Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror
Chapter 7

Aurthor’s Note: Yay, a review! *does happy dance* Thrilled you liked my little plot twist, AddictedtoBuffy, and thanks for letting me know. Poor Draco, no longer an only child. How ever will he take the news? *snerk* Part of the challenge I put to myself for this crossover was to have one character be another and Giles/Lupin seemed a natural fit, both possessed of gentle strength and a fierce temper once roused.

~*~

Lucius dropped to one knee next to the vampire, decided he would deliver his son’s freedom with his own hand. The boy was the image of his beautiful mother, but with the legacy hair and eyes of a Malfoy, making for an exotic blend of golden skin and platinum coloring. What had Turan been thinking, to hide his eldest son from him? More than illusion charms had been tightly woven over Riley; he’d walked past the door to his room four times without seeing it and likely would never have if he hadn’t heard the moaning. It infuriated him that Turan had so little trust in him that she’d concealed their child, but she’d always had that Gryffindor stubbornness.

The Dark Creature was stunning, but Lucius was unfazed by its beauty. It would hardly do to add vampirism to the bloodlines. Lifting up the stake he paused at the startling movement from the corner of his eye: the silken ropes he’d used to tie his son with slumping empty to the floor. Decades lived as a Death Eater dropped his wand into his hand, but he still almost missed his target when it suddenly dashed for the door.

“Stupefy!” The curse just caught the boy in the back leg and Lucius quickly strode to his fallen form, vampire forgotten. “Well now, aren’t you a surprise,” the tall blond murmured, sheathing his wand so he could gently gather up his unconscious son. Perhaps not a surprise, given who his grandmother was, but it took a powerful wizard to become an animagi and to possess the same form as McGonagall? No wonder the old harridan wanted to keep the boy in her family.

Lucius remembered McGonagall’s cat form from his own school days as a rather unremarkable tabby. His son was anything but and the wizard indulged in petting the luxuriant white coat that shone silver. A lanky, long haired breed that he did not recognize but beautiful regardless. Narcissa was going to be tickled. Seizing the feline’s scruff he tucked him into his robes, Dark Creature forgotten as he hurried to quit Hogwarts before anyone discovered Riley missing.

~*~

Sitting in Giles’ favorite old armchair Xander subtly tested the ropes wrapping him tightly from his shoulders to his waist but whatever spell Blondie had used obviously knew how to tie itself. Spike was similarly tied and gagged on the couch across from him. Wesley wasn’t taking any chances with their guests and had cast the same spell at Blondie after he’d done all the heavy lifting. Finally Wes had brought Red in, still unconscious, and dumped him on top of Blondie on the loveseat.

Presently Wes was feeling up Red, hands up under his clothes obviously in search of something. Xander doubted it was a roll of Lifesavers he was after, but he didn’t think Blondie would believe that before he blew a gasket. Cursing in his pretty British accent Blondie was threatening everyone from Wes’ great grandmother to his tailor if he didn’t get his hands off his partner. The ex-Watcher apparently had some thick wax in his ears, however, because he’d not once twitched and even Spike had raised his eyebrows at some of the epithets Blondie graphically detailed. Xander wanted to know what had happened to the shy, blushing Brit they’d tormented daily because this was obviously a pod person.

He’d tried asking Wes what was going on but the Englishman was ignoring him, too. Finally, he triumphantly held up a small bottle no bigger than Xander’s pinkie finger if that. “I knew one of you had to be carrying.”

“What’s that?” Xander asked at the same time Blondie snapped out, “That’s a controlled potion, you thrice damned, mentally deficient prat! You could go to Azkaban for using it without a Ministry writ!”

“Quiet,” Wesley murmured, heading for Spike. The vampire tried to squirm away and Xander yanked furiously at his bonds. Blondie just glared.

“Wes! You don’t want to hurt Spike! Come on, man, snap out of it! Wes!” The Englishman paused briefly at Xander’s words, but his blank expression didn’t change and he kept on, putting a knee in Spike’s chest to hold him still and reaching for the gag.

“Oi, get off, ya fat git! Wh-“ Spike sputtered, choking on the bottle’s few ounces of fluid. Wesley smiled and settled his weight more comfortably on the vampire’s stomach before smacking him, hard. “Ow!”

“Did you like that?”

“’ell, no! Are ya gone daft, bloody –“

“Shut up. I’ll be asking the questions. Did you find a cursed mirror and capture Riley Finn’s image in it before mailing it to Angel Investigations?”

“Yes.” Spike looked startled at how quickly he answered and honestly, too, apparently. “What the ‘ell did you give me, ya poncy nancy boy?”

“Truth serum. Did you also capture Xander’s image?”

“Don’t know, so there,” Spike sneered.

Attentively listening, Xander frowned, suddenly realizing just what the two Brits were discussing. “Mirror? Spike, is he talking about the rusty old thing you had the other day? What the fuck have you done now?” he snapped, a heavy feeling of dread coming over him. Damn, he’d known whatever Spike had been up to was going to come back on them. Then Wesley’s words sunk in and another thought came to him. “Did you eat my emergency chocolate?”

“Yes.” Spike’s eyes practically crossed in frustration. “I just played a prank on Peaches is all. Yes, I ate it all. Fuck, luv, don’t ask me any damn questions!”

“You did more than that, vampire,” Wesley growled. “Did Xander look into the mirror?”

“Yes, but only for a second,” the vampire defended.

“Long enough. Do you want to tell Xander what you’ve done or shall I?”

“No. Yer sayin’ Xander was caught? Who saw him? You? Get him out of yer head right now, ya prat, Xander’s mine!”

“Not anymore. What exactly does the mirror do?”

Spike opened his mouth, closed it, screwed his face up and finally surrendered. “Piece of scratch said it wedded one to another. . .”

~*~

Accepting Severus’ hand Narcissa let him lead her to the table, her smile as sincere as his sneer. Behind them McGonagall was furiously whispering to Potter and the man who’d appeared with Severus earlier in the Great Hall. Rupert Giles, the visiting children’s guardian. McGonagall had nearly caught fire when Giles suggested Narcissa join his party for lunch, but the statuesque Malfoy had immediately gleaned his reasoning. The Headmistress had as well after a dullardly delay, that Narcissa was hardly to make off with the boy in front of his friends.

No, that would be the height of rudeness. If Lucius was successful Cygnus wouldn’t be appearing anyway and Narcissa wanted to meet these . . . Americans. “Narcissa,” Severus said curtly, contradicting the hand gently holding her arm, “this is the current Vampire Slayer, Fluffy or something equally asinine. Amazingly she’s outlived most of her predecessors. Narcissa Malfoy.”

Introductions done with Severus stalked back to the still arguing teachers. Well aware her old friend never attempted any social graces without cause Narcissa turned her most charming smile on the young woman he’s seated her beside at the long table. There were two more girls also at the table watching her with widened eyes, but Narcissa was long used to provoking that stupefied expression, though it was usually in men. The Slayer was staring dumbstruck at her hair, and no wonder with that ugly yellow mop flouncing atop her own. After a suitable period of worship Narcissa delicately coughed, snapping the girl out of her daze.

A sun browned hand shot towards her and Narcissa forcefully restrained herself from reeling back. “Hi! I’m Buffy Summers!” Ugh, that horrid American accent in that candied voice was excruciating, but the girl wasn’t done with her offense. “These are my friends, Willow Rosenberg and Tara McClay. You have such beautiful hair, Mrs. Malfoy!”

Well, that was odd. As a Malfoy, Cygnus should have hair of the same shade. All Malfoys did as their legacy. “Thank you,” the blonde Slytherin murmured, trying to remember her own days as a flirtatious teenager. “You’re all from America, right? Is my color popular over there?”

Buffy nodded. “Yes, we’re from California and your hair would be the rage, but I’ve never seen that color before!”

“It’s like moonbeams!” the redhead gushed, the sweet faced girl next to her smiling and nodding.

“Yes.” Narcissa’s lips stretched into a thin smile. “It is. So girls,” and she turned up the charm another notch. “Professor Snape tells me you are visiting to help a friend of yours?”

“Buffy’s boyfriend Riley and our friend Angel were cursed,” the redhead answered. Was that one Willow?

“Your boyfriend? How awful for you!” Though it made her shudder in utter revulsion she gave Buffy’s hand a consoling squeeze. A hug was completely out of the question; she’d never embraced a mudblood, let alone a Muggle, and she wasn’t about to start! “I hope it’s not a dreadful curse.” Was there any other kind?

The Slayer shrugged, surprisingly unconcerned her boyfriend was bonded to another girl. It was admittedly a leap in logic, but Narcissa was certain no Malfoy, raised away from his family or not, was calling himself ‘Angel’ to these Muggles. Which meant their son was courting this idiot; if he was sleeping with her then they were having serious words. That truly was the trouble with boys, Narcissa mentally sighed. So eager and stubborn to sow their seed! Just look at Draco. The boy didn’t think she knew, but Narcissa was well aware of his horrid fixation on that Weasley boy.

“They have to stay together.” Buffy’s voice pulled Narcissa from her thoughts, sharp black eyes taking everything in about the girl. She did not look in the least upset. “Or, Angel has to stay with Riley, I’m not sure which. Riley passed out; that’s why we came. Giles will figure things out. He’s good for that.”

“Giles?” Narcissa played dumb; no need for them to know Severus had introduced them in the hall, though if her old friend thought a simple “This mangy looking Muggle sitter is Giles” was sufficient then he was sadly mistaken. Buffy proudly pointed to the tall gentleman and Narcissa did not mistake the warm affection in her eyes. This was a person the Slayer actually cared for. “Your guardian?”

“Watcher. My Alfred buddy, but without the butlering.”

Muggles did talk strangely. Before Narcissa could continue her gentle questioning McGonagall finally ended her argument and stormed over, her bosom quivering in righteous indignation. “You are not welcome here, Lady Malfoy. I am asking again that you leave before I summon Aurors to have you removed.”

Bluntness. How crass. The girls were staring at the woman open-mouthed, but Narcissa was long used to such behavior, first as a Slytherin in these halls and later as a Death Eater. After Dumbledore’s glorious sacrifice many of those who’d fought for the Light side found it impossible to accept their Savior had only won with the aid of traitors such as the Malfoys. Yes, she was used to such reception, but that did not mean she bent her head in acceptance.

Drawing her narrow shoulders back Narcissa smiled winsomely at the woman who had hated her with a parent’s jealousy since her fourth year at Hogwarts. “Please do contact the Ministry, Minerva. I am sure they would be interested to learn how you are keeping a child from his parents.”

“You are not his parents!” McGonagall screeched.

Severus frowned, but Giles preempted him. “Ladies, just who are we speaking of?”

As if they did not have their suspicions, but Narcissa was no more inclined than McGonagall to spill their sordid secrets. Not so long as the boy lay unclaimed between them. Perhaps more than any others, pure bloods coveted their heirs and the legacy they promised. McGonagall’s threats were empty; the law favored the father and the old woman well knew it.

Narcissa bristled at the denial nonetheless, tenuously keeping hold of herself when all she wanted to do was leap across the table and unleash over twenty years of pent up anguish on the woman she held personally responsible. In all likelihood she would have but for the brief surge of warmth from her wedding band. Lucius had succeeded in contacting their son.

“I will not sit here and argue with you like a common witch,” Narcissa declared with frosty dignity, standing. “We know the boy exists. You will be hearing from our barrister.” Before anyone could stop her she swept from the room, no hint of gleeful triumph marring her regal visage all the way to the gates of Hogwarts. From there she apparated away, casting one last victorious smirk over her shoulder before she vanished from sight.

~*~

“I don’t trust that woman,” Harry muttered.

“And you have good cause,” McGonagall agreed. “I don’t care if they landed on the winning side, Malfoys are a poisonous breed.” She glanced around the room, her own words raising a horrible suspicion. “Where is Cygnus and that Dark Creature?”

Still sitting at the table with her salad Buffy turned to Willow and mouthed, “Who’s Signas?” Willow helplessly shrugged.

Giles dug out his handkerchief but Severus stopped him reaching for his glasses, knuckles white around his wrist. “Do not.” He turned back to Minerva. “The vampire was with his bonded in the infirmary not twenty minutes past.”

“You left Cygnus alone with a Dark Creature, doused –“ She caught her tongue, but by their eyes she could tell the two already knew she’d drugged her grandson. “We must check in with the infirmary at once.”

“You think Narcissa was a ruse?” Harry asked.

Minerva cursed, picked up her robes and showed a surprising agility sprinting from the room. The others rushed after her, leaving three confused girls behind. Buffy blew out a breath of frustration. “Why did we come again?”

“The Headmistress must have been talking about Angel,” Willow mused, stabbing green beans with her fork. “He’s bonded to Riley, so wouldn’t that make this Cygnus guy Riley?”

A moment of silence and then with a clatter and scraping of chairs they raced after the others.

~*~

Appearing in the foyer of Malfoy Manor Narcissa absently checked her appearance in one of the many wall mirrors before heading for Lucius’ study. Her husband was sipping a cognac in his favorite armchair, petting a white cat curled up in his lap as she came in. Lucius was pleased about something; she well knew that self-satisfied smirk. Narcissa ignored the cat, figuring it was a transfigured book given her beloved’s penchant for soft things, and arched an inquisitive eyebrow as she paused there in the doorway.

“Well, Lucius? Did you see the boy, speak to him? What did he say about Turan? Did she tell him about us?” Narcissa had so many questions, some of them years old. To know Turan had had a son away from them stirred both excitement and anger. How could Lucius sit there so calmly when she was ready to burst?

He chuckled softly, standing up to lay the still sleeping cat on the chaise lounge. “Listen to yourself, Narcissa. I have not heard you so excited since Voldemort’s return.”

“That was not excitement, that was terror,” the slim witch hissed, stalking her husband to the couch. Lucius tipped his head in apology, drawing his wand from its sheath. “Stop playing about with your amusements and tell me already! Tell me what Cygnus was like, Lucius!”

“Patience, my fainting flower,” Lucius teased, pointing his wand at the cat. Narcissa gasped, hand flying to her mouth as what she thought no more than a throwaway book transformed into a sleeping young man. Their Cygnus. The blond Malfoy hair fanned the cushions beneath his head, lengthening as they watched. “You can ask him all the questions you like when he wakes.”

“An animagi,” Narcissa breathed, sitting on the edge of the lounge to stroke their son’s face, smiling to see Turan so strongly in his fine crafting. “A Malfoy animagi.”

“What we had once hoped for.”

“At least one Black has proven the skill,” Narcissa reminded her ambitious husband, though her gaze did not stray from the boy. “Though it does come easy to McGonagalls. Turan has given us a beautiful son.” Yes, a very beautiful son. Her Draco possessed the slender frame of the Blacks, Cygnus the strapping leanness of the McGonagalls, and both the Malfoy height and coloring. What a stunning pair the Malfoy heirs made.

“Yet Turan did not give him to us,” Lucius bitterly reminded her. His hand came down, sweeping over the mane that now spilled to the carpet, marking the truth of Cygnus’ blood. “She ran from all of us and hid away.”

“She had good cause, Lucius,” Narcissa murmured, running her lips across Cygnus’ brow, his cheeks, tasting delicately of his magic. “Turan was always the wisest of us.”

“And when the Dark Lord was thought defeated? Why did she not return then?” Lucius furiously spat, tearing at the septic wounds that had never healed for either of them, that had indeed poisoned. “Why hide herself and our son for all these years?”

“Only she can answer those questions, my love,” Narcissa replied, fingering the Muggle shirt Cygnus wore. Such poor quality for a Malfoy to clothe himself in, but that was a simple spell to cast. “Perhaps she felt the darkness when we fell to it and feared us too greatly.”

“Perhaps.” Lucius did not sound convinced, however, and Narcissa frowned to think how that anger would turn when they at last had Turan with them again.

~*~

They were all met just inside the infirmary by a raging vampire trying to escape the invisible force field Poppy had thrown up. Thankfully there were no other patients in her ward and Poppy had managed to catch Angel before he could make it out into the hall. The mediwitch shook her head when they burst in at her back, her wand not wavering an inch. “I closed my office door for a few minutes to fire call St. Mungo’s when I heard Mr. Angel start up a ruckus about young Mr. Finn up and vanishing!”

The Scoobies went to the barrier to try and calm Angel down while the professors did what they could with a near equally upset Minerva. “Maybe he’s just wandering the school,” Giles tried, but twin shouts of denial drowned him out.

“No, it was his thrice dammed father, I know it!” Minerva seethed, wand gripped tightly between her clenched hands. “That greedy bastard and his slut of a wife somehow found out about Cygnus and carried him off! I won’t have it! They won’t take another child from me!”

Angel was far less articulate, howling his rage and misery, testing his strength against Poppy’s shield that vibrated under his blows but held. Watching her ex thunderstruck for several long suspended minutes Buffy finally blew out a frustrated breath. Resolutely she rolled her shoulders, hauled back and socked him one. “Snap out of it!”

Surprisingly, the tactic worked. Knocked Angel on his ass and quiet with one well aimed blow. Buffy was too angry to notice everyone else had gone equally silent at seeing the shield so casually shattered beneath her small fist. “He’s my boyfriend! Mine! Do you see me screaming and tearing at my hair? No! Because it’s not helping so get a grip already! And you,” the Slayer spun around, finger stabbing in Minerva’s direction. “Who the hell is Signal? My ordinary, NORMAL boyfriend Riley is the one missing! He’s not one of you people with the stick waving and the ugly dresses!”

McGonagall drew herself up in outrage, but Giles stepped in before the vitriol unleashed. “Buffy, things are not as they seem.”

“Is. Riley. One of them. Or. Not?” Buffy bit out. When Giles’ reassurance was not immediately forthcoming her scowl deepened. “How?”

“The normal way I’d think,” Severus sneered. “Honestly, Giles, I thought Muggles taught their spawn about the basics of reproduction.”

“Riley’s a wizard?” Willow squeaked. “The whole time we’ve known him, making with the muscley soldier he’s really been a magic whiz?”

“Maybe he didn’t know,” Tara quietly offered.

Meanwhile Buffy had pulled out Mr. Pointy to wave in Snape’s direction. “I’m willing to bet you’d turn to dust. Want to prove me wrong?”

“Buffy!” Giles admonished, not seeing Severus’ pleased smirk over his shoulder. “Yes, Riley is a wizard, but that’s not as important right now as finding where he is and getting him safely back. Agreed?”

“I had my back to the door,” Angel shamefacedly admitted, glumly gaining his feet. “I smelled a male, human, before I was knocked out.” He rubbed at his jaw but carefully avoided looking in his ex’s direction. Buffy seemed frozen between shock and anger at Giles confirmation that her boyfriend had lied to her again.

“Lucius Malfoy,” Minerva snarled.

“Well, you can hardly storm his house based on your charming attitude and suspicions,” Severus dryly observed. “The man will have you arrested and in Azkaban before your shadow passes the front gates.”

“We would have to prove Riley is indeed at Malfoy Manor,” Harry agreed. “Malfoy can’t hold Riley against his will and Aurors could demand a search if we had some form of evidence.”

“I could try a locator spell,” Willow cautiously offered when no one else was forthcoming. “It would show Riley’s location on a map. Does anyone have anything of his?”

“I’ve never heard of such a spell,” Harry smiled encouragingly, “You’ll have to let us watch.”

Willow blushed right to the roots of her hair. “Sure!” she chirped.

“His sweater is over here on the chair,” Tara softly pointed out, gathering it up.

“That’s mine, actually,” Giles shook his head.

“I, ah, have his blood,” Angel reluctantly admitted, shoulders hunched in anticipation of the reaction to his declaration.

He was not long to wait.


TBC.