AN:
As promised! First chapter of the installment. The next chapter shouldn't take too long to upload, but expect a tentative limit of two weeks between chapters. It shouldn't take me two works each time, but I don't want to promise something every week if I don't think I can deliver.
Please excuse any errors, if you find something then let me know, I'll go back and edit. :)
Side note: Review responses are at the bottom.
Enjoy!
Something was wrong. Lillian was aware of the dangerous shift as soon as she stepped into the dank, unforgiving corridors of Azkaban, her way lit periodically by barely smoldering flames of ancient torches lining the wet brick walls.
There was an eerie stillness covering the prison like a suffocating blanket, a quietness she hadn't ever encountered whilst within the infamous prison. There were no piercing screams, no cackling laughs that marked the incurable insanity plaguing those who had been touched by Dementors' too often; there were no reaching hands or taunting calls as even her quiet footfalls echoed along the brick.
Dread a stone weight in her gut, she had a white-knuckled grip along her unyielding wand, mind alert, eyes restless, as she scanned the dark for any threat thus far unseen, her body taking her where she needed to go without a conscious thought; for the path she followed was one she had walked too many times, her experience within the walls of Azkaban far outweighed even the grizzliest of Aurors.
A cold foreign draft nipped at her exposed face and when she came upon the furthest corner that had housed for the past twelve years the estranged relatives that were her blood, it was to find a massive hole within the walls serving as barricade to the would-be cells of her maniacal Aunt Bellatrix, and her father, Sirius Black.
The grip she had on her wand loosened, her face slack in warring amounts of disbelief and unsettling awareness. Something big was coming; something inescapably dark and unbearing. Bellatrix Lestrange was Voldemort's most devout follower, if she was released, that could only foreshadow a more powerful uprising than the mere presses of force on the Dark Lord's behalf these past two years.
Fear unlike anything else she had ever felt before ripped through her, she was unprepared to handle this startling development with the calm tenacity in which she was raised to handle the unexpected. She was incapable of rational thought at the moment, as the wild plains of Earth and mountain that served to isolate Azkaban took up her vision. So she did the one thing she had never, not in the eight years since she had begun making regular visits to see her Father, done before.
A wave of pretty pink light pulsed from the tip of her wand, the soft echo of 'Lucius' escaping her mouth to be carried as fast as a snitch through the walls of Azkaban to reach the man whose name she uttered; a man who waited, as always, stone-faced and still-bodied for however long it would take for Lillian to emerge from her visitation.
When he saw a pale pink stream of magic racing towards him almost faster than the eye could see, he took off, meeting the shot of magic, hearing the quiet whisper of his name and then pushing past it; following the trail of lingering magic until he found his Ward, standing, pale and stricken, in front of two cages he hadn't ever before lain eyes upon. Though it wasn't the cages that held his attention, it was the landscape beyond, the landscape he shouldn't have been able to see whilst within the confines of Azkaban.
"Lillian," He demanded, voice a tad breathless from his mad dash, his robes and hair in disarray though he had no intentions of fixing himself in the present moment. His first concern was Lillian, and what she was seeing that he wasn't, aside from the obvious.
"It's Bellatrix and Sirius." Lillian informed, feeling infinitely more secure now that Lucius was there, a formidably dark presence standing behind her. "He's rising."
Lucius didn't have to question who 'he' was, for he knew, as surely as she did, what Bellatrix's escape meant.
"We'll return to the gates, call for Aurors and await them there." Lucius instructed without lenience, she would do as he bid and there would be no room for rebellion.
She turned on her heel without hesitation, leading the way as Lucius made sure to keep pace with her shorter steps. Lillian trusted Lucius to do what needed to be done, trusted in him that he had taken absolutely no part in the escape of her Aunt and Father; trusted that whomever had done this, had done it without the knowledge of the Lord Malfoy, and that whomever had gone above his head, had done so at the risk of gaining a formidable opponent skilled to perfection in the dark arts.
It was hours later, that found Lillian still being questioned by the rookie Auror that had deemed her as the easiest of the two current suspects – she and Lucius – and so allowed the familiar Auror Moody to question Lucius.
Thankfully, before the Aurors had arrived upon the location, Lillian had had ample opportunity to restore her wits and regain her mental and emotional bearings. She was calm and collected by the time the team of elite, highly-trained, specialist officers had arrived; Lucius as well put together as always, not a hair out of place as he sneered unpleasantly at the enforcers of magic law.
"You're the only possible leak." Auror Camden scowled at the uncooperative youth, perturbed on a deep level the calm collectedness of a girl he kind of feared – and what kind of man did that make him, to be afraid of a child?
Lillian's jaw clenched, her calm slowly chipping away, it had been the same series of questions since the beginning of the interview, hours spent being cordial, hours spent standing in the cold with her own version of hell serving as a haunting backdrop, and she was just done.
Turning her stormy gaze to Auror Moody, she quirked a brow at the smirking man made of deformities that had finished questioning her Uncle within half an hour and had since settled in to watch her own interview with nothing short of twisted amusement. "Tell your trainee, that if I had wished to break out one Sirius Black, you wouldn't have ever known that he was gone. And if I had – " She spoke over the young, newly trained Auror's burgeoning protests, "Bellatrix Lestrange would have been the last prisoner I would release with him."
Lucius' hand to her shoulder, a comforting, tempering restraint as his sneer twisted into something foul and his eyes as cold as ice pinned the young Auror who had been battering Lillian long past necessary – not that Lucius found the questioning to be necessary to begin with; Lucius had no doubt that Lillian wasn't capable of accomplishing such a feat, but he knew, without a shadow of a uncertainty, that she would have never released the duo that had spent far too long in Azkaban to been safe for the public. "You are done here." He left absolutely no room for objection. "If you have further need for her, you come to me." And it was a threat as much as it was an order.
"Miss Black," Auror Moody stopped them before they could head for the apparition point, forgoing their usual route home by Thestral carriage, they both wanted to return home quickly, Lillian to consult with Draco, Lucius with Narcissa. "Keep your wand close to you," Moody instructed gravely, his magically inclined, electric blue eye pinning her in rare tandem with his small dark one. "I have a feeling you'll be needing it."
Lillian bowed her head in thanks, taking hold of Lucius' extended arm and bracing herself against the tug-tug-pull sensation that always accompanied apparition.
When they appeared in the foyer of the Malfoy Manor they were greeted by a frantic Narcissa and a furious Draco. "Draco," Lucius instructed once he was sure Lillian had regained her bearings, "You and Lillian should get started on packing for Hogwarts. The next few days will be strenuous, get it done so there won't be any delays." Lucius waited until his angry son gave a sharp nod of affirmation before turning to his wife, "Narcissa, come with me to my office."
Narcissa fell into step at his side with the practiced ease of over a decade of marriage; trying valiantly to restrain her nerves, her husband's hand at her back a mildly soothing balm to help temper her.
She waited just until the heavy oak door of Lucius' office fell shut to speak, "Lucius, what happened? Your letter was brief and without detail."
Lucius' jaw clenched, he was furious. Had he known of what was to occur, he never would have permitted Lillian within the walls of the prison. Never would he have let her fall under such scrutiny by the authorities. And when he got his hands around whomever dared not to inform him of the plans to release Lestrange, they would only be so lucky as to escape his wrath by dying a quick death.
"Your sister and brother have escaped their confinement within Azkaban, there is doubt that they did it on their own thus Lillian is their primary suspect." Lucius explained in clipped tones.
Narcissa risked breaching the unspoken rule that governed their marriage, she made mention of his dark doings, "Was there any word spoken on the release of Bellatrix?"
Lucius gave a violent jerk of his head, went to verbalize his fury when a flare of green from the unlit fireplace beckoned a call.
Lucius was mildly surprised by Moody's visage, having just seen the Wizard minutes prior. "Bellatrix was caught by Dementors early this morning. They held her within the perimeter as they distributed their retribution, she was returned to her cell upon reparation of the damages. Evidence shows Sirius escaped on his own, the Dementors have thus far been unable to track him." Moody disappeared once his message – as short and abrupt as the man himself – had been delivered, leaving Lucius and Narcissa in silence filled with a variety of different emotions.
"That makes him the first to have ever escaped from Azkaban." Narcissa whispered, utterly blown away by her estranged brother's utter brilliance to be able to accomplish such a feat. "So He had nothing to do with this?"
"No," Lucius confirmed, "It appears not." Which is something Lillian would need to be informed of as soon as possible, but in the mean time, that just meant all of his fury had turned direction towards Sirius Black, the man with no forethought on how his actions, both past and present, would affect the last of his blood.
"Will he come for Lillian, Lucius?" And if Narcissa's voice wavered with the fear she felt for her niece, it was a fact Lucius would not hold against her. In the privacy of their home, they could display the things that they would otherwise keep under tight control.
"It is more likely that the Potter boy has more to be concerned about than Lillian." A harsh truth that none was more aware of than Lillian herself.
Narcissa let out a relieved breath, slumping without her usual grace in a luxurious chair by the fireplace, a chair in which Lillian, during her youth, could often be found curled into a little ball whilst Lucius worked late into the hours, managing the multitude of Malfoy affairs.
While Narcissa lamented over the trouble to come, Lucius claimed the chair at his desk, meaning to do work but instead thinking of memories past and the terror to come.
Winter 1982
"Are you my Daddy?" An innocent question from a stunningly beautiful four-year-old child with a soft voice filled with the rare laughter that came from playing with a slightly younger Draco; an innocent question that ripped through Lucius Malfoy and his wife like unforgivable curses.
"I am not." Came Lucius' rather breathless response, his eyes on the young child, dread in his gut as he thought of just what he had to do now.
"Can you be?" She tilted her head, black curls tumbling in soft waves over one petite shoulder; and Lucius was struck by the frailty of the small child, the smallness of her bones, the joy that flooded stormy eyes – eyes that Lucius rarely got to see without the haunted shadows of night terrors and pain.
"No." A harsh exclamation that had the little girl flinching, joy leaving her gaze as stormy grey turned into still grey – it was then, as the little girl withdrew into herself, that Lucius knew she would be capable, though undeserving, of handling just what was to come next.
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet your father."
"Lucius," Narcissa whispered, somewhat appalled, even if she wasn't overly fond of her niece.
"No Narcissa, it is for the best." He reprimanded, before sparing the young, confused child one last glance and turning away to make for his study; struggling not to crumble beneath the force of bewildering emotions slamming against the walls he had built the day – more than a decade ago – his father had informed him that they were aligning with Lord Voldemort and if he refused then he forfeited his life.
Winter 1982
"Child?" Lucius inquired the moment he saw the rather sharp set of her face, the lack of color that turned her ivory skin to paste.
Lillian had made the trip into the abyss, accompanied only by Alastar Moody, the growling, disfigured man who would intimidate any four-year-old. The grizzlied man released the little hand he had held despite the fact that any sense of gentility had been torn out of him during the first war against the Dark Lord, giving a parting grunt of acknowledgment to the Lord Malfoy before disappearing back into the depths of the Prison; leaving man with child and trusting aforementioned man to see them both out of Azkaban safely.
"Will we be coming back?" Lillian asked once Moody had left, her voice lacking the life Lucius had equated with the young girl, a haunting sorrow in its place that nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"Yes."
"Okay." The cackles and screams of the demented pierced her soft, toneless proclamation.
"Little Lily?" He found himself asking.
"Can we go? I think… I think I've had enough of Blacks and Dementors for today." Her grey eyes were colored to pure obsidian as she blindly waited by his side for direction, and though Lucius knew it was for the best, he couldn't help but feel as dirty as the mudbloods he scorned as he was faced with the reality of the life he had just snuffed in the precious child he had thought of his own.
He regretted that decision for a long time, though it was a regret he internalized, never giving voice to his doubt, not even to a wife who could sometimes be caught watching Lillian with solemn eyes and a depressive frown. He still regretted that moment, the moment in which he robbed from Lillian what little innocence she had left, the moment he denied them both his right to raise her as his. It wasn't until recently, through Lillian's own doing, that he felt a little less burdened by his inexcusable actions that Winter nine years ago.
Summer 1993
"I know why you did it," A soft murmur that pierced their quiet as they sat in the Thestral carriage seceding their first visit to Azkaban since Lillian and Draco had completed their second year at Hogwarts.
"Did what?" Lucius inquired without looking at her, his gaze as stony and collected as ever as he stared instead at the head of his cane.
"Why you brought me here. I didn't understand it at the time," And as a thirteen-year-old teenager, just a few months shy of fourteen, she just barely understood it then. "But I do now. I won't assume it was difficult for you by any means, but I wish to thank you."
His jaw turned to granite, his gaze twitching to stare steadfast out the window. "Most," He spoke, "Would equate that memory as a nightmare…you could have come with someone else." She hadn't needed to continue being accompanied by Lucius himself during her visits; for years now, he had made it quietly understood that he could arrange for some other means of transportation that would not require his presence in case she resented him for ruining her childhood by introducing Azkaban into it, in case she wanted someone else beside her on these visits that continued to take so much from her. "You're nearly of age."
"I would not have made it this far without you," Was her soft, guarded murmur, and though she kept her emotions in check, that didn't make her words any less honest, any less powerful. "I equate that first visit to my first lesson on survival. Inadvertently, you taught me to survive Lucius, and though you'll claim me foolish, I won't come here without you because, you continue to teach me how to stay alive."
She turned her head just as his gaze moved to her; an uncontrollable darkness of emotions turning pale blue into hard cut sapphire as he processed the implication of her admission.
"What do we do Lucius?" Narcissa broke the man from his thoughts, looked to him for the answer to a question she couldn't even begin to fathom the response to.
"What we have always done," Lucius responded after a long moment of pondering, "We protect what is ours with a ruthless tenacity that makes those both equal and lesser fearful of the Malfoy wrath."
And despite the fact that it was a truth that could never be spoken, Lillian Black was indisputably theirs. If nothing else, Lucius would dare anyone tempt to take or harm Lillian when Draco had no qualms about displaying his loyalty to the cousin who was meant to be nothing but an unwanted Ward. Undoubtedly, his son was capable of truly terrible things when it came to protecting the girl who was more sister than burden.
Reviews:
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you!
StrawberryObsession: Yes! I absolutely adore strange happy dances in inopportune objects and locations. haha. I hope these upcoming chapters don't disappoint, especially after such beautifully shameless exuberance. ;)
Juliedoo: I'm so glad you didn't die! And that you love my story so much! And I really hoped you enjoyed this further look into Lucius's character. ;) You'll see more of his character within this story! I can't wait for the Remus scenes, I've got some things planned for he and Lillian. :D
TheAmazingMaya: I am too! You guys give me the encouragement to keep the story flowing. Nope! I'll never abandon her story. :D
Random Geeky Girl: So glad you like it enough for it to be a favorite. I hope it doesn't disappoint and that you enjoyed this update!
Riarabookworm: Yay! So glad it did! Hope the wait was worth it. :D
FullMoonOnTheWater: Thank you! Hope it doesn't disappoint and that you continue to look forward to updates! :)
Long Live Marshmallows: I'm glad the snippet was a good one. I thought it would speak for the story to come; I'm glad it served as a recap as well. Hope your excitement carries over to the next chapters! :D
Chibi Ray-Chan: Thank you! I'm sorry it took so long for the story to be continued, but I hope the wait was worth it! :D
Lillian1Fan4Ever: I am! And I'm glad to be back, too. ;) I'm so glad you never forgot about Lillian's story, and were so vigilant in looking out for it. Thank you so much for your support! It means a heck of a lot, and I hope this first chapter doesn't disappoint!
Happy Halloween!
To all those celebrating tonight, be safe and have fun!
x
