A/N: Beta'd by my loverly friend Thecookiemomma. Any and all remaining mistakes are completely mine. .

This place reeks of muggle. It quite truthfully offends my sensibilities. How any of them could stand to live here—or for that matter, even to meet here—is truthfully beyond me. I wouldn't have my house elves living in a place like this. It's a disgrace.

More's the pity that we've missed them. It can't be more than a day they've been gone. By the look of things, they left in quite a hurry. It's almost pitiful to have wasted all this effort for a filthy, empty, rotting house. Cissa may have attachments to this hovel, but I certainly care nothing for it. If I had my way, we'd be out of here by now, but my Lord has instructed that we must be thorough and so thorough we shall be.

I can offend my sensibilities to avoid the Cruciatus curse, at least for a little while.

The four with me are my own friends; comrades picked from the hooded masses because I can trust them not to fuck up when it counts.

What? That's high praise from a Malfoy.

This old, decaying house seems to sigh relief as the five Death Eaters cross her threshold, nevermind the fact that her front door has been thrown into the hall closet, she is saved from the mudbloods and blood traitors. The portrait, Mrs. Black in all her splendor, says nothing, merely nodding a chill approval as two of the men climb the stairs just past her. They return the courtesy, as any mannered man should.

In her life, it was a privilege indeed to earn such condescension from the Lady Black. Why should it be any different in her death?

Perhaps now she'll get some peace… Or, not.

All hope of that is shattered when an upstairs room is checked, only to end in a shout of alarm and a hurried yell.

"Lucius!" It's Crabbe's voice, dim and deep and frightened. The blond wizard springs into action, flying up the stairs towards the voice, wand out and ready. Finally, some action! His glee fades as he rounds into the room only to find the man has been scared by an overlarge cat. He is about to put the thing down for good when Typhon Zabini comes up behind him and lays a staying hand on his wand arm.

"Wait, just one moment, Lucius…" The Malfoy Lord nods once and lowers his wand, watching with chill grey eyes as his friend approaches the beast and carefully untangles it from the curtains it somehow managed to bind itself in. As he does so, it wakes, blinking several times before turning to eye Typhon before pulling itself out of the mess and stretching. Lucius' breath catches in his chest. This is no overlarge house cat… This is a sleek, black panther and by the looks of it as it—he, as it soon becomes apparent—moves carefully among the group, sniffing each before choosing to sit before Lucius, chin lifted proudly as his tail curls around his legs.

"How appropriate!" he exclaims with a chuckle, daring to reach out and rub the beast behind the ears—which is much appreciated—while his eyes gain a calculating gleam to them. "Gentlemen," he begins. "I believe we may have stumbled upon a choice bit of luck." One look at Typhon confirms his thoughts lie in a similar direction.

"How fortunate."

Such strange men these are. They smell of death, they taste of luxury and they know just that place behind my ear that I can't quite reach. One of them seems…familiar to me. A small piece of my mind screams that he means trouble, danger and that I should attack and then run. But that is not my way and there's nothing in my gut, in my first, foremost and primal instincts that says I should fear these men at all.

They spoke to me civilly, each in their turn. Except for that fat one, he attempted some crude type of 'baby talk'. Thankfully one growl was enough to curb that habit quite quickly.

They seem enamored of me, surprised by my intelligence and it honestly makes me wonder why I bother with them at all. Such silly creatures, these C'alu. They do have rather nice modes of transportation though, these particular males. Very efficient. I approve. It isn't long before we arrive at a grand house that reminds me quite a bit of the northern gardens at home. It's what they call manor style I ithink/i. I wasn't paying very close attention during the lesson on C'alu culture and architecture. It all seemed so…silly at the time.

A young one tramples down the left staircase indoors to meet us, only to pause at the foot and collect himself. I approve, with all my instinct, but the hatred that comes from the C'alu part of my mind is overwhelming. It's unfounded and stupid, but when I growl low in my throat, the one with me only appears amused. He and the young smell alike. Father and cub, if I don't miss my guess.

"Father," the cub greets. I didn't miss my guess.

"Draco." My nose wrinkles back in confusion. I've not seen family greet each other so coldly since the last fight Mi'iat had with her—oh! That must be it. Quite simple, really. Family spats sort themselves out in the end. Or they don't. Either way, it's nothing for me to be bothered by, so I let them be in favor of exploring my surroundings.

Apparently I should have waited for an invitation.

"Father, where did you find him?"

The looks they send my way really are priceless. I can't help but rumble my amusement.

"The raid this morning. Those fools left him tangled in a mess of one of the upstairs rooms. No food, no water." The tone of the man's—Lucius I think—voice surprises me. He doesn't seem the sort to be angry over trifles, but he is definitely irritated at the least.

"Fools," his son spits vehemently. "Their loss."

There's a moment of silence then and I can feel both pairs of eyes on me as I pad up the stairs, pausing to inspect a passing house elf. I'm nearly to the top landing when the cub speaks again, but this time, he's earned my full attention.

"What's to be done with him, Father? He looks quite valuable." Lucius grins rather wickedly. Definitely a predator. Good. I don't like prey unless it's on a dish or bleeding into my mouth.

"More than quite, Draco." Lucius turns to watch me watching him, a staring contest he seems only mildly surprised to lose. "I believe he may have some Shae in him." Draco's eyes widen in shock, his mouth falling open.

"But I thought they were only a myth!" he hisses to his father. I can almost see the cogs turning in his head.

"All myths have their base in fact, Draco. They start from the smallest embellishments on a tale and grow with each retelling." He nods to himself, satisfied. "No, this one is too intelligent to be ijust/i a jungle cat. He will make a fine gift for our Lord."

A gift, am I? Interesting… I've never ibeen/i someone's gift before. Could be entertaining… Not what I'm technically here to do, but still…

A snort from down below catches my attention again. "And our Lord's…familiar won't kill him?" It's Draco's doubting. I can hear the slight lilt to his voice that is missing in his father's.

"Nagini? I don't claim to understand the mind of a serpent, Draco…" Lucius turns from his observation of me and leans his cane against the wall. "But that would be a fight to see."

A fight? A fight he believes I might not win? As I explore the upper halls of this manor house I realize that this definitely settles it. Who knows? This 'serpent' could become a valuable ally if she's as good a fighter as it would seem. And besides, I'm technically not breaking any rules…

They never said I couldn't be someone's gift.

I hate springtime. I hate it with the red hot intensity of a thousand suns. But what is even worse than spring is failure. I will not stand for it!

Pacing back and forth across the floor of my study, I roll the problem over and over in my mind. Lucius has failed to bring me the deaths, the captives, the information I asked for! Yet if the reports are to be believed, it wasn't entirely his failing. Someone must have tipped them off…

Yet another problem for me to deal with. Wonderful.

I find, when I surface from the rabbit-trail of thought that revelation led me to, that my left hand is curled around my wand handle and my posture is tense. The wards. Someone must have triggered the wards. Without the pull I exert on their Dark Marks, the only two powerful enough to pass them are Severus and Lucius. Snarling, I scatter a stack of parchment from my desk to the floor, eyeing it with satisfaction and secure in the knowledge that I don't have to straighten it. Let some miserable house elf handle the mess. It's what they live for.

Hallways in this house are so inverted and convoluted that it would take a lifetime to learn them all by heart. Thankfully, I've had a lifetime. Several, in fact, if a few things are taken into account…

The doors to my throne room are large and foreboding. Funny that I notice this now, they've been this way since before my first rise to power. I reach out one hand to force them apart, but something gives me pause. For a long time now I've been attuned to Fate, to Time and to Chance. It stole a part of my humanity from me, but it was more than a fair trade. It's helped me survive this long.

I can feel it now, that itch at the back of my head, right where skull meets spine. The itch and the burn that means change, most often big change. If I step through these doors now…

As horridly cliché as it sounds, my life will be changed forever. Whether for good or for ill, I never know, but in this manner I am given a choice. I can choose to step back, to walk away from these doors and continue as I am, on the path I've been walking these past three years or I can choose to fling open these doors and embrace whatever new die I've been tossed.

As if there ever was a doubt.

In my grand style, the doors burst open, cushioned in their meeting the walls to either side so they don't close again before my command. Swiftly I move into the room, sweeping the room with my eyes and getting a little thrill as the two men in the room instantly drop to their knees. How odd that they should be so close to my seat. The smart ones usually stay back. Whipping my entire body around to face them, their motive suddenly becomes clear.

There, lounging in my throne as if it belonged to him, is a rather large black jungle cat. He meets my stare evenly, no challenge, nor fear in his gaze. For long, untold minutes we stare until I finally find the need to blink.

I've lost.

I never lose. Not to anyone

Furious, I make to draw my wand, heedless of the small sounds of distress from the two men still kneeling. No beast may defeat me and live. But he does the strangest thing. He sees me draw my wand I'm sure, but instead of moving quickly as if he knows the threat, his motions are slow and languid. He stretches once, as any cat would, then lifts one shoulder in…a shrug and ambles down off the chair.

Yes, he could challenge me, but he won't.

"Why?" For a moment I don't realize I've spoken aloud.

"A gift, Lord. We found him bound and locked in a room of their Headquarters. He was left behind, my Lord." I've always enjoyed listening to Lucius speak. He holds enough deference in his tone without groveling or whining as most do. It is refreshing in my ranks to have a follower I can respect. There are so very few.

"Did you check him?" I ask coolly. "He's far too intelligent to be a simple feline." An…amused snort from the beast himself seems to agree with me and my eyes narrow.

"Yes, my Lord. He is what he appears to be. There is no trace of the Animagi about him." I inhale to further the question and he continues, saving me the effort of speaking. "Nor of any potion or spell, my Lord."

There is a pause then, my second-in-command is hesitating and that amuses me. Moving to reclaim my now empty throne, I glance to my side only to see the beast seated on the dais next to me, studying me with his intense green eyes. "Speak, Lucius. It is obvious you have more to say." His son—for that is who the second man is—coughs to hide his short burst of laughter at that. It was meant to be amused, so I do not Crucio him.

"I believe, Lord, that he may possess the blood of the Shae in him to some degree."

Interesting… This beast has suddenly gained more value.

"Lucius, if you have truly brought me one of the Shae, you shall be greatly rewarded." I let that information fall over the air. He knows the alternative. I can see it in his face. "There is one way to find out. Send your son home, Lucius." Young Draco appears instantly alarmed, but he covers it well. I approve. The youth rises, bows once more and then sweeps from the room.

"Beast," I address the jungle cat now. He flicks an ear, still watching me. "It is said that your kind can sense a traitor. Is this true?" He seems to consider this a moment and nods, one shoulder risen as well. Such strange body language he uses. It's as if he means to emulate ours, but it is tainted with his own. "Excellent, that is what you shall do. Lucius, your arm."

He stands and opens his sleeve to offer me his Mark. He hides his hiss of pain well. I really will have to let Wormtail here again. It's his one use, really. Can't even let him spy without Nagini watching his every move. How disappointing.

Once the doors are closed and the others are called, Lucius moves to stand at my left, his usual place now taken by the beast he's brought me. It doesn't take them long to appear and this time, even Severus is able to answer. Excellent. Now we'll have that answer once and for all. As each one arrives, they fall to their knees in their appointed place within the circle. It makes it easy to tell who is missing. Once they are all assembled, I glance down to the beast and make a small gesture towards them. He rises and pads down towards the group at a lazy jog. Once within the circle, however, his entire form changes. He's no longer languid and easy-going. He is a predator, hunting. It's a beautiful thing to watch, when precious little is left to me to be beautiful.

Goyle, McNair, Dolohov, Zabini, Lestrange, Hayes, Parkinson, Nott, all of them he passes by with ease. My loyal circle. At Severus he stops and I lean forward to watch closely. He raises one forepaw to push up at the man's chin until he can look him in the eyes. They stare at each other for a long moment before the creature seems satisfied. More than satisfied, apparently. He brushes his muzzle along the man's neck affectionately and Severus just barely cracks a smile. Puzzling, but there's little time to dwell on it. The beast moves on.

He doesn't stop again until he reaches the second-to-last within the circle. Weasley, Percy. This time, he lifts the chin and stares into the man's eyes for only a moment before snarling viciously and pouncing, bowling the man over and pinning him to the floor before turning towards me with a fierce look and stepping off and padding lazily back to sit at my right.

There is my traitor.

With a flick of my wand, he is bound and sent to the dungeons below.

"Dismissed," I hiss to the others and watch with satisfaction as they all scramble to leave, to be away. A snort to my right catches my attention as the last of them Disapparates away. "You disapprove?" I ask him quietly, one brow raised. I receive only his shaking out his hide in response. I turn to Lucius then, only to find him pale-faced.

"My Lord…I had received reports that there was a hole within the Ministry. We had narrowed it down to either Weasley or Hayes but this morning."

I find myself chuckling, one hand reaching to stroke the soft fur on the jungle beast's neck. "So you are a Shae, then; at least in part. How fortunate." I turn back to my only human company then, fingers still rubbing just behind the cat's ears. "What is he called, Lucius?"

"He isn't, my Lord. There was no identification at their Headquarters and we have given him no name ourselves."

"Intriguing… Do you have a name, beast?" He nods once then leans into my fingers. "What is it?" He stills completely and turns to look up at me incredulously and I can nearly hear him ask if I truly am a moron.

I laugh. I cannot help it. Someone who does not fear me, but does not challenge me… It is not something I had ever expected to find. I realize I'm very much enjoying it.

"As if you could tell me. Very well then. You shall be Arikeir, the only lion in my den of serpents." The black feline tilts his head, as if he's considering it, then nods and yawns before standing and padding out towards the doors. "Lucius, you are dismissed. I'll call for you—Merlin's beard…" There isn't much left in this world at all that will surprise me, but watching the doors swing open soundlessly for the mysterious black beast is certainly unexpected. One look at Lucius proves I'm not imagining things. The pureblooded aristocrat is paler even than before. Somehow that makes me feel better. Standing, I turn to follow, glancing back over my shoulder in amusement.

"Close your mouth, Lucius, that's extremely undignified."