The Nightmare Man's Journey

Chapter Nine

Harry had given himself fifteen minutes to complete his minor breakdown, before he used magic to hide the evidence and went in search of Lucian and Angel. He found them in an upstairs sitting room, Lucian reading a book for her.

Angel was no longer a child that needed to be read to, she read perfectly fine on her own but Harrison had never stopped reading aloud for her. Harry had often wondered if it was because Harrison genuinely didn't remember when one normally would stop reading aloud for children, or if he remembered and just didn't care.

Whatever the reason was, Lucian was reading for her now and Harry watched them from the doorway, not wanting to interrupt.

"You're back."

Lucy stood in the hall, voice quiet, with a book in her arms.

"I'm back," Harry acknowledged. "What have you got there?"

"It's from Harrison's room," she said. "Don't worry; it was in the 'little to no gore' bookshelf."

"Good. You wanna join them?"

He nodded into the room, and Lucy shrugged. But she went inside a moment later, and Harry followed. Lucian glanced up for a moment, and then turned back to the book. Angel waved at Harry before snuggling deeper into Lucian's chest. To others, normal people, she was a too old for that; Harry remembered that himself, his parents saying he was too big to sit in their laps. But Harrison didn't care, never had, and no one else in the manor cared as well.

Let children be children for as long as possible, was something they said instead. Harrison and the servants had been about the only ones who treated Harry like a child back when he first joined them. Everyone else had pretty much told him he was an adult already, he shouldn't be coddled anymore.

Lucy sat down near Lucian and Angel with the book in her lap, but soon enough she leaned forward and listened to Lucian's story instead. Harry prepared a drink. He didn't drink often, but he felt he earned one today. Just a little one. Not enough to get drunk or anything, although he was pretty sure Draco and Rabastan would be there to help him with Lucy and Angel if he did get drunk.

He had just begun to relax, Lucian reading a second story because Lucy had handed over the book and said she wanted to hear his version on a chapter, when the manor shook. They all stopped and looked up.

Was it an attack? Harry put away the glass and rose up, wand out. The manor shook again, a fine trembling running through the floor. Lucian put the book to the side and helped Angel up from his lap, but as he stood up he suddenly froze. He toppled to the floor.

"Lucy, take Angel and go to the downstairs living room now!"

Lucy grabbed Angel's hand and ran. Harry pulled Lucian up. He heard Draco and Rabastan yelling from somewhere in the manor. His focus was on the children. He hoped he hadn't sent them downstairs only to fall into someone's hand.

But it was only the living room fireplace that was connected to the Floo; the only place he could send them through quickly, and then destroy the fireplace to prevent someone following them. They would be safe in Lucius' office, right?

He dragged Lucian with him downstairs, where Lucy had stopped because of course she had stopped to wait for him. The manor was still trembling, the glass in the windows rattling. Somewhere, the kitchen probably, porcelain smashed down onto the ground.