Dark Phoenix Rising

Chapter Two: Lord Astiliris

It was the boy's fourth day on the Flying Folder, but he didn't know that. All he saw was an approaching group of lights, the biggest he had seen yet. He had the suspicion that the group of lights was London, and sure enough, he found himself looking at the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel that stood tall in the city.

Half an hour later, the boy noticed the folder was slowing and starting to descend into a long, dark alleyway. Knockturn Alley. The boy dismounted the folder, which automatically shrivelled up and burned into ashes. The flame attracted some of the wanderers in Knockturn Alley.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Cackled a witch that looked more like a hag than a human as she stepped up to the boy. "Lost?"

"N-no," the boy stuttered.

"Are you?" said a man from behind him, chuckling rather sinisterly. The boy jumped and ran away as fast as he could, leaping into a side alley and into a pile of rags, where he sat, shivering and breathing heavily.

***

Matteo was walking in a field, daisies flying around him as the sun shone. His hair, which was normally a rather mousy brown or blonde, was black, and a few strands fell across his face. He wasn't brown like a nut; rather, he was pale, and his freckles had disappeared. He wasn't tiny anymore. He was his dream-self.

Across from him was a girl with jet-black hair and a pretty face. "Hello, Teo," she said.

"Lena," Matteo said breathlessly.

Lena smiled at him in a way that she would have never done in real life. It was rather seductive and catty. Matteo's rational self was writhing in disgust at himself. Magdelena was just a friend in real life.

Suddenly, Lena disappeared, and Matteo found himself in an unfamiliar room, back to his normal appearance, in front of a freckled girl with pigtails and a gawky look. "Who are you?" Matteo asked in Spanish.

"I'm Maia. Lily told me to warn you that danger is coming to you," the girl said. Matteo switched to English. His parents had taught it to him when he was young, and Matteo was continuously practising it. "Why should I believe you? You just appeared in my dreams," he said. He blushed, thinking about Lena and hoping the Maia girl didn't see the dream.

"You have to, Matteo," Maia said.

Matteo's eyes opened. His bedside clock read 8:03. What was that all about? Matteo thought, stretching and opening his window shutters so that the sunlight streamed in. Along with the light came the sounds of traffic as the Muggles went to work. Matteo didn't mind. He rather liked the Muggles. They were quite interesting, especially Grandpa, who was a Muggle, and his father's father. Matteo's mother's parents didn't visit Spain very often, and Matteo thought they were dreadfully boring.

Sighing, Matteo reached into his wardrobe and pulled out his Muggle clothes: a T-shirt that read 'Gryffindor Rules, Slytherin Stinks (especially at Quidditch)', and jeans. The T-shirt was the most Muggle thing he had; everything else had holes and tears in them, and his mother had yet to get him new clothes. Matteo didn't know much about Gryffindor and Slytherin, except that his parents had been in Gryffindor House when they were in school. Besides, the shirt was written in English, and Matteo doubted the Muggles would know what it meant. His parents' friend had sent it with Matteo's birthday present one year.

Matteo donned the clothes. If only he hadn't been banned from using Floo Powder. He had landed in the wrong fireplace the last time he had used it, and his parents had nearly gone mad trying to find him. He would have to ride the Metro to Lena's house.

"Hey! Theo!" Seamus Finnigan called from downstairs. Matteo rolled his eyes at the use of an English nickname, but was silent. Seamus had never quite learned Spanish well at all, since he worked in the Spanish Ministry as the Ambassador to Britain. "Theo, you've got your letter to that school in Barcelona!"

Matteo's eyes brightened, and he nearly sprinted down the stairs, into the kitchen. He had waited for the acceptance letter to Hechicero Barcelona Colegio de Magia for so long, and now, it was finally there for him to open. "Hechicero Barcelona Colegio de Magia, Papa," Matteo said, taking the letter from his father's outstretched hand. "Honestly, Dad, you should at least know the name of the school," he added in Spanish.

"Er... what did he say, Lavender?" Seamus said to Lavender Finnigan, who had just entered the room. "He was talking a bit too fast for me to understand."

"Learn the language, Seamus dear," Lavender said, winking at Matteo. She walked off with the rest of the post, humming.

"Mum and I agree that your head is abnormally large, and your ears could match up to an elephant's," Theo said in Spanish.

"Uh... yes, whatever you say, Theo," Seamus said. "Have the elephants escaped from the zoo, or what?"

Theo snickered. "I said that Mum and I agree that your head is abnormally large, and your ears could match up to an elephant's," Theo said. "And it seems like you agree too, Dad. No, the elephants have not escaped from the zoo."

Seamus glared at him. Theo shrugged. "Couldn't resist. See you later." He tucked the letter safely in his jeans pocket.

"Where are you going?" Seamus demanded.

"Lena's house. I'll be back for lunch, I promise," Theo said.

"What about lunch?" Seamus said, confused. However, no one heard, as Theo had already walked out the door of the house, smirking.

The Finnigans lived in a nice part of the city, where the houses had multiple floors, and it was rather like a street in London, or like a suburb with the houses built with brick and close together. All the Muggles owned cars, and some had two. Many of the houses had neatly kept flowerbeds and vegetable gardens, and all of them were kept clean.

Matteo made his way out into the busier streets, where he was nearly run over by a street vendor, pulling his cart by bicycle. Scowling, he walked to the Metro station, and paid for a ticket. When he emerged from the Metro station near Lena's house, he was in a totally different neighbourhood.

Lena lived in a poor neighbourhood, where everyone lived in grimy complexes with about twenty flats in each building. None of the Muggles there had cars; instead, there were mountains of bicycles piled up outside each complex. The air was smoky and unpleasant, and there was grass growing through the cracks in the pavement in front of the buildings. The whole neighbourhood was rather depressing, and Matteo preferred the days when Lena visited his house.

Lena's father was a shop owner in El Sombrero, the Spanish equivalent to Diagon Alley. Its name literally meant 'The Hat', because the shopping centre was shaped like a pointed hat. At the tip of the 'hat' was Gringotts (the Spanish branch), and the more important shops. The least important were in the brim of the 'hat'. Mr. Buscando, Lena's father, owned a shop near the middle, which sold Quidditch supplies. They were lucky to even be able to afford a flat; the shop owners in the brim had to live above their shops.

Matteo made his way up the stairs of the third apartment building on the street, up to the fourth floor, where he knocked on the door of the flat on the left. It was opened by Lena's older sister, Gabriela, who looked bored. "Lena!" she called. "Your boyfriend's here again!" she added, smiling wickedly. Matteo blushed.

Lena came to the door, looking furious. "He is not my boyfriend," she said heatedly. "We're friends. Besides, Matteo doesn't like me that way. We don't go together."

Matteo scowled inwardly, remembering his dream. Lena was very tactless, and liked to be blunt. Gabriela looked at Matteo. "You're right," she said. "We're pure-blooded, and he's only a quarter pure-blooded. You don't go together." The Buscandos, while they didn't voice it, were one of those families that was more pureblood oriented than not, even though they were just shopkeepers. Lena scowled, but was unable to say anything against Gabriela, who was five years older than her.

"Besides," Gabriela continued smugly, "he's very ugly. He has those freckles all over his face, and he's so small and scrawny. His hair is so ugly. And he's not Spanish at all." She leered at him, and Matteo found himself turning red under her scrutiny. When in need of an ego-deflator, just ring up Gabriela Buscando, he thought wryly.

"Enough!" Lena said finally. "He's my friend, and you'll stop making fun of him. One day, he'll prove to be better looking than your stupid Manuel, and he'll be better at everything. You'll see."

"What? What surprises you have for us, Matteo? Are you going to reveal that you're part veela, or what? Are you going to become a world-famous Quidditch player? I don't think so. Lena, find someone better to be friends with." She slammed the door in Matteo and Lena's faces. The two looked at each other. Gabriela had never been nice to Matteo, but she had never been that mean before either.

"Come on," Matteo said, starting down the stairs. Lena followed silently. "Let's go to El Sombrero today. I want to look at that Firebolt X-80. With luck, maybe my parents will think about getting it for me this Christmas. And then I might have money left over to get you those gloves you wanted. And maybe a broomstick servicing kit."

Lena had frozen. Wondering what was wrong, Matteo made his way back up to his best friend. "I don't want to look at the Firebolt X-80," Lena said finally, with bitterness in her voice. "It just reminds me of how I'll never get it, because Gabriela's taking all the money to go on dates with that fat pig, Manuel, who she thinks is so wonderful." She turned onto Matteo. "And you know what?" she snarled. "I don't want to be your best friend. You're always talking about how you have money, because your stupid father is the stupid ambassador to stupid Britain, and you have so much stupid money to spend on stupid things." Tears began running down her cheeks. Matteo was startled. "It's not fair!" Lena screamed. "I HATE YOU! GO TO HELL! GO AWAY!"

Matteo jumped, then got angry. "You know what?" he said, not realising he had slipped into English in his anger. "I didn't choose to be rich, and I didn't make you poor. If Gabriela's causing so many... bloody problems," he added, using one of the words his father used often, "then I'm not the one to yell at! All I was trying to do was lead us back into normal life, you know, our normal routines and all, now that your sister's trying to ruin our friendship. And you're letting her! Do you really think I'm trying to show off by taking you to Quality Quidditch Supplies instead of your father's shop? I'm not trying to throw my money around!"

Lena looked at him. "Now you're putting on airs!" she screamed. "Speaking English, now, aren't you?" Matteo was confused for a moment, until he realised he had been speaking English for the last minute. "You know what? I don't want to be your friend. I want to have a friend who doesn't brag about things... who doesn't use me to compare to himself in front of others! Gabriela was right. Maybe I should find myself another friend!"

Matteo glared at the girl he once thought was a friend, and potentially more in the future. All he saw now was a rather vain and jealous girl who was standing there, screaming at him. Suddenly, he saw something dark behind Lena. "Lena! Look out!" he shouted. At the exact same moment, Lena's eyes widened as she seemed to see something behind Matteo. The dark figure behind Lena grabbed her, putting his hand over her mouth. Matteo was suddenly grabbed roughly by another black-robed figure, who also clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't move," the man with Lena said in perfect English to Matteo. He had a British accent, like Matteo and his family. "Don't move, Mr. Finnigan, or your little friend will be killed." He pulled out a wand. "Portkey, Bella."

"Why does the master want a Finnigan?" said a hoarse voice behind him. Matteo realised it was a woman, who sounded as if she had screamed for hours at a time at one point in her life.

"You'll have to ask him," said the other robed figure. "Well? The portkey." The robed figure named Bella grabbed a piece of parchment out of her pocket, held tightly to Matteo, and waited. The other robed figure joined her at the parchment, holding on tightly to Lena, who looked petrified.

Matteo felt a swooping feeling in his gut, and then he found himself at home again. This time, however, it wasn't just his parents sitting in the kitchen, like he had left them. A large group of robed figures had surrounded his frightened parents, who were being held behind a magical shield. His father screamed something at Matteo, but nothing came out of his mouth. His mother was sobbing from behind the shield.

A robed figure who was obviously the leader came up to Bella and the other robed figures. "Good. You have captured them," he said in a British accent, like the other two. He turned to Matteo. Matteo couldn't see his or any of the other robed figures' faces; they were hidden by hoods. "They thought they could hide you," he said softly, half to himself. Louder, he said, "Mr. Finnigan, do you know who I am?"

"A sadistic bastard who has found a way inside our house and wants to kidnap us?" Matteo said savagely, surprising even himself. Where had he learned those words, anyway? Lena watched everyone wide-eyed; she couldn't understand anything that was being said.

To Matteo's surprise, the robed figure laughed. It was cold and oozed out evil, making the hairs on Matteo's arms stand up straight. Even Bella, who was still keeping Matteo locked in place, shivered a little. "Yes, I am a sadistic bastard," the robed figure said, amused. "And yes, I have found a way inside your house... it wasn't that hard. But no, I don't want to kidnap you. No, Mr. Finnigan... can I call you Theo? I quite like that name. Theo, you are part of a plot that doesn't need to be divulged to you. I am here to kill your parents, and your little friend who saw your capture as well."

Matteo gulped, but was able to say shakily, "And what about me?"

"You'll find out, Theo, you'll find out," the robed figure said. "Now... who should I kill first, Theo? Your dear mother? Or Dad? Or maybe this lovely young girl right here?"

"You'll never hear the end of this!" Lena said. "My parents will find out. And then they will contact the Ministry, and the Aurors will be sent after you. And you'll be put in Azkaban, where they'll have the Dementors torture you day and night!"

The robed figure laughed. Then, to Matteo's surprise, he spoke in Spanish. "Your parents will not find out. They have been dead for a month. No, my faithful servants who are currently holding you have been impersonating your parents. They have also been telling your sister Gabriela what to do... under a nice little... obedience curse." Lena let out a dry sob, and then collapsed. The robed figure holding her was what kept her standing.

The lead robed figure turned to Seamus and Lavender, in the shield. "Well I suppose I can't kill the girl quite yet. I have to let her suffer. Ah... I think I'll kill Lavender first. She's the Mudblood."

Seamus' eyes widened, and he yelled something Matteo couldn't hear. However, it seemed like the robed figure could hear, because he said in an amused voice, "Very well, Seamus, I'll kill you first. Avada Kedavra." Matteo watched, horrified, as a beam of green light flashed out of the robed figure's wand, passing through his father. Seamus dropped to the ground, lifeless. Lavender was screaming silently.

Matteo closed his eyes, unwilling to believe that his father was dead. He gasped as a sob wrenched through him, and again as Bella kicked him. "Shut up, you little whelp," she hissed as Matteo contracted in pain.

"Please! Don't kill my mother!" Matteo cried, tears dropping down his face one by one. "Please!"

The robed figure turned to Matteo again. Matteo knew he was wearing a twisted smile underneath that mask. "Ah, but Theo, I have to," he said. He turned back to Lavender, who was standing bravely, a challenging look on her face as she defiantly accepted her fate. "Avada Kedavra," the robed figure said. And Matteo closed his eyes. He couldn't watch his mother being killed.

A laugh announced his mother's death. Matteo's body was wracked with sobs as Bella forced his eyes open with a spell.

***

Ginny sat next to Malfoy, reviewing Mark Evans' report. Malfoy had proved himself to be very impatient when he had thrown the stack of parchment across the room, hitting a first-year Auror in the face. He, of course, claimed in his calm voice that throwing the report wasn't stemmed from anger at all, and that he, Draco Malfoy, never got angry.

Just then, Hermione ran into the office, followed by Icicle, who seemed alarmed. "Attack... from the Dark Lord... in Spain..." Icicle gasped.

"The Finnigans, Ginny!" Hermione said urgently. Ginny snapped up.

"What?" she said in alarm. "Wait... do you have a picture of the house? So we can Apparate? We need to get there now, Hermione!"

"We?" Malfoy said.

"Yes, we!" Ginny said. "Find the rest of the Aurors in the squad. This is an emergency!" Malfoy nodded hurriedly, and rushed off. Hermione dug into her pockets, and pulled out a worn picture of the Finnigans' house, which Ginny grabbed, and studied quickly before passing it to the other Aurors.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione said. Ginny nodded, and the group ran to the Atrium, where they Disapparated.

***

Matteo was furious. Dangerously furious. He felt an unknown power that surged through him, flowing through his veins like a poison. The robed figure stood across from him, laughing triumphantly. "Mr. Finnigan, say goodbye to your little friend," he said.

Lena looked frightened. The robed figure pointed his wand at her. Matteo couldn't watch, but Bella's spell kept his eyes open. "Please... don't..." Matteo pleaded.

The robed figure chuckled, and began his spell. The world seemed to slow down, until everyone was moving around as if they had been turned into human slugs. "Ava..." the robed figure started.

Please... someone help... Matteo pleaded to all the gods that existed in the world. Anyone. Lena began to brace herself.

"...da..." the figure went on, raising his wand.

ANYONE! Matteo thought ferociously. He thought of the days he and Lena had spent together in the Quidditch Park in El Sombrero, and of the hot summer days when they had sat in the shade of Gringotts, slurping ice cream. Then the fight came to his mind, and he remembered Lena' face as she accused him of showing off. Matteo's eyes met with Lena's. Lena's were devoid of any hope, and she seemed to be relaying her apology and final goodbye to Matteo through them.

"...Keda..." the robed figure continued.

Lena let out a breath, and closed her eyes. No! Someone, help!" Matteo cried out in his mind. Suddenly, there were loud cracks as many people Apparated into the room.

"...vra..." the robed figure finished. The world returned to its normal speed, and the robed figure next to Lena swore and grabbed her. Matteo broke free of Bella as the green jet of light flew towards Lena. Then, the robed figure holding Lena Disapparated, leaving Matteo unsure whether Lena had been hit or not. He hoped it was the latter. "Leave him!" shouted the robed figure in charge to Bella as Bella clumsily tried to grab Matteo. The rest of the robed figures disappeared, leaving the others who had just arrived with nothing.

Matteo looked wide-eyed at the people who had just Apparated into the house. They were all dressed in matching blue robes, and looked rather alarmed and angry. Matteo didn't trust them. He wasn't sure if he trusted anyone anymore. After all, he had just found out Mr. and Mrs. Buscando weren't really the Buscandos. He decided not to go along with this strange group of people, in case they turned out to be bad as well. He hid in a corner, willing for the strange people to go away.

***

Hermione looked around at the house. It looked intact... normal, in fact, except that Seamus and Lavender Finnigan were lying dead behind a magical shield. The Aurors looked shocked. "Who was that?" Mark said.

"Astiliris," Hermione said grimly. "He's the only Dark Lord hopeful that speaks English."

"Where's Th-" Ginny said. She corrected herself. "Where's Matteo?" she whispered to Hermione. Hermione looked around, finding no trace of the boy. She shook her head at Ginny, who shouted, "Look for the Finnigans' son, Matteo. He's nearly eleven years old, has sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes."

Draco and Icicle nodded, and began searching along with the other Aurors. Hermione headed to the Malfoys. "He was definitely here," Icicle said. "I saw him, and there was a girl too, I think."

"It's possible he may have hidden somewhere. We did come here in a sudden way," Hermione said. Icicle nodded, but Draco wasn't paying any attention to Hermione. He was peering into a dark corner, half-hidden behind a chest of drawers.

"I've found him," he said grimly. Hermione made her way over with Icicle, expecting to see a shaken, frightened, maybe even crying child. Instead, the boy was glaring up at Draco with utter loathing and defiance, a look that reminded Hermione of another boy she had known and one of their professors.

"We're not here to hurt you," Icicle explained.

Matteo turned to her. Icicle was taken aback by his look. "Quienes sois vosotros?" he demanded. The three adults shared a look of annoyance.

"He only speaks Spanish!" Icicle said impatiently. "And I didn't take Spanish at the ISD."

"I only know French," Hermione said.

Both women faced Draco. "Draco?" Icicle said.

Draco sighed. He wasn't that good at Spanish. He had liked French and German better. And Japanese... yes, Japanese. Now that had been the language. "Somos unos Aurores," he said, sure that the boy wouldn't understand his accent. "Nosotros estamos aqui porque nosotros..." he paused, forgetting the word for 'to take', "...er... vamos a ir el... er... Ingles." He looked at the others. "Hopefully he got the general idea."

"We are Aurors; we are here because we are going to go to English?" Mark Evans said dubiously.

"Could you do any better?" Draco said, scowling at the younger Auror.

Matteo was still looking up at them. It seemed as if Draco's accent had garbled up his words.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Hermione tutted. She said something rapidly to the boy in French. This time, he wasn't just confused. His face was utterly blank.

"He obviously doesn't know French," Draco drawled.

Ginny came over. Hermione watched as an unreadable look flashed across her face, and then she said, "You've found him."

"Do you know Spanish better than Draco here?" Icicle said.

"No. I didn't take it," Ginny said. "He doesn't understand English?"

"Obviously not, Ginny," Hermione said impatiently.

***

Matteo watched as the redheaded woman joined the others. The blond man had been rather amusing. Matteo knew what he had said, but his accent had made him sound like he said 'We are pains. We are 'H' for what we bathrooms go to English'. So Matteo had plastered a confused look on his face to mask his amusement. If these people were Dark wizards and witches, they weren't very good at it.

"Obviously not, Ginny," he heard the curly-haired woman with the professional looking wire-rimmed glasses say to the redheaded woman.

Hold on, Matteo thought. That name sounds familiar. Of course! The Ginny who sends those birthday packages every year... Mum and Dad's friend... Thinking about his parents saddened Matteo, and his friendly greeting to Ginny, whom he had never met, died before it reached his mouth.

"Well... try again," Ginny said. The blond man grumbled and sighed, but repeated his words. This time, Matteo couldn't stop the snicker from escaping his lips, even when he reminded himself of the situation.

"What? What's so funny?" the blond man demanded in English.

Matteo shook his head, a full laugh coming out.

***

"What? What's so funny?" Draco demanded icily at the boy, who began to crack up, laughing.

To everyone's surprise, the boy said in perfect English, "You! You said 'We are pains. We are "H" for what we bathrooms go to English'!" He cracked up again, holding his sides.

Everyone looked at him incredulously. "You can speak English?" Hermione said. Draco turned white, then red, then green, and then finally settled on a pink tinge. He scowled.

Matteo nodded. "My... my dad taught me," he said, sobering. "It's the only language we spoke at home. He... he used to call me Theo, too, because he didn't even want to deal with Spanish." He shut his eyes, as if blocking some pain. "I thought you were here to finish the robed figure's job. Until Mrs. Potter's name was mentioned." He opened his eyes, and looked at Ginny. "Thanks for the birthday parcels."

"You're... you're welcome," Ginny said, looking surprised. Draco saw her glance at Hermione for some reason, then turn back to Matteo, a.k.a. Theo.

"Matteo..." Icicle started.

"You can call me Theo," Theo said, dangling his head. "You're taking me back to Britain now, aren't you? Since there's no one here now... I don't know whether Lena's alive or not," he added. The last phrase was mostly to himself. "By the way, who was that robed figure?" His voice was nonchalant, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. The shone with anger... a want for revenge. Draco was thrown by the look.

"That was the dark lord Astiliris," Hermione said, also shaken by the look. "And he has proven to be very powerful, I'm afraid, so I wouldn't advise going out to..."

"Lord Astiliris, eh?" Theo muttered to himself.

"Can you give us any information?" Icicle said.

"He wanted me for something," Theo said simply. Ginny and Hermione seemed to look at each other again. "And there was also a robed figure named Bella."

"Bella?" Draco said incredulously. It couldn't be. Aunt Bella had been killed by Neville Longbottom in their seventh year. It couldn't be.

Everyone else seemed to be having the same reaction. "Did I say anything wrong?" Theo asked, worried.

"No. It's just that Bellatrix Lestrange is supposed to be dead," Ginny said. "Theodore, dear, can you tell us more-" Her eyes widened as she and Hermione exchanged looks again. Draco was confused. Theodore?

Theo looked puzzled as well. "Mrs. Potter... did you call me Theodore?" He looked at her, then grinned. "That's a good name. That'll be my English name."

"Right," Hermione said brightly.

"Could you tell us more about Bella?" Ginny said.

"No," Theo said. The Aurors sighed.

"Very well," Ginny said. "I suppose we'll have to take you back to Britain, where you'll live with someone. One second," she said, shooting a look at Hermione. The two women began to converse in hushed whispers in another corner. Draco looked at Theo. Theo raised an eyebrow. Ginny and Hermione came back. "Right. Theo, you'll be staying with the Malfoys and their son, Xavier."

"That's us," Icicle said.

"Wait... why us?" Draco said, confused.

"You have space. He can't live at the manor, and Hermione's house is already too cluttered. We need to keep him in one of our houses, since Astiliris might decide to strike again." Draco got the feeling Ginny wasn't telling the whole truth, but made no comment.

He nodded.

***

Theo stepped off the plane wearily. A few hours before, he had been living a normal life, with two parents and a best friend. Now, he was an orphan who wasn't sure whether his best friend was alive or not, and had someone chasing after him. Draco and Isidora Malfoy had promised to look for Lena, but Theo knew she wouldn't be found.

Mr. Malfoy stepped off after him. "Bloody Muggle planes," he muttered. "Apparition is much better. But no... I get stuck on a bloody aeroplane!" A woman passing by gave him an appraising look-down. Mr. Malfoy seethed as his wife got off the plane.

The woman walked up to Mr. Malfoy. She was rather old, in her fifties, at least. Her long, raptor-like nails were painted lime-green, and she had purple-rimmed glasses with fake rhinestones in them. She wore a rather ugly ensemble of clothing: tight red trousers with a blue, billowing top. "Why, hello," she said flirtatiously to Mr. Malfoy, who was looking quite dashing in his Muggle clothes.

Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy glared at the woman for a moment, until recognition dawned in their eyes. "Don't hit on my husband, Skeeter," Mrs. Malfoy said in a dangerous voice.

The woman named Skeeter looked confused. "Do I know you?" she said.

Mr. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. Do you?" he drawled sarcastically. He stuck out a hand. "Draco Malfoy, nice... oh, maybe not so nice... to meet you."

Skeeter's mouth was agape for a second, until she smiled acidly and pulled out a lime-green quill, careful to hide it from the Muggles passing in the terminal. "Ah... Mr. Malfoy! I haven't seen you in a while! Tell me, how goes the search for the former Death Eaters and the new dark lords?"

Mrs. Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Skeeter!" she hissed. "Number one, the Muggles might hear. Two, it's classified information."

"Classified information, my arse," Skeeter said derisively, all niceness gone. "I'm the bloody Minister of Magic if it's classified. However," she said, smiling wickedly and looking at Mrs. Malfoy, "I have heard that at the end of your seventh year, you, Miss Granger, and the now Mrs. Potter had a giant... ahem... party with Harry Potter in his dormitory..."

Theo was totally disgusted by this lie. Mr. Malfoy's eyes narrowed, but he kept cool. However, Mrs. Malfoy, who seemed to be highly temperamental, slapped Skeeter across the face. "Don't you dare even think about making something up like that again!" she hissed. "Or I will personally skewer you on my wand."

Mr. Malfoy moved forward, and managed to calm her down. "You have a rather... unbalanced wife, Mr. Malfoy," Skeeter said. "Are you sure she's a reliable Auror? And a good mother for your children?" She winked suggestively at him. Theo wanted to retch.

Mr. Malfoy seemed to want to gag, but he said in a cool voice, "Ronald Weasley would be the mother of my children before you, Ms. Skeeter." He steered Mrs. Malfoy and Theo away from the reporter.

"Bad idea to say that," Mrs. Malfoy said. "She'll publish a rag on how you and Ron had an affair now."

Mr. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Would anyone believe it?" he said.

***

Xavier sat in front of Maia. He was bored. One of the house elves had forced him to go to Maia's manor, saying his mother had given the house elf instructions. For what? Xavier wondered, annoyed, as he took another bored sip of tea.

The doorbell to the manor rang, and Toomy, one of Maia's house elves, ran to get it. Xavier's parents walked into the conservatory, where Xavier and Maia were, with a boy Xavier's age. He was freckled, and had sandy blond hair. His blue eyes were electric blue, which scared Xavier a bit.

"Hello, Mother, Father," Xavier drawled, greeting his parents.

Maia seemed to have turned into a beet when the Malfoys had walked in. Icicle ran over to her son. "Darling, don't drawl like that," she admonished.

"Why not?" Draco drawled, raising an eyebrow and leaning against a post. Xavier thought he had heard a sigh come from Maia, but he was certain it was his imagination.

"Draco," Icicle said warningly. She turned to the boy. "Theo, come here." The boy walked over to where Xavier was sitting. Xavier stood up. The boy was shorter than him, even, by an inch. "Xavier, this is Theo Finnigan, Theo, this is my son Xavier."

"Hello," Xavier said. "Do you play Quidditch?" Icicle shot him a glare.

Theo's eyes brightened. "Of course I do! I'm Chaser. What position do you play?"

"I want to be Chaser too," Xavier said, glad that he had found someone who shared his obsession with Quidditch. "But Keeper's all right, I suppose. What team do you support? I like the Tutshill Tornadoes, but I suppose the Ballycastle Bats are all right, too. I don't like the Chudley Cannons. They're too orange. And Puddlemere United hasn't been too good since Jack Burn left the team."

"I like Barcelona's team, since Madrid doesn't have one." Theo said. "I'm from Spain," he said hastily.

"Oh," Xavier said. "I heard Barcelona was good, though. Most of the Spanish team was made of Barcelona players, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Theo said proudly.

"Boys," Icicle said. "We must be going now. You can continue this when we get home. Now, Xavier darling, say goodbye to Maia."

"Bye," Xavier said, grudgingly. Maia repeated the farewell half-heartedly.

Draco handed each of the boys a drawstring bag of Floo Powder. "Use that fireplace," he directed, pointing at the one in the corridor leading to the conservatory. "Malfoy Manor will work, Theo."

Xavier dumped half the contents of his bag into the fire. When his father wasn't looking, he said to his new-found friend, "Let's go somewhere. Knockturn Alley... the dark shopping centre Mother and Father won't let me go to."

"Won't they get worried?" Theo asked.

"No. There's lots of rooms you can end up in. We have enough Floo Powder to take us back."

"Well... I suppose we can..." Theo said reluctantly.

"Come on," Xavier begged. "I want to see it."

"All right, don't get your knickers in a twist..." Theo muttered. Xavier smiled.

"Knockturn Alley," he said under his breath, but loud enough for the Floo Powder. He disappeared.

***

Theo dumped part of his bag into the fire as well. "Knockturn Alley," he said, hoping he could get into mischief again, like he usually did. It'll get your mind off what happened, he thought to himself. He whooshed into the Floo Network, getting out when he saw Xavier's excited face.

"Come on," Xavier said, looking around in the shop. "This must be Borgin and Burkes. I heard Father saying something about it to another Auror. Dodgy place. Lots of dark artefacts." He peered around the shelves. "Bloody hell," he said, pointing to what looked like a severed hand. "Cool."

"The Hand of Glory," Theo read. "I wonder what it does. It looks like it's been here for a while, though."

"Look at this," Xavier said, looking at a long rectangular box. "It chops any unsuspecting Muggle in half." He peered at it.

"Ugh," Theo said. He looked around, and found a knife. 'Warning: Self-slashing' said the sign next to it. Theo decided to leave the knife alone.

Xavier was examining a necklace with a phoenix amulet on it. "New object," he read. "Unfinished copy of an object thought to be lost to time. Possibly created by Merlin himself."

"Cool," Theo said.

Xavier went on. "Powers unknown." His eyes glinted. "Let's take it."

"What?" Theo said.

"Well, don't you want to see what happens? I bet it won't be missed. And, I mean, this is a Dark Arts shop," Xavier said, giving the necklace to Theo. "Quickly, put it on your neck."

"What if it strangles me, or something?" Theo said. But he put it on. The necklace did nothing. Sighing, he put it under his shirt.

"It's only a copy," Xavier said, disappointed.

There was a loud crash from behind them. Jumping, the two boys wheeled around to face the person behind them. "Well, well, who do we have here?"

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