Blooming in the Dark (Flora Weasley and Elwin Malfoy romance)

13. Forever Looming and Unsoothing

It was a chilly night in late November when Elwin closed up the shop, coming up the stairs with Azar and Finn perched on his shoulders. Just as he closed the door behind him, however, there was a faint clinking sound from the kitchen. Elwin's heart began to pound in his chest as he silently signalled to Azar to get off his shoulder and moved Finn into his pocket. Drawing his wand, he muttered, "Homenum Revelio."

The moment the spell took effect, a marker appeared from the kitchen. Before he had time to think, shuffled footsteps pounded near him, and he rushed forward, raising his wand just in time to trip the figure dashing for the window. With a surprised cry, the man fell to the ground before rolling over and drawing a wand of his own. Elwin was flung back against the wall, his body held in place by the power of the spell as he fought to get out of the hold. His wand fell uselessly to the ground. 

"Who are you?" Elwin strained. The darkness of the night prohibited him from seeing the man clearly. 

"What does it matter?" he retorted, his voice slightly raspy as though he had drunk nothing for several days. 

"If this is a robbery, I should tell you I don't have much money," he said, his voice cracking as the pressure holding him to the wall by the throat grew stronger. 

"This isn't robbery," the man retorted. "Well, not that sort, anyway. I just want food." 

"Then just take it," Elwin retorted. "Don't-" Before he could finish his statement, several things happened at once. For one, Finn jumped from his pocket, leaping for the man with his little fingers flashing. For another, Azar, with a terrible cry, rushed forward, grabbing hold of him by the hair. The man cried out in pain, giving Elwin just enough time after being dropped to grab his wand. 

"Get them off of me!" he cried gruffly. 

"Finn, stop cutting him but stay on him. Not until you tell me who you are," Elwin retorted, breathing heavily. 

"I'm not signing my own death sentence, kid," the man said humourlessly, wincing in pain. 

"Lumos," Elwin muttered. Between Azar's plumage and the cuts left by Finn, Elwin instantly recognized the face of Sirius Black. "Merlin," he muttered. "I didn't think we'd meet this way, cousin." 

Sirius' brows furrowed, studying his face and attempting to decipher who he could be. 

"Who are you?" he asked. 

"Elwin," he replied. "Elwin Malfoy." 

"Lucius produced something with dark hair? Shocking," Sirius remarked. "You look like you've got more Black in you than anything." 

"Seems so," Elwin replied drily. 

"Look, let me go. I swear, I'm innocent," Sirius retorted. "Peter Pettigrew is alive. He faked his own death so I would be framed. I'm no Death Eater!" 

"Yeah, I know," Elwin admitted with a sigh, lowering his wand. "Finn, Azar." With relieved cawing and chattering, both creatures left Sirius, Azar perching on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and Finn climbing up to sit on Elwin's shoulder. Sirius was looking at him with an expression of such surprise that in any other circumstance, Elwin would have laughed. 

"How..."

"I was old enough during the war to remember a few things, Sirius," Elwin said, replacing his wand in his pocket and approaching the fridge. Pulling out some leftover pasta, a chicken dish, and a chocolate cake, he lay them out on the table with two forks and filled glasses of water. Sitting down, he gestured for Sirius to join him. Sirius almost instantly began tearing into the food, but Elwin was more pensive, moodily moving around the pasta, which he had claimed for himself, without eating any of it. As he was eating, Sirius could not help shifting his curious eyes to his strange host. Had he himself not said it, Sirius never would have believed Elwin to be a Malfoy. Nothing about him seemed the same. 

"Go ahead," Elwin said suddenly, not glancing over at him. "Ask the question I know is searing on the tip of your tongue." 

"Well..." Sirius said with a frown. "I'm just having trouble believing you're really a Malfoy. Not because of how you look, but..." 

"My father and I are just about as opposite as you can get," Elwin admitted. 

"So you're not..." 

"A blood supremacist with the constant urge to suck up to Voldemort?" he cut in. "No, not particularly. I'm shocked my father hasn't disowned me by now." 

"Me too," Sirius admitted. "You actually seem like a decent person." 

Stifling a chuckle, Elwin said, "Listen, I don't know why you're in London, but I've got a couch. No one lives with me and no one ever comes up here. You can stay whenever you need to." 

"Thank you," Sirius said in surprise. 

"No problem," Elwin replied. "But, just so you know, don't try to touch Finn. He'll claw your eyes out." 

Glancing at the small creature on his shoulder, Sirius said, "After the scraping he's already put me through, I believe it." 

"Good," Elwin said. "Then it's settled." 

"There's probably something you should know, though," Sirius admitted. 

"What's that?" 

"I've sort of got a travel companion," Sirius said. Elwin raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "And if you're willing, he needs your help."