The Siren's Call (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

177. Nott so Simple

Dioleh stood patiently outside Malfoy Manor, her heart pounding slightly in her chest as she waited for the door to open. "Enzo, be careful!" Dioleh heard Draco shout. Biting back a smile, she waited until he had come to the door and opened it. "Hi," he said, embracing her. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. Andromeda got sick and I don't have anyone else I could ask."

"It's okay, Dray," Dioleh said with a small laugh. "I don't mind. Good luck with the meeting."

"Thank you," Draco said. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Malfoy Manor had drastically changed since Dioleh had been inside last. While before it was decorated with dark colours and endless signs of wealth, Draco had completely redone the house in bright colours and had seemed to spend a small fortune on paintings, most of which were scenery. Different too was the laughter Dioleh could hear from where she was downstairs. At a run, a small boy zoomed down the stairs, shouting behind him, "You can't catch me, Caleb!"

Lorenzo Yaxley was indeed fast and he might have escaped Caleb if it hadn't been for the fact that Dioleh had not quite been able to get out of the way in time. Just as he turned back around, Enzo rammed directly into Dioleh so hard she almost fell. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know-" He broke off, catching sight of her face. Caleb came down the stairs soon after and also stared.

"Er...hi?" she said awkwardly.

"Where's Miss Andromeda?" Caleb asked, his head tilted in confusion.

"She got sick so Draco asked me to come keep an eye on you all," Dioleh explained kindly. "I'm Dioleh."

"Oh," Caleb said with wide eyes. "Are you the siren?"

"Yes," Dioleh admitted. She couldn't help smiling wider at the wonder in his eyes. "Where are the other three?"

"Milo's in the library," Enzo explained. "And I think Preston's in his room. I don't know where Leo is."

"Guess you could say he's Nott where he's supposed to be," Caleb joked. Dioleh's smile fell slightly.

"Leo is Theodore Nott's brother?" Dioleh said.

"I don't know," Caleb shrugged. "We don't really talk to him. We tried but he just hides in his room."

"Oh," Dioleh said softly.

"When's Draco coming back?" Caleb asked with a wide, childlike smile.

"In a couple of hours," Dioleh explained. "He had a big boring business meeting."

"Ew," Lorenzo said with a grimace. "My dad made us go to those sometimes."

"I can't say I'd find them particularly interesting either," Dioleh admitted quietly. Enzo laughed, a child's happy giggle.

"Enzo, why're you-" a voice from the stairs began. Dioleh straightened from where she had crouched down to speak to the younger ones. The boy on the stairs was much older, at least fifteen and Dioleh could tell at a glance he was related to Enzo. "Who're you?"

"Dioleh," she explained. "Miss Andromeda's not feeling well so Draco asked me to fill in."

"Oh," he said offhandedly, climbing down the rest of the stairs. "I'm Milo."

"He's my big bro!" Enzo shouted, latching onto Milo's arm. Milo attempted to repress a smile as he shook his brother off.

"It's nice to meet you, Milo," Dioleh said kindly.

"Have you seen Leo?" he asked.

"Not yet," Dioleh replied.

With a small frown, Milo said, "Okay." Brows furrowed, he turned back towards the stairs and began climbing back up. The two younger boys quickly went back to their running around and playing, leaving Dioleh alone at the foot of the stairs. Before she could think better of it, Dioleh's eyes latched onto the doorway of the cellar and the floor where she realized she must have been tortured. The floor had been changed from the dark wood to a lighter one. Shaking it off, Dioleh turned towards the stairs and climbed up.

After passing through the first hallway, Dioleh saw several signs on the doors that seemed to have been decorated by the children themselves. Lorenzo's was decorated with fish and different animals while Caleb had decorated his with flowers and a large sun. Preston had simply written his name and Milo had drawn a swirly pattern behind his name. The last door along the hallway was Leo's. He had simply drawn a tiny flower in the corner next to his name. Dioleh paused outside the door and knocked.

"C-Come in," a small voice said. Dioleh turned the handle and peaked inside. Leo's room was quite large but it was extremely neat. Stuffed animals were placed carefully by each other at the head of the bed and on the floor sat a little boy with a stuffie in hand, much like the shape of a large egg, that was made to look like a fox.

"Hi," Dioleh said gently, taking a step inside. "Draco asked me to come and watch over you guys while he's gone. Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered. His grip tightened on the fox dramatically.

Brows furrowed, Dioleh asked, "Do you mind if I sit down?" After a short hesitation, he shook his head. Gesturing to the fox, Dioleh asked, "What's his name?"

"Theo," he said quietly. Dioleh couldn't help the sadness that stabbed at her chest.

"That's an amazing name," Dioleh said with a smile. "How'd you come up with it?"

"My brother," he said softly.

"His name was Theo?" Dioleh asked gently.

"Yeah," Leo replied. "I don't know where he went. He's been gone for so long."

"I know," Dioleh sighed. "I miss my family too."

Looking up with interest, Leo asked, "What happened to them?"

"They, uh, went away," Dioleh said hesitantly.

Leo blinked slowly, never looking away before he said, "I'm sorry for your loss."