Vile Temptation

SIXTEEN

SIXTEEN
From the past

The next day, Narcissa was determined to have another attempt at occlumency, deciding to completely skip breakfast and make her way straight to the west wing office.

When she arrived, she was surprised to see that the objects had returned along with all the stacks of paperwork. But no sighting of Helios. Narcissa decided to wait around until the man made his arrival, choosing to walk around the study slowly. Her eyes had caught the tall bookcase off to the side of the large wooden desk, where she skimmed her fingers across the book spines gently.

A portion of the bookcase sunk in on itself and a silver sink-like tool replaced it. Narcissa couldn't quite put a name to it, hypnotised by the swirling sparkling ink inside of it. Narcissa was sure she could see images swim around the matter, flashing to a new scene and then another. Before long, her head was almost parallel to the mysterious silver sink. A magnetic pull, similar to a tug, set her off balance and Narcissa found herself falling forward.

And just when she was sure to hit against the silver... Narcissa kept falling.

The environment around her was alien but recognisable. Narcissa was still in Abraxas' office and, by strange coincidence, that exact man was sitting in the office chair nursing a glass of alcohol. Narcissa was shocked to say the least. Like one wrong move would snap his head in her direction and it would be over for her. A flurry of footsteps, two pairs, made their way closer to the office door, and it was pushed open.

It was Mrs. Malfoy. Definitely not as frail as Narcissa had seen in the family portrait. In fact, she looked wroth with anger, hand gripping the collar of a young Helios before throwing him in front of his father's desk. Helios looked to have a bleeding nose, while a bruise starting to blossom on the angle of his cheekbone. Despite these injuries, he looked pleased with himself.

"Your son," the unheard and powerful tone of the Malfoy matriarch started, demanding her husbands attention. "Has taken it upon himself to act like a violent miscreant. Beating not only poor Lucius, but two of his friends as well!" The news was something Narcissa couldn't put into words. Helios had placed himself on one of the small sofas that lined the edges of the room, not daring to look away from his father, who also kept a strong gaze on him. "You'd do will to teach him some discipline, Abraxas." And, Mrs. Malfoy was gone with a slam of the door.

The father and son pair were left in silence. Helios had taken to scanning his eyes around the room, suddenly avoiding his father's presence. "What was it this time?" The dull voice of the Malfoy patriarch asked.

Helios took a while to reply, like the recount would either spark him to anger again or tears. "Nothing." He denied. "The woman just hates me." It was a sloppy lie considering the blood and bruises marring the boy's face. Nothing at all like the Helios, Narcissa had come to know.

"What of Aurora, then?" Malfoy Senior had asked strategically. Narcissa was unaccustomed to the name and even more to the reaction that seemed to have on the young boy. Helios looked defensive, like he hadn't expected such words from his father. Abraxas sighed, "Did the girl send you off to fight her wars again?"

"She has nothing to do with this. As I said, the woman hates me." Helios' face had grown harder. Through the baby-face he was sporting, his eyebrows had angled to shape his pale eyes that held storms.

"That woman is your mother, do well to remember that." Helios flinched in return.

"She hasn't treated me as such for months now." Narcissa wasn't sure what the timeline hinted at. The inner workings of the Malfoy Manor during these years were left to speculation. She remembered this in her youth. For at least four years, the Malfoy family had brought in no visitors and had rejected public appearances aside from Abraxas' brief job at the ministry and Lucius' fame as heir apparent.

Wisps of what seemed like smoke sprouted from everywhere, and the areas became blurred. Abraxas and Helios had become smoking piles like the rest of the office. Narcissa felt something in her head tug and she found herself planted outside now. In what looked like the Malfoy gardens.

It was an overcast day. Giggles echoed in an off-putting manner, making the hair on her neck stand in attention. Still the tugging in her head teased her. In the distance two children were running in the thick grass. One moment Narcissa could see them and the next the grass had swallowed them. They were both white of hair, and yet, their faces were scribbled out. Erased. Was that a little girl? Narcissa felt an emotion she couldn't quite place. She felt sick. Was it Helios running in front, looking back often at his company. The girl was so little, couldn't have been more than five years old. It was incredibly hard to tell with her features removed.

Bile rose to her throat, and the scene changed once again.

This was an area of the Malfoy garden she hadn't yet been introduced to. It was a small clearing in the woods that seemed to be litter haphazardly by gravestones. Narcissa felt a shiver run up her spine. The whole place looked dead, not even livened by the presence of the Malfoy family standing in-front of a headstone that read: "Aurora".

The sick feeling returned. Quoted beneath just that one word was, Rory. Narcissa's mind took her to the necklace that rested on Helios' collarbone that one night. That had contained just one letter.

It was obvious the amount of pain both the Malfoy brothers were in. Lucius had dried tears staining his cheeks and Helios looked to be fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Go back to the house with your mother, boy," Abraxas ordered pointedly to his eldest son. Mrs. Malfoy had barely stifled her anger, glaring hardly between her husband and Helios. Quickly taking one of Lucius' shoulders and ushering her son away from the clearing quickly.

Once out of sight, Abraxas turned to his youngest. "Life is tough, teaching only lessons of pain. You will learn, son. It will never affect you again."

Curious, aren't you princess.

Narcissa whipped her head around to the woods and found herself back in Abraxas' office. Helios' belongings and paperwork had returned. In the doorframe stood the man with his arms folded over his chest. She couldn't place where his emotions were. Whether he was angry at her or not.

"What's the point of removing memories if you were going to see it anyway, I wonder." He was definitely angry. Or at least unimpressed with her snooping. "There's a muggle saying about curiosity killing a cat..."

"Satisfaction brought it back," Narcissa finished without missing a beat. But Helios only shrugged. "That remains to be seen."

Finally, Helios stepped forward into the office. It was slow and predator-like. Eyes fixed on Narcissa, and head tilted like an unhinged killer. "You won't speak a word of what you've seen."

"Who was the little girl?" Asked Narcissa, taking a full step back. Helios' neck jerked in some sort of flinch. His eyes narrowed further. "Her name was Aurora, right?"

"Shut up."

They were face-to-face now. So close that she call feel the air coming from his nose. His chest was visibly heaving. She couldn't help it. The feeling that rose up through her body and urged her forward. Right to his pink lips that were so soft and so un-responding. Fool.

A ringed hand pried her jaw, removing her proximity away from Helios. Narcissa could almost see the battle happening in his eyes. Until, finally, he pulled her forward again taking her lips for himself.

...
And, finally after 16 chapters!