CHAPTER 12
Adrian Vakhrov had always prided himself on being a true gentleman, regardless of what others had though of him and more importantly regardless of any situation he found himself in. Therefore it surprised him to find that this situation had left him stuttering like a fool on his own doorstep. Nevertheless, he found his manners and quickly invited the group into the warm confines of his manor.
Hermione was immediately taken by the beauty of the vast foyer. While Draco's home was impressively beautiful, this was something else. It was both richly elegant and Hermione had to stop for a moment to admire its beauty. She felt Draco's hand on her lower back as Adrian guided them to the grand living room. The living room was done in the softest of colours but still gave of the impression of being excessively expensive. The couches were practically screaming luxurious leather and a grand fireplace occupied a roaring fire. St. Petersburg had welcomed them with an unpleasantly cold morning and she welcomed the warmth the fire had to offer. An antique looking Grandfather clock stood large and tall to one end of the room. The room itself was large and the couches occupied most of the place with an antique looking table between them where Cersei had placed a tray with hot coffee. In the hushed darkness of the morning, the room was slightly imposing on the guests and she was glad for Draco's hand on her back.
Nobody said anything in the time it took Cersei to pour them all coffee. Draco and Hermione said next to each other, while Blaise occupied a single seat to their right. Scorpius asleep in between them with his head in Hermione's lap, apparently it was still too early for him. Adrian stood in front of the impressive fireplace staring them down.
Hermione couldn't possibly understand how Adrian was not married. Even at his slightly older age, he looked deadly handsome. She could tell just by looking that he'd be able to charm the pants of just about any woman. There was an ever playful charm to his face that had managed to capture some of his youthfulness. His dark grey suit hugged his body in such a way that it spoke of his immense wealth almost immediately. She wondered why he'd be wearing a suit at this hour. However it also happened to show that Adrian was not the short, rounded, pot bellied man she was expecting. No, he was a far cry from that expectation. He stood tall, his well defined arms placed firmly behind his back. His dark hair managed to just brush his collar and his blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as it jumped from Blaise to Draco then to herself. She couldn't help but notice that his gaze had lingered on her for a while and for reasons she couldn't understand, she felt her cheeks grow warm.
Unable to take the mystery any longer Adrian finally addressed the group, "This …this is really your son?" he asked looking at Scorpius asleep between Draco and Hermione.
"Yes, he is." Draco answered, trying to calculate the look on Adrian's it can be quite the shock to see that Draco Malfoy had a son. The idea of an innocent Malfoy was almost laughable. Yet there he was, sleeping peacefully on Hermione's lap. Somehow Draco felt this wasn't the only thing that left Adrian made him slightly nervous not being able to accurately judge Adrian's opinion on this idea.
"Why are you here?" he repeated his earlier question, only with less anger.
"We need your help." Draco replied simply.
"What makes you think I can help you?" Adrian asked with a raised eyebrow, "In fact what makes you so sure I will?"
"Because despite the slightly less than reputable business you run, Blaise wouldn't have suggested we come all this way if he wasn't sure you could help." Draco answered honestly.
Seeing that Adrian was still doubtful, Draco ran his fingers through his hair, sighing deeply, "Look Mister Vakhrov, I'm not even sure you can help us. But right now you are the best shot we have at saving my son, so please at least listen to what we have to ask of you…and if afterwards you are still…unwilling to help us, I will understand."
Adrian considered what Draco had offered to him. It wouldn't hurt to listen to what they had to say. He couldn't deny he was beyond curious to know why Hermione Granger, war heroine was in his house with these two Slytherins of all people.
"If I help…how can I be sure you won't turn against me…like your father did?" he asked scathingly. "You Malfoy's like making enemies with people that do you no harm."
Even Draco couldn't suppress the painful expression that graced his face. He looked to Hermione and saw she was gently stroking Scorpius' hair; she gave him a small encouraging smile. He understood from the look that Blaise gave him, now was the time to set it straight that he was not a carbon copy of Lucius Malfoy. He is in no way close to the despicable man Lucius was.
"Yes, I am a Malfoy," he started firmly, "But don't make the mistake in thinking that I am my father Mister Vakhrov." He tried to be firm and respectable at the same time, after all they still needed Adrian's help. "I have made many mistakes in my life and I have learnt to accept them. But what I won't stand for is my son suffering as a result of mine or my father's choices. He doesn't deserve that."
The trio could see they were wearing Adrian down. But Narcissa was right, Adrian was no fool. He had reasons for being paranoid and that seemed to be playing more heavily on his mind.
"Look Adrian," Blaise said standing, "We can sit here all morning discussing how Draco is not his father. The fact is Draco is nothing like Lucius Malfoy, whether you chose to believe that or not is entirely up to you. But we really can't waste anymore time arguing this when my godson needs your help. So please just hear us out." Blaise spoke firmly and looking at his ex-stepfather.
In that moment Adrian looked every bit as conflicted as he felt. As if finally grasping the severity of the situation, Adrian nodded his agreement to Blaise. He strode over and sat opposite Hermione and Draco while Blaise resumed his seat.
"I will listen to what you have to say," He began diplomatically, "but don't expect that I can help," he warned.
Draco nodded, feeling the tiniest bit relieved, and then proceeded to explain why they had come so far for his help.
"Scorpius is …sick," he started with a heavy heart, "Only we don't know what is wrong with him. It started with small symptoms and then progressed from there. I've listened to all the doctors tell me they cant find anything wrong with him, that he's perfectly fine. Only he's not. It's why we came back to London, in hopes that we'd find something or even someone that could help us."
"But why come to me? I'm no healer" Adrian asked. "I know nothing of what could medically save your son. You should find yourself a good healer with this problem."
"We have one. The best in fact." Blaise commented smirking at Hermione. She blushed and instead looked at Draco.
Adrian raised an eyebrow at this, but Draco continued, "We've been researching all sorts of any possible medical options, but nothings matched. Hermione suggested that given the Malfoy family history…that it might be possible it's something much…darker than a magical illness." He said battling with the idea, that this might have been his fault.
A sombre air had fallen on the occupants of the room, as their problem was explained to Adrian. He no longer looked at Draco with the angry flush of contempt, but rather with confusion and curiosity. While he still had misgivings about helping a Malfoy, he couldn't deny this was all very intriguing to him. More than anything, Adrian felt that if Blaise was willing to stand up and defend a Malfoy, the least he could do was hear what they had to say.
"And how do you expect me to help you Mister Malfoy?" he asked still slightly confused about his part in all of this.
"You know almost everything there is to know about curses, dark magic… we've…I've come to ask you to help us find out what's wrong with my son…so that we can save him." He replied softly.
Perhaps in that moment Adrian saw the vulnerability of a father trying to save his son. It could have been that after Draco spoke he glanced to towards Scorpius, perfectly asleep and content in Hermione's lap. It might have been that in as he looked as Scorpius, he saw the innocence and purity that Draco was trying so desperately to save. While his head told him not to get involved with the Malfoy's…again, his heart told his something else. For all the galleons he was worth, Adrian Vakhrov truly did have a heart. He had just made it a habit to hide it under layers of paranoia. Better let the world think you're a crazed fool then allow them in and make you one, he had told himself over the years.
The decision he came to moments after that was one that he knew he'd already made the moment he saw Scorpius in Hermione's arms. He got up and walked over to Draco, who stood looking anxious at him.
"Okay, I'll help you save your boy," he said and the added with a slight harshness to his voice, "But mark my words Mr. Malfoy, do not make the mistake of thinking you can cross me without there being consequences."
Draco knew he meant every word of his warning, and no intensions of letting the wrath of Adrian Vakhrov loose. He's made enough enemies in life time, Draco wasn't about to extend that list, least of all with this man.
He sighed with great relief and stepped forward to the older man, "Thank you Mister Vakhrov" he said sincerely.
"Adrian," the older man corrected him. And to his great surprise Adrian offered him his hand, which Draco shook timidly, that was until Adrian looked him over and gave the tiniest of smiles. Both men took their seats again and Adrian considered his earlier thoughts of the boy's parentage. He watched with deep interest before deciding to ask:
"So, how is it that the boy whose family helped Lord Voldemort rise, and the girl that helped defeat said evil maniac, came to have a child?" he asked them curiously. They shared a look of confusion only for a moment before they fully understood what he was implying.
"Oh…oh you… that I'm…..no …"Hermione stuttered, looking flustered. Blaise looked between the pair with absolute glee. Finally someone else saw what he had been noticed a while ago.
"No… uuuh…Hermione's not…" Draco began his cheeks tingeing slightly. He looked to his best friend for help, but Blaise smiled grinned unbearably at him and then sent Draco a "you're alone in this mate" look. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as Blaise fought to control the silent fit of laughter he was currently experiencing.
"Mr. Vak- Adrian, Hermione's not Scorpius' mother," he said finally managing to regain his composure. Though as he said it, he couldn't help that the very thought made him just a little sad. "She's the healer Blaise mentioned earlier," he said as he threw his friend a look.
"Ooh really…" he said with amusement as he observed the discomfort this conversation was bringing to the two, "So she's your son's healer." He clarified.
"Only the best for a Malfoy right Draco," Blaise taunted slightly, and Draco got the feeling it wasn't just Scorpius he was referring too.
"Well you could have fooled me Miss Granger," Adrian said lightly, and seeing that he was enjoying this conversation he simply had to continue, "It certainly does suit you though Miss Granger…motherhood that is." And as he said that he sent her his most charming smile.
Hermione had all but swoon out loud as she experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of those "make-you-forget-your-own-name" smiles. Her blush didn't escape the occupants of the room this time and she felt rather than saw Draco's heavy gaze on her.
She didn't look at him; instead she looked at Adrian, her blush still visible on her cheeks. He was smiling as he looked at them with his experienced eyes, as if he knew what was coming but didn't want to spoil the surprise for them. It took her a moment to realise he was waiting for her to comment.
"Thank you Mr. Vakhrov," she laughed, "but I think it really is Scorpius' fault. It's simply impossible to not love him."
"You sure it's just the boy?" he teased.
This time she couldn't help but glance at Draco, who smirked slightly at her. She didn't have a response and really did roll her eyes as she heard Blaise trying to maintain his fit of laughter. He was enjoying this far too much.
The morning sun had finally managed to creep up on them and filter's way through the room. The room gave a whole new feeling once naturally lit up. Rather than being just impressively lavish, it made you feel somewhat protected and at home.
As Scorpius stirred from his sleep, Adrian looked at the striking clock and called for Cersei.
"Cersei, please set up breakfast, out guests will be joining us this morning," he told her kindly. She bowed and left.
He turned to Draco and addressed him, "I think better on a full stomach," he said winking at Hermione, "So join me for breakfast and then afterwards we'll work."
"Can…can we have pancakes?" Scorpius yawned and asked.
Draco was about to say something to his son when Adrian laughed, "My dear boy, you're in luck!" he said jovially, "Cersei here makes the best pancakes!"
The elf had returned to inform them breakfast was ready. Scorpius rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes as he gleefully held onto Hermione's hand and followed the rest of the adults out of the room.
The dinning room was just as extravagant as the rest of the manor. An impressively large table stood in the middle, with the delicious looking food already on the table. Hermione noticed another magnificent fireplace in the corner, as she helped Scorpius into the chair.
They started pouring cups of coffee and piling food on to their plates. Draco and Blaise listened intently as Adrian entertained them with one of his many stories. Hermione helped Scorpius pull pancakes onto his plate and watched with slight horror at the amount of maple syrup he coated his plate with.
"He must get it from you," she light-heartedly accused Draco who sat opposite her.
"Get what exactly?" he asked, pulling away from Adrian's story. "As you've probably noticed he's inherited a lot from me," he joked, "My good looks, my charm, not to menti-"
"Your sweet tooth!" she cut across him as they both looked as Scorpius stuffing a much too big piece of the maple syrup drenched pancake into his tiny mouth. They both laughed and the conversation around the table remained light hearted for much of the duration of the meal.
Hermione was deeply amused as Adrian regaled them with his stories and in that time she learnt there was far more the man than meets the eye. While Adrian had initially come off as harsh and bitter, once he allowed himself to put down his paranoia, he was an incredibly charming man. He had her blushing from the moment they were all seated at the table.
Even though he never directly implied he was involved with the Russian underworld, Hermione had a feeling if she asked him, he'd just flash her, his most charming smile and she'd forget she ever asked. He was a lively character, she had to admit. Lively as he was, he grew a little serious as he turned to Blaise with a question that brought a shift in the mood at the table.
"How's your mother?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.
Blaise sighed, "Ever the same," he replied. Blaise had long since learnt to never get too involved with his mother's marital antics. They almost never lasted long…in fact her marriage to Adrian might have been the longest and it was the only one in which he was sad to see it end.
Adrian nodded and looked to Draco, only to see him with his son in his lap, trying to wipe the remnants of the maple syrup off Scorpius' fingers. As Cersei cleared the table, he watched this small interaction between father and son. Scorpius thought an ideal way to remove the sticky syrup would be to lick it off and Adrian watched with amusement as the little Malfoy tried to do so, only to have his father pull his hand away, leaving Scorpius looking utterly crestfallen. Although he had amused them throughout breakfast, he had watched them rather closely too. He noticed how every now and then Draco would glance over the table at his son and Hermione. He too possessed that little look of peace that she seemed to bring out in the two Malfoy's. Adrian noticed with some pleasure, that Blaise had been right. Draco was nothing like his father. It was a refreshing sight to see a Malfoy without that sneer plastered on their aristocratic features.
As he tried to prepare himself for the conversation they were about to have, he turned and addressed the witch to his right.
"Hermione Granger, war heroine and brightest witch of the age," he started teasingly, "Why I never thought I'd see the day where you'd be sitting at my table."
She simply smiled at him, and Adrian instantly knew why Draco was so captivated by her…even if he wasn't willing to admit it just yet. It resonated a kindness that seemed unique just to her. Leaning forward on the table, he looked to Blaise and Draco.
"Draco, what do you need to know?" Adrian asked simply without beating around the bush any longer.
"We don't have much to go on at the moment, simply the symptoms Scorpius has shown. This added to the findings that Hermione managed to get is not a lot, but we've managed to narrow our search down…" He then looked to Hermione and she nodded before continuing the explanation.
"I've looked through every possible medical theory for this but nothing quiet fits." She said. Noticing the slight disbelief on Adrian's face she pressed on, "I think, considering the history the Malfoy had with dark magic, I think this is something more than a simple medical illness."
This Adrian understood easily and gestured for her to continue.
"We need to know everything you know about curses…rather we want you to help us find out what sort of dark magic is making Scorpius sick." She said simply.
"How can you be so sure it's dark magic that's doing this?" he asked.
Having poured of countless tomes and files and books, she had asked herself the same question. It annoyed her slightly that she didn't have a definitive answer for that question though.
"I know there's no real proof of this theory," she said with a heavy sigh, "but I …I just know…" was all she could say.
"Well I've never heard Hermione Granger to be wrong before, and I highly doubt that should change now" Blaise said confidently.
"If that's the case, we better get started…there's a lot you'll need to know." Adrian said standing and pushing himself away from the table. Draco, Blaise and Hermione stood too, and followed him out the room. Draco held Scorpius securely in his arms, walking up the grand staircase towards Adrian's library, he prayed to Merlin the answer they were searching for was behind those doors.
Adrian pushed open the doors that led to his library. It was simply magnificent, and as Hermione stepped over the threshold into the room, she felt her breath leave her. Books covered the walls all around her and to her right was another warming fireplace, with couches around it. The icy weather outside could be seen through the floor to ceiling windows at the far end of the room, which were completed with comfy looking window seats.
Draco had placed Scorpius in the big chair behind the desk and spoke quietly with for a few minutes, as Adrian invited Hermione and Blaise to join him on the couch.
"Curses," he began as Draco joined them, "Are complex, no matter the type you use. It has a lasting impression on both the caster and obviously the receiver. Once one is touched by dark magic, it leaves an eternally lasting mark. Some marks are visible, but sometimes they are not. Depending on the level of curse used, it is more distinguishable to recognise."
He leaned forward and opened a small wooden box that was on the small table in front of him. As he pulled out a cigar and lit it, Hermione considered his words. She, of course was familiar with dark magic leaving a mark. Harry was the main case in point, with the lighting bolt scar on his forehead and she had the faint lines of Bellatrix's psychotic behaviour as a forever reminder of what true madness felt like, on her arm. As always, when she thought about those events that took place at Malfoy Manor, she felt a cold shiver run through her, and instinctively her right hand clasped her left forearm, hard.
Adrian regarded her reaction for a moment before continuing, "Some curses work on a precise time period, while others may take years to become active. So off course it depends on the curse that is being used… now obviously some curses do not have a counter curse and those are the unfortunate cases. Not all curses have a purpose further than it being pure evil…but that's dark magic for you. But I trust that you, Draco must know some of this already," he said as he let a puff of smoke loose into the air. Draco nodded but his face remained impassive.
"Now dark magic is something very special. Know that when it comes to dark magic, once a curse is cast, the consequences are far beyond what you might expect." Adrian paused and noticed their hesitant expressions, gesturing around his library he continued, "All these books will most likely help us in some way or the other…but know this, as much as they might help determine what the problem is and if you're lucky give us the solution. It will never be able to truly tell you what impact it will fully have on a soul."
He looked over to Scorpius seated at the desk, "He's young and that makes him more vulnerable to the magic. Children are exceptionally vulnerable to dark magic, considering their magic is so pure at that early age. Purity is everything. Remember that."
'Like blood purity?" Hermione asked apprehensively.
"Sometimes, yes it all depends on the purity of one's blood. But there's purity in things beyond our blood. The love we feel for someone, our mind and thoughts and of course one's soul."
They were quiet for a few moments as they tried to grasp all that Adrian had told them.
"Well then let's get to the more serious stuff. You three seem to think that this problem with your son is due to dark magic, Draco," Adrian said looking away from Scorpius, "So before I waste your time and mine, we need to make sure that this theory of yours is correct Miss Granger."
"But how do we do that?" Hermione asked.
"Remember Miss Granger I said that dark magic leaves a mark?" she nodded and he continued, "So we need to find that mark. If in fact it is dark magic, there will definitely be a mark."
"And if there isn't?" Draco asked.
"Then it's not dark magic," he said simply.
"So how do we check for this mark?" Hermione asked, "We would have seen a mark on him by now."
"It doesn't necessarily need to be a physical mark Miss Granger," Adrian said letting another puff of smoke into the air. "You'll need a spell to help you find the mark."
"And you have it?" she asked slightly hopeful.
Adrian smiled slightly, "I might."
"But…?" Blaise prompted him, finally speaking for the first time since they had entered the library.
Sighing Adrian answered, "To know if he's been touched by dark magic, we're going to have to look at his magic. But he's young and I doubt he's had a proper sign of magic yet. It therefore makes his magic …harder to find in a sense."
"Don't worry his magic is there," Adrian said noticing the worried expression on Draco's face, "we'll just need to use a stronger spell…"
"How safe is it?" Draco asked worriedly.
"Well if done correctly…I highly doubt anything will go wrong. but I should warn you, the spell is a little stronger than most so it might make him a little sick, but nothing too major, just a little nausea," he said quickly. "I'm sure it's nothing Miss Granger can't handle."
"And there's no other way?" Blaise asked. Draco was staring into the fire, a deep contemplative look had worked its way onto his handsome features. Adrian shook his head on response, and then turned to Draco waiting for approval on the matter.
Draco wondered, as he stared into the flickering fire, whether this idea was worth the consequences they were about to unleash. He was sure this spell was no dark magic, but it sounded dangerous and tricky at best. He didn't want to risk hurting his son any further but if he didn't do something now they risked Scorpius getting worse. He felt a hand on his forearm and looked away from the fire to see that Scorpius had wandered over to them. Scorpius stood in front of Draco, and he noticed the mischievous look in his son's eyes.
Smiling at his son as he picked him up and placed Scorpius in his lap, he turned and looked at the other three occupants in the room. He didn't know what to say to them so instead he just nodded at them.
Adrian smiled and put down his cigar and began explaining what they had to do, but Draco instead rose from his seat and walked over to the desk with his son. He trusted Hermione enough to make sure the right thing was done. A few quiet moments passed over them as Adrian explained to Hermione and Blaise what was required of them. Not long after that, he felt Hermione's gentle hand on his shoulder. Draco looked up at her from his seat at the table, Scorpius in his lap.
"Are you ready to do this Draco?" she asked gently.
He merely nodded and she talked on, "It's a simple incantation that needs to be spoken while holding your wand over his heart. It won't cause him any pain just some slight discomfort," she tried to use her best healer voice.
Draco didn't say anything but stood with Scorpius in his arms, and followed Hermione back to the couches. He tentatively placed Scorpius down on the soft cushion and Hermione sat on the other side of his son. Adrian and Blaise stood around them, with Adrian having replaced the cigar in his hand with another and Blaise stood quiet and impassive watching them. She handed him a small slip of parchment and on it he saw the incantation he was suppose to recite. Hermione had written the translation below it too, Dark magic - reveal yourself, he read. Well it was certainly to the point, but if it helped them then he wasn't complaining. Breathing in deeply, Draco stood and walked back a few steps.
He glanced at the parchment in his hand memorising the incantation, before turning back to his son. He pulled his wand from his pocket and knelt down so that he was eye level with Scorpius. His son regarded him with a curious look and when he tried to reach out to his father, Hermione gently wrapped her arms around his midsection quieting his movements. She ran her fingers through Scorpius' hair as she sent Draco an encouraging smile.
His hand shook only momentarily before he placed the tip over his son's heart and murmured the incantation, "Ostendam in te est nuntius temporis antiqui"
For a moment nothing happened and Draco wasn't sure if he was relieved or upset by this. Just as they had thought they had gotten it wrong, Hermione felt Scorpius grow incredibly hot before he lost consciousness and she then had to lay him down on the cushioned seat.
It was where Draco's wand had touched him that Hermione saw the wispy colours leave his body and fill the room around them. The colours where not solid but had the appearance of the softest of clouds, as it flew around the room creating a whirlwind around the little boy. With Scorpius in the heart of it, they watched in awe as the wispy colours moved around them, joining and becoming now unified to more or less a luminous silver. Hermione felt as if she were gazing up into a newly discovered galaxy. The magnificence of what she was looking at took her breath away. It was only moments after that she realised she didn't quiet understand what it meant.
"Adri-" she started.
"His Aura," Adrian said sounding slightly awed himself, "What you're looking at is his very magical essence. Depending on how we choose to use our magic, our aura's take that form. It also considers our characteristics…"
Draco stepped forward, disbelief written all over his face. He walked through the silver wisps; hand out stretched attempting to catch the silver clouds. It passed through his fingers effortlessly.
The room had become exceptionally quiet, and as they took in the remarkable sight before them, they heard a slightly distant thumping noise fill the room. A steady soft thumping that grew a little louder as the wispy cloud grew slowly in size. Draco strained his ears to focus on this barely audible. It sounded familiar but foreign at the same time.
"Do you hear that?" he asked Hermione quietly scared to break the silence that had fallen over them. She just nodded to him, perhaps afraid too of what might happen if they spoke too loudly. "What is it…?"
Her eyes grew as the noise become a little louder and more audible to them. "His heart beat," she breathed to him. As a healer she would have recognised this sound immediately.
Draco stood rooted in utter disbelief; he turned to look over at Blaise. Not often was the Italian left speechless, but here he was looking up at the magnificent sight before him. The sliver cloud grew and as Draco stepped closer to Scorpius, he noticed red vein like lines running across the clouds to the outer edges. It surprised Draco to see that these edges of the wispy clouds were not the twinkling silver as the rest, but rather a darkened crimson colour. The closer it got to the edge the darker it became until it turned a startling black at the out most edges. The veins started faint from the middle around Scorpius' unconscious form and then grew darker and deeper as the cloud expanded outwards.
"There's your mark," Adrian said grimly.
"wha-…What is…" Hermione stuttered battling to grasp what she was seeing. Looking to Draco, she saw he was in just as much shock.
He stood a few feet from his son and extended his hand up towards the wispy clouds, this time trying to catch the red veins that ran across the cloud. He pulled his hand away to see that his hand was stained slightly crimson from where the veins had touched his pale skin. He examined his hand quietly and then watched in surprise as the colour slowly disappeared from his hand. Hermione walked over to him and he put his hand through the crimson veins again, this time showing her the effect it had on his skin. She looked up at him in surprise and knew in that moment that Adrian was indeed right. They had found their mark.
There was something quiet ominous about the crimson veins. A thousand questions ran through his head but somehow Draco had lost his voice. He simply looked at the silver cloud as it grew and became fuller in form. The crimson veins running deeper and darker. As frightening as it was to watch the crimson veins spread agonisingly slowly over the clouds, it was a little reassuring to hear the soft thumping of his son's heart fill the room. He felt his heart constrict in fear at the thought of it one day stopping. He pulled himself away from those dangerous thoughts and allowed himself the moment to just listen to the steady beat. As the cloud grew to its fullest, the thumping did not cease and it gave the adults in the room some shred of hope and they listened intently to it. Hermione found its steady, rhythmic beat was all she needed to remind herself why they were there in the first place.
"Adrian, what does this mean exactly?" Hermione asked, hoping desperately for some guiding answers.
"This means that you three were right," he said with a sigh, "its dark magic that is making Scorpius sick."
"And what does…this mean?" Draco asked pointing out to the crimson slow spreading veins.
Adrian considered it for a moment, "I can't be sure exactly, but it's definitely dark magic. Notice how it darkens to almost black towards the outside." He said pointing towards the outside of the silver cloud.
"How do we fix this Adrian?" Draco asked gruffly.
"I can't be sure yet," he answered, and continued when he saw the expression on Draco's face, "It's not that kind of spell Draco. It shows us our magical essence at its' very core. This way we can see if there is anything wrong, but it won't tell us things like whether it's a curse or spell. It does clearly show the effects of dark magic. And that's what you're seeing right now."
"So now what?" Blaise asked finally managing to find his words, "what do we do now?"
"We find out if it's a curse or not. We know it's got something to do with dark magic, and that's good enough for now.' Hermione said determinately, as she kneeled down beside Scorpius. "Draco you have to undo the spell now, he's growing incredibly warm."
Worriedly Draco looked to the piece of parchment that Hermione given him earlier to see the counter spell written at the bottom. He muttered it quickly, placing his wand back over his son's heart. The silvery cloud came whirling together over Scorpius and then in a mighty gust of wind and with a blinding light that forced them all to turn away, it disappeared.
Once they turned back to Scorpius, they saw he was conscious but looking sickly pale. Hermione sat next to him and started doing her routine checks. She pushed his hair back and felt his forehead before proceeding to feeling just under his jaw.
"How do you feel sweetheart?" she asked, her voice soft as she looked him over. He didn't reply but simply slowly shook his head.
Draco sat down on the other side of his son, not knowing what to say. He felt incredibly guilty for making his son feel sick, but he was glad they finally had some sort of direction to go in. He watched quietly as Hermione tenderly shifted to healer mode and felt more at ease knowing she was here. Scorpius didn't speak as Hermione asked him questions, and that worried him slightly, knowing that Scorpius was by nature a very amicable child. What happened next, he did not see coming. The littlest Malfoy looked up to Hermione, his silver eyes growing in size before he leaned over the edge of the couch and threw up. Draco thought he was seeing things as he saw that it was not the maple syrup laced pancakes that his son was throwing up but rather that it was red. It was all red. Blood …Scorpius was vomiting blood. That sight made all the adults in the room rather sick to their stomachs. It didn't last long and once he managed to stop, Scorpius pulled himself into Hermione's lap and curled into her shocked form.
A/N: Hello lovelies, sorry for the very delayed update! This chapter was a little more challenging to write, so I do hope you enjoy it!
As always, let me know what you think, if you enjoyed the chapter, or have any ideas or thoughts about the story. I'm always looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
THANK YOU to all those that have reviewed, added this to their favourites or are following this story!Please don't give up on this story just yet! Things are just getting good! And I really will try and update more often.
Katy, you're an absolute angel! I thank you for all your work with helping with my writing! Loves you :)
I've written another Scorrose called An Orchid's Kiss. A little different from Persuasions of a Malfoy, but writing the one-shots help with the writer's block...so go read it and tell me what you think.
Till next time!
xoxo
Immortal Dragon Empress