PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU~PSEU
~*S*O*M*E*T*H*I*N*G*~*W*I*C*K*E*D*~
Summary: Petunia abandons a young Harry in London with a flimsy promise to return after his hair turns an unnatural shade of red associated with the devil. Frightened and alone little Harry stumbles upon the entrance to Diagon Alley and is found by a boy with silver eyes. How much could Draco's influence at such a young age possibly change the story? Misunderstandings, possessiveness and magic ensue.
Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy (others come later on)
Warnings: Superstitions, Curses, Lies, Manipulations, Possessiveness, Dark Arts, Mythology
AN: As requested I present the next installment of Something Wicked. Merry Christmas/Happy Yule everyone. [insert whatever other holiday if any you might celebrate here]. I hope you are all doing well and keeping warm if you're in the part of the world that gets that strange white coloured thing I've heard is snow.
Ever Yours, Pseu
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice
From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire
But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice is also great
And would suffice
"...and honestly I thought you weren't trying to bring attention to yourself! Your eyes were glowing. Really. It was quite scary..."
Harry blinked. His eyes glowed when he was angry? This was a lot of unknown abilities to discover in a single day. Colouring changing hair, speaking to snakes, sucking out life, glowing eyes. Shouldn't there be a limit on the number of odd things happening in one day? Apparently there was no such limit. A man with short cropped blonde hair that positively yellow in comparison to Malfoy's came stumbling out of the shop. He turned toward his shattered window and empty cages.
"Oh circe the snakes have gone. The aurors will be all over me I'm going to lose my job-" He threw his hands about while he spoke, the wand in one of them shooting off unlikely coloured lights. One struck an unfortunate wizard walking down from the opposite side of the alley. Or it was a wizard. Now it was a one legged blob. A really gross, pitiable, one legged blob. Surely there were laws against randomly changing people into things previously non-existing without their permission? That man, if he ever became a man again and not a blob, would most certainly be upset. It did raise other thoughts as well. What was this magic that allowed you to have whiskers or cat ears or turn people into other things? He wanted to learn that. After he learned how to speak like Sev. He mustn't forget that.
"Take your idiocy elsewhere." Hissed the object of his thoughts.
It was a very good hiss. Maybe he could offer to teach him to speak with snakes in exchange for magical lessons of some sort? Or at least how to speak the way he did. When his aunt came for him and saw his hair hadn't fixed its self one of two things would happen. He would return to privet drive as he was and Vernon would be displeased or she would dye it and tomorrow morning ti would be red again and Vernon would then be displeased. Either way Harry couldn't quite convince himself that he would survive the encounter without an ace up his sleeve. He didn't have anywhere else to go so something had to be done. His magic surged inside of him. Something would be done.
The store clerk finally realized the rest of them existed. He put a hand to his chest, hanging onto the door frame for support with the other. "Oh my is that, are those my snakes? They've haven't bitten him have they?" He stared at the fairer blonde.
Harry scowled. "Of course not. They're very well behaved thank you." He couldn't help being offended on their behalf. If the store clerk didn't keep them locked in small cages with nothing but dead mice to eat perhaps they would have a better attitude. As it was he couldn't blame them for being sour at their living arrangements. He had more room in his cupboard. The store clerk turned to look at him properly and Malfoy turned completely around and stood in front of him.
"Why don't you wait for us inside sir? We'll be along to straighten this all out is in just a moment." Harry couldn't see it but he could hear the charming smile Malfoy had in place. It must have been convincing. The man did so.
Harry reached out and tugged on Malfoy's sleeve. Silver eyes met his over the older boy's shoulder. "Why did you do that?" His voice was quiet, shy. He felt self-conscious. Why wouldn't he want to be seen with him? He hadn't minded at any of the other stores. Was it his eyes? His snakes? Was he too much of a freak to be seen with the son of a Lord? His mind flittered away with the possibilities.
Malfoy smacked the back of his head. Again. "Your scarf came off."
Oh. The blonde pulled him into another hug. It was odd. He wasn't used to close physical contact and certainly not positive physical contact but his magic absolutely singed in response. It seemed to be becoming just as attached to his friend as Harry himself. Which made sense. What was magic if not a living extenuation of yourself?
Long fingers rested on Malfoy's shoulder. "Draco, move aside."
"Sev-" Malfoy began.
The hand attached to the fingers tightened. "Now Draco. Show me what you are hiding." Harry only had a moment to feel a sense of fear. Then Malfoy was gone and Sev stood before him. Deep black eyes widened. "Mercy." Sev breathed.
He slowly came to his knees in front of him, smelling of fire. His magic liked it. Harry jerked a bit at those long fingers reaching for him. To his amazement they held his chin gently, as if Harry were something expensive in those stores where his aunt Petunia liked to browse but never bought anything. Sev studied him for a long moment. Harry kept very still. Waiting. Malfoy knowing about him was one thing. An adult knowing was something else entirely. In his life experience you didn't trust adults. Ever. They always took the easy way out and they only ever pretended to care if it got you to do what they wanted and they weren't the kind that believed in giving a good smack. Those were the 'church kind' according to uncle Vernon, who was the kind that believed in giving a good smack. And another.
Something of his thoughts must have shown through. Sev's eyes narrowed, the ends of his lips moving down just slightly. "Where are your parents?"
"I think they're dead." Said Harry.
Malfoy spoke up. "He's been adopted by these horrid muggles uncle. The shaved off his hair to hide it and now they're trying to colour over it. The woman he lives with left him alone in London, he doesn't even know when she'll be back. They keep him in a cupboard Sev and use him for servant."
Sev rose to his feet, looking quite as intimidating as his first appearance. "We shall deal with the clerk and then we shall find your father." The man turned and slipped inside the store.
Malfoy raised his brows at Harry. "I told you Caine. My father will hear about this and then just see."
He knew the other boy was trying to be comforting in some way but Harry couldn't help but think Malfoy's father was someone important, as a Lord he must be, and influential if both Malfoy and Sev were certain that the man could take care of it. He wasn't so certain that a man like that would care what a child in hand-me-down clothes was going through regardless of the nice cloak his son bought for him. Men like that were invited over by Uncle Vernon for dinner and Harry was dressed nicely and paraded for them. Not one of them had shown any interest in him beyond agreeing with the Dursleys that they were very kind indeed.
Harry held tight to Malfoy's arm and let the older boy lead him into the store. He was afraid the clerk would yell at him when he realized it was his fault. The snakes still wound about Malfoy tried to reassure him they would bite the man if he tried, but Harry thought that was counterproductive at this point. They couldn't bite everyone he didn't like. Leaving a trail of bodies wasn't smart. Of course he had destroyed even that of the thief in the alley...but no that man deserved it. He tried to take Malfoy away from him. He tried to hurt him. There was nothing wrong with destroying people who did that. They deserved it. Didn't they?
His magic roared in his ears. Of course they did. If he had the power to stop people taking his things he should stop them. It wasn't his fault the man didn't learn his leasson after being attacked by snakes. He was asking for it. He needed to be taken care of. Now he could never try to take Malfoy away again. The blonde was his friend and his to keep safe and he wouldn't feel sorry for the thief. No, he wouldn't feel sorry for anyone who tried to take him away.
A rat in a cage squealed at him.
Harry jerked, ducking behind Malfoy. He hated rats. Whenever Vernon shut him in the tool shed overnight two or three of them would find their way inside and Harry would have to spend the night balanced on the shelf, swinging the broken mop handle at them to keep them away. They were horrid. It squealed again and Harry shuddered.
Malfoy looked at Harry then at the rat. He wrinkled his pale nose. "What is that?" He demanded, disgusted.
The clerk stood from his chair. He appeared to have been fanning himself. "Found the thing running around half starved. Checked it over already, it's perfectly healthy otherwise. No signs of disease. I'm afraid the Weasley family has a hold on it for one of their sons-"
"We certainly weren't asking to have a rat for a pet." Said Malfoy, giving the man a condescending look.
"No, no young master of course you wouldn't." The clerk stuttered. It was incredibly interesting to Harry that the blonde could be covered in stolen snakes from the man's own store and still give him cause to cower. Dangerous, Harry decided. Malfoy's father was dangerous. He must be.
Harry tugged on Malfoy's sleeve. "I'd like to have it for my snakes." And they were his. He'd let them bite the clerk if he said otherwise. Malfoy didn't like him so why should Harry? And he could talk to the snakes. He wanted them. They were his...
The older boy looked at his uncle. "Sev? Caine would like it for his snakes."
"Indeed?" Sev said, "Very well. We'd like to purchase the filthy vermin. Now please." He added when the clerk seemed ready to argue.
The clerk's face paled just Malfoy's had done earlier when Sev's voice took that tone. He was dangerous as well then. Malfoy had even said Sev was more than a match for most people hadn't he? But he wasn't a Lord. That was why Malfoy's father was above him. He had a title and money to go with it. Sev couldn't be poor though. His clothes, though a plain black, were well tailored and clean. His shoes looked just as expensive as Malfoy's boots and he was very well spoken. A man who had earned his money and influence rather than inheriting them then. Harry racked his mind for all the sort of things Vernon used to say about these sort of people. He reckoned Vernon would try for Lord Malfoy's esteem over Sev's. While that would be helpful, as the man was Malfoy's father and he could prevent there friendship, Harry thought Sev would be the better of the two to befriend. He would be the sort of man that could do things Lord Malfoy couldn't without having to worry about his reputation and how much money he might need to feed someone's mouth to keep it shut. He knew that because uncle Vernon was the sort you had to bribe to keep quiet.
If he could get Sev to like him he would have both his influence as an adult and Malfoy's as the Lord's son working for him in favor of their continued friendship. And neither Harry or his magic was willing to let anything but that be the outcome of this encounter.
The rat was sat in it's cage on the counter. "Anything else?"
"Yes," Malfoy said , raising his chin. "We'd like these snakes as well."
The clerk's face turned sour. "Those are experimented Vipera Berus young Master. While they have not bitten you yet through whatever happy accident, I can not in good conscious allow you to purchase them when I myself do not yet know the full extent of the effects of their venom nor other side effects they may have as a result. They are meant for processing for an Apothecary further down the alley later this afternoon. The owner has already paid in full."
"I knew it. I to just knew it."
"At least we got to see the outside first."
Harry frowned. "What's wrong?"
A small head wound out of his shirt. Harry had completely forgotten about the thicker snake he'd rescued. "We're going to be cut into pieces speaker."
"What? No!"
The clerk looked around at that particularly loud hiss. Tentatively Harry peered around Malfoy. "They said you're going to cut them into pieces. You're not are you? How could you be so horrible? They'v never done anything wrong and it's not their fault their always in a foul mood. You would be too if you were stuffed in a small cage and fed dead mice. Who eats dead mice? They want them living. Snakes are predators you know. Dead food is insulting." All three of the other human inhabitants of the store stared at him. His magic swirled around him, searing along his skin as it lowered the tmeperature in shoppe, swirls of ice combing along the walls.
"I've never heard you say so much all at once Caine." Said Malfoy, his breath visible in the cold air.
Harry blushed and hid his face in Malfoy's shoulder. His magick curled around them and the temperature returned to normal.
"His hair. Did you see his hair? I've got to call somebody-" Sev cut him off with a look. Harry didn't know what they were saying, it came in low murmurs, but whatever it was it was enough for the clerk to agree and all but shove them out of the door after word. He assumed that meant the snakes were his though God knows how he was going to hide them. He certainly wasn't going to allow Vernon to kill them or hurt them if he found them however killing his uncle would get him kicked out of their house for sure. He cold always have the snakes hunt for him. The Dursleys made certain he knew how to cook.
"You can turn a man to ash but confronted with a rat and you fall to pieces." Teased Malfoy.
Harry glared around him at the cage in Sev's hand. "Rats are vile, untrustworthy creatures. I hate them."
The blonde glanced down at him. "You really are frightened of them aren't you?"
Without a word Sev tapped the cage. It grew small enough to fit into a pocket which Sev immediately did. No one said anything else about the rat. They walked along the alley, Sev collecting and shrinking the various packages Malfoy bought for Harry -or Caine- earlier in the day. When they reached the intersection of the side alley and the main alley Sev and Malfoy exchanged a glance. The tall, dark eyed man knelt before Harry.
"Would you allow me to disguise your hair? It is not that we are frightened or ashamed of it, quite the contrary, we seek only to avoid anymore attention brought to it until we have a plan to handle such situations."
Harry peaked up at Malfoy who gave a small nod. Harry looked at Sev.
"Alright. You have my permission." He said, trying his best emulate the way both Malfoy and Sev spoke.
Sev gave him a small smile. "There we are. I shall remove as soon as it is safe to do so or you ask it of me. Agreed?"
"Yes S-sev."
Malfoy grinned at the both of them.
They lead him out into the alley, keeping him between the two of them. The crowed parted around the three of them as if Moses were parting the sea. The plethora of Adders winding around the blonde may have had something to do with it but Harry was under the impression the crowd would have parted for them either way. He could taste the power coming off of Sev and everyone seemed to know who Malfoy's father was.
Upon reaching a tall, marble building they began up the stairs. Malfoy helping him up the large steps. Harry was smaller than him and unused to a cloak. They made it to the top of the stairs. Malfoy and Sev greeted a small, odd looking man all in armor.
"Are you the guard?" Asked Harry, curiously.
The little man's eyes widened and Harry was sure he could see through whatever Sev had done to his hair. "Yes. I am the guard alloted to the wizarding entrance of this bank for the last one hundred and twenty years."
"You must very trustworthy then." Said Harry.
The goblin flashed it's teeth. "Quite."
Malfoy squeezed his hand. "I have to go now. It was nice to meet you." Harry gave a small waved and followed behind his friend into the building. A bank the guard had called it. He hadn't ever been inside of a bank before. They missing the calculating gleam in the guard's eye.
"This way." Malfoy led him confidently down a hall to the right,a way from the main hall with the tellers. Here another guard met them, this one in a suit and not armor Harry was disappointed to note. While Malfoy and Sev spoke to the man Harry glanced around the building, all the while keeping a tight hold on his friend's arm. The last thing he needed was to be separated in a place as large as this.
"Caine?"
Harry turned. "Yes friend?"
The blonde's cheeks flushed briefly. "My father is coming. To meet you. Both Sev and myself agree he'll know what to do about you-"
A rush of hair and there stepping out of a fireplace with flickering green flames came a man who must be the Lord. He had very long white-blonde hair, pale skin and fine clothes. His right hand resting on a cane with the head of a snake. Silver eyes glanced over the snakes still entwined about his son and then zeroed in on Harry who promptly hid behind Malfoy. He too, it seemed, could see through the illusion Sev created. The Lord gave a quick nod of his head to Sev. "Severus."
"Lucius" Sev returned.
"And what," the Lord drawled turning to examine Harry, "do we have here?" He knelt as Sev had done and reached out to touch him. A squirming in his shirt resulted in his snake companion sticking out his head and hissing at the man's approaching fingers. The Lord froze, lifting his hand up and holding his fingers apart to show he held no weapon and meant no harm. Sharp, clever eyes met his. Harry swallowed and hid his face in Malfoy's shoulder. Even with his snakes the Lord was terribly intimidating.
"It's alright Caine. Father isn't like those filthy muggles. He won't hurt you. I promise." Malfoy looked down at him in earnest. For the first time in his life Harry trusted someone else. Taking a breath he walked out from behind Malfoy and met the gaze of the Lord. Raising his chin as he'd seen Malfoy do he gave a nod.
"H-hello."
The Lord's eyes flickered down to the snake still peeking out of his shirt, then back up to Harry, flickering to his hair only once. "Hello to you as well. Caine was it?"
Harry nodded hesitantly.
Malfoy beamed at his father. "He save my life not an hour ago." He declared. "Caine told his snakes to attack this thief down in the side alleys and they did and he fell to the ground. Then when he stood and tried to attack one of the snakes Caine tackled him to the ground. His others snakes surrounded me to keep me safe. You should have seen it father! His eyes were glowing and he apparated in front of the man and then..." Malfoy hushed his voice, "The man turned to ash."
The Lord's brow rose. He looked to Sev who only nodded. Silver eyes turned to Harry once more. "Do you think you could speak to the little snake fellow hissing at me for me? I'd very much like to hear it as well."
Unsure, Harry stroked the snake at his neck reassuringly. "I need you to stop hissing at him now. If he tried to hurt me you can do it again but for now I need this man to like me. If he doesn't he might try to take my friend away from me."
"The little white one?" Asked the snake, tilting its head up.
"Yes." Harry confirmed.
The Lord sucked in a breath.
Harry's head snapped up. "Did I do something wrong?"
"What did you say to him?" The Lord questioned.
Harry debated what to say. He did not want the man to take his sons way from him but perhaps a show of force would do his cause some good. He could show the man he would protect his son and would do anything to stay with him. He could warn him what would happen if he tried to take him away. Various answers rolled in his head before he chose the one he thought suited his interests best.
"I told him I need you to like me so he must stop hissing at you for now," he said quietly. "I also told him if you decided you didn't like me and tried to take M-Draco away from me he could bite you." He realized as he said it that he meant it. He would kill this man if he tried to keep them apart.
To his surprise the Lord wasn't displeased. In fact his silver eyes glittered. A quick glance to Sev and the answering look of approval there told Harry he had chosen his answer correctly. "I think, Caine, that I shall permit you to be friends with my son as long as you like."
Malfoy beamed.
"Now father something simply must be done about these horrid muggles he's living with or I shall get sick from worry when he's gone from my sight." The younger blonde said, smoothing down Harry's -Caine's- cloak as he did so as if he spoke about the weather.
His father's eyes narrowed. "What muggles?"
PseudonymousEntity
2015
NOTES: There ya go lads. [and ladies]
To the reviewer who asked, the thief is NOT an OC. Any guesses who it was?
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I appreciate the support of my readers so much.
-Pseu
