Come Away O Human Child
Title: Come Away O Human Child
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters:Lucius Malfoy
Rating: G
Summary: This decided to pop out of my brain. Haven't the slightest why. Malfoys+fey. There may be more later. Title comes from the Stolen Child by William Butler Yeats text here
Lucius was 2 when his sister was born. His first distinct memory was of looking down at her in her crib, and being amazed at this tiny thing. They grew up together, allies and partners in crime, troublemakers and explorers. And if sometimes she danced to music he could not hear, or talked to people he could not see, well, that was all part of her magic.
As he grew older, he began to notice that he was the only one who seemed to appreciate that magic. Father was cold to her, at best. Well, father was cold, period, but especially to her. He might get faint praise for managing to fumble his way through a violin concerto, but Nathyrra could play a Bach sonata blindfolded and only get a "hrumph."
Once Lucius hit 8, they weren't allowed to spend the entire day together anymore. He had to learn about history, math, geography, dark arts, all the things a good Malfoy son should know. They still had manners and graces (as his mother refered to it) together, but father seemed to want to keep them apart. He worried about 'Ira. Her nanny kept saying "That girl's away with the fairies," until father heard and fired her. There was much yelling that night. Normally father and mother didn't yell, they just were icy at each other, but that night they yelled. Lucius remembered that later, the yelling. He'd opened his window to climb out the window, and seen 'Ira in the garden below. She wasn't allowed to be out that late. Neither was he, but she really wasn't. She was dancing, and this time he could hear the music, faint on the spring breeze. There were voices singing in a language he couldn't understand, and 'Ira was singing along. She looked up and smiled at him as though it was the most natural thing in the world to be dancing in the garden under a full moon to unearthly music. Then she waved and ran off into the maze.
Now Lucius knew she shouldn't do that. The maze wasn't safe; she'd get lost. He quickly climbed out his window, down the trellis, and followed her in. He instantly regretted it. It was dark and creepy. He followed the sound of the music deep into the heart of the maze. He'd never been so far in before. He could see the center now, just a little ways ahead. 'Ira was there, talking to a man. And then something jumped out in front of him and there was only blackness.
He woke up in his bed, with a bandage on his head. Someone was crying nearby. They told him his sister had vanished, that someone had taken her. That never seemed right. She hadn't been taken, she'd gone. They put up a gravestone for her:
Nathyrra Danae Malfoy
May 1, 1956 to May 19, 1962
The Manor was colder after she'd left. Mother had to be sent away; she wouldn't stop crying. With just him and father, well, it would be days without speaking sometimes. It was a relief to go to Hogwarts, even with the pressure to excel. He was a Malfoy after all, he'd manage. And he did. Hogwarts was loud and boisterous and he became its king quite easily. Funny how everyone just seemed to want to love him. He liked that, being loved. Craved it, if he was going to be honest. And yet it never felt quite right. He never quite felt part of anything. Sometimes he wondered if she'd felt that way, if that's why she'd gone off with the man. But that was silly, children didn't think like that. And then he'd have a drink.
At his wedding, people had wondered why his father's jaw was bandaged. "An accident," father had said stiffly and there'd been no more talk about it. He often wondered if it had crossed anyone's mind to connect his father's jaw with his swollen right hand.
And now here he sat, swirling a glass of brandy. He was supposed to have two children. That was the deal after all. One child in each generation sold to the fey. That's when he'd broken his father's jaw. His father had sold his little sister. He wasn't going to have two children. There'd been some loud fights about it, the only loud fights he and 'Cissa'd ever had. She wanted another child, more children. He remembered his mother, what losing 'Ira had done to her. So, no more Malfoys sold off to the fey, for money, for power, for gain. The deal ended with 'Ira.
Father would say he was making a stupid mistake. But father was dead. Surprising how easy that had been. Mother was still in a sanatorium, a nice place on the seashore. He'd taken Draco to visit a few times. Now it was just a matter of waiting. The Potter boy'd seen him, the aurors would get here sooner or later. Things were in order, 'Cissa knew what to do.
"Not running then, are you Malfoy?"
"Seemed rather pointless. My wand's on the table. Help yourself to some brandy if you'd like. It's a good vintage."
"You'll forgive me if I don't trust anything you serve. Stand up now, nice and slow. Move your
hands and it's going to get unpleasant."
Lucius stood up slowly, one hand on the armchair, the other cradling the sniffer of brandy.
"Very cooperative for a Death Eater."
"Do you mind if I finish my glass? I'm unlikely to get anything this good for a long time to come."
The Aurors looked at each other, obviously confused. They'd come expecting a fight and here he was being polite and cooperative and well mannered. He hadn't even insulted anyone. He couldn't help smirking at that. It was easy to confuse people sometimes. He slowly raised the glass and sipped from it, careful not to move any other part of his body. He could see the female Auror coming towards the table where he had set his wand.
"You look like Romy."
She looked up at him questioningly.
"Andromeda..." he paused, unable to recall what her married name was. "When 'Ira met her, she
couldn't say Andromeda, and didn't like 'Dromeda. So she became Romy. Haven't seen her in years. She had a daughter, named Nymphadora, I think. Though why anyone would inflict a name like Nymphadora on a child is beyond me."
"That's me. Most people call me Tonks. Who's Ira? Don't think mother ever mentioned an Ira to me."
Lucius drank the rest of the sniffer in one overlarge gulp. It'd been a long time since he'd
mentioned 'Ira to anyone.
"Just sitting the sniffer down now."
He put the glass down and turned a bit to face Tonks.
"Nathyrra was my little sister. Haven't talked about her in years. Romy may not even remember her. Most people don't. Now I suppose it's time to go. Thank you for letting me finish my drink."
He heard the rapid chorus of various hexes only faintly as the unearthly music drowned out everything and blackness jumped out in front of him and there was nothing.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters:Lucius Malfoy
Rating: G
Summary: This decided to pop out of my brain. Haven't the slightest why. Malfoys+fey. There may be more later. Title comes from the Stolen Child by William Butler Yeats text here
Lucius was 2 when his sister was born. His first distinct memory was of looking down at her in her crib, and being amazed at this tiny thing. They grew up together, allies and partners in crime, troublemakers and explorers. And if sometimes she danced to music he could not hear, or talked to people he could not see, well, that was all part of her magic.
As he grew older, he began to notice that he was the only one who seemed to appreciate that magic. Father was cold to her, at best. Well, father was cold, period, but especially to her. He might get faint praise for managing to fumble his way through a violin concerto, but Nathyrra could play a Bach sonata blindfolded and only get a "hrumph."
Once Lucius hit 8, they weren't allowed to spend the entire day together anymore. He had to learn about history, math, geography, dark arts, all the things a good Malfoy son should know. They still had manners and graces (as his mother refered to it) together, but father seemed to want to keep them apart. He worried about 'Ira. Her nanny kept saying "That girl's away with the fairies," until father heard and fired her. There was much yelling that night. Normally father and mother didn't yell, they just were icy at each other, but that night they yelled. Lucius remembered that later, the yelling. He'd opened his window to climb out the window, and seen 'Ira in the garden below. She wasn't allowed to be out that late. Neither was he, but she really wasn't. She was dancing, and this time he could hear the music, faint on the spring breeze. There were voices singing in a language he couldn't understand, and 'Ira was singing along. She looked up and smiled at him as though it was the most natural thing in the world to be dancing in the garden under a full moon to unearthly music. Then she waved and ran off into the maze.
Now Lucius knew she shouldn't do that. The maze wasn't safe; she'd get lost. He quickly climbed out his window, down the trellis, and followed her in. He instantly regretted it. It was dark and creepy. He followed the sound of the music deep into the heart of the maze. He'd never been so far in before. He could see the center now, just a little ways ahead. 'Ira was there, talking to a man. And then something jumped out in front of him and there was only blackness.
He woke up in his bed, with a bandage on his head. Someone was crying nearby. They told him his sister had vanished, that someone had taken her. That never seemed right. She hadn't been taken, she'd gone. They put up a gravestone for her:
Nathyrra Danae Malfoy
May 1, 1956 to May 19, 1962
The Manor was colder after she'd left. Mother had to be sent away; she wouldn't stop crying. With just him and father, well, it would be days without speaking sometimes. It was a relief to go to Hogwarts, even with the pressure to excel. He was a Malfoy after all, he'd manage. And he did. Hogwarts was loud and boisterous and he became its king quite easily. Funny how everyone just seemed to want to love him. He liked that, being loved. Craved it, if he was going to be honest. And yet it never felt quite right. He never quite felt part of anything. Sometimes he wondered if she'd felt that way, if that's why she'd gone off with the man. But that was silly, children didn't think like that. And then he'd have a drink.
At his wedding, people had wondered why his father's jaw was bandaged. "An accident," father had said stiffly and there'd been no more talk about it. He often wondered if it had crossed anyone's mind to connect his father's jaw with his swollen right hand.
And now here he sat, swirling a glass of brandy. He was supposed to have two children. That was the deal after all. One child in each generation sold to the fey. That's when he'd broken his father's jaw. His father had sold his little sister. He wasn't going to have two children. There'd been some loud fights about it, the only loud fights he and 'Cissa'd ever had. She wanted another child, more children. He remembered his mother, what losing 'Ira had done to her. So, no more Malfoys sold off to the fey, for money, for power, for gain. The deal ended with 'Ira.
Father would say he was making a stupid mistake. But father was dead. Surprising how easy that had been. Mother was still in a sanatorium, a nice place on the seashore. He'd taken Draco to visit a few times. Now it was just a matter of waiting. The Potter boy'd seen him, the aurors would get here sooner or later. Things were in order, 'Cissa knew what to do.
"Not running then, are you Malfoy?"
"Seemed rather pointless. My wand's on the table. Help yourself to some brandy if you'd like. It's a good vintage."
"You'll forgive me if I don't trust anything you serve. Stand up now, nice and slow. Move your
hands and it's going to get unpleasant."
Lucius stood up slowly, one hand on the armchair, the other cradling the sniffer of brandy.
"Very cooperative for a Death Eater."
"Do you mind if I finish my glass? I'm unlikely to get anything this good for a long time to come."
The Aurors looked at each other, obviously confused. They'd come expecting a fight and here he was being polite and cooperative and well mannered. He hadn't even insulted anyone. He couldn't help smirking at that. It was easy to confuse people sometimes. He slowly raised the glass and sipped from it, careful not to move any other part of his body. He could see the female Auror coming towards the table where he had set his wand.
"You look like Romy."
She looked up at him questioningly.
"Andromeda..." he paused, unable to recall what her married name was. "When 'Ira met her, she
couldn't say Andromeda, and didn't like 'Dromeda. So she became Romy. Haven't seen her in years. She had a daughter, named Nymphadora, I think. Though why anyone would inflict a name like Nymphadora on a child is beyond me."
"That's me. Most people call me Tonks. Who's Ira? Don't think mother ever mentioned an Ira to me."
Lucius drank the rest of the sniffer in one overlarge gulp. It'd been a long time since he'd
mentioned 'Ira to anyone.
"Just sitting the sniffer down now."
He put the glass down and turned a bit to face Tonks.
"Nathyrra was my little sister. Haven't talked about her in years. Romy may not even remember her. Most people don't. Now I suppose it's time to go. Thank you for letting me finish my drink."
He heard the rapid chorus of various hexes only faintly as the unearthly music drowned out everything and blackness jumped out in front of him and there was nothing.