while his attention was on one of her comrades." Balder added looking at Arvid with a solemn expression.
Arvid stood up and pulled off his shirt, revealing three deep gashes across his back. They were healed as best as cuts made by a carving curse can be healed, but they were a deep purple color that both Asta and Brynjar knew all too well.
"Oh Arvid…" Asta said sympathetically as she got up from her chair and made her way over to where Arvid stood with his back to them.
"Yeah." Arvid said, as he looked over his shoulder and saw Asta right behind him looking at his back. While Brynjar starred from a distance, with an odd look on his face, like he knew something. "After the first cut, she said 'This is for stomping on my fucking hand and helping that little bitch!'" Arvid added, looking at Asta and Brynjar with an expressionless face, noting Asta's expression turning murderous. "Luckily Balder was there and sent her flying back, which gave me enough time to collect myself and go back to fighting."
"Is she still alive?" Asta asked dangerously, as Arvid pulled his shirt back on and spun around to face the crowd behind him.
"Yeah, she is." Arvid said with a smirk as he looked down at Asta who, upon seeing his smirk, softened her expression. "We know better than to kill someone YOU want to kill." Arvid added playfully as he shoved her shoulder, making her smile.
"Good." Asta said as she gave Arvid a small hug, catching Arvid and the rest of the room by surprise. Arvid immediately snapped his head up at Brynjar, who was baring a small smile and nodded in reply to his friends worried look. Arvid lightly wrapped his arms around Asta, and gave her a light squeeze in response to her actions. "I am going to have fun killing that bitch." Asta added as she pulled away and looked up at Arvid, "I'm impressed by the way."
"About what?" Arvid asked with a hint of confusion in his voice, as he looked down at her and around at the other guys, who were smirking at his confusion.
"Really, mate?" Balder asked sarcastically.
"You have no idea what she's talking about?" Eindride asked with a smirk as he crossed his arms.
"What the bloody hell are you all on about?" Arvid asked snippily as he looked around and saw all his friends smiling at him.
"Mate, when you lifted your shirt and showed us the gashes in your back, Asta said 'Oh Arvid' and you didn't reply by saying something piggish." Brynjar said as he leaned his arms on the back of a chair in front of him, looking from Asta to Arvid, who couldn't help but smirk. "I thought I was going to wind up punching you after she said that."
"Yeah mate, I thought for sure you were going to say, 'Give it time and I'll make you scream that phrase.'" Gunnar said with a laugh, turning his attention from Arvid to Brynjar, who was laughing with the rest of his friends.
"I thought for sure he was going to say, 'Damn I'm good! I made you say my name and I haven't even touched you.'" Balder said with a chuckle in his voice.
"I thought for sure I was going to be met with, 'Yeah you like that?'" Asta added, making the whole room laugh.
"Time and place my friends." Arvid stated with a smirk, before turning to look at Brynjar who was still laughing. "And saying something like that to B's girlfriend, is like a death sentence."
"At least you acknowledge that." Brynjar said as he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Oh by the way." Asta said enthusiastically, before punching Arvid in the arm, catching him by surprise.
"Fuck! What was that for?" Arvid demanded as he rubbed the spot where Asta's fist connected to his arm.
"For what you said to Brynjar the day we brought Hermione to get books from my father." Asta said with a smirk, making Arvid go white as a ghost. "Ohhhh, thought I wouldn't hear about that did you?"
"Hey!" Arvid said with pink cheeks. "What do you expect? You two weren't together, and we always used to torment him when you would do shit like that." He added, looking at the guys so they could back him up.
"Mmmmmhmmmm." Asta said with a smirk before making her way towards the sitting room.
"Where are you going?" Brynjar asked, watching her intently as she made her way towards the sitting room. Making a mental note to suggest that Asta wear rompers more often, as he took in how nice her bum looked at the moment.
"Since we are here and clearly not going to do anything until my father comes back out, I'm going to take a shower and get changed." Asta said flatly, as she poked her head around the wall. "Hey B, can you go and get Taylor I have to talk to her about something important." Asta asked with a serious look on her face that made him think she wasn't planning on girl talk with Taylor.
"Sure." Brynjar said kindly as he stood up and made his way towards where Asta was still standing and looking at him. "I still have to thank her anyway." Brynjar said slyly in Asta's ear, making her blush and elbow him in the side, before walking away.
"You're such an ass." Asta laughed as she made her way down the hall to the shower.
Once she got into the bathroom, she locked the door before waving her hand towards the shower, making it turn on and heat up. She leaned on the sink, looking in the mirror with an uncontrollable smile. She waved her hand and her hair came undone, letting her hair fall down her back before she began raking her hand through the plaits on the right side of her head. She took off the sparkling red fabric and starred at it for a moment in her hands, deciding she may keep the dress after all. She carefully folded the material and put it in her pouch, for safe keeping.
As she stepped into the shower, she let out a contented sigh as the warm water ran over her bloodied and battered body, dulling the aches and pains she felt from the events of the night. She reached up on the shelf and pulled down her lavender scented shampoo, and opened the top squeezing a generous amount onto the palm of her hand before replacing the bottle.
"So you finally did the deed, did you?" Taylor said in an excited tone from the other side of the shower curtain.
"Oh Odin! He actually thanked you?" Asta asked in disbelief as she continued lathering her hair, completely calm about the fact that Taylor was in her bathroom while she was showering.
"Oh yes, he was very grateful." Taylor said playfully, as she recalled how Brynjar hugged her and profusely thanked her for sharing her stories with Asta. "Gave me such a bone crushing hug I thought he was going to break my spine!"
Asta laughed at her friend as she rinsed out her hair and reached for her washcloth and soap.
"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Taylor asked in a giggly voice, expecting it to be about her friends experience with the villages most sexy man.
"Two things really." Asta said flatly as she shut the water off and pulled the curtain open and reached for her towel. "First thing is your training, you need to continue training while I'm gone. My father is more than willing to take my place while I'm off with Harry Potter."
"Aaaassssttttaaaaa!" Taylor whined as she threw her head back against the wall, her grey eyes going from playful to angry at the mention of her training. "I don't like fighting! Why are you trying to torment me with this training bullshit?"
"Look, eventually there is going to be a big blow out between the Snakeman and his crew and the light, and we need you to be strong!" Asta said flatly as she flipped her head down and pulled her hair together, before throwing it up in a half-assed bun. "You will be one of our strongest fighters, but you have to keep training! My father knows what to do, he's trained your father, he can train you."
Taylor growled and grumbled unintelligible words under her breath, which Asta took as her submission. Asta pulled clean clothes out of her pouch, and began getting dressed.
"What is the other thing?" Taylor asked as she turned her head to look at her friend, who she noticed acquired a new scar on her side.
"I need you to accompany me somewhere." Asta replied flatly as she buttoned up her shorts, slipped her feet into her boots, before waving her hand towards her feet and watching as her boots laced themselves up. "It will be quick, I just have something I need you to help me with." Asta added as she spritzed on her perfume and put on her deodorant.
"Alright." Taylor said with a shrug as she stood up and followed Asta out of the door, and down the hall. "So where are you…. Taking me." Taylor asked, slowly becoming nervous as she saw all of their friends starring at her and Asta with wide cow eyes as they entered the sitting room.
"B, we fucking hate you." Arvid said, looking as though he was in a trance, slapping Brynjar's arm.
"What are you lot starring at?" Asta asked annoyedly, searching her clothes for holes or stains, but coming up empty. Taylor laughed at her friends naivety and leaned up against the wall, waiting patiently for what was about to come.
"Did you… did you two just come out…. Out of the bathroom together?" Brynjar asked, barely able to form words due to a change in blood flow. "Weren't you… showering?"
"Yes? Was I not supposed to shower?" Asta asked, completely confused by their reaction.
"Alright, I want to get back to my bed so I'm going to speed things along here." Taylor said firmly, moving next to Asta, who was still so confused. "They are all cow eyed, and hiding their cocks because I was in the bathroom with you while you were showering naked. They are all in shock, except for Arvid who is positively having a field day inside his own head." Taylor explained to Asta matter-o-factly, before turning to look at Arvid who still looked like he was in shock. "Arvid, your occlumency skills suck, and you are a pig. Now Asta can we go?"
Asta was looking at her friends with a mixture of amusement and disgust, before snapping back to attention at her friends request to get on with what Asta needed help with.
"Yeah come on." Asta said flatly, before snapping her fingers in front of Brynjar's face to snap him back to reality. She leaned down and whispered something to him before taking Taylors hand and disapparating on the spot.
"Mate we really fucking hate you." Gunnar said flatly before getting to his feet and making his way back into the dining room. Shortly after the other guys followed suit, including Brynjar who finally spoke up.
"So Arvid…." Brynjar began, standing at his full height.
"Oh fuck." Arvid replied, knowing he was most likely in trouble now.
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Next thing Taylor knew they were standing in the middle of a muggle street, dimly lit by street lights.
"Where are we?" Taylor asked nervously as she saw Asta had already started walking away. "Hey!"
They didn't walk for very long before Asta stopped in front of a house, and turned to look at her friend.
"This is where Brynjar and I stayed for a week after we kidnapped Blondie." Asta said flatly as she walked up to the door, and rested her hand upon it to see if Snakeman's crew had been here, and set up traps around the house. Once she felt that there was nothing protecting the house, she cast a quick spell, which was met by nothing. "It's also where Brynjar and I, as you so nicely put it, 'did the deed'." Asta added, knowing that that tidbit of information would be enough to intrigue Taylor.
"Ok, so what are we doing here?" Taylor asked annoyedly, knowing Asta was up to something but could quite figure out what.
"You'll see, come on." Asta said as she opened the door, and walked in to find the house completely trashed. "So they have been here." Asta mumbled quietly, as she looked around and saw the sofa flipped over, the contents of the cabinets strewn about. Luckily what she dragged Taylor here for, was left undamaged on the mantel. "Come on." Asta waved Taylor towards the fireplace, once again casting a quick spell to double check that they were alone, and was met with nothing once again.
"What did you and B do to this place?" Taylor asked with a confused look on her face. "You two are animals!" She added as she looked around the trashed room, wondering why the hell Asta needed her to accompany her here.
"We didn't do this." Asta said firmly, as she turned to face Taylor who was giving her a look of disbelief. "Snakeman's crew did this, after the owner of this house was killed." Asta added, looking at Taylor to see if she caught on. When it became apparent that she didn't understand, Asta continued on. "This book belongs to you." Asta said softly, pointing to the photo album on the matel.
"What?" Taylor asked, her face screwed into a look of confusion as she looked from the book to her friend. "That's not mine. I don't even know whose house this was. How could that book be mine?" Taylor asked incredulously, annoyed that she had been woken out of bed to be dragged along to get a book that isn't even hers.
"Taylor." Asta said firmly, leveling her friend with a stern, serious look. "This house belonged to YOUR father." Asta continued, watching what color Taylor had in her face drain away. "Surely you heard by now that there is a man hunt going on for the coward responsible for Alastor's death?" Asta added, reaching her hand out to stroke her friends arm comfortingly.
"He's… he's gone?" Taylor asked in a whisper as she sunk down onto the upside-down sofa. "No one told me… I can't believe this." Taylor said more to herself than anyone else, as a tear fell from her eye.
"Are you going to be ok Taylor?" Asta asked sincerely sinking down next to her friend.
"I know I never really got to see him, but just knowing he was still out there was comforting. Now he's really gone, and… and I'll never get to see him." Taylor said shakily as she wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. "Why did you bring me here?" Taylor asked sadly, as she turned her head to look at Asta for an answer.
"I told you, that book is yours." Asta said softly, gesturing towards the photo album once again. "No one but you and your father can take that book. When I came to talk with Alastor about using his house as a refuge, he asked me that if anything should happen to him that I make sure that you get this book. It was really important to him that you get this."
Taylor couldn't believe that the man who walked out on her and her mother, that had never made any effort to see her or reach out to her, left something for her to have. But why a photo album? What pictures could he possibly have that she would want?
"Have you seen the pictures in the book?" Taylor asked, looking at the photo album with a hint of interest.
"No I haven't." Asta said with a small smile. "Do you honestly think that Alastor would sit me down and show me pictures?" Asta joked, nudging Taylor's arm with her own, making Taylor laugh slightly.
"Alright, I'll take it." Taylor said finally as she stood up and grabbed the book off the mantel. "But I'm not looking at it tonight. I just want to go back home." Taylor said with a pleading look at her friend.
"Alright, let's go." Asta said sweetly, weaving her arm through Taylors as they made their way out of the house, disapparating as soon as they got outside the door.
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The seven guys were gathered around the dining room table, still stuck on the fact that Taylor saw Asta naked.
"It makes you wonder, how many times have they seen each other naked?" Colborn said entranced in thought.
"Well we all know what Arvid AND Brynjar are thinking." Balder said with a smirk, crossing his arms as he looked at his friends. "Have they experimented with each other."
The whole room erupted with laughter, even Brynjar was laughing, despite the ache he was feeling below his belt at the mere thought.
"I highly doubt that they have experimented you twats." Brynjar said huskily, unable to keep the erotic images out of his head.
"You would be correct too." Asta said as she settled herself on Brynjar's lap, smirking as she felt something hard under her bum. Wriggling her hips a little against his erection, making his breath hitch and his arms tighten around her waist.
"You're being mean, you little minx." Brynjar growled huskily in her ear, making her shiver. "I can be mean to you know." Brynjar whispered seductively, before placing a kiss on the back of her neck, making her writhe on his lap.
"Alright, alright." Balder said loudly, with a chuckle as he threw a handful of grapes at the two lovebirds. "I do not need to see you two going at it." He added as he waved his hand and vanished the grapes from the floor.
"We have self-control." Asta said a bored expression on her face as she got off Brynjar's lap and made her way towards the food table.
"Speak for yourself." Brynjar laughed as he looked around at his friends with a smirk, and earning him an amused look from Asta.
"You would have some self-control if you weren't fantasizing about Taylor and me grinding on each other." Asta said exasperatedly, as she looked around at each of the boys and saw the intrigued glint in their eyes.
"Yeah see, I would have no self-control whether those images were implanted in my head or not." Brynjar said cheekily, winking at Asta who rolled her eyes in response.
A short time later they heard a door open and close down the hall, and immediately moved into their seats and watched as Abraxus, Astrid and Malfoy came back into the room. As Malfoy came back into the room, both Brynjar and Asta shot to their feet when they saw his cast was gone.
"What happened? Where is your cast?" Asta demanded nervously, as Brynjar looked up at the ceiling trying to see if he could sense any presence from above.
"Relax!" Abraxus commanded, earning him everyone attention. "Show them your arm." Abraxus ordered Malfoy sternly.
Malfoy stepped in front of Asta and Brynjar and rolled up his sleeve to show them a bare arm. Malfoy's dark mark was gone, completely gone. Asta and Brynjar looked from Malfoy's bare arm to Abraxus in shock.
"How?" Asta asked as she reached out and grabbed Malfoy's arm, pulling it closer to her face to inspect it.
"Very complicated charm and curse work." Abraxus said sternly as he watched his daughter scrutinize his work. "You can touch his arm and nothing will happen, there is no residual effects from the brand either. Dark magic created the mark, and dark magic destroyed it."
The eight young Viking's looked at the King with a collective look of shock on their faces. Brynjar looked from to King to his mother, who nodded and smiled to her son that everything was ok.
"So he can't call his family or the other Death Eaters?" Asta asked curiously as she looked back down at Malfoy's arm.
"No he can't." Abraxus said as he sent his books back to his study, almost hitting Cuyler in the face on their path back to their room. "It is as though he never had the mark at all. Now," Abraxus began, looking around at each of the people in the room, "I have questioned the boy and believe I have enough information, thanks to Mr Malfoy, to start a little retaliation."
"Beautiful!" Brynjar said sarcastically, as he threw his hands into the air. "We now have enough information to plot a retaliation stack and we," Brynjar paused to gesture between himself and Asta, "are already booked!"
Asta and the others laughed at Brynjar's little tantrum. The six young mean found themselves a seat, while Asta pulled Malfoy and Brynjar towards the sitting room.
"Come on grumpy, we should be heading back to safehouse." Asta said playfully shoving Brynjar towards his mother, before going to give her own father a hug and kiss.
Malfoy made his way out to the sitting room and saw the pretty blonde girl that got Asta to sing last week sitting on the sofa, starring at a large photo album. Malfoy looked from the pretty blonde girl to the group in the other room, and decided to take a chance and talk to the girl.
"You don't look very happy about the retaliation, is everything alright?" Malfoy asked smoothly, catching Taylor by surprise and making her jump slightly. "Taylor, right?" Malfoy asked as he sat himself a little ways away from her on the sofa.
"Oh, um, I'm not as into fighting as those guys are." Taylor replied sheepishly, as she swiped tears away from her eyes.
"Hey, hey, why are you crying? A beautiful girl like you should never cry, what's wrong?" Malfoy said sweetly as he dug in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to offer to her.
Taylor laughed weakly at his flattery before thanking him for his kindness, and taking his handkerchief to dab her eyes with.
"What's your real name?" Taylor sniffed, before handing Malfoy his handkerchief back. "I know your last name is Malfoy, but other than that I've only heard you be called Blondie."
"Draco." Malfoy said with a smile. "So why the tears?" Malfoy asked as he rubbed Taylor's arm gently in an attempt to comfort her.
"Oh um, I was just told that my father…. My birth father, that is…. Well that he passed away." Taylor choked out, with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.
Malfoy handed her his handkerchief once again, which she took gratefully and attempted to wipe the tears away, but they just kept falling.
"Th-thank you, you're very sweet." Taylor said in between sobs, giving Malfoy a half-hearted smile.
"Of course. I'm sorry for your loss, I'm sure your father was a great man." Malfoy said sympathetically, as he rubbed small circles on her back.
"Actually, I think he taught at your school at one point, Alastor." Taylor said sadly, dabbing her eyes again with his handkerchief.
Malfoy looked as though someone had told him they never heard of Malfoy Inc. How could this beautiful creature come from someone as rugged and beat up as Mad-eye?
"Wait, Mad-eye is, I mean was, your father?" Malfoy asked, surveying Taylor closely to see if he could see the resemblance. He looked at her eyes and couldn't believe how he missed it. She has the same color eyes as Mad-eye, well he only had the one eye, but still.
"Mad-eye? Is that what everyone calls him?" Taylor asked with a mortified look on her face. "Why would you all call him Mad-eye?" Taylor asked, slightly nervous to hear the answer.
"What do you mean? I thought you said he was your father?" Malfoy asked, monumentally confused as to how she didn't know why her father was called Mad-eye.
"He is my birth father, but he abandoned my mother and me when I was still an infant." Taylor began to explain, wiping her eyes as the tears began to flow again. "I haven't seen him since the day he…. he left us, and I was too yo… young to remember what he looked like. I… I've only ever seen…. photographs of him when he and my mom were st… still together." Taylor explained in between sobs.
Malfoy felt like a complete dunce. How could a man abandon his wife and young daughter? He wished he had known this so he could have avoided upsetting her like this.
"I'm sorry Taylor, I didn't know." Malfoy said sincerely as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze before realizing he doesn't know her well enough, and is probably crossing some sort of line he will regret later. "Sorry, we don't know each other well enough for me to have done that. I certainly don't want your boyfriend to come after me, I don't think I stand a chance against whoever he is." Malfoy added as he looked into the dining room at the group of massive guys, and shuddered at the thought of one of them coming after him.
"Oh, I don't have a boyfriend anymore." Taylor said with a smirk as she looked down at the handkerchief in her hands. "He broke up with me because he said my spirits to dark." Taylor explained, looking at Malfoy out of the corner of her eye to see his reaction. She was pleased to see that he didn't seem off put by what she said.
"What do you mean to dark?" Malfoy asked, both confused and intrigued.
"The music I write and the way I normally dress seems to unnerve most people." Taylor explained nervously as she handed Malfoy his handkerchief back, but he pushed her hands back onto her book.
"Keep it, I have at least fifty others back at the manor." Malfoy said sweetly as he looked at their hands that were still touching, before looking up at Taylor with a small smile. "I like the way you dress by the way, there is nothing wrong with wearing all black." Malfoy added just as Asta came into the sitting room.
"Hey Blondie, we are heading out now, let's go." Asta said as she pulled Brynjar with her in behind her. "I hope he wasn't bothering you Taylor."
"No he wasn't bothering me at all." Taylor replied with a small smile that made Malfoy blush a little. "I hope I get to see you again when this whole Snakeman thing is all over Draco." Taylor said as she leaned over and gave Malfoy a hug that caught him off guard.
"I would like that very much." Malfoy replied as he got to his feet and made his way over to Asta and Brynjar, wishing he could just stay and talk to Taylor.
Taylor winked at Malfoy before turning to Asta and Brynjar, hugging each of them before saying, "Be nice to him, he's cute." Asta looked at her friend like she grew another three heads, while Brynjar just chuckled and shook his head.
"We'll try." Brynjar said with a laugh, as the King called for Taylor to join them in the dining room, making Taylor sigh.
"I'm never going to get to go back to bed am I?" She whined as she set her book down on the sofa before making her way towards the dining room. "Good luck guys, please be careful." She added before crossing into the dining room, bowing slightly before the King.
"Alright you two," Brynjar said as he wrapped his arm around Asta's waist and taking Malfoy's hand, "let's get back to our temporary home shall we?"
And with that they were gone once again.