Our Kingdom Awaits

Spoiler:

Damien turned over heavily in his bed, groaning slightly at the discomfort he suddenly felt at his stomach from sleeping on it for too long. In a habit, the boy squinted in expectation for some sunlight to annoy him out of his sleepy stupor. As soon as he did so, he cocked an eyebrow up with both of his eyes still refusing to open. No sunlight? he thought. Both of his hands reached up to his face before he began to rub both of his eyes lazily. When he ventured to open them, he realized the darkness of the room and remembered that he had slept a little after lunch. Damien was reading his latest buy from Knockturn Alley, another book about Dark Magic and its history, when he dozed off. Yawning, the boy stretched in bed until he felt something fall off his bed, before a loud thud was heard. And that,would be the book, he thought to himself.

Another school term had come and gone, and honestly, Damien felt happy to be back home. Despite only meeting his father when he was seven, and only coming to live with Lorcan d'Eath when he turned eleven, the boy had felt decently welcomed at the d'Eath residence. Mostly, he likes his father and his elder twin sisters. Despite some unfamiliarity, given how late he had come to live here and how most of his time was spent at Hogwarts, Damien has successfully maintained a pleasant relationship with his new family. He still thinks about mother and how she had betrayed the pureblood community with her marriage to a muggle, but by being here with the d'Eaths, he could pretend to forget her. Sometimes.

Pulling himself up slowly, Damien dragged himself out of bed. He had enough of sleeping. Besides, the stomach had began to growl in hunger. A hungry man is an angry man; and Damien never really strayed from that cliché. In his maroon pyjamas, the boy trudged downstairs and headed to the kitchen. Opening the covers of food that was dinner leftovers, Damien made a grab for the lasagne. Having taken an extremely large piece of it on a plate, and a bottle of juice to accompany it, the boy strolled lazily to the sitting room. While guests usually sip wine with his father whenever they come over, Damien had always enjoyed spending time with the family in the same room. It is cosy, and the forest outside in the night-time always had a calming effect on him.

Settling himself comfortably on the white couch, Damien placed the bottle of juice on the table in front of him and the plate of food on his lap. Without hesitation, he began to enjoy his lasagne.

Alexis had been sitting in her newly referbished room, Lorcan had it redone. It was a little too girly for both his and Alexis' likeing. She was reading one of her favorite books, for the 50th time. She got up and put her book down on the bed, before walking out of the room and into the kitchen. She walked to the refridgerator and pulled out a bottle of water she had put in there to cool. She hated drinking hot/warm water. She closed the fridge and lifted the bottle up to her mouth. As she took a sip of the water, she looked over at the sitting room, and noticed someone was there.

She smiled as soon as she recognized who it was. She walked over to ther younger brother and extended her hand to mess up his hair slightly. "Hey Donnie. Sleep well?" she said calmly, and she sat down next to him. "I see you finally got hungry. You missed lunch with the rest of us." she smiled, and she took her hand off his head. She lifted both her arms up above her head and streched herself out. She had pain in her neck still, from her last transformation. She rolled her neck and placed a hand on it. How she hated changing in a wolf at times.

It was hard to change for her. It still hurt tremendously for her to transform. Even though she had been doing it for two years now. She would never fit in with her family again, and most of them were still scared of her. SHe was glad Damien wasn't, and she leaned forward, toward him and she gave him a hug.

He had a mouth and a head too full of lasagne to notice anyone around him. A happy song played in Damien's head as he struggled to break down the food in his mouth, rushing the process for it to quickly reach his stomach. While in this trance of happiness to fill up his stomach, Damien jerked a little when he felt a hand on his head. Thankfully, he had been happy and calm, and the boy quickly realized the hand that belong to his sister. He smiled at her, something he rarely gives out genuinely to people who are not family. Because he had his mouth stuffed too full, Damien could only nod and smile when Alexis asked about his sleep, as he continued to chew up the pieces in his mouth. The boy continued to listen to her talk as he reached for the bottle of juice, drinking some of it after he managed to swallow whatever was in his mouth.

As soon as Damien was ready to talk, he nodded and replied: "You meant dinner?" He chuckled at his sister's slight mistake. "Yeah, after lunch I went back to the room to read that awesome new book I got ... and then just like that, bzzzzz ... I dozed off", Damien continued in an overtly boyish manner of story-telling. While the boy would usually put on a cool front with others, he becomes a different person when he is less guarded, usually lapsing into slightly childish behaviours. For someone who had been overly-protected by his mother, this should not come as a surprise. He would always feel the need for older female validation, in the variety of forms that they can possibly come in.

When Damien found himself in his sister's arms, he returned the hug and enjoyed it as it lasted for a moment. Soon, he pulled back and gave Alexis a reassuring smile. Ever since she came out to the family about the werewolf issue, he had observed how it had taken a toll on her. It had been difficult for the family to accept, and Damien was shocked and worried about it initially. After the initial shock, however, the boy thought that for a family whose father is part-vampire, Alexis being a werewolf should not be thought too odd to belong to the d'Eaths. Damien knew he had little power in trying to change the opinions of some d'Eaths, but on his part, he had decided to treat the situation kindly.

"So ... how have you been? How's ..... everything?" Damien did not want to broach the subject if Alexis did not feel up to it, but he asked it cautiously out of concern. Besides, most of the d'Eaths were around during lunch. It is always wiser to talk about this in private.

Alexis finished the last of her water, and threw the bottle away. It amazed her how fast she finished things now. But she couldn't do anything about it. As Damien nodded at her question, she smiled. "At least you're one that doesn't talk with his mouth full." she laughed softly. "It's good to be home." she said softly mostly to herself. She truely meant that now, she was to be home. Even if most of the occupants didn't like her anymore. It was good enough for her to know that her father, sister, and the brother she cared most about still accepted her. She sighed and ran a hand through her already messed up hair. She hadn't bothered to brush it very well, it wasn't like she was going anywhere now.

Alexis felt slightly embarrassed, when Damien corrected her. "Yeah, that's what I meant." she said. "Smartie." she added, laughing. "Well at least you're reading." she said after a moment of silence. "Just be careful. If you sleep to much during the day, you won't sleep during the night, when you're supposed to be sleeping." she added as she gave him a wide grin. She loved messing with her brother, but it was true. If you sleep to much during the day you wouldn't be able to sleep during the night. She learned that the hard way.

Alexis felt like her family was jumping to conclusions about her, the way she was now. They know, no matter how deep down, that she was still the Alexis most of them grew up with. They knew she wouldn't hurt them, but the fear they had for her werewolf side, was holding their loving side toward her captive. She had to figure out a way to prove them she was still the same. Apparently, the not attacking them was not enough to convince them that she wouldn't ever hurt them. When Damien smiled at her, she felt calmer and happier for some reason. His smile meant more to her than anything else in the world.

"Well, you know, it's been hard. Everyone else still thinks I'm going to hurt them." she sighed. "And with that, my neck hurts so much from the transformation." she said, still holding her neck with her hand. She rolled her head and neck, but it didn't help the pain calm. "I can't believe that after two years, I still can't get used to this." she added.

Damien tried hard not to gawk at his sister when he saw how fast she had been done with her bottle of water. He realized how big and round his eyes had become and quickly shifted his eyes back to the remaining portion of lasagne on his plate. He nodded when Alexis talked about home. The boy remembered how it had been growing up alone with a busy mother who loved him but could not spend much time with him.

In the d'Eath residence, however, there are so many people living in it, all siblings, that it is rare not to have someone else in the house at the same time; and Damien enjoys company, even if he fancies time with his older siblings far more than the younger ones. Above all, though, he is satisfied with the new bond he had formed with father. On evenings when Lorcan finds himself free of the need to entertain others, he can be found in this sitting area, and Damien would usually jump at the opportunity to be told some of his life stories; some of which, the other siblings have gotten sick of, but to Damien, is all new.

Damien grinned at the fun that he had poked at his sister's mistake. A nodded in an exaggerated manner when she began to talk about sleeping habits. "Yes mother," he interrupted and winked. "I like being up at night though." If not for school, Damien had always enjoyed being active at night rather than in the day. Last he checked, though, he is fully human.

When Alexis began to reply about her condition, Damien chewed his food solemnly. He has always been accepting of her even when she came out about the condition, but he never knew what to say whenever she tries to describe it to him. He could not understand, and it was hard pretending to. Besides, he knows he was not required to pretend. He just wanted to look like he could be a good listener for her. Damien finished chewing the last of his food in an awkward fashion before beginning to attempt to lighten the mood.

"You're too hard on yourself. After almost four years, do you mean you've gotten used to this?" Carelessly pushing his plate to a side on the couch, not a wise move at that, Damien jumped swiftly onto the couch and began to poke lightly at Alexis' arms, using his wand. He knew that had always annoyed her, so he stopped after what he believed to be ten pokes. Enough for now, he thought.

"You know what? I can offer some services." Pausing for effect, Damien lowered himself closer to his sister's face. "Have you heard of ... wand massage?" he tried to say that in a mysterious tone of voice, all mockingly though.

Alexis laughed at Damien's 'yes mother'. "Hey, a little more and I could be your mother, but I'd need to be at least 15 years older." she said, poking his nose gently. She loved Damien as if he was more than her brother, more like a son. At least he would let her, unlike everyone else, except Annie. She sighed and tried to put that thought in the back of her mind, she hated when something was ruined because she thought about her other siblings. "To be honest I like being awake at night too. I'm nocturnal, I guess, and so are you." she laughed. Being awake at night was better than being awake during the day. The sun sometimes bothered her, but maybe it was because she was a werewolf that she liked the night, because of the moon, except when it was a full moon, that is.

Alexis laughed and tried to move out of the Damien's wand, as he poked her with it. "Hey, I'm more used to this than to transforming." she laughed softly. "Transforming is harder, and more painful than you." she added, giving him a playful push. It was annoying to be poked by her younger brother, but she could deal with it better than she could deal with the transformation.

As Damien lowered himself to her face, Alexis couldn't help the grin that formed on her face. "What services?" she asked. She laughed slightly at the mysterious tone in Damien's voice as he spoke. "No, no I haven't heard of wand massage." she answered jokingly. He always made her laugh, at the littlest things.

"Oh you're old alright," Damien had said earlier when he was still seated. "Enough to be my mother." He would always tease Alexis about her age whenever she would launch into her sisterly preaching mood. Alexis and Antoinette, both harmless to him, very much like the Ravenclaws he thought to expect, but with hearts for him that he could never betray.

If one day, Damien was to choose between dark ambitions and his family ... although it would have to be an extremely rare dilemma, and one which he would struggle immensely hard with, somehow, he knew he would have to choose family. Sometimes, the boy think that it would stand as his weakness, all this emotional attachment he had dished out. Other times, though, like these, he felt happy enough to not think about those thoughts.

Probably because of Lorcan's influence, the d'Eath residence would usually be more lively once the sun has set. Since father does it, well, no one is there to tell the children that they are up way past their bedtime. The d'Eath household is therefore a pretty carefree one, with little pressures from the only parent in the house.

Damien had stopped poking Alexis just as she pushed him away playfully. Not watching where he would kick, the boy had accidentally knocked his plate to the floor. Thankful for the carpetted flooring, he watched as the plate did not smash into pieces. However, the remnants of lasagne that he was too lazy to finish up had stained the carpetted floor because his plate had landed face down.

This, Damien only noticed just as he was about to respond to the 'wand massage' he had earlier suggested. The boy shut the jaw that had fell a little when he first saw what had happened to the plate. He continued to stare at the plate without moving, probably because he was hoping not to get into trouble if father should come down to look at what had just happened to his carpet.

"Hey!" Alexis said. "I am not old!" she added laughing. She messed up his hair, and smiled. "I'll tell Dad, if you don't stop." she said jokingly. Even if she told their father he wouldn't do anything about it. He would just say he was playing around, and since she's older than him she can't do anything about it. So all she did usually was take it. Unless she was angry that is. If she was angry he would most likely get a slap. But she was hardly ever mad, especially at him.

Alexis sighed and looked at Damien. "Damien, you want to get invloved with the Death Eaters, right?" she asked softly. She knew he had some intention of doing this, but she wanted to be sure. Being part of Naomi's pack, she is probably going to get involved with them. Like during the battle, she had been on their side, and she had been forced to leave Mis, when she was hurt. All because Mis was on the good side. She didn't like leaving her friend, ex-friend now, Mis wouldn't trust Alexis anymore, probably.

She actually wonder what Mis was doing right now, if she was healing okay. From what she knew Mis wasn't dead, and she knew Mis was a fighter anyways, so that didn't worry her. She saw Damien's plate land on the carpet and she sighed. "We'd better clean this up before Dad sees it." she said and she took out her wand. With a flick of her hand, a red flash came out of her wand and the mess was gone. The plate was still on the floor though.

"Gotta love magic, now that I can use it anytime I want." she laughed and she put her wand away. Magic was a life saver sometimes. But she wasn't going to abuse her magic, she would only use it when she needed it, that was her goal. To not depend on magic for somethings.

Damien watched his sister clear up his mess just with a flick of her wand, and was thankful that she could, at her age, use magic legally. The boy had always been annoyingly tempted to whip out his wand for anything and everything. Having to restrict himself irritated him. There were so many ridiculously stupid laws set by the Ministry, according to Damien. Perhaps, in future, when the Death Eaters finally set the world into a new world order, all of these stupidity will end. Damien felt sure that he would live to see the day. He never understood why wizards, some talented ones, would wish to put up a fight against what seems to be the more efficient way of doing things - the DE way. But of course, in every society, there are the dissenters and the assenters. There would always be people who see sense, and people who are blinded by odd principles. Damien shook his head as he was in that thought. He felt too young. He wanted to grow up fast. He wanted to graduate and finally be able to do something worthwhile.

"I want to do magic as and when I want toooo," Damien complained, sounding as if he was whining to his sister. "It's so stupid that I can't. I hate it." Damien stared at the spot where his plate had dropped. It was spotless, like new. It was an added bonus to have a Ravenclaw as a sister. It was the only other house that he deemed worthy, what with their intelligence. Damien had often consulted his sister, or his very scant Ravenclaw friends, for homework. It was the only way that he could do well at school. Sure, he had read quite a bit on his own, but the boy needed assurances in his answers, and tips too of course. One can never get by well in life without a little help, whether it is begotten through natural means or manipulation. With his sister, though, Damien always had volunteered help. Now that Alexis had graduated, though, he would have to look for others in school to help him. He could owl her, for sure, but it would not be the same as having her around in school. He felt a little saddened at that prospect.

Damien was a little surprised at Alexis' question. Then he remembered that despite what appears to be his decent relationship with his family, he had never shared his aspirations with them. Sure, he knew that his father had Deatheaters as friends, but even to his father Damien did not profess his ambitions on joining their ranks. He wondered how the older d'Eath would take the knowledge of that fact. Damien's mother knew his interest in their history and their dealings, but even she would not peck her son as a future Deatheater. Besides, he left out the fact that he had recently joined the Dark Followers at school, in his last owl to her. It was not like he told her much recently anyway. He was staging a bit of a protest against her. But now, Damien eyed his sister when she questioned him. She probably might have gotten word of his latest friendship with the Dark Followers at school, and perhaps the books that he had been reading revealed his inclinations. Still, Damien was not sure he wanted Alexis to know. So the answer needed some consideration.

"Well ..." Damien began. Then he remembered how ostracised his sister had become ever since revelation of her werewolf status. Subconsciously, Damien had stayed out of her way whenever there was a full moon out in the night skies. He also remembred how the younger siblings in the house had become so afraid that they had seriously shied away from the girl. "I might be thinking about the Death Eaters, yes. Not very hard to imagine for a d'Eath." He chuckled a little nervously, making a weak joke at that last part. "I was wondering, Xis, perhaps because you have always been the brilliant one, that you might know some Dark spells that are ... interesting?" Damien ventured a little further with that question. If she did not divulge, then perhaps it meant he would have to keep his interest and involvement away from his family for good. After all, he did not fancy being told what to do and not, like his mother. Damien was, however, wishing that his sister had learnt something useful on her own along the way, something that could teach him a little on the subject of his interest.

Alexis laughed as she watched Damien complain. She thought the laws of underage magic were something that aren't needed. But it would keep underage wizards from getting in trouble. Alexis put her hands on his shoulders, and made him look at her. "Damien, these laws might seem stupid to you, but they'll keep you safe until you're old enough to use it whenever you want." she told him. "And even then you can't use it all the time, if you do you could get hurt." she said softly. "Everything will come at it's time, so just be patient." she added.

Alexis nodded slowly. "I knew it." she said softly. When and if he did join the Death Eaters when he graduated at least she would be there to guide him within the DE's. If Naomi's pack was going to be involved with them, she was glad that she was a part of them, then. She would be able to look out for her little brother. She wondered if she should tell him about Naomi's pack and their involvement with the Death Eaters. She shook her head and decided that she would tell him when he asked or something of the sort.

Alexis thought about Damien's question. "Dark spells, huh?" she said. She put her index finger on her mouth as she thought. "Do you mean like Imperio, Crucio, and Avada Kadavra?" she asked. She had obviously never used these spells, as she could get a life time sentence to Azkaban. She didn't want that. "Damien, you must know these spells everyone does, but don't ever use them." she told him. The Unforgivables were something she thought should never beused, but they were used anyways, and she doubted anyone could stop there use.