New Beginning

Chapter 22


Narcissa got Hermione to help her with Janus, while the men went off in the den to discuss political issues with the Ministry. Pansy took Tristin to her bedroom and decided to lay down herself, Pansy had been feeling tired and the baby was due any day now. Darien went with Hermione and Narcissa.

The bathroom was large, lush gray carpet covered the floor, the tub was sunk into the floor the size of a small swimming pool, the fountain for the water to come out was that of a small waterfall, Hermione found herself wistful for a bathroom like this one. Darien didn’t take his eyes off of Janus. Janus eyed everything and everyone with suspicion, he’d never had anyone take him in their home before and feed him, and he had never been in someone’s home before for a bath for that matter. His eyes were as wide as Hermione’s when it came to admiring the room.

“A bath and a change of clothes should have been first on the list instead of food. But, we can’t have everything perfect.” Narcissa said. “I’m going to run the bath water, then Hermione and I will step outside, leave your clothes on the floor and get in, scrub yourself clean.”

Narcissa set the waterfall to start filling the tub, as it did, steam came up from the water that started pooling at the bottom, along with a strong scent of mountain air, the soap bubbles started turning green and Darien giggled at the color of the bubbles.

“Like that do you?” Narcissa asked him.

Darien reached to take his robe off and Hermione stopped him. “Nope, maybe next time little man. Janus needs the bath this time.” Hermione noticed the look on Janus’s face, the boy looked absolutely frightened of the water. “Mrs. Malfoy.”

Narcissa turned, “Call me Narcissa, please.” She noticed the look on Janus’s face. “Dear me.” Narcissa stopped the water. “I’ll be right back.” Narcissa left the bathroom.

Darien went over to Janus and grabbed his hand, Janus looked down at him. “Bath fun Janus.”

Janus pulled his hand away from Darien and started backing up shaking his head no as he went, he stopped when he hit something solid. Darien was smiling up at Lucius who Janus had backed into.

“Hermione, would you mind leaving us men in the bathroom alone, please.” Hermione reached down to pick up Darien but stopped when she heard Severus. “Leave him in here.”

Hermione looked up, Severus was right behind Lucius. She walked past Lucius and Janus, Severus took her hand and led her out of the bathroom.

“Give us time, you know how Darien loves baths, it’ll probably help the boy to see baths can be fun.” Hermione nodded and left with Narcissa.

Narcissa and Hermione went to another part of the house, while the men took care of getting Janus clean. Draco was already in the room when Hermione walked in with his mother. Draco held up a few robes. “What do you think?”

Narcissa looked at the robes. “He’s smaller than that Draco, don’t you think so Hermione?”

Hermione came closer and looked at the robes, they were Draco’s old robes, and the whole closet was filled with clothes from his childhood. She reasoned she was standing in his old room. “He’s smaller than that.”

“Thought so,” Agreed Narcissa. “Where are the clothes before school?”

Draco shut the wardrobe up and spun around the room looking, “I think they are packed. Blue trunk.”

Narcissa, Hermione and Draco set about the room looking in the blue trunks. There were several of them. Hermione shook her head after the second blue trunk, Draco was a packrat, and he never got rid of anything. Besides clothes, Draco had books, toys, magazines, newspapers, articles torn from different books or magazines, collections of different wizarding trading cards, besides chocolate frogs, he even had international ones, and one trunk held letters for every owl he ever received.

“Merlin’s Beard! Draco. How are you ever going to get this room ready for the baby if you have all this junk left in here.” Narcissa asked her son, disgusted with not being able to find the other set of clothes they were looking for.

“It’ll get done Mother, I’m taking half the day off tomorrow. I had planned on moving stuff out then.” Draco opened a red trunk. “Found them.”

Narcissa and Hermione looked at each other. “Red trunk.” Both said at the same time and rolled their eyes. Both women walked over to the trunk and started going through the clothes, picking out stuff that would fit Janus. Draco emptied out a trunk and used his wand to change the name on the trunk, he left the last name blank. Janus now had a trunk for school. The knock on the door interrupted the three from gathering things for Janus, Lucius was at the door with Darien in his arms.

“Draco, I had Severus take the boy to Hogwarts.”

“I haven’t released him yet.” Draco told his father.

“Draco it was either Hogwarts or St. Mugo’s, since the boy is going to be at Hogwarts soon it was better to let him go there now. Severus won’t allow the boy to go anywhere. Besides he isn’t released from the Auror division yet, but the boy needs medical care.” Darien yawned in Lucius’s arms. “And this young man needs to see a bed.”

Hermione stood up and walked over to Lucius and Darien went in his mother’s outstretched arms. “How bad was Janus?”

“From what Severus and I could gather, from some of the dirt we managed to get cleaned off of him, he has some infections, open sores. Most of that, probably came from living on the streets, the boy still hasn’t said a word.”

Draco shrunk the trunk, and came over along with his mother. “Hermione, I’ll follow you back to Hogwarts, I’m going to have to get Severus to sign for the boy for right now, at least until we can figure out who he is. He wasn’t supposed to leave me.”

“Couldn’t be helped Draco.” Lucius said. Lucius put his arm over his wife’s shoulders, “Let’s walk my godson and his mother to the floo.”

Draco looked over at Darien whose eyes were starting to droop now that he had a full tummy and was in his mother’s arms. He couldn’t resist in caressing that soft cheek, Darien gave Draco a sleepy smile, Lucius smiled at his son, wondering whether his son would show that much affection once he told his son who that little boy really was. Lucius wouldn’t be able to keep it from Draco, and he had a feeling that Draco would help keep Darien safe, knowing how young he was. Narcissa gave Darien a kiss on the cheek when they reached the floo, and set up a time with Hermione. Hermione was surprised that Lucius and Narcissa wanted to get to know her better, but accepted a time for lunch in two days. Narcissa told her it would be a good day for them to get Janus’s things for Hogwarts if the boy would be able to go too.

Draco followed right behind Hermione and Darien inside the floo, bringing the trunk and the papers he would need Severus to sign. Hermione headed off to her chambers with Darien, while Draco headed to the infirmary.

Severus was sitting on one of the beds across from Janus with Albus and Minerva when Draco walked in. “Did Hermione and Darien get back?”

“Yes, we didn’t keep them, though her and Darien have a lunch date in two days with Mom and Dad.” Draco looked over at Janus, he looked a little better with being cleaned up, what Draco had mistaken for ingrained dirt on the boy’s face now appeared to be bruising, he looked small laying in the bed with Poppy going over him from head to toe. “What’s the verdict?”

“Court is still out.” Albus told him.

Draco sat next to his godfather and pulled out the papers. “Sign these.”

Severus looked at the papers and read through them. “Why do I have to sign these?”

“I need someone to look after him for right now, Pansy can’t and I can’t with work going on. I was going to ask you anyway, he’d be going to school here, so it’ll only be temporary.”

“Fine.” Severus signed the papers and handed them back over to Draco.

Draco looked at Albus, “Now, you and I need to have a chat. Did you keep the papers that the Auror showed when they came to search Hogwarts.”

“Yes, there up in my office. So your father got my owl?”

“Yes, sir. He put me investigating this, I need to see the papers.”

Albus stood, “Let me know about the boy, Severus.” Draco followed Albus up to his office. Draco wanted to make sure everything on this assignment was going correctly, he would have another Auror to come take Albus’s statement, along with the other professors. They just incorporated a new division inside the Auror office, one for internal investigations, this was a new branch, and so far Draco and one other Auror had been incorporated inside this branch.

When Poppy finished, Janus was sleeping, she had given him multiple potions for his injuries. She scowled at the extensive scaring across the boys body, he still hadn’t said anything, he didn’t even cry out when she had to re-brake his arm and reset it so it would heal properly this time. She could tell he was in pain, but the boy wouldn’t say or do anything. She checked his vocal cords and his throat, he was capable of speech, his hearing was fine, so other than him not wanting to speak was up to him. The list of his injuries was extensive, some recent, the infections in his body would be cleared up within the week, and his other scars would be permanent. She handed the list over to Severus.

“I’m not sure what all has happened to this boy, but wherever he had been, he doesn’t need to go back.” Poppy looked gravely at her friends.

Severus looked over the injuries that were on the list, he was more revolted by what he read by the time he got towards the end of it. He left the infirmary with the list and headed up to Albus’s office, he wanted to catch Draco before he left. He couldn’t see how this boy was a part of the break-ins, there was no way for it. Severus got to the gargoyle as Draco stepped out of the wall with the stairs that led up to Albus’s office.

“Draco, are the Auror pressing charges against the boy for the break-ins?”

“From the story we got from the other two so far, yes, but I’m hesitant on that. Even Auror Anderson is hesitant on charging the boy. Auror Anderson is supposed to report to me tomorrow of his findings in Knockturn Alley about the boy.”

Severus duplicated Poppy’s report and handt tot to him, “Make sure you include this in with that report. He couldn’t have done it, I’m not saying he’s not involved, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing much in what condition he was found in.”

Draco looked up from reading, “Did Poppy take pictures?”

Severus shook his head yes.

“Looks like we have more to investigate than just break-ins.”

“I would think so, Poppy should have the seamen samples too. If you’ll excuse me I need to talk Albus.” Severus left Draco and headed upstairs, this was one time he didn’t want to talk to Albus. Janus was better off being in Hogwarts right now than on the streets, the boy wasn’t talking, and Severus couldn’t blame him. Just from the report, he didn’t know if the boy would talk for a while.




A/N: As for Lucius\'s letter. You\'ll just have to wait and see. Hehehehehe