Dolasitas

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The three of them landed with a crash onto a carpeted floor, Lexy fortunately landing on top of Rodolphus. Before any of them could gather their wits or even open their eyes, two vaguely familiar voices shouted out “Accio wands!” and “Obscuro!”. Lexy felt her wand fly out of her pocket and a dark blindfold descend over her eyes, and she knew from Rodolphus’ furious curses that the same had happened to him.

“That was a very stupid thing you just did,” Rodolphus exclaimed threateningly, still retaining his hold on her hand.

The man who had disarmed them spoke up. “It was a risk worth taking,” he said coolly. Lexy froze as Rodolphus tightened his grip; he had also recognised the speaker.

“Draco?!” he demanded. “As your godfather, I will give you one last chance to release us before your father tracks us down – and let me assure you, he will. And when he does, you will not escape with your life.”

Lexy shivered at the cold tone of his voice. “Oh, do shut up Rodolphus,” Draco cut in grumpily. “You two weren’t even bloody supposed to be here…” his words were interrupted by Valentina’s shriek as she was dragged across the floor.

“Where are you taking her?” Lexy shouted furiously. “She has nothing to do with any of this either!”

Draco refused to answer, but the second man spoke up, revealing himself to be Neville Longbottom, another member of the Order. “It was necessary that we take her as well. They will both need to be persuaded. Neither of them will be harmed, I assure you.”

Rodolphus spat in the direction of the speaker. “That is what I think of your assurances,” he hissed disdainfully.

Draco laughed. “Fortunately for us then, it doesn’t matter what you think. You will remain here until we are finished with the Volkarovs – when they are safely out of the country and away from you, then you will be released.” A few seconds later, they heard the sound of a door slamming. As it shut, their blindfolds melted away.

As she took in the details of the room around them, Lexy was relieved. They had been provided with everything they would need for a short stay in the room, and she was certain that Remus would make sure they got adequate food and water. All that was concerning her now was, obviously, what was happening to the Volkarovs, but primarily what was happening to Lucius. It was clear that she and Rodolphus had only been taken because they had hold of Valentina. Knowing Lucius as she did, she was certain that he had been fighting once he saw that Rodolphus was shielding herself, so it was unlikely that he had had hold of Mikael when he was Apparated away.

Resigned to having to wait it out, Lexy slowly eased herself off the floor. Rodolphus leapt to his feet and offered her his hand, which she gratefully took. “Are you okay, Lex?” he asked anxiously.

“Yes, fine,” she nodded reassuringly. “A little shaken, but the baby is fine. I’m just worried about Lucius – he’s going to be going out of his mind with worry. If only I could let him know that we’re okay…”

Rodolphus grimaced, and clenched his fists as he led her over to one of the beds. Lexy lay down as he began to pace the room. “At least I am with you; that will give him some reassurance,” he said eventually.

“Oh yes, plenty,” Lexy replied sarcastically. “He will be delighted that his wife is locked up with one of the most notorious ladies’ men in Britain.”

Rodolphus looked up guiltily. “Does my reputation precede me that much?”

Lexy chuckled. “Even if it hadn’t, you propositioning me on my wedding day, in front of Lucius, would have made it fairly obvious, Rodolphus.”

Rodolphus crossed the room again in a few short strides, sitting on the bed beside her and turning her face towards his. “Alexis, I would never to anything to harm you or Lucius, I promise you that,” he insisted, his voice strong and unwavering. “Lucius is like a brother to me, and he loves you more than anyone or anything else on this earth, even if he refuses to admit it to me. That makes you one of the most important people in my life as well, and I would lay down my life to protect either one of you, or your child, if necessary.”

Lexy’s eyes began to well up with tears, and she impulsively sat up and threw her arms around Rodolphus. She was shaken by his words, for she had never seen this side of him before. “Thank you, Rodolphus,” she murmured into his shoulder.

He shrugged gruffly. “You had to know eventually, Lex,” he muttered. Suddenly, Rodolphus pulled away and winced, staring down at his arm. “Perhaps… Lex, take tight hold of my arm.”

“What is it?” she demanded.

“The Dark Lord is trying to summon me. It’s worth a go.” Lexy nodded and took hold of him as he pressed his fingers to the Dark Mark burning on his arm. Nothing happened, and he slumped back against the wall. “Looks like we’re stuck here for a while then, babe.”

“But that means that he must know what has happened, doesn’t it?” Lexy asked anxiously.

“I think it is safe to assume that, yes,” Rodolphus mused. “He will be furious, Lex – I pity the one who had to bring him the news.”

“Really? He won’t punish Lucius, will he?” Lexy demanded, her heart racing.

“It’s not only that which will concern him,” he replied, trying to ignore the question, “but more so the fact that the Order of the Phoenix is clearly operating again. We knew they were still meeting, but they seemed to have given up after Potter’s death. This is the first sign of action we have seen from them since the Final Battle.” Rodolphus’ worry was etched clearly on his face. “They must be well hidden for us to not have detected even a whisper that they were planning something.”

Lexy felt a sudden burst of pride in her chest. Her face betraying no hint of her emotion, she remained silent. A few minutes later, Rodolphus spoke again.

“We may just have to wait until they release us. We’ve been trying to trace their wand signatures for months now and have found nothing, so there is no reason why that should change now. Without our wands, we have next to no chance of fighting our way out, and even if we did I would not be willing to risk you getting hit by a stray curse.” He rose off the bed again and walked around the room. “No, nothing.”

Lexy stretched out onto the bed. “Well, the company could be worse, I suppose,” she said, her smile sparkling.

Rodolphus spun around, surprised, then grinned and visibly relaxed. “True.” He ceased his incessant pacing, and stretched himself out on the second bed. “Get some rest, Lex,” he said kindly. “The baby will thank you for it.” Despite her protestations that she was fine, she was asleep within minutes, Rodolphus soon following her.


He was abruptly woken in the morning by the sound of retching. Leaping out of bed, he saw Lexy throwing up in the corner of the room. Rodolphus rushed over to her, pulling her hair out of her face and sympathetically rubbing her back. Slumping back against the wall, Lexy turned to face him. “Is there any water?” she asked him, her voice cracking.

As Rodolphus moved towards the small table where a jug of water had appeared for them, the door opened and Draco Malfoy came in. He took in the scene in front of him, and his eyes widened. “Are you pregnant?” he demanded sharply.

Lexy nodded wordlessly, staring into his eyes appealingly. “If you dare try to do anything to harm her, Draco…” Rodolphus hissed threateningly.

“Merlin’s beard, uncle, what do you take me for?” Draco asked incredulously. “Is there anything I can get for you, Mrs Malfoy?”

“Some lemon tea, if you can… oh, and if you could get rid of that mess,” Lexy said, blushing as she gestured towards the vomit.

Draco nodded. “Evanesco,” he muttered, waving his wand towards the corner of the room. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

“If that piece of scum tries anything, I swear I’ll kill him with my bare hands if necessary,” Rodolphus said furiously.

“What makes you think that he would, Rodolphus?” Lexy asked tiredly. “Sure, the Order are fighting against us, but I was always under the impression that they were never used violence unless they had no choice.”

Rodolphus’ mouth dropped open as he tried to think of a retort. “I need to use the bathroom,” he said abruptly. “Shout if you need me.”

A minute later, the door creaked open and Draco entered with the lemon tea. “Where’s Rodolphus?” he whispered urgently.

“In the bathroom,” she whispered back. “What’s going on, Draco?”

“Well, I wish you’d bloody told us you were pregnant for a start,” he replied reprovingly. “Too late for that though. I’ve just spoken to Remus, and he’s going to get you out of here as soon as possible.”

“And the Volkarovs?”

“Nearly convinced. The president had no idea of what You-Know-Who was planning. As soon as they’re out of here, we’ll let you go. Look after yourself, Lexy, promise?”

She nodded, and Draco grasped her hand briefly before striding out of the room. Seconds later, Rodolphus emerged from the small bathroom. “How do you feel?” he enquired.

“Better,” Lexy replied, sipping the tea. “A little tired already, though. Would you mind if I tried to get some more sleep?”

“Of course I don’t mind, Lex, do whatever you need. I’ll be right here if you need me, okay?”

Lexy climbed back onto the small bed and lay back down, closing her eyes tightly. She was missing Lucius desperately; this was the longest time they had been parted since that fateful day that they first met, and she hadn’t realised before now how much she had come to rely upon his constant presence. Even worse was knowing the pain and anger he would be experiencing right now, not knowing where she was or even if she was still alive. Slowly, she was beginning to realise that Lucius truly was everything to her – true, Will and the child growing inside her were massively important parts of her life – but without Lucius, life would be meaningless. Still, though, Lexy refused to admit even to herself the depth of what she was feeling.

Despite herself, a small sob escaped her lips, and Rodolphus was at her side in a shot. “What is it? Is it the baby?”

“N-n-no, it’s okay…I…I just really w-want Lucius!” she whimpered, the tears beginning to fall. “I miss him s-so much, and he’s g-going to be so w-worried!”

“Is there anything I can do?” Rodolphus asked, desperate to help but not knowing how. It hurt him terribly to see Lexy in so much pain – not only for Lucius’ sake, but for her own.

“Would you just hold me until I fall asleep?” she asked in a small voice.

“Of course, if that’s what you want,” he replied softly, lying down beside her and draping his arm over her stomach protectively. “Anything that you or this baby ever need, I’ll be here for you Lex, just as much as I would be for Lucius.”

She sighed and relaxed, the sobs subsiding slowly. “Thank you, Rodolphus,” Lexy whispered, yawning quietly as the protection of his arms began to soothe her into sleep.

They stayed that way until another three hours had passed, when Draco again opened the door, depositing a watch onto the bed. “This Portkey will activate in ten seconds, taking you to Malfoy Manor. Your wands,” he said curtly, sticking both their wands into Lexy’s robes.

Lexy barely had time to acknowledge her thanks to him before Rodolphus grabbed her hand and pushed it onto the Portkey, a split second before it pulled them away from the room.


They barely retained their footing when they appeared just outside the boundaries of Malfoy Manor, and Lexy stumbled along the path, shouting for Lucius. Rodolphus ran after her. “Steady!” he cautioned anxiously. “You’re safe now, you need to relax.”

But Lexy did not need to run any further. Lucius had heard her shouts and was hurtling down the path towards her, his face white and bloodless. As he reached her, he swept her into his arms and held her tightly, tears leaking out of his eyes. “Are you okay, princess?” he whispered desperately into her ear. “I’ve been going out of my mind with worry for you, Lexy; I’ve missed you so, so much.”

“I am now I’m back with you, Lucius,” she murmured, relaxing into his body and resting her head on his shoulder. “Everything’s fine with the baby as well; they didn’t mistreat us, and Rodolphus was with me the whole time.”

Rodolphus was hanging back awkwardly, not wanting to intrude on this obviously private moment, but with Lexy’s words Lucius turned towards him, still holding her tightly at his side. “Who took my wife, Rodolphus?” he demanded, his voice hoarse and his eyes dark.

“Perhaps we should discuss this inside, Lucius,” Rodolphus said uneasily, looking over his shoulder.

Lexy nodded. “Please, Lucius, can we get inside?” she begged him. “Rodolphus looked after me, but I’m just so tired…”

His face softened instantly. “Of course, Lexy, anything you want. Rodolphus, meet me in the library. The Dark Lord is in there already – he will be pleased you have returned unharmed. I will take Lexy to our bedroom and join you shortly.”

Rodolphus nodded and strode off into the house, and Lucius turned his head back towards his wife, his heart still racing. He had never known anything like the fear he had felt since she was snatched from him, and once he got his hands on the people responsible, they would rue the day they were born, Lucius thought bitterly. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked softly, reining in his rage for her sake.

Lexy nodded slowly. “I really did miss you, Lucius,” she revealed, looking intensely into his cold eyes. “I had no idea I would miss you so much.”

His heart seemed to skip a beat at her words, and a small smile played on his lips. “Now I have you back, I’ll never let anyone take you from me again, princess,” Lucius vowed. “Let’s get you safely inside, now,” he said, his spare hand closed over his wand as he looked around before ushering her into the manor.

Neither of them spoke as they walked through the manor, both revelling in the other’s company and too relieved to express themselves fully. When they reached the door of the bedroom, Lexy paused and wrapped her arms around Lucius. “You won’t ever leave me, Lucius, will you?” she demanded suddenly, her eyes filling.

“Lexy!” he responded, startled. “I swore to you when we got married that I would never leave you, and I will renew that promise to you every day of our lives if you need to hear it. You are everything to me, darling, and no-one will ever tear us apart, I promise you.” Lucius was relieved to feel her relax in his arms, and he tenderly caressed her cheek. “Now, let’s get you tucked up in bed. Is there anything else you need?” he asked, his attention momentarily distracted by the sight of an owl swooping down to the lower levels of the manor.

“No, just some rest I think,” Lexy replied, lying down on the bed with a small sigh. “You’ll be downstairs if I need you, won’t you?”

“Absolutely, just send one of the house elves for me, princess, and I’ll be straight up.” Lucius gave her a tender kiss on her forehead, rested his hand briefly on her abdomen and left the room, pulling the door to behind him.

Wasting no time, he sped down to the study, his anger returning in full force now that he knew Lexy and the baby were safe, and threw the door open. “Who did this, Rodolphus?” he shouted, but further conversation was quelled by the fury on the face of the Dark Lord, who was holding a piece of parchment clenched tightly in his hand.


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