The Missing Link
By JadeShadow
Chapter One
Disclaimer: As badly as I might want them, I can't own Harry, Hermione, Ron, and co. They belong to the genius JKR.
A/N: Here's the first chapter!!!!! Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm…not much else to say!!!!! PLEASE R/R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I suppose I should tell whoever might see this who I am. I am Lily Elizabeth Potter. Potter as in Harry Potter. I know everyone thinks I don't exist, but here I am. I was born on July 31, five minutes after Harry. I was a bit of a surprise, really. Mum and Dad knew that there would be two, but everything pointed to two boys. I am a bit of an oddball, I suppose. Anyway, as everyone knows, Harry "defeated" Voldemort the same night his parents died. However, since they couldn't find me, Dumbledore and the others in charge of Harry's welfare decided to hide all evidence of my existence, so Harry wouldn't be tortured in his later years. Actually, they didn't really need to. The Malfoys had been instructed to destroy or remove everything about me from the records. I was to become a "shadow child" of sorts.
I grew up with the name Lily. As a small girl, I didn't have to do a lot of hard work, so I usually played with Draco. At first, it was fun, but when we hit five he started parading past me all the things he had that I didn't. About that time, I was given my first servant uniform and told to move into the cellar. I didn't protest-what could I say? Narcissa often told me the only reason she kept me was so I could be sold when I was older. Sometimes I'm not sure if Lucius remembered I existed. He tried to forget the many things he had done as a Death Eater. Not out of any remorse or anything, but because he was afraid of severe questioning. Although with all his Malfoy money (Malfoy seems to be a synonym for "dirty"), he really didn't have anything to worry about; a large amount of money got him through his first few years after Voldemort's "demise."
When I was seven a small article appeared in the Dailey Prophet. Since I often read the paper after they (the Malfoys) were done with it, I usually ignored the front page while carrying laundry through the house. (House-elves aren't allowed to touch clothes-it'll free them-so I ended up with laundry duty almost every day.) However, on this fateful day, Narcissa was frowning heavily at the front page. She opened up the paper, and I paused with my basket of clothes and read aloud (Draco was nearby, and he couldn't read yet; he always made me read out loud), "Harry Potter-A Where Is He Now?"
Draco scowled at me. "I hate Harry Potter. Keep reading; see if they say something bad about him."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Draco, honey, you must pretend that you like him. You know, it wouldn't be proper if-"
Seeing Draco's face turn red, I quickly continued. "Harry Potter-the great little hero who defeated You-Know-Who, turned seven last Friday." I paused. "Hey, that's my birthday. Anyway…" I paused, searching for my spot. "Oh, yeah. At one year of age, he became the single most famous wizard around, excluding Albus Dumbledore and You-Know-Who. He now lives with his Muggle aunt and uncle. His parents, Lily and James Potter, were killed in the attack that made him be so famous. At the moment, Dumbledore-"
Draco stuck his tongue out. "Stupid perfect little hero."
I looked up at Narcissa. "Narcissa, my parents were named Lily and James, weren't they?"
"Yes. Harry's your twin brother." Narcissa appeared bored.
"What?" Draco shrieked. "Is she perfect too, Mummy?"
"No," replied Narcissa calmly, "no, sweetie, she's our servant. If she were perfect, she would look like a princess. Okay, Draco darling?"
"But she does look like a princess! Mummy, can you make me look like a prince?"
"Last time she did that, Draco, you looked like a horse for a week," I piped up.
I received glares from both angles at that. "Girl, do you want your hair cut off again?" Narcissa said sweetly.
The last time I had misbehaved so badly that my wavy, deep red hair was cut off had been right after my fourth birthday. "No, ma'am." Suddenly I remembered an important detail. "Is Harry really my brother?" I asked.
Narcissa rested her pale blue gaze on me and smiled in a cruel, thoughtful way. "Yes, Lily. Now, you want your brother to be proud of you when he meets you someday, right?" I nodded. "Then don't mess up. The closer to perfection you are, the better he'll like you. The worse you are, the more he'll shun you. Your only family member will hate you."
After that all I could do was nod solemnly. I had gotten used to what I called the "Perfection Factor," something the Malfoys judged me by to decide what minimal treat I should get. I had never dreamed that my own brother would use it. On the flip side, the Malfoys used it, and they were just like everyone else in the world, weren't they? Perfectly normal, kind people, as Lucius would say. So, everyone used the Perfection Factor. It became imprinted in my mind, forcing me to do everything as perfectly as possible. I cried when I messed up. It had been a game, once, but then my punishments grew more severe.
But I grew stiffer, stonier. Once, when I was nine, Lucius was so mad at me that he used the Cruciatus Curse on me, but all I did was cry silent tears. After that I endured the pain of one dose, so my doses of pain became stronger and stronger. I would hold it inside me until I was dismissed, then whatever unfortunate object was in my path would be blown away by the…magical power that burst from me. The power always scared me, and that was when I would cry. But eventually, I stopped being afraid of my powers, too, especially after Draco came home from his first semester at Hogwarts and I could perform all the spells he knew perfectly right after reading the incantation. Of course, I got a dose of pain that day so horrible I did scream…but still, I was proud of what I did. Of who I was.
I am Lily Elizabeth Potter. Daughter of the late Lily Evans Potter and James Potter. Twin of the famed Harry Potter. Beth. Servant of the Malfoys. Unwilling servant of Lord Voldemort. The girl with deep red hair, bright and intelligent green eyes, and one lightning-shaped scar on her forehead. Shadow child. The unknown factor. That girl. That-that Potter girl. Lil' Beth.
Her.
***
Training for Voldemort could have been a lot worse. Most people would think it would be horrible, but that's only if you can't figure out how to do anything correctly. The only thing he hated was failure, and I rarely ever failed. When I did, however, he'd bring in a dementor, just for me, and torture me until I promised to do it right. Screamed my promise, actually. Everything haunted my dreams, everything I couldn't-or wouldn't-do. I refused to use any Unforgivable Curse on any person, or anything. He wasn't to pleased with my moral code, but after the fifteenth time of trying to convince me to perform the Imperius Curse on Draco, he backed off. He didn't stop trying, of course; he was too proud for that, and figured he'd trick me into it somehow.
On my fifteenth birthday I got a break, which I used to practice my schoolwork. When I wasn't doing housework, anyway; Lucius and Narcissa still hadn't gotten themselves another house-elf, and I knew they would be horrified at the prospect of doing their own work once I left. Draco would be spared, obviously; he would be going to Hogwarts, same as me. This meant I had to learn everything up to fifth year, which really wasn't a problem, as far as I was concerned. I had already threatened Draco with several nasty curses, so I was sure he'd leave me alone.
Not so. "Lily," he said, leaning his face down into the cellar room where I slept, "come up here."
"No, Draco. Go away before I blast your head off." I was concentrating on a Summoning Charm.
"Come on."
"No."
"I'll call Father."
"Do I care? Your parents don't want to disobey his wishes, do they? Are you trying to be impertinent?"
"You're not above me in his hierarchy."
"I will be. Go away."
"No, Lily dear. You simply must come ou-"
Fed up with Draco's demands, I turned around, pointed my wand, and said, "Accio!" The piece of paper Draco had been smugly holding flew out of his hand and into mine. "Hmph. I think I've got that one down…now what's this? Another messed up picture of Pansy? Draco, you simply must stop desecrating these pictures if you want her to believe you like her, this is the third one this week!"
"Shut up, Lily. I hate the girl. And it's the same picture."
"This is the third time you've destroyed it!" I protested, examining the picture. This time Pansy's ears had been switched with her eyes, creating a rather disgusting new look for the girl. "Anyway, can't you come up with something that brings out something?"
"Anything I do just brings out her natural ugliness," Draco replied sullenly. "I wish I could get a picture of that Mudblood-"
"Draco, if your parents find out you're obsessed with a Muggle-born-"
"I'm not obsessed! I just want to get the honor of killing her."
"Liar. You want to marry her."
"No, I don't!"
"Yeah, you do."
"Girl!"
"Imbecile!"
"Hey!"
I tossed him a sassy smile and turned around. "I'll get your picture fixed, Draco dear. Don't you worry, oky-doky?"
I heard him mutter something obscene under his breath, but decided not to press the point. Draco was easily annoyed and irritated. He was angry when he discovered that his servant girl would have more prestige with Voldemort than he. Worse still was the fact that I would be going to Hogwarts, something I had dreamed of doing, and something that he had often flaunted in front of me. Instead I focused my attention on Pansy's picture. Living with the Malfoy's gave me a unique perspective into the unhappiness of Slytherin girls and the total male dominance they lived with. It was really sad, actually. Years of being dominated had made them all bitter. "Pansy, dear," I muttered as I focused my wand, "you really ought to find yourself a new boyfriend."
A/N: Another short chapter, I know, I know…now the next chapter will explain how she's going to get into Hogwarts, etc. etc. etc. So go R/R and I'll be forced to type my musings down on paper…I've been working on this for about two years, so it's been massaged a bit…a lot. But now people are reading it so…go R/R!!!!!!!