Growing up Pureblooded

Unite The Family

     Abraxas Malfoy stood in the front of the Defense classroom, lecturing to a group of sixth-year Hufflepuffs. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had found that he rather enjoyed teaching. Even more surprisingly, he found that he quite enjoyed teaching Hufflepuffs. They might not be the brightest torches on the wall, but they made up for it with sheer diligence. They were respectful, obedient and hung on his every word, which were qualities Abraxas greatly admired in his subordinates. Indeed, he thought, the world would be much better off if most everyone were Hufflepuffs, with just a few Slytherins to rule over them. Perhaps one could add a handful of Gryffindors, just to make things interesting. Ravenclaws, however, Abraxas could very happily do without. They thought far too much for everyone else's good.

     Suddenly the door burst open and a wizard barged in. It was Sirius. Achilles' rage had nothing on his. The cold fire in his grey eyes spoke of murder and vengeance. Not for the first time, Abraxas was reminded uncomfortably of just how much Sirius resembled his infamous great-grandfather and namesake, both in appearance and in temperament. "What's happened, Sirius?" he demanded. "Remus's office, ten minutes," Sirius snapped, then turned on his heel and stormed out.

     Abraxas turned white. Whatever the problem was, it was deadly serious. "Class dismissed," he announced without a second thought, and the Hufflepuffs filed out. Abraxas gathered his things and headed for Lupin's office, stopping by his own quarters for a bit of brandy to steady his nerves. When he arrived at Remus's office, he was unsurprised to find the Transfiguration master waiting with Draco and Aries. "What's going on, Granddad?" Draco asked nervously. "I don't know," Abraxas replied. "Do you know, Professor Lupin?" Lupin shook his head. "Sirius didn't tell me anything. He just told me to gather the children and bring them here."

     A moment later, Sirius himself came in, Headmistress McGonagall following closely on his footsteps. "There must be some reason, Sirius," she protested. "You can't just barge in here and take away two of my students and two of my faculty members without explanation! If this is some prank..." Sirius spun around and glared coldly at the stern witch. "Narcissa Malfoy has been kidnapped," he said. "I suspect the perpetrator may also come after the boys. I'm taking them to a secure location. As for Remus and Abraxas, I'll be happy to send them back to you as soon as possible, but for now I need their help more than you do."

     The Headmistress nodded briefly. "I understand," she said in a businesslike tone. "In that case, I wish you all the best of luck." She turned and left. "Uncle Sirius," Draco began, but Sirius shook his head. "Wait till we get home," he said, and Draco nodded. Sirius stepped over to the fireplace and tossed in a handful of Floo powder. "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place," he snapped, and ushered them all through the flames.

     On the other side of the fireplace, they found themselves in the midst of an extraordinary amount of hustle and bustle. Melania and Roquefort were standing in the drawing room with an immense pile of luggage. Irma and Kreacher were having a detailed discussion over who would be sleeping in which rooms, whilst Druella and Clytemnestra were yelling at each other in the front hall. "I tell you, Clytemnestra, we are simply in no position to entertain all these guests," Druella protested. "Mother Black and I have grown accustomed to our quiet way of life, and we will not tolerate this disruption." "You'll be quiet and do as you're told!" the Squib shot back.

     Cassiopeia came in through the Floo, a number of old manuscripts in her arms. "I have several suggestions, Sirius," she announced. "Once we have everyone here we can begin setting them up." "Have you contacted the others?" Sirius asked Clytemnestra. His great-aunt nodded. "Melania's already here, as you can see. As for Ignatius Prewett – well, he's still upset over what happened at Christmas and doesn't want to come." She sniffed. "I did, however, make it clear that he's welcome if he ever changes his mind. I haven't heard back from the Tonkses." "I don't understand," Abraxas said to Sirius. "Why is everyone coming here?" "Since Narcissa was kidnapped, it's reasonable to assume that everyone else is in danger too," Sirius replied. "I want the family where I can keep an eye on them." "Who did it?" Aries asked. His brow was knitted in concern, but blue fire raged in Draco's eyes. "It was him, wasn't it?" the blond boy spat.

     Sirius nodded and placed a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Lucius took her," he said. "Dobby saw it, but was too late to prevent it." Abraxas was shocked at the idea. Never in a million years would he have thought his son capable of such a thing. "Are you sure it was kidnapping?" he asked hopefully. "He is her husband, after all. Perhaps she went willingly." "We already asked that," Cassiopeia told him. "She left her wand behind, and Sirius saw evidence of a struggle." "How did he get in?" Lupin asked. "I thought he'd been taken off the wards." "So did I," Sirius replied coldly. "But Dobby saw him leave through the fireplace."

      All eyes turned to Abraxas, and the old wizard shifted uncomfortably. "I did remove Lucius from the wards," he said defensively. "But he lived at the Manor for many years. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that he had placed his own backdoors into the system." Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. "Not to mention that there are numerous potions and spells designed with the express purpose of fooling ordinary wards," she pointed out. "That too," Abraxas said. "If Lucius has gone back to the service of the Dark Lord...er, Riddle, rather...it would be no difficulty for him to obtain such tools."

     Sirius turned on him. "Then why didn't you take extraordinary measures!" he shouted. "We could have used Fidelius! We could have placed the house under lockdown!" Druella sniffed. "All of which would have had the effect of making my daughter a prisoner in her own home," she said. "Be reasonable, Sirius." "As much as I am loathe to admit it, Druella has a point," Cassiopeia said, trying very hard not to gag at the idea. "None of us could have anticipated that Lucius would commit such an atrocity." "He's an effing Death Eater!" Sirius snapped back. "He's also her husband," Lupin said reasonably, placing a hand on his friend's back. "If he wanted to talk to her, or to persuade her to come back to him, most people would expect him to send an owl before trying to kidnap her." Sirius began to calm down, and Abraxas relaxed. He knew there was a reason he liked Lupin. "You have a point," Sirius agreed reluctantly. "She hasn't heard from Lucius since he left. She even sent him a few owls. He didn't reply." "Then why did he kidnap her?" Draco shouted. "It can't have been just to have a chat. It must have something to do with Riddle!" Sirius sighed. "You're probably right." He paused. "I think everyone's here who's going to be here," he said. "Let's start setting up those wards. Then we can plan our response."