6th year explorations

Meet Aldrick


The Malfoy manor staunchly sat on the side of the wooded mountain. The rain soaked clouds covered the half-moon and left the air thick with humidity. The stone carved façade harked back to gothic and renaissance architecture with its massive pillars, large arching doorways and cascading marble steps.

In the study a tall figure leaned on his elbow against the fires mantel. The yellow glow of the fire did nothing to soften the man’s angular features or warm his ice blue eyes. The man’s waist length white blonde hair was pulled back to the nape of his neck hel held there securely by a string of black leather. Lucius Malfoy furrowed his brow deep in though. He removed his arm from the mantel and paced the length of the room. Waiting…

A knock came from the door. Lucius turned quickly.

“Enter.”

Jinky the house elf slinked in, bowing low.

“Well?” Lucius spat.

“They’ve arrived Master.” Jinky said meekly bowing still lower.

Lucius walked briskly out the study door giving his house elf a kick across the hall. He made his way across the elaborately inlaid marble floors, down the staircase and into the den. This room was much larger than the study with two large fireplaces at either end and a bank of windows over looking the rain soaked valley bellow.

Two figures stood near one of the fireplaces their hoods of their cloaks pulled over their faces. A slight dusting of ash on their shoulders imatedated that they had just arrived by floo powder. One figure stood tall with a barrel chethicthick arms and trunk like legs. Thaddeus Strungfeld. He lowered his hood with a large meaty hand to reveal short black hair that had a peppering of gray at the temples. Along his strong jutting jaw a nasty white scar is slashed from cheek to jugular.

Lucius and the man cross to meet each other and clasp hands, rather firmly.

“You’ve arrived at last Thaddeus.” Lucius said matter-o-factly. Their grip released as they looked at each other over, both not approving of the other. Lucius turned his attention to the second figure.

“And you’ve brought a gift I see.” He walked to the figure circling it like a vulture over its prey. Thaddeus glared at him but said nothing.

The figure obviously that of a woman with a smaller frame and height that barely came to Malfoy’s shoulders. He continued to circle around her ever so slowly – examining her. He stopped behind her and snapped her hood back. She didn’t move, not an inch. Her hair is shoulder length and dark brown, and as he moved around to stand in front of her noticed her skin was smooth with a warm cream tone. She didn’t look at him and kept her eyes averted to the side. Lucius cups her chin in his white cold hand and pulled her face up to look at him. He turned her face side-to-side examining her like one would a pure bred horse. He bent closer still and demanded her eyes. Her golden colored eyes meet his and she quickly looked away, pulling her chin out of his grasp. Not a smart move. Her head jerked to the side from the impact of the back of Lucius’ hand. She bit her tongue and now tasted the blood that leaked into her mouth.

His fingers returned to her chin and move down her neck. He noticed that she breathed in deeply to calm herself. He smirked. His hand came to her cloak clasp at her neck and snapped it open. The cloak fell from her shoulders and pooled at her feet revealing her curvy frame. She still doesn’t move but her breathing becomes visibly faster.

Lucius took a step back from the girl and turns to Thaddeus.

“The gift you’ve brought our Dark Lord may vary well spare you…shall we say… dire punishment.” Lucius said with contempt. He felt that Thaddeus didn’t deserve to be back in good graces with the Lord but could say nothing for fear of the repercussions.
Lucius continued. “He will be here tomorrow night. I suggest you prepare your ‘offering’ for the reception.” He nodded toward the girl and raised an eyebrow.

“Well now,” Lucius began again, in a much lighter but no less sinister tone. “A night cap in my study?” It wasn’t a question.

“I never met a scotch I didn’t like.” Thaddeus finally spoke, grinning greedily and mouth watering at the thought of a cold hard drink.

“Jinky!” Malfoy yelled.

The house elf scampered through the door.

“Yes, Master Malfoy?”

“Take Miss Aldrick to her room.”

The girl looked up at hearing her name. From the doorway Malfoy looked at her, his lip curling into a smile and he nodded a goodnight as he left the room. Her eyes looked to Thaddeus for…something. Reassurance? But his eyes met hers with a stern gaze. A gaze that said ‘I’ll deal with you later’. He then followed Malfoy out of the room leaving her alone with the bustling elf. She shivered put a hand to her swelling cheek. She grabbed the cloak at her feet with a trembling hand and was led out of the den through a maze of stairs, hallways and doors. Jinky came to a door at the end of a hall and whispered a spell opening it. He beckoned the girl in and entered after her.

“Is there anything else young miss is needing from Jinky?” He asked after starting a roaring fire in the hearth.

She didn’t answer and the elf left with a click of the door behind him. She sat slowly in a chair by the fire with the cloak still clasped in her grip. She brought it to her chest and hugged it tightly, her eyes staring blankly into the flames. With no emotion on her face her eyes filled with tears that she didn’t even know where there. They dropped on her cheek unchecked and later dried there as she fell asleep.

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When Samantha woke she wasn’t in the chair by the fireplace anymore. She opened her eyes and blinked to clear the blurriness. Her view of the room was very odd she thought – a worm’s eye view. The night’s events came back to her and she closed her eyes again. She remembered now why she was on the floor.

He shattered the door from the frame when he staggered in soaked in scotch. She didn’t have time to react nor would she have, it would have made things much worse, if that was possible. Thaddeus raged about the room nothing was safe in his path and that included Samantha. He shoved and hit her about the room knocking her into bookshelves and furniture. He shouted to her about her insolence, scolded her on how disrespectful she was towards her elders and above all how she had humiliated him by her actions with Malfoy.

He slammed her against the wall holding her by the neck. He pressed himself into her and drunkenly slurred incomprehensively about her only being a stepdaughter and how the Dark Lord wouldn’t mind if he had a taste first. He seemed to collect his thoughts a little at the thought of the Dark Lord and called her a whore and bellowed at her about traitor parents.

Coming down from his tirade he dropped her to the floor, clothes ripped, face bloodied and bruised and nearly unconscious, and made his way to the door. He stopped and said coldly into the room not knowing or caring if she heard.

“Don’t forget what I’ve sacrificed for you. All of the training we did comes down to tomorrow night. I will not be made a fool of!” At his last words spittle came flying from his mouth. He turned and slammed the door behind him. Samantha was already unconscious and utterly enveloped in darkness.