thattimeofthemonth | Open RP Post

Melinda's mouth thinned again and she nodded, as if it had been expected. The thin tendril of silver hair that had escaped was twined around her finger, loosened, twined again. "Your mother made the right choice," she said after several long seconds, "but it isn't easy on your father. Once a wizard has earned their wand, it can be likened to cutting of their hand or arm or any other vital part of the body; it becomes a piece of us and an extension we are used to using. It can also make one feel defenseless or as a child, which to an adult mind can be incredibly frustrating and make one wish to lash out in order to regain control of their lives."

Which brought up another thought. "...Is your father capable of wand-less magic?" All children were taught silent magic, though how good or not they were at it was questionable, but few wizards were capable of handling wand-less magic beyond possibly the retrieval of their wand.

"This isn't the second time he had his wand taken from him. For my mother to take it away from him was a further insult to him." Draco said and looked away briefly.

"The Dark Lord took his away, shortly after he was freed from Azkaban. He made my father a servant in his own house.

As for wand-less magic, he can do it. It was something he prided himself in that he could still do a lot of magic with his wand. I can do it to, but not to his extent."

"Which only makes it worse," Melinda murmured, her eyes closing. There would need to be significant work done, and it was only getting worse by the moment. Damn. "If we need to deal with it, we will handle it." With a quick nod, she stood. "We can have dinner, then we will return to your family's home. If need be, I can sleep elsewhere for the night, but I would like to meet your parents before the night is out and before they are tucked away in bed."

"Were you referring to the ability to use wandless magic?" Draco replied, wondering if that's what she meant by what made it worse. "I'll go ahead and contact my parents and let them know we're stopping by tonight."

With permission he was able to contact his parents. Thankfully, it was his mother he got a hold of. She regarded the news carefully, but appeared to not be disgruntled with the sudden news of guests arriving.

"The more magic they can do wandlessly, the more risk I'm at," she put quietly but bluntly. "It means I'm possibly able to be injured with no warning."

She waited until Draco returned, with Remus bouncing Teddy on his knee and Tonks beside him. When Draco returned, they all looked to him with obvious interested - had Melinda been approved to come?

"My mother is okay with us stopping by tonight. I think she's relieved." Draco replied when he joined the others.

While he was relieved with the news, at the same time he was a bit nervous. He was unsure of how it would go once they arrived and how his father would be.

Remus ended up coming with them, only to attempt to ease things between the Malfoys and Melinda. Still, he wasn't easy as they appeared at the house, looking up to it as Melinda let go of his arm, the fabulous silver fur stole around her neck brushing him.

"Mmmm." Just a small sound from Melinda as she looked up. "Beautiful. Shall we?" Looking to Draco to lead on, looking unconcerned but proud. She looked the part of a Pure Blood, but her style was so outlandish that it spoke otherwise.

Draco gave a nod and led them toward the house. The house itself was grand, but didn't compare to the Malfoy Manor. The yard itself had a sprawling garden and a brick pathway lead the way to the door. Draco used his wand to light the way.

He was glad that Remus came along, grateful that he would be there to help ease the tension. After giving a knock, Narcissa happily greeted them and gave Draco a quick hug. She had placed one one of her better outfits and made sure everything was neatly in place. Nothing could hide the strain and exhaustion that lined her face.

"Thank you for stopping by," Narcissa greeted when she turned to focus on Melinda. There was no haughtiness in her tone and she kept an impassive expression. She didn't say anything Melinda's appearance. "I am Narcissa Malfoy and this is my husband Lucius Malfoy."

Off to the corner, Lucius was sitting in a recliner. Naricssa had made sure that he was properly dressed and cleaned up as well. He had placed a book that he was reading, down as they were ushered in. His grey eyes carefully studying Melinda. He gave a curt nod, making it clear he was not too pleased with the arrangements.

"Greetings, both of you," Melinda said calmly as she inclined her head towards both of the elder Malfoys, studying them before her eyes focused on Lucius. Her carpet bag she put down, walking over towards him, her eyes focused firmly on him. "...I was told you might need some assistance in making sure that any wounds are fully healed." Her voice was almost songy, soft, and just for him.

For Lucius, it was almost-trance-like. It felt calming, non-threatening.

Narcissa was about to join her husband, unsure of this approach and was stopped by Draco. He shook his head no saying that they needed to trust her in order for her to help them. She reluctantly stayed where she was.

Lucius found himself holding her gaze, unable to look to away. He relaxed a little, finding that she wasn't a threat. Yet, it was still difficult for him to discuss what he had gone through. He was afraid to reveal how much pain that he was in. He didn't want his family to know.

"You don't want to condemn me for what I've done? Most would say I've deserved everything that's come to me." he softly questioned after some hesitation.

"I'm not blind to what people might believe, but you were cleared, given a second chance. It isn't my judgement to make." She moved closer, her voice softer. "Though I imagine you judge yourself, and quite harshly at that. I'm here to help you get better and find some level of peace within yourself. No more moments of terror and confusion."

"If--if you can do that...I always thought that the only way to find peace now...would be through death," Lucius whispered as he wrung his hands nervously. He looked away ashamed to have even said it.

"I just want to have some control of my life again and for my family to not have to worry over me so much."

When Melinda spoke again, her voice was almost like a soft croon, something nearly sexual yet at the same time, almost like a mother speaking to a child. "You need not be ashamed of what's happened. I will help you find your peace again. First, we will work just by speaking, until you feel safe with me, then we will work on deeper healing."

Remus, though, knew this could end poorly. It had been a long time since he had seen Melinda in action and realized a bit too late that Narcissa could take this all the wrong way. "...AH, Narcissa, if we could speak for a few minutes...?" In a tone of 'please don't overreact' and 'I promise I'll explain.'

Narcissa's hand twitched as she instinctively went for her wand. She was not liking what was going on, let alone that she really couldn't hear most of the conversation. Only when Remus called her name, did she turn her attention away.

"Explain now and quickly," Narcissa demanded once she ushered Remus and her son to another room. "Give me one good reason why I should leave that woman with my husband."

Oh hell. Remus held up his hands defensively and quickly tried to explain. "Because there is no one better to help your husband. Melinda has no ties to any one who may know him, has no judgement about what he did even though she's seen the kind of damage HE did, and that damage she's seen will help heal Lucius."

This might not have been entirely fair to Melinda, but he knew he had to explain. "The Solvens family has a curse. It's why she and I met, actually. While she is a Pure Blood, the curse is both a blessing and a curse. Her ancestor slaughtered the family of a siren, and the siren cursed him that his family would suffer for what he did. A generation for every one of her family he killed. It meant that his family would bear the distinct properties of a siren until the last generation and be forced to bear children until it happens."

He looked down, realizing he was telling quite a bit of Melinda's private information, but it needed to be explained to let this happen. "She has a child, so the curse's need to bear fruit has been fulfilled, and more importantly, she has a partner. She is no threat to you."

But a Siren was a rare beast - one that sang to lure men to their death with their hypnotizing voice.

"A siren?! I assumed she was a pureblood witch. Not once was a curse mentioned!" Narcissa fumed, glaring at Remus. Draco had stepped away from them, trying to avoid his mother's wrath.

"How can I be certain she will not seduce him or lure him into death? As far as I'm concerned what I was seeing was nothing in regards to healing."

What she saw was her husband entranced by their healer and eagerly taking in her various promises. Had she been too hard on her husband? Should she have shown more compassion yo him during this time? Of late all they seemed to do was fight and withdrew further away from her.

Please don't let Narcissa do something she'll regret! Remus thought anxiously as he kept his hands up. "Why would I have brought her here if I thought for an instant she was going to do that? She doesn't lure people to their death! She's a healer might I point out."

Explain it more, idiot! "She can bring her patients into a trance and help their minds repair themselves. She didn't ask you to leave, did she? You can stay and listen if you wish. Just... give her the benefit of the doubt. Please. Lucius is only going to get worse, otherwise!"

Narcissa hesitated for a few minutes before she reluctantly agreed. "I will give her a chance... But if something happens..." She tapped the wand that stuck out from her pocket. "I'm only doing this for my husband."

Draco found fimself relaxing now that his mother had calmed down. He had a feeling that this wasn't exatcly over. It was going to take a lot for her to trust Melinda.

Those were some of the longest minutes of his life. Remus let out a breath, knowing the threat was coming and nodding tiredly. Why was it his life was some sort of magnet for people's wraths?

Remus let out a long, slow sigh of relief and looked to Draco, giving a quirk of a smile that was more irony than anything else. He'd survived bringing Melinda into the house.

Melinda sat with Lucius, her voice low and remaining in that trancey-tone, but she did nothing more than speak with him. Attempting to gain his trust. She asked about his family but nothing too prying, a little about himself, about his magic... anything that could remain level without prodding too deep.

While Narcissa was arguing with Remus, Lucius found himself easily talking about his family and magic. He spent a lot of his time on his family. Saying how much he loved his wife and son and how proud he was of them.

He also went on to say how they were the ones to keep him from going fully into the Dark Arts and becoming the person that his Master had wanted him to be. While others had felt that his love for his family was his downfall, he felt that they had saved him. They had been the ones to keep him going and why he ultimately left Him.

Narcissa still wasn't too happy with the arrangements, but decided it was bes to return to the room and observe how things were going between Melinda and Lucius. She was relieved to see them conversing and it seemed to about about his family.

Draco had given a sheepish smile in return to Remus's. This was something he was used to dealing with on a regular based. Although, he felt bad for Remus to be constantly getting it of late. Although, he was quite surprised by this new information and yet it explained a lot.

Remus shrugged easily; this was the kind of life he had long been used to, even if it wasn't an easy one by any means. He lived and dealt with it as it came.

Melinda looked up at Narcissa, a hint of wariness in her face considering Narcissa's clear displeasure from before, then to Remus who gave a quick nod. With that nod she relaxed, giving a small smile up to the woman. "Lucius' pride in his family is a powerful sway, and one I rarely see. You should be as proud of it, but I get the feeling you are."

The comment earned a small, genuine smile from Narcissa. She was indeed proud of it.

"Love was one thing that the Dark Lord never understood. It was also a weakness for Him. He didn't understand how far love can go.

He had hoped to break our family thinking that he could make as example of what not to do. But it only pulled us together more.

I believe it only made him more mad that he couldn't break us." Narcissa replied in a soft voice, a little hesitant to even mention it.

"There is no stronger power than that of love." A certain sad smile came to Melinda's lips, then it was gone. "If that's what kept him going, it's what will heal him. I'll be making sure that both you and Draco will be involved in his healing, as it should be."

Remus let out another breath and nodded again, then looked to Draco. "I think your family and Melinda can handle things from here. Do you want to stay the night or come back with me?"

Narcissa gave a nod in agreement and visibly relaxed. This was something she could agree on and felt more comfortable with. "I simply just want to do what I can to help my husband."

Part of him wanted to stick around to see how things worked between his parents and Melinda. And to offer support for Melinda if needed. Then the other half felt that they needed to get used to one another and not have to rely on them all the time. If Remus felt that Melinda could handle them now...then he supposed it was best to leave.

"I think I'll go with you. They need to get used to one another. It was good that Melinda got my father to talk about his family." Draco replied.

Remus knew the gaze in Melinda's eyes spoke volumes about how Narcissa had been clearly ready to off her not long before, but she said nothing, only gave an easy smile and nodded. "I think between us, we will be able to help him, and I will be making sure that you can work together to continue that aid even after I've gone."

With a quick nod to Draco, he thought the young man had the right idea. "I think you're right," he murmured, then raised a brow slightly. "Think you have my home well enough in mind to manage to Apparate back, or should I lead?"

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