"Damn it, Snape, how long do you think you will be able to keep me here!" Harry's voice was starting to get hoarse from all the yelling he had done the past four days. It seemed like whenever Snape got tired of his escape attempts, he would get the houseelf to transport him to the bed where Harry would lay until he regained control over his limbs once again.
When nothing happened Harry closed his mouth and started glaring at the door. He had regained the control over his body around fifteen minutes ago only to find the door locked. Meaning that he was unable to leave the room.
Of course he could just blast the door to pieces but something stopped Harry from doing so. Until now Snape's treatment of him had been decent, if on could call it that. Instead of locking him down in the basement the professor had let Harry have a room of his own. It could have something to do with the fact that Snape's potion laboratory was in the basement. But he also got three meals a day and he was not tortured. It was better than if he had stayed in Malfoy manor.
Harry stood from the bed and started walking around the room like a caged animal. He had already wasted four days in the house at Spinner's End. Through Flubby he had found out that this was Snape's childhood home. A little voice in the back of his head informed Harry that this room probably had been Snape's when the professor still had been a child. But no matter how hard Harry tried, he could simply not imagine Snape lying at the bed, reading one of his books. Or playing with the toy while one of his parents was keeping an eye on him.
He scowled and walked over to the window and leaned against the cool glass. Though he still had yet to get out of the house, he felt like he knew every single corner of the garden. One thing he had noted about the small garden was that there were several beds with lilies. The same flowers his mother had been named after. He wondered if it was a coincidence or if Snape had planted the flowers himself.
Right now he could see Flubby down in the garden, weeding out the beds. It seemed like a routine. Everyday Snape would be down working on his potion, Flubby doing housework and Harry would try and find a way out of this place when he thought that no one was paying attention to him. Until now he had had no success with that plan.
Harry knew they were in a muggle town since he had seen several people dressed in muggle clothes pass by. Strangely enough they did not seem to notice the houseelf tending the garden. Harry guessed that the wards around the place prevented them from seeing anything of a magical nature.
When Flubby looked up from what she had been doing Harry stood as frozen. Though he was doing nothing wrong this time, Harry could not help but feel like he had been caught red handed in doing something. He could not help but feel guilt over all the troubles he was giving the houseelf with all his escape attempts.
He stepped away from the window. At least he now knew why the houseelf had not reacted to his yelling. Snape had probably ordered Flubby outside while the potion master himself made use off the basement where the man would not be able to hear him.
Scowling Harry sat back at the bed, not knowing what to do. He had already tried reading the books but none of them had managed to catch his attention since he had read most of them in Dudley's second bedroom. Right now he was so bored that he was actually longing for some homework to work on. Since he did not have any of his schoolbooks with him any longer, Harry started to think.
He did still not know where Snape stood in the war. Apparently the professor was not loyal to anyone or else Harry guessed he would already have been handed over to either Dumbledore or Voldemort. But it did still not explain why the man would not let him leave. Snape seemed to want to heal him, but Harry could not figure out the reason to why and it was driving him mad.
Harry knew better than to ask Snape, he had already tried that tactic and it had not worked. The only reaction he had gotten was a raised eyebrow and an order to stop sticking his nose into places where it did not belong, or he might risk losing it.
After that Harry had decided not to touch the subject again. He knew Snape well enough to know that the man would make his threat real.
"So, you have finally decided to stop being hysterical." Snape drawled from behind him. "No, I simply decided to use my energy on something more useful." He did not even need to turn around to know that Snape had raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be? How to destroy my house without even using magic?"
Grinning he turned around and met the potion master's gaze. "I am planning Dumbledore's demise. My latest plan involves a dragon, the Russian mafia and an apple."
"I will not even ask what that plan is about. Now, sit down on the bed and take of your shirt, or shall I call Flubby again?"
Not wanting to be helpless while in his professor's presence, Harry did as he was told. He shivered slightly despite the temperature in the room when he sat down at the bed with a naked upper part of the body.
Harry sat perfectly still as Snape cast the diagnosis charm on him. The professor had already done so several times before, though Harry did not understand why. He seriously doubted that Snape would be able to find anything of importance. The charm had been cast too many times on him to let Harry get bothered by the tingling feeling which ran through his body. After all, it was nothing compared to the Cruciatus curse.
"Idiotic boy, did I not tell you to alert me when you had one of these fits?" Harry's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes. "I was unable to do so."
"You mean you were too arrogant and thought that you would be able to deal with it on your own." Already getting tired of this discussion Harry shook his head. "No, I had the fit after you had made Flubby use houseelf magic on me. Even if I had wanted to, I would not have been able to call for help."
Snape got nearly as pale as a Malfoy while Harry talked though the man did not say a word. Harry grew silent and tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out what was wrong with the professor. "Professor Snape, is something wrong? Shall I call Flubby? I am sure she can bring you whatever potion you might be in need of." When the potion master still did not talk Harry started to get truly worried. It was the first time he saw the professor like this.
Whatever was wrong Snape seemed to mentally shake himself out of it. "Well Potter, I am sure that you will be happy to know that I now have to find another way to make sure that you do not run away while I am working on potions. Feel proud, Potter." Snape's voice sounded annoyed, but there was something in the voice which Harry could not define. If not because he knew better he would have said that Snape sounded worried.
"And why should you stop using Flubby? Not because I like the method, but it is not like anything happened." Harry was not about to tell how scared he had been when the fit had started and he had been unable to move. "Are you really that stupid, Potter? You could have been suffocated because you were unable to move. I will not allow you to die on my watch. It would damage my reputation as a potion master should I not be able to find a cure for you."
"Why bother? It is not like anyone would know it if I died, since no one knows that I am here."
Whatever Snape had been about to say was interrupted by a loud growling noise from Harry's stomach. Harry blushed and hugged himself while avoiding meeting Snape's gaze. "I guess it is time for lunch anyway, so you can consider yourself lucky, Potter. After lunch you will take some potion which I have made. It will be the first step in your cure. Be happy, you will be the first one I will test it on, and I will have to watch you closely to see what effects it might have on you."
A shiver ran down his spine and Harry was not sure what was worse. Being Snape's test person or having to spend more time with the snarky professor than he already had to.
"Are you coming, Potter, or do you really expect the food to be served while you are in your bed?" Harry hurried out of the room and followed Snape, making sure to keep a distance to the man. Though Snape had shown no intention of truly wanting to harm him this far, Harry knew better than to trust the man right away. He had had too many people to turn their backs to him for him to not be careful.
They arrived at the small kitchen. Well, it was supposed to be small but Harry guessed that Snape had used a charm to enlarge the whole place. There was no other way to explain how it all could fit into the small house. Harry was not surprised to see that the table was already laid for them. Small sandwiches were placed at a plate in the middle of the table, where both of them would be able to reach it. Having already tasted Flubby's food before Harry wondered how Snape managed to stay so thin when he had the houseelf to cook for him.
Without a word they took seat and started eating. From time to time Harry would glance at the professor only to look away when he saw that the man was still watching him with the thoughtful look in his black eyes.
All too soon they had finished their meal and Harry followed Snape into the living room. "Sit down, Potter." Keeping a wary eye at the professor Harry did as he was told and sat down at the sofa. Seemingly out of nowhere Snape brought forth a vial with a thick looking grey potion inside it. Harry already knew that it would not be a pleasant experience to drink the potion.
"This potion will not cure you; it will be the first step in what I hope will be the cure. With the little information you have given me, I will have to adjust the potion as time goes by, and just hope that it will progress in the right direction." Harry snatched the potion from Snape's hand. "Thanks, though I still think you are wasting your time. I am not planning on staying for so long." Snape looked afforded but Harry ignored it and drowned the potion instead.
The last drop hit his tongue and Harry let go of the vial as a burning feeling spread through his lungs. He yowled and curled into a small ball. Harry panted and pressed the root of his hands into his eyes. There was no way that he would let Snape see his tears.
Finally the pain disappeared and Harry could breathe freely once again. "Merlin, was what that? I though it was supposed to help me, not making the pain worse." Harry rasped as he glared at the dark clad man. "Potter, try for once and listen to what I tell you. If you had just waited a little you would have known what would happen, instead of rushing ahead without a second thought. The potion is meant to restore the destroyed cells. Just like Skele-grow re-grows a bone." Harry nodded; feeling tired he was unable to stop his eyes from dropping. "A side effect is that you will be tired, because even though with the potion your body still takes a lot of energy to heal yourself. And I will advise you not to use magic the next few days. Trust me; you will not like the consequences."
Harry knew he should yell at Snape for not telling him this sooner, but he was too tired.
)00(
Voldemort sat back in his chair and glared at the evil thing at his desk. Had he known that this much paperwork would follow with being a dark lord, he would have chosen something else. But it was mostly Dumbledore's fault. He had been willing to go through politic to get the changes he wanted but the old goat had shot down his every attempt.
Another reason to why he found it hard to concentrate on his work was Lucius Malfoy. Ever since he had forbidden anyone to go and see Severus while the potion master was brewing the potion, the two Malfoys had been a pain. They had taken turns in staying with him, so he rarely got a moment on his own, trying to make him change his orders. He had to admit that listening to Narcissa gossiping about the other pureblood families and talking about her latest shopping really got on his nerves. At least Lucius was better, if only a little, after all Voldemort could turn the man's voice out most of the time.
Four days had passed since Evan had disappeared from his life once again. At least this time he would not just give up and think of him as dead. He had a chance of finding his lost lover. Voldemort wanted answers and he would get them, one way or another.
He would show Evan, that no one ran from him. Once he had his lover with him, he would not let Evan leave him again. He would deal with the problem that Evan and Potter was one and the same person once he had made sure that his lover would not leave him again.
He had tried to get Lupin to tell him where Evan could be hiding, but nothing short of torture would get the wizard to open his mouth. Unfortunately Fenrir would not let him do so, and Voldemort honestly doubted that Evan would forgive him for harming the werewolf. So he would have to think of another way to get Evan's hiding place out of the wolf.
Thinking back at the encounter in Malfoy's dungeon, Voldemort frowned. He did not like that Evan had been coughing up blood. He remembered that he had seen this before, but Evan had managed to oblivate him before he had been able to do something. This time he would not let such a thing happen. Once Evan was with him he would find a cure for him. He would get Severus to make some potions and Narcissa would help since she had been studying to be a medic witch.
Knowing that Evan would be in good hands Voldemort only had one problem. He had to find the boy before his lover did something stupid which would hurt himself. His forces were already divided as it was. The Order of the Phoenix was like an annoying fly but he still had to waste people on them. And taking over the ministry and making raids took both resources and time. And now he also had people out looking for Evan. It was a shame that Severus was busy or else he would have made the man brew a tracking potion. None of the spells, not even the dark ones, had worked. Wherever Evan was, the place was heavily warded.
"And we all know that Severus tends to forget taking care of himself when he is working on a new potion. In the end, having no one to look after him could make him forget himself so he would botch up the potion, and then he would have to start over. Think about it. You would have to wait another month before the potion would be finished, even longer because we would have to get knew ingredients for him." Voldemort sighed, getting work done while having one of the Malfoys hanging around seemed like a hopeless thing. And he knew all too well, that what Lucius said was true. Severus was indeed bad at taking care of himself. When working on a potion he was much like a child with a new toy, he simply forgot everything else around him.
"Very well, you are hereby allowed to visit Snape, to make sure that he is okay and taking care of himself. But do not disturb him from working on the potion or you and your wife will be paying the consequences."
Voldemort had not even finished speaking before Lucius was out of the room. When the door closed behind the blonde's back Voldemort turned his attention back to the paperwork in front of him. "Now it is just you and I, and only one of us is going to get out of this alive."
He could swear that the papers were grinning at him.
)00(
Harry awoke to sound of someone using the floo. Feeling groggy Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes while looking around. He was still in Snape's living room where he had fallen asleep after taking the potion. Snape was nowhere to be seen but Harry figured that the man was brewing down in his potion lab once again. Until now the potion master had manoeuvred around his questions about what he was brewing. Harry had a feeling that he would not like it should he find what the potion was for, but that did not stop him from trying.
Until now Harry had not seen Snape leave the house. The man probably feared that he would come home to a destroyed house should he leave Harry without supervision.
"Potter!"
Suddenly feeling wide awake Harry's head snapped in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened when he caught sight of blonde hair. He could only think of one pureblood family with hair like that and who would visit Snape, and it did not mean anything good for him.
Harry stared at Lucius and the woman next the Malfoy. Both of them were dressed in fine robes and wore the Malfoy crest on their outer robes. Harry knew that there were only three Malfoys in this time. And since two of them were males he guessed that this was Narcissa Malfoy nee Black. Draco's mother, sister to Belatrix and Sirius' cousin, though he could not see a big resemblance to him. Luckily the same thing could be said about him and Dudley. Harry shuddered at the thought of looking like his muggle cousin.
Narcissa Malfoy was a tall, slim, nice looking and very pale woman with pale skin and blue eyes and blonde hair, much like her husband and so unlike the rest of the Blacks.
Before any of them had time to do anything to him Harry jumped over the sofa, so the furniture was between him and the two Malfoys. He should have figured that Draco's parents would visit Snape. Draco had always acted as if he was close to the potion master and Harry remembered hearing a rumour that Snape was Draco's godfather.
It was no wonder that the blonde Slytherin had been able to get away with anything he did in their potion classes.
Looking up shortly from his hiding place behind the sofa Harry found Lucius and Narcissa standing in front of the fireplace with their wands pointing towards him. He wondered why they had not already started cursing him; it was not like he could do anything about it. To get out of the living room he would have to get past the two Malfoys and Snape had warned him against using magic. Harry wished he knew what consequences it would be so he could better judge if it would be worth the risk.
"Potter, our lord wants to talk with you. We promise not to kill you, if you just follow with us." Harry was sure that his heart was about to stop when Narcissa talked, and he ducked behind the sofa once again. They had no reason to want not to kill him unless they knew the truth. A shiver ran down his spine at that thought. He could all too well imagine Voldemort's reaction, should the dark lord know who he had been. It was a wonder that he had not felt anything through their link but since he had fled from Malfoy manor the connection between him and Voldemort had been oddly quiet.
"And why should I trust a death eater's word? As far as I know you will just hand me over to Voldemort and hope to be allowed to take part in the torture."
"The dark lord knows who you were and does no longer wish to kill you." Harry bit his lower lip, wanting to believe the woman's words. It would all be so easy if he could just go back to be Tom's lover. Shaking his head Harry knocked the thought out of his head. Tom was gone and instead there was Voldemort. He would have to remember that.
"If you do not trust my wife's word, then please believe me, Mr. Potter. You, of all people, should know what weight the word of a Malfoy has." Feeling a wand pressing into his neck Harry cursed out loud to let himself get distracted. While Narcissa had distracted him Lucius had sneaked up on him and held him at wand point. "Now we stand up and go to the fireplace. I am sure that the dark lord will be more than happy to see you again."
Harry snorted and glared at the blonde while he stood. "I am sure. He will be so happy, that he will accidently wave his wand and kill me with it." Lucius sighed as if he was dealing with a troublesome child. "Potter, I have already given you my word that we will not kill you, is my word not enough for you?" They stepped away from the sofa without Lucius moving the wand from where he had it pressed against Harry's neck. "You might not, but Voldemort will. Or are you really so stupid that you have not noticed what has happened every time Voldemort and I have met? That man was set on killing me even before I was born. I honestly doubt that anything will be able to make him change his mind."
While talking Harry glanced around in hope of seeing something which would help him with getting out of this situation. Unluckily, for him, there was nothing of use. "Perhaps, he has now found out that you are-"
"My dear, I do not think that the dark lord would like it should you spill all his secrets without his permission."
Lucius paled at his wife's interruption, and Harry decided to use the chance the best he could. "Flubby!" He called and quickly moved away from Lucius' wand. A loud pop alerted him about the houseelf's arrival. "What does young wizard master Potter wants Flubby to do?"
Harry dodged a spell Lucius cast at him and heard something behind him break, cursing the fact that he could not use his magic. "Flubby, take care of them, it would not be good if Snape's hard work would be to no use, would it not?" He did not need to look at the houseelf to know that Flubby's eyes were growing impossible big.
"Master potion master's lovers are not allowed to hurt master potion master's patient. Flubby will make sure that young wizard master Potter is not hurt." The houseelf snapped her fingers and Narcissa and Lucius were sent flying into the sofa, where Harry had been asleep a few moments ago, unable to get up. "Flubby will inform master potion master about master potion master's lovers coming on visit despite master potion master's master's orders."
With that Flubby disappeared, leaving the three humans alone in the living room. Harry kept an eye on the two Malfoys, who sat still and stared at him as if they could not believe what had just happened. In a way Harry could understand how they felt. After all he had never imagined that Snape would have lovers, and especially not the two Malfoys. He wondered shortly if Draco knew about this. It was not like he would get a chance to tell the other boy and even if he did he would not do so. In Harry's eyes there were far more important things for him to worry about, and it was not something which concerned him.
Narcissa and Lucius' faces were flushed and their hair was out of order. Not even Mortimus had been like this. Harry wished he had had a camera with him. A photo of the pair like that would have been invaluable.
Without hesitating Harry walked over to the fireplace and grabbed some floo powder from a jar. Until now he had not had a chance to use the floo and he was not about to miss this chance.
With the floo powder in hand Harry turned around and met the two Malfoys' gazes. "Please be easy on Snape, he is still one of you, despite having housed me for some time. And tell Voldemort." Harry paused, hearing someone coming running towards them. It seemed like Flubby had indeed alerted her master about his lovers' visit. "Tell Tom that Beleza is going to take care of the old goat. Marauders' Lair." Harry said and stepped into the fireplace just as Snape entered the living room.
Harry was thrown out of the fireplace in the living room in Remus' house and landed at the floor on his behind. Fearing that someone would be following him Harry rolled away from the fireplace. He did not fancy being crushed under someone's body.
He was on his feet again and sat ready to jump, while trying to gain control over his breath. The house seemed abandoned but Harry did not want to take the risk of relaxing too soon. The potion he had taken made him feel tired and Harry did not want to be caught because he was not on guard.
Breathing heavily Harry got up and left the small living room. The place was smaller than Snape's house but it did not bother Harry. It just meant that there were fewer places for his enemies to hide. Unfortunately it also meant that he would also have few places to hide should it be proved necessary.
It seemed like no one had visited the place since he and Remus had been captured by Fenrir and his gang of merry werewolves. There was still a big hole in the wall in the kitchen and pieces of rubble were spread over the floor. Harry wined when he saw the wall he had been smashed into, where there still was a mark from the impact. It was no wonder that he had been so sore until Snape had healed him.
Hopefully Voldemort would not kill Snape because the potion master had had him in his house without informing the dark lord about it. He held no doubt that Snape would be punished and Harry felt bad because the professor had not had to help him, but he had still tried. It was therefore he had left the message. Hopefully it would lessen the dark lord's anger, though Harry doubted that anything of Tom was left inside Voldemort, but he could only hope in this case.
Harry knew that he should not have talked about Beleza and Dumbledore. If Voldemort had not already known who he had been this would tell the dark lord for sure. Also letting the man know about his plans gave Voldemort a chance of finding a way to stop him. No matter what Harry would not let anyone stop him. After he had gotten his revenge he did not really care for what happened to him.
Moving slowly through the house Harry finally dared to breathe. The house was empty and he just wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. Hoping that what he was looking for would still be there Harry decided to hurry on.
Hearing the floo in the living room being activated Harry cursed. He could only think of three people who would know where to look for him right now. "Potter, stop running away like a coward. You have no reason to fear. I promise that the dark lord does not want to kill you." It seemed like Snape had let go of Lucius and Narcissa sooner than Harry had hoped. It just meant that he would have to hurry unless he wanted to get captured.
Harry walked faster while he tried to be silent, hopefully he would be able to reach the garage without Lucius seeing him. After that he would be able to get away without much trouble. When a yellow curse flew over his head Harry dodged and started running. It seemed like things just not went the way he wanted them to go.
Hearing the blonde move behind him Harry started to run. He had no intentions about letting himself get caught. He jumped away from a curse which hit the spot where he had been just seconds before. Harry started feeling more clearheaded. It seemed like the effect of the potion which Snape had given him was lessening.
Harry twisted his body to avoid hitting a picture which was ripped of the wall and aimed for his head. Though Malfoy claimed not wanting to harm or kill him it seemed like the blonde would stop at nothing to capture him.
With Lucius hot on his heals Harry ran down the corridor, heading towards the door which would lead him to the garage. Luckily the door was still open, since Harry had forgotten to close it after him when he had went to lunch the day they had been found. He could only hope that no one had taken things from the house. If it was not there, he was not sure what he was supposed to do.
Years of running from Dudley and his cousin's gang did Harry good. Despite Lucius having longer legs than Harry the black haired wizard was still faster. It was one of the good things about not having grown up with magic around him. He had learned how to make do without it. He had lost count of how many times being fast on his feet had saved him from a beating.
Lucius was not far behind him though he was probably not as close as Harry imagined. Harry knew better than to look back. He had done that mistake before in the past and had often been caught because he stumbled over something in his way.
Harry tumbled through the door to the garage, and slammed the door close behind him without slowing down. Instead he headed to where he had left the motorbike. It was not hard to find, after all the motorbike was big enough for Hagrid to ride on, and with its sidecar it took up a good deal of the space in the garage.
He used a moment to locate the switch which would make the door out to the street open, before he hurried over to the bike. He could already hear Lucius working on the closed door, and it sounded like the blonde was having troubles, though he was not sure how long the door would hold. There was a reason to why the house was being called Marauders Lair, as Remus had explained to him.
Sirius had lived in the house for a short period of time where he had been on run, and not even Dumbledore knew about the place. Since the animagus had had nothing to do and had feared that the aurors would find him he had set up several traps around the house. Remus had spent a long time taking care of most of the traps, but had let some of them stay in case that something should happen. It was weird that none of them had gone of when Fenrir and the other werewolves had attacked them, but Harry had no plans about staying and trying to figure out the answer.
Harry reached the motorbike just as the door banged open. He jumped up at the machine and turned his head to look back at the blonde, unable to hold back a grin when he saw the Malfoy lord. Yellow chicken feathers could be spotted in the blonde hair. Lucius' legs were now painted red and he had a beak which dominated most of his face.
Unable to hide his grin Harry winked at Lucius. "Please do not be too hard on Snape. Fuck me sideways." Lucius' expression was nearly too good to be true when the motorbike jumped to live with a roar. The garage door had opened enough for him to drive out and Harry decided to use the blonde's frozen state to make his exit.
As Remus had told he did not have to worry about getting the motorbike to work. Harry just leaned forward and the motorbike drove out of the garage with the same speed as his old broom had. Harry honked and drove fast down the street, noticing that Lucius was not trying to stop him anymore. When he died and met Sirius in the afterlife he would have to thank his godfather for coming up with such a password. Not only did it annoy people but it also seemed to save lives… Who would have thought that?
)00(
He should have known that it would be a stupid idea to allow Narcissa and Lucius to visit their third lover. But he had needed the pause from the two Malfoys and it was the only thing he had been able to come up with which would ensure him peace for some time.
Now Voldemort sat in his private room, with a glass of wine in his hand and stared into the flames in his fireplace, lost in thoughts of the past. His free hand sought under his robes and closed around the necklace he had worn since the day he had gotten it from Evan at St. Mungo's. Many times he had thought about throwing the necklace away because of a fit of anger about Evan's dead, but every time something had stopped him. A feeling that Evan would want him to keep the gift. And Nagini somehow would not give him a bloody moment alone.
The snake lay in front of the fire, seemingly asleep, and snored loudly. It was lucky for him that she had just eaten or he would still have to hear about her demands about him having to go out and search for Evan. Though there was nothing more he wanted to do, he would have to stay hidden for the time being. The ministry had acknowledged his return and nearly everybody knew his face now. Of course he could use a glamour but Voldemort saw it as below him to do something like that.
He could not help but wonder what his lover was doing in the moment. Hopefully Eva was smart enough to stay hidden where Dumbledore would not be able to find him. Unfortunately it would also make his own search much harder than it already was. He had a feeling that Evan had some allies whom he did not know about and who hid his lover from him.
No matter what he would not stop before Evan once again stood by his side.
His thoughts were cut short by the sound of someone knocking on his door. Voldemort frowned. Only a few people had access to his private chambers and they knew not to disturb him unless it was important.
With a flick of his hand Voldemort opened the door with wandless magic so that his visitors would be able to enter. He guessed what they had to say would be important, or else they knew better than to disturb him when he was in this wing of his home.
To his surprise he saw Lucius, Narcissa and Severus walking into his room. The two Malfoys were behind their third lover with their wands pressed into the potion master's back. He shortly wondered if this was a new game of theirs or if something had happened to the potion Severus had been working on. The look at their faces was grave enough for something like that to have happened.
Severus, on the other hand, looked like he was weighed down with guilt. Voldemort knew the man and he knew that not much could make him react that way and it made him more worried than he was willing to admit.
The trio stopped in front of him and while Lucius and Narcissa bowed they forced Severus down on his knees. Voldemort raised a non-existing eyebrow, silently wondering what this was about. Something told him, that this was something he would not like.
As if sensing his rising anger, Nagini awoke and lifted her head from the floor while she made her way over to him. While passing the visitors she brushed against Severus, who could not hold back a shiver. It was a reason to why he let Nagini come with him at the meetings. Even his most loyal and trusted people feared the big snake in some way or another. It certainly helped that he had made them watch as she ate what she had caught on one of her hunts.
"My lord." Lucius said with a bow, and Voldemort's frown deepened. It was not often that these three used his correct title, something had to be off for Lucius to be so formal. Deciding to see where this was going Voldemort gave sign to Lucius to continue.
"After you have given your permission I brought Narcissa with me over to Severus. As always we did not announce our arrival, not wanting to disturb him if he was working on the potion when we arrived. Unfortunately we had not counted on him having a guest when we arrived." Voldemort sipped of the glass, silently wondering who Severus' guest could have been. It could not have been any of his people since he had forbidden them all to visit Severus while he was working on the potion. And he knew that the old goat had given Severus time from school to work.
"Imagine our surprise when we arrived and found Harry Potter at Severus' sofa, seemingly having awoken from a nap there. The boy showed no fear until he saw us, so my guess is that he had been there for some time." Voldemort's eyes narrowed when they landed on Severus. Never had he thought that the potion master, the boy he had taken in, would betray him in such a way. If not because he knew that Dumbledore wanted Evan dead he would have thought that Severus really was a spy for the light.
"And where is the boy now?" As long as he did not know how much Severus knew, he would keep the information at a minimum. After all Severus had been told nothing about Evan and Potter being one and same person, and they all knew that Severus would be unable to kill Lily Evan's son.
Severus seemed to shrink into himself, as if knowing that he was in deep troubles. But then the potion master straightened his back and looked him directly in his eyes. Voldemort met the other man's gaze, seeing no regret in the black orbs. "I could not let you kill the Potter boy so I brought him to my home when I found him outside Malfoy manor. I figured that I would find out what to do with him once he awoke."
The potion master's voice was monotone as if he did not care about what was about to happen to him. Voldemort was not about to interrupt him as he wanted to know what had driven the man to hide Evan from him.
"I found out that Potter was sick, he coughed up blood everyday so I decided to work on a cure for him while I was also working on your potion. Meanwhile Ha-Potter told me what had happened in the time he had been gone."
"He told you everything." Voldemort said as he leaned forth in his chair and Severus nodded. "Yes, he told me about the past." More did not need to be said before Voldemort believed him and sat back in the chair and crossed his legs. "Did you find a cure for him?"
For a short moment Severus looked shocked, but then he slowly nodded. "I believe so. It took some time for me to figure out what was wrong with him, but after hearing his story and thinking it through, I finally had a breakthrough." Once again Voldemort leaned forward in the chair, his attention caught. "Do tell."
Severus took a deep breathe, preparing himself for a longer speech. "Harry was first time hit with the killing curse when you sought him out that Halloween. Instead of dying you were reduced to a spirit state and Harry was hailed as the Boy Who Lived." Severus licked his lips, an obvious sign that he was nervous, and something Voldemort had not seen for quite awhile. "Next time Harry was hit it sent him back in time, at the same time he started having fits, although the coughing up blood first came when Dumbledore tried to hit him with the curse but missed. The next time he was hit with the curse he was sent back to this time and now the fits are far more frequent."
"So the curse is the reason for these fits of his?"
Severus nodded slowly as if he would make sure that Voldemort understood him. "Yes, it seems like it is destroying the cells in his lungs, which will result in a slow and painful dead. I had hoped to stop this but thanks to the cure being disturbed Harry is now without any defence and no cure."
"He can do wandless magic."
Only Narcissa and Lucius seemed to be shocked over this news which meant that Severus had known about them. "No, not until after a few days after having taken the potion. It will mess up with his magic and the result will be something which not even I can predict, if he is lucky he will just drain himself and be tired afterwards. If he is unlucky he will probably kill himself a lot faster than he already is."
Voldemort felt the blood being drained from his face. Never had he thought that his Evan would be defenceless and alone. In the time he had known Evan his lover had been strong and able to defend himself should something happen. It was not the case right now and it meant that he would have to find him, soon.
"Send people out looking for him. I want them to look anywhere, and none of them are allowed to try and curse him. I want him here as soon as he is found. Am I to be understood?" The two Malfoys nodded while Severus bowed his head. "I have not forgotten about what you have done, Severus. You will continue with my potion and also work on the cure for Evan. Your punishment will be that you will be in the care of Lucius and Narcissa and move in with them. Get out of my sight."
Lucius bowed again and stood. "Before I leave, my lord, the boy left a message to you. He said that Beleza would take care of the goat and he asked you to not be too hard on Severus here." Voldemort nodded, but did not explain what Evan had meant with what he had said even though he already had an idea of what it was about.
Voldemort watched in silence as they hurried away. He knew he should probably have chosen something else for Severus' punishment, like torture or something similar. But he needed the potion master for his potion and Evan's cure. He trusted no one else to make a potion for him and his lover.
Besides, being left in the care of Narcissa and Lucius was far more cruel than any torture he could think of in the moment.
)00(
Landing the motorbike was harder than landing with a broom. Harry would not call it a crash but he was glad that no one was around to see his graceless landing. He stood leaned up against the motorbike, waiting for the feeling to return to his legs. Driving a whole day on the blasted motorbike really did nothing good for him. Luckily he had found a device much similar to the one in Arthur Weasley's car which had kept him hidden from muggles' view. That way he avoided getting the ministry on his neck.
He looked up and spotted the cottage in the dimming light. The place had changed much in the time which had passed. It looked neglected and Harry guessed that no one had been living in there since he had supposedly died.
With a heavy sigh he left the motorbike after placing a charm on it which would protect it against nature and weather, and headed towards the cottage. It looked much like the day where he had run off to Hogsmeade because Grindelwald had attacked. But he could see there was much work to do before the place would return to its old self. It was a shame that he would not be the one to do it.
Harry turned around and looked to Hogsmeade and then to Hogwarts. He remembered standing like this before. He would guess where Tom was though he had known it would be impossible unless he cheated and used the Marauders' map.
With a sigh Harry turned around and headed inside the cottage.
It was time for him to greet an old friend.
Harry dodged a vase thrown in his direction. He did not remember buying that but perhaps it had been there when he moved in and he had simply not paid any attention to it. "Hey, would you please stop that!" He yelled and looked around in hope of catching a glimpse of the ghost, who was nowhere to be seen. "Leave this place. I have been ordered to protect this place and I will allow no one in."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair while stepping out of the way for another piece of flying furniture. This was not what he had imagined when he had thought of the way Hubert would greet him. "I know, after all it was I who asked you to look after the place while I was gone."
The things froze in the air and Harry knew that Hubert was watching him though he could still not see the ghost anywhere. "Look, it is me, Evan James. I moved into this house and brought Tom Riddle with me. I bought Ares and Nagini, I annoyed you when I banged my head into a wall and announced I was bored."
Harry closed his mouth and waited. He was not sure where he would go if Hubert would not let him stay in the cottage. He guessed that fifty years alone had made the ghost a little crazy… well crazier than Hubert already had been.
"Is it really you?" The voice sounded to his left and Harry turned his head enough to be able to see Hubert. "Yes, it is me, Hubert."
"It is good to have you back." Hubert said and finally came into view. If the ghost had been able to, Hubert would probably have been crying. He seemed to be close enough to do it from what Harry could see. "Do you have any idea of how worried I have been? They told me that you had been killed but I did not believe them. A ghost knows when someone they know has been killed. It is a sixth sense, but no one wanted to believe me and they all left me alone because I could not let them in because of your orders about protecting the cottage."
Harry smiled. "I have missed you, and I promise you that I will take revenge on the one who split up our little family." Hubert seemed content with that. "So, what do you want to do now where you are back?" It was oblivious that Hubert did not care about what had happened in the time he had been missing which Harry guessed was a good thing. He did not fancy telling the whole story one more time.
"Well, actually I think I will catch up on some sleep. It has been a long travel and I am tired. I promise that we will talk tomorrow."
"Good, and do not think that you will be able to get out of it. A ghost never sleeps so you will not be able to avoid me."
Next: Harry goes to Hogwarts.
