Hey guys! I have way too many ideas for my Inquisitor Heather (Dragon Age/Red Wolf crossover) and could really use multiple people to bounce ideas off of. Really I just want some feedback. I'm new to the Dragon Age fandom and have only played Inquisition. If anyone wants to talk to me about it, feel free to PM me.
I pulled some stuff here from Tumblr. Frequent Tumblr users will recognize them.
Malfoy Mannor was still rather intimidating, Heather had to admit. She stood before the manor, the midday sun beating down on her red pelt. Reika was coiled around her shoulders, gazing up at the hedges with golden eyes. Staring at the large black gate and tall hedges, Heather realized she probably should have sent an owl ahead so that she could get in. A house as old as the Malfoy's was bound to have some form of magic protection. Heather looked around the area before sniffing the air. She flinched when she detected two very worrying scents; blood and lynx. Reika tensed, having smelt it too.
Heather looked up at the hedges and growled in frustration. The wards would no doubt stretch over the house so there was no point in trying to climb. The girl then took a moment to look at the bottom of the hedges. Most magical people hated getting their hands dirty. The wards most likely didn't extend beneath the ground. Then again, that was just a theory.
Making up her mind, Heather went around the gate and to the left side of the hedges. From there she got as close to the hedges as she dared and began to dig. It was a long and tiring process. The average hedge root system was about as deep as eighteen inches. Since Heather didn't know what type of hedges the Malfoy's had, she dug two feet beneath the surface just to be sure.
Finally, Heather's head popped through to the surface at the edge of a garden. Climbing out of the hole, Heather shook her pelt in an effort to get rid of some of the dirt. Reika hissed and complained about having dirt lodged into her scales and just being very upset about being dirty. Turning back into human form to better comb the dirt out of her hair, Heather took a moment to look around the garden. It was like looking at a sea of white; roses, hydrangeas, delphiniums, foxgloves and many more that Heather couldn't name. In front of her was a small stream that led past a gazebo fitted with a little sitting area for tea.
Sniffing the air, Heather followed the scent of blood that she had detected. Trotting through the garden, the red haired girl found Lady Malfoy crouched over the body of a white peacock. Something had viciously attacked the bird. It lay in a small puddle of blood, clumps of feathers were missing and the neck lay at an odd angle.
Lady Malfoy just happened to glance up and see Heather. Eyes narrowing, she quickly pointed her wand at the young witch. Reika tensed around Heather's shoulders and flared her hood.
"How did you get past the wards? Did you do this?" Mrs. Malfoy asked coldly.
"No, I just got here. Ma-Draco promised me a day where he does whatever I want in exchange for saving him from acromantula." Heather said, slowly raising her hands in surrender as the older witch had her under wand point.
"No doubt a situation you dragged him into." Mrs. Malfoy said.
"He followed me. I never invited him." Heather said, not bothering to mention that he'd also followed her into the Chamber of Secrets though it was possible that she already knew.
"Regardless." The blonde woman said, standing tall and taking a few steps towards Heather. "This is my property and you're trespassing. I've had enough bloodshed in my home because of you, and I don't need you harming my son further."
Nodding, but feeling a little sting from her last comment, Heather met Lady Malfoy's gaze unflinchingly. "I'll endeavor to send an owl ahead next time. I'm sorry, I've learned my lesson about surpri-" Heather froze. Though her ears weren't wolf like at the moment, they twitched as she heard something brushing past leaves in the garden.
Heather turned around just in time to see a Eurasian Lynx leap out from behind a tall bush with a growl. Heather crouched on all fours and bared her teeth, glaring at the wild cat. It's summer coat was reddish brown, covered with spots and smelled faintly of blood. It got into a hunter's crouch and faced Heather.
"Well it wasn't hard to find you because of your scent." The lynx said, shocking Heather. Was it a magical lynx or had the magic around the Mannor altered the beast and given it speech? The lynx's raspy voice snapped Heather out of her thoughts.
"That is my bird you have there. Back off!" The lynx hissed, the fur along her back standing on end.
"Why would I back down to you?" Heather growled. "Wannabe lion."
"Fine." The lynx said, flexing her claws which had clumps of white feathers between them. "If you won't give me the peacock, give me the snake or the pale human behind you." The lynx said, staring hungrily at Mrs. Malfoy.
"That isn't happening either." Heather growled. Reika hissed threateningly, showing her fangs. "Clearly, human captivity has messed with your brain."
Heather quickly thought of how to fight the cat. Should she go full wolf, with a stronger bite? Would it be better to stay human, with greater flexibility? The lynx made the decision for her when it ran forward, eyes trained on the biggest prey in the area; Mrs. Malfoy. While the lady of the Mannor could no doubt defend herself, Lynxes were fast and would be a challenge for any witch or wizard to hit.
Heather launched herself at the lynx and tackled her to the ground. They rolled around, growling and biting each other as they kicked up rocks. Reika had shot out of the pile of snarling hunters in an effort to avoid being hit and proceeded to circle the two, trying to get a good shot at the lynx. Mrs. Malfoy was doing the same. A part of her wanted to just take the shot but she knew if she accidentally killed the Girl-Who-Lived there would be no weasling out of that.
After a few minutes of struggling, Heather managed to pin the lynx down. She struggled and flailed, but Heather's grip held true. With a quick hiss of a command, Reika leapt forward and sank her fangs into the lynx, injecting her with her venom. This renewed the lynx's struggle and she began to struggle more violently. With long, sharp claws, she raked her nails across the right side of Heather's face. With a cry of pain Heather let go and the lynx took the opportunity to flee.
Whimpering and with tears streaming down her face, Heather barely noticed it when Mrs. Malfoy approached her. She felt a gentle hand lift her head into Mrs. Malfoy's lap. Perhaps Heather's fight had impressed Lady Malfoy enough for her to help the girl. Reika was hissing loudly, panic clear to Heather's ears, though what the snake was saying as she coiled tightly around her arm she didn't know.
"I'll have to shave some of your hair to see the extent of your injuries." Lady Malfoy said before gently gliding her wand over the right side of Heather's head. Clumps of red hair fell to the ground as the older witch ended up shaving half of Heather's head. "Tufts!" Mrs. Malfoy called and with a crack a middle aged house elf wearing a burlap sack appeared.
"Yes mistress?" He said in a squeaky voice.
"Get me a blood replenishing potion, immediately." Lady Malfoy said calmly. The elf nodded and disappeared with a pop. After the elf left, Heather heard Mrs. Malfoy mutter a spell under her breath numerous times. Though she couldn't see it, the younger witch felt her skin begin to knit back together.
"I may not be a mediwitch, but I can guarantee that you won't have any new scars from this Ms. Potter." Mrs. Malfoy said, helping Heather to her feet.
"Thank you Lady Malfoy." Heather rasped.
"I think you've earned the right to call me Narcissa." The older witch said. The house elf from before appeared with a pop and gave Mrs Malfoy a small bottle. Narcissa accepted it and gave it to Heather. "Drink it down, Potter."
"Well if I get to call you Narcissa, then you can call me Heather." The red head said before throwing the potion back. "Sorry the lynx got away."
"Nonsense." She said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm sure your snake's venom will catch up with it eventually. Come inside. It's almost time for tea and you should get cleaned up." Narcissa said.
Surprised by Narcissa's hospitality, Heather followed the older witch into the Mannor while hissing reassuringly to Reika that she was fine. It looked just like it had during the ball, minus a few festive decorations. The house elf had followed them and gestured for Heather to follow him. Heather nodded as she heard Mrs. Malfoy call for a few more house elves.
Heather was taken to a lavish bathroom to wash up. After the house elf left with her clothes so that they could be cleaned, Heather took a moment to examine her injuries in the mirror. The claw marks were still angry and red but Heather could see that Narcissa told the truth; she wouldn't be getting any scars from the marks. They started towards the back of her head, slanted towards her jaw and narrowly missed her eye. She also took a moment to look at her hair. It was messed up, knotted and covered in dirt and blood. Heather thought she looked like what everyone else expected her to look like when they heard of her background.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Reika hissed.
"I'll be fine, friend." Heather said, gently running a hand over Reika's scales.
"Let's get cleaned up. I hate having dirt lodged in my scales." The snake hissed irritably.
Chuckling fondly, Heather turned on the water for the bath. It took a fair amount of scrubbing but eventually, the two of them were clean after their tumble in the dirt with a lynx. Reika was very happy to have her scales cleaned and with a little time and a brush, Heather found that she actually liked her new haircut. Her clothes, freshly laundered, appeared by the sink. There was a knock on the door.
"Mistress would like you to join her at the gazebo in the garden for tea." The squeaky voice of a house elf said.
That certainly wasn't what Heather was expecting.
She'd had the peacock butchered. Along with a dark oolong tea there were a few mini hors d'oeuvres that contained meat from the recently killed bird. All of the food and beverages were served with fancy China dishes with little floral motifs. At first Heather was surprised to see an absence of the Slytherin mascot, until she saw that all the handles were fashioned into snakes. As Heather approached, the few peacocks that had been strutting around quickly fled from her presence with terrified squawks.
"Perhaps they can still smell the lynx." Heather said as she sat down in front of Narcissa.
"Or they can sense a predator." Narcissa said icily, straightening her skirt.
"Possible." Heather said. She studied Narcissa's posture and did her best to mirror it. She took note of how she ate and held things before mirroring the movements. "Are there any magic traditions or queues I should be aware of for this?" Narcissa's eyes widened slightly. Heather felt ire prick at her being. "Sorry for being ignorant."
"I'm simply surprised that you thought to ask." Narcissa said. "Most people from muggle communities, animal raised or not, never bother to learn our customs." She then smirked wryly. "I'm also surprised that you trust me enough that you would eat and drink with me."
"Why bother healing me if you were just going to poison me?" Heather said, smirking as Reika hissed in amusement.
"A fair point Heather." Narcissa said, taking a sip of her tea. "This isn't part of any ceremony, nor is it formal so there is no special remarks needed."
"Well, there's a weight off my shoulders." Heather said. "Though to be fair, wizards and witches don't know anything about muggle culture, so what would they know to explain?"
"What is there to know?" Narcissa said, sniffing disdainfully.
"The most recent muggle studies text book doesn't talk about anything after Queen Victoria's reign which was a hundred years ago. Muggles have made crafts that can go faster than the speed of sound, they can communicate instantly on a global scale and they've landed on the moon. There's even a bunch of American flags up there." Heather said.
Narcissa almost spat out her tea. "American muggles own the moon?!"
"No. I looked it up and apparently there's some kind of law that the world leaders agreed on about not owning land in space." Heather said. "That's just off the top of my head and I don't know everything that humans do. You'd be better off asking a muggle born like my friend-"
"Hermione Granger." Narcissa said. When Heather looked at her the older woman smiled faintly. "Draco's told me all about you. Really, everything." Narcissa tried to appear put upon but the tiny smirk ruined it. "Please, make him stop."
"Is it significant when a human male talks to his parents about a particular female often?" Heather asked, tilting her head.
Narcissa lifted her tea cup to hide her smile. "At his age it's not too serious. A young one's passions change like the phases of the moon." They sat in silent for a few moments, Narcissa no doubt digesting the fact that muggles had landed on the moon when Heather saw one of the peacocks had gotten a little braver than its companions and was napping nearby.
"I'd like to hear about my son's excursion with you into the Forbidden Forest and the Chamber of Secrets." Narcissa said suddenly, causing Heather to nearly spit out her tea.
After catching her breath, Heather looked at Narcissa slightly apprehensively. "Are you sure?"
"He won't say anything even after I forbade him from leaving the mannor's grounds." Narcissa said.
Something about her gaze reminded Heather of how Blue looked at her when she used to lie about staying up too late. "Well he's not dead."
"I've noticed." Narcissa said dryly.
"For the record, he followed me on both accounts." Heather said. "He was welcome to leave at anytime." Heather glossed over the more dangerous bits involving Narcissa's son. For example, summing up the gladiator spider battle as "I fought an acromantula till the leader said we could leave." Do to her shortening everything down and not talking about Salazar's ghost, the story was over in ten minutes. Narcissa was quiet for a moment, before speaking in a very matter of fact tone.
"He is in so much trouble."
Heather almost pitied the youngest Malfoy, then she remembered something. "Please don't punish him until after I've had my fun. He still owes me a day of whatever I want."
"He didn't think that through very much, did he?" Narcissa said, taking a small bite of one of the tiny sandwiches.
"Not really, no." Heather said, sipping her tea. "I promise to return him alive." At Narcissa's reproachful look Heather shrugged. "If he runs off without me and talks down to someone twice his size I believe he should be held accountable for his own actions."
"Reasonable enough, I suppose." Narcissa said. The two ate in silence for a while Heather occasionally feeding Reika some meat when she heard a trill from one of the white peacocks.
"Do you raise the peacocks for food?" Heather asked.
"Yes, it is a tradition of the Malfoy's." Narcissa said, taking a bite of one of the mini peacock sandwiches. "Though Lucius and Draco are much more fond of them than Abraxas is." She then chuckled fondly. "Draco has expressed the desire for a peacock army."
"How young was he?" Heather asked curiously. "And who is Abraxas?"
"He said that last week." Narcissa said, chuckling. "And Abraxas is my father in-law."
"How did Mr. Malfoy react to this peacock army idea?" Heather asked, smiling a little.
"He said it was a waste of time, though really he's just upset he didn't come up with the idea first."
"I'm surprised you're telling such...comedic stories about them." Heather said carefully.
"It is my duty as a wife and mother to tell embarrassing stories about my husband and son." Narcissa said. "It's one of the best parts of such a role. Besides, someone has to keep them from getting too puffed up."
Heather giggled. "I do the same with the two leading males of my pack." Heather said, remembering how she'd tell embarrassing stories about Tsume whenever he was getting too cocky. Heather raised her tea cup. "Well then; to males, and the females who keep them grounded." Narcissa smirked and clicked her tea cup against Heather's.
"There are so many stories I could tell you." Narcissa said.
"Such as?" Heather cocked an eyebrow.
Though she was a Slytherin, Mrs. Malfoy's smile was distinctly cat-like.
The hour was filled with giggling and fond sighs from both parties. Heather talked about some of Kiba and Tsume's embarrassing mishaps; falling into a mud puddle, being attacked by squirrels and being forcefully snuggled by an infant human. Narcissa spoke of Lucius's fastidiousness with his hair, Draco's dragon costume from when he was a toddler and how Narcissa once found them both asleep in the garden surrounded by peacocks.
Soon, Heather realized she should head home. Narcissa began walking her to the gate. They continured to chat, mostly about Heather's plans for Draco. They discussed that he'd need Muggle clothes for the day and Heather said he should at least head out with a half blood who'd know how to blend in. The white peacock's of the manor followed them because the lady of the house was feeding them some seed.
Suddenly, Heather heard the distinct sound of someone flying towards them. She looked up and saw Draco Malfoy riding on his broom, preforming a corkscrew movement.
"Practicing so you can finally beat me, Malfoy?" Heather called with a smirk.
He yelped and was so startled he fell from his broom. Instincts caused Heather to literally leap into action and catch Malfoy. She landed with a thud on the gravel road. Both of them were rather surprised. Draco, because Heather was basically cradling him in her arms and Heather was surprised because of how light the Slytherin was. She even shifted him around slightly, marveling at how little he weighed. Malfoy frowned.
"I eat lettuce." He said, flushing.
Heather frowned right back at him. "And I lift weights."
"What are you even doing here?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"I was gonna drag your butt to the muggle world but I ended up saving your mum from a lynx." She smiled when she saw Malfoy look at his mother, concerned. So the little blonde parasite did have a heart. "I think you owe me double now, seeing as how I saved you again."
"Mum could have saved me with a levitation charm." Malfoy said, bristling and turning red.
"And ruin this image?" Narcissa said, smirking at the two. "Perish the thought."
The image was even more comedic due to the fact that Malfoy was almost a head taller than Heather. THe Slytherin turned even more red. "Could you please put me down?"
Heather snickered with Reika but did as he said. "I'll pick you up next week. I got to get back home and I'd recommend grabbing some muggle clothes so you don't draw too much attention."
"Do stop by again, Heather. I'd love for you to join me for tea again." Narcissa said.
Surprised, Heather nodded before shifting into a wolf and running out through the gate and back into the forest.