Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, locations, and other recognizable places and people are the wonderful creations and brain children of a master quill: Ms. J.K.R.

Chapter 2

The Malfoys and their Mates

A Malfoy Tale of the Mate-Kind early 1900.

Lucius was a few days shy of fourteen and had some questions about girls. His main concern was about his 'Cissy's obsession.' At Hogwarts, all his mates changed their love interests daily but not him. Cissy was now in her second year and upon her arrival at Hogwarts, he had turned into her veritable shadow. She found his behavior unpleasant, after all she still hated him, or so she fancied.

He had forgotten many details about that day at Black Manor. He was embarrassed and now labeled 'it' as' childish and impetuous;' however, he would occasionally remember the entire incident, and a strange haze would cloud his eyes.

Finally, one day, Lucius got the nerve to ask his father if he was mentally sick; of course, he already had read about such illnesses. The bloodletting was his first confession, and his father's face neither betrayed anger, nor surprise, just regret.

"Son, please accept my sincere apologies for my reaction that day; it was highly inappropriate. At the time, I lacked the knowledge needed to comprehend your actions. What you did was neither wrong nor bad; and I should have listened to my grandfather." Abraxas paused in order to appraise his son's reactions.

Lucius' expression was one of confusion and he was a bit flushed. He didn't get it, had his father just told him that his actions were acceptable? Albeit his great grandfather Serpens had understood him Lucius had believed that his father was mad at him.

"The same day, when I found out what was going on, I should have told you. I, however, decided that you were too young for the revelation I am about to tell you. Today, you might not see the importance of it, but later, it will surely help you. I made a mistake; and my only excuse was that you were not too young to be told. It is, however, almost preferable, that you have already taken the matter on your own hands."

Lucius still did not get it, was his father condoning his behavior when he was nine, namely: biting, tearing, and attacking Narcissa Black? Wonderful, this was a real surprise.

"So you will understand, my grandfather that same day at the Black's, told me of an even younger Malfoy and many others before him. It wasn't something I knew before that day. It makes sense that I had not been informed; my father had passed away before you were born. However, he had not yet seen the need to inform me otherwise. You see, my finding our heritage was so much different. I knew that we, the Malfoys, were different, and that was enough at the time. The story I am about to tell is about your grandfather Octan, and of his coming into our inheritance."

He paused and asked Lucius to move to the couch, pointing to the seat next to him. At this, Lucius placed his head in a pillow on his lap. His cold father was not so, instead he was demonstrative and loving to those close to him. This lesson on love for your family he had learned from his father Abraxas and his Pépère Serpens, both feared wizards to the outside world, but loving and affectionate inside the Manor's walls.

"I heard the story from my grandfather Serpens the night after the Black's home visit. I had called him to find answers. His story brought me the needed relief while imparting some wisdom. I have the feeling that it might help you as well." He stopped to look at Lucius straight on the eye.

"First, have you heard of vampires?" at seeing Lucius eyes he chuckled, "slow down boy, we are not vampires, we are Veelas, and yes, we also take blood from our mates, inject them with a poisonous substance needed to bond, and grow fangs, we also cackle, sounds like felines' purrs, grow claws, and we sprout wings; it is not ugly, it is rather beautiful. There are several types of Veelas, we don't grow beaks, and female Veela's many times do. Lastly, we are highly protective and possessive of our mates. We find it both difficult to stay away from them, and don't tolerate well any other males around our mates. I will give you some books on the subject."

Lucius eyes had opened like saucers, and his father laughed when his son put a finger in his mouth, gingerly touching his normal canines. "No, only when you, well, in special, int—, err, times, I'd suppose that you had elongated fangs when you bit Ms. Black. You commented in it being very easy, correct? Did you have fangs when you came back home?" Abraxas saw his son's face relax at the understanding imparted.

Abraxas smiled and went on, "Have you ever seen me walking around the house with fangs, wings, and so on?" Abraxas was happy to hear he hadn't, he could have, more than once, he smiled to himself. His Veela was jealous, and not always easy to control.

"I invite you to look through the library; the Malfoy library is rich on that subject. You will find a wide range of subjects, from the actual marking of your mate, the binding her to you, and much more. The marking and binding will not happen for some time; only you will know when it is the right time. In your case, I am not sure what happened that day at the Black's. It usually happens around the 21st birthday, or as early as the 19th. The actual desire to mark is birthday dependant, don't know why, it just is. I must say you are unusual." Abraxas chuckled and messed his son's hair.

"It is, however, during the first meeting with your mate when your Veela recognizes her, from that day on, you must keep a part of her in order to feel her around you. Hair is the obvious choice, and also some item of clothing, a pillow, something that has her scent, which is then magically preserved for years to come. Now, in your case some blood has been taken as well, you have done well. It has made your time away from her possible, her blood flows in you."

"Father, are we purebloods?" Lucius' voice had a tinge of worry.

"Son, that is exactly why we must maintain secrecy, I like to think we are purebloods, but some might differ on their views, thus is better not to share our secrets outside of our family, and only when strictly necessary. These are dangerous times. Had I known of our Veela heritage I would have stayed away from the Dark Lord, just as my father had urged me." Abraxas looked worried.

"By the time I told my father the deal was done, and I had taken the mark. We will later discuss our strategy; I don't want harm to come to you because of my bad decisions. However, joining the Dark Lord might be unavoidable; again, we will defer that subject to a later time." He concluded with a voice tinged with regret.

"Thanks father, I understand. Please tell me about Grandfather Octan." Lucius asked.

*~*MM*~*MM*~*MM*~*MM*~*

Octan's story as told by Abraxas

"Your grandfather Octan was six years old and was traveling through France with his parents. Grandfather Serpens loved his shinny Mercedes Benz, he was a good driver, but he was also a wizard. Therefore, with a slightly magically modified automobile that could fly they were travelling abroad. My father later acquired the love for the Muggle machines, and you know how that ended."

IAbraxas was quiet for a few seconds chocked with emotion, remembering the day when his parents had died in the terrible accident. His eyes were moist at the memory.

"The accident happened a month after my father had the blow out with the Dark Lord, where he demanded that he let me, Abraxas, out of the "club." You, Lucius, were about to be born. It was the day before, and my father Octan couldn't bear for his grandchild to grow up fearing discovery from a madman who advocated racial purity. To this day, I suspect the Dark Lord's role in their demise; however, I lack tangible evidence. I know that Tom needs the large Malfoy vaults to finance his madness." He stopped and held his son's hand for a minute or so. The thought of Tom hurting Lucius made his heart ache. It was too much; he needed to find a way out the movement. With a heavy heart he continued.

"So let's get back to my father's tale. On their way to the Loire, the family stopped at a wizarding restaurant. It is still there, in a rather nice Chateau. My father must have left the table while his parents talked, and, surely, not paying attention; they were in their second, or was it their third honeymoon? You need to remember they must have been 27 or 28, young and in love, and not aware of his son's stealth and purpose; thus far, Octan had been a good little wizard."

They both laughed, Lucius had already seen how the Malfoy wizards loved their witches. And Lucius still found it embarrassing. Even his great-grandfather Serpens, he must have over eighty when Lucius had dashed into his Pépère's room, forget it, after finding them, naked, doing— aggh, Lucius ran away not wanting say goodbye to Tilly, his Great-grandmother, what a visual.

He was fully trained4, and knew that he had to make sure to knock before coming into any closed door room, otherwise he had good chances of eyefuls, those that he would rather never seen. On the other hand, it made him very happy to know his parents loved each other so much. His mother was 31 years old, a real beauty. No wonder his father was so much in love. He had heard the conversations of wizards that came by, they all had a word to say about her.

"Lucius are you here, let's get back to my father's story; Dad must have gone through a door connecting the restaurant with the house. He had to climb the stairs leading to the third floor, to the family quarters. He got up to the second floor. There were around forty rooms at the hotel. Surely, his powerful sense of smell guided him to the baby's room. Of course, it is nothing short of amazing to have found her by mere scent, amongst the kitchen aromas and the patron's perfumes and body scents. Son, can you still find Miss Black by her scent?"

Lucius turned quite red and with a chuckle Abraxas continued.

"He must have climbed several sets of stairs and gone along corridors to arrive at the nursery. There, he must have found her asleep in her crib, now you will have to imagine his strength, a six-year-old, tall for his age yet slender, got her out the crib. He picked up the beautiful girl a twenty months old toddler, you can see her paintings right on the family albums. The old nurse must have fallen asleep as she often did; she was friends with the calvados mixed coffee. The other adults and the house-elves were all working at the restaurant." Lucius eyes were opened like saucers.

"Octan appeared at the restaurant table, he could not have been gone for more than a few minutes. Imagine his parents surprise to see the slender six year old effortlessly carrying the little girl on his arms, (the added strength). My grandfather told me it was unbelievable to see the ease of how he held her, his eyes were possessive, and he seemed to know what he was doing. My father was agitated, and started at once, no explanations were offered, simply, "Let's go quickly, I am not hungry, and I am ready to leave. And she is mine." Lucius let out a laugh.

"At least I was nine, but I wanted to take her home." His color was even redder.

"That you did, you sure did." Abraxas patted Lucius head. He loved his son, still so fresh, so innocent.

"This was offered in a way of an explanation. My father, Octan wanted to tell them why he was abducting a little girl. He was flushed and excited and talked with great alacrity. The little girl was surprisingly quiet. She was fascinated looking at the big boy wizard. My father was stealing his bride. Imagine, at six and he was taking her away." Lucius' eyes were glowing with glee and with some relief, at least he had been older than six.

"Needless to say, that the old nurse had already screamed, and the next minutes were true pandemonium. My grandparents ended up apologizing to the irate owners, and were asked to leave, as they pulled the screaming six year old wizard away. "No, no, she is mine, I want her, mine, I cannot breathe, mommy I am sick, she is mine, I found her, don't take her away, I am telling the truth, she is MINE." He cried, kicked and screamed, as they left the restaurant." He stopped for a second to observe Lucius, his story wasn't much different, maybe could learn that he wasn't in control.

Abraxas continued, "Neither of my grandparents had any idea of what happened, Octan was a very good child; he was studious, polite, a bit spoiled and really nothing out the ordinary. He had never been so upset during his entire life. So distraught was Octan that my grandfather later confessed to have considered a stay at the hotel for a few days, so my father could be around the girl. Sadly, once he imagined the possible reaction of her parents, he decided it was unfeasible." Abraxas had considered asking Cygnus to allow Narcissa to stay with them.

"My grandfather, Serpens, had tears on his eyes, as he remembered that following year, "There was no reasoning with Octan, dear Abraxas. Your grandmother and I, tried coaxing, bribing, being strict, but it was all futile. Your dad, Octan, was in a world of grief. Because he was so young, I failed to recognize the symptoms. "

Abraxas remembered something and paused, "Lucius, son, before I forget, I met Ursas, your mother, when I just turned twenty one. And yes, I went through the Veela ritual that you may read all about it, later on today. I did not have the experience of a childhood meeting of the mate kind. So when you met Ms. Black, I behaved exactly like my grandfather Serpens, I did not know what to do, or what to tell you. I wish that I had been more informed. I hope when you have a son, you will inform him at the earliest age possible, but it is a tough call deciding when it is right."

He looked at Lucius who was eating the story up. Abraxas could tell Lucius was already feeling better about the day when he met Narcissa Black, his mate.

"Getting back to our tale, my dad, Octan, by the time they reached the Loire, was feverish and had vomited during the entire travel in the car. He stayed sick for several months. He ate little, had nightmares, and the healers could find nothing wrong. He was wasting away. They paid healers, took him to the waters *. They even paid one of those spiritual healers, the so called mental-healers, nothing but quacks."

Abraxas related the rest of the story to Lucius. Serpens finally went back to the château since Octan screamed during his nightmares, "I want her, give her back and she is mine." However, the little wizard would not answer any questions upon his waking. It had been nearly a year, and they feared for their only child. All the healers had agreed, he was dying, a wasting sickness, he had not grown a centimeter and had lost weight." He tried again to imagine what if that had been Lucius. And was glad he hadn't gone through such hell. And during that quiet day he told him the rest of the story that Lucius would often remember.

They finally made a decision. First, he had the French family thoroughly investigated, he found out that they were Purebloods-impoverished-aristocrats, and they could use funds' infusion. His grandfather then drove to France with his family and their solicitor along. He did not announce their arrival.

The restaurant owners did not even want to talk to him. By now, they were convinced that British Wizards were inbreed and unstable. After much explaining, the girl's parents told them they were purebloods, Serpens was already aware of the fact. They finally sat down and listened to him.

He told them of his royal ancestry and advised them to feel free to look him up. The Malfoys were, are, one of the richest families in the British Kingdom, if not the entire wizarding world, and he had an honorable request on behalf of his son. His son was not crazy, he merely had fallen in love at first sight. This proved to be a great explanation for the romantic French, the one that won the battle.

Perceiving their acceptance, as all Malfoys before and after him, he was a skilful negotiator, he promptly asked them to sign a marriage contract; he had it drawn prior to his trip and was in his possession. He went out to bring his solicitor and his little son inside. They had waited outside, however, his grandmother had preferred to stay in the car; she was still miffed about their rudeness and she blamed them for her son's malaise. Once Grandfather Serpens came back in, he asked them if they could bring the young lady to meet Octan.

The toddler broke up in screams when she first saw Octan. She still remembered all the crying, pulling, and the horror of that day. To be sure, she must have heard the adults talking; Sofia was a very smart witch. She was already reading and had been for several months.

Octan came forward, gently touched her head, caressed her hand, gave her a chaste kiss on her cheek, and, the now slender, three-year old beauty stopped crying. Octan sat by her side the entire time and he held her hands, all the while the adult women sighed in wonderment. Très romantique, c'est l'amour. (Very romantic, it is love)." Lucius had a big smile imagining.

Before they went back to England, Serpens requested to have a girl's hair lock, and perhaps a pillow or a blanket she liked, romantic mementos, they all smiled at the explanation, "Oh, oui, c'est l'amour." Yes, that is what they had already said several times."

"Hmm, err, I, never mind. " Lucius interjected.

"Okay, so although unusual they granted the request. After all, Monsieur Malfoy had left an advance of the bride's price, 100,000 galleons. For that he could have asked them to shave Sofia's abundant hair, 'Mais oui ,nous sons très romantique. (But yes, we are very romantic).' My eye, they weren't romantic, money talks, and they had already said that before. Not even original." Both laughed and shook their heads.

"Now, let's see, great-grandfather Malfoy touched the girl as to say goodbye, pressing the invisible mark into her skin, smiled, and bowed goodbye.

Octan improved starting that day. He took the small pillow with him, even to Hogwarts; a charm was casted to lock in her scent. The hair lock was meshed with one of his hair locks, and tears cried by his father bonded them temporarily, allowing Octan to be separated. Octan carried it inside a locket and opened it often.

The Muggle war complicated matters but all work out in the end. They married the day she turned seventeen, although he had wanted to marry since she was but fifteen. She thought it was just as well, regardless of her beauty, all the beaus would give up on her the first day after they tried to even hold her hand. They claimed nightmares, sweats, and sickness."

When his father finished with the last sentence, Lucius confessed about the hair and the piece of robe he had cut. He missed Abraxas' smile. He was proud of his son's actions. Lucius gave the hair lock to his father, and he in turn cut a strand of Lucius hair. By the next day, he made the locket Lucius wore until the day he married Narcissa. Now, it was stored in the place where all the lockets were tucked away.

He later found out about the secret mark, and he hoped he would not have to force this upon a girl of a future son. He was hoping when he had a son, he would be like his father or like Grandfather, that they would not find their mates until they were in their twenties, and he wouldn't have to go through all thato embarrassment. His son would be perfect, Lucius decided.

After the talk with his father, Mitsypan wove the cloth into a tie that Lucius would always wear around his neck, often charmed it to change its appearance and to stay clean. Sometimes, it would be a scarf, or even a winter cap, and always an item he could wear close to his face.

The next year when he turned fifteen, he would send Dobby into her room to steal more personal items, as he would tell Narcissa later. He wanted to explain the disappearance of expensive lingerie during those years. She had for a long time blamed Bella for the thefts, and they had bitterfly fought about it. When he told her, they would laugh talking about. As for the tie made out the cloth, it was put away for safe keeping.