The Heir & The Spare

Tremors of the Past

TW: Please proceed with this next chapter with caution! It includes details of child abuse and blood! If this is triggering for you please don't read it! Stay safe and look after yourself! G <3

"Theo? What do you need Theo for Maia?" Draco probed exhaustion in his voice, still sitting on his bed, rubbing his forehead.

"The less you know the better, you might be a talented occlumens, but you will be around him a lot more now I'm just protecting you. I need you to trust me" Maia replied firmly.

Draco looked up at her, she could see in his eyes that he studying her face trying to work out what her plan was but eventually relented. "Fine, I'll floo him and ask him to come to the manor" he got up and walked over to the fireplace in his room but quickly turned back to her "I trust you with my life Maia" he spoke softly. Maia gave him a soft smile before he returned to the fireplace. He called for Nott Manor in the fireplace, she could overhear them talking but she couldn't make it out. It was muffled. He stepped back out and spoke to her again.

"I'll let you know when he's here, he won't be long" he laid back in his bed exhausted, the burning of his new tattoo clearly taking a toll on his body.

"Thank You Draco" she replied, before walking over to his bedside and lighting a candle for him. "I'll get Mippy to bring you some food."

She walked out of his room and back to her own, Maia couldn't keep her thoughts from racing, how was she going to ask Theo to do this without causing suspicion? How could she get him to trust her no questions asked? She was pacing back and forth in front of her bed, waiting, the anticipation eating her alive.

She thought back to the last time Theo came to visit her and Draco at the manor, it was the summer before 5th year and Lucius had just punished Maia for showing kindness to Mippy, it was a sign of weakness in his eyes to show kindness to a species that he deemed was 'inferior' to her pureblood witch status. Not the behaviour of a Malfoy. He had just taken her to his study and broken her nose, with a few cuts to her shoulder blades with his favourite blade for good measure, she was still bleeding when he finally let her slip out.

Malfoy Manor

August 1995

She was stumbling down the hallway, holding her broken bleeding nose in her hand trying to run to her bedroom, to clean it up when she saw Theo just down the hall about to enter Draco's room. She tried to avoid him, but he had seen her, he tried to call out for her with a whisper, but she was embarrassed to be seen like this and ignored him.

The pain coursed through her body, and her head felt like someone was bashing it in with a hammer, still stumbling she finally managed to slip into her room.

Undetected so she had thought, she rushed into the bathroom to grab a tissue for her nose before she heard knocking on her door. 'Ignore it, he doesn't need to see you like this' she thought to herself, desperately grabbing at tissues to block her nose.

The door kept knocking and Maia could hear him calling for her "Mai? Mai? Let me in Mai please!" she could hear him pleading with her. She realised leaving him out there, calling for her would probably alert her father so she relented and slowly walked to the door, tissue turning red from the blood holding it to her nose, as she opened it slowly.

When Theo laid eyes on Maia his eyes widened, his face dropped and he rushed into her room closing the door behind him, he reached for her hand holding the tissue and gently pulled it away from her face so he could see the full extent of her injuries. Maia noticed his free hand clench into a fist before his eyes fell to her shoulder, the blood pouring through her clothes.