Chapter Forty-One

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England, 1 January, 1991

The man stood there, screaming and screaming.

It was horrifying, to watch the boy in such pain, to watch anyone in such pain. He felt as though he was being ripped apart.

He took a breath and prepared to shout again when he heard a tiny whimper from the bushes behind him. He turned slowly, and saw Marvela Malfoy looking at him, terrified.

He knelt in front of her, slowly, so as not to startle her. "Marvela?"

She yelped and scrambled away from him, whimpering as the bush's thorns dug into her soft skin. "Go 'way! Bad dog! Go 'way!"

He reached toward her and she moved deeper into the bush, looking at his outstretched hands as though they were poison. "Marvela, I won't hurt you."

"No! Go 'way, bad dog! Bad man! Go 'way!" she screamed.

He sighed, grabbed her quickly, and pulled her out of the thorn bush. "No, I will not go away. I am your friend. Loki."

She cocked her head to the side, and proceeded to examine him, poking, prodding, and pulling on his face, hair and beard. "Loki!"

He sighed in relief. "Yes, Vela, Loki. I am a friend. I want to help your brother."

"Dwaco?" she asked, confused.

"No, Ha- Adrian."

She nodded sagely. "Good. Adwian in twouble. Fiwebwands."

"Firebrands? What are Firebrands?" he asked. "Why is he in trouble?"

She shrugged and shivered violently.

"I'd better get you back inside, you'll catch your death out here," he muttered. "Marvela, do you know what a secret is?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Me being Loki is a great big secret, Vela. You can't tell your mummy, or brothers or dad, alright?"

"'kay."

"Do you promise me?" he pressed.

"I pwomise, Loki," she said, her wide eyes earnest and truthful.

Relieved, he sat her on a nearby bench and walked behind a bush to transform, as it wasn't a pleasant sight for young eyes.

Whispering the incantation, he felt the familiar flood of his senses. Everything was too loud, too bright now. He felt his bones rearranging themselves, felt the painful sensation of his knees bending backward, his face lengthening, his ribcage reshaping itself, and of millions of hairs sprouting all over his body.

Though this process took only a moment, it left him slightly exhausted each time.

He trotted back over to Marvela and liked her teary face, causing her to giggle. She clambered onto his back and they trotted back into the house.

Later that night, Marvela toddled away from her family for the second time that night, into a cupboard that was rarely ever used and was quite dusty, a set of robes in the far corner. She reached up and closed the door, locking herself into the darkened space.

And she grew, taller and taller, the adorable baby fat melting away, the features sharpening, the hair became shorter, and the eyes changed to a stormy gray.

Draco Malfoy stepped out of his sister's now-shredded pajamas, stretching and cracking his neck experimentally. He examined himself, and everything seemed normal. Satisfied, he pulled on his robes, brushing the dust off of them. He made his way up the stairs, where Marvela was sleeping soundly in his bed, wearing oversized black robes and snoring.

He picked his sister up and set her gently in her own bed, wrapping her in a warm blanket.

He smiled as he walked down the empty hall.

His extra potions lessons were paying off, after all; the Polyjuice potion had worked flawlessly.

I know, I know, I am so very sorry to keep y'all waiting for such a long time. I am a horrid person, but my computer became terribly ill, and had to go to the doctor's, and then it kept on happening!

Howard (my computer) seems to be much better now, though, so I pray that you find it in yourselves to forgive me!

I will post more today, since I have no school, and again, I am deeply sorry!

-TheNefariousMe