Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

*******AUTHOR'S NOTE******
Sorry its been so long since we posted! Between kids and costume making and a bout with pneumonia and a wedding in California (yes, we drove!) its been an insane 2 months. We will be posting several chapters today to get caught up with y'all again! Here's hoping you all have a warm and fuzzy Thanksgiving and a very happy Christmas!
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"You sent for me, Severus?" Lucius asked, stepping up to gaze into the room through the transparent wall, only giving those within it a passing glance. It was the middle of the night; Severus had said that this was important.



"Indeed I did. Take a look at this young man and tell me what you think." He suggested, gesturing to the blonde boy.



Lucius was instantly irritated and angry. "You may be an old friend, Severus, but I don't take kindly to being dragged out of my nice warm bed so that I can look at some child!" he growled, but he allow his eyes to slide over the room full of children out of simple curiosity. When he saw the boy, his voice cut short, his anger melted to nothing at all. "Well… I'll be a muggle lover…!" he murmured in shock.



"You see it too." Severus commented quietly.



"I can understand that he should have Draco's looks, as my son is his father, but… who is the mother…? He does not look like Draco's offspring; he looks like Draco stepped out of our photo albums and into life. Was he from a male pregnancy?"



"We don't know all the details of his… creation. We only know for sure that he was not listed with the records of the others. It was mere happenstance that they found this boy. I will run the hereditary spell on him as soon as it is feasible."



"Have the other heads of family been notified? These children must be with their true families…"



"Yes; Arthur Weasley should be here shortly. Crumb, Li, and McDougal have been notified as well. We have been unable to reach Zematis, and a message has been left at Beauxbatons for Lefevre. Your son has four children here, and Potter has four children and one unborn baby. The other two unborn children belong to Lefevre."



"I will represent Potter; he is with Draco at the moment and does not need to be disturbed." Lucius said aloofly. "What in Merlin's name happened…? I was informed that Parkinson escaped…"



Snape nodded. "She believes she got what she wanted when she escaped as well; but little does she know she hasn't anything at all."



"She did not?"



Snape smirked. "No. I provided all of them, including the younger Weasley, with sterilizing potions to ensure there would be no 'essence' to steal… just in case this happened." He said. "They will be 'shooting blanks' for the next three months."



"For that, Severus, I owe you a great debt." Lucius smiled, watching the little boy slowly pace. "He holds himself with great dignity." Lucius mused. "Whoever has taught him this far has taught him how to behave very acceptably."



"And beyond simple manners, I think." Snape agreed thoughtfully. "As angry as he was at being taken from his home, he has yet to even raise his voice. I believe he may have witnessed a duel between those he called parents and his rescuers, but he has not cried at all. Several of the others have already gone through multiple crying fits…"



"As a proper Malfoy, he should never do that. Crying fits!" he snorted derisively. "Not one of MY offspring."



Arthur Weasley joined them at that moment. "Lucius…" he greeted shortly; there was still little love lost between the two men, though they had come to an understanding and usually agreed to disagree nowadays. His eyes went to the children in the room and looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "Merlin's beard…!" he whispered. "Look at them all…!"



"Yes." Lucius said quietly. "Look at them; all stolen dreams; my son's and yours as well…"



"How in the world…? I mean; I can see where my boys, easily enough, but… but not Draco and certainly not Harry!"



"This entire situation is nothing – if you will pardon the pun – conceived of our normal wizarding world, Arthur." Lucius answered.



"But how did they get Malfoy? Your son?" he asked in a whisper.



"Pansy Parkinson is a very devious, self-centered, and ultimately quite inventive witch…"



"Muggle science and wizardry, combined with clever minds created all of these babies…" Snape answered.



"What's going to happen to them…? The little darlings need families…"



"Yes; they will be going to their true homes, with their fathers." Lucius answered calmly.



"That's good, I… oh…" Arthur's next sentence vanished from his mind as he spotted the blonde boy, quite obviously NOT part of the crowd of 'babies'.



"Yours, Lucius…?"



"Yes, I do believe he is my grandson." Lucius agreed.



"Poor boy… looks like he hasn't had a moment of love in his whole life." Arthur murmured sadly.



"Indeed; many of the wizards who would steal children like this would not care if there was love involved. Love is seen as a weakness…"



"Love is power." Arthur countered immediately. "Weakness is simply the inability to understand love and its true power." he said, looking at the children. So many of them!



"Well put, Arthur." He agreed, surprising the wizard with the faintly red hair shot through liberally with silver.



Arthur glanced at him and responded with a bit of a smile. He felt a tug on his pant leg and looked down to see a child with bright blonde hair and tears oh his cheeks. "Want mama!" The child murmured, his lip trembling and new tears rolling down his cheeks as he spoke.



He scooped the child up, cuddling him and stroking his soft fine hair. "Hush now…" he soothed. "It's all right…" he carried the child as he walked toward the other children. The boy clung to him, sniffling.



The young blonde looked over at the crying child and frowned with clear disapproval. He walked with carefully measured, graceful steps to the table where snacks and drinks were available. Picking up a small piece of dried fruit and a cookie, the boy moved to a corner that was unoccupied, actually not far from the grownups at all. He clearly did not consider himself a child and did not wish to associate with them.



Lucius frowned, thinking of the implications of such behavior. The child had been found in the house with another child, but lived completely separate. "I do believe that I should have a word with that young man…" he murmured.



"Please do." Snape made a mock-bow and gestured grandly. Lucius shot him a sardonic smirk as he moved to the door. He took a moment to compose himself then stepped into the room, looking elegant and regal; his face calm, a mask of deadly yet carefully reigned-in power. He had known he was coming to the ministry so had taken his usual pains to ensure that he was looking his absolute best, even if he had only had two or so hours of sleep.



The young blonde stopped eating his cookie, his eyes riveted on the fair-haired wizard. Cookie forgotten, he walked toward him, silently gazing at him and halting just outside of arm's reach. Lucius watched him, though he appeared not to; a smirk on his face.



"I'm not like them, sir. I don't miss my mother." He said in a quiet, proud voice. "I want to be strong; like you are."



Merlin… he even sounded like Draco had as a child. It gave him a strange pang of sadness; he had not really known Draco when his son had been this age. He had avoided him to avoid treating him with the same cruelty he had been raised with. "Do you know why I am strong…?" Lucius asked him, still not looking at the boy.



"Yes sir…" he nodded. "You got power, sir…" he said in a much more grown-up voice than a lad his age should have.



"Yes, indeed. But I have more than simple power. I had a mother who supported and loved me, as I support and love my son. He, in turn, is a strong wizard as well." He explained, finally lowering his eyes to look at him. "Was your mother cruel to you?"



The boy looked away quickly but Lucius saw a brief moment of the hurt little boy inside that child's eyes. "I… yes, sir. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I'm stronger now." He said with his jaw set resolutely.



"You need not be concerned about her; she will be punished for her deeds." He answered, glancing down at the child who looked very confused for a moment.



"Why would she be punished?" he asked softly. "She did what was needed."



Lucius considered his answer, gazing at the child. "She will be punished because she has done wrong, young man." He answered, and then paused for a moment. "Do you have any idea who I am…?"



"No, sir. I do not know who you are, my lord, but… are you one of the people who will decide where I will go now? They told me I couldn't go back home to my bower."



"I am much more than simply a man who has a say in your placement, child. I am Lucius Abraxus Malfoy. And I am your grandfather."



The boy was going to face a very confusing evening; it seemed he had been told nothing of his heritage. "I already have a grandfather, sir… Lord Father McNair is my grandfather…"



"He is, through that woman that birthed you." Lucius said with a sneer upon his lips. That woman had abused this child purposefully. "But he has no claim upon you, as you are my son's child. Therefore, you are and will always be a Malfoy." Lucius added with a smile.



"I am…?" he said, eyes brightening as he gazed up at him. "Will I live with you, Lord Father Malfoy…?"



"Is that your wish, child?" he asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.



The boy flushed and bowed his head. "I… I cannot say sir…" he murmured.



Lucius realized this boy had indeed endured a very strict upbringing and would have been punished for trying to assert his will with an elder. He wondered what this little innocent had been forced to endure in his short life. The stories that this boy could tell could rival his own stories of suffering. "Tell me, child. What is your name…?"



"Alerick Salazar McNair, sir…" the answer was very quick and clear.



"Not McNair. Malfoy." Lucius corrected.



"Oh… yes sir. Alerick Salazar Malfoy." He repeated, adding the correction with a bit of a shy smile.



"Your name means ruler of all…" Lucius said with a soft smirk. "And you have indeed been named well." Alerick glowed with the praise even though it was not directed at him. "Have you begun any training…? Have your powers shown…?"



"Oh, yes sir… I've been training a long, long time…" he held himself proudly.



The elder wizard wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. This boy was much too young for training. "And what have you been training for…?"



The boy looked very proud as he recited, head held high. "I have been given the highest honor in all the land; I will be the Dark Prince's right hand, the one he turns to with all his problems, his advisor. I am the consort for the Dark Prince." He answered.



A slight frown touched Lucius' face for only a brief moment. Consort? The child was only four! "Indeed…? And do you know, young Alerick, what a consort is…?"



A scowl appeared on the boy's face as he thought hard for the proper answer. "I'm… I'm to serve him, to help protect him, and to help him. And to give him everything he needs to be happy?"



"In a way. You have many years to learn what a consort is, and you will be given the chance to decide if this is what you truly wish to do with your life." Lucius told him.



The boy's expression clouded. "It's what I was born to do. I HAVE to be the consort. I couldn't be anything else…"



"If that is your wish." Lucius repeated. "Then that is what you shall do. But first I will have you understand everything that is involved, then you shall make your decision."



"Yes, sir, Lord Father Malfoy…"



Lucius allowed his gaze to wander back to Arthur, who was seated on the floor with two children already cuddled in his arms and a third clamoring for his attention. That man did truly have a way with littles… He pulled his mind back to the subject at hand. "Have you met this so-called Dark Prince…?" Lucius asked, doubting the existence of such a person.



"Oh yes sir; but he's still a baby…" he started, then closed his mouth and flushed, biting his lip. Obviously Alerick was not supposed to speak of him.



Lucius pressed further. "Is he here in this room?"



He hesitated, then lifted his eyes and scanned the room, looking carefully at each of the other children in the room. "No, Lord Malfoy… but… but I'm not supposed to even talk about him…" he said, flushing deeply, expecting a harsh reprimand.



"I am your lord, am I not?" Lucius asked. "I wish for you to tell me. I am, after all, the Dark Lord's commanding officer…"



He looked up at him with wide, slightly unsure eyes. "Yes, but… he's not here, Lord Father Malfoy…" he said in a quiet voice. "But his hair is really dark, like theirs…" he pointed at two of the children who were clearly Harry's offspring with his unruly shock of black hair. "All crazy like that and dark…"



"Where have they hidden my lord?" Lucius asked. "Who is keeping him from his rightful home?"



Alerick frowned, his young face screwing up in concentration. "He's a long ways from here, very far away." he said, and then looked at Lucius. "The others are much closer."



"Others…?" Lucius asked. "Tell me what you know, my grandson." He encouraged.



"You don't know, Lord Father…?" he tilted his head questioningly.



"I wish to hear what you know, young Alerick." He answered evasively, and his evasion worked.



Alerick smiled proudly, thinking he was being tested. He knew the proper answer to this one. "We are the Dark Prince and the Inner Circle. I am the consort, and they are the guardians and the enchanter…"