Malcolm Parkinson unfolded the copy of the newspaper he had picked up on his brief trip out of the hotel room he had felt forced to hide in since the seizure of the children. The headline was what had caught his eye when he'd been out getting something to eat under careful concealing spells. The headline read "RAID ON CLINIC EXPOSES PLOT TO STEAL WIZARDING BLOODLINES!"
Damned fools, that's what they all were; this so-called writer had no idea what he had truly been after. He moved to a seat at the table, taking a few moments to read through the article. He was not surprised to find that it detailed the facts of the clinic's business and all that idiotic foolishness that his daughter had indulged in. The children had gone to their ancestral families if there had been any abuse suffered at the hands of their parents. So Malfoy and Potter had the children now.
He glanced through one of the doors in the small flat; it was one of two separate bedrooms off the living area. In one of the bedrooms was August Bebel; he had not allowed that man to stick his narrow nose out of the door since they had holed up here. Bebel was his key to being able to start over; he needed him. Bebel had not complained; Malcolm had him well under his control. In fact August had dove directly back into his work again; he was trying to recreate his work once more. He had the first bedroom converted into a lab and was working nonstop.
In the second room a bed visible from the table; Pansy lay in a spell-induced coma-like state until he needed her again. He scowled at her. Why was she such a stupid girl? Why had she not inherited her mother's cunning and intelligence? His wife would have been a proper partner and support for him in his work... if only the Dark Lord had not seen fit to kill her. He sighed softly and looked away from his daughter. There was no use bringing up past pain; he had enough to focus on right now.
He took a few minutes to rip the paper up into tiny strips before he threw it in the trash. He didn't care one bit about the clinic, but the children... they had stolen his precious children from him. His life's work stolen out from under his very nose; he had never suspected that anyone would ever find them where they had been sequestered. Because of the raid of the clinic his last embryos to re-create the Dark Prince were forever out of his reach. All of August Bebel's notes and work gone. Why...? Because that over-sensitive and ungrateful little bitch Weasley had supplied the Aurors with every bit of information. And that damned fool Warrington had probably been the one who had given the dark circle up. He had only learned of the destruction of the hideaway when a report of a devastating explosion had been reported over the Wizarding Radio. He was sure that Malfoy must have somehow been involved but no one had survived the violent conflagration. His little valley had been turned into little more than a blackened crater.
Not everyone had been destroyed, though. Jerrod Warrington had not only survived, he had been seen to be in quite good health. He had seen Warrington himself in Diagon Alley, flitting about and spending Malfoy's money on potions supplies.
A smile touched Malcolm's lips. What a perfect place to begin getting back on his feet. Jerrod Warrington was his first target. Taking him would serve three purposes; first, it would deprive Malfoy of a tool and a servant; second it would restore his own servant, and third he would have a chance to vent his anger on someone. That fool was still bound to him and could be forced to do his will fairly simply; it was only a matter of getting close enough to give the orders and instructions. Pansy could be of use to him right now despite the fact that Jerrod knew her face and did not trust her. She could go out under a glamour and the Imperious command; she would be able to fetch the fool back for him. Then he could return the man into his service... though he might just decide to kill him outright for his obvious betrayal. Working for that rich fool Malfoy indeed.
Oh, yes, he had his plans. And once Warrington was squared away, he would make both Potter and Weasley pay for taking his world away from him. He would take theirs away from them.
Warrington slipped on his cloak and shook back his hair. One trip to the store, one last ingredient... this potion was working precisely how it should. Finally! The color was perfect, a deep blue with tiny flecks of gold. It just needed an hour or more to cool before adding the final ingredient, fresh reishi mushrooms. Once he had that last ingredient he could test the potion as he had tested the first potion; on his own self. Once he was sure that it functioned as it was meant to, he would use it to restore all the children to their families.
Following that, he would most likely be asked to destroy any trace of his potion if he read Malfoy's intention correctly. All that work gone... and no one would know that he had created a potion to bypass the traditional hereditary trace potion. No one had ever managed that before. He sighed and turned to leave the potions lab and was startled to see a child in the doorway again.
It was not Alyssa as he had half expected, come to fuss at him for not speaking with George. It was Harry's daughter Angel. What in the world would she want to come and see him for...? "Mr. Warton, sir?" she began in a timid tone.
He frowned; he didn't like how exhausted the child looked. "It's Warrington, and you ought to be in bed little girl. You look like you could sleep another week..." he said, moving to her.
She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, then gazed up at him. "Can't sleep... I need to tell you; don't go. Please stay here."
That got his attention. "Not go to the store...? Why?"
"I dunno." she said, looking a little confused. It was all a bit fuzzy...
"Did you have a bad dream, little lady?" he asked her and she nodded, her vivid green eyes looking huge in her pale face. He patted her awkwardly on the head. "You mustn't worry about me; I'll be just fine. You go on back to bed, all right? I'll have your house elf bring you some milk and cookies."
"Well... okay..." she said hesitantly, allowing herself to be guided back away from the door.
Warrington escorted her back to her room and called for the promised milk and cookies before striding out, intent to finish his business. Rather sweet of the little girl to worry like that, especially since he'd hardly even set eyes upon her since he arrived here. No wonder Lucius cared for the girl so much...
Angel finished her cookies and drank nearly half of her milk before a wave of weariness overtook her once more. She felt calm and really couldn't remember why she had been so upset. She sighed and settled to her pillow, allowing her eyes to close.
Immediately she was swept into the dream once more... she knew she had just dreamt this because she recognized it all. It was like she was sitting down and watching telly at the foster's old home, watching a movie that she couldn't turn off. The street was strange, not straight and well-ordered like the streets of London but strange in an interesting kind of way.
Every shop had strange things on display that did unexpected things. She had been there once with her Nonno but they had gone into the pet store and had not lingered on the street.
Mr. Warrington emerged from a shop that had really weird stuff in the windows; things that blew up and fixed themselves and what looked like candy but she thought she could see the word "poo" up on the wall too, inside the place. He looked angry and seemed to be in a hurry, mumbling about books.
She knew what was coming, the bad person was waiting just up ahead in the dark place! "Mr. Warton... Warrington...! Stop! They're gonna get you...!" she called out but he did not hear; he kept walking closer and closer and then she saw it; the hands reached out of the dark and he was grabbed; his body stiffened and his face froze in pain; he fell toward the hands and was dragged into the dark alley.
Angel sat up with a gasp of fear, her little heart pounding. Jerrod Warrington should not have left the manor; bad people were looking for him and they would take him away forever if they didn't do anything. She pushed the blankets back and slipped from her bed. She had to get help, she just had to. She hurried out of the room, forgetting to get either her robe or slippers in her haste.
"Nonno...?" Angel asked timidly, peering in the door of the nursery for the twins.
He looked around at the voice from just setting the baby boy back into his bed to sleep. "Angel...! I didn't know you were up, my little love..." he smiled at her warmly.
"Has Mister Warrington come back yet?" she asked softly.
"Jerrod? I actually wasn't aware he had left; last I knew he was working in the potions lab." he answered truthfully.
"He went to the store to get something. I don't think he's back yet..." she looked frightened and exhausted.
Lucius covered little Remus with his blanket and went to her, scooping her up into his arms. "Now, now, he's a grown man and sometimes shopping takes a bit longer than planned, that's all love..." he soothed, wondering what had gotten her so upset about a shopping trip.
She shook her head, clinging to him. He was very concerned to feel that she was trembling. "It's not just shopping Nonno. It's more, it's something bad...." she whispered, afraid that he would not believe her either.
"Why do you say that?"
"I keep seeing it when I go to sleep, and you can't let it happen, please... Mister Warrington goes out and the shadow people come after him, Nonno. The shadow people come and take him away and hurts him. I don't want him to be hurt Nonno..." she blurted it all out. "He's on a that street with candy and ice cream and bats and owls where we got Tia and it's not a dream..."
"Sounds like Diagon Alley, Angel." he answered. "Will it make you feel better if I summon him back home?" he asked her.
She nodded solemnly. "Yes, Nonno..."
"Then I will simply have him return here." he smiled reassuringly at the girl as he carried her out of the room.
Jerrod examined the bottle of Reishi mushrooms very closely; he did not wish to open it because extreme delicacy of this particular ingredient. It must be fresh cut and sealed; not old or wilted in any manner. The caps looked crisp and fresh, no soft edges in sight, no bruising at all; but then most of the ingredients he had bought at this particular store were of the upmost quality. "You said this was harvested last week...?"
"Late last week; in fact, only two days ago." the clerk at the counter agreed, watching the man examine the goods with a very careful eye. She smiled slightly; she liked dealing with men who knew what value was found in a potion and quality ingredients. She was only in her late twenties and had seen him several times here at the shop; she found him quite an intriguing person though he never spoke to her of anything but potions and potions ingredients.
"Hum... should be precisely what I need, then." he barely gave the woman a glance, more of his attention on the several ingredients he had selected. "Put these on Lucius Malfoy's account. I need to have them delivered to Malfoy Manor immediately. I have a few more items to pick up..." he said distractedly.
"Of course, sir." she said, and started to speak more but he was already at the door and out before she could form the thoughts. She sighed and shrugged. Maybe next time he'd come in she'd be wearing her sexier blouse...
Warrington drew a notepad and pencil out of his pocket, scratching off the items from his list. He now had everything he needed to create enough of the potion to ensure that all the kids at the house had their heredity restored.
Unfortunately he didn't bother looking around to see if anyone happened to be walking by at that moment and he walked directly into another pedestrian. They bounced off each other and both went sprawling to the ground in a tangle of robes. "Bloody hell...! Sorry..." he mumbled as he disentangled himself from the other wizard, who sat up and gave him an unsure look. Jerrod groaned inwardly; of all the wizards and witches strolling up and down Diagon Alley, why did it have to be him?
George Weasley picked up the book he had been carrying. "Jerrod Warrington; I certainly didn't expect to run into you today..." he commented with a smirk. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah." he grumbled, getting to his feet, not looking at him.
"Good; sorry about that, just going too damned fast, I suppose." he said, standing as well and dusting off his dragon-hide jacket. "You must be busy, I'll just let you get on with it." he said, starting to turn away.
"Wait." Jerrod heard himself say; he didn't want to talk to this man but now that they were face to face he couldn't put it off any longer. He could feel the siren's command his daughter had given to him surging up to full strength. Avoiding contacting Weasley had allowed him to ignore it but now he had no choice. He had to talk to this man, there was no way around it. "I... we need to talk. About Alyssa."
"Are you certain? The last time we did that we had a shouting match." George smirked.
"She's not just your daughter, she's mine too whether we planned her or not." he said, chewing on his lip for a moment. "She needs to have two parents to help her get past the crap they stuck inside her head, I..."
George glanced around, holding up a hand to silence the other man. "Look, this is much too public a place for a conversation like this. My store is just a few more doors down. We can have a drink and at least act like we're civilized, hum?" he suggested, turning to walk down the block. Just down the street Jerrod could see very clearly the large sign advertising Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"I do have a LITTLE time..." he acquiesced, moving along with him, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets. Neither of them noticed that they were being watched, someone lurking in silence in the dark shadows of the alley watching their every move.
Warrington followed George into the store and was struck by the almost garish displays and loud noises and pungent and sweet smells that assailed him the moment he stepped inside. George didn't try to talk over the noise, he simply gestured him to follow. Fred was at the cash register; he looked curious and George gave him some sort of signal, pointing up at the stairs. Fred nodded and turned back to the customer he was dealing with. When the two mounted the small staircase behind a curtain the noise level was vastly lowered. "You actually make this crazy stuff...?" Warrington asked.
"You'd be surprised how just a little joviality can put the meaning back into people's lives. We make a pretty damned good living off this 'crazy stuff', actually." he answered, not offended by the comment at all and taking it in stride. "Fred and I are always doing surveys to find out what people want. We're constantly developing new things..." he explained as he led him up the stairs and through a hallway crammed with boxes and shelves that they could barely fit by.
"Do you clean, occasionally...?" Warrington asked a bit sourly.
George chuckled softly. "Oh, once a month or so... we're building up stock for the holidays and haven't got our storage system expanded yet. It's not so bad; I could find anything I needed in here in about ten minutes or so..." he said as they emerged into a small but comfortable sitting room. "Here we are..." he said, moving to a wall and gesturing with a wand. The bookshelves slid forward and apart, revealing a hidden bar stocked with damned near everything a wizard could ever desire to drink. "What will you have?" he offered.
Jerrod sighed; he really didn't want to be here. Maybe a drink would help him to relax just a bit. "Nothing too strong; I need to finish a potion for Malfoy once I get back." he said, still standing and feeling nervously like he should be gone.
George nodded and poured him a small glass of red currant rum and the same for himself. He handed one glass to Jerrod as he moved past, taking a seat in one of the two armchairs by the little window. "Come on, sit down, I'm not going to bite you." he commented.
"You may not, but the chair might." Jerrod said; he had approached the seat but halted with the first sign of humor on his face that George had seen. He looked at the chair to see a set of teeth similar to what muggles had - wind up teeth with feet - but this one had fangs. And it was opening its mouth wide, orienting itself toward Warrington ready to bite anything that came into reach.
George laughed and snatched the toy teeth off the cushion. "Yes, that definitely would have bit... takes a special charm to get the little bugger to let go too. I bet Fred planned on that one getting me later tonight." he smirked as Jerrod paused, lifting the cushion to check for any other nasty surprises before he sat down. George sat patiently but Jerrod just sipped his drink, staring at his own shoes. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat. "So, what is it you wanted to talk about...?"
He couldn't just sit here; he had to say something. "Alyssa. Alyssa wants us to talk." he answered.
"All right, you got me where you want me. What about Alyssa?" he prompted.
"We need to work together somehow. She... found out about me; the nannies were talking about it in front of her even though they were strictly forbidden to do so."
"Good." George said firmly.
Warrington was surprised and confused enough to look up and meet the eyes of the other man. "Good? What the bloody hell is good about that?" he asked.
The red-haired wizard eyed him calmly with a bit of a grin. "You're close to my age. No romantic interests, no focus outside your work... you need a kid. Even Severus Snape, that old stick, has a pair of lovers and stepson to keep him happy."
That comment got a rise out of him. "I am NOT Severus Snape...!" he bristled.
George laughed. "I'm quite aware of that, Jerrod." he answered. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it."
"You aren't exactly surrounded by screaming brats yourself, Weasley." he said, preferring to use the more formal last name. "You aren't married, and from what I understand your mother had quite a few children." he commented, trying to make this redhead feel as uncomfortable as he was about this situation.
"And so should I?" he asked, drawing the obvious conclusion. "Lack of desire and effort, I suppose. Not to worry though, there are more than enough of us to carry on the family name. My sister has four kids and Ron has one, I've lost count of Bill's brood." he smirked. "Besides, I have a daughter now, don't I?"
Jerrod shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Yes, George had a kid, with him. "She doesn't like dolls." he said out of the blue, unable to think of anything else to say.
"She doesn't...?" he asked, frowning a bit. "I thought all girls enjoyed dolls..."
"Your sister Ginny didn't."
"Fred's fault." George answered immediately. "He came up with the idea to charm her doll to bite her if she touched its face. She didn't play with it long and didn't ask mum or dad for any others..."
He looked shocked. "You did that to your little sister...?"
George shrugged. "She transfigured the waistbands of our underwear so they fused with our skin. I figure we were even." Warrington took a sip of his drink; he would never thought of doing either of those things to anyone...! He wasn't sure that this family of Weasleys was entirely sane at the moment. "But I'd never do that to a child now." George said firmly.
Jerrod was somewhat mollified. "Alyssa told me that you couldn't be a good dad because you didn't know what she likes and doesn't like." he said.
George leaned forward slightly. "So teach me." he suggested.
"What...?"
He smiled at the other wizard's surprise. "I said, teach me. Teach me what my daughter likes and doesn't like. You know all that about her, don't you?"
"I know all of that about all five of them." he said crossly, not liking at all that he felt like he was getting put on the spot. He was very uncomfortable about this whole situation and how it was making him feel.
"I'm serious, Jerrod. I need to know about the girl..." George started.
He set the drink down. "I don't think I should stay; I've got to go..." he said, scowling.
"Why? Lucius Malfoy can summon you if he needs to, I can read a binding scar as easily as the next wizard." George said, eyes flicking to the scar visible on the other man's wrist. "After all, you're the one who said we had to talk."
"You're getting too damned personal; I don't like it." he scowled.
"No more personal than you're getting with me." the redhead answered.
"It's none of your business why I don't have kids or a wife!"
"Perhaps it isn't. Look, I'll make it even; I'll tell you why I don't. I'm not into birds; never have been for anything serious." George admitted. "They're fun, but I need something and someone that's more than just fun."
"That's not my problem!"
"Isn't it?" he asked pointedly. He knew what he was seeing in the man's face before Jerrod had gotten all angry; the man was interested but clearly afraid to admit it.
Warrington got to his feet. "No, it isn't!" he said, feeling very angry and not sure why. "I'm into birds...!"
George tried not to grin; he could see it as plain as the nose on Warrington's face. "...but birds aren't into you?" he finished for him.
"You, George Weasley, are a total and insufferable git!" he growled, shoving to his feet. "I was wrong; I don't have time for this." he said, stalking back toward the door. George did not stop him as he stalked out of the room, down the hallway, and into the shop again. Fred was at the counter waiting on a customer but Jerrod ignored him completely, pushing past a few customers in order to get out of the shop.
Once outside he took a shaky breath. Damn it all he hated for people to bring that shite up... he was happy. "I'm a happy bachelor, let it go and leave me the bloody hell alone...!" he grumbled as he paused to get his bearings. The bookstore; that was what he needed now; he turned and hurried in that direction. When he was passing the alley again he felt something reach and seize him, and he fell into the alley and out of consciousness.
"Wake up, you useless worm." a female voice growled close to his ear.
Warrington fought his way back to consciousness, dazed and confused. He was bound hand and foot, and was unable to move a single muscle in his body. He was tied on a bed and his hands felt sticky with something... blood...? Why couldn't he move...?
"Father will be so happy to see you." The female voice continued in an acidic tone as she stroked his cheek with one fingernail. He forced his eyes to focus on her and he felt as if his heart stopped completely. Pansy Parkinson smiled and slapped his face lightly before she turned away from him. "Not many things make father happy anymore…"
He felt all the blood drain out of his face at her comment. Her father… Merlin why hadn't Lucius simply killed him? It would have been better if he had. "I'm the reason he's pissed off, Pansy. Why don't you do him a favor and kill me?" She might get angry enough to kill him after all, if he worked her up enough. Unless her father had her under imperious... why would he need to do that?
"Don't be an idiot. I tried to kill you already." She spat at him over her shoulder, pure hate in her eyes. "I can't kill you or you'd never have woken up."
"Why isn't your father here?" he asked, trying to keep her talking.
"He's coming. I'm to hold you here until he comes. Now shut the hell up before I silence you, fool." she snarled at him. "My life is a living hell because of you. I want to see father slice you apart, bit by bit. I hope he keeps you alive for months and slowly tortures you to death."
"Nice." he said, allowing his eyes to close.
After receiving assurances from her grandfather that he would take care of finding his errant servant, Angel allowed herself to be put back to bed. Lucius set the house elf Toodles to watch over the girl with strict instructions to assist the girl to remain sleeping if necessary.
He then used his bond to call to Warrington and waited; he was rather surprised that he got no response. He was about to call Severus when the coals in the fireplace animated.
"Mr. Malfoy...?" George Weasley's disembodied head gazed at him out of the coals.
"Ah, Mr. Weasley. What a perfect time for you to call." Lucius took his seat before the fire; he would take advantage of this.
George looked a bit confused. "Huh...?"
"My bondservant Warrington has gone shopping at Diagon Alley..." Lucius began.
"Yeah, I know." George answered. "That's why I was calling, to tell the truth. I think maybe that I owe him an apology. He left here about twenty minutes ago; he's not back yet?"
"He's not here." Lucius answered, frowning.
"Weird." George commented. "I could look around town for you if you want." he offered, looking concerned.
"Do that. I will probably be there shortly myself."
"All right." George nodded. "If something has happened I know a few people who keep their eyes open who owe me a thing or two..." the disembodied head in the fireplace said. "I'll let you know if I see or hear anything."
"Ask people who were around your shop." Lucius suggested. "I have reason to believe he was taken just after he left there."
George nodded and the fireplace returned to simply being a fireplace once more.
Lucius rose to his feet and picked up the jar of floo powder.
"Have you asked the child?" Severus asked when he was told of what was happening.
"The child…? Angel has gone back to bed…"
"Not Angel. I'm talking about Warrington's daughter."
"Alyssa? No, why would I ask her about him?"
Severus sighed softly. "The child has, I believe, both Selkie and Siren blood? She has practiced on her father. Considering the fact that the guardians know and are adept at using Sectumsempra, I don't find it beyond the realm of possibility that Alyssa has been trained in the skills of her blood. That is, after all, the reason that they selected Warrington as her father."
"And she may have the calling ability." Lucius said, comprehending. "I know she has the ability to control Warrington even with his blood nearly as pure as hers." He called for a house elf to fetch the girl to them quickly.
Moments later Alyssa appeared with the house elf, which quickly vanished from sight once more. She looked a bit confused and unsure as she gazed at the two, but the expression was quickly hidden from the both. "Lord Malfoy… you wanted to see me?" She asked quietly.
"Yes. Tell me what you are trained in, child. What skills of your Selkie and Siren blood that you have mastered so far?"
She glanced at Severus a moment, unsure about what she was allowed to talk about in front of him. Then she looked back up at Lucius. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it, Lord Malfoy…" she said softly.
"The old rules have changed, have they not? In that valley you were treated as an instrument, a tool to be used when they felt you were needed. Here you are allowed to choose your own path, and to choose when and where that path will take you. Here you are allowed to have parents."
"But… but they don't want me." She murmured, looking down.
"George Weasley does."
"But Professor Warrington doesn't."
"You know about him?" Severus asked.
"The nannies talk to each other; all I had to do is listen." She said, not looking up. "I asked the professor and he said that it was true."
"Do you want him to be your father, little one?" Severus asked quietly.
Alyssa gazed up at him with sad eyes. "Yes, I do, sir."
"Tell us then, what you know." Lucius said.
She nodded, gazing at Lucius when she answered. "I haven't learnt how to see the future or the past; I was just starting my training on that when I came here… I can manipulate people, sir, to do what I need them to, even my fa…" she stopped herself; he didn't want to be her father. "…even Mr. Warrington. I can get him to come to me any time I want and it doesn't matter how far away I am. That's why they moved me to live with him before the others. But sometimes I mess it up and I end up going to where he is…"
"If you want your fathers, do what you do and call them. Bring them both here." Severus said.
"I'm not supposed…"
Snape scowled at the girl. "You may lose them if you do not!"
"Severus!" Lucius cautioned, seeing fear in the girl's eyes.
"What do you mean? What does he mean Lord Malfoy?" She asked, hugging her toy tightly.
"Call to Warrington. Call him with all your might and bring him to us." Lucius said, not wanting to frighten the girl with possible death or dismemberment of her father.
She glanced at Severus again and took a deep breath, her eyes unfocusing as she began to summon her father. Both men felt a surge of magical power. Lucius reached toward the girl, unsure if she would be able to pull her father back or if she – as she put it – might mess up and transport herself to her father.
Suddenly before her appeared one robed figure; George Weasley. He looked about confused, but Alyssa did not move, her little fists tightening. "I want my daddy, I want my daddy…!" she whispered, a tear on her cheek.
A moment later Warrington appeared; face bloodied and bruised, robes almost shredded off his body. He had straps on both hands and feet, and curled up when he realized he was free with a soft moan.
"They hurt you…" Alyssa whispered, gazing at him with wide eyes showing surprise and horror as she moved to him, her toy hugged tighter in her arms than ever before. No one had ever hurt the Professor before...
"Bloody hell!" George said, moving forward as well. "What happened…?!"
He noticed Alyssa and attempted to pretend that he wasn't hurt at all, starting to push himself to a sitting position. "It was Parkinson. Pansy was waiting…. I wasn't paying attention, didn't see her. Sorry…" he murmured. "It's really not as bad as it all looks, Lady Alyssa..."
"Stop that, Jerrod. Just lie still." Lucius said firmly.
"Yes sir." he mumbled, sighing as he subsided and lay where he was, half-curled on the floor. "You know, Angel tried to warn me." Warrington said. "She told me not to leave this morning…" he said softly.
"You should have listened to the girl." Severus said with dripping sarcasm.
"She's a kid... how was I to know?" he answered.
Severus rolled his eyes and drew his wand, performing a medical scan of the prone man. "He has a broken left forearm, broken bone in that wrist. Right arm is all right. It looks like his shoulder may have been partially dislocated; several contusions and cuts to the face but no brain injury. Cuts across his chest and arms. His ankle may have been sprained, the muscles don't look right at all."
"That's not so bad, considering that Pansy did tell me she tried to kill me." Jerrod mumbled with a half-grin.
Severus straightened up, slipping his wand away. "Your injuries are mostly superficial."
Warrington began to rise again. "So I can get up…?" he asked. "I need to finish my work, I…"
"Are you mad, man?" George scowled. "I'm taking you straight to bed!"
Severus smirked slightly. "Mr. Weasley, he's much too injured for games of that sort." He commented.
George rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant!" he countered.
"You need to go to sleep and get better… please Professor…?" Alyssa said softly, her cheeks damp with tears.
Warrington looked at the girl and felt his heart melt. "Alyssa... I promise I won't work long, but I have a duty to Lord Malfoy..." he attempted to reason with her; he had to get this done, he didn't have a choice.
"Nonsense. You have time to rest..." Lucius corrected.
"Wait; you don't understand, sir. I've got it... almost, anyway. I've got the answer you needed from me." Warrington said with an obsessed light in his eyes. "You have to allow me to finish at least once, to assure myself that it functions if nothing else..."
George scowled, looking from Lucius to Warrington. "You can't be seriously considering allowing him to work in this condition!"
"I can, Weasley. And I will allow it..." he began but held up a hand to make Jerrod stop in his attempt to rise. "For only one hour, then you will go to bed for a minimum of two days." he ordered.
Jerrod looked frustrated. "But I have the answer...! I need to duplicate it and..."
"And I'm not so bad at potions." George interrupted. "Neither is Snape; we can duplicate anything..."
"It's MY potion!" he said, feeling he was losing his only accomplishment.
"I'm too busy to work on any potion anyway." Severus said, with a half-sneer. "You have this all well in hand; I was on my way to visit Potter anyway to discuss other matters." he said, turning away.
"One hour." Lucius repeated. "And you will not be walking, Mr. Warrington."
"How the bloody hell am I to get about then?"
"The hospital so graciously provided us with a wheel chair..." Lucius reminded.
"For your son..."
"Shut up and accept it, Jerrod. I've never heard of Malfoy changing his mind once he's decided about something. Tell you what; Alyssa can sit and ride with you and I'll push you around in the damned thing until your time is up." George suggested.
"But first you need a bath, Professor." Alyssa said, touching his torn robes.
He flushed. "Yes, I think a bath is in order..." he agreed.
Lucius had the house elves fetch the chair, then assisted with settling the man into the chair. "You will see a healer before you go to work as well, I will not have a servant of mine damage themselves permanently due to lack of medical care."
"Bath, healer, then work." he sighed. "All right, all right... but do I have to...?"
"You don't have a choice, Jerrod." George said, using his wand to widen the seat of the chair until the girl could fit. He then lifted Alyssa and carefully placed her on Jerrod's right side. She snuggled in close to him, careful of his injuries, gazing up at him worriedly. "There. Don't worry, Lucius, I'll make sure he does what you told him to do." he assured.
Lucius smirked. "I'm sure you and little Alyssa have him well in hand. Don't forget to call me to see your final results."
"Not bloody likely that I'll forget." he said with a slight grumble.
George pushed him into the bathing room and set Alyssa on her feet. "You run along Alyssa, I'll let you know when he can have you visit some more, all right?"
"All right, Lord Father Weasley..." she said reluctantly; she wanted to help but she went out of the room obediently.
Jerrod started to push out of the chair but George put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "No, you heard Lucius. You're not to walk..."
"I'm not walking, I'm getting in the damned tub!" he retorted.
"I'm putting you in the tub and getting these disgusting robes off you..."
"You are not!" he started to push at his hand and hissed in pain.
"Don't use that arm!" George let him go immediately. "Listen up, Jerrod. If I have to stupefy you and wash you down myself I'll do it."
Warrington scowled at him. "You wouldn't...!"
"Try me; I don't make empty threats." George answered; he saw the only way he was going to get through to this man was to be as gruff with him as he was being. "You want to bathe yourself? Let me help you get ready and get out." he growled, eye to eye with the injured man.
Warrington glared at him for several long moments, then sighed and looked away. "Fine." he grumbled.
George used his wand to carefully remove the shreds of robe hanging from his shoulders, then used a lifting spell to lift the man into the air and lower him into the water still dressed in his underwear. Once concealed under the water, he used his wand once more to strip the rest of the clothing off of the injured man.
Warrington tried not to wince at the water covering his cuts and bruises; the warm water didn't burn but it didn't feel too great at first either.
"I'll get your back for you; you're gonna have a problem with that." George said, getting the sponge and soap.
Jerrod started to argue, but he decided against it. What was the point? He silently leaned forward to allow it.
George froze for a moment, looking at the mark on his right shoulder; an unmistakable wicked looking skull with a snake twined about and coming out the mouth of the skull. The Dark Mark? "You're a Death Eater?" he asked quietly.
Jerrod snorted. "Hell no. The Dark Lord didn't mark shoulders, did he?"
"No, but that is definitely a Dark Mark."
He sighed, looking back at him. "Do I have to explain to you too?"
"You said yourself we're both Alyssa's parents. I need to understand why the hell you have that bloody thing on your shoulder."
"I'm beat to hell and all he's worried about is the damned tattoo." he said, rolling his eyes. George began to carefully wash his back. "It's not for the Death Eaters, it's for the Dark Circle. I'm not the only one with one. Parkinson put it there to test its effectiveness. Works pretty damned well, actually."
"The Dark Circle... Dark Prince... " George mused thoughtfully, remembering . "Do you mean to tell me that that baby Mallek is your master?"
"In a word, yes." he said simply. "He can command me, but he hasn't the training yet to do that. I'm still in control of myself. But he's not the only one who holds my leash." he sighed.
"So whose lapdog are you, precisely?" George asked.
"Lovely choice of words." Jerrod grumbled, but he couldn't argue that it was not true. "Alyssa has been trained to be able to control me." he admitted; there was no point in hiding that any further. "And Parkinson can do the summoning through the Dark Mark."
"I'm surprised that he hadn't done that already." he began to rinse off his back; several of the cuts were still oozing blood.
"Malfoy's protections over this place prevent him from doing it. It's the only place I've ever been where I haven't felt that mark come alive whenever Parkinson felt like activating it."
"Then you need to stay on grounds here until he's dead." George said with a frown.
"Because of that mark? No one has seen it but you." he said rolling his eyes. "I have work to do, I can't hide out here like that. The kids, though, they need to..."
"The kids are marked too?" George's frown deepened.
"Not Mallek, but yes. Alerick, Erik, Erin and Alyssa have the mark too." he said, taking the sponge from George and beginning to wash his chest off, trying not to grimace at the pain he put himself through by simply washing. "It's not a big deal, really..."
"Not a big deal...?" George repeated in disbelief. "People were hunted down who had that mark after Voldemort was killed! If it wasn't the officials who got hold of them they were often found in pieces somewhere if they were found at all! And if those people over at the Ministry even get wind that anyone has that mark they're investigated and watched for the rest of their lives... Severus Snape works in a damned hospital saving babies and they STILL suspect him of dark workings!"
"I remember all of that, I was here in London just like you were, Weasley. That doesn't mean that any of that is going to happen to me. I don't disrobe in front of anyone, I don't go to beaches, I don't go to public spas; I don't do anything that might ever expose it to anyone. You're the only one whose seen it, though Malfoy knows it's there."
"How the bloody hell can you be so casual about something that could cost our daughter her life, and you yours as well?"
"What the bloody hell can I do about it, George?" Jerrod asked, glaring at him now. "It's there. I didn't ask for it, but there it is, plain as day. You know damned well the thing can't be removed, it's the same Dark Mark that Voldemort used."
"How did he mark you if you weren't willing?"
Jerrod simply held up his right hand. The bonding scars lacing up his arm were a plain answer. "I wasn't willing but I was bound to his will. So he was able to get around my unwillingness to allow him to test the damned thing on me before he put it on the Dark Circle."
George was silent for a few moments, then he sighed. "There has to be something we can do to get rid of them."
"Malfoy has someone working on that." he turned away from him, continuing to wash. He finally set the sponge back in its holder, as George said nothing else while he finished his bath.
Despite his protests George did not allow Jerrod to get dressed in his normal clothing, as he had yet to see the healer. Instead he put him in a robe and nothing on his feet, frowning at the purple swollen ankle and arm. Once he had him dressed he called for a house elf to fetch a healer.
The healer did not take long; the scan that Severus had performed was precise and correct. The breaks in his bones were healed, and Warrington was given a potion to drink and another with instructions to take it and go to bed.
When the healer left Warrington summoned his robes and clean clothing and attempted to make George leave. "I can get myself dressed."
"So do it." he answered in a totally unruffled tone.
"Do you HAVE to watch?" he asked, irritated.
"If it makes you feel better..." he turned his side to the slightly younger man but did not turn his back. Warrington glared at him and proceeded to get dressed; his left arm was very weak and he was surprised how much effort it took simply to get his underclothing on. He sat on his bed, staring at his robes a moment before putting a grim set to his jaw and picking them up.
Before he was through he had to allow George to assist him in dressing; he could not stand on his sprained ankle nor could he use his left arm for anything at all. Warrington sighed finally. "All right, I'm dressed. Now go home and leave me alone."
"Not happening."
"Damn it, Weasley, the healer didn't say I couldn't walk. I'll just..."
"The healer didn't but Lucius did. Sit." George said firmly. "And I saw you; you can barely stand much less walk. You have a limited time to work, then you're going straight to bed."
"I may have to do what he says but I don't have to do what you tell me..."
"Don't make me call Alyssa in here." The redhead smirked.
Jerrod started to object again, but only scowled and sat down in the chair. "Just take me to the damned lab." he grumbled grumpily.
George just grinned and pushed him out of the room in the chair.
Pansy stared at the empty bed in shock. What in the hell had just happened...? Warrington was there when she went into the bathroom, his blood was still on the sheets. How had he gotten free? He must have gotten loose, that's all. She made a quick search of the dirty little hotel room and found no trace of him whatsoever.
Hesitantly she turned back to the bed, approaching it like it was hiding something. She still couldn't believe what was right before her eyes. She reached out and put her hand on the bed hoping to find he was simply invisible. No luck; her hand went down to the sheets, though they were still warm where he had been laying. He wasn't invisible, he was really gone.
It didn't take very long for her shock to transform into panic as she stared at the empty bed. What in Merlin's name was she supposed to do? She didn't fail, she didn't! She had caught the feckless bastard and had bound him here as she had been instructed!
He'd accuse her of failure... he'd torture her... or he'd kill her. That thought got her moving; she whirled on the spot and fled for the door. She didn't care if she was being hunted with a reward on her head by the general populace; she'd rather be in the hands of the Aurors than in her father's hands! She seized the door and whipped it open.
A blast of light flared out of the open doorway and she was thrown back across the room against the small table beside the bed. She cried out in pain, the wood cracking from her impact against it; she crumpled to the floor holding her injured side. Looking up at the doorway through pain-filled eyes she saw a figure framed in it; it was her father.
"Accio Wand!" he snapped before she could raise the wand; it flew from her possession into his waiting hand. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. His face didn't show any expression but that lack of expression sent cold fear shooting down her spine, paralyzing her.
"Father, I..."
"Where is he?" he asked in a voice full of malice and cold fury. "You failed."
"No! No, father, I had him here, I swear it! Check my wand, I captured him with a body bind spell, I knocked him out and I brought him here just as you told me to do, exactly as you ordered me father!" she answered immediately. "Please just check the wand, I..."
He held up a hand to silence her and she fell silent immediately. "Let me be sure I understand what happened. You captured him without injury, as you were instructed, and you brought him here and bound him to await my arrival."
She nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes that's right...!"
"And then you felt it necessary to beat him?" he asked coldly, eyeing the blood stained sheets and spatters on the wall. Not too much blood; it was clear she did no major harm to the idiotic fool.
She bowed her head, trembling. "I was furious about everything that's happened... I lost everything, even my damned freedom. They're keeping Grainger down in the Ministry until her hearing; there's no way that I can get to her to get my revenge on that bitch... I wanted to vent some of my anger, and... I'm sorry father..." her voice drifted off to a whisper.
"What happened after you beat him? Did you kill him?" he asked.
"No. I wanted to, but... but you told me I was not allowed to kill him." she said. "I tried... and I almost did. But I couldn't."
"Which brings me back to now. And this empty bed... I see you did indeed have him bound properly..." he said, picking up the end of one of the snapped bindings, examining the broken end. "Tied with the magically reinforced rope as I instructed..."
"I did EVERYTHING you told me to, father..." she said in an urgent tone.
"Then, my dear..." he turned back to face her. "...where IS he?"
She bit her lip, lowering her eyes. "I don't know. He was here when I went to the loo and when I came back he was gone... the bed was still warm. I had the room warded against apparition, but..."
"Your ward against apparition is still there." he answered, scowling. "You didn't search him, did you? He had a portkey..."
"I searched him." she countered. "He had nothing on him. Nothing at all."
"You missed something!" he snapped.
"I missed NOTHING!" she said defensively. "I checked him QUITE thoroughly before I allowed him to wake!"
He began to pace, furious that his plan had not met with success.
His lack of an immediate violent reaction gave her a smidgen of self-confidence, enough to speak up once more. "Maybe, father, they know something that we don't. You can't know absolutely everything..." Pansy said with a little of her old sarcasm showing through.
"Maybe, Pansy dearest, you should shut the bloody hell up." he snarled, turning on her, his eyes blazing with fury, his wand leveled at her.
"I can't shut up father! You have to listen! They got him out of here somehow without breaking any of the wards or protections! It's true, and even you have to admit it! They know more than we do, and we have to just get on with the rest of our lives... we have all that money, father, we could live very comfortably..."
"In hiding." he spat. "We should be living as rulers! In control of all we see, especially those blind witless idiots in the Ministry of Magic!"
"I doubt the Ministry figured out that I even HAD him!" Pansy said, getting slowly to her feet, one hand over her side which continued to throb sharply with pain. "It had to be Malfoy and Potter. Somehow they got him the moment my back was turned..."
"Which makes the blame for his loss clear, doesn't it?"
"Yes, I.." she began, then realized he meant that the blame was hers. "...what...?"
"You should never have turned your back." he snarled at her. "Now I will have to find another way to capture him..."
"Father, please, we can't... Malfoy isn't ever going to let him out again after this, you KNOW that..."
"Then we'll just have to go on with the next phase of my plan." he growled.
"Don't make me..." she whispered, pale.
"You're either with me or against me. Decide now, Pansy Parkinson." he growled, wand leveled at her, malice in his eyes.
"Please daddy..." she whimpered, cowering.
Her pleas had no effect on him; he spoke the word she feared to hear. "Crucio!"
Lucius gazed at the chart that had just been created by Jerrod Warrington with quite a pleased smile. The chart showed a complete family tree as it always should have. The chart showed three names at the top of the chart; Narcissa, Lucius, and James Potter. The girl child that he and James had created together was listed there; her name showing as Ariandi Xal. Under himself and Narcissa, it showed that Alerick and Draco were brothers, and showed all of Draco's children.
Warrington smiled; at least he was capable of doing SOMETHING right. The fact that Lucius was pleased with him made him feel quite content. "I can brew enough to do the others in about nine hours... I'll get right on that."
"No, you are to go to bed. I know what the healer advised." Lucius said, rolling up the scroll.
"But..."
"I don't take arguments from my bondservants lightly, Warrington. You WILL go to bed. THAT is an order." he said firmly, eyes narrowed. Severus, sitting in the other chair in the sitting room, held out his hand and Lucius passed the scroll to him.
Jerrod subsided back into his chair, scowling. "Yessir." he grumbled softly.
"Toldja." George smirked.
"If you would do the honors?" Lucius gestured toward the door.
"No problem. Alyssa wants to help put him to bed anyway." George said, pushing him onward.
"Oh come on, leave the girl out of all of this!" Warrington complained as they went out into the hall and both of the older men could hear George snicker.
Severus smirked. "I think I see a romance budding." he said sarcastically.
"Let them be, Severus. Warrington will reject everything if he thinks anyone sees it before he does." Lucius said, taking his seat as well.
"You don't have to put me to bed..." Jerrod tried to object. They had stopped by the nursery to pick up Alyssa and she sat now beside him again, happy as could be to ride along in the chair with her father.
"If we don't you won't go to bed at all." George answered with a grin.
"You need to sleep, Professor Warrington..." Alyssa said, gazing up at him.
He sighed. "I'm not particularly tired, Alyssa, but I will sleep." he said softly.
She smiled, hugging him as George pushed the chair into the bedroom. Alyssa jumped out of the chair and crawled up on the bed, pulling back the covers. Jerrod allowed himself to be assisted out of the chair and onto the bed, careful to put no weight on his sore ankle. He slipped off his outer robes, then just got into bed wearing his comfortable slacks and shirt.
"You can't be serious about sleeping like that." George commented.
"I am not undressing in front of the girl!" Jerrod growled.
"You don't have to." George said, drawing his wand. First he spelled the blankets to magically stay up off the injured foot, then he transfigured the clothing that Jerrod wore into silk pajamas. "There. That'll be easier to sleep in..."
Alyssa helped pull the blankets up and tried to tuck the blankets up around Warrington's chin. "You have to keep warm..." she said.
"It's not cold in here, Alyssa..." he said, but allowed her to act motherly toward him though he looked almost like he was in pain.
"Now that's quite the domestic scene..." a voice spoke from the doorway. All eyes went to the door where Harry stood. Alyssa froze where she was, staring at him with fear in her eyes.
"Very funny." Warrington said sourly as Alyssa slipped off the bed and hid behind George.
"Absolutely comical, Harry." George grinned, one hand resting easily on the girl's head, reassuring her. "You need something?"
"Yes... I hate to ask this but I need to talk to Warrington." Harry said.
"He's supposed to be going to sleep. Healer's orders." George said. "I was about to make sure he takes his sleeping potion."
"What do you need, Potter?"
"I should talk to you privately." he suggested.
"I'll send Alyssa on but I'm staying until he's asleep." George said stubbornly.
"Is this about the Mark? He knows about it." Jerrod said, sighing.
"I want to alter it." Harry said in agreement.
"Fine..." Jerrod started.
George bristled. "You're off your bleedin' nut, Harry. No way." he said firmly.
Harry looked at him in surprise. "What...?"
"Do you have any idea what he's been through today? He's been healed but the healer wants him off his feet and not using his left arm at all. He was kidnapped and got the hell beat out of him; he needs rest not to have some spell done to change anything..."
"It's not going to hurt him, George!" Harry reassured.
"Go right ahead, I'd rather you do that on me than..." Jerrod began but George drowned him out again.
"Are you certain? Absolutely certain?"
"Weasley, if you would let me have a chance to say something..." Warrington tried again but Harry and George were both ignoring him.
"I won't be ABSOLUTELY certain until I've tried, but this book here says that its painless." Harry returned. "Come on, George, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone on purpose!"
"You're just going to have to wait until he has his rest!"
"George!" Jerrod snapped and everyone looked at him in surprise as if they just remembered that he was there and conscious. He looked quite angry. "Let him do it. Let him. I was the guinea pig for the placement of the damned thing. I'll step up and be first to get the damned thing changed to something else."
George was silent a moment, looking at the man in the bed, then he nodded. "All right." he said softly.