(Author's Note: Sorry! I forgot the separation bars don't transfer over from Word... I've repaired it!)
"I don't feel right going over just now; take these over for me Ronnie." George said softly, setting the large vase of lilies down on the table beside the front door. "Tell Harry… tell him I'm sorry it happened…"
"Okay, George." Ron agreed, looking at the flowers with a bit of a frown. "All right, tell me exactly what is it that they do? They've got your company logo on the vase…"
"Nothing weird or strange, I swear it to you. If they do anything weird you have my permission to kick my ass, okay?" George managed a weak grin. "They're spelled to last for months and they also change if the occasion warrants. I made them for you to give to them anyway, when their son was born. They were yellow and red roses then, for friendship and love. But they changed when Draco… when he…" George let the sentence die; he was still having trouble dealing with the fact that the blonde wizard would no longer be around to tease.
"All right. I'll take care of it. I need to get ready to go." Ron said, and George gave his brother a hug and then stepped back outside to apparate away. Ron turned back inside, closing the door. He had come home and decided that he needed to give Harry all his support right now; he was nearly ready to go. He would be there when Harry got home and he'd be there as long as he needed to be to get his friend back on his feet.
Ron slipped on his best jacket and glanced over at Charlie, who stood at the fireplace watching his husband. Since Ron had returned from the hospital, shortly after they had been told of Draco's death, Blaise had almost been inconsolable. He had collapsed in grief, almost blaming himself for what had happened to his best friend. He kept saying how he should have gone with Ron to the house, he should have been there and Draco would have been out of danger. "I hate to leave Blaise like this." Ron murmured softly, worry for his new lover battling with his own worry for his best friend's sanity with the loss of Draco.
"Go, Ron. Harry is your best friend and he's going to need everyone who cares for him right now. I'll take care of Blaise." Charlie said softly. Blaise was silent now, staring out the large bay window at the garden without really seeing anything.
"All right…" Ron agreed, buttoning his jacket as he turned to go. He halted, staring in confusion for a moment. George had left a vase full of delicate and pure white lilies but what stood in the vase now were not lilies nor was there anything white. The flowers were fully bloomed roses, velvety blossoms of a rich red color and interspersed through the fragrant blossoms were yellow roses, giving a visual splash of contrasting color. Ron blinked, and then moved to them. "Charlie…?" he called.
His brother looked over. "Yes…? Hey, they flowers…" he frowned.
"Draco is alive." Ron murmured.
"What…? You said…"
"Our twin brothers may be idiots, Charlie, but they don't screw up things that they present to the public." Ron pulled one of the roses out of the vase and hurried to Blaise's side. "Blaise… look at this…" he had to put it directly in the dark-skinned man's path of vision before he blinked, staring at the flower.
"A rose…? Sweet Ron, but I don't really want…"
"It's not for you, Blaise. It's a magic flower; it means that the doctors made a mistake, it means that Draco is alive…"
"How can a flower…?" He looked confused, a little of the pain fading from his face.
"George and Fred." Ron answered briefly.
"He's… he's not dead…?"
"He's not." Ron said, handing Blaise the rose.
Blaise gazed at the flower, hand trembling. "Are you sure…? Please, Ron, I couldn't take it if he was really…"
"I'll go. I'll find out. But I'm sure he's alive; I'll take the roses over for them. I'll fire-call you and you can come over and help make things ready for Draco and the baby." Ron leaned forward and gave Blaise a soft kiss on the lips. "Go with Charlie and have a nice bath. I'll come and get you soon."
Blaise gave him a tremulous smile and Ron winked, then turned and strode out with a much lighter step than he had previously. He pulled his wand and used a floating spell to make the heavy lead crystal vase lighter and hurried out.
Ron knocked on the door of the mansion and waited. He was about to give up when the door was opened by a very disgruntled Jerrod Warrington. "What is it?" He asked with a scowl. He looked like he had been working in the lab; there were fresh stains on his leather apron as well as foul-smelling burns. "Some of us actually have work to do, you know." he added sourly.
"I'm not here to argue with you, Warrington; I have a job and don't need to justify anything to you. I just need to know if Harry is back yet." Ron answered.
"No; he stayed at the hospital. Lucius is back, though, and so is Narcissa. Do you want one of them?"
"I just brought flowers to celebrate the birth of their son. I don't want to disturb either of them; it is rather late." Ron began.
"Who is it, Warrington?" Narcissa asked, moving into sight.
"Weasley." He said. "Rose's father."
"Ronald!" Narcissa said with a smile, moving forward to draw Ron in past the doorstep. "Welcome to our home."
Warrington, scowling, moved off. He wasn't going to try to be sociable; he had work to do.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy…." Ron answered formally, giving her a bow.
She laughed softly. "After all these years, Ronald, you can call me Narcissa." She reminded.
He smiled at her. "I'll try to remember that. So tell me, how are Draco and little James?" Ron asked
She looked surprised. "You knew that Draco is all right…?"
"It's complicated, but yes; and I'm very happy to see that I was right. Oh; and I've brought some flowers…" he added unnecessarily; the bouquet of roses that he had hovering just behind him was rather difficult to miss.
"They're doing very well, as is little Angel. The medi-wizards wanted to keep the three of them overnight to ensure that they are healthy. Thank you so much for asking, and these flowers are absolutely stunning."
"I could take credit for them but I won't; they were sent by my brother George." Ron smiled, moving to set the flowers down on a table. "Is this all right…?"
"That's perfect; I'll move them to Draco's room later."
"Is there anything we could help with?" Ron asked. "You know, to get things ready for them to come home. Blaise would love to help too, and I think it would be good for him to do something for his best mate."
"Of course, we can do a bit of decorating with flowers and soft pillows in the bedroom to make things comfortable; the medi-wizard said that he didn't trust how quickly Draco recovered and wants him to stay in bed for a few days once he comes home." she explained.
Ron smiled. "I'm sure that Blaise and I can come up with something to make Draco feel comfortable." he assured.
"I'm certain you can. That sounds simply wonderful; bring him on over. We hope to have Draco home before late tonight; Lucius has just left to talk to the administration at St. Mungo's hospital." She smiled. "I would appreciate any effort you make; I'm so busy with the twins and little Mallek that I don't have time to do much…"
"Not to worry, Mrs. Mal… I mean, Narcissa. Blaise and I will take care of everything to have it all ready for Draco. It will be our pleasure."
She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, Ronald dear. I'm sure if you need anything that either Toodles or Warrington will be able to assist you."
"I'll call for Toodles if I need anything." Ron answered with a smirk.
"Two days, Mr. Malfoy. I want you to ensure that your son remains in bed for a minimum of two days."
"Does that mean that he is not to have exposure to sunshine…?" Lucius asked with a smirk.
"This is serious, Mr. Malfoy. Your son's recovery was… unprecedented. I do not care to see him back here with a relapse. He is not to exert himself in any manner or form whatsoever."
"Even if he wishes to even use the loo he shall have assistance." Lucius assured firmly.
"No expense will be spared to ensure the safety and good health of my son and grandson."
"I don't have a doubt about that, at all. I'm assigning a nurse to your son's case; all she will need is a chair to sit beside him and monitor him anytime that he is left alone."
"Good. So I can take him home?"
"Yes, but I don't want him transported by floo powder or side-along apparition; he doesn't have any magical strength at all."
"I have arranged other transportation." he assured. "I will take Angel with me as well as my grandson, neither of them have any type of health problems that you can help with."
"Very well." Kilpatrick agreed, moving back to his desk, placing his right forefinger on a roll of parchment. "Take this to the nurse; they will release them all to your custody." He said as his insignia appeared upon the page.
"Thank you." Lucius took the paper and tucked it into an inside pocket of his robes, and then moved out of the office.
Lucius tenderly scooped Angel up into his arms; the girl did not even wake but she settled against him with a smile. He kissed her hair tenderly and turned away from the bed, then gave Harry a questioning look. "Are we ready?"
"Yes, Lucius." Harry agreed, giving the man a smile. He was waiting there just in the hallway for Lucius to join them. Draco was seated in the wheelchair once more looking more than a little irritated. He wanted to hurry up and get this transfer done so he could hold James again. Harry had spelled the baby's carrier to be feather light and that was the only thing that Draco had been allowed to carry; Harry had loaded everything else into a trunk and spelled it to float after them as they left the hospital.
Outside waited a very modern, sleek car with Severus Snape standing beside it. "Come along, I haven't all night Lucius. I have to get to work by five tomorrow so I can work on my projects…" he said in a snarky tone, though he did have a faint smile touch his lips when he saw the baby carrier.
"Good evening, Severus; glad you could spare the time." Lucius said, moving to get into the car and settle Angel in the vehicle.
Draco started to rise and Harry prevented him from rising. Draco looked up at him. "I'm just a little weary…"
"And none of us are going to take any chances with your health, my dragon. You need time to get your strength up again, and you're going to let us take care of you." Harry said firmly, leaning forward to give him a kiss before he magically transferred his husband from the wheelchair into the seat of the car. The baby was strapped between them in his carrier, and Harry loaded the rest in the trunk.
"I will meet you at your home." The nurse said, taking the wheelchair a few paces back from the curb.
"We will be expecting you, madam." he agreed and closed the door. Without another word, Severus checked everyone's restraints then got into the car to drive to Malfoy Manor.
Ron sat at the small table beneath the window, watching as Blaise worked on decorating the bedroom. He had created a welcome home banner for his best friend that would magically dissolve after twenty four hours as well as several hovering magical lights about the room. He had ensured that the crib for the baby was directly on Draco's side of the bed, and that the nappies and bottles shining and clean were ready and within reach from the bed. Extra pillows were added to the bed, and bright colors all about the room. The scent of flowers filled the room as well; there were flowers all over the place. Ron grinned softly; Blaise had become more and more himself as he worked to make his friend's homecoming special.
"I owe Dray so much, Ron… our school years really were hell. I don't think I would have made it through them if it wasn't for Draco. He helped me deal with everything and kept me from doing anything stupid…"
"I believe it… Harry and I were tight like that too." Ron said, rising. "You think you're going to be done soon? They should be here any minute…"
"Do you think I've forgotten anything…?" He asked, looking around worriedly.
Ron chuckled, opening the box of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and putting it on the cake stand and setting the glass cover over it. "This ought to be the final touch." he said. "You know, you can over-decorate Blaise." He teased.
"I did not over-decorate…!" He objected, and then realized that Ron was teasing. He chuckled as well, relaxing. "Very funny, Ron." He said, moving to him and slipping his arms around him. Ron hugged him gently.
"Get a room." Draco drawled, making them both turn and Ron step away with a furious blush. "Your own room would be preferable…"
"Draco, I don't think that I've ever been happier to see you." Blaise said, smiling at him. "Welcome home." He said as Harry pushed the chair over to the bedside.
"Don't even try to stand, Dray." Harry warned as he gestured for Blaise to come over to assist.
He sighed, but did not even try to rise. "All right. I am completely in your hands." He allowed Harry and Blaise to lift him out of the chair and transfer him into the bed. "Blaise, you did all of this for me…?" He asked as Harry pulled the blankets up for him.
"Ron helped, but yeah." Blaise smiled. "Can't do enough for my best mate."
The next morning Draco pushed himself to a sitting position in his bed with more than a little effort. Merlin, he was weak and he ached! He took a moment to catch his breath, glancing over at the nurse who had been assigned by his mediwizard to watch over him. She had been up all night taking care of him and had just now drifted to sleep in the chair near the window. She didn't look comfortable at all but he wasn't going to wake her. He slid his feet out of the blankets and pushed himself to the edge of the bed.
"What is Master needing to be doing?" a squeaky voice asked in an almost accusing tone. Draco jumped guiltily, looking to his right to see Toodles standing near the bed, gazing at him with her wide saucer-shaped eyes, head tilted slightly to the side and her arms folded.
"I just need to talk to father…"
"I is getting him. You is to be staying in bed doctor says. You is being staying in bed." She said firmly. "I is not losing my Master Draco!" She folded her stringy little arms, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Is father home…? I do need to talk to him. I know Harry is at work…"
"Master Malfoy is home." She nodded emphatically, smiling again. "I is telling him to come and seeing you."
"Good… I promise to be good and stay in bed." Draco said, slipping his legs back up into the bed. The house elf tugged the blankets back into place, and then vanished. The sound of her leaving woke the nurse, who looked over with a startled, exhausted expression. Draco gave her a soft smile. "I'm all right, really… if you just put the baby here where I can reach him, I can take care of him while you sleep a bit."
"I think they forgot to send my relief…" she said, sitting up and stretching.
"I'll have the house elf bring in one of the nurses father has hired for the children. I really don't need that much looking after."
She chuckled softly at his claim of innocence. "Really, now? I've put you back in that bed three times just this morning, Mr. Malfoy. You need to stay in bed for at least two days minimum; that is the healer's orders."
He sighed in frustration. "I know what he told me. But I'm not hurting that badly and I just want to get up for a while…"
"I will arrange then, son, for you to come out to the garden with us and watch the children play." Lucius said, capturing both their attention. He strode through the room, as always resplendent and dressed in robes of finest cashmere. "You can go and have some rest, Nurse Padsen. I will monitor my son's health for the nonce."
"I will fire-call the hospital to send another nurse… thank you, Mr. Malfoy." She said, rising with clear weariness.
"It will be several hours before another nurse is required." He assured, glancing in the cradle at the peacefully sleeping infant before he moved to go and sit down on the bed beside him. "Toodles said you needed to speak with me but you should be resting, son…"
"If you make me lay down another minute, father, I think I'll simply go stir crazy. I ache, yes, but the doctor even said that there was nothing he could find wrong with me. I'm more than capable of talking to you. I have something to tell you, but… I don't think you're going to believe me."
Lucius raised an eyebrow at his son as he moved over and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Is what you have to say so shocking?"
"It's a bit fuzzy and getting fuzzier as time goes by… but you may think that what I have to tell is rather shocking. I saw James, father." He answered.
"Of course you did. He's lying right over there sleeping like a little angel."
"Not my son, father. James Potter. Harry's father; I saw him."
Lucius' face went blank, as it always did when his father chose to hide his emotions. "James is gone, Draco…"
"He's dead, yes. But he's waiting for you, and he told me that if you came to join him too soon he wouldn't speak to you for an entire decade."
A faint smirk touched his lips. "That does sound like something he would say. But why do you say you saw him…?"
"He wanted me to tell you something about your daughter." Draco reached for his father's hand, resting his over his father's.
"It was a girl…? I was right…?" Lucius had his head bowed.
"You were right, father. He told me to tell you that Kitty loves you and that the baby girl was born healthy, he said, with blonde hair and his hazel eyes." Lucius didn't answer, silent as he sat there. Draco gave his father's hand a gentle squeeze. "Father…?"
"My Kitty said that, did he…?" He said, voice revealing what his expression did not. His voice was slightly shaking.
"He called you his Peacock too." He added, hoping his father would believe him.
"Only James ever called me that." Lucius murmured softly.
"I think you and Harry should view the memory in the pensive. The more time goes by, the less I recall of the details." He said. "James had something to tell Harry too but it's all so… it would just be easier and that way."
"I'll bring the Penseive stand in here." He assured in a much calmer and steady voice.
"Thank you father." Draco said, eyes moving to his son. He smiled as he gazed at the tiny baby.
"My grandson is a very healthy child. James would be proud that he carries his name, I'm certain."
"He's just perfect and already nearly as big as the twins…"
"He'll likely out grow them" Lucius agreed, glancing about at a sound behind him. Harry moved into the room and to the bedside.
"Are you hungry love…?" Harry asked as he moved to Draco and kissed him. "I can call Toodles to bring in your lunch."
"Maybe, in a while." He said, not feeling hungry at the moment. "How is Angel…?"
"Poor little thing used up all of her magic." Lucius answered. "She's still asleep. The medi-wizards said she would likely sleep more than be awake for the next several days. The rest will only do her good."
"Good… I brought her a treat from work." Harry said with a soft grin.
"Father, could you bring in the Penseive? I'd like to do that as soon as possible." Draco started.
"Penseive…?" Harry frowned. "You shouldn't be doing any magic, Dray. You heard the doctor…"
"Extracting thought doesn't take much effort." Draco began.
"Your doctor said no magic."
"This is important, Harry." Lucius said as he turned and walked from the room to fetch the bowl.
Harry took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Why should this be so important…?"
"I didn't exactly die, Harry, but I did go far enough to meet someone important to both you and my father." Draco said softly.
"What…?"
"I want you to see, Harry. He's not upset about us, he's happy. And he remembers his relationship with my father without the twist they made to his mind…"
"You spoke with my dad?" Harry asked softly.
"I want you to see." Draco repeated. "Let me do this, Harry. I promise I won't do anything else magical, I swear it. For at least two full days."
Harry stroked his cheek. "All right, baby. Just this one thing, all right?"
"I swear." Draco smiled, giving him another kiss.
Harry and Lucius descended together into the memory, trailing along behind Draco when he first sighted the chairs and that ghostly fire. When Lucius saw the specter of his lost love, he was unable to even make a sound; his throat closed with grief and longing. It wasn't fair that they had been separated so long because of a stupid pre-arranged marriage. James should have been his!
Harry moved onward, several steps away from Lucius to watch the events unfold, standing just behind Draco's wingback chair. Lucius moved to beside the chair that James stood in, gazing down at him with clear pain and longing in his eyes that faded a bit and was replaced with a smile when James called him a peacock. It was true; James did remember him as they had once been. And James was really waiting for him… His expression darkened a bit when the fact was revealed that only Lucius' father had been the one to take James away and subject him to whatever he had endured while their daughter had been born and taken away from them both. He had to find her.
Harry gazed at the man in the chair with his easy smile, gentle humor and relaxed demeanor; he couldn't help but reflect on his youth and how different things would have been if his father had not died. He had to pull himself away from useless introspection to focus on the message being spoken. Lucius had been his father's true love. His father had been taken to a mountain villa by Abraxus… maybe there would be some clues or someone who knew something out there still, even after all these years. He filed the thought away for future reference. Then came the discussion of Draco's need to return to his life to point out something to Harry; he could change the marks himself. Harry was almost shocked that he had not already thought of it. Mallek was his clone; his power signature was the same as Harry's. The spells and charms to alter that thrice-damned Dark Mark were available in Lucius' library; he could make life livable for the kids; and he could control Erik if need be… things were looking a lot more positive for those children now.
Then the question of Mallek came up. Harry felt his heart skip a beat; Draco had left his life behind but remembered to ask the one question that Harry most wanted to hear answered from his father. He almost laughed at his father's vehemence against Severus Snape. Well it was clear that wouldn't do. Give him to Lucius was the only suggestion his father had.
The visit was much too short for the liking of either Lucius or Harry; they would both have loved to have spent much more time just seeing the man that they both had cared for deeply in their own ways. Draco got a hug from James and was on his way again. Harry and Lucius moved to each other again and slipped out of the memory.
Both of them sighed softly as they drew their faces up out of the Penseive bowl, both very thoughtful as they considered what they saw and what they had heard.
Draco watched them from his bed, his son cradled in his arms, feeding the infant.
"You were right, son." Lucius said softly. "I did need to see that myself."
"So did I… thank you, love, for sharing that with us." Harry said, sitting on the bed beside Draco and kissing him tenderly.
"And now you have a lot of work to do, don't you?" Draco said with a soft grin after returning the kiss.
"Yes." Harry smiled. "Hope you don't mind lover."
"I'm supposed to vegetate, remember?" Draco smirked softly. "But you had better get your ass in this bed when its bedtime, understand me?"
"I'm not Hermione; no book is good enough to keep me away from my husband." Harry said with a smile, eyes going to the baby. "You know you make the most beautiful babies, Dray…" he murmured.
"You had a bit to do with his beauty, Harry." Draco chuckled.
Jerrod Warrington added the final ingredient and watched anxiously as he stirred carefully the brew that he had been working on for days. He had been working nonstop on his assignment of undoing the hereditary concealment potion and this was his fifteenth attempt… three had turned into useless black goo, four had exploded, and the rest had been interesting attempts but really did nothing at all he needed them to. One was, he was certain, a quite deadly poison. He watched with sinking hope as again the color began to change, this time to a strange grey color with balls of bright blue half an inch round floating in random spaces.
He grimaced, staring at it a long moment. What in the name of Merlin's bloody blue balls was he doing wrong?! Tried reversing the potion, tried changing how it was brewed, tried reversing the method that the potion was brewed, tried different time variations… nothing was making any sense.
"You're my father, aren't you?" A quiet voice asked from the doorway. He jumped at the voice, and then looked over to see Alyssa, holding her Chthulu doll in her arm, gazing at him. "I heard them talking. You're my father?"
He flushed red, using a cleaning spell to banish the failed potion. "Who was talking…?" He asked quietly. He'd asked Lucius to keep that quiet… was nothing he asked, not even the smallest thing, to be respected?
"The nannies; Nanny Bridget says that you are my father. Are you my father?" She asked softly, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm too busy to have a child, and you're too special to be mine." he said, turning to start all over again, though it had been nearly a full day since he had bothered to eat and longer than that since he had slept.
"Lord Malfoy is a father and he's busy." She answered, tilting her head to one side. "Am I not worthy of having a father…?"
"You have one, My Lady Alyssa. George Weasley is your father…"
"Angel has two fathers. I have two also but you don't want me." She answered sadly, stepping in. "I'm sorry they made me practice on you, Professor Warrington…" the little girl said with true regret in her voice.
"That wasn't by your choice… Alyssa, you ought to go and play; the potions lab is no place for a pretty little thing like you…"
"I want what Angel has. What Alerick has; I want two parents." she said, gazing up at him. "Tell me the truth; are you my father?" He heard her voice change timbre and he knew that there was no way to lie to her; the girl was exerting her powers of control over him.
He closed his eyes. "Yes." He answered in a quiet tone. "I am… I was used to create you."
"Are you sorry they made me?"
"What? No! You're everything they wanted you to be and more. And you're strong, strong enough to do whatever you need to do. I'm proud you're so special, Alyssa."
She approached him, her large round eyes glimmering with tears. "Then why do you not want me? Must I belong only to Lord Father Weasley?"
"I can't be around him love. He and I…" he started, then sighed softly. "We just don't get along. I don't know how to be a father anyway…"
"He doesn't either. He brought me a silly doll with a fancy dress on and fancy hair… but I don't play with dollies." She said with a bit of scorn.
"He'll get better at being a dad with time… he has to get to know you, my little Lady Alyssa." he assured, moving to kneel before her as he often did when teaching her. "He is your father, and you need to learn to listen to him even if you don't like what he is saying."
"If I have to don't you have to?" She asked. "I want you to talk to him, Professor…" she said, hugging her stuffed toy representative of the destroyer of souls.
"Talk to George Weasley? We've nothing to talk about." He said. "That's just being silly, my little lady." He used his wand to scourgify his hands before he knelt to be eye to her. "You should be with the others, not wasting your time in here with me."
"There's nothing to do, sir." She said, pouting. "They won't give us lessons or classes and you're too busy to teach us…"
"I have to do this for Lord Malfoy; it is my goal to get this reworked." he said, looking quite disgruntled, looking back at his table.
She pouted a moment more, and then hugged her Chthulu. "You need to talk to Lord Father Weasley." She repeated, gathering all of her siren powers and influence as she had learnt to and using that power to force the man to bend to her will. "I want two fathers too. You need to talk to him, Professor."
He grimaced, eyes closing, feeling his willpower shoved aside for the wishes of this child who had more power in her little finger than he had ever hoped to have. "I will fire-call him, all right…?" He asked, hoping she would leave it at that.
"I want you to talk to him face to face." she corrected.
"I will invite him over if Lord Malfoy approves. I am his bonded servant, my Lady; I must get his permission. Please, don't force me into anything more…" he whispered quietly. He knew perfectly well what was happening to him and what the child was doing; he'd felt this dazed sensation more than once and maybe it was his siren blood that made him capable of retaining knowledge of exactly what was happening. He was aware of each and every time that little Alyssa had manipulated him.
She threw her arm about him and hugged him. "All right… will you walk me back out to the others…?" She asked, looking at him with completely innocent eyes.
"Sure…" he said quietly feeling her influence fade. He rose to his feet and she twined her hand into his.
Lucius sat in the ballroom turned playroom, musing over the message that he had gotten from his past love as he watched each of the new children now members of his family. They were all quite different little characters; there would be a big challenge for he and his wife as well as Draco and Harry to get some of these children under control.
Of the seven children that had come to Malfoy Manor following the raid on the clinic, five remained. After careful interviewing and reviewing of all the information gleaned through memory probes, veritaserum checks, and interviews of family and friends of the parents of the children created with the stolen Malfoy and Potter sperm, only two had come from homes where they were not abused nor neglected in any way. Those who had returned were Tristin Baddock and Alexander Jugson. Their parents were instructed to bring the children by a minimum of twice a week for playtimes with their siblings and they had agreed to do so.
Each of the children had been raised in very different ways; Lazlo and Elston were very possessive, aggressive, and borderline violent children. Thin, emaciated little Fallon, a little over a year old, only wanted love. He would cling to anyone who would hold him, and everything and everything that came near the little boy would either be eaten or shoved into his mouth. Fallon had been walking since he was nine months old, the reports said. Chubby little Astrid, the polar opposite of Fallon, was happy to just sit and play with whatever she could reach; she made no attempts to do more than crawl though she was nearly eighteen months old. Dorcus was a maddeningly curious child who was constantly testing doors, doorknobs, cabinets, opening boxes just to strew toys all over then move on to the next adventure. She was in constant motion and if the nannies did not keep constant watch on her, she would be out the door to investigate the rest of the manor. Dorcus had escaped already three times this morning.
Lucius shook his head with a look of distaste at the name; he had a new name in mind but of course he had to present that idea to Draco; he wanted to name the girl Camilla. It was a good name, and had strong roots; he remembered it from a book he had read and it had been the name of a fleet-footed warrior woman.
Lazlo played by himself most of the time, as the other children had discovered that if they tried to play with anything he wanted to play with he would shove them aside or scream and yell at them until they went away. Even Elston had stopped trying to play with him and he had gone on to push around and bully Fallon and Astrid.
Mallek was playing right now with a bright red ball, throwing it away as hard as he could and giggling happily as Alerick ran after the ball and brought it back to him. Lazlo watched them play, eyes narrowed, and then approached when he saw his opening. He rushed forward and shoved Alerick roughly to the ground, snatching the ball up with a laugh of triumph that lasted only a moment.
"No! Hurt mine!" Mallek said, angrily, thrusting a chubby accusing finger toward the attacker of his consort. Like extensions of his arms, both Erik and Erin surged forward, hands glowing to attack their three and a half year old half-brother; before Lucius could react they had slammed the young bully back against the wall with a combined blast. Two of the nannies screamed and scattered; the head nanny moved to shelter Mallek with herself. Lucius moved forward and Erin turned on him, her hands glowing, her face as blank as her twin's. Erik advanced on the defenseless and now wailing Lazio, murder in his eyes.
"Sectumsempra!" Erik snarled, pointing an empty hand at Lazio; who began to scream and writhe. Lucius saw no other option; he threw a shield over the defenseless child to block the spell, prepared to feel the full brunt of the assault from the girl.
"Protego! Erik, stop it!" Warrington snapped as he ran in, leaving Alyssa standing at the door, wide-eyed. The twins hesitated, looking back at Mallek in confusion
"Bad! Hurt mine!" Mallek snapped again, getting to his feet and toddling over to Alerick.
"I'm all right, Lord Mallek…" he said, getting up to his feet. Mallek wrapped his arms about him, glaring furiously over at Lazio.
"Stop this!" A third voice barked and the twins dropped their hands, the power fading from their hands immediately. Erik looked over at Harry in pure surprise and confusion. Harry frankly didn't care if he made the toddler angry; he would use every tool he had at his disposal to make sure that these kids hurt no one else. Mallek glared at him, lip sticking out as he pouted, cheeks flushed with anger.
"Hurt mine." he insisted, pointing at Lazio. "Bad!"
"He will be taught differently but you must not send those two to punish him for you!" Harry snapped at the child with angered eyes; he knew exactly how horrible that spell was. He hurried to the side of the injured child. "Damn it all…!" he whispered, surveying the damage done to the little brown-haired boy.
Lucius started over to join Harry but Mallek demanded him to stop. "No! Mine hurt!" he insisted.
"Alerick was only knocked to the ground!" Harry grumbled, trying to restrain his temper. Mallek was only a child and did not understand, but that spell that ERik had used was one that he knew could cause horrible disfiguration if not death.
"I am all right, Lord Mallek." Alerick said, trying to appease him.
"Does he need the hospital?" Harry asked softly. The boy clung to him, sobbing harshly. There were two deep cuts on his face bleeding freely, and one across his upper arm and chest. Lucius' spell had prevented further damage and perhaps even the death of this boy.
"No; Severus taught me how to handle this." He said quietly, using his wand and murmuring the soft words necessary to close and heal the wounds.
The room was deadly silent except for the continued whimpering of Lazlo as Harry scooped up the boy in his arms. Lucius turned and gestured to the nannies. "Take these children back to their nursery, please." He ordered, and none of them objected. Alerick was still trying to reassure his Lord that he was all right as they four of them, with Alyssa trailing along behind, were ushered quickly from the playroom, leaving the other children staring after them in stunned silence.
"I'll put him to bed, and then we need to talk." Harry said softly, turning to go as well.
"Indeed we do, Potter." He said quietly. "And although I do not wish to involve him, we must ensure that Draco's opinions are considered in the conversation as well."
Harry nodded and moved out quietly. Warrington only just then realized he still had his wand up and he flushed, lowering it.
Lucius glanced at him. "Excellent timing, Jerrod." He said, glancing down to see that his robes had been sliced, but he was completely intact.
"Oh, yeah, sure." He said, kind of discomfited with the compliment. "The kids have kind of gone off like that before and I always seem to be in the right place at the right time…" he said with a timid grin.
"Any progress yet on your project?" He asked, using his wand to repair the rips in his robes.
"Some… but no full success yet." He admitted quietly.
"We need that fix now more than ever." He said quietly. "You are to work on nothing else today except that, and if you do not have success today you will be working with Severus Snape until that answer has been achieved."
He blanched, but nodded. "I'll get right on that sir." He said, though he knew that the instructions forced upon him by his daughter would need to be followed up on before he would be able to get any rest. He turned and hurried out to begin all over again.
"This is the second time their powers have come to bear against others." Harry said quietly. He and Lucius had returned to Draco's room, the younger blonde wizard propped up on pillows and the other two seated on either side of his bed. "Something must be done…"
"I don't want their powers blocked… making them into squibs is a horrible punishment for doing what they have learned to do." Lucius said in objection, though he did look quite thoughtful. "Although I must admit; Sectumsempra is a seventh-year spell, and a very dark one at that. No four year old should be able to do that spell, and especially not as wandless magic."
"Then don't take their powers." Draco said, seeing the answer clearly. "Take the knowledge."
"Take their knowledge…?"
"Not all of their knowledge, father. Simply removing the memories of the training that Parkinson had them put through should be enough. They have undergone a lot of unnecessary training and it won't hurt them to lose it for a while." Draco reasoned.
"Let them have the chance to be children, and to have a childhood with all its normal bumps and bruises, hum?" Lucius said thoughtfully. "Interesting…"
"And I can change their marks… I can link the blockage of the knowledge to levels, to be released as they reach that year in their training at school, or to when they have achieved a certain level of adeptness on their own without that maniacal training. I can link that into the marks, I have an idea how to alter it already…"
"How will you alter it?"
"Hopefully I will be able to do that tonight. Toodles 'fetched' me a book on it from the library at Hogwarts; it has a lot of information on the marks and how to control them. I'm going to alter one if I can but I need someone to experiment on to ensure I'm doing it properly and I don't wish to harm the children."
"How interesting that Toodles seems to find it all right to 'borrow' anything you wish or need." Lucius smirked. "As for the marks; I have another possibility for you. Warrington bears the dark mark as well; he was never bound to the Dark Lord, but has been bound to our little Dark Prince."
"He does…? Well I'd rather experiment on him than on one of the kids." Harry admitted in a thoughtful voice. "I'd better get to studying that book… I'm sure that Severus would know how to bind the levels of knowledge."
"He has already mentioned to me that it needed to be done, the night that my grandson was born." Lucius said, not wanting to directly reference the momentary death of his son. "I will call him immediately to discuss what must be done."