Koty woke, miserable and sore. His throat and jaw burned, while the rest of his body felt like he'd been running for hours. All he'd done was sleep, so why did he hurt so much?
He had to get up! He had to take his NEWTs today! Well, some of them. There was no way his mother would allow him to even attempt that, not that he particularly wanted to.
When Koty sat up, rubbing his eyes, he elbowed something that didn't feel like a pillow. Blinking, he fully opened his eyes.
"When did you get here?" Koty rasped, startled and very very confused. He cleared his still burning throat.
Severus woke up quickly, somehow managing to go from sleeping to alert in just a few seconds. "How are you feeling this morning?" He asked, a hint of worry slipping through.
Propping himself upright, Koty stared at the man. He ignored the question. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"I was brought here last night," he drawled. "By your very angry elf, who threatened bodily harm."
"What?!" Koty yelped. "Why?"
"Do you remember feeling ill last night?" Severus asked cautiously.
Koty thought. There was something. Exhaustion and hunger pains. That, he remembered. There was something else though. What was it? He had wanted- no, needed... what? What had he needed so badly? "I'm not sure," he said honestly. "What happened?"
When Severus finished explaining, Koty was quiet and contemplative.
"But... why didn't I have any problems at school?" He asked, his nose scrunched in confusion. "Nearly all my blood was in phials, just like now. So, why is it different all of the sudden?"
"Proximity," Severus said simply, having given it a great deal of thought. "There was not a day that went by in Hogwarts that we did not see one another, which kept my blood from essentially becoming a slow-acting poison. As we have not been in contact for nearly a fortnight, I was unintentionally starving you. Now," he said, shifting to an upright position.
Koty let out a startled yelp and rolled off the man's lap and back onto the bed. "Now what?"
"I am going to see to my morning ablutions," he replied, stretching and yawning. "After which, I will feed you properly."
"Okay," Koty said, rubbing the remaining grit from his jewel toned eyes. He scooted over to the edge of the bed, his feet dangling freely, and waited.
When Severus emerged from the bathroom, he noticed his little mate biting his lip. "Is something wrong?" He asked, kneeling in front of the Vílaupír.
"Can... can you help me?" Koty asked, keeping his eyes down shyly. He didn't want to ask, especially with how guilty he knew Severus must be feeling. He didn't want to take advantage of the situation. "I need... erm, I need help with my wings." While he logically knew that he wasn't human, the term 'preen' made him feel like a bird.
"Of course," Severus said softly. "Just let me notify your parents to my presence, and I will-"
"Did you just now think of that?"
Koty and Severus' heads quickly turned toward the door.
"Good morning, Cissa." Severus gave her a slight nod.
"Morning, mummy!" Koty said happily, struggling to get off of his bed. When his toes brushed the soft pelt on the floor, he dropped down and went to hug his mother. "Sev's here!"
"I see that," she said indulgently, hugging her baby close. "The question is, why?"
Hoping to pull his mother's (angry) focus away from Severus, Koty answered, explaining what he could.
"Well," she said brightly, running her fingers through Koty's silken locks. "I think that you need a nice, long shower and a big breakfast to start the day, yes? After all, it's not everyday that one of my babies has to take their NEWTs."
With a gasp, Koty hurried to the restroom.
An hour later, Koty was in the dining room, having already fed deeply from Severus, who assured him that he was not going to collapse from blood loss again.
By the time breakfast was over, and his wings were taken care of, he was a puddle of goo. Severus had to go, but he was ready for the tests! He was going to do his absolute best, and then, when he got the results back, he could pick out which apprenticeships he wanted to take first! Charms was absolutely his first pick, but Runes, Arithmancy and Transfiguration were tied for second. While he really liked Herbology, he didn't mind waiting for that apprenticeship. Besides, if he took either Runes or Arithmancy, he would have enough room in his schedule for Care of Magical Creatures!
"Kitten!" His father called out. "Are you ready to go?"
"Coming Daddy!" He called back excitedly. It was time to go! Casting a tempus, just to see how much longer he would have to wait when he got there, he stopped. It was only ten thirty. The tests didn't even begin for another hour and a half. Before he could question anything, Koty noticed an older woman seated at the table with his family.
"Hello, ma'am," he said politely. "D-father, it isn't time to leave yet, is it?" Maybe there were a lot of forms or something to deal with beforehand?
"Not quite, Koty," Lucius said with a hint of amusement. "I would like to introduce you to Lady Muriel Evelyn Prewett. Lady Prewett, this is our youngest son, Koty Lucien Amaryllion Malfoy."
Koty paled dramatically. "Pl-pleased to meet you, Lady Prewett."
She hummed, eyeing him critically as her brows knit. "So, you're the one that set those mischievous imps to rights?"
Having thought she had come over here to yell at him, Koty blinked and hesitated before responding. "I... I suppose... I helped them a bit, but they helped me too! That's why I couldn't accept your gifts, no matter how wonderful. I'm so sorry for offending you! I really didn't mean to-"
She held up her hand, and Koty's babbling ceased immediately. "Well, at least you knew you were wrong."
Koty's cheeks burned in embarrassment. "Yes, ma'am," he whispered sadly.
The woman continued her visual inspection. "There's more to it, isn't there, boy?"
At the word 'boy', Koty flinched and Lucius cleared his throat pointedly. His eyes remained downcast.
"I've said something, haven't I?" She queried suspiciously.
Koty shook his head immediately. "It's nothing." He took his seat.
Not believing him for a second, the wizened woman changed the subject. "Now, I am here at the request of your father, though I was informed that you would explain why you are unable to accept my invitation for this afternoon."
"You didn't tell her?" Koty asked his father in shock. When Lucius shook his head, he turned his attention back to his guest. "You see, Lady Prewett, I have to go to the ministry for testing. I'll be there for several hours, and I didn't know how to decline your offer after hurting your feelings the other day. I suppose... I'm not the best with confrontation, and well, I think Daddy knew that and stepped in for me. I'm really sorry, Lady Prewett."
She examined him with narrowed eyes, shrewd eyes. After several long moments, she finally spoke. "You'll have tea with me. Every Wednesday from now until Hogwarts begins. If your parents have any plans for you boys on those days, you will write to me with an explanation, not your father. Do you understand?"
Koty blinked and glanced at his parents, who gave him a subtle nod of approval. "Okay- er, yes, Ma'am."
She stood, leaning on a roughly hewn walking stick, her back slightly curved with age. "Very well. I will see you at noon. Every Wednesday."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Koty said immediately.
Lucius was quick to fall into step beside the woman, gracefully offering his arm to escort her out.
Koty gasped when she walloped him with her deceptively small purse, resulting in a surprisingly loud thud as it came in contact with his stomach.
"Get off of me, Lucius! I can assure you I've been walking on my own long before your father was an eventuality!" She said waspishly. "I'm old, not dead! Go find a corpse to dance with if you want to drag someone around by the arm!"
Narcissa's laugh was light and airy, and she did nothing to hide it.
Sometime in the evening, an exhausted Koty was stumbling through the floo. "Hi Toppy," he said to the elf that was cleaning nearby, yawning loudly.
"Little Master knows Toppy?" The elf said, taken aback.
"Of course," he replied easily. "You're Dobby's twin, and you do an amazing job of keeping everything clean."
Toppy's tennis ball sized eyes widened and were suspiciously damp. It looked like she was trying not to bounce as she clung to the dusting rag in her hands. "Little Master be's so kind!"
Koty blushed a bit. "Toppy, do you know where everyone is?"
"Master Lord and Lady be's in the dining room, waiting for both Little Masters for supper, Little Master!" Toppy said happily.
"Thank you, Toppy," he said, giving her a wave.
Bear licked Toppy's face, and given her size, Bear's tongue covered her entire face.
Koty was about to stop Bear, but he heard Toppy laugh and let them be. He headed for the dining room, full of nerves and anticipation, clutching the magically sealed envelope tightly in his small fist.
"Mummy!" He called excitedly, holding up the envelope. "Daddy! Look!"
Before he could fully enter the dining room, he was scooped off his feet. He yelped, but beamed when he came face to face with Severus. "You're back!" He said, hugging the man tightly. "You can see too!"
"What is it that we are meant to see, Kitten?" Severus asked, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement at his little mate's exuberance.
"This!" He cried out, waving the envelope. "There were only a few people taking exams today, so they were able to mark them before we left!"
"Which exams did you take today?" Severus asked, settling into his seat, with Koty perched on his lap.
"Today was Transfiguration and Runes, I believe." Narcissa paused, recalling the schedule, then nodded.
"Well..." Koty began awkwardly. "That's true, but... I finished early. Since the room was blocked from us leaving, they let me keep going. You're not mad, are you?"
Everyone looked up when the door opened once more.
"Draco, come see! I got the results of the tests I took today!"
"Do you think you passed?" Draco asked casually, taking the seat next to Lucius.
Aware that he shouldn't show off his wandless (therefore traceless) magic, Koty asked Severus to enlarge the envelope. "Then we can all see at the same time!"
When Severus complied, the envelope grew to ten times its normal size.
Koty laughed when he tried to open it, as the wax seal was now the size of his entire hand. He dug his finger in an air pocket in the wax, and tugged until he heard the wax give. He couldn't get the results out. "Draco, can you get the other side?" The thick parchment stretched most of the way across the table, so Draco didn't have to reach very far.
As soon as the parchment was free, Koty magically unfolded it, completely ignoring the fact that he'd just tried to avoid using magic. He skimmed right past the introduction and his gaze settled on the grades.
Transfiguration- O^*^
Ancient Runes- O^ ^
Charms- O^*^
Arithmancy- O^*^x
Koty swallowed his tears. He couldn't believe it. The first and third asterisk were gone. He didn't do well enough to get the apprenticeships after all.
"Kitten, what's wrong?" Narcissa asked, floored at her son's less than pleased expression. "Your scores are impeccable, sweetheart!"
Sniffling, he looked up from the tabletop to see everyone staring at him. "They took away my apprenticeships," he said sadly. "See? They're gone." He even pointed at the third space that no longer held an asterisk.
Much to his shock and horror, Lucius actually laughed!
Koty dissolved into tears, burying his face in Severus' shoulder, utterly humiliated.
"Father!" Draco cried furiously. "That isn't funny!" His new brother might not be his best friend, but laughing at him was just plain cruel. He'd stopped teasing Koty months ago, and anyone else doing so was not okay. How many of his friends had he stopped from doing just that? How many people from other houses? Well, he wasn't exactly sure how many, but he knew it was a lot. Why were people so mean to Koty in the first place?
Lucius sobered quickly at his eldest son's vehemence. "I was not laughing at your brother, but at the situation. Both of you should look at the key at the bottom." Being on the Board of Education gave him more information than most.
Seeing that his brother was still upset, Draco lifted the enlarged parchment, as the bottom of it was draped over their empty plates.
(*) in first space- Top of the year
(^) in first space- Non applicable
(*) in second space- Perfect score
( ) in second space- Not perfect score
(*) in third space- Apprenticeship offered
( ) in third space- No apprenticeships offered
(^) in third space- Previously offered
(x) in any place- See educational department for details
Checking over the grades and comparing them to the key, Draco understood his father's laughter. "Koty, look! They haven't taken the offers away!"
Still worked up, Koty hiccoughed, but looked at his brother.
"The little arrow thing at the end means that you've already been offered the apprenticeship, not that they're kicking you out!" Draco beamed at his little brother.
"Wh-what?" Koty asked, his breath hitching as he wiped away his tears. He read the key and turned to his father. "Do... do you know what the 'x' is for?"
Usually, the 'x' was a signifier that they wanted to see if the person cheated, but that couldn't be right. "I am uncertain, Koty, but I will set up an appointment in the morning." Lucius smiled at his son. "I'm so proud of you."
Koty wriggled off of Severus' lap and hugged his father. "Thank you, Daddy," he whispered, tears falling anew. Having his Daddy proud of him made Koty proud of himself, and he rather enjoyed the feeling.
He pulled away abruptly, eyes shining. "Can I send a letter to school with my choices now?!"
This time, everyone laughed, including the pink cheeked Vílaupír.