Butterfly 06 - LMHP
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Here is the next chapter. Wow…. I’m so glad I made so many people sarcastic!happy by killing Harry in The Lambs. It’s what I live for… Smirk!
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Words: 3,402
Chapter 6
July 10th 1986. The Leaky Cauldron, London.
The pub was a grimy looking thing from the outside. Muggles walked passed, not noticing the door or the windows or the people staring out at them, but they did see the dirty walls and the chipping paint. They wrinkled their noses and walked on. Harry stopped at the doorway. It looked just as unappealing to him, but Evan had promised it would look nicer on the inside. The outward appearance was only to keep those Muggles who were unaffected by the wards away. (Though, those weren’t actually Muggles, but Squibs whose magical relative had died generations ago).
Harry was dressed in Muggle clothing, and he had one of his aunt’s hairbands on: the wide ones that wrapped around his whole head and covered his forehead. His scar was hidden, and when he wore the sunglasses Evan found in Vernon’s nightstand, he was suitably disguised. His two more prominent features were out of sight.
Evan had told him to wait there. And so he would.
Inside The Leaky Cauldron, people laughed and drank even though it was only five to twelve in the day. Lucius watched them with a sneer, growing more annoyed as a Witch leant over him to reach the bar and giggled in his face. He raised a hand, delicately covering his mouth and nose, and he turned his face away. The girl reeked of booze. Grey eyes narrowed at the clock on the wall. Evan was never late, Lucius knew that. Evan had always been one of the first to arrive at the Death Eater meetings. Undoubtedly Evan was already there, and was merely staying hidden to better enjoy Lucius’ discomfort.
As if he could read thoughts, Evan materialized beside the blond. Both were dressed in the Wizarding equivalent of a suit, but without the robes. Lucius slid gracefully from the barstool. “Shall we?” He asked, sweeping his arm out in the direction of the door.
A blond child moved over to them, frowning curiously at the tall dark haired man. “Father?” Draco asked softly.
Evan looked down at him, his mouth twitching into a small smirk. Lucius’ hand dropped to Draco’s shoulder and squeezed. The boy winced as the fingers gripped him tightly, nails digging into the cloth and flesh. “I had presumed you would bring the child with you.”
“The child,” Evan said coolly, “is outside. The child would have been a part of our meeting, regardless of his age. But it matters not. Bring your child.”
“Father, who is this? Is this who we’re waiting for?” Draco said. He probably thought he was whispering, the way most children do, but Evan could hear every word even over the din in the pub.
“My name is Tennyson Alfred.” He extended a hand, but before Draco could reach for it Lucius took hold of his son’s wrist and held it tightly. “My son, Caen, is outside. Come.”1
When Lucius looked him over he frowned, noticing the subtle differences in appearance that anyone who didn’t know Rosier would have missed. The man was wearing a very simple glamour Charm. But those were always the best types. They took less energy to maintain, and they didn’t register by any of the Ministry revealing spells. If Lucius hadn’t of been waiting for Evan, if he hadn’t of known Evan since his own time in Hogwarts, he would have walked right passed the man on the street and never noticed that Tennyson was the infamous ‘dead’ Death Eater.
Harry was so obviously still Harry Potter. Glasses and a hair tie did nothing to hide his bone structure, or hair colour, or overall appearance. Lucius took one look at him and raised an eyebrow.
Evan snorted. “That is why he remained outside.” It wasn’t recommended that glamour Charms be used on anyone under the age of twelve. Evan felt that there was no need to risk damaging his child, when it was just as easy to avoid the Wizarding World for a few more years. “Caen, this is Lucius and Draco Malfoy.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” He held his hand out to Draco first, a small smile spreading over his face at the shocked look Lucius gave him. He narrowed his eyes at the elder blond, moving a step back so he was pressing completely against Evan. “Hello.” He nodded his head, but didn’t offer his hand.
“He is peeved with you, my friend, for not offering me your assistance.”
“I see.” Lucius drawled, eyes narrowing at the child. He wasn’t particularly annoyed, more intrigued. It was not commonplace that a child would dare to offend Lord Malfoy. But, he supposed, anyone raised by Rosier, would have Rosier’s disastrous manners as well. His eyes lingered on Harry a little too long. Evan noticed, and his forehead creased in thought.
“This isn’t the place for this. Come.” Evan took Caen by the hand and began to walk back in the direction they had travelled fifteen minutes earlier. Lucius and Draco followed silently. They stopped a long while later at a park. Evan led them further into the area, bypassing the children’s playground and instead continuing through the gardens and finally stopping at a small café, half hidden behind the flower displays. “Go entertain Draco,” he told Harry. Originally, he was going to have Harry join their conversation. But he didn’t think Lucius would appreciate Draco being involved in this matter. “Don’t go to far.”
Harry turned to look at Draco and sighed. He turned back to Evan and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Evan promised. “I will.” Lucius picked up on the silent ‘tell you later’, but Draco didn’t or he would have demanded the same assurance from his own father.
“He is beginning to act more like you.”
“How would you know? You did not see how he acted previously.” Evan bit out.
“I have no doubt that he acted differently to you. But now, he copies you, in his manners, his expression, he tries to walk like you as well I noticed. It is something to be proud of.” Lucius pointed out, taking a seat at one of the quaint tables.
“Your own child tries to emulate you,” Evan said brazenly, “mine does a better job of it.”
Lucius’ hands clenched into fists beneath the table, out of Evan’s view, but there was no other sign that the words had bothered the blond. Evan smirked anyway. “We should begin, no? I see no reason to waste time. And time is money, after all.”
Evan chuckled, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example, but you are right. This time.”3 He said nothing further. Lucius looked at him with a frown, one eyebrow climbing on his forehead. “Well, explain yourself, Malfoy. What did you dream about last night? Good things, I hope!” Rosier said at last.
“If you are not going to take this seriously, Rosier, then there is no need to continue further. Excuse me.” He moved to stand. In a second, Evan was standing behind him, Evan; own chair had overturned onto the ground, and the man was holding the armrests of Lucius’ seat tightly.
“Sit. Down.” He said slowly, his voice low.
People began to look over, frowning and whispering, and Lucius obediently slid back into his chair. He gritted his jaw and watched the brunette man moved to righten his seat and sit down again.
“You think I do not take this seriously? You think I find the idea of my child’s death funny?” Lucius swallowed, but kept his tongue. “Those Muggles are going to kill him. I think they only reason they haven’t so far is because they are afraid of him, of our kind. But no one is watching them, no one, and when they realize that, there will be only me between them and Harry. I cannot take action against them unless I know what will result. Lucius, please! I do not beg, I have said so before. I can and will find out for myself what I need to know, but I believe it would be faster to have your assistance.”
“Evan…” Said man raised his hand, and Lucius stopped speaking.
“If they don’t kill him, if Harry lasts long enough to get to Hogwarts, he will still have to return every summer. Dumbledore did not let our Lord stay at Hogwarts during the break, and he will not let Harry either. When our Lord returns, I will return to him, Malfoy. But not if I have to leave Harry behind.”
Lucius’ mouth dropped open. “You say as much, to my face? Me, our Lord’s right hand? You traitor!” The blond hissed, his eyes narrowed.
“I am not betraying anyone, Malfoy. It is funny. If it were you protecting your son, it would be excusable. You would be protecting your bloodline. But if I attempt to defend my child, I become a traitor. Is it only because he is not of my blood, so by protecting him I am not protecting my line, like you? Or are you just a hypocrite?”
Evan waited for Lucius to say something else, but there was only silence. “I care about our Lord, in ways different to you or the others. I have known him for longer than you have. He has a handful of followers from his own school days, and then he has their children, your generation, and he will have your children someday. And then there is me. I am not like the rest of you. I do not fear him. And any punishment I receive, I know is warranted. I revel in it; enjoy it, because I know that it won’t happen often. I am loyal. Do not doubt that. I would die to serve him. But even Voldemort understand, I protect what is mine.”
“You were,” Lucius paused, unsure whether or not to continue.
“Intimate with him? No. Man delights not me- nor woman neither.”4 He snorted, slightly amused. “What I feel for our Lord is hard to define. I do not lust for him, nor fear him, but at times he angers me, I am fond of him, and when he was defeated I did not grieve for him but I did worry about him. He is, I believe, the closest thing to a friend I have ever had. I do not trust him, because I understand what he is capable of, but I trust that he will do nothing to purposely injure me. It is complex, Lucius.”
“And you feel that helping Potter is not a betrayal?”
“Harry is… mine. At first, I considered him a means to an end. I was able to hide within his home, receive sustenance, warmth: every bodily need for free and without danger. But he grew on me. He saved me, during a lightening storm. The Muggles had him locked outside. But he saved me, and kept me dry and then let me free the next morning. He is very intelligent, and endearing, and kind. But there is a part of him, buried deep down, except for when he is angry or terrified, and it is so dark. It calls to me.”
“How so?” Against his better judgement, Lucius was becoming enthralled. He had only wanted to hear Evan out, decide against helping and leave, hopefully without being retaliated against. But now, he longed to hear more.
“When our Dark Mark calls, we answer. It calls to us, reaches inside to the depths of our very being and tugs until we answer. It feels like that. It is the Horcrux, the part of Voldemort’s soul within Harry that calls to my own magic. And my magic demands I answer. His aura is indescribable.” Evan smiled slowly. “It fascinates me, and I longed to know more. Sometime between his being a means to an end, and being an experiment, I began to see him as a child. My child.”
“I see.” Lucius took a sip of water. Sometime since they arrived a waitress had carried over a jug and two glasses and neither of them had noticed her. “Severus came by just after I received your letter.”
“What did you tell him?” Evan’s tone was clipped, all of his muscles tensed. Lucius might trust Snape, but Evan didn’t. If anyone was a traitor it was the Potions Master.
“What makes you think I told him anything?” Lucius asked, curiously. Evan’s face remained expressionless. “I trust Severus. He is my friend. He is loyal, just as we are.”
“Yes, but is he loyal to the same person?” Evan said with a sneer.
“Of course he is! He believes in our Lord!”
“He loves Lily Evans, whom our Lord murdered. Snape begged for her life.”
“He explained all of that to me. He said that he forgave our Lord but he thought it was best to cultivate friendships with the opposing side, he thought it might be helpful when our Lord remerged to have an inside person.”
“So he told you. And you believed him.” Evan laughed; a cold and high sound, and Lucius cringed because it sounded more like Lord Voldemort’s laugh, than Evan’s own. “Never before have I encountered so un-Slytherin like behaviour. The trust, the naivety,” he spat, “disgusts me.”
“He is NOT a traitor!” Lucius snarled, his lips curling in anger.
“To his own ideals, no he is not.” Evan agreed, cupping his hands around his glass. He raised his eyes at the sound of a gasp. Draco’s grey eyes were wide as he watched his father, worry on his face. Harry stood beside him, his arm was out of his cast and Draco’s training wand was dangling from his fingers. “The boys are back. Time to leave.”
“We are not finished,” Lucius managed to get out through gritted teeth.
“We most certainly are not.” Evan agreed as he stood up. He stopped beside Harry and plucked the wand from his hand. He flicked his wrist, tossing the wand away, and Draco reached out, fingers scrambling at the air, to catch it. The child cradled the wand, eyes still wide, before running to his father’s side. “Why did you take off your cast?”
“It was itchy. And Draco wanted to practise the Vanishing spell.” Evan raised an eyebrow as he looked his child over. Harry was missing his cast, three buttons from his shirt, and a shoe.
“Did it work?”
“Not at first,” Harry confided. “My shoe caught fire the first time we tried.”
Evan handed his wand over, looking back to make sure Lucius was still watching them. “The incantation is ‘Evanesco’, give it a try.”
Harry pointed the wand at the nearest plant, and whispered the spell. He cringed, half expecting the bush to catch fire but instead it vanished, right in front of his eyes. It had worked. On his first try. With someone else’s wand. It was almost unheard of!
While Harry grinned happily to himself, Evan turned around fully and met Lucius’ stunned grey eyes. His lips curled upwards, stretching his mouth across his face in a horridly smug grin. He winked, allowing a chuckle to escape his throat as Lucius’ fingers clenched and his eyes narrowed in anger. He took his wand back and un-Vanished Harry’s shoe, buttons and cast.
“Ah!” The child said softly, glancing down sadly at the uncomfortable plaster-of-paris wrapped around his forearm. “Do I have to?”
Evan said nothing. Harry took the silence as a ‘yes’, and sulked for most of the way home. Much to Evan’s amusement.
When they arrived back at Privet Drive, an owl was waiting for them on the front porch. The Dursleys had not come back yet, and Evan was holding out hope that they had died in a road accident somewhere off of the map where no one would ever find their bodies.
“Did you get on well with Draco?”
“I suppose,” Harry said with a shrug as Evan opened the front door. The child took the letter from the owl, since it was address to him, and they went inside. “I don’t really like people my age though. They make me nervous.”
“I know. But it’s good practise for when you go to Hogwarts. Just order him around a bit, don’t let him intimidate you, you know, act like me.”
“Act like you? Do you want me to terrify the boy?” Evan cuffed him across the back of the head, letting out a small chuckle as Harry gave a giggle. “Ok, ok, sorry,” he said, trying to avoid a second swat. “Hey, stop abusing me so I can open my letter.”
“Very well.” Evan took a step backwards, holding his hands out in front of him as an invitation for Harry to go first. The boy flopped down onto the sofa. Evan sat beside him, and pulled Harry’s head into his lap.
Evan read the letter out loud.
“Caen,
My son thanks you for allowing him the practise he desires. I was impressed by your display. Previously, I had decided not to assist you or Rosier, but I have since changed my mind. I may yet live to regret it.
With what I know of Horcruxes in mind, I took the liberty of ordering you a training wand, made of Yew. That is what our Lord’s wand is made from. I have no doubt that it will be a good match for you. It will arrive within the week.
Accept the wand in lieu of our rather unproductive meeting. In return for your forgiveness, accept my help. When ever you need it.
Your friend, Lucius.”
“You seem to have won him over, though I couldn’t.” Evan mused, a slow smirk on his lips as he started down at his child.
“Says something about your personality, don’t you think?”
Evan snorted. “Personally, I think it says something about Lucius’ personality.” He bared his teeth, his grin stretching as he thought of things that Harry was too young to hear. “I would never have guessed.”
He didn’t worry, he knew Lucius was too uptight to actually act on any desires he may posses. It would, nonetheless, be useful to use Harry to further any exchanges between Lucius and Evan. Apparently, Evan wasn’t the only one with interest in the child.5
“Write him back and thank him.” Evan instructed.
Harry slid from the sofa. He knelt in front of the coffee table, and grabbed the pen that was always there. He scrawled out ‘thank you’ onto the back of the page and held it up for Evan’s inspection.
The man chuckled. “You did not need to take me so literally child. But send it on regardless.” The owl was still waiting on the porch when Harry opened the door, so he handed the letter over and after a quick pet, the bird was on its way home.
“Evan, you know I don’t mind it when you hit me, right?” Evan’s head snapped up, eyes narrowed. “Like you were earlier. When we were just messing around. I don’t mind. It feels comfortable, and I wanted you to know that I didn’t mind.”
Evan stood, both hands falling onto Harry’s shoulders. They squeezed lightly and tugged the child forward. Harry looked up at him with a wide smile.
“You know I would never hurt you? That I would not abuse you or harm you. I am sorry that I allow the Dursleys to torment you, but there is nothing I can do about them. Not yet. That is why I need Lucius’ help.”
“I know,” the boy said after a few minutes of silence passed between them. Their eyes locked, and Evan allowed a small smile to settle on his face. It was matched by Harry’s grin.
They stayed like that for a while, holding onto each other and staying happy and silent. The moment was broken, unexpectedly, by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. A door slammed, followed by an obnoxiously loud exclamation of “home sweet home, eh pet?”
The two Wizards drew back. Evan was tense and Harry’s hands were trembling lightly. They looked at each other, and in the blink of an eye, Harry was alone. The butterfly fluttered to the ceiling and attached itself to the light, watching as his caterpillar slowly opened the front door.
The Dursleys were home.
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1 - Evan’s animagus is from the Butterfly Family Lycaenidae. I just added some green markings to match Harry’s eyes! His Latin name is ‘Incisalia Eryphon’, the Western Pine Elfin. Harry is ‘Caen’ (from Lycaenidae). Pronounced, Cain. He will be refered to as such, until Vernon dies.
2 - Disclaimer: I have been informed by AKA Quin (at FFnet) that the author of the Poem ‘Butterfly’ used in chapter 2 is Louise Gluck! Just so you know.
3 - “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example” - Mark Twain.
4 - “Man delights not me- nor woman neither.” - Hamlet, Scene 2, Act II. Shakespeare.
5 - No, the interest Lucius has in Harry isn’t sexual in nature. Yet. At the moment, Lucius is only curious about why someone like Rosier could be interested in Harry so selflessly. He is also fascinated about the idea of being around Harry acting like the Dark Mark for Evan (when he is angry or scared). It would be like having Lord Voldemort back.
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LOL stop asking me what’s going to happen. If I tell you all, there’s no point me writing the story, is there? I’ll say this though… Harry will not be a ‘servant’, promise. He’ll be raised to be an ‘heir’, so he’ll have to obey at times, just like if Voldemort were his father, but he won’t be a complete underling.
Also, I was meant to kill Vernon in this chapter… But Draco attacked me with a pitchfork, so here he is again! Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.
Words: 2,668
Chapter 7
NEXT CHAPTER HERE ..after how long of a wait?! :(