Next Generation
"Draco," his father greeted. Draco bowed his head.
"Father," he greeted respectfully, "It is good to see you."
"You have grown," his father remarked, and Draco looked up to see his gray eyes studying him.
"He has," his mother agreed. The conversation was awkward, as they were surrounded by the busy atmosphere of the entrance hall. There were Death Eaters milling about everywhere. Some recently escaped, others who had helped with the rescue.
"Oh Lucius," Draco heard his aunt sing-song, "You're back."
"Hello Bella," his father said in a tight voice.
"Our Lord was so very pleased to hear you'd made it out," she said, eyes glittering dangerously. "Of course, he would have been happier if you'd never been sent there in the first place."
"I am well aware," his father replied, "He has let me know."
Bella pouted, "He didn't even let me see it!"
"Bella, play nice," his mother reprimanded. There was a hard tone that even Bella could pick up and she sighed and walked away.
"Are you alright?" his mother murmured to his father. He nodded once. Draco knew that meant that he was injured, and was waiting until they were alone in their private quarters to share with his wife.
"The Dark Lord has told me he is pleased with you," his father said to him. Draco nodded carefully.
"I am trying, Father," he answered.
"I don't know what you are doing, but you are doing well," his father said softly. Draco's heart warmed at the genuine praise, "Thank you."
"Father?" Draco didn't understand the gratitude.
His mother took the opportunity to explain, "Your father has been spared some punishment, and his honor has been restored due to your success and the Dark Lord's good mood."
"You have taken care of your family well," his father said seriously, "I will not forget it."
"I will talk to your father more later," his mother said, catching Draco's eye intentionally, "To fill him in all that has happened since he left."
"Yes," his father said looking between them, "I'm sure there is much I must know."
"You may go back to bed Draco," Narcissa said, "The Dark Lord would like her to wait outside of breakfast until he arrives tomorrow. He has requested that you stay with her."
Draco swallowed and nodded. His father looked curiously at him, but didn't dare ask in the open.
Draco bid them goodnight and went back upstairs to bed. He was relieved that his actions had been received well. He was even more relieved that the Dark Lord was treating him like a pair with Amira. Still, him doing well would bring extra attention to him, and Amira, which wasn't something that he personally wanted. More attention meant more expectations. More expectations that he could fail to meet. And possibly, more expectations of a type of behavior that neither he or Amira had the heart for.
In the morning he greeted Amira as he normally did. She was wearing a dark green version of the formal wear from yesterday. He would've thought the green would clash with her eyes, but he actually liked the tone against her skin and hair.
"We will be waiting outside today," he explained, stopping her at the top of the stairs, "I think he might want to introduce you to everyone."
"Lovely," she muttered.
"How are you feeling today?" he asked her.
"The best that I've felt yet," she said, "Will there be a lot of people at breakfast?"
"I am unsure, perhaps, depending on how many feel well enough to attend," he said.
"I'm a little worried about all of that different magic, and embarrassing myself," she admitted. She did sound scared. And Draco understood. She was extremely vulnerable when her magic confused her the way it did. Draco could think of no worse group than inner circle Death Eaters to be that vulnerable in front of.
"It will be alright," he said, "I'll be next to you, focus on me."
She nodded gratefully. Draco led her down the stairs, and found a spot to wait. Based on the chatter in the hall, he could tell almost everyone was already in there, and there were a lot of them. It wouldn't be long now. Sure enough, the air grew colder, and Draco watched the Dark Lord approach from down the hall on the left. He was eerily silent when he walked. Draco had a rogue thought to wonder if he was even wearing shoes.
"Amira, Draco," the Dark Lord greeted in his soft and eerie way, opening his arms slowly. "My next generation."
"My lord," Draco bowed his head. Amira didn't speak. Draco cursed himself for not remembering to tell her to say 'my lord' when she was addressed.
The Dark Lord gave a small laugh. "You are stressing him out my dear."
Draco watched Amira raise one eyebrow, and felt like his heart might stop out of fear for her. The Dark Lord only laughed some more.
"Oh, you are so refreshing aren't you?" he asked. He reached out and took a lock of her hair. Draco was impressed that Amira didn’t shrink back at all.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Amira said quietly.
"No, you don't," he whispered. Then he looked at Draco. "It's alright. I am not upset, and I don't expect anything different, yet. I do not wish to change her at all, until I understand her. So, don't fret."
Draco nodded once, still feeling like he might pass out. He would have to think about his words later, right now, he just wanted to make sure that the two of them kept breathing.
The Dark Lord stepped back, "Let us go in."
He strode through the doors, and the pair of them followed. He went to his seat, and they went to theirs as the room stood for the presence of their lord.
"Ah, so nice to see everyone together again," he sighed. Draco noted that his father was in his rightful place on the left-side of the Dark Lord again. He felt one short burst of pride. "As you can see, we have had two new additions since you have been here."
Draco wasn't sure how he felt about being classified as a new addition.
"First, young Draco Malfoy, he will be taking the mark this summer. He has been doing splendid work for me so far," the Dark Lord said. Draco didn't miss the high praise. It placed him above the others, and also placed a target on him. "Will you continue to do so?"
"Yes my lord," he said, sounding much more confident than he felt.
"Good," the Dark Lord said, "And we have another young one joining us, Amira Dumbledore."
The room broke into murmuring at the last name. Yaxley looked disgruntled at the erasing of his surname.
"Now, now, friends," the Dark Lord said, commanding silence, "She is not from the old goat, but his brother. She will remain the utmost secret. In fact, you will find yourselves unable to even think of her while in the presence of anyone not in this very room."
At that, Draco noticed that Severus was still missing. He was still not trusted apparently. And his father had taken the spy's place once again.
"Additionally, she is much more valuable than any of you. You will protect her with your life. If I find out you did not, your life will be the cost. Additionally, you will not speak to her with my explicit permission," the Dark Lord said, "Bella, and the Malfoys have such permission granted."
Yaxley once again looked offended, and Draco had to suppress a smirk. He was also extremely impressed and surprised by the protection of Amira that the Dark Lord was demanding. It was unlike him to be protective over his servants. Normally, he adopted an “every man for himself” and a natural selection based mindset.
"Now, let us eat."
The group sat down, and breakfast began. Draco was not ignorant to the looks that both he and Amira were receiving from everyone in attendance. Some were wondering, some were jealous, and some towards her looked hungry. Draco made note of whose those were.
Amira kept her gaze to herself for the majority of the meal. Draco noticed her hand in a tight fist at her side at one point, squeezing until her knuckles turned white. He wanted to ask her how she was doing. He could not. Instead, he discreetly touched her hand ever so slightly, just so she knew that he was there. She relaxed just a bit.
Finally, the breakfast was over.
"Amira, Bella, Malfoys, my study," the Dark Lord demanded and left. Draco didn't miss the way that Amira's name was said first. Neither did Bella, or the rest of the room, based on the variety of looks she received as she stood. Draco gave her credit for walking confidently out of the room. Draco followed her, and felt the others fall in line behind him. As soon as they were all out, he heard the room burst into hushed chatter again.
Subtle, he thought to himself and rolled his eyes.
The Dark Lord led them to his study and took his normal seat behind his desk. He gestured for Amira to take the seat in front of him. Bella took the other. His family stood awkwardly behind them.
"Draco, please update us on what you achieved yesterday," the Dark Lord commanded. Somehow, there was more pressure now, with his father watching him too. His father had years of experience with the Dark Lord, and now Draco was following in his footsteps.
"We finished the second year material, as well as the third," he said, "It seemed that it was even easier for her to learn than the first day, and after a discussion of her magic and how she was feeling, I decided to have her try advanced transfiguration to test a theory."
"And?" he prodded.
"She was successful," Draco said, "She transfigured one of our peacocks into a cat. And then she transfigured it back. It should be noted that it took quite a physical toll on her."
"Impossible," Bella breathed.
"He is being truthful," the Dark Lord murmured, "What was your theory?"
"Speaking with Amira, I've come to realize that she's magic differently than us. Well, at least differently than me. Instead of using magic with words, wands, and motions, she simply connects directly to the magic herself," he started to explain, "She can feel it, see it, somehow. Once I cast a spell for her, she can read the.... well, whatever she needs, and she can replicate it wordlessly, without a wand."
"I don't understand," Bella exclaimed, "She's only had magic for two days!"
"Amira, explain to me what you feel," the Dark Lord said, sitting forward.
She took a deep breath, "Every magic, it has a feeling. A texture, a temperature, and a shape. There's more, but I don't have the right words. When Draco would tell me to cast a spell, I simply replicated what I saw coming out of his wand. It feels somewhat like magic speaks a different language, and the wand is the translator, except, once I know how to say it, I don't need the wand, the words, or the motion."
"Do you simply watch him, and gain all of this information?" the Dark Lord asked eagerly.
"...somewhat, some of the simpler spells, or ones that are similar to what I already know, I can do that." Amira glanced at Draco, "It's easier though, if I feel his arm as he casts. Then I can feel the magic a lot more clearly."
"You are so very, very, interesting," the Dark Lord whispered. "This is more than I had hoped."
He sat silently for a few more moments. Then he turned back to Draco.
"With this information, what would your advice moving forward be?" he asked. Draco knew that this was a test. The Dark Lord already had thoughts on the matter, but he was giving Draco the opportunity to prove himself further.
"Well, I would think it important to see where her limit is. Not physically, as we found out yesterday that it does strain her, but magically. How far can she go? What types of things are difficult for her?" he started, "Additionally, she still needs to learn the spells, if not to use them, but to know what other people are using. And, as you said, she will need to keep up appearances. I would assign the books for reading or reports, but no longer for practical studies, as clearly, they are useless to her in that regard."
"Yes, I agree," the Dark Lord nodded. At his approval, Draco felt immense relief, not just from himself, but also from his parents. "I would like you to continue on teaching her the Hogwarts curriculum, and observe her studies with myself and Bella in the afternoons. In the evenings, you will go with Bella, and Amira and I will have private lessons."
Draco nodded. It was more than he had hoped for, even if it wasn't perfect.
"When we are busy, which will be often, I wish for her.... to try to teach you," the Dark Lord finished.
"My lord?" Draco's mind spun. Amira looked up at him.
"I do not know if it is possible, but if it is possible to be taught, it would be of great use to us," the Dark Lord explained, "You have the best grasp of what she means thus far. You will make every single effort to learn."
"Yes my lord," Draco agreed.
“You will continue your Occlumency as well,” the Dark Lord added as an afterthought. He then turned his full attention to Amira. He sharpened his eyes, and Draco knew he was attempting to read her mind. After a few silent moments he spoke. “You are a natural Occlumens.”
Amira didn’t speak.
“Answer your lord!” Bella demanded suddenly. Amira turned to look at Bella, with a brow raised. Draco was beginning to find it amusing. Amira was so shy and docile when it came to everyone else, but when it came to the deranged and famed Bellatrix Lestrange, she liked to challenge.
Bella whipped out her wand and pointed it at Amira. Before anyone could stop the curse that was on her lips, Amira twitched her hand, and Bella’s wand went soaring across the room, and out of the door. Bella had a moment of shock, before she stood in a rage. She lunged at Amira.
“Bella no!” his mother cried. His father drew his wand, as did Draco, but it didn’t matter. The Dark Lord had petrified her before she could even come close to Amira.
The Dark Lord rubbed his temple.
“Bella, we talked about this,” he said tiredly, “I don’t have time for squabbles.”
He ended the petrification curse.
“But my lord,” she whined, “This girl- the disrespect!”
“I didn’t do anything,” Amira said calmly, and crossed her legs. Draco swore he could see a smirk on her lips. Bella whipped around to look at her again. There was a tense moment of silence where the room waited for Bella to attempt a fight again.
Instead, she burst into insane giggles. Draco heard his father sigh tiredly next to him.
“I like you,” Bella said when she calmed down, “We’re going to have a great time.”
Amira inclined her head to acknowledge the statement but didn’t say anything else.
“Now that that’s dealt with,” the Dark Lord muttered before addressing Amira more formally, “I wish to see you learn something now.”
He turned to Draco, “Have you shown her vanishing hexes?”
“No my lord,” he answered. He hadn’t yet covered those in Hogwarts, though he had read loads about them in theory.
“Teach her.”
Draco swallowed. His parents moved out of the way, and Amira stood.
“Is this vase alright, my lord?” Draco checked. The Dark Lord nodded impatiently. Draco prayed that he’d be able to do it on the first try. He readied his wand and looked at Amira.
“Would you like to try by sight or feel first?” he checked.
“Let me just feel it right away,” she suggested. He nodded and extended his arm so that she could place her hand there. Then, he focussed on the vase and cast the spell as precisely as he could. He held back his sigh of relief when it did indeed vanish.
“Got it?” he asked her. She nodded.
“Do the table,” the Dark Lord commanded her. Draco raised his eyebrows only for a second. It was already difficult enough to vanish small objects. Large objects took a lot more effort. Still, he supposed she had done animal to animal transfiguration on the first try the day prior.
Amira placed her hand over the table and closed her eyes. Draco always liked to watch her concentrate. She looked somehow peaceful and intense at the same time.
The table vanished. She opened her eyes, and smiled at the space where it had been. Then she turned to Draco. He could tell that the gleam from yesterday was back in her eyes already. The one that reminded him of Bella, and made him nervous. He smiled encouragingly back at her before she turned back to the Dark Lord.
“Oh very good Amira.” Bellatrix squealed and bounced up and down, “A prodigy.”
“Yes,” the Dark Lord said, looking at Amira closely. “You enjoyed that very much didn’t you?”
Draco’s stomach clenched. So he had noticed. Shit.
“I did,” she said, voice strong.
“Good, very good,” he praised. It made Draco’s skin crawl.
"We're going to have so much fun," Bella purred. Draco kept his face stoic.
"Amira, Draco, you are dismissed," the Dark Lord announced, "I will call for you tomorrow."
Amira stood gracefully and Draco followed her out of the room. Amira went straight for the garden, and Draco followed, hoping it was okay that he would go with her.
She went to their usual bench, and Draco sat next to her.
"That went well," he mused, "Why do you like to mess with Bella so much?"
Draco saw her smirk out of the corner of his eye.
"I don't know, honestly," she answered, "It’s just amusing."
"You weren't afraid? Most people are scared to death of her," Draco said.
"No, she just doesn't really scare me," Amira said with a shrug.
"That's crazy," Draco said, shaking his head, "She scares me, and she's my aunt."
"You handle yourself so well in there," Amira commented. "When he speaks to you, you sound so confident."
"It's an act," Draco admitted before he could think about if he should.
"I know," she nodded, "Still, it's impressive."
"I have to prove myself," Draco said, thinking about all that was on the line, "I have to make up for my father's .... missteps."
"It looks like you already have," Amira noted, "Was it nice to see him again?"
"Yes, he was.... kinder than I would have thought," Draco said carefully.
"And was he.... alright?" she asked.
"Yes, he was well," Draco nodded.
"So now it really starts," she said. Draco didn't have to ask what she meant. The war. And their part in it.
"Yes, it does," he answered, "We'll get the Dark Mark soon."
"I hadn't thought of that until yesterday," she admitted, "I should've known."
"He doesn't normally mark women. Only Bella, but... I don't think you'll be able to escape it," Draco said.
"I think you're right," she nodded. "It's alright I guess."
"It hurts a lot, my father told me that," Draco said. "Are you afraid?"
"No, I'm not scared of pain," she answered. Draco's stomach clenched at the remembrance of all of the pain she'd been through. It was easy to forget what had been occurring even just a few days ago. "Are you?"
"Not for the pain," Draco answered, "The permanence." Privately, he also thought about the rumored requirement that he would have to kill someone.
"You could run," Amira whispered, turning to him and leaning in.
"So could you," he murmured, whispering back, "We could go."
Amira looked around, "I would."
Draco's heart beat fast, "Where would we go?"
"We'd have to go far," Amira decided. Draco couldn't believe the quick turn this conversation had taken. He wouldn't dare have it with anyone else, but the Dark Lord couldn't get in her mind. And he felt certain he could hide it far, far back in his mind. "I've never even been to London."
"We would need money," Draco's mind was racing. And suddenly the whole prospect seemed impossible. He would have to steal money from his parents. And then he would be leaving them here. They would be punished. He was the only reason his father had any standing at all now. "I can't leave them."
Amira sat back and looked at him for a few moments.
"No, you can't," she finally said, "You can't leave them here. And they would never go."
Draco shook his head. "They wouldn't."
Amira sighed and ran a hand through her curls. "Ok. But if there was an opportunity, we should be on the lookout."
"You could still go," Draco said, though he didn't want her to, selfishly. He wanted her near him, to make sure she was alright. He also knew the safest she would ever be was far from here.
"You would be punished, or killed," Amira argued. Draco hadn't considered that. "I would never do that to you."
The ferocity of her second statement surprised him. There was a lot of passion and intensity there.
"So we stay," he said softly. He tentatively placed his hand in the middle of the space between them on the bench. He wanted to take her hand, but he didn't know if it was welcome. They were only friends, after all. Amira didn't look down, but her hand laid on top of his. He turned his, and interlocked their fingers gently and slowly. They didn't look at each other, and instead, stared out into the garden, breathing together, pondering their fates, and their forced place in this dangerous war.