Author's Note: This is a revamp of Chimera. It has been too long since I wrote anything for this story and I wanted to give it a makeover which includes some changes in the interactions and the timeline. But the basics set up by the old version is still in place.

It's been a while since I wrote anything for Harry Potter so here we go.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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PROLOGUE

The swamp was difficult to find but the couple persevered. It was their last hope, their son's last hope in surviving past the unusual sickness that he had gotten since his birth. It had been a frantic two weeks and their baby, small and fragile as he was, might not last much longer with his ailing health. The couple, both fair-haired and pale that they were almost luminous in the thick darkness that surrounded them, stared at each other with no little hope and desperation, their arms linked together and their hands steadying their hold on the small basket where their child lay sleeping, swaddled in a warm cocoon of thick blankets and layers upon layers of protection spells.

"Lucius," the smaller figure of the pair called softly, her voice a welcome sound to the almost deafening silence despite the hopeful, uncertain lilt in her voice. "Do you think this will work?"

The larger one, Lucius, took a deep, steadying breath, switching his gaze from his wife's worried, dark blue eyes to the sleeping face of his son, small tufts of feathery blond hair peeking from underneath the tiny hood on his head, eyes closed in sleep. In truth, he did not know. What they were attempting was inadvisable, given the circumstances but they had no other choice. They had tried everything (even Muggle means) but it had not done anything but make his son suffer through needles and tests that broke his heart little by little with every struggling cry. This last option had proven effective in the past but even then, there were no guarantees that it would save the life of their little one. Still, he could not bring himself to say these words to his wife.

"It will work, Narcissa," he murmured to her with conviction he didn't have, pressing his lips on hers and giving her a tiny smile. She gave him an answering smile, albeit a tremulous one but that was good enough. He knew she understood the risks but she always took strength in Lucius and he wanted to give her that hope even though there was a chance that they would lose him.

They rode a battered old boat, moving languidly over the murky waters in a steady motion that thankfully kept the child asleep. The mist was dense and rendered most of their surroundings invisible despite the bright light that lit the tip of the wands they held in their free hands. It was quiet, almost eerily so that they kept themselves tense and ready should there be an attack of sorts.

A violent flutter and the two stood up so quickly they almost tipped the boat on its side, their wands pointed at what seemed to be a wild owl that swept over their heads, its hoot loud and echoing that it disturbed the baby's sleep and made him burst into weak cries that took whatever strength he had left.

Narcissa instantly started and reached into the basket, settling the baby in her arms as she sat down with Lucius looking out for them, wand raised and eyes narrowed. She rocked him gently, murmuring words in his small ears, shushing him until his crying subsided into the smallest of sniffling and hiccoughs that rocked his whole body.

"Hush, Draco, hush," she whispered, looking into the pale, gray eyes he got from his father. "Hush, my little dragon. We are almost there."

Draco quieted down but he was wide awake, looking at his mother's face with big, teary eyes and reaching out to touch her long hair with tiny hands covered in mittens.

"How is he?" Lucius asked as he sat down, eyes still moving around them for any kind of threat.

"He's fine. He was just startled," Narcissa answered, relieved. "It was my fault. I should have placed a Silencing Spell on his basket."

"A small oversight," he said softly as he reached for his son and held his hand out where the covered hands could reach and bat at his fingers. "I am more concerned with the owls here or anything else that lingers in this place. They appear to be wild and seem more likely to attack though they shouldn't be."

Before Narcissa could reply, their boat stopped at a small, wooden dock. They exchanged glances and looked around them before they spotted a few pinpricks of light in the distance where a shabby, old house, tattered and weathered by time, stood.

With a heart that started to pound painfully in her chest, Narcissa laid a protesting Draco back on his basket, allowing Lucius to support her as she carried the beloved burden in her arms and stepped off the boat. She waited for Lucius as he stood beside her, suddenly alarmed as the boat moved away from the dock and disappeared beyond the mists.

They exchanged a meaningful glance with each other, hands tight on their wands. Together, they followed the path of rotting wood that led to the decrepit house. Lucius tensed as they neared the house, winding an arm around his wife's waist and pulling her to him as closely as he could. The door creaked open slowly just as they reached the door, making them pause abruptly.

An old man peaked out the door, eyes roving around them before settling on them, a toothy grin on his face as he looked from Narcissa to Lucius and to the basket. "Ah, the Malfoys," he said, his raspy voice bringing an unwelcome shiver down the couple's spine and making them reconsider their decision to bring their son here. "I never thought I'd see any of you again! It was such a surprise when I received your message by my window and I thought, well, this is such an odd request. And here we are!"

The door was opened wider and he ushered the couple none too gently inside, cackling to himself with his cloudy eyes wide with madness as he stared at them over his thin shoulder.

"Well, make yourselves at home," he insisted, yellowed teeth bared as he beamed at them. "This place is not as beautiful or well-kept as the manor but then it serves its purpose." He paused as if thinking. "I remember it like it was yesterday but then it was burned to the ground and what can you do but move on."

He rambled on and on, barely paying attention to his guests while Lucius seriously considered leaving even if he had to muck through the swamp with his wife on his back.

"This man is insane," he hissed at his wife who was speechlessly holding the basket to her chest. "We have to leave. We'll find another way to save Draco."

The old man stilled abruptly and turned to them menacingly, eyes narrowed. "There is no other way!" He shouted at them, throwing his arms up in the air. "I know what he has! I've seen it before! I am the only one who can do what needs to be done!

"You leave and that boy will die," he hissed at them, stomping towards them.

Nobody knew what happened that day at the swamp. None of the child's parents knew what they were really putting their child into.

Long after the Malfoys already left, the old man sat down on an old, rickety chair and looked at the shadowed corner of his house where a pair of eyes glowed eerily in the darkness.

"Did you see that? That is my masterpiece," he said wistfully. "He'll be yours someday. He looks just like her, you know. Just like my little Emily. Except the eyes. Oh, how I wanted to take those eyes. Pluck them out of their sockets because they weren't her eyes. They think I don't know but I do. I know what they did. Oh, yes. They will pay for what they have done to Emily. Just be patient, yes, be patient."

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Author's Note: So… what do you guys think? It's different from the previous version. A lot different and it will get even more different as we progress. I'm not sure yet if I'm putting this story as epilogue compliant or not, though.

Comments and suggestions are appreciated.