Telling Him The Truth
Nevra's eyes held a silent question for Draco as he walked in beside Blaise. He nodded in answer; he was alright. Abruptly turning to address Elenia, he spoke, "I was Bellatrix's child, Marcus was yours…did my mother ever have a child of her own?"
"Ophelia…Ophelia was her baby. She loved her so much." Elenia paused then added as if on an impulse. "But Draco…you were her son…she loved you that much. She didn't care whose blood ran in your veins…and neither did you. That's all that mattered." Draco's eyes held a slight sheen. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"So where can we find Marcus now?" he said, changing the subject.
Elenia eagerly went along with the question, "We put him up for adoption to a pureblood Slytherin family. The Flints adopted him several years ago. They nor Marcus know of his real parentage."
Draco and Blaise looked at one another. Blaise spoke, "Marcus…Flint? The boy who - "
"Who was the Slytherin Quidditch Captain before me. We never got along. He thought Malfoys were weak pansies who used money to get their way in everything. He prided himself on working to get what he wanted…very Hufflepuff-ish of him. Ironic that he will now inherit the money."
Nevra spoke in surprise, "He's an illegitimate heir, Draco! You inherit, not him!"
Draco smiled grimly. "We forgot to tell you. Lucius came here to disown me. I am no longer the Malfoy Heir. Marcus will get the money…and consequentially, a significant amount of power as well."
The three looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Blaise spoke this time. "So we will tell him about his real parents. It will get him on our side…and with the power he stands to inherit…our plans can benefit greatly."
Tears ran down Elenia's face. "You will ruin his life."
Draco spoke, "Not ruin, necessarily…more like upset. But Elenia, trust me, he'll find out eventually. And
it's better someone tell him than he find out by default. I know what it's like, remember? If someone had given
me a choice, I would have liked to know as soon as possible."
Elenia sighed, then spoke to Nevra. "I never thought you could get enmeshed in the Dark so early in power, Nevra. I thought that maybe you would help me out of the goodness of your heart rather than advantages and agendas."
The sadness in her voice hurt. Nevra explained. "We are helping you both. You are under my protection now. Your son will never be hurt when he is allied with the Dark Trio. Alone, we may not be powerful but together we stand high in the Dark Lord's favor. It's just that helping you will also help us."
Elenia sighed and shook her head. "You are using this to your advantage…I don't know. I thought you were different."
Nevra smiled sadly. "We are using you like any other Dark member would do…but we consider what's best for you as well, which is more than any other would. They would use it however they wanted…we could blackmail your husband or Lucius…but we aren't. Telling Marcus the truth will help you as well, and we can incorporate it into our plans as well."
Elenia asked, "What plans? Whose side are you really on?"
The three looked at each other. Blaise shrugged. "Not the Light, not the Dark…the Trio's. Whatever holds our best interests is what we will do…that means the Dark and it always has. But we don't follow blindly and we do what we please."
Nevra spoke. "Let's go to Denmark. We have things to discuss. Elenia, stay here. You will be safe."
Draco asked, "Her? Safe from what?"
Nevra eyed him icily. "None of your business. Just know she is under my protection now. And that she is not going back to Edward Parkinson."
Draco hesitated. "Not that I don't trust your judgment…but letting a stranger in the house -"
"In Denmark, Draco," said Blaise quickly, glancing at Elenia.
Draco nodded. "In Denmark."
Evil Traditions
They appeared in front of the familiar stone cottage surrounded by thick green forest. Draco pushed away memories of the last time he had been here…that could never become real…Nevra wouldn't let it.
Nevra immediately turned. "We used a Word of Power…stranger or not, she is telling the truth. The truth allies her to us whether she likes it or not…she knows that as much as we do. She can't live there anymore…it's too dangerous." Nevra snapped.
Draco was taken aback. "Okay, okay! Nevra, relax! Sorry I asked!"
She looked abashed. "Sorry I overreacted. My problem, not yours." She muttered.
Draco looked at her strangely. "It's all right."
Blaise looked at them both, checked their emotions, and decided it was time to change the subject. "So when and how are we going to tell Flint?"
Draco nodded briskly. "I know where he is…he is an assistant at Borgin's and Burke's."
Nevra interjected. "I think we should wait until after the attack on Hogwarts…we don't have enough time to convince him…only a few hours until he calls us, I think."
Draco and Blaise nodded in assent. Draco spoke, "Should we approach him together, or just me?"
Nevra considered. "Just you. We don't want to reveal our closeness…and it would be logical that you find out considering he took your inheritance. No one really knows how little you care about it and you can use that to your advantage."
Blaise nodded at Draco, and Draco shrugged. "Sounds good. So Nevra, you seemed pretty agitated…was there anything besides this you wanted to discuss?"
Nevra hesitated. "Edward Parkinson hurts his wife." Blaise and Draco both looked at each other.
Blaise added, "Yeah. What's your point?"
Nevra looked at him in shock. "What's my point? What, is domestic abuse common around here."
Draco looked at her curiously. "Yeah. Nearly every pureblood Slytherin girl is trained to handle it, and boys are taught to show aggression. Not all men are like that…but it isn't something we consider out of place."
Nevra looked disgusted. "That kind of abuse can kill. Does kill. You just let people do that? Don't speak up or protest? Or even help the victims?"
Draco and Blaise looked at each other, then shrugged. Nevra walked into the cottage and slammed the door behind her. Both the men followed her.
Nevra was standing in a corner, back to them, shaking with fury. Draco said softly, "Nevra, not all men here are like that. Most of the younger generation won't accept it anymore. But the old-school purebloods…it's kind of - well - expected."
Nevra's words were poisonous. "Expected? What - you aren't a man if you can't hurt a woman half your size and totally under your domination? You have to prove that you have power over a person who is supposed to be your partner in life? A person you love?"
Draco looked at her questioningly. "Love? Marriages were arranged for power and reputation, Nevra. Most of the older generation never loved their spouses. Liked, maybe, cared for, less likely, but loved? No, not then. Now, yes…because people aren't forced into their vows any longer…but then?"
Nevra bit back a fierce retort. They wouldn't understand. After all, this was why she was not loyal to the Dark Side. It's just that she had never expected her friends - no, her allies - to support something like domestic abuse.
Blaise interjected. "Nevra don't think that. We don't support it. It's dying out with this last generation. But…they've done it like this for centuries."
Fury seeped into her voice. "Don't look inside my head, Blaise! And tradition doesn't make it right!"
Draco went up and gripped her arms gently as he spoke. "We would never do it…and most of our peers wouldn't. But we accepted it among our parents, because they have never known any other way."
Nevra shrunk into the corner even further. "Don't touch me! Don't - just don't…" Sobs built up in her voice. Draco backed away and looked at Blaise, signaling him to come outside.
The Summons
They walked out of the cottage. "What's going on with her?" Draco asked Blaise.
Blaise shook his head. "She asked me not to get inside her head."
"That's never stopped you before." Blaise sighed.
"It's not in her best interests this time."
"Blaise, I need to know. I need to know the secrets she's hiding. Not for a plan or security…but just because I need to know about her. Because she's her."
Blaise sighed again. "She dated Potter before she came to the Dark Side."
"She told me."
"Yeah, well she didn't tell you why they broke up…they were engaged, you know. He was an alcoholic…the pressure got to him, so he drank. He ended up hurting her in one of his drunken rages and she realized that this would kill him…and it could kill her…if he didn't stop. So she left. I think he's stopped drinking now, her memories weren't clear on that part, but anyways…she hates domestic abuse with a passion, because she walked away on a relationship because of it."
Draco held back a gasp. "My god, why didn't you look before? We must have alienated her so much…"
"We would have alienated her more if she knew I could look not just for her thoughts but through her memories as well. Besides, there's one secret that she is hiding even against Empaths."
"I thought that was impossible."
"So did I…but it has barriers that I can't cross. So she is hiding something. Something important."
"Not that important. The Innocuroso binds her to us now. We are her first priority. If the secret was something that would harm us, she would tell us. She would be magically forced to…right?"
"I hope so." At that point, they both stopped talked. Heat blazed up their arm in a blinding flash and their Dark Marks seared black.
Nevra joined them. "It's time to go." Draco, still holding his arm gingerly began to speak.
"Yeah, I think we figured that one out." He said drily. Then more seriously, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"Sorry. I will even if I try not to. Are you sure you're okay?" Nevra looked at both of them.
"You know, don't you? About Harry and me. Blaise looked, didn't he?" Their silence was enough of an answer for her. Her eyes hardened and she looked at Blaise. "Do it again, and I swear you will find a nasty surprise waiting. Empaths aren't affected by mind shields…but there are other ways to shield your mind. I'm tired of you searching through my head."
Blaise looked taken aback at this sudden hostility. "You never minded before." Nevra laughed.
"That was before I realized that Draco already had Empath shields…if he doesn't have to put up with it, neither do I."
Blaise looked at Draco sharply and Draco said sheepishly, "Blaise actually didn't know I had them…I never used them, just made them. Just in case I didn't want anyone knowing what I was thinking."
Nevra looked at Draco in shock. "Oh my god!...I'm sorry. I should've known you two wouldn't put me on an unequal footing. I've just been so - tense - lately. I really don't want to attack Hogwarts. It's starting to bother me more and more."
Blaise grasped her shoulder in sympathy. "We all do what we must. Speaking of that, we must go now, or the Dark Lord will have a fit." Nevra held back a giggle at the image of the Dark Lord turning red and jumping up and down, screaming at the three of them as they said the spell.
"Regresa Maestro."