"Sit like a lady, Maia!" Narcissa scolded her daughter-in-law as she wandered into the library, she gracefully sat down on one of the sofas crossing her ankles and laying her hands in her lap demurely.
"Cissa, the tutors have gone home and I'm all alone until tomorrow." Maia smiled brightly, not bothering to move from her comfortable space by the fire. Her blue silk dress was bunched up around her knees as her legs were tucked beneath her with she lazily leaned on the armrest to read.
"Well, it never hurts to always present yourself for company." Narcissa sniffed delicately as Mipsy levitated a tea tray over to her side. A small smile bloomed on her face as Maia closed her book to turn towards her mother-in-law.
"Thank you for coming, it's so boring. I wish I could just come home to Britain." Maia sighed sadly.
"Soon, little dove. Our Lord says the resistance has been terribly disorganized since Dumbledore's death. I'm sure once your caught up on your studies you can come home to the manor and you can assist me in organizing some events." Narcissa said soothingly as she drained her cup.
"You kn-" Maia started but the library doors were thrown open to reveal Draco, supporting his Aunt Bellatrix who was bleeding heavily from her abdomen and thigh. Maia and Narcissa leapt from their chairs to assist the blonde man in laying the unconscious witch down.
"Mipsy! Get the potions!" Maia shouted out as she ripped open Bellatrix's shirt to get a better view of the wound. Narcissa was by her side, doing the same with jagged gash on her upper thigh.
"Who did this?" Narcissa hissed in a low voice as she waved her wand in a familiar complex pattern and the wounds slowly started to close. While Maia only completed the first year syllabus, her tutors ensured she knew plenty of healing charms, just in case.
"Claudum tergeum." Maia chanted softly as she waved the wand over the long cut on Bellatrix's chest. Her eyes widened as the skin slowly knot back together in front of her and she took a deep breath before continuing. "Claudum tergeum. Dolorum."
"Finnegan got her chest with a cutter and an older man got away after he nearly cut off her leg." Draco said bluntly as he took the potion phials from the elf, he tipped his Aunt's head back and forced them down her throat. His mother cast the spells to force her sister to swallow before he could even ask.
"Did you get Finnegan?" Maia asked quietly as she took a wet cloth from her house elf to clean the blood from the unconscious woman's skin.
"Yes, he's dead." Draco said bluntly as he pulled off his cloak and sat back on his heals with a sigh. He looked exhausted, specks of blood on his cheeks and deep bags under his eyes.
"Mipsy, fix a room for Bella and get me a dreamless sleep draught, please." Maia asked quietly after she finished cleaning the blood, she turned her eyes to her weary husband, critically staring at him to find any injuries.
"I'm fine, love." Draco said shortly, rolling his eyes. Mipsy put a hand on Bellatrix's shoulder and popped her silently away to place her in a guest room.
"What happened?" Narcissa asked angrily after a long moment of silence, no one had yet moved from their places on the floor, her sisters blood covered their hands.
"The Dark Lord recently set up some nurseries for the mudblood children, the ones too young to work. About a dozen men came, started to blowing up the walls...they killed more of the children than they could have taken. It makes no sense, really. Bella was visiting, you know how she is with babies." Draco sneered derisively as he got up and reached out to help his wife and mother stand. "I was on patrol when she sent the message, when I got there most of the guards were busy evacuating the mudbloods. Bella was trapped in the infant wing where she was cornered by three of them. She took down one but the other two...she was trying to protect the spawn."
-0-
Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius sat in the waiting room, anxiously awaiting for Theo to come out with news. It had already been hours since Theo received the call from the aurors that his wife was deposited in the lobby of St. Mungos, in labor. The Prophet was released with a front page article of Maia's abduction and the reward for her return. The WWW didn't go more than fifteen minutes without reminding the public of the Malfoy family tragedy. While Draco's robes were immaculate, he had purple bags beneath his eyes and his hair was mussed, looking the most disheveled anyone had ever seen.
"It was Potter." Theo snarled as he stormed into the waiting room looking conflicted, as he was elated at the birth of his daughter, Georgia, and horrified that his wife had to go through something so traumatizing.
"She tell you anyone else?" Draco asked quickly, his face looking slightly green.
"No, she did say some bint with pink hair was chasing them...Maia pushed her into the floo but someone grabbed her before she could escape too." Theo said quietly, feeling slightly guilty that he was so happy that his wife was safe while his friend was suffering.
"Andromeda had a daughter, I've seen her in passing. I'm sure that's how they were able to remove her ring." Narcissa said thoughtfully, Lucius was the first to rise heading to the floo to inform the ministry of Potter's guilt.
"I should have never brought her home..." Draco said weakly, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He had no worries of her memories returning or the idiots of the order figuring out who his wife once was. No, he was terrified he would lose her permanently, nearly a year without a word from the order left him complacent. Once the Dark Lord moved the headquarters out of the manor, Draco was ecstatic to bring his wife home but still waited months just to ensure her safety. Now she was pregnant with his heir in the hands of his enemy.
"Draco, she was miserable being alone in France. You were just as eager to have her home with you as she was." Narcissa said soothingly. "You need to go home and get some rest, your father will handle the ministry and the snatchers the Dark Lord has arranged to search for her."
"Fine, but if she's not back by the time I wake, I'll burn London to the ground." Draco spat angrily, gracefully sweeping out of the room to floo home.
"I will of course make sure the aurors are on high alert." Theo said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"They've been searching for Potter for three years with no leads." Narcissa turned to glare at the man she known since he was a babe. "We will not be idle while the ministry putters about at their usual pace. Now, if you'll excuse me I need some answers."
-0-
"Where is she?" Bellatrix screamed in Molly Weasley's face as she held her wand to the plump woman's throat. The only response she received was a heated glare and the woman spat in her face. "My darling nephew didn't want to hurt you, oh no he wanted to do an even trade...you see we've grown quite fond of my darling Maia, become the daughter I never had."
"Bully for you but I don't know where she is!" Molly snarled, inwardly she was terrified of what the mad dark witch would do to her but she couldn't let her see that.
"Oh but I think you do...I know that your precious little henhouse doesn't make a move with out their mummy being informed first." Bellatrix took a step back with a sickly sweet smile.
"Trixie!" Narcissa exclaimed as she threw the dungeon door open to find her sister looming over the Weasley matriarch.
"Cissie! You've come to join the fun?" Bellatrix called out happily in a child like voice.
"You know we aren't supposed to leave any marks." Narcissa scolded her sister half heartedly.
"But I haven't! I wanted to wait for you!" Bellatrix simpered as she merrily skipped around the bound redhead. Narcissa rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face as she gracefully stalked over to the pair. Molly's eyes widened in fear at the look on the woman's face, it was animalistic and her stride resembled a lion stalking its prey.
"Now, I know your little boy had something to do with Maia's disappearance, his magical signature was in that alley." Narcissa said softly as she pulled a blade from the pocket of her robes. "Some say the need to protect one's young is far greater than even our own survival instinct."
"You know when Cissie and I were little we would playa little game called 'merrinate the muggle'?" Bellatrix purred in Molly's ear as the woman was frozen in fear, her breath was hot on the shell of her ear while Narcissa gently stroked her cheek with the blade.
"N-no.." Molly gasped as the blade touched her throat, making her jumps.
"You have seven children...no six, right? Well, Trixie and I each have one. Draco and Maia...think about this, Molly dear. How far would you go to protect your children? Even though you have plenty to spare?" Narcissa whispered as she ran the blade over Molly's scalp.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where she is." Molly said firmly and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of Bill's creams of pain. It all happened so fast, she thought it was her Ronald coming home from the emergency at headquarters but it was death eaters. They tore down her wards faster than she could get to her wand. Bill rushed to send off word to the order but a burly man caught him with the cruciatus. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered being frozen in place watching her son being tortured when someone came up from behind her and grabbed her around the neck.
"Where is she?" A deadly voice whispered in her ear, she couldn't even turn to see who it was because his hands kept her facing her son.
"W-who?" Molly whimpered as more men came in to search the house, she could hear them up the stairs tearing through the rooms.
"My wife." The silky voice snarled and Molly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew exactly who the man was now, some of the order became obsessed with the idea of taking the woman to try and convince her to spy. Why? Because she was nice to orphans and wanted to improve children's education?
"I don't know..." Molly whispered brokenly as she opened her eyes to see Fenrir Greyback crouched over her son. She immediately started to struggle in the man's hold but all Draco did was grab her by the back of her head and slam her face first into the stone counter.
"Greyback, take this..." Draco drawled as he threw the disoriented woman at the werewolf's feet. The beast licked his lips as he gathered the limp woman into his arms, holding her intimately. She shuddered as he buried his nose into her neck and took a deep breath, whimpering as his tongue darted out to taste her.
"Let her go!" Bill screamed from the floor under a masked man's boot. Draco loomed above the ginger man with an impassive look on his face, as if he was bored with the scene in front of him. The blonde man never wore a mask, he was always brazen in his attacks, letting the world know who was responsible.
"Crucio." Draco whispered as his lips curled into a cruel smile. Molly's knees gave out and she fell into the werewolf's arms as her son screamed in pain. She could only watch as his back arched off the floor and he twitched as Draco bore down on her son, twisting his wand as if to put more power behind the torture curse.
"Tell him what he wants to know, lovey." Greyback whispered, his breath hot on the shell of Molly's ear.
"Mummy." Bill rolled to his side whimpering, veins stood out vividly on his freckled skin as he tried to fight the urge to scream out.
"Where's my wife?" Draco demanded as soon as he lifted his wand, releasing Bill from the spell. The redheaded man curled into a ball, holding his knees to his chest and let out a strangled sob of relief.
"We don't know!" Molly shouted as Draco raised his wand to curse her son again.
"Hostignis!" A deep voice boomed from somewhere above them, Draco let out annoyed sigh as he reached into his robes and pulled out a silver blade. Before Molly could call out, he brought the dagger down, slicing straight through Bill's trousers, leaving deep bleeding wounds on the back of his knees.
"Let's go, take her with us. I'm sure the remaining Weasels will trade her for my wife." Draco ordered in q cold voice as he straightened his robes. The cursed fire was already spreading throughout the house, Molly was starting to sweat as Greyback roughly shoved her towards the door. Masked men rushed down the stairs, laughing and pushing each other playfully as the flames licked at their heels.
"Mummy!" Bill cried out, trying to crawl across the floor, blood pooling around him. The last thing she saw before she was forcefully shoved out the door was her oldest son reaching out to her as a large snake made of flames slithered towards him.
"Oooh, did little Mollywobbles get a little lost?" Bellatrix cackled in her ear, bringing her back to the present. Molly took in a shaky breath and realized she was crying. Both of the witches loomed over her with maniacal smiles, no one could deny that the two were sisters seeing them like this.
"Please, I don't know anything." Molly choked on her tears, closing her eyes as Bill's screams echoed in her mind. Bellatrix stepped behind her and covered her head with a burlap sack.
"Shh, shh, it's alright. We just need to be sure that you're not lying." Narcissa cooed as she roughly dragged her hand down Molly's covered face, making the woman jump.
"Mipsy has the juice." A small elf squeaked as she popped in beside Bellatrix with a large bucket fill with a thin reddish yellow liquid.
"I see why our Maia likes you so, such a devoted little elf." Bellatrix sneered as she used her wand to elevate the bucket, Narcissa smirked at her sister before casting bubble head charms over the both of them, as well an impervious charm on their robes.
"Mipsy loves Mistress Maia. Redheaded banshee know where Mipsy's Mistress Maia be?" The elf turned to glare at the bound woman, a deep scowl on her face.
"Elf! You are not needed!" Bellatrix barked, losing patience with the devoted house elf quickly. When Mipsy popped away, she cackled as she slowly tipped the bucket over to let a light steady flow onto Molly's head. Narcissa flicked her wand, yanking Molly's head back and securing the sack to the back of the chair so that Molly was facing the ceiling.
"What is that?" Molly whimpered as the first drops fell on the porous sack, she could smell something like ammonia or a very strong cauldron cleaner. As more of the liquid permeated the sack and seeped into her skin she screamed. She felt as if she was drowning in the potent liquid that burned like fire on her skin.
"Tut tut, no use tiring yourself out now, Mollywobbles!" Bellatrix cackled as the bucket continued its endless stream over her face. The woman beneath her alternated between sputters and screams, gagging on the noxious liquid they were pouring over her.
"Do you remember who took my daughter?" Narcissa said coldly after Bellatrix pulled the bucket back.
"We were just supposed to talk to her!" Molly shouted out hysterically, the burlap sticking to her sensitive skin. Her throat was on fire and she finally realized what they were using, dragon piss.
"Oh, why did you need to talk to her?" Narcissa persisted, looming over the woman, close enough so that Molly could feel her presence but not close enough to actually touch her. As the she stayed silent Bellatrix snickered as she tipped the bucket once again, Molly shrieked as the steady stream choked her once again.
"Please! Please!" Molly gagged after only a moment, the flow stopped immediately and she was sickened by Bellatrix's throaty chuckles.
"Well?" Narcissa demanded after a moment of Molly catching her breath and her sister practically dancing in anticipation.
"They wanted to turn her into a spy!" Molly wailed, her body shaking as she sobbed.
"What on earth makes you think you could turn her into a spy?" Narcissa asked curiously as she flicked her wand and the bag was removed from her head. Molly's face was was shiny and red from the mild burns she received from her torture, taking deep gulping breaths she looked between the sisters wildly.
"I thought it was ridiculous, that's why they didn't tell me. Please, did they take Bill as well?" Molly whispered brokenly.
"Billy burned!" Bellatrix cackled as she lowered the bucket to the ground and with a wave of her wand the floor was cleaned. Molly broke down in renewed sobs, she prayed that they took her son too. In her mind she knew she heard her son's screams coming from the blaze that was once her family home but the small flare of hope she had in heart died as the mad woman danced around her.