Saturn shivered, the castle was really cold with the creeping tendrils of wind that night and he was particularly careful to avoid any dangerous attention that might follow him into the labyrinth of hallways and endless corridors down towards the basement. The young elf was not only well aware that his father would have his hide should he develop a cold upon his exhausted state, he would give him more than one detention should he get caught in the forbidden area that were the kitchens. It was a risk he had been forced to take under his father's orders and now was exceptionally careful with every foot he placed forwards into the unknown for heavens knew his luck that night was rapidly running out.

Ever since he had missed dinner in the Great Hall and had not reported to his father's quarters by nine o'clock, those of his family that knew of his absence had nearly torn apart the castle in looking for him. It had been Draco that had finally cornered him after being asked by his father to find him, who promptly informed him that the Potions Master had nearly drafted the entire Slytherin House in helping to find him. How Draco had so easily gained access to the Ravenclaw common room though, the young elf could only guess after all he had barely been back ten minutes since his time private time outside. It had been a pleasant surprise to witness the worry and concern that had lighted his brother's eyes when he had found him, especially since he and Draco had been at stubborn odds since the arrival of the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. 

'Uncle Severus is worried sick about you! Please go and tell him goodnight before he races through the entire castle looking for you and trust me Saturn, if he should do that, you won't be happy when he is the one to find you.' Saturn had understood the words all too well and had done exactly as he was told despite his hidden trepidation. When he had pushed open the door to his father's office after being beckoned inside, he had been exceptionally glad to find that his father had not been angry at him as his brother had hinted but rather concerned about his health.

After more than twenty minutes where he had been pulled into a suffocating embrace, looked over again and again and reassured that he was real Saturn had quietly leaned against the wall and observed his father for a few minutes as he attempted to pull himself back together again and continue with his exceptionally large stack of parchment that still needed to be marked. And before Saturn could close his eyes, slide down the wall and fall asleep in his father's welcoming presence he was tugged from his daze by being led towards the door. The clock resting on the fireplace mantle already reading 10:30, despite his reluctance to let go of the comforting embrace he was offered Saturn had eventually been, with a push, forced to exit the Potions Master's office.

'You should write to Lucius, my child, he is worried about you.' With a kiss to his forehead in goodnight, Saturn walked into the corridors of the dungeons. A slip of paper allowing him still thirty minutes out of his common room clutched in his left hand as he glanced over his right shoulder.  Severus Snape, notorious for his strictness and surly demeanour had just ordered him down to the kitchens to get something to eat that night before he was to go straight to bed and drink his potion. And that was exactly where Saturn was going to now, only when his father had mentioned it had he realized that he was quite hungry once his emotions had no longer been overwhelming his thoughts.

He briefly recalled the way the pale light from the shimmering flames in the hearth had danced across his father's sallow features, and in that single moment he had known that the meeting with the Headmaster had not gone well for his beloved father seemed quite sickly in pallor and his shoulders, usually so strong and defiant, had been weighted down with the burden of the world just like Atlas had once been forced to carry the burden of the globe upon his shoulders, imprisoned next to the river of Styx. Saturn had wisely chosen not to ask and left quietly in search of the kitchens he had not visited since a year before. 

Brushing his fingers absently against the pricking scar concealed on his forehead, Saturn frowned in confusion and wondered if he should tell someone for it was terribly achy these days, especially when he dreamed of Cedric and the Dark Lord's resurrection. With a sigh, Saturn carefully arranged his hair to fall over his forehead in order to conceal the scar further should the potion his father had given him worn off by now. It was quite an internal struggle that he faced when he halted in front of the Kitchens' entrance. He could not decide if he was really hungry or if something else was making his stomach want to eat itself from the inside out.

With a sigh of resignation Saturn withdrew his right hand from his robe pocket and stuck out his long fingers to tickle the pear. The wayward fruit seemed to giggled quite delightedly at his touch before it swung open to reveal the vast kitchen plane above. His breath, quietly unnoticeable before ,now left his lungs in a surprised whoosh as hundreds and hundreds of little house-elves circled his form at once. Little fingers reaching towards him, screaming and babbling excitedly at him all at once in so many languages that the royal elf started to regret his decision to come and tried to back pedal his way out. Only to find it nearly impossible as he was surrounded from all sides. 

"Whoa! Whoa! Quiet little ones, whatever is the matter?!" Saturn yelled in concern, pulling his hair over his right shoulder where some of the little creatures had grasped a hold of the long strands and pulled to gather his attention. Wincing at the constricted feeling he felt, Saturn knelt on one knee to bring him closer to their panicking forms. This had been a lot worse than the first time he had come down to the kitchens and the time afterwards as well. The front rows of house-elves almost immediately burst into tears at his action and Saturn wondered if he had done something terribly wrong. Reaching out a hand to pat two elves heads in comfort as they babbled and bowed to him, only made him more confused and he wondered if his father had not done this on purpose as a sort of punishment for his absence at dinner. Knowing him though, this would be exactly what he would do.

A stunned silence reigned for a few more seconds before Saturn stood once again, just about ready to turn on his heal when a very familiar face stepped forward and bowed to him. His body reaching down so low to the ground that a long nose nearly touched the ground in his enthusiasm and Saturn felt a spark of happy remembrance of this elf saving him in his second year despite all the danger he had put him through in the first place. 

"Dobby is speaking for the elves in saying we are honoured young Elf Prince that you has came to visit us. The Woodlands Elves and their royalty has always been nicest to us, respected us and we wills be very happy to serves you tonight. What it is that you require of us, we wills do anything you asks?" Saturn, after a moment of registering just what had been said, was stunned into silence. Here he thought that house elves would hate him for his creature inheritance as he was so much like a human and the representation of their enslavement.

Saturn, taking a careful breath, briefly glanced around the kitchens to observe many eyes gazing at him with wonder and ware so he gathered his thoughts as best he could and pushed aside the overwhelming sense of protection their presence lit beneath his heart.  Clearing his throat, Saturn fidgeted with the bell sleeves of his robes, before he decided how to answer their imploring question whilst not offending them in anyway.

"Um, I-I wish to t-thank you very much for your kindness, my friends" Saturn began only to be forced to trail of once again as a wave of babbling words assaulted his sensitive ears. Allowing him to tilt his head to the side in an attempt to try and listen to what they were all trying to say, scream and whisper to him all at once. He could only catch a few words here and there, forcing a blush to blossom upon his pale cheeks before it once more became a muddle of words and sounds that he could not understand.

'He thanks us! He thanks us!'

'So gentle and kind! Just like his kind before him! What cans we do for him?'

'We shall serves him, only him when he asks.'

'Obey all that he asks without questions.'

"Thank you! But please I do not want to keep you from your work for the castle so would you mind perhaps if I ask for just a simple cheese sandwich and the delicious slice of your strawberry and cream sponge cake?" Silence was not long in staying to make a home but such a simple and polite request was all that it took for them to once again rush through the kitchens on their own little tasks as they placed his request before him with a jug of freshly squeezed pineapple juice, seconds within his asking for it. With another quiet 'thank you' Saturn turned towards his impromptu meal and nibbled gratefully at the freshly baked bread and warm cheese as it melted across the buttery surface.

Being so caught up in his thoughts and finished his sandwich, Saturn was just about to place his fork into the piece of desert before his head whipped around to stare wide-eyes as the kitchen entrance was opened for a second time that night. In a panic, Saturn was about to dive under the large table but it was too late, his blonde hair had already been seen as two identical faced peaked beneath the surface of the table.

"Well now, look at what I found! This is certainly not what we expected when we sneaked down here for a late night snack." A very familiar face noted amusedly and Saturn, flushing in his embarrassment, hid behind his long strands of hair as he sat in front of his lovely piece of cake once again. Not sure whether to ignore the twins or actually acknowledge them but something was also holding him back. What if they recognized him? Knew that his life had been nothing but a lie and he also wanted nothing more than to regain their friend-.

"Is it Gred?" Fred asked and offered a strangely welcoming smile to the young elf that was now trying to disappear, quietly declining another cheese sandwich from two eager elves that hovered around his seated form.

"No, 'tis not dear Forge. A Malfoy in the Kitchens, polite to elves. Someone can whack me over the head with a bludger and I would not believe it. But then again, a Malfoy in Ravenclaw, studios, keeping to himself and speeks little. You are alight Saturn, you are alright..." Saturn, who's hand halted halfway to his lips with a morsel of cake, stilled midair when his left hand was taken into Fred and then George's grip before being shook vigorously. The force nearly making him drop his cake before he could offer a sincere smile and a genuine 'thank you'.

"Now, as a newly established acquaintance, I wonder if you are willing to buy some of our new products. The Skiving Snack boxes is all that you will ever need in escaping from class. And as an esteemed Ravenclaw yourself, one can every once in a while escape from all the expectations of class if you really need it to study for another test..." Saturn smiled, finishing off his pineapple juice  before offering some to his newly established friends. His elation at being accepted once again by the twins as an acquaintance meant more than being scorned by them like Ron seemed to be bent on showing him every time he walked past him in the hallway.

The conversation came easy between the three of them and Saturn soon found a new admiration for their business sense and inventing abilities, so much so that he actually openly complimented them and the ingenious intuition. He had always been so busy with the rest of the world and his own problems that he had scarcely had time to even talk to the twins like this and as time ticked by Saturn was surprised that it near midnight when their conversation finally wound down. With a smile and a wave over his shoulder, Saturn whose hair had been braided like a circled upon his brow once again in extra precaution in hiding his scar, slid down his shoulders to tickle his arms as he headed for the door. Shaking off the hands that seemed to have gripped a hold of the strands in wonder.

"I am sorry about the loss your of friend, but going what my brother had told me and I understand of Potter's personality, I am sure that he would have wanted you to chase your dreams. And going by the ingeniousness of your ideas and dream to run a joke shop, I would invest myself but as I know you do not like Malfoy money, I will instead encourage you to continue forward. Yet for now I better get to bed. If my 'Mum' knew I was still out of bed, I would be dead by sundown tomorrow." At their delighted laughter Saturn breathed a sigh of contentment. He had had such a terrible day and had forgotten just how much these two busy bodies could cheer him up should his life crumble beneath his fingers.

"Till next time, Fred, George. I shall ask my father if there is any open shop in Diagon Alley for you to use when I owl him next. I'm glad I have met you." And with that he disappeared through the portrait hole and stealthily headed towards the spiral staircase of the fifth floor, feeling as if nothing could damper his mood. Not even the detention he had to serve with Umbridge.

"You seem happier today, Saturn. Did the sandman visit a good dream upon you? I always thought that he was a gentle creature that loved to play with our emotions." Luna's airy murmur called Saturn out of his trance like state, forcing him to look over the top of his black leather bound book of Legilimency and Occlumency, where he reclined on one of the common room divans. Luna, who was sitting on the ground by his feet with her homework spread around her in crumpling pieces of parchment and chewing the edge of her quill, stilled the young elf's elated humming to stunned surprise. The resonance of his soft singing voice suddenly bathing the common room in an excruciating silence that seemed to lift the other occupants' heads from their books at the loss to stare at him in confusion, askance in why he had stopped.

Looking at the extensive notes spread across his lap, Saturn once again flicked his forest green eyes towards his peacefully reclining friend that leaned against his legs in search of comfort only she could find in him. The young elf had truly come to enjoy these little times of companionship they managed to steal from the busy schedule of their lives and her whimsical smile of happiness, lighting now her astoundingly beautiful features made his heart flutter in his chest as he offered her an equally brilliant smile and absently stared at the clock mounted on the wall. 

Only fifteen minutes was left of his brief reprieve of happiness and comfort before he was expected in Professor Umbridge office and his anxiety that had been building through him since the confrontation with the Headmaster yesterday, had left him strung out and emotionally upset. There was no doubt though that Luna had miraculously made an exhausting day good. And her continued presence by his side, despite the glares and murmurs from the students in Saturn's year of their strange relationship, made it even better.

His brief happiness that day, as he reflected upon the meeting in the kitchen with twins the night before, had seen Saturn through a tiring day where he surprisingly spent most of it in a trance like state of elation at nature's breath in his ear and the prospect of two new friends peaking on the horizon. Managing only enough control to pay attention to pass from class to class without getting into trouble. 

"Hn, I just had a good day today and perhaps the Dreamless Sleep Potion has also helped me in getting the rest I have been missing." He returned in his own airy voice. Surprised how easily it came to him to become so detached from the world, turning off all the pain in his despondency and honestly if he had been truly paying attention he would have seen that through his theoretical potions class that morning, his father's self-same coloured eyes never truly straying far from him in desperate concern at his state of being. But he had not and remained woefully ignorant as to the world around him, had not even heard Draco call out to him in the hallways once.

"I can see that the Wrackspurts have been feeding off your dark emotions, perhaps I shall go ask the House Elves if they have some Dirigible Plum juice for you. It should help, it always has for me." Yet, before she could stand up to head for the Kitchens, Saturn rested a firm hand on her shoulder and stood. Closing his book with a snap as he swung his heavy book-bag over his shoulder, hiding the seemingly dark vellum in one of the many compartments of his messenger bag before he leant down to boldly place a chaste kiss at the top of her head. Catching the sweet scent of hair as it tickled his nose in sweet orchids and coconut, a combination so heady that he closed his eyes briefly in rapture before hiding his flaming embarrassment at his action. Turning away quickly lest she see his flushing cheeks and suddenly fidgeting fingers. 

Where he had gotten the impulse to act on his instinct he did not know but it felt as if his heart was going to leap out of his chest when Luna, who had been lost in thought before, now seemed to awaken to reality and offered him a genuinely happy smile. She had not been affronted at all and took his strange display of affection in stride as she too gently patted the top of his left hand just as he made to pull away. The affection between them seemed to have been growing exponentially since their first meeting on the train and Saturn was lost in a different type of elated trance as he exited the common room, yet before the door closed behind him there was a call for him.

"Be careful Saturn, Professor Umbridge is worse than an infestation of Blibbering Humdingers!" He heeded her words, quite lost in his trance as he replied absently.

"Thanks Luna, I'll make sure to be extra careful." And after seeing one last brilliant smile from her at his small reassurance, Saturn descended the staircase and stepped down the last step and onto the second floor where he would be serving detention with the DADA Professor. The only Professor that year that seemed to have already procured the hatred of the entire school, worse than any of the students that hated his father. The young elf felt a twinge at that, for none of them knew the kindness and compassion that the Potions Master hid so well from the world. He did not care though, for even though there was an inkling gnawing inside of him that her punishments would be worse than anything the surly Potions Master could come up with, he boldly faced the dungeon like door and knocked. His heart, still soaring from the sweet kiss did not plummet and he carefully schooled his features to not show his flushed features and happy countenance.

The clock had just struck eight o'clock on the dot when she called for him to enter with her sickeningly sweet voice. And Saturn, reluctantly but very careful, stepped inside the office as to not worsen her opinion of him. The sudden elation of his mood that he had carefully built up over the last few hours, practically vanished in a second as he stared disgustedly at the bright fluorescent pink that assaulted his retinas and burned into his brain. Dear Merlin! He was going to go blind and if he were paying any attention to his own reaction, he would have quickly wiped the expression off of his face but he was too distracted by her own sickeningly sweet smile to notice.

With a mere irritated wave of her hand she directed him towards the table and chair in front of her desk.

"A, Mr Malfoy! Punctual this time I see, at least you have long enough of an attention span to learn one lesson since our last encounter. I just hope that you will walk away here tonight with another lesson sunk into your mind. Now, please have a seat so that we can begin." Saturn, who had been fighting with his internal instinct to bite back venomly at her sadistic tone, kept back his dark retort of sarcasm before it could bubble across his lips unchecked with the reminder in his mind to stay low this year.

"What will you have me do Professor?"

"Lines, Mr Malfoy. Only Lines."

'Keep calm, keep calm and remember Dad! She is vindictive and will hurt him should she ever find out.' He reminded himself sternly, clenching his teeth and grinding them painfully as a piece of parchment was conjured on his desk with the wave of her wand. Her punishment did not seem worse than what he had known but something in the room was making him decidedly uncomfortable. He had to forcibly calm himself as he dug through his bag for a fresh quill only to stall at her clearing throat.

He really hated that, a dark frown decorating his features as he pulled his hand into his own lap.

"Oh no, Mr Malfoy. There will be no need to for you to retrieve your own quill. You can use mine, the black one to your right." Frowning at the sudden glee invading her voice, Saturn picked up the aforementioned quill with obvious suspicion. It was a long cylindrical shape with no feather and the moment his long fingers curled elegantly across the black quill he hissed at the burning sensation that numbed his arm entire arms and settled heavily against his heart. The tip was uncommonly sharp and looked somehow more threatening than it probably was, especially now that the magic he felt licking across his skin was carefully and purposefully undoing his previous mood. 

"W-what shall I write, Professor?" Saturn stuttered, not liking the way his breath seemed to become heavy in his chest. She however, seemed to observe him intently for a moment before pouring herself a cup of tea as if nothing was wrong and the child she was observing before her was not one that she had found an inherent hatred for. 

"I have recently come across some interisting information, Mr Malfoy." She began, tugging Saturn's attention back to her again as he looked up. "And regardless of your status as a Malfoy. A silly and embarrassing love child of Lucius Malfoy no less, dabbling in the Dark Arts at Durmstrang, living off of your father's fortune and harbouring filthy blood;  I shall not tolerate you tainting their exceptional blood purity with a creature inheritance. The stain of your whorish mother seems to have come through in you, where your mother no likely seduced your father as elves are known to do." Saturn, who had been listening to these words felt his breath stall in his throat. If she knew what it was that she was saying, she would be losing her job as both a ministry worker and a teacher and the boiling anger he felt building in his veins was enough to make his blood ring painfully in his ears.

"You will thusly write: I am a half-blood freak." Saturn, showed, with increasing difficulty,  no outward change but inside his entire body was in tumult that was throwing off his entire equilibrium of a good day. What worried him the most was just how she had found out about his creature blood when he had gone to such extensive length to hide it from the world. 

Defiantly he straightened his back and picked up her quill to hover over the parchment in a brief lapse of hesitation. It was too easy, he realized. This was not a battle of discipline, it had nothing to do with breaking school rules and showing disrespect. This was a bid to humiliate him, shatter his spirit and break his resolve to live with his new family. And it would work had he not lived through so much humiliation his whole life. So with determination he knew that he would not have it! Not now, not ever and determined to throw her off balance in her smirking, satisfied features of a toad who had just eaten a flat fly, Saturn offered his own smirk of condense dance and made as if the words she had just spoken had no profound effect on him at all.

When in reality, Saturn knew it was much too close to home in his vast expanse of abuse and personal insecurity.

"How many lines, Professor?" He asked calmly, testing out the tip of the quill too see it not making a mark on the parchment. With a frown he was forced once again to look upon her smug features. Yet before he wrote a single word, he kept his attention focused solely on her. Hoping that she could feel the hatred rolling off of him in waves and yet, she did not shift at all. Seeming to enjoy his desperate anger and the touch of fear she could note in the depths of his ever dark eyes that were like bottomless pits, so cold and distant that it was almost impossible to see any emotion at all, she smirked and giggled softly in delight.

"Untill the message really sinks in Mr Malfoy, that you do not deserve your great heritage. Oh, and there is no need to concern yourself, you will not be needing any ink at all." 

I am a half-blood freak. He wrote, wincing at the sudden sharp and painful sensation digging and dragging into the back of his left hand. Dark eyes watching detachedly as the words appeared on the parchment stained in such a deep red that it could only have been his blood, the words he had just written appearing simultaneously on the back of his hand in a sickly red colour. The perfect reflection of his written words now leaking blood  in the carefully placed cuts. Saturn understood it now, this detention was going to eventually break him but for now he would stubbornly cling to the last of his remaining control. The cuts healed themselves but left a decidedly smarting red patch on his skin. Abraded and hurting with every brush of his robe sleeve as Saturn bit his lip to keep himself from lashing out at her in desperate anger.

He would get through this, he would not break. Not so early in the year and not even a sadistic toad could break him, not with pain for he had lived with it in his life for too long, understood those who used it for power too well and was not afraid to liken her to Voldemort in the glee she seemed to gain from his internal suffering. For there was no doubt Saturn was suffering, wanting nothing more than to fall into his Dad's arms and wait for his father to come and visit him. He was already so exhausted and the sweet moments of affection and friendship he had stolen with Luna earlier that day seemed to evaporate as quickly as it had come. The further he wrote, the deeper the etches of the words were carved upon his hand and he shuddered with heartbreak, dark and dangerous emotions building up inside him that would be no good should his mind ever try to execute them.

He needed his Dad but he was too afraid to get him into trouble with this evil, vindictive witch.

"Let me see Mr Malfoy." Saturn, exhausted by enduring the pain for such a long period of time, stood shakily from his seat and boldly stalked towards her desk to show her triumphantly his left hand. Her finger deliberately digging into the bleeding cuts on his hand that spelled out the words, 'I am a half-blood freak'. The young elf did not even flinch when the pain that assaulted his hand burned anew through his body and mind. Her ugly, sneering eyes observed his own emotionless black ones deeply before she let go and picked up her own quill to continue marking essays as if nothing was wrong. Saturn's desperate anger reached a new fever pitch and scowling deeply, he fingered his wand that was hidden up his sleeve quite deliberately. Debating whether he should hex her and risk expulsion from Hogwarts or bite back with his sarcastic words instead; risking more detentions than just this one...

What would his father do should he know?

"I see that it has sunk in well, but not deep enough yet. You may go Mr Malfoy, I shall see you back here next week so that we can continue." Saturn winced suddenly at the pain of his nails digging into the palm of his hand, biting his tongue in hopes of holding himself back. For Dad, for Dad, for Dad, only for Dad will I endure! He repeated in his mind like mantra of hope that would see him though his boiling anger that had been simmering ever since the day before. Yet, for once in his life, it was not working. He was losing it as he grabbed his book-bag and slung it over his shoulder with probably more force than was truly necessary. Valiantly fighting back the sudden flood gate of emotions that was rapidly crumbling under the last of his resolve.

Feeling quite thrown off balance when he wished to cry in anger, wail his deep frustration and to his own frustration not being able to hold back anymore, Saturn halted menacingly in the doorframe. His streaming golden hair, that had always been like a halo, was now in itself seeming more dangerous than ever as it swayed with the slight breeze.

"May I say something Professor?" He asked sweetly, humming a little beneath his breath as he rebuilt the walls surrounding his emotions from scratch. He was going to regret doing this but he could no longer hold back, not anymore. With a tug on his bottom lip he steeled himself for what he was about to do, something that he would not be proud of later.

"You may Mr Malfoy but after that I suggest you return to your dorm, it is after midnight and I am sure that students are not allowed out of their beds this late." Steeling himself, Saturn recalled the hurtful words that she had spoken against his family and straightened his shoulders in preparation for breaking his inner vow. He knew he was going to regret this but the once hidden Gryffindor and Slytherin qualities of biting back were driving him forward, there was no stopping him as he lifted his head to glare at her with the most deadly gaze he could afford, delighted in seeing her stare at him with a tint of fear. His figure, even though small and elf like, was not much but the sudden aura that swirled around his feet and engulfed his entire being was as deadly as they came. Shadowing and channelling both the power and control his fathers were both known for and executed so well over others.

It was a heady feeling, this control that crept across his skin like a gentle caress of an old friend. 

"At Durmstrang, Professor we may have studied the Dark Arts in classrooms, books and practical's. However, at least there wands were allowed in the classroom so that we knew how to defend ourselves should the Dark Lord ever rise again. And trust me Professor he will rise again, lest he has not already as Mr Potter has claimed so bravely last year." Saturn remarked bitingly, bitterness lighting his condescending tone as his robes swirled around his feet when he turned on his heel. "Never once was there an incompetent, filthy little toad dressed in pink that spied for the ministry in my distinguished school of Magical Arts in Europe." He scowled, his mutter loud enough so that she could hear him clearly. He kept his composure though, even though he was sure that his fingernails had drawn blood already where they dug painfully into the flesh of his wrist. 

"Tut, tut Professor. I am deeply disappointed in not only you but your woefully incompetent Minister of Magic but your ineptitude in controlling children in your class is the worst I have ever seen." Saturn sneered  to himself, not once glance over his shoulder even though he knew that she was aware of the disgusted, aloof expression he was making. He was also aware of the raging anger that would be crossing her features and it would only make her uglier and more deadly than before. So  instead, he straightened his back with a new found power and determination and waved impertinently over his shoulder as if what he had said had not happened at all. His footsteps carried him hastily away from the door should she really chase after him and challenge him to a duel.

He could already hear her heeled shoes echoing over the stone flood as she followed him at a startling pace for her prim and proper 'manners'.

"That is another two weeks of detention for you MALFOY! Impertinence to a teacher, disrespect to the Minister! I will have all of your blood one day! ALL OF IT! YOU HEAR ME! ALL OF IT!" Saturn chuckled, she did not scare him. He had faced much worse and had survived, still standing if not a little worse for wear. Besides the fresh, sharp pain from the quill cutting into his skin that night had been so refreshing, so pleasurable knowing that doing it without showing any form of outward reaction was driving her insane. She, who so desperately wanted to shatter him, to see him break under the abuse. He knew that her retaliation would be worse than ever, something that he was suddenly very aware of with the numbing pain in his left arm in the stain of dark magic.

"I look forward to it, Professor!" He yelled over his shoulder, throwing her a disarming smile before catching a brief glimpse of her blotchy, flushed features filled with rage and anger as she shook her toad-like fist in his direction probably vowing his eternal revenge. Daringly he waved at her, his wand threateningly clasped between his fingers before he rounded a corner and walked deeper into the castle. His shoulders once again growing heavy with another weight added to his desperate concerns and pains.

As if he would not know how to protect himself against people like that. The mocking smile slid almost immediately off of his strained features as he protectively brought his hand towards his chest. Even though he had won that round against her, he knew that he had just done something incredibly stupid once again and if he got out of it alive, he would be fairly lucky if his fathers did not kill him first. Especially Severus, yes his bearer was going to murder him should he find out. However, knowing people like Umbridge, despite her being sadistic, she would not risk getting herself fired in bragging of her triumph over a Malfoy. No, she would keep quiet, even about keeping him in detention. 

Making enemies now was not a good thing and neither was getting on the wrong side of her, but the things she had said had truly hurt him and even though Saturn had vowed with his life to keep it secret to protect both his fathers, he did not know exactly how long he was going to be able to hide his newly deepening scars from wondering eyes. With a wince, he rounded another corner and leaned heavily against an open window seat to briefly stare at the cloudy night sky as he breathed the cold air deeply. His hand was hurting again and his head was swimming through a dark murky lake of conflicting emotions as Saturn pulled back his sleeve to observe the severity of the wound. The light from only the stars as a new moon was black in the sky, left him quite disconcerted and disconnected with the world.

The despondency he had been feeling since his arrival at Hogwarts was getting much worse.

Blood was sluggishly leaking from the still open cuts, staining the edge of his white cuffs deep, bloodied red before he brought his wand to the wound and whispered a quick healing spell that his father had taught him when he had cut himself in the Woodlands of Malfoy Manner. However, it did not work. With a tired sigh, he waved his wand and transfigured a white bandage from a piece of lint on his robes and wrapped up the wound as best he could, hoping that it would close over night and that his father would not inquire about the white piece of cloth tomorrow should it still be needed.

Just when he finished pulling his bell sleeve over the bandage to conceal it from prying eyes, he was viciously startled from his reverie by a pair of hands clapping his shoulder and familiar voices calling to him delight and surprise. A scream that Saturn could barely hold back, died on his lips by the quick and violent way in which he was forced to come back into awareness. Two very familiar faces hovered before him with equally concerned looks before it spread into brilliant smiles that nearly blinded him with its intensity. Sucking in a short, sharp breath before tugging at his bottom lip Saturn stood away from the alcove and whispered frantically in questioning to their sudden appearance.

"What hell are you doing? You'll get into trouble its past midnight already!" Their smiles did not fade at his accusing tone but merely seemed to stretch their faces as they laughed. He cringed at the volume and practically begged them to keep it down, his heart was already racing so much that his knuckles had turned white as he clutched his wand in defence. They had been lucky that he had not been all aware of his surroundings otherwise they would have been hexed, cursed or even jinxed by now. He however, let out his own indigent squawk when the hands that rested on his shoulder moved lower to his back and began guiding him away from the lonely alcove and towards the stairs that would take him to his common room.

"Oh, hush now. Don't get you knickers in a twist, Malfoy. We often stalk the halls at night, looking for younger years to prank, only..." Fred trailed off, waiting for his twin to pick up where he left off.

"...we never expected once to find one of the worlds purest of blood wizards taking on a toad with such boldness!"

"I have never been so proud, George!"

"Neither have I Fred, we now have an honorary Gryffindor with the slick style of a Slytherin!"

"We shall forever support you, Saturnus! All hail of Ravenclaw Emperor!" They intoned together, and Saturn who had been looking from one to other as they took turns in completing their ideas, absently smiled at them as he frantically tried to calm the excessive beating of his heart. He had never expected for another student to be out so late at night and now they had heard his anger, but then again he reminded himself that they were in the Kitchens the night before as well. Testing the boundaries of the new disciplinary system that Umbridge instilled into the school and being downright careless as he thought.

But in that moment where he was sure his trembling hands and numb limbs were going to collapse under him, they could not have shown up at a better time. Because even though their touch keeping him steady was light and soft, it kept him from falling over and sprawling on the floor in an undignified manner. With a shuddering breath though, he looked from one pair of blue to another with slight trepidation. Hoping that they did not notice the sudden panic that seemed to want to break through the surface of his control.

"Unfortunately Saturn, we can only take you so far. We shall look for your tomorrow, perhaps a few of our Pucking Pastilles will get you out of one of her detentions." George said thoughtfully and Saturn nodded, staring apologetically at the brass eagle knocker that looked at him with a narrowed glare before spreading its wings and flapping them irritably.

"When young I am in the sun, when middle aged I make you gay, when old I am valued more than ever." The eagle barked and Saturn smiled, he and one of his classmates had gotten this one  a few days ago and he answered quite confidently, 'wine', before the door creaked open and two sets of eyes observed him quite enviously that he got the answer so quickly. Yet at their gay goodnight, Saturn offered a wilting smile before climbing the staircase to his dormitory. He was shivering and whether it was in exhilaration of anguish he did not know but when he ran cold water over the wound before going to bed, it helped to calm his panic and sooth the pain. Not once questioning their presence as he slipped off to an exhausted sleep, hoping his nightmare would be kept at bay that night.

Emerald green eyes, flashing a deep, dark colour with different emotions, settled upon the spread of the Forbidden Forest stretching before him into the everlasting distance. After making doubly sure that no one had followed him outside or saw him heading towards the edge of the forest, Saturn closed his eyes and slipped into the expanse of dark, olden trees that reached their tendril-like hands in his direction.  Marvelling at the coolness beneath their canopies and shivering at the magic that tickled his skin. Making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as the forest's voice started calling to him in a gentle, beckoning manner. With a sigh he briefly stared through the gaps in the tall tree canopies to look towards the sky; the clouds were fluffy and white that morning and the threatening atmosphere of rain and cold had strangely vanished with the rising of the sun.

He had woken that morning to a throbbing ache reaching across the expanse of his hand, which had overnight stained the white bandage with spots of blood as it had dried and started to slowly heal. However, it was a sad fact that his hand would never properly heal if Umbridge kept him in detention for more than three weeks. So with a small sigh, he was well aware that he was going to have to begin to prepare himself for the constant pain and ache in his left hand, even incapacitating him to some extent. He just hoped that the tendons would not be severed or severely damaged by end of the year. And in his preparation, Saturn knew that he going to have to need some time alone in the forest to recollect himself.

So after a quick breakfast in the Great Hall, keeping the white bandage concealed by wearing one of his longer sleeved jumpers to ward against the autumn chill, Saturn had told Draco and his father in passing that he was going to be outside for the rest of the morning. Whether it was to finish some of his homework, work on getting through the intensive Occlumency book or writing a letter to his father they did not ask. He had only received the raise of an eyebrow and a nod, and the reason why he had told them in the first place was so that they would not come looking for until lunchtime. He did not want to be bothered by the concern that he would to be searched for in a panic as to his whereabouts. 

With a simple wave and a quiet goodbye to Luna, who had propped herself in the library to study for a class test, he stepped outside with the last promise to attempt to help her in understanding DADA better and walked into the sunshine outside. Glad to find that most of the students had decided that today was a good day to stay inside or away from the forest, Saturn made his way inside the forest where he presently found himself. The grass was exceptionally soft beneath his feet, his hair that he had kept loose that day, was haphazardly being tugged by the soft breeze that was also rustling the leaves of the trees. The awareness of his thoughts and emotions shifted instead to connect with the call of nature drawing him closer and deeper into the forest. 

Keeping in mind that there were still many dangers present in the large forested area, Saturn did not stray too deep. Keeping to the path that Hagrid had tread into the grounds for many, many years. He only strayed from that path as he noticed a small clearing of brilliant green grass and multi-coloured flowers to his left. His bare feet tickled by the clovers popping up from the grass as a bush of elderflower tugged him closer towards it, Saturn did not turn back. He had no intention to go away, not quite yet. All he desperately needed now and yearned for intensely was his harp, but it was but a shallow wish as he was not at home with his fathers.

No, he was at school where he was desperately struggling to stay afloat and ahead of his classmates. Instead, the young elf allowed for the call of nature to overwhelm him as he stretched out on the long grass. Forest green eyes turning skyward to observe the tops of the trees as the grass and small, weed-like flowers, tickling his ears and toes as his buried his fingers in the strands of emerald green. He was more surprised than he ever was when several flowers of differing colours, even a bunch of lilies, sprung up in close proximity of his position and in hopes of cheering his mood. Singing out to him softly, lulling him into a comfort only he could feel brush through his hair like that carding fingers of his father when he was in distress. 

Ignoring the sudden surprise of whispering flowers and gentle comforts, Saturn sat up against an elm tree and pulled out the shrunken contents of his pocket. A bottle of green ink, a large quill constructed of an eagle owl feather and a fresh, clean piece of parchment. The tip of the feather tickling his nose as he brushed it across his lips from side to side in contemplation of what to write to his father. Knowing that only the first week of school had crept by, and yet to Saturn it felt like a lifetime had passed him by without his knowing. So, out of boredom and want to write a good letter, he emphasized it in his letter, being very careful to not place any dangerous information in his words, or to alert his father that he was having some trouble readjusting into his life. What he did enjoy though, was telling his father of all the delights and joys he found in his newly established Ravenclaw House, the lay of common room and how the Slytherins did not seem to mind his presence all that much when he wanted to stay close to Draco.

In fact, they seemed to have almost adopted him into their ranks, making sure to be nice to him in the corridors and when they passed him by.

And Luna, he had so much to write about his new friend and the strange brushes of emotions surrounding her that when he finally reached the end of his long letter, Saturn was greatly surprised that he had almost written one and a half feet of parchment with great enthusiasm. He was glad though, the flow of words and putting some of his enthusiasm and happiness with Luna in the letter left him feeling lighter and more at ease with himself than ever before. He did not even spared a single thought to Ron and Hermione, who seemed to have gained a new way of avoiding a 'Malfoy' at all costs. And the few times that they did pass him, they would not look him in the eyes, would not speak to him except for a deep glare of hate and Saturn no longer struggled with keeping himself aloof and distant in their presence, reminding himself that the knowing would only place a strain on his relationship with his new family.

And just as he was signing off the letter with a great flourish to his name, Saturn nearly jumped out of his skin at the touch of a soft and cool nose against his hand, several whiskers tickling his skin before he had time to look over the masterpiece of prose resting in his lap. Looking up from his work, he could see three rabbits sitting around him, all differing in colour with tails so fluffy and split in two that the young elf gave a cry of surprise and delight, these were magical hares. Very rare, very pure and so gentle. Especially their fur, it is said to have contained healing properties. His hand the absently rolled up his scroll before tying it with an emerald green ribbon and sealing it. 

"New friends! I did not know I was going to be visited today of all days, please don't be shy. I won't hurt you." He murmured softly, cooing at them to bring them closer to him and smiled in delight when two of the bolder leporidae jumped into his lap and nuzzled his abdomen for attention. Saturn who had taken off his jumper hours before at the stifling heat in the clearing, now sat quietly with a short sleeved polo shirt of emerald green, basking in the affection they visited upon him and offered him by nuzzling his hands with their twitching noses. They may have been only a few who were brave enough to come close to him but Saturn was glad that they had. His fingers never strayed far from their soft fur as he hummed a sweet melody to himself and to them to calm his nerves and emotions that were just bubbling beneath the surface.

When it came time to return to the castle though, the air had turned cooler and the sun was not as bright as before. It seemed that the clouds had multiplied and darkened, once again bringing forth a foreboding of rain that Saturn was forced to ignore. Saying goodbye to his newly made friends, who hopped away into their little holes and burrows, Saturn headed instead for the Owlary and to send off his letter. His mind straying back to the sudden shivering mist that seemed to engulf the forest from which he had just come from. In the moments he walked out of the Forbidden Forest, the dark mists of unrest had started to multiply again. And with a lingering sigh, a pang in his heart at observing Hedwig so alone on one of the school perches now, Saturn greeted her with a great guilt building in his heart.

Silently berating himself for forgetting about her presence in his life for the last few weeks, forgetting the comfort her companionship had always offered him when the Dursley's got terrible in their abuse. She seemed to still recognize him though as she landed on his shoulder, having difficulty in tugging at his long golden hair affectionately before obediently holding out her leg for the letter. Which Saturn tied with a gentleness shared only between Wizard and Familiar. She gave a soft hoot and stared at him with bright amber eyes as Saturn fought back another flash of emotions. He shivered though, sure that someone else would soon walk up here and realize that he was petting Potter's snowy owl as if it was his own. So with a soft whisper of:

"I am sorry girl, for not being able to see you sooner but so much has happened that even my mind still spinning with it. Would you mind taking that to my father, Lucius Malfoy, and if he doesn't reply immediately you can back to the school. He will probably send his own owl to me at a later date." She gave a soft nip to his ear in understanding and took off, spreading her wings wide as she took to the sky.

The young elf watched her go, only turning his back of her when she was out of sight and almost forgotten from his mind as a new trepidation stared building up in him. His scar, which had been relatively quiet that day, pricked once more as he headed down to the castle. His hand absently brushing his hair over his scar, a habit he had picked up since before he had become a Wizard and hoped that his friends would not notice or that his father was absentminded that day. His hand was still wrapped in a swathe of white and he was embarrassed that his mind had drifted so much in the forest that he half an hour late for lunch and sure to have made his father and brother worry again for his safety.