Sebastian Michaelis exited the house, a heavy frown set on his face.

He had just met the Dursleys and handed off the child to them, but they didn't really strike him as the nurturing sort of people. Yes, threats aside, he was going to have to keep an eye on them. Granted, he didn't want to leave his young charge with these horrendous specimens, but before taking a drastic measure such as kidnapping the child, he would like to be informed on several things…

Like who were those men that just barged into the house and did whatever they pleased? Specifically, who was the old one, with the long white beard and blue eyes? Where did the other half of the wraith go? Why was the child left on the doorstep of these boorish people? Why, why, why..?

His lips thinned.

Just spiriting the child away without so much as a by-your-leave, while he had no ready arrangements and little knowledge of what he was dealing with, was not only borderline brash, but would put his ward under danger. There was no way of knowing what would happen if he were to act this instant- a truth which put a bitter taste in his mouth- and he didn't want to risk it with humans capable of magic. Oh, of course he knew about the twig-waving fools, but it had been a long time since he came into his contact with them ( a lot longer than he was willing to admit) and he did not know what the modern ones were capable of.

That didn't mean he was going to abandon the child, he thought grimly before coming to a conclusion. He would leave the boy with the Dursleys, but would visit regularly, so the boy knew and trusted him (and to frighten the little humans). Meanwhile, he would study up on the current wizarding and non-wizarding human world. He would plan and plot, so when the time was right, the boy would prevail and he would finally get hold of Lily Potter's soul. ( It concerned him little that she was currently missing: souls were awarded after his job was done and the binding contract magic would force her spirit out of whatever hole she was hiding in, just as it was forcing him to protect the boy.)

Lips curved upwards in a pleasant arch.

Yes, he would leave the boy with his relatives and study. For now. And once the boy was old enough not to need constant care, the demon would whisk him away and train him to become the best wizard mankind has ever seen since Merlin himself.

Pleased with himself, the man turned and disappeared into shadows.

He had a lot to investigate.

XOXOXXOOXOXOXOXXOXO

Sebastian stepped out of the shadows and surveyed the room before him. It was exactly as he left it, when he made to follow the half-giant before he whisked Harry away.

Good, he would loot the place himself.

Deliberately, he stepped around the dead bodies of Lily and James (who were now covered with white bed sheets) and approached the discarded robes of the fallen dark lord. They were mere black robes, of expensive material, but on the conservative side. And they were completely unremarkable.

Sebastian heaved a sigh of disappointment; He had expected more from a human who thought himself god amongst men. Now, nothing remained of him that could tell about his supposed greatness.

Except a flyaway portion of his soul, apparently.

That was another thing that was bothering Sebastian. He had contained and locked away the portion of the soul in Harry, but his experience with souls had revealed that that particular one was split more times than it was advisable. At any rate, the soul was so tattered and diminished that he could not track it and if his suspicions were true, Harry was the only one that could do so now.

That was one reason he had not banished the soul immediately. Another reason was that he had sensed residue black magic on the child, even after the soul fragment had been laid dormant, and knew at once that the wraith had given Harry additional magical capabilities. What kind, he wasn't sure, but he was not a man who looked the gift horse into the mouth. He planned to use this fully to his advantage. And if he could perhaps leech off some information from the defeated fragment, even better. Harry had to be as strong as he could be for when the snake-faced man came back. At this point it was only a matter of time.

Killing the man would undoubtedly difficult. And destroying the man was vital for Harry's survival- he had, after all, attempted to murder the demon's ward.

Too bad he made enemy of the wrong demon, Sebastian wryly thought as he shook his head to dispel his chaotic thoughts and started looting the Potter residence.

XOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOX

In the end, he had collected anything valuable or of use.

As per the contract, he had given the child the priority, collecting anything that might help with his upbringing or increase his comfort. The demon had raided the small wardrobe and had packed countless baby clothes and toys into one giant bag. The hygiene products, as well as the diapers and feeding bottles had been put into a different bag.

That done, he had turned his attention to more interesting things. He had pocketed the wands of the fallen couple, as well as the dark lord's and proceeded to sweep the entire house clean of anything of interest. A bunch of keys from the pocket of James. An ancient jar bearing a large wad of muggle money. Jewellery from the vanity mirror in the master bedroom. Various potions from a potions lab downstairs. An adult-sized broom and a toy broom. What looked to be a hand-written diary of Lily Potter.

He left nothing behind. All were shrunken and placed in his pocket. It had occurred to him that he was being much too obvious, but he waved it away. They had no way of tracing it back to him, after all. It certainly helped that he was a creature of somewhat questionable morals and felt no guild at stealing from dead people (what use could the dead possibly have for them in afterlife?). So he took whatever he fancied.

The find of the day, however, was an iridescent, shimmering cloak. It was stashed away in James' wardrobe, under a score of neatly folded trousers and Sebastian had stumbled upon it by pure luck. Oh, the cloak was powerful, but in a subtle way. He could tell at once that its purpose was to shield things from sight and that slippery, hidden magic had almost caused him to dismiss it. Thank Hades he had stopped to investigate.

The fact that he got to watch from the shadows as the bumbling elder with the twinkling eyes barge in and attempt his own raid (just minutes after Sebastian had finished his) in vain hopes of finding the cloak was a welcome bonus.

XOXOXXOXOXOXOXXOXO

A/N SO.. its finally up. This first few days of school were a complete butchery after my chill program of summer (wake up, derp around in ff, eat, sleep, repeat), so I was so tried that I just couldn't concentrate on this. But I finally did it. This chapter was a sort of a fill-in, so not a lot happened, but it was essential to map out the background and answer a few questions the readers who were distressed(?) about Voldie not being eaten had. Don't worry; I've got this planned out.

AS levels are so difficult from the IGSCE that I just can't. I reckon the free periods are the only benefits from this thing. Mom keeps insisting that it will be worth it, but I have my doubts. For those who are curious, yes, my IGSCE results were good. I got A* in English lang., bio and chem, A in physics, literature, maths and my additional Russian that I took, and a B in history. Parents were ecstatic and bought me a new bike, which in turn made me very happy, too.

Now, on to some Q&A!

Paxloria: Hope this answers why Seb isn't so worried about where Lily's soul is. Unfortunately, I can't reveal it now, because it is an important plot point, but feel free to theorise. BTW, thank you for the corrections. Sometimes I type too fast and the writing gets out of hand.

KioshiUshiyama: Yes! An intelligent! And Grey! Harry is exactly what I'm going for. Thanks for cheering me on.

Evalon Knights: Unfortunately, right now I have a somewhat busy/hectic schedule and still need to fully come in terms with school hours XD. So, in all honesty I can't give you guys an update day, because I know that I will probably miss the deadline. But I'm doing my best, so bear with me

Elfin69: I hope this chapter answered your questions. And thank you for putting them forward: questions are appreciated!

I think that's it for now. Thanks to all the others who reviewed, favourite/followed and read. I love you guyz 3