7th, Dark Lord Ascending: Raczidian the Peacock
Catty Engles
The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men's footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again, pointing it over his companion's head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge.
"He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks…" Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort.
Raczidian the Peacock belonged to Abraxus Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's father and Draco Malfoy's grandfather. The peacock was as foul tempered and as vicious as his master, and in a fashion suiting his disposition, Raczidian came in to Abraxus's possession through trickery and malice.
This particular peacock, however, was more than just a rare, expensive, majestic bird. It had a history that was entrenched in dark magic, which, of course, made Abraxus even more affectionately fond of it.
The wizard smuggled the peacock away from a muggle actress's estate in the south of London after hearing about its existence through his regular dose of gossip from his Ministry of Magic connections.
Apparently, the Spirit Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was alerted to the existence of an unnaturally behaving peacock that was a pure, pearly white.
A wizard, Alfred Brimble of Kingston, reported the incident, swearing that he saw the peacock walk through a garden wall as Alfred was on a stroll home after a trip to a neighbors. Upon sighting Alfred, the bird fiercely pursue him down the main thoroughfare of town while floating six inches off the ground and screaming horribly until Brimble overturned a garbage bin in the peacock's path and mice went scurrying over the path—only then did the peacock give a mighty screech and wheel away.
The Spirit and the Beast division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures argued hotly over whose jurisdiction the rogue peacock fell under. The Beast Division strongly affirmed that a floating, semi-solid being was obviously a ghost, and the Spirit Division stated plainly that there has never been a known existence of any type of animal leaving behind a ghostly imprint of themselves. What unfinished business might a peacock have on the earthly plains?
Obliviators were eventually dispatched under joint care of the Beast and Spirit Divisions to deal with the case, but the peacock was found to be thoroughly ordinary, and no other witnesses to the event were ever found. As far as the Ministry was concerned, that was that.
Abraxus Malfoy heard all, but understood much more than those around him.
As it turns out, Abraxus Malfoy, was a student of genealogy, as many pure-blood witches and wizards are, since they take such pride in their ancestry. In Abraxus's research, he had learned that Alfred Brimble was a direct descendent of Eliana Brimble, a witch famous for her beauty and good-nature, and desired by the dark wizard Raczidian.
Abraxus Malfoy had certain suspicions about the peacock, and so, lured the muggles who owned him away from their home with an invitation to a grand soiree at a location that would lead their car down a road crowded with devil's snare and a swamp he had conjured (perhaps a precursor to the Portable Swamps of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fame).
Once alone in the estate, Abraxus tested his theory by introducing the peacock to a mouse—the bird reacted so violently, pecking at it furiously before displaying the behavior Alfred Brimble had stated of moving at an alarming speed while hovering six inches off of the ground that Abraxus knew his suspicions were confirmed. He caught the bird and transported it to his home, Malfoy Manor.
While this behavior may be perceived as strange, even deranged. Abraxus Malfway was perfectly sane in his magically logical explanation. Abraxus had hypothesized that this peacock was the remnant of the dark wizard, Raczidian who had lived in a dark forest many centuries ago and desired the beautiful Eliana Brimble, Alfred Brimble's ancestor.
When her family denied him her hand, Raczidian set Dementors upon the town. The entire village fought back with their assorted Patronuses. The battle turned in Raczidian's favor. It seemed that the Dementors would overwhelm the villager's effort until a small boy named Illyius, who had been told to sit out of the fighting, joined the fray. His Patronus was a diminutive mouse, but it shone so brightly and pure that it turned the tides against the Dementors and won the battle.
In the end, Illyius and Eliana were wed and Raczidian had perished when he tried to fight back with his own Patronus. He had forgotten that only wizards who are pure of heart may cast a Patronus, and when he tried the spell, it backfired, producing maggots instead which consumed him.
This is where the common story ends for most wizarding mothers and fathers who tell cautionary tales to their offspring, but Abraxus had gone further.
The one fact of this story that was lost to history, that Abraxus had uncovered with his own patient research… is that some of the villagers swore, in the fleeting moment before turning to flesh-eating maggots, the unformed Patronus of Raczidian took the shape of… a peacock.
This peacock that was now in Abraxus's possession was the remnant of Raczidian's spirit. Abraxus was sure of it, though he was not sure of how this phenomenon had come to be.
Abraxus, evil though he was, had no knowledge of the existence of horcruxes (as his son after him was similarly ignorant, hence Lucius Malfoy's treatment of Riddle's Diary). It is possible the peacock is a horcrux. It is possible it is an extension of the curse of the Patronus that resulted in Raczidian. It is possible that it is part ghost, part peacock, part backfired magical experiment gone wrong. The exact magical explanation will never be discovered, but Abraxus was right: the remains of Raczidian exist within the hateful bird.
Abraxus adored the him, and the peacock felt the same about Abraxus. Raczidian would follow the wizard everywhere, and Abraxus dotingly cared for it. It may have been the only thing Abraxus ever truly loved. Abraxus brought more peacocks on to his property to keep Raczidian company, sparking a new Malfoy tradition. But while these birds came and went with old age, Raczidian edured. He even outlived Abraxus.
Raczidian was the only living creature allowed by Abraxus's deathbed when he was suffering from dragon pox. The bird hissed at anyone that tried to come near, including Lucius. Abraxus found this enormously amusing.
Lucius remembers many times when Abraxus would set the peacock on him if Lucius had been caught misbehaving. He has scars on his ears that would not be healed by magic, reminders of Raczidian's ferocious attacks. This is one of the reasons why Lucius Malfoy always wears his hair long. If ever asked about his scars, Lucius would tell a harrowing tale of a run in with a cockatrice in Spain.
Even after Abraxus's death, the peacock has lingered at the Malfoy's estate, prowling the grave of his former master and keeping watch over the iron gates that guard Malfoy Manor, attacking those who might wish to do the Malfoys harm in memory of his former owner, but he couldn't resist still nipping at Lucius and Draco any chance he could get.
Presently, Raczidian has taken an immense liking to Narcissa Malfoy who feeds him chopped up mice, his favorite snack, the bloodier the better.
Draco Malfoy has always been terrified of the bird. Its shrieks are inhuman—the stuff of nightmares. As a young 3rd year, in Remus Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Draco Malfoy's boggart took the shape of this peacock from his childhood, earning him much ribbing and teasing from his fellow classmates.
If Draco met a boggart later in his life, it assuredly would take on a more fearsome form, as Draco has met formidable evil and fear in his time after 3rd year, but in those years it was Raczidian the Peacock that struck fear into young Draco Malfoy's not-so-tender heart.
A few story notes:
When did this happen? I postulate sometime in the 1930s Abraxus obtained Raczidian. I only had to make sure it was after 1811 when the The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures split into three divisions. Raczidian's story has no date attached to it, but I imagine it is in a time 1700 or earlier with the allusions to "villages" and names like "Ilyius." Though, with Queen Rowling, you should never depend firmly on a name to date anything.
What is Draco Malfoy's boggart? Nobody knows. I made that up, and I rather like it too.
Some Dark Wizards can cast Patronuses! Yes, we see both Severus Snape and Dolores Umbridge casting Patronuses. Well, Snape seems to be redeemed by his love for Lily, and I'm not even going to touch on the argument that he may not be ask dark as we all presume—that's another story. Umbridge however… You must be purely happy to cast a Patronus, and I guess Dolores must be so purely happy in the interrogation chambers that a Patronus charm is within her reach, though her idea of happy is sickening. I've always held that Umbridge never really knew or cared whether or not Voldemort was back in power… as long as she herself had power over what she deemed to be "rule-breakers." So maybe she's not a dark wizard, she's just majorly messed up in the head.
-Cat