Chapter 8
The group appeared in the main foyer of Malfoy manor. Once they were safe Bellatrix collapsed to the floor unconscious. Rodolphus knelt down by his wife, gently placing her head in his lap while Severus and Tom focused on Harry. Lucius moved to his brother in law after telling a house elf to get Narcissa.
“What’s going on, Rodolphus?”
“It’s because of Potter.” Severus and Tom looked over at the two while Lucius raised an eyebrow to show his confusion.
“What did Harry do to cause this?”
“Bella is an empath.” The men in the room turned towards the new voice as Narcissa made her way to the group, her healer bag in hand. She stopped by her sister first to check her over. The healer waved her wand in a series of complex motions and watched as her magic performed the diagnostic scan. They waited a second or two before the parchment popped next to Cissa’s head and the witch grabbed it to look it over. She nodded her head only once as it read what she had suspected. Bella was suffering from a severe influx of emotions and it had been too overwhelming. Although she was unaware of the events that took place on the retrieval, it was clear that it had been too much for the witch.
Not many people knew about the gift that the Lestrange matriarch possessed, no one besides her family and husband. The trait wasn’t common at all, and only a few families had members with the ability. The House of Black had been one of them and even then the chances of a child getting it were usually small. Over the last century, the gene had begun to taper off with the Black children. Most of the time children born into the family were carriers of the gene but never had it themselves. Oddly enough, Narcissa had seen certain signs in Draco that have led her to believe that her son was also an empath. She hadn’t looked much into it, but she had mentioned the revelation to her husbands and it seemed to intrigue them both. It was one of the reasons that she had demanded her son to stay in his room under Dobby’s watchful eye since the last thing she wanted was him to be flooded with any possible negative emotions.
She turned to her brother in law. “She’s going to be fine. I’m not sure how long she has been dealing with the emotions, but her system just became overwhelmed. You’re more than welcome to stay here for the night or you can go home if you wish. All she needs is some sleep and a pepper up potion in the morning. She should be fine by afternoon.” Rodolphus gave her an appreciative nod.
“Thank you, Cissy.”
The witch nodded in return offering him a reassuring smile and then moved over to the small child lying in her husband’s arms. Falling gently to her knees, the healer performed the same diagnostic spell on Harry and they waited as the parchment filled with his ailments. When the parchment grows longer than the length on her forearm, the woman is more than a little concerned. She turns to look at Severus and catches him looking down at the Potter heir with a look in his eyes that can only be described as guilt and shame.
A part of her was proud of the man for showing remorse. She wasn’t blind or oblivious to how Severus treated the boy at school. Not where she seemed to always get her “reports” from Draco in addition to the constant grumbling the man does when the little Potter is mentioned. She placed her hand gently on the back of his neck and treaded her fingers lightly through the hair at the nape of his neck. The treatment eased some of the tension from the man and when he looked up his face was solemn.
“He would’ve done better in slytherin. I’ve never known anyone to hide this type of abuse like this.”
“It’s not like you would have known-”
“But I should have. I know what it is like to feel alone when you are hurting and just want someone to tell you to make it better. I know what it is like to want just one adult to notice you are hurting and for them to make it okay.” A tear fell down the man’s cheek unnoticed, but Narcissa did and the woman reached out and gently wiped it away.
“This isn't your fault, Severus.”
“It may as well be,” the man said looking up at his wife. “If not for not noticing then for only adding to the boy’s inner turmoil by constantly belittling him and picking on him. I am no better than his father.”
“This is no time to be placing blame and wallowing in self pity.” Severus looked up when his father spoke. Tom looked into the tormented eyes of the young man in front of him and his heart bled. Not only for him but the small child whose innocence was ripped away by those who were supposed to care about and for him.
“We cannot change the past but we can certainly alter the future. I can see that you have remorse for the way you behaved with young mister Potter. You will have plenty of time to make up for your mistakes and to apologize to him.”
“But how?” The question was meek and soft spoken.
“You will think of a way in time. I have no intention of letting him go and I am quite certain you feel the same.” There was a question behind that statement that caused Severus to nod his head. “Then you will find a way. But right now, our focus should first be on removing these cuffs off of the boy and then putting him to bed. I have a feeling that he and Draco are going to be in for a huge surprise, but I should say it is for the better.”
Severus looked up at his father’s words.
“Do you really think letting them meet this early is a good idea. There has been nothing but animosity between those two since their first year.”
“I should hardly think we will have an issue with that anymore,” Lucius interjected. He sat next to his wife and laced her hands with his. “Dragon has told me before that the only reason he has shown hostility towards mister Potter was because of their first meeting in Diagon Alley.”
Severus nodded. “I remember that. He wanted to make friends…”
“Yes and was rejected. But I don’t think it was due to his own thoughts. Dragon told me how Mr. Potter had been with the youngest Weasley boy during their encounter”
There was a passing moment of understanding and Severus nodded.
“Makes sense. The Weasleys have been so far up Dumbledore’s arse since I can remember and are as “light” as they come.”
“Who knows what a naive Potter could have been told before their encounter,” Narcissa finished. Tom nodded as well.
“Be that as it may, you and Draco will have time to make it up to Harry and possibly form a type of relationship with him. Especially since he isn’t around people who constantly whisper in his ear. It could be good for him and us.”
“I agree,” the matriarch said. She reached into her bag and pulled out two small vials and a syringe. She handed one of the vials to Severus. “I need you to open his mouth so he can take this nutrients potion. I don’t feel right about waking him up to take it, and I know this will be the easiest one to administer with him asleep.”
The potions master did as asked and soon the contents of the vial was gone. Narcissa then picked up a shimmering blue potion and the syringe. He looked to the blond witch for an explanation of what she was going to do.
“This potion will re-break and rearrange any of the misaligned bones in his body seeing as the report stated there were many that healed incorrectly. In addition to that it will close the wounds on his back. The process will be...unpleasant to say the least and I know it will bring him into consciousness. The syringe is filled with a sedative that will keep him under.”
With that being said the healer handed vial to Lucius then turned back to the unconscious child. She tilted his head to the side and pushed the needle into his neck. Harry whimpered and shifted in his sleep causing Severus to shush him gently. They waited until the boy’s breathing evened out and he went completely limp. It was then that Narcissa poured the contents of the vial into Harry’s mouth and waited as Severus massaged the child’s neck to get him to swallow. Nothing happened at first, as Narcissa predicted as it took a couple of minutes to work. She then stood up with the others following her lead.
“You can take him to Draco’s room or the room to the left of ours. It will take a minute for the potion to work and I highly doubt you want to be holding him as his bones realign themselves.” She laughed lightly at the disturbed look on the potion master’s face. He went to head for the stairs but before he could turn all the way around Tom spoke.
“I will take him Severus.”
His son looked at him inquisitively.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll take him and you three can go ahead and retire for the night. I will be heading back to my manor after I deposit Mr.Potter.”
He didn’t wait for a rebuttal and headed for the stairs. The three malfoys looked at one another and shrugged. Narcissa gathered her things and soon joined the hug that Lucius had pulled Severus into. They stood there for a moment just basking in each other’s presence before also heading up the stairs where they could tell their child goodnight, have a light supper and head to bed. Today had been troubling for them all and tomorrow would be a big day for everyone. Better to get some rest before the storm.