Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

“Would you care for a drink, Dora?” Lucius asked as they entered his den.



“Yes; I think that would be fantastic.” She sighed, moving to take a seat. “We’ve just finished all the interviews and the reviews of all of the parents involved in this entire fiasco. We will have reports to each of the heads of family concerning each child in their care by tomorrow afternoon, so you can all decide where the children from the Clinic should be going…”



“I have the last say in where the Potter and the Malfoy children go.” Lucius said firmly.



“Well certainly you have the final say for the Malfoy children; that is your given right as head of family. But you are not the head of the Potter line; Harry will decide for himself regarding his own children.”



“As my son’s husband, he will respect my wishes.” Lucius said with clear confidence.



“Respect them, yes. But you forget, Lucius, that Harry does have a mind of his own.” Snape said drolly.



“He and I shall discuss matters and come to an agreement.” Lucius moved to the bar, using his wand to fix drinks for his guests.



“Should I fetch Harry so we can discuss it?” Tonks asked.



Severus moved to assist him. “You aren’t even supposed to be up and about.” He said quietly, and then answered Tonks. “That’s best left for the morning; we don’t even have everything we need yet. I need to do the hereditary readings on the final five children.”



“I am fine, Severus; really.” Lucius smirked at him. “Honestly, you’re worse than Cissa.”



“I’m weary of outliving my friends.” Severus countered simply.



Lucius picked up a glass and placed it in Snape’s hand. “Take this, old friend, sit down and shut up.” He said in the same tone. Severus gave him a soft grin and took the glass, complying with his friend’s instructions as he went to sit as well. He took another glass and moved to Nymphadora, handing her the drink. “So what families have attempted to steal the Malfoy name and power?” He asked calmly.



She sipped her drink, watching as he turned to fetch his own and settle down in his favorite chair. “Each of them, really, is a different situation. I think I need to explain a bit of what Pansy had done, first.” She mused.



“Yes; please do.” Lucius agreed. “I’ve been left quite in the dark about matters.”



“Now that everything is settled and done, everyone will know the details. I’ll honestly be surprised if this doesn’t show up on the front page of the newspaper in the morning.” Snape agreed, eyes on his glass but his mind lingering on the many ways he could employ to locate the missing Parkinsons.

He knew that Tonks had managed to capture August Bebel and he was being held under strictest security while he was awaiting his trial, but there had been no sign or attempt to contact him by either of the Parkinsons.



“The entire scheme began back when Harry and Draco went to the clinic to try to have their baby.” She said softly. “They had to donate all kinds of sperm for testing and genetic mapping and things like that, stuff that makes no sense at all to me but they had to do it nonetheless. Well somewhere along the way Pansy Parkinson got the bright idea to have the potential fathers donate extra sperm, to ‘insure’ fertilization by extra applications or something. They had to donate nearly every time they went in, and Pansy had them go through extra testing to try to justify it. The truth was; she had already begun to fish around to see who would be interested in purchasing their sperm. That was about six years ago; she began giving the sperm and eggs to Hermione to combine without telling her any details of who they were for or who they were from. As the Weasleys were strapped for cash at the time, she did all the extra work without complaint or question.”



“Absolutely foolish.” Snape commented.



“She knows that now. Anyway, Draco became pregnant with his baby. The problem was, Pansy saw that baby as an obstacle to her best selling product. She started thinking she would run low before she’d made her fortune and she tried to get them to come in again, but there was no reason to and they told her they were done. To try to get them back, she poisoned Draco with a Kreshweed potion…”



“She nearly killed my son when she murdered my granddaughter!” Lucius snarled.



“I know… and she did not stop with your son. She’s done that same thing to four others since then.” She told him quietly.



“Death is too good for that cold, emotionless bitch.” He growled, taking a deep drink.



“I couldn’t agree more. And once the reason for the miscarriages was discovered, it has been found that she did cause the death of one witch with her damned potion…”



“What family?” Lucius asked softly.



“Swenson; she was an American witch. She had come over here about five years ago with her British wizard husband. They used the clinic to get her pregnant, as they had already been trying for years without success back across the pond. They didn’t use stolen sperm, but they were going to settle here and apparently Pansy felt that he would make a fine addition to her stable of donors. When she gave her the poison, something went wrong and both of them, mother and baby, died. Her mate was sent to Azkaban for her murder.”



“What? Why was he sent to Azkaban?”



“The two of them had become estranged; at the time of her death they had been separated for two months. Their marriage wasn’t a happy one but I believe that he truly loved her and that’s why he refused to dissolve the marriage. The Americans were sure that he had done her in as revenge for leaving him; they came over to press charges against him on their daughter’s behalf. Surely you remember that mess; it was about two years ago and all over the papers for about a month.”



“I always thought that something seemed suspicious about that entire mess.”



“He’s been released from Azkaban as of this morning…” Tonks said softly. “…though it won’t do him any good. He’s most likely going to need a permanent room in the mental ward of St. Mungo’s Hospital. I doubt he’ll leave that place for the rest of his life.”



“Lucius needs to hear about the children, Dora.” Severus reminded.



“Oh; of course.” She sighed, pulling her mind back to the subject. “Pansy had several types of customers. It would be quite simple if there were only the type that you would expect; Death Eater families out to get the strength of other families mixed with their own. Pansy preyed on anyone and everyone she could get her claws near. She also sold to just plain everyday witches simply wanting a child. One witch knew that it was sperm from your line, but she believed the donations to be voluntary. Her daughter Trillby had never been abused; she is here as well. All they knew about the ‘donations’ is that they were pureblood. One in particular I can assure only chose Draco’s bloodline because she is blonde herself and he was the only pureblood selection on the list shown as blonde.”



“What is her name? What family?” Lucius asked.



“Larissa Mc Fell.”



“McFell…” Lucius murmured thoughtfully. “Her father’s name is Donal?”



“Yes.”



“He was top of his class in charms. When I was in seventh year he was in first. She is from a very good family.”



“And she was shocked to learn that the sperm was stolen, and doubly shocked that it was from the Malfoy line. We also did Legilimency searches on the memories of each individual to determine if there was any abuse to any of the children; of course she had none.”



“Truthfully, I think that his daughter and Draco would have been an acceptable match had my son been so inclined.” Lucius said thoughtfully. “I shall speak with Donal regarding his grandchild.”



“The mothers range from that to Winnifred Urqhart, who not only knew that the sperm was stolen and that it belonged to your son; she planned on using her son’s heritage to demand a portion of your fortune when he was old enough to lay claim.”



“She will never see the child again.” Lucius said coldly.



“Good.” She saluted him with her glass.



Tootles appeared, bowing low to the floor. “All the littles are deep sleeping, Master Malfoy sir.” she announced.



“Thank you.” Lucius began to rise.



“I am more than capable of doing this, Lucius.” Severus said, already on his feet.



“I’ll join you; I may need to spell them to sleep.” Lucius said stubbornly.



“I think I’ll be going on home and let you fellows argue it out.” Tonks said with a soft smirk. “I’ll be back sometime tomorrow with those reports.”



“I will be home later; don’t let Remmy wait up for me.” Severus told her.



“It’s night, Severus. You know he’d much rather sleep in the day. He’ll be up when you get home.” She grinned softly, setting her drink aside.



Snape watched as Tonks used the floo and vanished from sight, and then moved out with Lucius. He glanced at the sling and thought that his old friend would finally be honest about his injury. “So, what did the healer say?”



“The muscles were detached from the bone.” He answered.



“Lovely.” He grimaced. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t wait, then.” He commented as they moved through the quiet mansion. “I wonder if the little Guardians know that particular spell yet.”



“That boy is dangerous. I’m not sure of the girl; I can’t get the feel of her yet. But that boy will need watching.”



“I feel the same.” Severus agreed. “Unfortunately, he may need to be destroyed for the safety of the others, as backward and cruel as that may seem.”



“I am aware that we may need to do that, but I want to make sure to try every other possible avenue before we go there. Destroying them will be only an absolute last resort. The child is not evil; I feel no true darkness in any of them.” Lucius sighed.



Snape nodded; he felt the same. “I’ll begin work on the bonds tomorrow, once I’ve made my regular rounds.”



Lucius looked at his friend with a bit of curiosity. “I’ve been meaning to ask you; how do you like that job of yours? Working with muggle healers must be a bit of a trial.”



“I can honestly say it’s quite interesting. I only take the cases that involve children; it’s amazing just how much muggle children can get into on their own with no magic at their disposal. And it’s a perfect way to locate wizarding children who are born to muggles who are clearly confused about what is happening with their child…”



Lucius opened the bedroom door, letting Severus enter then he followed. He smiled as he moved to the dragon bed, to find the two cuddled together like a couple of kittens. Severus wasted no time; he immediately cast a sleeping charm upon the two guardians. He was sure that the boy had begun to wake as the spell settled on him, making him drop back into a deeper and undisturbable sleep. Lucius cast the same sleeping charm over the two in the dragon bed.



Severus glanced at him. “Do we even know the names of these waifs yet?” He asked.



The door to the next room stood open and a figure stood in it; it was one of the nannies watching them as they moved about in the room with the children. She hesitated and stayed mostly out of view; she had no intention of angering Lucius as her compatriot had done earlier.



“You there.” Lucius commanded. “What are the names of these children?”



“The Dark Prince is the Dark Prince; he has no other name sir.” She said softly. “Alerick sleeps at his side. The male guardian is Erik, and his twin sister is named Erin. Alyssa is the one you kept with you when you left us at the compound.”



“Ah, yes. Alyssa is a sweet child.” Lucius nodded. Snape slipped the two marked vials into his pocket before he moved over to join Lucius at the dragon bed.



The nanny remained quietly watching, as Lucius expected her to. Severus completed the spells to gather the blood without disturbing the sleep of any of the children. “That boy needs a proper name. Dark Prince, indeed.” He grumbled, scowling.



“I agree.” Lucius said, turning toward the door. Framed in the doorway stood a pale little red-haired girl in a pink frilly nightgown trembling as she clutched her stuffed toy to her chest. “Alyssa? What is it, little one?” He asked, moving toward her. “It’s all right; you can come in, child.”



She inched past Snape and then hurried to him, trembling. “I… I know I’m not s’posed to be scared but he’s here, I know he’s here, and I… I’m scared! He’ll hurt me!” she whispered, leaning in close to him as he gathered her into his arms comfortingly.



“No one here will bring you harm, child. I will not allow any such thing to happen to you in my home. Who do you fear?”



“That man… the man who pretended to be Alerick.” She whimpered. “He hurts me; please, please can I sleep with them? I’m afraid…”



“Of course you may. You see this dragon…?” He reached to stroke the smooth opalescent white creature’s head and her eyes followed his movement. “She will not allow anyone to harm any who sleep within her nest. You will be safe there; you have no worries.” He gave a soft kiss to her brow.



She flung her arms about him and hugged him, still trembling. “Thank you my Lord…”



“Let’s get hers before she lies back down.” Severus suggested.



Lucius nodded and got the girl’s attention once more. “Alyssa, we need to take a small sample of your blood.”



“Will you use the shiny knife?” she asked, looking worried.



“No. No knife. It will not hurt.” He assured and Severus scowled. This child had definitely seen far too many rituals.



She hugged her toy close, gazing at him over its head. “Not at all?”



“Not one bit.” He assured.



Alyssa held out her hand. “Okay.” She agreed.



Lucius performed the spell, drawing the blood from her hand with no pain whatsoever. “There. You see? As I promised you; no pain.”



“Thank you. Can… can I go to bed now…?” She asked, looking longingly at the bed.



“Go to bed, child.” He agreed. She hurried to the bed and climbed on with the others, settling herself at the feet of the other two.



Severus flicked his wand and a pillow and blanket settled over her. The girl gave him a very sweet smile, pulling the pillow under her head and the blanket over her. “It’s quite interesting where she fits in their hierarchy; I did not think that she would place herself at their feet, as there is plenty of room on the bed…” He murmured thoughtfully.



As she settled to sleep with her toy firmly held close in her arms, Snape stood a long moment, opening himself up and feeling the sheer power just filling the room. “Merlin… the power here is enough to make you dizzy.” He mumbled softly.



“Glorious, isn’t it?” Lucius smiled.



Snape gathered his thoughts together and sighed. “I need to begin the hereditary spells. These children are in good hands.” He said as he glanced at the still vigilant nanny. He had not seen the others but that one; she seemed to take her duties seriously. She bowed her head, stepping back out of sight into the shadows of the next room.



“Yes; I am eager to see who the parents of my Alerick are.” Lucius agreed.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Severus and Lucius walked into the lab where five cauldrons were bubbling over low flames, prepared and waiting for the final step in the spell. There were also a stack of prepared parchments waiting next to them on the table, and five silver knives specially sterilized for this operation. Severus took the vial of Alerick’s blood first, adding carefully measured drops to the potion. When the change of composition completed, he dipped the silver knife into the solution. He murmured the spell, allowing the drops to fall upon the prepared parchment and watched the lines blossom and spread to show the Malfoy family tree. To his surprise, the paper did not show Draco as the father of the child at all; to the contrary there was no sign of Draco at all upon the paper. The line that led up from Alerick’s name led directly to Narcissa and Lucius, indicating them as the actual parents of the boy. Snape scowled at the results, confused. How could this be?



Lucius moved to look at the parchment. “What? There is no possible way. Cissa and I would know if we had a child!” he objected.



“You’re missing something, Lucius. This paper does not show your son Draco.” He pointed out. “If Alerick was indeed yours, should it not show Draco and your grandson?” He asked quietly.



“So the potion was faulty?” Lucius ventured.



“I doubt that. I’ve brewed this potion a thousand times and haven’t gotten it wrong in years.” He said, thinking hard, scowling at the paper. “You said you knew for sure the parents of one of the children; let’s go ahead and test that one and it will show if the potion is faulty or not.”



“Yes; little Alyssa.” Lucius handed him the phial.



Severus’ scowl darkened as he performed exactly the same motions, the same spell, did the same thing. Measured drops, a clean blade to dip into the liquid, perform the casting, and drip the potion onto the scroll. The tree blossomed but it was strangely divided; instead of two names joined above the name of the child, lines led upward from either end of her name to two completely separate trees. One line led to the Weasley line; George Weasley indicated as the father. The second line led to Jerrod Warrington’s family. Severus snorted in surprise. “Weasley and Warrington…?”



“That is exactly what I expected to see.” Lucius said softly. “It is a good casting. But that doesn’t explain how Cissa and I can be Alerick’s parents…”



Severus found his mind returning to Hermione’s impassioned speech back at the ministry and one word sprang to mind. “Clones.” He said quietly. “Give me the Prince’s blood.” He ordered.



Lucius passed him the requested vial. “Clone? What is a clone? Explain this to me, what is it?”



Snape ignored his questions as he proceeded to perform the spell again. The tree showed the family they expected, but Harry was absent from the scroll. In his place below the names of Lilly and James was the title Dark Prince. “Merlin…” he breathed, shocked by the facts that his magic had revealed. “They did it… the crazy maniacal bastard actually managed to do it…”



“What does this mean?” Lucius demanded, confused and angered by what he saw on the paper. It made no sense! “Lilly and James are far beyond having anything harvested to produce children!”



“Not if they used Harry to do the cloning.” Severus answered. “The Dark Prince is not Harry’s child. He is… the closest I can describe it is he is Harry’s twin. A copy made of Harry, as Alerick is a copy made of Draco.”



“No one can make copies of wizards!” Lucius snapped.



“Obviously they can, Lucius.”



“But how? And how in Merlin’s name do we stop it from happening again?!”



“Hermione Weasley told us that this was happening when she went to that clinic the night before we closed it all down. She pulled documents off the computers and realized what it was they were truly doing. She was nearly hysterical; she believed that they were trying to bring Voldemort back to life by cloning Harry…”



“That little Potter child has no part of Tom Riddle in him!”



“Not for lack of trying, but I believe you are correct. If he had, Riddle’s name and family would show on this chart instead of Potter’s.”



“So why are the two missing? Where are Harry and Draco? If these two are their… their twins, then why are they not showing?”



“I’m not sure… but I am determined to find that out. At the very least they should be showing as siblings to the side with some sort of connection to the children, not completely gone from their charts.” Severus said, frowning.



“So.” Lucius began to smile. “Alerick really IS my son; Draco has a little brother. Well, Cissa always did want another child.” His smile faded slightly. “But what about the Potter child? And what is the Ministry of Magic going to say about the little Lord? If they get wind of this, they’ll want the boy…”



“If they even get an inkling that the mark exists, they’ll want the lot of them.” Snape corrected.



“I know that the mark cannot be removed.” Lucius said, not even bothering to voice that hope as Harry had. “But can it not be changed…?”



“I will research that, but I seem to remember that the master is the only one who can alter the mark. It will be years before the baby will learn what he must to be able to change them.”



“Let’s finish this; it is late and my arm is aching.” Lucius sighed. “Maybe things will be clearer in the morning.”



“Yes. Let’s proceed with the twins.” He produced the last two vials and performed the spell once more with the blood for the girl. The paper showed the same odd split it had with Alyssa, but this time the two families involved were the Potter family and the Lestranges. Bellatrix Lestrange was listed as the mother of the child.



“Bella.” Lucius said her name with disgust. “I don’t care if she’s Cissa’s sister, she is a completely insane bitch. She’s going to be trouble.”



“Let me do this for the boy as well.” Severus said, performing the spell once more. To his relief he got exactly the same result. “They are true twins, then…” he mused. “And this explains why that little girl looks so much like Bellatrix.”



Lucius frowned. “Our only hope is that the Potter blood will balance out Bella’s madness.”



“I don’t think Bella’s madness is in her genetics, else your wife would be just as crazy. Still, I believe they’ll both need to be raised with a very watchful eye to avoid her mania.”



Lucius gathered the papers and performed a duplicating spell. He handed the originals to Snape. “Good night, Severus; I will see you in the morning.”



“I will be here as early as I am able.” He assured, taking the papers and clearing out his cauldrons.



“Not too early, I hope.” Lucius said. “It’s been an extremely long night.”



“I will be doing my rounds first so no, I will not be here too early.” He assured, stowing his wand.



“Good night, then, Severus.” Lucius rubbed his arm with a pained look as he turned to go up to his room.



“Take a sleeping potion, sleep in. Let your body heal, old friend.” Severus recommended as he moved to the fireplace.



“Don’t worry; Cissa will take care of me.”



“I know. I can depend upon her for that.” Severus smirked, and then stepped into the fireplace.



Lucius moved out and made his way to his room. He paused by Angel’s room to check on the girl. He smiled as he moved to the bed to straighten the tousled covers. Tia looked up at him sleepily from her spot on the pillow, not overly concerned about his presence. “Take good care of my Angel.” He whispered as he reached to scratch the kit’s ears, making it purr loudly. He fixed the covers over the girl and kissed her gently on the brow. “Sleep well, my little love.” He murmured.



“Love you… Nonno…” she mumbled, smiling in her sleep.



“As you hold my heart, my own.” He whispered with a soft smile before moving off again.



He checked on the twins before going off to his own room and to finally get some rest.