A/N: This was a fanfiction I started in the past year but abandoned. It was my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction. It had a few thousand words in it so I decided I would go ahead and post it. It's set in the years before Hogwarts and is centered around a child of Voldemort and Bellatrix who is raised by House Elves but then goes to live with the Malfoys. It explores the world of Noble Pureblood Houses and the politics within and between them. This child is very innocent and socially stunted from being raised by house elves, hidden after the war. This is his story growing up. I have no intentions of finishing it as of right now, but I did very much enjoy writing it when I did so there's a possibility I return to it at some point in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it, Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

Prologue

Bellatrix Lestrange was lying splayed on her bed and having not gone through the normal motions that month, performed a charm her mother, Druella, had taught her the day she became a woman. One of many spells her mother taught her, but the second most important. Flicking her wand in a circle above her midsection and casting, "Deprehendere infus", a light blue haze began to appear around her belly a few seconds later. The blue haze appeared in a stark contrast to the black sheets of the bed. This meant she would soon be birthing a son.

Bellatrix had undeniably been in love with the Dark Lord. Every morning when she woke up her first thought was of him. Serving him. Her devotion was unmatched by any other Death Eater. Narcissa could tell you (but so could almost any of the Death Eaters) that it was an unhealthy infatuation, unbecoming of a married pureblood witch. Despite this, Rodolphus seemed to lack the desire to rein her in. The Dark Lord encouraged her flirtations until eventually, he used her. He used her like he used all of his chess pieces, only using her for his earthly desires instead of his regular moves for the conquest of Magical Britain. At the beginning of 1979 during the height of the first wizarding war, Bellatrix knew she had fallen pregnant with his child. The child had to be Voldemort's. It couldn't be anyone else's. She didn't even hate to say it was impossible for it to be Rodolphus' and knew he'd be delighted with her serving the Dark Lord and providing him an heir. Their marriage wasn't based on love anyway, but their traditional pureblood values had to be upheld. Rodolphus had been her betrothed since thirteen.

She left her chambers to confide her pregnancy in the dark lord, entering his throne room where he sat on a carved stone pedestal. She knelt onto her knees, alone in the room, to address him and cast two spells in quick succession behind her to shut the door and silence it. The dark lord's eyebrows knitted together in intrigue. She stuttered and restarted when attempting to speak.

"My lord. I am carrying your child in my womb. I performed the spell. He will be strong." she declared, bowing at his feet, whimpering between the words. She could not predict what his reaction would be.

At first, he seemed shocked, then pensive, and ultimately he told her, "You must keep the child hidden and Rodolphus must blood adopt it." Tom knew he could have no recognized heir, because if he did: he could be deposed. Tom was not leaving his throne to any little baby. Bellatrix smiled, her hair covering her face from the view of the Dark Lord as she rose, turned, and left the throne room to divulge to Rodolphus her grand news. "I will not hear of this again," he called to her on her way out. She sharply turned to meet his words cast through the air before opening the door and scurrying back to the room with a mark of glee on her face.

Rodolphus was in the room after she opened the door. He was sitting at the desk, writing something, when she came into the room. She decided to be blunt, closing the door softly behind her, "I am with child."

"Surely not mine," he said.

"Of course not. It is his, but we cannot tell anyone. Not even our families. You'll blood adopt him."

"Of course I will. ...Him? We'll have a son. My father will be glad, Rabastan has no plan of changing his status as a bachelor. The muggle women we find are enough for him."

"We mustn't tell your father. Not yet. Not before we're ruling over the mudbloods and traitorous filth. You'll figure something out. No one will know of this child until after we've won, I don't want him being caught in the crossfire. I already have to protect you from getting hit by their stunners, I don't need the extra target space." Bellatrix explained.

"Alright. Of course. But he will be my heir." Rodolphus said with determination.

As weeks became months her belly grew and so did her heart. She had never loved anything as much as the seed of her lord growing inside her. 'This must be what all mothers feel', she thought. She used glamours to hide her pregnancy from everyone because she didn't want anyone knowing of the child. They were in the midst of a war, and while her side was winning she knew that if the other side was aware she was carrying a baby then they'd go easy on her and she loved a vicious fight, fifty pounds of baby-weight overweight or not. If her side knew she was carrying a baby they'd treat her like some dainty hourglass, like Narcissa, her sister who didn't even fight, but she was a warrior. She was the queen of Voldemort's chess board and she would give him a prince.

She ended up birthing a baby boy, assisted by three house elves, Elly, Rinki, and Ugga. Rodolphus had purchased them separately from the Lestrange group of elves so that this pregnancy and child could be kept secret until after the war was over. They were planning to leave this child with these elves in a seaside manor he had purchased in France. The manor was white stone with red terracotta roofing with turrets on both ends. There was an enclosed garden in the back and a gate that led out to the sea.

When the baby was born, on September 14th, 1979 he had hair as black as night and eyes as blue as the sea outside the window. Twenty seconds later, his hair was blue and his eyes were white. Bella knew he had been blessed with the black family gift-just like that dreadful child of her muddy-wench sister she did not speak of. Atlas was her precious baby boy, the second most precious thing she'd ever loved. Atlas Hyperion Lestrange. She swaddled him in her arms, not feeling any pain from the natural birth in this seaside manor. His baby blanket was blue, which must have been why he adopted the color for his hair. Bella was tired but she knew her duty. This first thing to be done must be what her lord asked of her. "Do the ritual with him while I rest", Bellatrix commanded her husband as Elly the elf wiped a towel across her sweaty forehead.

Rodolphus grabbed the swaddled baby in his blanket and walked to the dining room, placing on a table in the middle of a chalk pentagram he had drawn earlier that week and started to blood adopt him right away, making him the true heir to the House of Lestrange. He took his hand and held it over the forehead of the babe and cut his palm with a severing spell. As the blood dripped onto the baby, he chanted "adore pater sanguis filius mi, accipies sanguinem meum" seven times. He would be raised as his heir as soon as the mudbloods had been scourged from magical Britain.

The elves raised Atlas while Bellatrix and Rodolphus fought the Dark Lord's War. The Dark Lord had never even met the child and had little desire to interact with a child whom he deemed had no value. Hearing of the child's ability to change appearance might come in handy in the future though, which Tom placed into his brain, a brain more intelligent than many of his peers. For now, the babe was useless. This mental ability, this intelligence, would be inherited by Atlas. But not the terrible scarred childhood without love, no, Atlas would have love from Elly, Rinki, and Ugga: undeniable love. Atlas would also inherit the Dark Lord's unmeasurable power and the ability to speak with snakes. He was a true heir in the sense of his abilities. Yet in sensibilities, Atlas would differ. Being raised by House Elves, he would lack many of the social skills children acquire through early childhood social interactions. If his time spent being raised by the elves had been limited to just a couple of years, as Bellatrix and Rodolphus intended, then he would have been fine. But the death eaters did not win the war. The Dark Lord fell on Halloween night, 1981. Atlas was two. Two and still nowhere near running out of things to do, play, and learn from his elves. Bellatrix and Rodolphus visited occasionally, staying for a few hours with their baby boy. Bella always had a hard time saying goodbye until she remembered the dark liquor of her life, Voldemort, and rushed to return to him, disapparating, always leaving Rodolphus with the last goodbyes. When the Dark Lord fell, Bellatrix was overwhelmed with grief. She couldn't believe her master would leave her. He was too smart. Too powerful. Too beautiful. Too godly to die. She knew there must be a way for her to return to his service. She knew it may lay in the cup she had protected for him, so she took Rodolphus in the dead of the night to Diagon Alley to retrieve the golden cup from Gringotts.

There was so much celebration in the streets it was hard keeping cover, but her magical power would keep her (and her husband) disillusioned from view until they got to the bank. Hidden from everyone except Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Of course. Of course, he would spot her. Spot her he did. He saw her before she saw him because her guard was down. There were too many people around, cheering and lightning sparks in the air from celebratory wands. Too much light and commotion for her to see the silent streak of red light paralyzing her and (quickly in succession) Rodolphus. They'd be jailed, barely even tried. Azkaban was their new home.

CHAPTER ONE

(September 1979-April 17th, 1986)

-The Seaside Manor-

A newborn baby will call out for its mother. Children crave physical touch and affection. Atlas got that for maybe the first few days of his life. Then his parents left to fight a war. As a baby, his cries had to be answered by Rinki and Elly and Ugga. They were his caregivers. His "parents" only came around every few weeks. He had constant attention and everything he wanted. Except for the presence of human love. Atlas did not miss the occasional presences of his parents after a while. The child became attached to his elves for they were his true parents. His elves taught him history, art, math, languages, etiquette, and more in his forced seclusion. This group of elves had been cheaply and hastily assembled by Rodolphus, attempting to not draw attention from his father who died in the war. They had to acquire elves that came from outside of their families. While Elly, the housekeeper, was a perfectly trained elf for a pureblood family, Rinki and Ugga left a tad to be desired. Rinki, his caregiver, was trained to take care of kids in masse, working at the Diagon Alley orphanage for years. In Rinki's old age-they let her go. She was a bit more lenient than the average elf would be. She was also infinitely more accepting of all kinds of wizards. She saw no pure or half blood or muggle born. She had taken care of the magical muggle born babies, who were left as wards of the state after being abandoned by their muggle parents. Atlas would be raised with tolerance and understanding-yet also the ability to act appropriately in high society circles. Ugga was a whole different mess. As the teacher, he was wildly intelligent: but he liked having just a bit too much "fun" for him to be acceptable as a pureblood tutor for most families. He was by far the most intelligent of the elves he trained with: but he had an obsession with his magic that the house elf agency described as abnormal. He took joy in casting magic. He was curious in pushing it to its limits. Most elves just saw magic as their tool for service. The elves were bought under a disguise by Rodolphus: the agency knew they couldn't give Rinki and Ugga to any noble family, but some random wizard with no name was a perfectly acceptable victim to take these (perfectly fine by a different standard) elves, and the wizard would likely be none the wiser nor care about the elves' slight quirks.

Atlas was a magical prodigy. How could he not be, with parents like Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange? They were the most powerful wizard and witch of their generations. Having a child, they made likely the most powerful wizard seen in recent history. He had a wildly advanced grip on his magic by the time he was six, able to make things move and light aflame, spark, and shimmer. Ugga had almost as much fun learning what Atlas could do. He carried two hereditary gifts, one from each parent. From the black family, he gained the ability to appear however he wanted. He was a metamorphmagus, as he would read in his library. From his father, he gained the ability to speak to snakes, having to discover his ability from encountering a rattlesnake in the garden a month after his 5th birthday.

The elves only left the house to get food and books. He read. He read more than any child should. But he had nothing else to do. He fell in love with knowledge-because that he could acquire in unlimited amounts. He read about his parents in the history books and learned about what they did and who they were. He was horrified. He could never imagine doing what they did and promised himself that he would not be like them and he would be strong enough to stop anyone like them.

Atlas spent his days learning. He learned where the fork goes when eating dinner, learned how to address other wizarding nobles, and most importantly learned about magic. The random changes of appearance that occurred when he was very young he was able to control. The easiest thing to change was hair and eye color. It took some time to learn how to change his height but eventually he could control every aspect of his body. He couldn't grow or shrink too much from his regular size, but he practiced taking on traits of the people he saw in photos in books. He often tried new appearances but kept a core facial and body structure that he felt most reflected him best. He liked to stay somewhat tall for his age, according to the books on childhood development. His face, all adults would say was "cute" and as he grew it would become a face they called "a pretty boy". He loved having changed his hair and eye color to match whatever he was wearing. He kept his hair long, never having a reason to cut it. The hair fell down in wavy curls to his collarbone.

While metamorphing was easy, using his innate ability as a wizard was somewhat harder. Most children couldn't control their accidental magic at all, but Atlas had control. Maybe the control came from his breeding, maybe it came from his nurturing, or maybe it was a combination of both. Whatever it was, Atlas learned at the age of four that he could make objects come to him when he wanted them. He was in his bed, tucked in tight, in the middle of the night, but he wanted one of his beautiful picture books. He turned on the light with his hand, but if he got out from under the silver silk covers, he'd lose their snugness. He knew he was a wizard, so he tried. He tried using magic to call the book to him. He knew what using magic felt like because he was used to changing his appearance and knew that tingling sensation in the core of chest when he used magic. He just directed those sparks to the book, and it jerked off the shelf and onto the floor. He then worked on raising it up and moving it toward him before he grasped it and stared at the beautiful pages. His form of telekinesis grew over time, and anywhere within sight he could easily achieve moving along any object that wasn't too heavy. Ugga would never teach him any spells, saying that such magic was dangerous for a young child.

The rattlesnake that Atlas met in the garden hadn't been very nice. Atlas wasn't expecting for it to yell curses at him when he stepped on it, but the snake had yelled, "stay away from my nest vile dirty human scum." Atlas attempted to talk back and when he did, the snake became unfathomably angry, charging him. He used his magic to raise the snake up in the air and subdue it. He tried to talk to it, surprised he was able to, but the snake raged in response. Elly came out and took the snake away from their gardens, saying she would place it into a new home. After that incident in the garden, he had become intrigued in this ability. Ugga told him this ability was rare as well, but this one came with a negative sentiment. Ugga purchased a book on "parselmouths" for him to read. He was extremely interested in his ability but lacked the ability to practice it. He asked his elves for a pet snake and looked through his books to find what kind of snake he wanted. He asked them for a magical snake, reading a book of the different traits and abilities they had with Ugga. He commented on the beauty of some species and how cool it would be to have a pet snake that had magic. With his request known, the elves made it happen. On his 6th birthday, when they revealed to him his parentage, they also gave him his gift. Inside of a wooden ornate crate, there was a young snake, just a foot long, with metallic rainbow scales. The snake was an "Auroras Viper", an Indonesian snake that he knew could turn invisible slowly and had venom that would temporarily blind its victims. He pulled the snake out of the box with one hand and laid it into his lap.

"Hello." Atlas greeted the snake as it curled around his wrist.

"A speaker?" the snake replied, darting its tongue out.

"Yes, I can speak to you. You've never met someone who could?" Atlas asked.

"No. I was only born a few days ago. Speaking of which, can I have something to eat?" the metallic snake responded looking into Atlas's eyes.

Atlas said, "Well, of course. I'll get you something." Do you have a name?"

"No." plainly said the snake.

"Can I give you one?" Atlas wanted to know.

"Why would I need one?"

"Well, you're going to be my pet."

"Pet? Hmm. I'm not your pet. But bring me food and you can give me a name." the snake said with a wink, a unique ability of this particular species.

Atlas's elves were staring at him in confusion, hope, and curiosity. He carefully kept the snake wrapped around his wrist while thinking of a name and asked Elly, "Can you get me some bacon or chicken or something? He's hungry." Elly disappeared into the kitchen with a pop and reappeared seconds later with a plate full of bacon. Atlas gingerly took the plate, selected a slice, and stuck it near the mouth of his snake. The snake sliced his tongue out, tasting the bacon, and then lurched, eating a whole section of the fatty food. Atlas was still thinking of a name. He himself was named under the traditional Black family naming scheme. His mother Bellatrix was a Black and upheld the family traditions even though he wasn't formally a Black. However, with the death and disinheritance of members of the family, he would likely be the heir of the family within years. He didn't want to uphold his family's traditions though. They were evil. Atlas, a star, was also a Titan and so was Hyperion, his middle name. A Greek mythological name might be fitting then. A name of one of the legendary heroes he adored.

"Your name is now Perseus." Atlas dubbed the snake. His first friend. Perseus grew to be very close to Atlas, becoming more of a companion than a pet. Perseus learned to read in English, and devoured books just like Atlas. Perseus has fallen in love with bacon, likely imprinting on the food as his first feed from "his human".

As Atlas grew older he realized that he was alone, he needed people, needed a family. The only beings he had to talk to were three elves and a magical snake: not a traditional childhood. From his books, he read the Malfoy Family has been imperiused to do the dark lord's bidding and could be a good option to raise him further. (Little did Atlas know that you couldn't believe everything you read in books.) Narcissa Malfoy was his Aunt, and Draco was his cousin, his age. Narcissa and Lucius could take care of him as their ward and he could bring Ugga and Rinki and even Elly along. He knew he needed to take up his role as the Heir to House Lestrange and take up the lordship on his 11th birthday. Lacking friends and any human interaction: he craved meeting someone besides the same three elves and wanted to interact with other humans. He had read about the Noble Houses, and Lestrange and Black were two of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses. 'So was Malfoy, he thought', remembering his book on lineages. The Lestranges and Blacks had vassal houses and could possibly have children to befriend. But at the least, he would have Draco if he went to live with them. He knew this cousin existed from a tapestry on the wall with all of his family members.

In April of 1986, six ('and a half!') year old Atlas was reading about the heroes of the war: those that fought against his father ('both of them', he thought). His elves had told him of how he came to be on his 6th birthday. He knew Rodolphus had blood adopted him. He was the son of Lord Voldemort but had to keep that secret. He was a Lestrange to any and all. He also knew that Rabastan, his uncle, had attacked the Longbottoms with Barty Crouch, Alecto, and Amycus Carrow. The book had a whole chapter on the heroism of the Longbottoms. Rabastan had died, the Carrows fled, and Barty Crouch cursed Frank into immobility. Frank was now paralyzed from the waist down. Alice had survived unharmed and had detained Barty. Azkaban became Barry's new home. The Carrows were found and sent to Azkaban. Atlas read about the Potters, and the "Boy Who Lived" who managed to save the entire wizarding world from dictatorial tyranny. Atlas wanted to somehow make reparations on behalf of his family members and he also wanted to make friends. He wouldn't likely be able to find Harry but he thought he'd likely be able to reach out to the Longbottoms to try and become friends with Neville.

So, Atlas penned a letter.

Dear Aunt Narcissa,

I am your nephew, son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus. I am 6 years old and live with house elves. I am quite lonely here and was wondering if I could live with you. My house elf has brought you this letter because I have no owl. Please come back with her.

Thanks,

Atlas Hyperion Lestrange

He gave the letter to Elly and she apparated away, having had been born in magical Britain she would find her way to the Malfoys. He had a conversation with Perseus, letting him know he'd have to stay in his robe pocket (which he could do since he was only about two feet long now) and they couldn't talk to each other. Less than a few hours later, he heard a pop and turned around. Standing next to Elly was a tall blonde woman wearing a white dress with her wand out, but she slowly lowered it looking around. 'This must be Narcissa', Atlas thought. He ran up to her and hugged her, this was the first human he had seen since seemingly forever. He latched his arms around her waist and said "Hello" excitedly. She smelled like vanilla and felt so comfy, her arms wrapping around him to meet his embrace, and his hair color changed to match hers-platinum blonde.

"Hello, little one." she cooed at him while staring at his changing hair. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I didn't know you were here. I can tell you must be Bella's son with that gift. It's been a long time since a Black family member was a metamorphmagus." she said to Atlas, attempting to break the embrace.

He hesitatingly let her do so, thinking about his book on metamorphmagi that had a current registry. "What about Nymphadora Tonks?" he replied, remembering the name of his one other cousin, whose mother was kicked out of the Black family.

"How do you know about her?" she asked, a bit shocked at the knowledge this secluded boy seemed to have.

"Well, she's on the tapestry, and her name is in my book on metamorphmagi. I know that I'm in line to be the head of house black and if I interacted with them then I'd likely be cast from the family as well, but I still consider her a Black. Metamorphmagi are rare. I want as many Black metamorphmagi as possible." Atlas responded, babbling like the excited extrovert he was bound to be (having lived alone) with the childlike innocence of ignorance of family drama.

"Yes. That's all true. You might want to not talk about her at all though, when around our Black relatives. I'd love for you to come and live with my family and I, at Malfoy Manor." Narcissa replied.

"I'll have the elves bring my things. I can't wait to meet Draco. And Lucius! And Arcturus! And everyone! You're the first person I've seen in what seems like my whole life. My memories of my parents are foggy. The last time they were here I was barely 2." Atlas responded, latching onto her and hugging again, nuzzling into the fold of her dress between her arm and neck. The touch of another human felt so warm.

A/N: If you enjoyed this, let me know. If if I get positive feedback I may choose to try and return to this.