Scar Tissue 2.0

May 1990

Author's note : Before you begin, I just want you guys to know that this is a rewrite of the first version of the story (thus the "2.0" in the title) that I never fully published. My english's better, my writing should be as well lmao

.

"But who is it?" Draco asked for the third time, and Lucius knew there would be a fourth. But he didn't roll his eyes, he didn't sigh, he didn't even say anything; his son didn't need to know.
They crossed a courtyard to reach a large wooden door. The burning torches on each side were reflecting on the cold and humid stones and their steps were resonating against the high walls surrounding them.
Lucius didn't have to make his presence known, the door opened as they reached it and the Malfoys entered the castle.
Draco was trying to walk as fast as his father, but he sometimes had to trot to catch up. He wasn't looking around, he wasn't asking anything anymore, not since they had stepped in the habitation. He was only keeping an eye on the hair cascading on his father's shoulders and back, which was almost the only discernable thing in these somber corridors and stairs.

They finally arrived to the last door Draco would cross that evening. It opened and he discovered a lighted, vast living room. A fire was burning in the chimney and the large couch in front of it was calling for him to sit down and snack, even if there were only fruits on the small table. Lucius gestured towards it, as if reading his son's mind.
"You will wait here. But don't eat too much, you know your mother is waiting for us."
Draco's grin almost softened Lucius' features, but he was here to work. Draco glanced as his father entered and walked towards another door in the room. He was about to walk in the living room too when he heard a loud but muffled noise coming from far away in the habitation, as if something big had fallen on the floor somewhere else in the castle. He looked over his shoulder at the dark corridor and felt like it was about to swallow him whole. He quickly entered the room and pushed the door closed. His father had already disappeared in the office connected to the sitting room and Draco ran to the couch.

As he pushed another orange piece in his mouth, balancing his legs back and forth and looking around at the different paintings on the walls, Draco pondered about what he would do once back home. He mindlessly pressed his fingers on the padded couch as if they were running on piano keys. He would probably play a bit with his mother before eating his supper, and after eating he would study with his father. It had been raining all day long, so Lucius had refused to fly with his son. Draco was wishing for the sun to shine as bright as possible the next day when he heard some noise again. He turned to the door and stopped breathing, as if he would hear better, but no sound came to him.
His fingers still pressed hard on his seat, the boy closed his eyes and breathed slowly. It was a castle, the owner probably didn't leave alone. It was probably nothing, it was probably a servant. Probably. His father didn't like when he used that word too much. Something about being confident whenever he spoke, something about being sure of who he was and whatever he said.
When a low growl reached his ears from behind the door, he lost even the smallest amount of confidence he could have ever had.
He jumped back on the couch when something hit the heavy door so hard he thought it was going to fall over. He quickly looked in the direction of the office behind the couch before the door was hit once again.
"Father!" He called out, unable to leave his spot. He couldn't feel his legs anymore and his fingers were grabbing at the couch so hard he might as well have torn the fabric. "Dad!" He called again in a strangled cry.
When the door was ejected from its hinges, broken in two, Draco's body was shaking hard. Tears were rolling down his face as he watched the large werewolf slowly walk in the room, sniffing the air.

In the office, Karl Xeep, the owner of the place, was sitting behind his desk, his eyes fluttering between the clock and Lucius. He was a scrawny, scruffy man who didn't fit quite right with his habitation or his family. The man had lost his colours and healthy appearance after becoming a Death Eater. He was only the empty shell of the man he once was.
That night, Xeep had given his servants the exact time they had to free his younger brother from his cage. He had promised them security, but what was another lie to those squibs? He didn't care if his brother had torn them apart, as long as he followed the enchanted bait to the living room. But Xeep had to be precise; ten seconds too late and the boy would be dead. He had to drop the Quietus charm he had put on the room at the right moment. Everything had to work the way they had rehearsed it for months.
When he dropped the spell, a shriek reached Lucius and Xeep. The father was on his feet at once, and at the door just as fast. When they entered the room, Lucius, stunned in that instant, watched his son's body dangling from the beast's maw. The werewolf shook its head and let go of Draco, who was thrown directly against a wall. Not content with this first assault, the beast was already launching itself towards its victim.
This time, Lucius reacted.
"Arresto Momentum!"
The werewolf, so fast and so strong, was now moving in slow-motion. It wouldn't last, and Lucius just wanted enough time to protect his son. He never stopped moving his wand between the spells, he never took another second to think, and he didn't say another word as he casted Repello Inimicum to create a barrier around Draco, followed by Bombarda Maxima towards the beast and the wall. The effects were immediate. The large explosions demolished the wall, pieces of bricks flying everywhere and bouncing off the protection around Draco, while the werewolf was propelled through the gap. They heard a yap as it landed in the garden and Xeep hurried towards the hole in the wall while Lucius was right by his son's side.