Arianrhod's Vessel

so, here we are once again. erm.... i seem to have forgotten what it was i wanted to say here. no funny comments to make. so i suppose i\'ll just get down to it. what you are about to read is a work of fiction. the idea and only a few of the characters are actually from the dirty little place in my head called my brain. the rest, that which you recognize, is borrowed humbly and with much gratitude from the lovely and talented j.k. rowling. i mean no disrespect to her and her wonderful world. i only want to play in it. i will, naturally, return the characters of her creation when i\'m done. not only is this not actually mine, but i make no money from this. its all a labor of love.

this story will contain things that might not be for everyone. please read all warnings. there will be mention of underaged sex and slash. if this is not something that you are comfortable with, please don\'t read any further. you have been warned.

and, as always, if you find you like my offering, please feel free to let me know. reviews are lovely and, while they aren\'t entirely important, they are most welcome.

Chapter Three: Forbidden Desires
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\"H-h-h-hello, Lucius.\"

\"Hello, Nisha,\" he returned grimly. He leaned forward, propping his elbows onto his knees before putting his chin in his hand. She remained silent as he studied her intently, his eyes raking over every inch of her body. She felt exposed, despite the fact that she lay on her stomach and the most he could see was the curve of her breast and her bottom.

She licked her lips, willing him to get up and leave her alone. She didn\'t want to face him now. She only wanted to slip back into oblivion and forget the dark memories that plagued her. But it wasn\'t to happen. His gaze moved back up to her face and she thought she saw there, for a moment, a deep sense of loss. Then his eyes hardened and he scowled.

\"Why did you leave me, Nisha? And where the bloody hell could you have gone that was better than here?\"

Nisha cringed at the tone of his voice. He was angry. That much was plain. But she could swear there was the smallest amount of sorrow in his voice. And concern. He had missed her? Was it possible? She mentally shook her head. No. Lucius Malfoy hadn\'t missed her. He\'d used her for his own gain. He\'d made her care about him, then had left her as if she were nothing more than some old toy that he no longer wanted to play with. She\'d been a confused and frightened girl of fifteen when she\'d left. How was she supposed to explain to him what had gone through her mind and prompted her to flee? She couldn\'t even explain it to herself.

She wished, yet again, that she could do more than simply lay there. For such a conversation as the one he wanted to have, she wanted to be sitting up. She wanted to be, for lack of better words, on his level. She didn\'t feel as if she were since she was laying flat on her stomach. Nisha closed her eyes and sighed. She was not ready for this conversation. She didn\'t think she ever would be. But he was going to push the issue. He was going to force her to tell him those things he didn\'t need to hear. Those things she didn\'t want to admit to. Why couldn\'t he have left her alone?

\"Why did you leave, Nisha?\" he asked again, his voice little more than a soft purr of sensual sound. She couldn\'t stop her body from reacting and responding to his voice. She\'d never been able to. Even when she\'d been a fifteen year old, easily impressionable girl, she\'d never stood a chance when he\'d used his voice like that. She squeezed her eyes shut, felt a single tear slip from her eye and track down over the curve of her cheek. The droplet of water hung at the edge of her jaw a moment, then dropped off into the bedding.

She could feel his eyes on her, trying to bore through her skin and into her very soul. He wasn\'t going to let this go. He wasn\'t even going to give her a few days to collect herself. He was going to hound her until she broke and spilled it all to him. He was going to have his answers, whether he wanted to hear them or not. No one left a Malfoy as she had. With Lucius, it was simply a matter of soothing his wounded pride.

Uncaring of the pain it would bring, she rolled her head to look away from him. She couldn\'t let him see the sorrow that filled her eyes. She didn\'t want him to see the pain that lingered there. The pain that had lived through the shattering of a fifteen year old\'s heart. The pain that had ridden her like a demon every day of her life until she had gone mad from it. The pain that had driven her to extreme measures. If he knew who she was, what she was, he wouldn\'t be so earnest to look at her.

The memories assaulted her and she couldn\'t hold back the tide. She was lost in the past, in the fear that she had felt for so long. She was trapped by the images that flashed before her mind\'s eye like the pictures of a film. Her stomach, long empty, roiled in protest and she knew she was going to be sick. She didn\'t want Lucius to see her like that. Her hand curled around the edge of the mattress and, with a strength she was unaware she possessed, she pulled herself across the bed. It took all of her willpower to swing her legs over the edge.

Pain exploded in pulsing waves across her back and shot into every part of her body the moment she set her feet on the carpeting and pushed into a standing position. Nisha heard herself groan. She heard a muffled curse, then a dull thud. Colors so vibrant that they shaded the room broke over her vision. The room turned into a whirling mass of rainbow hues. Her knees hit the carpeting and she thought she heard a scream off in the distance. She was going to topple over and slam into the floor and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn\'t even lift her arms to brace herself. The best she could do was close her eyes.

The impact never came. Instead, two steady hands caught her at the shoulders. Nisha looked up at him a moment before she had to close her eyes. The pain was so intense and all she wanted to do was give in and slip back into the darkness that came with unconsciousness. \"You silly girl,\" Lucius whispered, his mouth next to her ear. \"Where do you think you can go with no clothes and a severely beaten back?\"

She swallowed. He thought she was trying to leave again. She would\'ve shaken her head, but the movement would be the end of her thin control. Instead, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. \"Loo,\" she croaked hoarsely.

He seemed to understand, because he stood and took her with him. She muffled the moan, her fingers curling tightly into the sleeves of the fine linen shirt he wore. He turned her so that she faced away from him, forcing her to let go of his shirt. \"I am sorry for this,\" he told her, then swung her up into his arms. The pain exploded across her back as if someone had slammed something heavy and hard down on it.

She felt Lucius\' hands set her on the floor and the tile was cool beneath her knees. She managed to pry an eye open and found herself kneeling before the toilet. Her hands curled around the edges of the bowl and she pulled herself forward. Nisha buried her face in the bowl, purging her stomach of whatever was there for her to bring up. She vaguely registered the feel of his elegant hands at the nape of her neck, holding her hair back from her face. Stroking gently across her fevered flesh in a series of soothing touches.

It was some time before she lifted her head. Her stomach and back hurt from heaving. Her throat was raw. And through it all, his hands had been there to comfort and hold her, the heat of his body so near to her that she could feel it soaking into her bones. The tiled floor was cold beneath her bottom, her legs cramped from being curled up for so long. Lucius was there, gently inching her body back toward his to cradle her. He never touched her inflamed and mistreated back, but he cradled her all the same.

Nisha couldn\'t stop the hot tears of both pain and frustration from rolling down her cheeks. She was tired of fighting the memories all the time. She had once thought that she wanted to know what her childhood had been like. Even when she\'d been a young and impressionable girl of only fifteen, she\'d longed to be normal enough to recall what her own youth had been filled with. As she\'d gotten older and began remembering those things that had happened so long ago, she\'d wished again to have the bliss that came with ignorance.

\"As much as I enjoy holding you close, my dear,\" Lucius purred in her ear. The next thing she knew, he was standing up from the floor and he was lifting her with him. She cried out with the movement, her back a field of flames that burned into her bones. \"You should be resting. Had you but told me you were going to be ill, I would have seen to it that you had a pail. You wouldn\'t have needed to do this to yourself.\"

She couldn\'t answer him. But she knew he didn\'t expect one. He was doing as he\'d done when she\'d been younger. He was speaking down to her so that she felt stupid and childish. Had she the strength, she\'d gladly slap the shite out of the arrogant arse. But she didn\'t, so she was forced to put up with his lofty attitude.

Lucius carried Nisha back to the large bed in the other room, setting her down on the edge so that she sat up, facing him. He gave her a pained smile, his hand stroking through her hair. \"Sit there a moment. The Medi-Witch left a pain relieving potion for you. I want you to take a draught and then lay back down. Roger Finch beat you to with in an inch of your life. For his thorough effort, he will be justly rewarded,\" his voice, when he spoke those words, was as chilling as she\'d ever heard it. She had no doubts that Finch would pay.

It was difficult to stay sitting and watch him. Her back was washed with liquid fire and all she wanted to do was drift off into darkness, where the pain couldn\'t reach her and the memories were held at bay for a short time. Instead, she had to stare while his hands smoothly poured a measure of the potion into a shallow glass. Immediately following, he poured water into a heavy, cut tumbler. He magicked it cold, with a few cubes of ice swirling in it. She almost smiled at that, but couldn\'t summon the energy. It seemed he remembered that.

\"Nisha, you haven\'t touched your milk,\" Narcissa crooned sweetly, glancing from the girl\'s excited face to the full glass of dairy beverage. Nisha glanced at it and suddenly looked contrite. \"Do you not like it?\"

\"It isn\'t that,\" the young woman shook her head. \"I like milk.\"

\"Then what could be wrong that you haven\'t drunk any of it?\" the blonde woman asked.

\"It isn\'t cold,\" she murmured, glancing at her lap. The table they sat at was long, like the kind she\'d seen in castles in books. Lucius sat at the very end, while she and Narcissa were on either side of both him and the table. The surface was covered with a white linen cloth and three silver candleabras. Tall white tapers were plugged into the holes on each of the five arms, the light of all fifteen flames flickering across the walls and inhabitants of the room. The place settings were of fine bone china with real silver utensils and cut crystal glassware.

Dishes of all kinds had been set upon the long table top and Dobby had served them each a portion of every thing offered for consumption. Nisha had noticed that the little Elf seemed upset or distracted and she didn\'t understand it. But then Dobby spilled some wine on the floor and Lucius\' hand shot out to smack resoundingly across the back of the little Elf\'s head. After that, she thought she understood what had put such a look on Dobby\'s face. The physical attack was incongruous with the kind and caring image she\'d been shown so far.

And now she was going to be punished for not drinking her milk. If Dobby had been slapped for spilling wine, she\'d surely receive the same for not wanting to drink warm milk. The slight chuckles brought her head up to stare at both Lucius and Narcissa. Their looks made her feel, for a moment, as if she were both silly and ignorant. How could people so kind be so.... mean?

\"Why did you not say so, child?\" Lucius asked her, then drew his wand and pointed it at the glass. A few words were spoken softy, then he motioned to it. \"Try it now, Nisha.\" he suggested softly.

Nisha picked up the glass and took a sip. The milk was icy cold and delicious. She smiled at Lucius, then took another drink. She forgot the episode in which Lucius slapped Dobby, lost in the wonders that he could do magic. She was still marvelling at the fact that she wasn\'t the only one who could simply make things happen by little more than thought. Up until today, she\'d never really met anyone else who could do such things. And now, she\'d found so many people who could do magic.

It was just amazing.

\"Here. You need to take all of this,\" Lucius said gently, pressing the glass of pain relieving potion into her hands. It drew her from the recollection of that night and back to him. Slowly, so as not to inflame her back any more than necessary, she lifted the glass to her lips and swallowed the thick, yellowish potion. It tasted rather like she thought the back end of a dog might taste. She made a face as the liquid moved far too slowly over the back of her tongue and down her throat.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn\'t suppress the shudder that ran up and down her spine. The movement brought a groan to her lips and she nearly toppled off the bed. Lucius\' hand was there to steady her and keep her upright. When he was certain she wouldn\'t fall over, he let her go to hand her the water. Instead of forcing her to drink it herself, he moved to sit next to her. One arm slipped around her, while the other lifted the glass to her lips so she could drink the water down and cleanse her throat of the taste of the potion.

Lucius set the water glass aside and turned to face her. His hands reached up to cup her head, drawing her forward slightly so he could press a chaste kiss to the center of her forehead. She sighed and had to force herself to remain any more unmoved by his actions than she\'d already been. This was nothing more than a means to an end with him. It meant nothing and she couldn\'t let it become more than that. It had to remain nothing.

\"Now,\" he said gently, already helping her lay back down. She settled onto the bed gratefully, closing her eyes in relief. Lucius pulled the sheet up over her legs and bottom, bringing the ends up until they were settled against her sides. It offered her a small amount of modesty while not hampering the air flow to her back. \"Settle back and sleep some more. Rest will help your body heal.\"

\"Thank you, Lucius,\" she whispered.

\"You\'re welcome, Nisha,\" he replied in a soft voice a few moments later. She never heard him, the small amount of sleeping draught added to the pain relieving potion doing it\'s job by sending her into a deep sleep. He only hoped it was a healing one, as well.

~*~*~*~*~

Lucius stared at the sleeping woman and sighed. Nisha had changed so very much over the last thirteen years and yet so very little. She was now fully a woman instead of standing on the very edge of womanhood as she had been when he\'d first laid eyes on her. The sorrow that had merely haunted the depths of her unusual eyes then had only intensified over the years. It made him wonder just what had happened in her life to put such a look in those golden orbs flecked with brown. One thing that hadn\'t changed was the fact that she was still as stubborn and secretive as ever. They had known little of her, who she was and where she\'d come from, all those years ago. They still know none of that. She was simply Nisha. That was all they, all he, knew of her.

He sighed and settled back into his chair, his gaze transfixedon the slumbering form on the bed. He had no intentions of leaving her alone. Not until he got the answers to his questions. Answers he was determined to pry from her, no matter what it took. He refused to let her go again until the two of them came to some sort of understanding. A small voice in the back of his head mocked him, stating very slyly that he was a Malfoy and a Malfoy did not let go of any of his possessions.

His gaze slid up over her lithe form, lingering for a moment on the soft curve of her bottom, hidden beneath the soft cotton sheets, and the hint of full, lush breast caught between the mattress and her own body. She\'d already kicked her legs slightly and pulled the sheet down far enough to expose some of her more delicate and feminine curves. He frowned as his eyes raked over the evidence of abuse that marred the perfection of her back, then they locked onto the small crecent moon at the base of her neck. A mark of ownership. His mark of ownership. He\'d put it on her skin a very long time ago, when it had occured to him that the waif he\'d rescued from the streets was growing into a very beautiful and very powerful woman. The two things that attracted Lucius the most. The moon was a little known Malfoy mark, applied only to the most prized possessions. Even Narcissa bore the mark, though her vanity saw it charmed invisible to the naked eye.

He was fairly certain Nisha knew he was not widely known as a kind man. She\'d likely known that long before she\'d ever left his home. He recalled thedinner where he\'d slapped Dobby for his incompetence. He\'d been surprised that she hadn\'t asked him about it at the table. She had remained silent through much of the meal and for the rest of the night. It was late when she\'d come to him to speak of the incident. To this day, he remembered that evening with a deep fondness and clarity. It was the night he\'d realized so much about her. And himself.

Lucius sat in his study, a half empty bottle of whisky at his elbow, along with a tumbler filled with the strong amber liquid. It was late, nearly three in the morning, when the door creeped open and she stepped in. She looked silly and almost childish in the long, pale ink nightgown that Narcissa had dressed her in. It certainly didn\'t go along with the subtle curve of her hips and the obvious swell of her jutting breasts. Her hair spilled down around her shoulders in a glorious, dark halo of silk. He noticed her in what could be considered a most inappropriate manner.

\"What are you doing out of bed, my dear?\" he drawled while he lifted his glass to sip at his liquor.

\"I couldn\'t sleep,\" she admitted shyly. She blushed, a pretty shade of pink that colored her cheeks like soft blush. He smiled at her and nodded his head. He hadn\'t been able to sleep, either. Ever since they had discovered that Narcissa was unable to get pregnant, his wife had cried herself to sleep every night. He couldn\'t stand it, the sound of her wailing and moaning. He spent most nights in the study, drinking himself into unconsciousness and wondering what he\'d done to be punished so. \"Might I talk to you?\" she asked, drawing his gaze to her face.

\"Of course, Nisha,\" he told her. She really did have a lovely face. There was so much innocence in her expression. In her eyes. He knew she was, in some ways, rather childish for her age. But there was a silent presence to her, an almost adult thing that hovered about her like a billowing cloak that made her so much more than a child. He motioned to the chair opposite him. \"Please. Sit and join me for a time. We can be sleepless together.\"

She moved to the chair and settled into it, her nightgown\'s skirts hitching up to expose the length of her shapely calves. His eyes were drawn to the bit of exposed flesh and he stared at her legs hungrily. It took surpeme effort to force his gaze up to her face and it struck him then just how lovely she was. She was poised on the verge of moving from being a child to being an adult and he could see that she was going to be such a beautiful woman.

They were both silent a moment or two, then Nisha began speaking. \"I was wondering about... about earlier this evening. When you hit Dobby. I mean...\" she paused and considered her words carefully. \"What did he do that he needed to be hit?\"

Lucius stared at her a moment, trying hard to think of her as a child and not a young woman. It was beyond difficult, because that part of him that was all male kept seeing her sprawled beneath him. Kept seeing her moaning his name and rising up to meet each and every one of his thrusts into her body. Finally, the more sensible side of him managed to break the spell he seemed to be under and brought his suddenly raging lusts under control.

\"He was clumsy,\" Lucius told her, settling his attention back on the subject presented to him. She frowned at his answer, telling him that she didn\'t understand what he meant. Sighing, he reached over and poured more of the whisky into his tumbler, then lifted the glass to his lips to drink. He didn\'t really think he needed to drink more, but it was either that or give into his baser instincts and violate a child.

\"But...\" she protested, frowning at him. It was clear she didn\'t understand the way things in the world worked. \"He had an accident. That\'s all.\"

\"He ruined an expensive Persian rug that\'s been in my family since time immemorial, \" Lucius snarled. Nisha shrank back into the chair she sat in, her eyes showing she was frightened by his manner. He forced himself to calm down, offering her a gentle smile that he hoped would placate her.

\"But it was still an accident,\" Nisha insisted, a look of consternation on her face.

\"You\'re still young, child,\" he said. The words were hurtful if the way her face seemed to close in on itself was anything to go by. He\'d meant them as a reminder to himself, to keep her at arm\'s length. She was driving him mad with her innocent looks and wanton body. \"You can\'t possibly understand the way of things.\"

\"I am not a child. And I understand that you have magic!\" she threw herself from the chair and moved to stand over him defiantly. With her hands on her hips as they were, her pert little breasts were thrust out in his direction. His grip on the glass tightened in an attempt to keep his hands from straying toward her jutting bosom. \"Damn it!\" she stomped her foot. \"I watched you use magic. I was so elated! I used to think I was alone in the world, that no one else could do the same things I could. And now, I find that you can do so.\"

Lucius stared at her in surprise, unsure of where she was going with this.

\"Nisha, I...\" he began, but she cut him off.

\"I\'ve been alone for a very long time. I\'ve spent much of my life running from one place to another,\" she told him, moving to settle back into the chair. She turned sideways and drew her legs up to her chest, then wrapped her arms around them. \"I don\'t even know if I have a family. I thought I was the only one in the world who could do the things I can do. You showed me you can do magic.... \"

He felt his heart lurch when she broke off on a sob. Her head dropped onto her knees and she cried. Lucius was at a loss as to what he should do. He had no knowledge that concerned dealing with wailing woman. It was this that drove him from his comfortable bed to his study chair at night. Narcissa\'s tears drove him to distraction and he knew of no method by which he could comfort her.

\"Do you know what its like to wander and not know if you belong there?\" she asked him, her voice muffled by her knees.

\"I\'m afraid I don\'t. I\'m sorry,\" he said gently. She looked up at him. He didn\'t like to see the tears clouding her eyes.

\"For the first time in my life,\" she whispered, simply staring at him. \"I feel as if I\'ve found some place where I belong. But I don\'t understand why you can be so kind and so cruel all at the same time. Dobby had an accident. He didn\'t deserve to be slapped as he was for that. Would you do the same with me if I were to spill milk on the tapestries or the table cloth?\"

\"Of course not. You\'re a child and...\"

\"I am not,\" she retorted, rolling her eyes at his words. He stared at her, wondering which of them she was trying to convince. She growled in frustration and threw herself from the chair to pace. Lucius watched her, not at all happy with the anger that flooded the room. The girl was full of it. So full that it flowed out of her to fill the study and bathe him in the feel of it. He understood anger. He lived with it and dealt with it. Lately, it had consumed much of his life. He saw a kindred spirit in the woman-child before him.

\"Nisha,\" he began, but she turned and scowled down at him.

\"No! I came to find out why you hit poor Dobby. And yet you refuse to answer me with anything that makes sense. Talk about a child,\" she snapped at him.

\"Nisha, you cannot possibly understand what my life is like, what I have to deal with on a daily basis,\" he said in a low voice. She simply stared at him, daring him with her eyes to try and convince her that his life was worse than hers. He stood and moved to her side, laying a hand on her arm. She turned to stare up at him, her eyes defiant and filled with some unnamed emotion that he felt would consume her if someone didn\'t help her.

\"Don\'t tell me your life is harder than mine! I have no home. No family. Nothing to my name,\" she spat at him.

\"You have my family, such as it is. My home. Everything I can give you. You have but to ask for it,\" he whispered. His eyes took in the fierce look in hers, the rigid stance of her body. She was some kind of Valkyrie, spitting fire and promising painful retribution. She was utterly gorgeous.

\"It isn\'t the same,\" she shook her head. \"Its all.... false. Its not truly mine.\"

\"Nisha,\" he whispered and inched closer to her. She watched him, her eyes wary and flashing fire. \"This can be your family for as long as you wish it to be. I can be your father and Narcissa will be your mother.\"

Lucius knew the words were wrong, even as he spoke them. A father wouldn\'t think of his child the way Lucius was thinking of Nisha. A father wouldn\'t dream of plunging deep into her body to find satisfaction and fulfillment. A father wouldn\'t want to fuck his daughter. Not the way Lucius suddenly wanted to fuck Nisha.

She was silent, staring up at him as he stepped closer to her. There was a look in his eyes that she found herself caught in. Captivated by. She knew she needed to run, but she couldn\'t. She was frozen to the spot. Her body was clutched in the grasp of a deep, chilling fear and something else that made her feel all hot and feverish. She wasn\'t sure what it was, but she knew the feeling was wrong.

His hand, pale and elegant, reached out to touch her cheek. His fingers trailed gently over her cheek before slipping behind her head and curling around her neck. He drew her closer to him, his lips laying claim to hers in a soft, gentle touch that sent her mind reeling. Her eyes slid shut a moment before his tongue prodded at her mouth.

She opened to him so easily that he didn\'t want to think about what he was doing. His tongue delved inside and explored the darkened recesses of the orifice. She went limp in his arms, pressing herself against him in a wanton manner. She felt good next to him. Her mouth was like heaven, hot and soft and open to him. His tongue alternated with thrusting in and out slowly and simply digging around inside, tasting every inch of her flesh. Tasting her breath as it came in slow, short pants. She was so young and innocent. And she was all his.

Her arms wormed their way up around his neck, holding him close to her. He didn\'t know what either of them were doing, but he didn\'t plan on stopping. He was going to taste every inch of her flesh, inside and out. He was going to dip all of himself into the well of her innocence and cleanse himself. She had the power to make him new again. His other hand slid around her back and he let them roam down over her back to her bottom, taking the generous curves into his hand and holding her close to him. Pulling her close to him.

He knew it was wrong. She was so young. She was likely a virgin. She was still a child. But she had his blood pounding in his veins. He felt as if she\'d cast a spell over him. He was drawn to her as he was to no other and he could find no logical explanation for it. He knew he\'d had too much to drink and that his body wasn\'t behaving rationally. It paid no mind to the small part of his mind tha could still think with any clarity. He simply felt drawn to her as a moth to a flame. She tempted him in a way that no one else ever had.

His hands shifted again, one finding it\'s way between her thighs from behind. His fingers pressed up against her, finding her hot and teasing. His other hand moved around front, seeking out one of her pert breasts. His fingers curled around it and he squeezed, massaging and working the mound with gentle caresses. His mouth still worked hers, his kisses becoming more demanding and deeper.

And then the fear hit him.

It was like a solid wall of emotion. It simply slammed into him and drove him back. Away from her. She stood where he\'d left her, her eyes wide with fright. She stared at him a moment, a strangled noise climbing up out of her throat. Then she whirled and fled the room. Lucius stood there a moment, then gave chase. He couldn\'t allow her to get away from him. He didn\'t know what it was, but she had to stay there. He was certain that she\'d come to he and Narcissa for a reason. And she couldn\'t leave until he figured it out.

He found her in the hall, on her knees and sobbing uncontrollably. He could hear her muttering and he stopped when he noticed the white fur near one of her knees. The only thing furry in the house was Narcissa\'s much loved white Persian cat. Lucius cared nothing for it, but the beast made his wife feel better when she was down. He stepped up behind Nisha\'s bent frame and stared down in mild interest.

Nisha knelt before the body of the cat. It wasn\'t moving. She was sobbing, muttering over and over again that she was sorry. He had to wonder what she was apologizing for. Her hands stroked the white fur while she sobbed uncontrollably. \"I\'m sorry, kitty. I\'ll make it right. I swear I\'ll make it right,\" she told it in a soft voice.

He watched as her hands centered on the animal\'s body and she stopped speaking. A calm descended upon the hallway, raising the hairs on the nape of his neck. It was entirely too quiet and peaceful. A soft glow came from her hands, a pale gold light that he found his gaze drawn to. The light passed from her hands into the cat for a moment or two, then came back to her. She lifted her hands away and waited.

Moments passed and nothing happened. \"Please, kitty,\" she begged, her hands once more stroking the white, furry body. \"Please wake up.\"

\"Nisha,\" he leaned down and laid a hand on her shoulder. \"The cat is dead. There\'s nothing you can do for it.\"

\"NO!\" she shook her head. \"No, he\'s not dead.\"

Lucius felt a faint twinge at her conviction. She sounded so sure and he didn\'t want to have to shatter her heart. He opened his mouth to speak further, but a curious thing happened. The cat\'s tail twitched, then the head moved. Green eyes opened up and stared disdainfully up at them. The beast got to his feet and sniffed the air, then put his tail up in a manner that told them he was completely ignoring them and he hurried off down the hall.

Nisha\'s shoulders slumped and she cried once more. He wondered why she was so upset over a simple cat. She stood then and he saw the triumph in her eyes. She kissed his cheek, then hurried up the stairs, leaving him both horny and confused. What the hell had just happened here?

Lucius stood in the hall for a long time after Nisha had left him, his mind turning over what he\'d just witnessed. Something told him that it was of vital importance. Drink fogged his thought processes for a long time. Then it came to him. He knew what he\'d seen and he knew why Nisha had been brought into his life. With a smile unlike any he\'d had in a while, Lucius returned to the study to finish off the bottle of whisky and drink to his good fortune.

Lucius shook his head and sighed. So much had passed since then. Nisha had done as he\'d asked her all those years ago. Then she\'d run and left him without a word. She\'d disappeared from his life and left him wondering what the hell had happened. What had gone so wrong that she\'d felt the need to run and hide from him. And now that she was back in his life, he was going to do the same thing to her all over again.

He was such a bastard.

end chapter three.
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a round of thanks to my group of shoulders. i have a lovely support system and i couldn\'t continue as i have if not for them. they are always there for me. and many special thanks to Cat, who\'s been my sounding board for this one.

any mistakes are my own. please don\'t hurt me.

and finally:

to Sharon: thanks for giving it a try. i hope you continue to enjoy.

to LariLee: i went back and fixed that mistake as soon as you pointed it out. thanks. i suppose i can deal with a few spelling errors. but that one is unforgiveable. the idea for this just struck me one day. i have very twisted bunnies. like you, i\'ve never seen a plot like this, so i was naturally compelled to write it. as for Lucius Malfoy.... i wanted to make him the hard ass you see in the books and the brief glimpses in the movies. but i also wanted him to be more real. not so evil. not so evil without purpose. there has to be some kind of driving factor behind his behavior. i honestly believe that he\'s terribly in love with his wife and son. i also believe he\'s human and fallible. Nisha is something of an enigma to me, as i don\'t know precisely what she\'s going to evolve into. i hope that i can continue on the same vein for the rest of the story. thank you for reading.