Prickle Ⅵ

However, there was a lack of response from Lorcan. Juliet briefly wondered if it was nerves and removed her hand from the fold of her beau's arm. She gently reaches over to put the back of her hand against her son's forehead. There was no touch of warmth felt on his skin like when he was coming down with a cold, but Lorcan did feel much more cold than normal. She removes her hand from her forehead and reaches downward. She gently taps him on the nose and smiles brightening up her face making her like the beauty she still was despite the passage of time.

"I will be back sooner than you know it," Juliet sincerely promised her son, but failed to notice the trail of goosebumps on the back of his neck hidden by his shirt collar. In fact, his entire body is covered in similar bumps that many would consider a light rash or allergic reaction.

Yet the sense of worry did not abatement and Juliet's eyes flicker over her son pensively reconsidering her decision to leave her son at the Weasley home. Maybe, it would be best to stop by the Chittock's home and leave with his friend, Glenda Chittock. They still had time to hurry down the road, before departing for the presentation ball. Perchance that would be the best plan in the interest of everyone, especially for Lorcan.

Unable to hide his complete look of anxiety, Lorcan stiffly bows his head at his mother acknowledging her words. He did want to be obedient and did not want to cause his mother any undue trouble, but he had felt a grating sensation all day long. It wasn't nerves nor jealousy, but an irritating restlessness that simply did not fade away no matter what he did. It was like an itch that no matter how much or how hard he scratched only seemed to worsen to the itch. There was just something terribly wrong and he didn't know what it was, but he knew that his instincts had never been wrong before.

Shaking his head, Lorcan was about to tell his mum to leave for the ball, when abruptly the hairs on the back of his neck shoot straight up into the air. Instinctively, he reached out and clung to the sleeve of his mother's dress robes. "Maybe, we should all go," Lorcan uneasily whispered causing Juliet to carefully turn to study her son one last time.

Something about her son's wane appearance set up off filled Juliet with worry. "Lorcan are you feeling unwell?" She gravely asked her son causing all the adults to turn and stare at the rather pale boy. Then again, Lorcan was always unusually pale.

Lorcan moves to speak, before hesitantly glancing down at his shoes. Truly concerned now, Juliet gently grasps her son by the shoulders. "Lorcan, please speak to me, I promise that I won't be angry."

Looking a bit unconvinced, Lorcan warily peeks up at his mum through his eyelashes. Seeing that she truly did seem worried, he quietly answers, "It's just," he paused, "that something is wrong. I can't quite explain it, mum."

A grave expression appears on Juliet's face as she instantly removes her hands from her son's shoulders. Juliet instantly reaches for her wand in her dress robes to the surprise of those in the dining room. Juliet D'Eath impeccably trusted in her son's instincts and they had never been wrong as far as she could recall even from the time when he was only a mere infant. "Speak clearly Lorcan, what do you sense my little bat?" She soothingly said in a somber tone of voice.

Lorcan's pale hand rises and firmly points towards the direction he had felt uneasy about all day long. "It's coming from the South," he quietly whispered causing Bill to nervously peer at his mother including the toddlers, who didn't understand what was going on.

The grave expression deepens on Juliet's face. "Go on, Lorcan."

"Danger from the South, mum" Lorcan quietly replied causing Bill to nervously glance at his mother, while the toddlers just stared around in confusion unable to understand the severity of the situation.

Juliet bows sincerely to Bilius, her beau. "Bilius, I am sorry, but our plans are canceled for the evening," she steadily declared causing Bilius's mouth to flop open in shock and disbelief. Those present in the room shared looks of confusion and speculation. It couldn't possibly be true, could it?

"Mrs. Weasley and everyone else present, I would suggest that you heed Lorcan's warning and retire elsewhere for the rest of the evening," Juliet candidly suggested, before reaching for her son and pulling him close to her. "There is no need for courtesy, we will see ourselves out."

Before Juliet can pull her son, Lorcan towards the front door, Lucretia's face darkens in anger. "This is utterly preposterous!" Lucretia irritably snapped gesturing towards the pale boy with her hand. "We are simply supposed to believe the words of a half-breed!"

Bilius flinches in shock, while his brother, Ronnell narrows his eyes with dislike at their cousin. He pointedly gazes at his brother to speak up in the defense of his sweetheart and her son. However, Bilius seems to be stumped staring only blankly at Juliet and waiting for her reaction. Ronnell refrains from sighing, if his brother didn't act quick, the widow D'Eath would surely break their relationship off after this evening.

Not one to take things lying down, Juliet's face instantly hardens with the same fierce protective instinct of any mother protecting her young. She firmly tucks her son behind her, before pulling herself up to her full height. "Mrs. Prewett, I would challenge you to a duel this very instant, but I fear that a deadly danger will soon be upon us." Turning away, she pauses and says over her shoulder, "Think, what you may, but my son has never been wrong about these types of things. It's in his blood."

Gently pushing Lorcan forward, Juliet does not look back at the infuriated form of Lucretia. Lucretia opens her mouth to speak when the sound of skirts rustling is heard. Druella had already risen to her feet and loudly says, "Dobby!"

They all stare in surprise at Druella, when a loud pop is heard as a diminutive house elf appears. "Dobby is here!" The house elf squeaked.

"Take Narcissa and the children immediately to Malfoy Manor," Druella matter-of-factly ordered.

"Wait, mother!" Narcissa began to protest, but Druella quells her daughter with a single glare.

"Dobby obeys!" The house elf hastily answered, before vanishing with Narcissa and her daughter, Aurora in tow with a loud pop.

"This is simply unbelievable," Lucretia huffed and glared at Druella. "How can you simply take a half-breed child's words at face value?! I thought better of you, Druella!"

"That child possesses creature blood," Druella flatly retorted pointing her fan at Lucretia in a dismissive fashion, "and such occurrences are not rare. I would rather be seen as being overly cautious than to permit for another tragedy to unfold right before my very eyes."

The D'Eath's were only halfway down the hall when the form of Lorcan becomes rigid and abruptly comes to a halt causing Juliet to bump into her son. Lorcan's face fills with utter fright and whispers in terror, "They're here." His whisper echoes eerily around them.

Hearing her son's ominous words, Juliet tightens her grip on her wand. Whatever it was, Lorcan had spoken true. And now it was too late to run.