Tears of an Angel [Lucius!]

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( WORDS ) 1255 ( TAGGED ) LUCIUS ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Ever since her nightmares had come true and the werewolves had come to take Daddy away, Ambalee had been living in a very dizzying and confusing world. Her nice lady Andie had promised her a home and a place to stay where she would be safe, and Ambalee believed her very much. Only the Ministry wanted miss Andie to sign a lot of papers in order for Ambalee to live with her, and until those papers were signed she had to live with another family. This much, Ambalee understood. Why anyone thought this was a safe family, was what she didn’t understand. The mum of the house was very shrill and loud and her voice made Ambalee’s ears hurt, especially when she yelled. As the mum was almost always yelling because her two big sons were always being bad, Ambalee was frequently suffering from piercing headaches which made her cry, which just made the mum yell more to tell her to stop crying, which only made it worse. And the dad of the family was a not nice man. Ambalee knew this, even though he never said anything to her. He patted her on the head once and she felt like she’d walked into a wall of slime. It was a bad and icky feeling and she’d sat in the tub for a really long time and tried really hard not to cry but she didn’t like that man. Something was just not right about that man. Eventually, Ambalee realized that she just couldn’t wait here for her nice lady to sign those papers. She had to find a safe place, and she knew she would be okay so long as she dressed warm. So Ambalee crept from the bathroom and into the small room that was hers and had some of her things from Daddy’s house as well as some things from the foster family. Ambalee didn’t touch these things, but instead put on her favorite pink stockings, then her favorite white pants over top so that her legs would be layered in warms. Then she put on the pink and white socks her Daddy got her on her last birthday, and a t-shirt and a sweater. Once that was done, Ambalee took out her pink-lace princess dress and put it on over top of everything. She was a little puffy, but the dress looked pretty still and she would be warm. Tugging on her boots, Ambalee put her mittens in her coat pocket and wrapped up her scarf before she put her coat on and her warm hat. Taking one of her bags, Ambalee emptied it of all her dolls and toys, and put a blanket in it instead, then looked at her dolls for a long moment, before picking up her favorite, Miss Emily from the pile. Miss Emily was a gift from her mommy, long ago, before mommy went to heaven. It seemed right to take Miss Emily with her, so that Mommy and Daddy could keep an eye on both of them better. Lastly, she grabbed the muggle light maker her Daddy had gotten her so that she wouldn’t have to play with fire if she needed a night light. It was called a torch, if she remembered right. She liked it. It was pink. That settled, Ambalee put on her bag and crept down the stairs as quiet as possible. She felt bad about the next part, but knew it was for the best. Taking some apples from the foster family’s fridge, as well as two juice boxes and a left over plate from last nights spaghetti, she put all this in her bag before slipping out of the house and making her way down to the forest trail. Looking back toward the house, Ambalee raised a hand and waved goodbye to her left-behind dolls, and made a silent promise to ask her nice lady Andie to pick them up once she was adoptered. Turning on her torch, Ambalee began skipping down the trail, humming to herself as she went along. She came across several turns, and each time she would stop and carefully consider with a little pointing rhyme before skipping down the way her finger ended up facing. It was getting very late by the time Ambalee started to get scared. She was mostly okay because she knew it wasn’t a full moon outside, but it was so dark now that it was making her really nervous. It was winter, so in truth it was in fact only about seven in the evening, but to Ambalee it was midnight-thirty and all the monsters were going to be coming out soon. Pausing, Ambalee took an apple out of her bag and began eating it as she continued down the trail, telling herself that she would be okay and nothing was going to eat her. Then she heard a noise just to the left of her. And it sounded big. Dropping her apple, Ambalee broke out into a run, which was the first mistake. She knew better than to run! Not six feet later, she tripped over a tree branch and went tumbling from the path, rolling down a hill before sliding on her bottom along an icy patch only to land with a flump in a snowbank. Ultimately, not her worst landing. Floundering a bit in the snow, Ambalee managed to pop herself back up and shake herself, before looking around with big, wide eyes. She had no idea where she was, but it was pretty! Standing up, Bambi slowly began walking through what appeared to be a winter wonderland. There were beautiful benches and a really pretty fountain and – what was that? Ducking behind a bush that was still somehow green, Ambalee poked her head around to see what had moved. It was white like the snow, but she couldn’t tell if it was a monster. After a bit of waiting, the thing stepped forward again and Ambalee realized it was a bird. A really pretty one, too. Smiling, Ambalee came out from hiding and carefully approached the animal, which seemed to have no problem with her. Petting the pretty birdie, Ambalee found herself following it and feeling just a little less scared. A place this pretty just couldn’t have monsters, right? Oh how silly she was to think so. Not moments after she had this thought, Ambalee was hit by one of her nightmares. It was dizzying, and she didn’t understand anything. Who was that man? Why was that lady bleeding? Was that puppy dead? What – Falling to her knees, Ambalee came too in the garden, with her friendly bird standing nearby and a new one curled up beside her. They seemed to know she was sick, because the one that was sitting didn’t seem to mind when Bambi crawled up to it and pulled it to her, using it as a pillow as she cried into its pretty feathers. Her tummy hurt and her head hurt and she was dizzy and that was scary and she didn’t like it at all not at all and she wanted to go home but she didn’t have a home anymore. ”H-hey,” Ambalee said quietly, reaching out to the other birdie, who was looking over at something she couldn’t see or hear. ”Will you help me find a home pretty bird? Just until I can be adoptered?” She asked, still clutching the other bird and rubbing her cheek against the soft feathers, which were soaking up her tears. ”Please?” how can you not want this kid?!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

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[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: #4C787E; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]1844 WORDS FOR AMBALEE Had fun writing this, lol A light hearted moment of Lucius. And yes, he did name each of his peacocks... Ease [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #5E7D7E;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #254117;]He knew pretty well he was not supposed to be happy about this. The outcome of that battle didn’t please the Dark Lord at all, not one bit. Even Lucius, who managed to escape at the last second, couldn’t say he liked the result of it. Sure, they did a good job spreading terror and destruction, even deaths. It could have been better though. He didn’t think it would end up with so many injuries and a near death situation on his part -if you could say nearly having your soul taken by a Dementor a ‘near death situation.’- Then he got captured by Aurors and was rescued by Severus Snape, who punched him in the face and gave him a life-lecture. Yeah, not a successful mission. But it hadn’t been that long since the attack on Hogsmeade, time just slowly went by, and Lucius Malfoy liked it that way. With many of the Death Eaters, including two of the three mad Lestranges, captured by the Ministry, his manor had become quieter. No more racket, no more idiots to deal with, and most importantly, more privacy. He was glad that time decided to slow down for him to enjoy this rare occasion. Tonight was another peaceful night he got to spend at the manor with his wife. But he decided to just sit in his study, by the warm fire, chilling out with some books and a glass of wine. Malfoys weren’t the type of people who would go outside and have fun in the snow like most families out there. And Mr.Malfoy was not always in the mood for a walk either. However, today he somehow felt like he had locked himself inside the house for too long now. Closing the book on his lap, he leaned back on his chair with a sigh. True that he liked this quiet atmosphere, but it could get boring after sometime. He wondered where Narcissa was, but then didn’t want to go look for her around the home. That was a downside of having a huge manor to live in. There were so many rooms to look in and so many floors to check when he needed to find someone. He could call a house elf and have it look for her, but then he thought it wasn’t really necessary to call her only because he was bored. So he just assumed that she went to bed early or something. He lazily moved his wand to make the books fly back to the shelves on their own, before getting up from the comfortable arm chair. A slight wince appeared on his face as he slowly pushing himself up with the help of his walking stick. He was still in the stage of healing. That large bruise on his left side he got from one of the Auror’s spells would take a long time. Good for him, the wounds from other physical impact were mostly cured. It was rather fast, considering his increasing age. He hoped it was a good sign, for his father didn’t make it through 58. His father’s case was different, but the man didn’t have to run into battle a several times a month like him, yet died so early. There were times when he wondered if he could even last to the day his Dark Lord took full control of the Wizarding world. The blonde wizard waited for the pain to ease before he began moving to the windows. The scene outside was nothing unusual. Normally, one would be amazed by how beautiful the view was. The Malfoy Manor rested on one of the most beautiful landscape of Wiltshire. Especially in the winter, everything was coated with a brightly white layer of snow. It looked like a wonder of the world. Or at least that was how he felt about it. The only reason he wasn’t very hasty in having a walk in the garden was due to the cold winds waiting for him outside. Winter was the worst season for him. Despite the fact that he had his house elves do almost everything for him, from shoving snow out of the manor’s stone path to keeping the house warm enough (which meant he had no idea how tiring it was to be a normal man in the winter), he hated the season. Why you asked? His immune system was not that good. He tended to catch a cold easily during this cold time of the year. Unless he had to, Lucius refused to let himself away from the warmth inside his mansion. Surprisingly, right now he wanted to be outside. The lack of work to do in the house boosted his travelling muse big time. He missed the time he was so busy with all the Ministry works he hardly have time for his family. No, he enjoyed being around his wife and son. He missed that time because back then he could go wherever he wanted. And in the summer, he would take his family abroad with him. Now, he was stuck in this ‘Death Eater headquarters’ with nothing to do. The only difference between his manor now and Azkaban prison was that he wasn’t locked in a cell and there were no Dementors roaming around, chewing his emotions. Anyway, if he would like a walk in the garden, he had better get going now. The later the night gets, the colder it would become. He left the window to get his coat, and minutes later he was standing in the yard, obviously didn’t regret his decision. It was not as cold as he once thought. The fresh air and beautiful scenery promised he would have a lovely walk. He gazed at the night sky and just let his own feet take him wherever it wanted. The thought of accidentally walk out of his land never occurred, for he knew one could not simply walk out of this enormous land. The night was amazingly peaceful, not a single sound was heard beside his footsteps on the pebbles covering the path. How long had it been since the last time he felt this calm in mind? He had no clue. Life had been quite a mess since the return of his Dark Lord. His mind hadn’t rested since he recognized the tone of suspicion in Lord Voldemort’s words that fateful night. And after his failures, he constantly scared for his, as well as his family’s, life. The thought of his son getting deeper and deeper into the dangerous zone gave him nightmares. How to get back the Lord’s trust in order to save his son, his grace and his family’s status troubled him. And every time he set foot outside the safe walls of his manor, he was always on a high-alert. Yet tonight none of that appeared in his thought. He just carried on walking and let himself enjoy the view. The Malfoy soon found himself in the front garden. He could hear the sound of the water fountain as he moved in between the hedges. Here and there he saw the albino peacocks walking along or on the hedges. In contrast to the dark sky above, the birds’ pure white color stood out magnificently. He had forgotten how beautiful they were. Passing a sleeping Ellie, a disturbed Henry, a relaxing Alan, he headed for the best place in the garden. He stopped in front of the nicely designed fountain. Due to its magical design, the water never froze in the winter. It still got incredibly cold though. Placing a hand on the meticulously engraved base, he ran his fingers along the surface to get a feel of the old material. Now he regretted not having Narcissa with him here, on such a perfect night like this. However, Lucius soon realized he was not the only one in present. His trend of thought was broken by the sound of small footsteps on the snow. He froze immediately and focused his senses to locate where that noise could possibly come from. ”Behind the fountain?” He thought. Slowly put a hand on the top of his walking stick, ready to take his wand out if needed, Lucius Malfoy cautiously stepped along the stone base to reach the other side. He tried to make his steps as noiseless as possible. Many theories came up in him. Could it be a Ministry dog? Maybe another Death Eater? But it sounded too soft to be- Was that a child crying he detected? As far as he know, Draco was the youngest in his manor. And unless he underestimated the head injury he had days ago, there was absolutely no way it was him. He was not even at home actually. Getting highly curious, he stepped faster until the scene was revealed. Mr.Malfoy stopped dead in his track, so shocked he nearly tripped over. Of all the wrecked things that could appear in his garden tonight, definitely what he just saw was not part of the list. There, sitting on the snow was a small figure of a child. Judging from the long hair, he could tell it was a little girl. She was sitting with two of his peacocks. Matthew and… Julio, yes, those were their names. The small child was hugging Julio, burying her face into the white feathers. Matthew stood by her side, and was the only one who noticed his presence. The little girl soon reached out to the standing bird, obviously had no idea he was standing a few meters behind her. She was… talking to the birds, asking it to tell her where she could find a home. And there he thought he was the only one who did that. Well, that was a long time ago. Lucius had been staring at the girl, completely petrified. As if he just saw a Basilisk. But the moment of shock eventually passed, for his mind was overwhelmed by hundred of questions. Who was that girl? What was she doing in his garden? Why was she crying on his birds, wiping her tears and mucus on their soft, pretty feathers? And most importantly… HOW DID SHE GET HERE? One thing for sure she was not a Muggle. The manor could only be seen by those who have magical power inside them, and there was a Muggle-repelling charm. Still, he didn’t get how she could even walk into this estate with all the magical barriers and jinxes around? Maybe she was too young so the ‘security system’ just missed her? No matter what caused this weird encounter, he couldn’t ignore this and let her do whatever she wanted. She could sneak into his house and Merlin knows what would happen. Keeping his icy stern face, Lucius approached the young child. “What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice was as cold as his expression. He didn’t say it too loud, even lower than his normal voice, but he figured it was enough to startle the kid as she didn’t seem to notice him. [/style]

TABLE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING @ CAUTION 2.0

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( WORDS ) 537 ( TAGGED ) LUCIUS ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Ambalee felt the man’s approach even before he spoke, like an icy wind creeping along her back. Unconsciously, she pulled the pretty bird a little tighter to her even as she drew her hand back from the other one, tucking herself into a smaller ball right when the man’s voice cracked across the quiet of her winter wonderland, as cold as the feeling that had alerted her to his presence. Shivering, Ambalee didn’t look at the frigid man but instead rubbed her face clear of tears, unaware that her completely calm reaction to an adult man creeping up behind her was utterly unusual. Once she was sure she could see well, Ambalee got up and quickly scooted herself behind the peacock she had been hugging before finally looking at the cold-man. At first, Ambalee was completely confused by him. His expression reminded her of the not-nice people she was careful to avoid, and there was something about the way he stood that made her skin crawl in the way that meant she was near something dangerous. There was something else though, something about his blue eyes and his pretty hair that reminded her of the pictures Mommy had put in the living room, the ones Daddy never took down. The angels were the messengers and warriors that kept Heaven a safe and beautiful place. Many of them had the expressions of not-nice people, but there was always something about their blue eyes. Her eyes widened slowly as she straightened up a bit, looking around herself at the beautiful garden, the pretty birds, her winter wonderland. She looked at the stern man with the eyes of an angel, and then to the pretty bird she had asked for a home. There was only one thing that made sense – somehow, Ambalee had fallen into Heaven. Slowly, Ambalee rose to her feet, trying very hard not to do something embarrassing, like fall over. Her legs were shaking, the thought that she might be in Heaven, that she might be able to see Mommy and Daddy, overwhelming her, but she knew she had to be good or the angel wouldn’t let her. ”I don’t know how I got here, mister angel sir,” Ambalee confessed, knowing that lying was bad and that you should never lie to an angel. ”I was going to sleep in the forest and wait until I got adoptered. I’m supposed to be with the foster people – I know, I’m sorry I ran away and I’m sorry I stole their apples!” She blurted, suddenly horrified. Would she be sent back to the foster place because she stole the apples? ”I promise I’ll never steal again mister angel! I promise! Please don’t kick me out of Heaven. I…I just want to see mommy and daddy. C-Can you take me to them? Please? I promise I’ll be really good.” Her nerves were getting the better of her, and she was starting to stutter as she fought back her tears, trying very, very hard to be a good girl. She knew it was okay to cry, she did, but somehow she didn’t think an angel would agree. They were warriors, after all, and warriors never cried. Of that she was certain! how can you not want this kid?!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

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[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: #4C787E; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]884 WORDS FOR AMBALEE oh my god, this post was harder than I expected. Calm [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #5E7D7E;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #254117;]Lucius was surprised to see that the girl was not anywhere near startling when he spoke. This made his grip on the enchanted cane a little tighter. This could be a trick from the Aurors out there, turning into little girls by Polyjuice potion and dispelling part of his manor’s protection so they could get inside. Then again, an Auror in disguise wouldn’t have wasted their time hugging his peacocks. Maybe he was being too paranoid, but it never hurt to stay on guard. Still, there was something he felt off about this young girl in front of him. It was not the way she act, but rather the feeling around her. As a man who encountered countless type of people, he could sense this girl was not something simple. The girl eventually turned around to face him. The first impression he had was that there was no way this could be a trick. Her big innocent eyes were easy to read, considering that she was just a child. He slightly lowered his guard, but not entirely. Lucius knew he shouldn’t treat this whole thing lightly just because he was facing a little baby-faced girl. Yet those shiny blue eyes were distracting. It had been a long time since Mr. Malfoy had actually looked at the pure-hearted face of a child. The last time was his son’s, many years back, when everything was going swimmingly for his family. It was a good time, but thinking of it now made his heart twisted. And this girl’s eyes just had to remind him of that. He didn’t know why she kept on turning her head to look at her surroundings, nor did he know why she occasionally stared at him with an unexplainable expression of her face. It looked like she was trying to figure out to herself where she was. Then, maybe she had finally come up with an idea, the girl stood up shakily. Then she spoke. The clear voice of the child ringed like a lovely bell in the midst of the night. Had he been someone else, he probably would have aww-ed adoringly at her. Lucius just kept his stone cold expression as he listened. In fact, he found himself quite patient tonight, listening to a little girl’s story while normally he would have sent her away. Again, he was caught off guard by something out of his predictions. He had never in his life, even by his deceased mother, been called ‘an angel’. Too much astonishment for one night, the blonde wizard raised an eyebrow at the child. As her confession continued, he was kind of lost on what to respond. Unknowingly, he had dropped his guard completely. The girl’s expressions and words, they were too true to be an act. He knew he was really dealing with a little girl at the moment. And Mr. Malfoy was not one who enjoyed company of a child beside his own. From her story, he could tell that her parents were dead. And she had to stay at some else’s house before she could be adopted. Then she ran away, and somehow came into his garden. The whole garden was so beautiful she thought she had arrived in heaven, and that he was an angel. He just couldn’t understand children. How could she look at him and think he was an… angel?! The last time he checked, angels didn’t wear black attire and have a Dark Mark on their forearm. He was aware she didn’t know about his Death Eater mark, but still… Poor child, she had no clue she had just stepped into a place nowhere near heaven. Such a small child. All alone in the cold winter. What if it wasn’t him who found her, but another Death Eater, or worse, the Dark Lord? He felt something welled up in him. Something he wasn’t prepared for. He didn’t know what it was. Affection? Compassion? He had no idea, but one thing for sure he found it uneasy, even annoying. Why so suddenly he… cared whether this strange girl would be okay or not? Had he been an orphan as a young age like that he would have had pity on her. But he wasn’t. Then why would he? Had he gone soft over the years? No, this was unacceptable. This weak emotion, he would never allow it to slip into him. A long awkward moment of silence happened after the girl had finished her talking. For a second there, he almost yell at the girl that he was no angel, and where she had run into was nowhere but hell itself, just to send her crying back to wherever she came from. However, the words were somehow locked inside him. Now that was odd. He had seldom been in a situation when he couldn’t say what he wanted to. Maybe he should just use a Sleeping charm on her, then apparate her somewhere far away. That way he wouldn’t have to waste any more time with her. He slightly twitched his right hand’s fingers a bit, considering taking his wand out and do it. But for some unknown reason, he didn’t. Instead, he looked down coldly and kept the same tone of voice. “You are mistaken, child. This is not heaven.” [/style]

TABLE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING @ CAUTION 2.0

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( WORDS ) 508 ( TAGGED ) LUCIUS ( STATUS ) COMPLETE The angel was quiet for such a long time, that Ambalee started to quiver even harder, certain that she was about to be ejected from Heaven. She could sense something wrong with the angel, something that reminded her of the dark man from her earliest nightmares, the one with the blood on his hands and the feral smile full of anger. His fingers flexed upon the serpent-headed cane she hadn’t noticed before, but as she looked at it, she remembered the story of the snake and the apple tree. She wondered, briefly, what that might mean. It didn’t take long for Ambalee to realize that the snake-headed cane was the angel’s weapon for fighting evil and keeping Heaven a safe place. Which meant that he really was thinking of sending her out of Heaeven, which meant she was a bad girl and wouldn’t get to see her parents and she didn’t know where bad people went because Daddy never said but she was simply sure it wasn’t a good place! Tears had started to form in her eyes even as the angel finally spoke, and when he did, his words took the breath right out of her. Not in Heaven? She wondered, looking around herself incredulously, before deciding it made sense that you couldn’t simply fall into Heaven. Which meant the pretty place was the angel’s place – which made sense. But then why was the angel here on earth? Looking at the snake cane again, Ambalee suddenly understood. The snake had tricked the humans out of Heaven – the snake was a dark thing, and this angel was here on Earth, a dark place. And she had just asked him to take her to her parents in Heaven, when he wasn’t in Heaven anymore. The dangerous feeling she had sensed – the tensing of his hand she had noticed – she had hurt an angel’s feelings! ”O-oh mister angel, I’m sorry! I’m so s-sorry!” She blurted, her tears falling down her face at last. The thought that she had hurt someone made her feel bad, and the fact she had made an angel sad made her feel the worst ever. ”I didn’t know you fell from Heaven! This place – the birdies – are so pretty I thought – I’m sorry. Please don’t be sad!” Needing to make it better, Ambalee came out from behind her birdy at last and went over to the angel, ignoring the cold feelings, the feelings that told her to run – NOW!, because it was just the angel’s warrior nature she was feeling, not a dark person, and she wrapped her arms around him. Pressing her head against the angel’s tummy, Ambalee fought back her tears because she had made him sadder and it was her job to make it better. ”You’ll be okay mister angel sir. I know you’ll find your way back to Heaven when you’re done here. You don’t have to be sad.” Leaning back, Ambalee looked up at him and smiled her prettiest smile ever and said, ”Angels are Heaven’s soldiers, so be strong okay?” how can you not want this kid?!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

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[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: #4C787E; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]817 WORDS FOR AMBALEE ... good lord, all the feels I had for the first few paragraphs Calm [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #5E7D7E;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #254117;]As he was revealing the truth that his garden was not heaven, he had noticed the little girl’s eyes were getting watery. Silently, but strongly, he prayed that she wouldn’t start doing what little girls did best – crying. Lucius was terrible when handling children. Even Narcissa said so. A normal little kid was bad enough, and now she was going to become a crying little kid, which was waaay worse. One thing he had learned in his life was to never make a little kid cry. Once they had begun crying, there was no stopping until they were too tired or were satisfied with what they wanted. The situation was even more complicated when the girl’s innocence kept on making him think of the much younger years of his son, which was heart breaking. Any other Death Eater would probably just get rid of her for being a nuisance. But Lucius was different. He was cold and cruel, but he was not heartless. It all started the moment Narcissa managed to break apart the icy barrier around him. He learned how to care for another person. And when Draco came to his life, he learned even more than that. He learned how to be a father, how to make someone else truly happy, and he himself had received the affection from the two most important people in his world. He learned to “love”. No matter how many times he denied it, he was never the strong and emotionless man he appeared on the outside. He was just good at hiding his feelings. Only hide, not erase. As a result, there were times all the emotions that he had locked at the back of his mind became overloaded, and burst out to the surface. Mr.Malfoy should be relieved this night was not one of those days. The worse he had been waiting came not long after he had finished speaking. At first, he thought she was crying because she still believed it was heaven and that he was lying. However, she shocked him again by apologizing. And not just any apology, she was sorry because she thought he fell from heaven and that she had hurt his feeling with her question earlier. He didn’t know if he should be amused or be sad at this. It was funny how this girl saw things around her. She just concluded a man she saw for the first time an ‘angel’, and even cried for someone she had never met. But then he thought of it. Her comparison was kind of right. Fallen angel, it sounded like what his fall from grace could be compared to. It was also sad because this little innocent soul would’ve been dead if someone else had found her here. Lucius glanced around. So far they were the only two here. He should still be able to work something out and stop her from crying to loud. Sleeping charm sounded good, how in the name of Merlin didn’t he do tha- Before he could even say anything, two little arms had wrapped around his waist. The girl’s head rested on him in a comforting way. She… hugged him. There had never been a child, other than Draco, who would hug him. Usually, the kids would try their best to stay away from him. Not many of them found his stern look and freezing aura likeable. Yet, this girl here, after calling him an angel fallen from hell, had the nerve to HUG him. It made him forgot what he was about to do. He was shocked, really. His eyes opened wider than usual, the hand holding the snake handled cane slightly loosened. What would he do now? He felt panicked. How could a girl have the power to make a Malfoy speechless and confused? Looking down, he saw her smiling brightly at him, telling him to be strong. He had to admit, that almost touched his heart. But then he suddenly gathered himself together. This should never have happened. It was time all of this should stop. He wouldn’t allow himself to go any lower and feel any more sympathy toward the child. It was not the way of the Malfoys, nor the Death Eaters’ either. Reluctantly, he gently used the hand not holding the walking cane to separate her away from him. He needed his personal space back first and shoving her away would make her cry again. Then, he figured it would be best to just go along with her and not deny he was an angel. Who knew how… annoying she could be if he were to deny it. “You should go back to where you came from, kid. This is not the place for you“ He spoke, in the hope that she would leave. “The foster people will be… worried” Sweet Merlin, he never imagined he would ever say such lines. [/style]

TABLE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING @ CAUTION 2.0

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( WORDS ) 588 ( TAGGED ) LUCIUS ( STATUS ) COMPLETE The smile faltered on Ambalee’s little face as the angel told her to go back where she came from. Her home – the one that she believed he meant at first – was too far away for her to go to, and was probably still broken. Then he mentioned the foster people, and she removed her arms from around the angel’s waist in a manner that indicated something wasn’t quite right. Her motions were alarmingly calculated for someone so young, and she stepped back precisely three steps before she looked back up at the angel and stated with all the firm strength she could manage, ”No.” Denying adults was a hard thing to do, especially when she knew they were wrong, because adults had the very bad habit of believing that because they were old, they were much smarter than she was. Maybe this was true – and maybe when she was an adult she would be smart too – but one thing she did know was if a kid told her no, she would listen. Kids were smart too, and adults seemed to forget that. If her mommy had listened to her, her mommy would still be alive. Ambalee didn’t blame her mother for ignoring her warning however – with surprising wisdom, Ambalee had simply blamed her age. Adults didn’t think kids knew things, and that was that. Denying an angel was harder. Not only was he an adult angel, but he was – well, an angel. Telling a warrior of God no was not easy, but Ambalee knew she had to do so. She could not go back to that foster place. Closing her eyes, she thought about the foster man and tried to find the words to explain to the angel why this was a bad place for her to be. Finally, Ambalee opened her eyes and faced the angel squarely. ”He is a bad man, mister angel. He feels like the dark haired man who watched our house that one time. The man Daddy called a Death…” Her Ambalee stopped, her nose wrinkling. ”I don’t…” It didn’t make sense. She had forgotten to ask her Daddy what that meant. So she had to hope the angel would know. ”A Death Eater. I’m sorry,” She added with a little shrug, ”I don’t know how people can eat death, but Daddy felt like afraid when he said it. The man – he feels like that Death Eater. He feels like…” Ambalee had never done this before. She had never tried to explain what someone felt like to her. ”Like…” She looked around, trying to see if anything here could help her, but all she saw was pretty things. That wouldn’t do. Rocking a bit on her heels, Ambalee closed her eyes and placed her hands over her ears, blocking out all light and sound as she tried to focus on what she felt when that man touched her hair. What she felt when she was in the same room as him. What she felt when – ”Scared. Wrong. Slimy. He feels like danger and slime. I had to leave,” Ambalee finished, opening her eyes again and lowering her hands, shaking from the exertion of thinking so hard about something that felt so icky in her head. ”Mister angel, I wont go back. I can leave…if you don’t want me here…” She added, her words a touch sad, but resolute. Going back wasn’t an option – but she could go forward. She wasn’t so afraid of the dark now that she knew angels were here. how can you not want this kid?!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

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[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; color: #4C787E; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]1128 WORDS FOR AMBALEE yeah, hope this is good enough, rushed a bit Calm [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #5E7D7E;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #254117;]Malfoy knew there was not much of a hope when the smile on the little girl’s face faded at his words. The only thing he felt relief about this was because she finally decided to really step away from him. It was a pretty weird feeling when he was being hugged like that by a person other than his wife and son. Just as much as she didn’t like showing his feelings, he hated when random people got too affectionate toward him. He felt really displeased by this. He always had this feeling when someone refused to follow what he wanted them to do. But there was also curiosity. Her sudden statement made him questioned in silent. At first, when she first told him she ran away from the foster home, he thought she was just being the little child she was. Scared, confused, because of the things she went through, being sent to a strange place after her parents’ death and all. So she ran away to look for them, then she was lost. But now, looking at her strong expression when she denied his suggestion, he realized it was not it. Watching the girl trying to find her words, he decided to stay silent to see what she had to say. After a while, she seemed to have found what to say. It took his interest how she said she could feel people. Maybe she didn’t really feel him, but rather guessed. Could a kid actually feel if someone was bad? It clearly wasn’t applied to him when he was younger. It took him a lot of life experience, wisdom from his father and even his own mistakes to be able to read that aura around people. Like most adults, Mr.Malfoy didn’t really believe a child could do special things like that. The girl must have simply used the wrong word. But then again, the moment he saw her, there was something odd about her that he couldn’t describe in words. But it once again froze him when she tried to describe how she felt about the man at the foster house. He immediately realized what she was talking about when she mentioned the word ‘death’. He knew what was coming after that, even when she had paused between her words. He ignored her expression and her innocent wonder about the term. He didn’t have to wait for her to describe how that felt like either. He already knew, far too well. During his life as a Death Eater, he had witnessed too many of his victims from under his mask, their reactions, their pleads, their brave attempts to fight back,… as well as watching his so called comrades did their work. He knew what it was like to look at a Death Eater. It was probably the same as looking at the Dark Lord, the feeling of looking at a person who could easily bring your death. The thought alarmed him. He prayed he didn’t waste too much time talking to this girl. Anyone, even Voldemort himself, could catch this scene. Lucius found himself not worried about what would happen to him, but rather what would become of the girl if a Death Eater, or the Dark Lord, was to see her here. It was not like him at all to think for people. He was being too merciful for his own liking. It was like he had become someone else for a few moments until her voice made him gather himself together again. But the uneasiness remained. Like what happened in Hogsmeade days ago, he was not anywhere near himself. This must be fixed. He couldn’t stand the thought of turning soft and reckless. Slightly jerking his chin up so his hair wouldn’t move over his face because he had been looking down at her for quite some time, he found out he was also amused. This girl had no idea she was talking to one of those ‘bad guy’. But if she could - like she said - feel people, she must have recognized that he was dangerous too. Then why wasn’t she afraid of him? Even called him an angel. He wondered if it was because of the beautiful garden, or his look. There was no hope it was his appearance, Azkaban ruined him a lot. Though, that made him feel like he was the perfectly good-looking man he was years ago. It didn’t seem like the right way to take it, nor did it sound like what the situation would refer to, worth hoping either way. When she said she would leave if he wanted her to, he was on the edge of allowing that. She could go wherever she wanted. It wouldn’t affect him, not even for the slightest. However, he needed to fix her memory at least. And unlike the Imperius, he needed her to be away from his garden first before he cast the charm. He could control her and lead her away, but that was not necessary. On the other hand, casting those strong charms on a small child could cause side effects. If people noticed strange behaviors from her, the little trick would be found. And somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew he was lying to himself with all the theories. He just didn’t want to let the child go alone in the darkness of winter night. “Listen, kid,” He said, closing his eyes with an exhalation to control his emotion as he paused. He tried to sound a little nicer than his usual self to play his role. “You said you are waiting to be adopted. What do you think will happen when whoever going to adopt you doesn’t see you at the foster house?” He continued, telling himself all this would soon be over with. “They may think you are not a good girl, and won’t adopt you at all. Whether you like it or not you have to return to them.” He stopped for her to think about what he said. Good for him, persuading people was one of his strong points. And normally kids wouldn’t like it when they were called ‘bad’. Or at least that was one of the reason for Draco to throw tantrums. “Where is the foster house? I will take you there.” With a stronger tone, and stronger coldness in his eyes, he wanted her to know this was not a simple question, but rather a demand for her to return to that house. He could Apparate her near the area, alter her memories then let her go without a trace. It was a better plan than allowing her to go on her own, because he would have to follow her anyway to Obliviate her. [/style]

TABLE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING @ CAUTION 2.0

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( WORDS ) ( TAGGED ) LUCIUS ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Ambalee looked up at the angel as he addressed her, wondering mildly why he didn't use her name even though she had told him. Maybe he forgot. She was about to remind him when the angel pointed out that Aunty Andie might think she was a bad girl for running away. This caused Ambalee to shift uncomfortably for a moment, before she shook her head, stubborn. "Auntie Andie is an Auror. She won't be mad," Ambalee stated firmly, before she wondered a bit about that. Her own mom hadn't listened when she said that the woman would die, because she had seen it. Her mom had still gone out that day, even though Ambalee had told her not to. Why would Aunty Andie think she was a good girl simply because she said the foster man was a bad person? A look of sheer dejection and fear took claim of Ambalee's features then, realizing that Aunty Andie was an adult. "Adults never listen to children." The little girl stated softly, her tone dark with a bitter understanding far too old for one so very small. Bowing her head to the angel, Ambalee stated softly, "I guess I forgot, Mister Angel." At his commanding tone, Ambalee raised her head and pointed to the trail of snow that she had rolled through when she fell. "That way," she announced briskly, before looking up at the angel with wide, curious eyes. "Will we fly there? I don't think we should fly there. I make people clumsy like me I think. I on't want us to fall." how can you not want this kid?!

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5