A/N: You know the drill. However, I am still attempting to talk Jason into letting me borrow him for a while.

Naxxus Deoria stood upon the grave of the man she came here to see. She had a purpose, and it needed to be fulfilled before the week was over.

Before tomorrow, at least.

She studied the large black marble stone in front of her, and sighed. She hated waking them from their eternal sleep, but this one, she needed the chance to confirm everything.

And he, she knew, would be the only one with the answers.

Naxxus looked up into the night sky, noted the stars, and saluted the moon, then returned her gaze to the stone before her. Best to get on with it, before morning came. And besides, she reasoned, this only worked under a full moon, and when the night was at it's peak...midnight.

She grouched down, and traced her fingers along the name on the stone. This one had been dead a long time...

Abraxus Malfoy.

She let her fingers linger on the last name, then straightened up again.

It was time, to meet the man, who had spawned the new Dark Lord.

Naxxus' arms went wide, her palms up to the night sky, and arching her back, she cried unto the still air.

"Abraxus Malfoy! Come forth from your eternal sleep! I demand your presence here tonight, for I have questions, only you can answer!"

She finished the summoning, and waited.

For a moment she thought nothing would happen, but then she felt the ground under her feet tremble. She closed her eyes, and willed the spirit of Abraxus to rise and come forth. And then...

..she opened her eyes, to see him standing before her, and she gasped aloud.

The man before her was of a slight build, with long silver hair and cold, piercing grey eyes...he did not look a day over sixty, though she knew him to have died, at a much younger age. He sneered angrily at her.

Who is foolish enough to call me from my rest?" his voice was frozen and harsh.

She grinned ever so slightly at him.

"I, am Naxxus Deoria."

He laughed at this.

"Ah, so you are one of that House?"

She nodded.

"Yes, I am."

He laughed again.

"Yes, imprisoners for the devil, but purebloods nonetheless."

Naxxus shifted her weight a bit and grinned at him.

"As you wish." she nodded her head to him.

He came closer, and standing with his arms folded against his chest, he questioned her.

"You are here for a reason? The Deoria's do not go bandering about in graveyards for no reason. Unless, of course, they have changed since I last had the pleasure of seeing them?"

Naxxus' eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes Abraxus, I am here for a reason. As for the Deoria's bandering about anywhere for no reason, that is not of your concern. What I am here for, is the only concern you have."

He snickered at her coolly.

"And your reason for dragging me from my coffin? I do hope this will be of particular interest to me?"

She nodded impatiently at him.

"But of course it will be of interest to you! Being it's because of the pledge you made with Tobias Knight!"

He stared at her for a moment.

"Yes..."

She took this to be his answer, but waited a moment, before she spoke.

"Abraxus, a week from tomorrow, I am to perform the last part of the pledge. The Dark Vow, will finally be consumated."

Abraxus studied her silently. He looked as if he could not have hoped for anything but that...as if, he had been waiting for this news, but had had the unfortunate problem of dying.

"Do you mean to tell me, that my son, will finally claim what is rightfully his? He will finally pledge himself to Tobias' daughter, after all these years?"

Naxxus nodded, but did not speak.

Abraxus smiled thoughtfully.

"Ah yes, finally...after making an utter fool of himself with that Black woman!"

"You have a grandson from that union..." Naxxus offered.

Abraxus laughed shrilly.

"The ONLY good thing from that foul union, if you ask me!"

"And that, of course, angered you?"

He snarled at her from the depths of the darkness.

"As it did Tobias Knight! Oh that fool son of mine...he knew, oh yes, he did know! He knew, that when the girl came of age, he would be married to her and the Dark Vow initated! But no, he went off and dallied with that creature! That vain and foully loathsome creature! My grandson, Draco...he is the only good that came of it."

Abraxus stopped and stared at her.

"And you, Naxxus? What do you think of my son?"

She looked back at him in cold disdain.

"I do not think of your son, at all."

Abraxus laughed.

"You do not like Lucius, do you?"

Like him? She could not even bring herself to tolerate him, let alone, like him.

"He is a foul, evil man, Abraxus."

He smiled.

"Hmm yes, that is my son to the letter! But, you don not like him even a small bit?"

"I would rather be thrown into a pits of Hades itself, before I ever liked Lucius Malfoy." she growled coldly.

Abraxus laughed a bit more, then moved in closer and smiled.

"My dear Naxxus! If you ever got involved with my son, that is exactly where you would be!"

Naxxus glared at him briefly, before arriving at what she had come here for.

"The Vow will be performed a week from tomorrow...the marriage is tomorrow evening...in one week's time, Abraxus, you will witness the completion of the Dark Vow."

He looked at her coldly.

"I will witness it? How is that?"

She smiled.

"It will be here, right where we stand...to be performed upon the grave of the Dark Lord's father..."

Abraxus cut her off quickly.

"The Dark Lord? Do you mean Voldemort's father's grave?"

She shook her head.

"No, I do not mean him, or his father..."

"Then who is the Dark Lord, if not Voldemort? Surely, you cannot mean my son?"

Naxxus nodded.

"Yes, that is your son."

"But how? I..." he fell silent, trying to reason out this new reign.

She grinned ruefully.

"Voldemort has been gone for some time now, and your son, Lucius, had been his right hand man..right there in the inner circle of Deatheaters. He was sent to Azkaban for a disaster at the Ministry. By the time he was released, Voldemort was gone."

Abraxus mulled this over for a second, then smiled.

"Narcissa?"

"Gone."

"Dumbledore?"

"Gone, as well."

He grew silent again.

"And my son?"

Naxxus's face blanched to a slight flush, but went pale once more, before Abraxus could see it.

"Is now, the Dark Lord."

She waited.

Abraxus chuckled.

"The Deatheaters?"

"They follow Lucius now."

He nodded.

"Good, perhaps finally achieving some real power, will allow my son to change."

It was her turn to laugh.

"Change? Oh my dear Abraxus! He is still much the same, though he has become much more cold, cunning and," she snarled at him, "Deadly and vile."

Then, without warning, a little voice inside her said...

~"But that, Naxxus, is what you so desire of him, is it not? Do you dare to deny, that you, a Deoria, would stoop to being bedded by Lucius Malfoy? You cannot hide the truth from Eliah and you wwill not be able to hide it from Lucius."~

She cringed at the voice, but quickly pushed it away.

She forbid herself to even imagine him, as anything but the Dark Lord, the betrothed of her friend, and the foul, evil and cold bastard that he was.

She laughed.

"I am finished here, Abraxus. In one week's time, I will return...to bind Lucius and Eliah for eternity. I do hope, that you will look upon that union with more favour, then you did his first one?"

Abraxus nodded.

"Oh yes, of course. He could not use the Vow with that creature, so we were still safe there...yes, I will give this one, my full blessing. And, you can tell my son I said as much."

Naxxus sneered at him.

"You, can tell him yourself. I will have nothing to do with him, save to perform the Vow. And after it is done, I will leave, as I am leaving now...go to your rest, Abraxus, and think of what you will say to Lucius when you see him."

Naxxus turned and fled the graveyard without another word.

Abraxus stared after her. He smiled slowly.

"Oh there will be words spoken to my son, my dear Madame Deoria, but I will leave that, for you to discover."

He laughed coldly, and faded into the misty darkness.