note: The title is Latin. It translates to "something for something". Happy Holidays to Houses as this is her secret santa fic. Hope you enjoy. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* He'd made the excuse that he was going home to visit his parents. It was something else entirely. Wesley was just glad no one had made any remarks about the giant eagle owl that had flown through the lobby of Wolfram and Hart to land on his desk. But perhaps they were so wrapped up in their own stuff, they simply had not noticed. There had been a great deal of that around here of late. But back to the owl. He'd told someone a little over four years ago that if they needed him, all they had to do was send word. Two someones actually. Fear gripped his gut as he had to wonder which one of them had sent the missive. Odd that even though he had barely heard from either of them since that day - THE DAY - he still knew who the owl had come from. The knowledge of it settled on him like a fine mist. Wesley pulled the letter from the owl and broke the seal... green wax with the emblem of a snake pressed into it. He studied the parchment as the five words that were the meat of the message glared at him... as did the signature after those five words... My mother is in trouble. Draco Malfoy Wesley sat back and tried to breathe. This was it. He was about to repay his debt. His thoughts unwillingly turned to that day a little over four years ago. He'd been foolishly naive until that day. That day had changed much of everything. Granted, it had been living in LA these last few years that had completed the change, but it had begun that day. If his current state could be traced back to a starting point, that was likely it. *~*~* A little over four years earlier.... He had very little idea how he'd gotten into this fix. One little visit home. One little favor for his father because he was feeling guilty about getting sacked by the council. He'd tarnished the family name. All he was supposed to do was show up at this manor house and pick up a rare text. Now he was dangling from the ceiling by chains and manacles next to a teenage boy who looked about as pleased to be there as he did. Dark figures in dark robes circled them... chanting. They'd done some sort of spell on him. Crucio was the word uttered with a pointing... by a wand? Was it a wand? Yes, it had to have been. He was feeling a bit ragged. Both himself and the boy had been tortured like that. With a word and a point from a stick of wood. Wesley had never felt such pain before. If there was shit, it had found a fan somewhere to hit. One of the robed figures moved close to him. Wesley stiffened when smooth hands ripped his shirt open. He was feeling this wasn't going to be as pleasant. Seeing as how there was the chanting along with the chaining up plus the dark dreary dungeon theme of the room added to the very very quiet whimpering of the teenage boy hanging next to him, it did not lend itself to being an arousing sort of experience. "I have to cut you." She whispered. Wesley panicked a bit... on the inside. He'd already been disgraceful enough. No need to show he was frightened on top of that. She'd have to WHAT though? Had she just said she'd have to cut him? "Mother?" The boy whispered without moving his lips. "Shh, darling. I'll get you both out of this, I swear it. I warned them. I sounded the alarm. Help is coming. I just have to stall." "I don't want the mark." "You aren't taking the mark, Draco. Pipe down. Trust your mother." Wesley was beyond curious. The woman before him looked up. Her hood fell back a little. He was mesmerized by the blue eyes he saw. "Why are you stalling, Narcissa?" An irritated voice called. "Merely toying with him a bit, darling." She replied in a cold tone. "Be done with it!" "As you wish." Narcissa raised a wicked-looking athame to Wesley's bare chest. The boy hanging next to Wesley sucked in air sharply. Wesley ground his teeth as the blade broke the skin. A fine drop of red welled up. "Perhaps he needs to be softened up a bit more, my Lord." A smooth voice purred. "He's bleeding, and there are no screams." Relief crossed Narcissa's face. She lowered the athame before turning to face her 'lord'. "I do like the sound of Severus's idea, my Lord. If it is agreeable. I have not gotten to play in so very long. Others were the ones using the curses earlier. May I be honored by being allowed to play, my Lord?" A horrid voice came from the shadows. "How unfortunate that Lucius does not satisfy you." The man who had to be Lucius stiffened. "Lucius satisfies me, my Lord. I just wish... to break this muggle. For you." "Narcissa, we await the induction of your son." "In my opinion, my Lord, Draco needs to dangle for a bit longer. I do not think he fully understands the honor being placed upon him." The 'dark lord' laughed. It was a horrible sound. All the hair at the base of Wesley's skull prickled. "Very well, my dear. Have your fun, but do not keep us waiting for very long." "I do not think it will take me long to break him, my lord." She said with no small amount of arrogance seeping from her very words. "I do not doubt you." The next thing he knew, Wesley was being unchained and hauled to a small antechamber in the corner of the dungeon. He was shoved face-first onto a small mattress that was in the corner. He craned his head around. For a dungeon chamber, this place was remarkably clean. He shrieked when his shirt was grabbed and yanked off. "Undress and be quick about it." She hissed. "I beg your pardon?" Wesley turned to glare at her in a disapproving manner. It failed him. There was a tall and leggy woman with an absolute mane of white blonde hair standing before him in her knickers and bra. She'd shed the black robe on her apparently. She was definitely standing before him in her underthings.... her knickers and bra that seemed to be composed of the flimsiest and most see-through scraps of black lace in the whole of England. "Take your pants off, or I shall remove them for you!" Wesley jerked his slacks down to his ankles. The woman had her ear to the door. "They should be here by now." Then she heard something. She pressed her ear closer. Her eyes went wide. "What?" He asked with a bit of fear. Suddenly she rushed at him and tackled him to the mattress. Wesley got tangled in his pants as he fell. It was all he could do to keep from hurting himself. He was winded as she landed on top of him. Wesley tried to fight her from straddling him to no avail. He was too weak from the torture to put up much of a resistance. Even if he had not been, he sort of had the feeling she could have overpowered him anyway. The door swung open right as she grabbed his nipple and gave it a hard twist. Wesley screamed and arched his back. The door closed. "No need for ceremony. It's just me." She looked over her shoulder. "Severus, where ARE they?" "They'll be here." She looked back at Wesley. "I'm so sorry." He was breathing heavily. Half in pain... and half in something else he could not quite identify. She smoothed a hand down the side of his face. "Who are you?" "Narcissa Malfoy, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce." "You know me?" "I heard your name mentioned earlier." She sighed. "That gentleman behind me is Severus Snape. We'll get you out this. I know this is difficult, as we just met and under rather unfortunate circumstances, but you will have to trust me. Trust us." There was a loud crash outside followed by raised voices. "The cavalry, I presume." Severus hissed with a very bored look on his face. "About bloody time too." Narcissa got to her feet with the help of the hand he held out for her. "Draco..." "I'll go now. Don't worry. He's safe now." He brought her knuckles to his lips. "Stay here." "Like hell." "Someone has to protect the muggle, Cissa." "Is this because I'm a woman?" "No this is because you're almost nude, and I'd rather you didn't have half the Auror department ogling your goodies when they should be concentrating on capturing dark wizards and witches." She snorted. "Go. Bring me my son." "Have I mentioned how well-preserved you are?" He purred while looking her up and down. "And if I didn't think on you as my own brother, you might get to sample the fare here. Now be the bad boy gone good that I know you to be and fetch my Draco to me." "As the lady wishes." He said with a curt bow. And then he was gone. Narcissa turned to Wesley. "Are you all right?" He was propped up on his elbows with his trousers still tangled around his feet, his boxer shorts shinning for the whole world to see. "You can put your pants back on. That was just in case someone decided to check on us." Wesley just laid back and stared. He was still a bit weak from the hexing he'd received earlier. His chest was hurting like hell in the breast area too. He looked down and could see the skin bruising already. The tiny cut she'd made earlier had already stopped bleeding, but there was crusted blood on him. "Oh." She dropped to a seated position next to him and began caressing his soon-to-be bruise. "I'm sorry. I didn't... don't know my own strength sometimes. I was terribly frightened. I didn't meant to hurt you." Her hand strayed again across the wounded area. Wesley reached up and placed a hand over hers. Both of them stared at those hands until they looked up. Their eyes locked. He squeezed her hand a bit. Her fingers flexed against his chest. They just stared at one another for what could have been an eternity. In reality it was not even a full minute, but it stretched infinitely for the both of them. Narcissa leaned forward. There was such a look of protectiveness in her face. The two of them had almost touched when the door was flung open. "Mother?" Her nose brushed against his as she turned to peer at her son. That unplanned caress would still be with Wesley years later. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Present day... Wesley had used the portkey that had been sent to him by owl shortly after he'd set down the letter from Draco. A silver chain with a serpent charm on it. He had no doubt it would take him to where Draco was. He certainly hoped no one had noticed the second owl. The note with the portkey had indicated when it would activate. Wesley had left with it, saying he was visiting home. He'd denied Gunn's offer to have someone drive him to the airport... simply because he wasn't going home that way. Too much to explain about portkeys just now. He stumbled a bit with the end of it. When he looked up, he was in some sort of office... and about twenty wizards had their wands on him. "Stand down!" A familiar voice said. "Wesley?" "Draco?" He watched as the young man fought through the crush to get to him. He was the same as the former watcher remembered. Tall, blonde, wiry. Yes, a bit older, but naturally, as it had been about four years. When they'd last met, Draco had still been a teenager. Now he was considered an adult. Draco Malfoy, who rarely showed affection, crushed Wesley in a hug. It was a bit odd. They had only met the once, only been around one another in torture and the days that followed shortly after, but being around him again brought Wesley back to the bond they'd formed. The talks they'd had in St. Mungo's while recovering their strength came back full force. When the recently-sacked watcher and the prince of something called Slytherin had both decided they wanted a bit more than their current lots in life. "What happened?" "We just located them. I was hoping you'd make it before we took off. My father.... took her." Wesley nodded. Rescue mission. He was all for that. He checked that his retractable sword was firmly in place on his arm. He pulled his gun from the holster under his jacket and checked that it was good to go. "What's that?" "It's a gun, Draco. One shoots things with it. Especially evil blonde gits who kidnap women, wife or no. Specifically if one blonde hair on her little head has been harmed." "You've changed." "And we'll have tea and scones and discuss it later when Narcissa is safe." "Smart arse." "Cauldron calling the kettle black." "Who in the hell is this?" A young man with a mat of red hair snapped. A redheaded girl next to him rolled her eyes. "Ron, don't be an arse. He's obviously here to assist. Let's go get Mrs. Malfoy." Draco nodded. The Ron fellow continued to glare untrustingly at Wesley. Wesley nodded as well. "Yes. Ron, was it? Do let's worry about who the strange and well-armed muggle is later, hmm? Woman in peril apparently. You can be all manly and glare me into the ground for being one of Draco's friends later." The redheaded girl grinned at him. Wesley nodded at her curtly. Storm the castle time. And with that the twenty some-odd Aurors and one former watcher apparated out, Draco with a hand on Wes so it could be managed. *~*~*~*~* It was a bit of a Mexican standoff. The Aurors present were putting up quite the fight, giving Wesley and Draco plenty of cover to search the dungeons for Narcissa. She had to be here somewhere. Hexes were flying high and low. Specifically from the redheaded girl that Draco kept calling Gin. If he had not been so worried for the mother, Wesley might have commented on the look that took to the son's eyes when he said the name Gin. Wesley finally burst into one of the cells and saw something that made his stomach lurch. Blonde hair was spilled across the dirty stone floor. Her body was half-dressed and face-down. There were bloody welts down her smooth back. Someone had taken a strap to her. His teeth ground down. Wes walked in slowly and crouched next to her. Two fingers searched for a pulse. If she was dead, Lucius was dead. He might be dead anyway, but if he'd hurt her beyond repair, there would be no escape for him. Wesley had dreamed of killing the man in the back of his mind for years, or at the very least torturing him. At first, he had been ill with the murderous turn of his thoughts some days, but the longer he had lived in LA, the more he had been involved with the goings on with Angel, the less it began to bother him. After thinking he had shot his father, he realized he could kill Lucius if the man had harmed Narcissa. If he could kill someone for Fred, then he could do so for Narcissa. The brunette may own his heart, but the blonde held his very life. She was breathing. The woman gave a slight whimper. "Narcissa?" "I know that voice, but this must be a dream. He wouldn't come here." Wesley carefully lifted her a bit. He took off his jacket to place around her as she had been stripped to her panties. He winced when she winced. Then he bodily jerked when his eyes lit on her face. He'd looked better after Faith had tortured him. The beauty that was normally her was so viciously marred by bloody cuts and harsh bruises. "You're really here." "Draco sent for me." There was a loud bang as the door was forced open. Wesley shot to his feet, putting himself between Narcissa and the intruder. He flicked his wrist down, and the long blade extended from it. He heard Narcissa gasp in surprise. A quick flick hit the robed man's wrist with the wand in it before he even had a chance to hex. He dropped his wand with a yowl of pain as a line of red cropped up where his hand connected to his arm. Then the fellow locked up and toppled over. Before his body even hit the floor, Severus Snape's dark and scowling form filled the doorway. "Wyndam-Pryce? Malfoy summoned you?" "I prefer to think of it as his enlisting my aid." Wesley replied coolly as he retracted the long blade to its place on his arm. "My my, look who's all grown up now." "Shut it, Sev." Narcissa snapped. "He came to my rescue." "I also came to your rescue. Half the Auror department came to your bloody rescue. Hell, woman, Potter even came. You're not looking at the rest of us like we just gave you the moon." Wesley stood and helped Narcissa to her feet. "So different." She murmured while caressing his cheek. She gasped when she noticed the haunted look in his eyes. "Who hurt you? Who did that? What happened, luv?" Wesley shut his eyes and swallowed. "That's not a story for now." How did she just... know? "But you will tell me?" "I doubt you'll find the story amusing." "But you will-" "I'll tell you." "You two are making me want to vom-" Severus cut himself off with a scream of pain as he fell to the floor twitching. Narcissa sucked in air sharply as Lucius Malfoy cleared the threshold of the chamber. Wesley moved a bit in front of her and pulled out his gun. He took aim. "I know you are not a fan of muggle items, Mr. Malfoy, but I do hope you realize what a gun is and what it can do to a bullying evil mass of puke like yourself." "I know the temptation is great, Wyndam-Pryce, but please don't shoot my father." A disembodied Draco said from somewhere behind Lucius. "Don't listen to the boy, Wyndam-Pryce. Shoot him in the face." Severus hissed through his pain. "No one's getting shot..." Wesley said. He pointed down at Lucius's foot. "In the face." The shot echoed insanely against the stone walls of the dungeon they happened to be in. The extreme silence afterward was strange and ringing to everyone's ears. Then the space was filled with a different sound. Lucius Malfoy was making the most screeching racket. His foot was already bleeding everywhere. He dropped his wand in the process and was hopping about holding his foot. It was plenty of distraction. It allowed the Aurors to subdue him. Draco rushed through the door to his mother as the redheaded Gin crouched next to Severus to ease away the curse that was still making his body twitch. Draco had commented that Gin was the best field mediwitch in the Ministry in his opinion. Currently, Draco was hugging his mother to him and glaring at the man that Wesley had learned was young Malfoy's godfather and former potions teacher. "Don't listen to the boy? Who in the hell are you calling a boy, you evil old fossil?"
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