The Elven Chronicles of Draco Malfoy - 3. Chapter 3: Awakening from a Dream

Draco stood breathless in the dining room, which was respectfully done in greens and along the walls were portraits of what appeared to be his family. Situated in the center of the room was a modest circular dining table that was elegantly decorated and had seating for six. But only three were arranged.

“Glad you finally decided to join us,” Lord Zasuan Phoenix appeared from behind one of the tapestries and strolled to stand next to Draco.

“Your Magis… err… what should I call you?” Draco said blushing

“You can call me Father… or Dad,” Lord Zasuan said.

“Err… Father, I had a slight difficulty with my wardrobe,” Draco said.

“Draco you look fine,” Lord Zasuan said giving Draco a once over with his eyes.

“Yes, but from the wizarding world these clothes are … too revealing.”

“You find that most of our clothes seem that way. You’ll get used to them eventually I’m sure.”

“Is my mother still alive?” Draco asked

“Yes quite… she was visiting her cousin under the Skysoar Waterfall. There is an elven city there, the plans to get you came up very suddenly when we began so sense you again and she was not able to get back in time, she has been on horseback for a full three days and only just arrived. She will be joining us shortly.”

“Couldn’t she have come faster?”

“You will find that most elves do not have your knack for magic, our magic is natural and gives us speed, beauty, age, strength, and protects our lands. We cannot manifest things or appear in other places. I’m suspecting that the magic you have wasn’t given to you naturally.”

“You mean you think my... Lucius used dark magic on me to make me a wizard.”

“I wouldn’t consider this a bad thing, it’s a part of who you are, just because you have dark magic doesn’t make you an evil wizard, it is our choices who define who we really are.”

Suddenly Draco was bombarded by images of his past, he watched as Professor Snape blasted Dumbledore off the Astronomy tower. He watched himself plant the poison in the wine that was eventually given to Ron, he even saw the dark lord himself.

“Son…”

“Huh?”

“You zoned out there for a moment, are you alright, you looked awfully sick for a moment.”

“I’ve made a lot of bad choices; someone I know once said those exact words to me.”

“Who was that?”

“My old headmaster, Professor Dumbledore”

“What happened to him?”

“He died.”

“Oh, well I wouldn’t let the past get in your way because you have a whole new life now, a new chance to become the person you truly want to be. You are my son, but you are also your own person, be that person whatever it is.”

“I will”

“Good, these are your ancestors, they don’t move around like wizarding pictures but they do have personalities… so get to know them when you have some free time.”

“What was my real name?”

“Pardon?”

“This picture here,” Draco pointed to a picture of an elf sitting on a throne with several children “he is my Grandfather he wants to know my name. It’s weird… it’s like he is speaking into my mind.”

“Your name that you were born with was Lord Draco Al Tomo Delo Phoenix, you were named after the constellation in the sky for it was the only one visible on the date of your birth and it shone more brightly then ever before on that night. ‘Al Tomo Delo’ means ‘of promised hope’ and Phoenix is the surname I took during my crusade against Loria the Dark elven kingdom.”

“So Lucius never changed my name?”

“No, he did not.”

“Are we still at war?” Draco asked

“No, the king had died and his daughter wished to end the war that plagued us for nearly seven hundred years, peace right now is fragile.”

“Oh,” Draco glanced at the picture again.

“He says I look like my mother, what does she look like?”

“She looks like this,” a new voice said from behind them.

Lady Talenna stood in the doorway. She was beautiful, light seemed to glow around her allowing her aura to flare with power. Her blonde hair was elegantly tied in elegant knots around her head and down her back. She was wearing a very slim and revealing green dress. Her long ears were adorned with many earrings and what looked like small tattoo, and like all elves her age could not be determined with a look.

“My son,” she said and in a very swift ran bodily at Draco and flung her arms around him and pull him and herself down on her knees and she hugged him and sobbed on his shoulder.

Draco was at first shocked when this elf pulled him to the floor and started crying on his shoulder. But suddenly something around his heart pulled and he sensed for the first time since he arrived… he was home. At first he thought he was dreaming and for a time he thought this could have been an elaborate hoax by Lord Voldemort, but his heart knew that scent, it was his mother… he was in his mothers arms. Narcissia never held him like that… and suddenly it was like all the time apart melted away and Draco could no long bite back the tears and sobbed openly onto his mother as well.

“Mother… please don’t cry.” Draco said trying to stop the tears “I’m home… I can’t believe this is home, please don’t cry.”

“They told me you were dead,” she said in between sobs her head still nestled in his shoulder “and then while I was at Skysoar I sensed something was wrong and then the messenger came and oh god Draco, my sweet Draco. I have missed you so much.”

“I’m home now, don’t worry..”

Talenna pulled away and looked Draco in the eyes, her eyes were the color of Champagne and her face was slim and her nose was slighted pointed giving her a lightly arrogant look… his look.

Draco stood and offered his hand which Talenna took and stood and adjusted her slightly crumpled dress.
“Sandy, come here please” Talenna called

A servant girl came through one of the doors

“Yes my lady?” the girl asked

“Fetch the royal artist, fetch Berry Wood!” She cried “we have a new family Portrait to paint!”

“As my lady commands, dinner will begin shortly.” The girl turned on her heel and went out the door.

Lord Zasuan directed Draco to the table and offered him a seat before doing the same for his wife. Servants began coming in with trays of food.

“So my Draco, where have you been?” Lady Talenna asked

Draco retold the story of his childhood and most of his times at Hogwarts and he even told her about Voldemort and the events the led him to being imprisoned and almost killed.

Talenna cried through most of dinner as Draco told his story.

“Surely there is something we can do Zasuan (as ou win)?” Talenna asked

“Absolutely not, I closed the borders to our realm to prevent us from being dragged into their wars, why would I open them for the reason why I closed them; human problems are best left with the humans”

“But this Harry Potter could surely use our help.” Lady Talenna said

“I have said no.”

“Well I’m trying to make you see, allow them to send an envoy?” Draco asked

“NO! I lost you BECAUSE I ALLOWED ENVOYS!!! The answer is no, unless our realm is directly effected I will not risk opening our borders again.”

“The Dark Lord will find a way through he will send envoys to either you or the other cities, and if he does you may find yourself in a civil war.” Draco said

“I am the High Lord over all our elven realms, no city could declare war without my consent”

“That is a bit presumptuous isn’t it, thinking that you can control every city, even though it takes day to pass for communication in between them, how many days would it take before you realized you had an army marching on the city, and how long would it take for our army to amass to meet it?” Draco asked

“Are you questioning me?” Zasuan stood with anger dripping off his every word.

“Father, I have only been here for a short time, but trust me when I say if anything ‘I know about the dark lord.’ He will seek help from the dark elves and if he can’t get it or even if he does, he will try to prevent you from joining by creating a civil war, the plan works perfect for him, I don’t know what our defenses look like, I haven’t even see the city or outside the castle walls. I’m just asking a simple question.”

Zasuan looked down at Draco and slowly took his seat “I’m sorry Draco, many in the council of Lords have been discussing joining the human war and I forget at times our role in this world, we do not belong in that war, and believe me it will take an act of aggression to make it happen, but trust me in the 1100 years in which I have been living, nothing will breach the city walls whist I am here.”

“What, if it comes down to it, what will happen?” Draco asked

“I will reopen the gates that border between our world and we will send the whole of our army through it.”

They sat in silence for a moment while they finished their dinners.

“Tomorrow,” Zasuan directed to Draco “I want you and your guard to go into the city tomorrow and explore and meet the people, I want you to know them and see how they react to you.”

“I look forward to it.” Draco said

“Good”

“But I was wondering” Draco asked “perhaps it would be more wise if I went in disguise as a guard or a peasant, I would like to meet our people on a personal level. I would get to know them better.”

Zasuan looked at Draco hard for a moment, and then leaned back and stroked his chin lost in thought. Eventually he snapped out of his trance

“Yes, but I want your guard to keep an eye on you.”

“That is fine, I heard about your little scuffle with Mr. Loon who has been suspended for his instruction with the guard and is under house arrest. The students were in quite an uproar, I think it would be best if you went in disguise, because I am quite sure that by now everyone has heard about you.”

“News travels fast?”

“In this city, yes”

“Draco, would it be ok if I help choose your outfit for your adventure tomorrow?” Talenna asked

“Of course” Draco said

“Good, I know just the thing.”

Talenna turned when she heard a door open behind her and in came a couple of servants holding various art equipment and a very disgruntled looking artist.

“Lena I told you to feel free to call on me, but I would prefer if it was not during my supper or while I was sleeping.”

“And you Mr. Wood would do well to remember your place.” Lord Zasuan said

“Yes, I am also the best artist in all of the Adendelian Realm and don’t you forget it sonny, I am more than twice your age and worked for your grandfather. Kings come and kings go Lord Zasuan… but there will only be one Berry Del La Faria Wood.”

Draco liked the man more and more

“… and you are also one of my best friends.” Talenna said

Sighing Mr. Wood put down his easel and clapped his hands together “so which one of you am I doing today, or am I doing both of you.”

“All three of us,” Zasuan said.

“The three of you?” Mr. Wood asked

“All three of us” Talenna said as she stepped aside to allow Mr. Wood to see Draco

“BY THE GODS!” Mr. Wood dropped to his knees and bowed to the floor.

Draco became embarrassed at the display.

“It is an honor to see you Lord Draco,” Mr. Wood rose to face Draco “I am sorry for my display, but I was here in the castle when you were taken and all of Adendele mourned of your loss, even the great Adendele Tree shed her leaves and left us in winter for over fifteen years. We have missed you so.”

“Tree…? Winter…? What… did you say you’ve been winter for fifteen years?” Draco asked

“Yes, but suddenly a few days ago the snow started to melt and the tree blossomed back into life, everyone is so happy, rumors had been spreading about Lena being pregnant again, others were saying that you had returned. Others even mentioned that…

Lord Zasuan coughed loudly as to silence the artist.

“Oh right… err… people have been celebrating openly in the streets, it has been most exciting and I have rarely seen such a spectacle even in my long life.” Mr. Wood said

“Fifteen years you’ve been gone, now our realm is springing back to life. “ Zasuan said with a smile

“It took me longer than expected to leave Skysoar because the waterfall unfroze and the water blocked the entrance and it took almost a full day to reactivate the magical spell that allows exit, the lake that we travel across was again a lake and the path that we took sprang full of life and was difficult to navigate once again.” Talenna said

“Why?”

“Why what?” Talenna asked?”

“Why did everything here happen because of me?” Draco asked

“Our best scholars concluded it was because you were the last Royal member to go into the sanctuary, and when you left us the sanctuary became sad. The sanctuary is the heart of the city, it is the magical center for our world, and it is that place that controls the magic of this entire realm.”

“Well I believe I have a portrait to draw, will your formal dining wear be enough?” Berry asked

Lord Zasuan looked at Talenna who looked back at Mr. Wood and answered

“Yes, they will suit fine.”