TW: mention of violence to babies/children

In many cultures and religions, tutelary deities often exists to protect or guide a person. In Christianity, a guardian angel is such a being. In European folklore, a 'familiar' (usually in the form of an animal) is another example.

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a m o r a

The day Codrus brought Angel to Malfoy Manor, everything changed.

Before that, the days had been dreary, plowing along at an exceptionally slow pace. Lucius held meeting after meeting with our parents. For the children, those who wanted to join were welcome. It was safe to say Erebus and Lilith attended most of them.

I had not bothered. I was too busy worrying about how I would break into Dumbledore's tomb. I had no idea how it even looked like. It was situated somewhere by the Black Lake, an area most students were not allowed to enter. My original task of taking care of Angel had not even been on my mind till the day I sat in the library, reading. Someone rapped the door to get my attention, and I looked up.

Lilith stood there, her face glowing with excitement. "She's here," she grinned. What? Who was? I shut my book and followed her down the stairs.

Codrus and Angel stood at the foyer. He had his arm around her shoulders. Hers were slung behind her back, bound in chains. She had a hollowed face, with a wafer-thin body thin and a waist no wider than the chain around my neck. I had even forgotten she was pregnant, until I made out the faint bulge. Barely.

"Ah, Ms Rosier. Just in time for our visitors," said Lucius. Narcissa stood by his side, glancing at me in silent commiseration. A few of the Death Eaters had gathered behind, sniggering; my father amongst them.

"Nice house, Luce." Codrus' voice bounced around the large hall, deep and rumbling like a hungry lion. He was taller than I had imagined, with slick silver-blond hair and immaculate clothing. I knew immediately that this man was evil. I could see it in his piercing blue eyes, inset in a face cut from stone. They blazed, like a wolf certain that it had its prey cornered.

"Codrus," Lucius regarded him briefly before turning his attention to Angel. "And the newest addition to our family. Mrs Malfoy now, is it?" Despite her sickliness, she narrowed her eyes at him.

Narcissa looked uncomfortable. I thought she very well should be. How strange it must have been, to walk her own son down the aisle towards this woman dressed in jewels and gold, only to see her now reduced to a bag of skin and bones.

"Not anymore, she isn't." Codrus was quick to correct him. "She's mine, remember?"

His? Since when?

"Of course," said Lucius coldly. "Amora, why don't you show them to their room?"

There was a change in Codrus then. His smiling eyes fell, mouth now turned into a sneer. "I was under the impression that I'd have my own."

Lucius' face stiffened. I was sure he had quite a few choice words lined up, but Narcissa spoke instead. "I don't see why not. Go ahead, Amora. Give him our best."

At this command, I stepped forward, allowing Codrus to give me the once-over. "Rosier's daughter?" he scoffed.

I decided then that I hated him.

Angel, however, was studying at me curiously. Her gaze was so pointed, so sharp, that I suddenly felt shrunken under it, like I had been stripped naked; like I was made of water and air. I ignored Codrus and started up the stairs, hoping he would say no more and follow my lead. He did, yanking Angel after him.

I bore his careful watch on my back as we walked the long corridor of rooms. I held my head high, refusing to let on that the two of them made me so uncomfortable, in such entirely different ways.

I swung upon the door and gestured into it. "Yours," I said to Codrus. His eyes lit up immediately. It was an opulent room, of marble floors and thick drapes. One of the largest in the house.

"Perfect," he grinned. I began to reach for Angel, but he swung her from my grasp. "Not so fast. You're the one who's going to be watching over her?"

When I nodded, he began to list out all the rules he had for her. She was to be chained at all times. She will not be allowed to practice magic. Bathroom, twice a day. And most important of all, a dose of Amortentia in every liquid she drank.

"And what if she doesn't want to?" I asked.

"Make her."

"How?"

His laughter was a knife wrapped in silk. "I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart. Figure it out."

He finally let go of Angel, and I stole a glance at her. If he had been giving her Amortentia, why was she not fawning over him, insisting that she and Codrus share a room?

"She hasn't had it today," he said, as if he could read my thoughts. "It wears off faster when the drinker isn't... willing. Oh, and one more thing. She's a fiesty one. You will do well to ensure she never leaves her room. Ever."

"Of course," I said, already tired of his orders and eager to get away from him. He leaned in, so close I could see my reflection in his pupils. "Disobey me, and I'll kill her. Do you understand?" He enunciated every word like I was an uncomprehending five-year-old, and a burning rage filled the cavity of my chest.

"Yes." It was all I could manage without losing my temper. With that, I led Angel away before he could add anything else.

There were many rooms in the hallway, but I chose the one furthest away from Codrus. There was a slight pleasure in knowing it would cause him even the slightest inconvenience. It was also the one with the largest windows.

"Onto the bed. Go on." I watched her climb onto the mattress, the chains clinking against her body. I waved my wand, and the heavy iron attached themselves to the bedpost.

Her tired eyes lifted to look around the room, like a sheep waiting for slaughter. I felt sorry for her, really. To be dehumanised like this, at the complete mercy of a man who could take you any time he wanted to - it was embarrassing. But this was bigger than me, and I knew better than to challenge it.

"Now," I mustered my most stern voice. "You'll stay here until the baby is born. Mr Malfoy said I'm to watch you. Don't bother trying to escape. You'll only hurt yourself if you do."

"How?" She had not spoken until now, and it was the first time I heard her voice, smooth as cream and clear as glass.

"How what?"

"How will you kill it?"

I hesitated. I was not sure how much she knew of our plan. Part of me wanted to tell her the most horrific way I could think of. Slit its throat. Beat it to death. Strangle it. "I don't know," I answered honestly.

Her dark waves tangled over her face, and I could not quite make out her expression. "Does Mr Malfoy want Draco too?" Draco. The name pricked my skin, injecting me with a sliver of triumph. She still remembered her husband. Codrus did not have as much control over her as he thought.

"He's not... necessary," I replied stiffly. Her shoulders seemed to slump with relief,  and- was that a smile? When she did not say anything more, I turned and left the room, pacing my steps and fighting the urge to run.

Behind the door, I took a few moments to gather myself. This was really happening. She was here now, much too early that I had not been ready. Now, I would have to take care of her. And when the school terms starts, so would begin my impossible heist.

Lost in my thoughts, I did not even realise I had walked down the stairs and out into the back garden. I passed by the labyrinth of hedges and perfectly-clipped shrubs, past the stone fountain and away from the pond.

Right at the end of the path, in a little nook against the wall of the house, was a hutch. I knelt in the grass and peered in. "Hey there," I cooed. The rabbits startled at my voice, bucking on their hind legs and turning around.

I unlatched the cage door and reached in, very slowly and carefully so as not to frighten them, and scooped one out. She was a soft, mottled brown, with dark floppy ears and the daintiest snuffling nose. Nutmeg was what I had named her. The other one looked at me curiously from inside the cage, its black and white spots faded in the shadows.

I stroked Nutmeg as she sat on my lap. "Listen, Nutmeg," I said. "I don't even know why I ever agreed to this whole thing in the first place."

Because of Erebus, its nose twitched.

"No," I argued. "It's because the world has too many Mudbloods. And as for the Muggles... well, they're just so proud and full of themselves, aren't they? They ruin everything with their stupid inventions."

No, that's not it, Nutmeg snuffled.

I sighed and tried again. "Fine," I said, feeling completely stupid that I was talking to a rabbit. "Fine. It's because I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile for once, instead of just going with the flow. Guess I was just looking for something better to do with my life. Lucius said we were destined for greater things, and Erebus... well, he really believed in it, didn't he? Because Godric knows I would not even have done this if it weren't for him."

Bingo! Her tiny heart drummed against my leg.

"Well, let's just hope it doesn't all go to shit." I sank my hands into her soft, baby-new fur. "You sweet thing. You don't have a single thought behind those beautiful eyes, do you."

There was a sudden flash of memory: the day I had found Spot and Nutmeg. They had been wandering about the gardens about three weeks ago. Their mother nowhere to be seen. I took them in before a bird or cat could. Erebus had seen how attached I had become, and cleverly put together a little hutch for them.

Erebus. He was joking with Lilith and the Death Eaters now - I could hear their laughter from the other side of the house, carried through the hollow house by the wind. Just a few levels above, Angel lay on her bed, starving and heartbroken.

Just what fucked up version of Hell was this, exactly?