"You're going to get us into so much trouble!"
"Shush!"
"You shush! Move over."
Lucius paused mid-sentence at the not-so-quiet whispers coming from outside his office doors. He looked cautiously at Lord Voldemort, glad that at the very least his son wasn't the behind this… he was just being led astray…
He wasn't at all put at ease by the nasty smirk.
"You're absolutely right, Lucius." The blonde was confused, but said nothing and his Lord continued: "We should send the children away. China, perhaps." For the briefest of moments his mouth dropped open – if he didn't so value his life, he would have sworn that look in Voldemort's eye was playful.
Horrified gasps were heard and a second later the doors burst open and in stormed a distraught looking Harry Potter, Draco clinging to her arm in a doomed attempt to stop her.
Lucius' horror was well concealed as he quickly stood, his gaze swinging from the children to an angry looking Dark Lord - he looked angry, but he could tell it wasn't genuine and for the nth time this week, he wondered just what had changed in the man. It was altogether unnerving, especially as it was uniquely related to the young Potter girl. In every other aspect of his power and personality he was as fearsome as ever, but when it came to Harriet he tolerated behaviour that defied belief.
"You're not serious!" Harry accused, absentmindedly trying to shrug free of Draco's hold.
"Of course I am." He waved a hand and Draco was bound, hand, foot and mouth at his father's feet. Harry paid him no mind. "You could go to work making cloaks and make yourself useful." She frowned.
"Tom?" She tried to reach out with her mind and was relieved to find him listening.
"Harriet?"
"I know you're fibbing." She failed in her attempt to sound sure.
"Well, what else am I to do with disobedient children?"
"I'm not disobedient. You never said not to listen in…" She defended.
"And yet I must have told you a thousand times; if I want you to know something…"
"I'll know." Harry finished with a pout. Tom glanced to the others and she turned to see Lucius Malfoy helping Draco to his feet and suddenly felt bad. Her friend's eyes were wide with fear as he looked at Tom. "Don't!" She said out loud, but to her despair, Tom just shook his head. "He didn't even want to come. This is my fault!"
"Indeed, and you will therefore accept the consequences." He took out his wand.
The next thing Draco knew, he could no longer see. Anything! At all! He let out a frightened cry.
"My, My Lord, my son…" Lucius tried, but was quickly cut off.
"Still has his eyes." Voldemort's eyes narrowed in warning. "Quit while you're ahead, my friend." He turned to Draco. "Relax, young Malfoy, I will restore you sight later… if I have time." He spoke the last bit to Harry, the threat implied – whether Draco got his sight back was entirely down to whether she behaved for the rest of the day.
Harry scowled at Tom, and he could clearly see the cogs turning as she tried to figure out how to respond, but he merely returned her glare with a bored look of his own, and she soon realised it was useless. "Come on, Draco." She said as she grabbed the poor boy's arm and led him from the room, leaving the adults to their super secret meeting.
Lucius faltered, looking out after the children, in half a mind whether to go comfort his young son, but as the doors slammed shut he was reminded whose company he currently enjoyed. No, he wouldn't be leaving without a dismissal.
Still, he couldn't figure out his Lord's angle when it came to Potter. The man must have been up to something but…
"About Potter My Lord, if I may…"
"You may not!" Came the sharp reply that shut down any further discussion on the topic, yet raised more questions. "Now, you were about to point out the flaws of my plan for you." Resigned, Lucius retook his seat.
"Well, we Malfoys have always considered ourselves kingmakers. We don't particularly cherish the accountability that comes with actually wearing the crown." Tom laughed at the man's honesty.
"Well, you have just been promoted to King, so get used to its weight. Besides, you have plenty of time to prepare. Elections aren't for another two years."
"My Lord," Lucius persisted, unsure of how far he could argue his point without angering him. In the past, meetings had always been held to discuss the merits and difficulties of plans, but once a decision had been made, the Dark Lord expected complete obedience and did not tolerate being questioned, even by his closest followers. Sending a silent prayer to whoever would listen, he went on, "There is also the prejudice I face from many who take seriously my alleged involvement with… the Dark Sect." Voldemort thought for a moment, he supposed he could imagine certain self-righteous meddlesome old wizards attempting to stop someone as obvious as Malfoy taking power.
"Very well, I will leave this matter in your capable hands." Lucius visibly eased his posture in relief that he hadn't been punished and tried to focus on the good. It should have been a vote of confidence from his master, that he would be trusted with such a task, but he felt more as though a great blade was hanging an inch from his neck. "You will find a suitable substitute, or you will run yourself. Any failure to ensure a favourable, pliant outcome will be not be easily forgiven." Dismissing any further concerns that threatened to be voiced after such a warning, he moved on. "Now, Bones will have to go of course. Who's friendly in the DMLE?" The blonde forced his mind onto the task at hand as, even though he knew his own skin was very much on the line, his focus kept slipping to his son. Behind the cold mask of nobility, the Malfoys were a very loving family. He imagined his Lord would indeed restore Draco's sight soon enough – he didn't usually leave his followers physically injured in the long term, but the man, as great as he was, didn't seem to understand the psychological trauma his actions could have on such young children. Either that or he simply didn't care.
Voldemort had a lot to arrange. He was determined to have a solid, organised contingent in place before he made any moves to make his return known. He wasn't prepared to take unnecessary risks anymore, and he didn't mind pulling strings from the shadows until the time came to wage war once again. He'd have to find a way of breaking his loyal out of Azkaban while they still might be useful. His biggest headache came from deciding what to do with the muggles. In the last few years, he'd come to the conclusion that dealing with them one country at a time was out of the question, as surrounding nations would see opportunities and the last thing he needed was for the destructive fools to indulge in another world war. No, he would find a way of dealing with their infestation as a whole. Wizards around the globe would no doubt step into the power vacuum and the natural order would be established. Maybe he would take an interest in how they ran their counties eventually, but for now he would focus on Western Europe in order to ensure his rule here in Britain was undisputed.
Harriet took a terrified Draco to his mother. He wouldn't talk to her at all after that and simply allowed the woman to comfort him, so she decided to explore the gardens.
Narcissa watched the girl leave as she held her precious son. It had been a week since her taking up residence at Malfoy Manor and still there was no clue of how the child and the Dark Lord came to be acquainted. The more she observed interaction between the two, the surer she became that Harriet wasn't just a poor wretched prisoner. She'd been ordered to take Harriet shopping, to spare no expense in purchasing anything she might need. At first she'd told Draco not to get too attached to the girl, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was actually her son that was in more danger from her Lord and over the last few days she'd argued with her husband about her desire to take him away. He was having none of it though, afraid the move was too obvious and would be seen as impudence.
Harry found herself looking out over a small lake, wondering if it was safe to swim here. She was rather upset. Over the last week she'd quickly formed a friendship with Draco, the likes of which she'd never had before. It was nice. Maybe it was because she was still so young, but she'd quickly overcome her distrust and fear of having a friend. Although it may have had something to do with the fact that it was painfully clear the entire Malfoy family feared Tom, and she could therefore relax, knowing they wouldn't hurt her with him right here.
She was upset that Draco was refusing to talk to her, but blamed herself – it was her fault Draco got punished. She knew Tom well enough to know he wouldn't tolerate being spied on, but she couldn't shake her jealousy when he spent so much time with others. She didn't know what Tom did in the past when he wasn't talking to her, but she knew he wasn't able to speak with others. Now it felt like she was losing him and if that was the case, she would rather be back with her dreadful family as before. She could endure anything as long as she had Tom.
Deciding to risk the lake in preference over her spiralling misery, she slid off her sandals and waded into the calm waters, finding it pleasantly refreshing the hot afternoon sun. It was so relaxing in fact that she didn't notice as the sun began to dip and the water became cooler.
"Harriet, come in now. It's time for dinner." She heard Tom call, but resolutely ignored him. Tom would call her silly, but she didn't care. She had never been a bratty child and decided she was overdue. "Harry," Tom sighed softly, but his voice easily reached her. "You know I have ways to make you comply – you're not going to like it if I have to repeat myself." He wasn't known for his patience and after some of the conclusions he'd come to today, he had none left to offer her.
She made her way to the side and refused to look at him as she started to march back to the house, shivering with every step.
Tom pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched her, before drying her with a flick of his wand and then calling for an elf to see she was changed for dinner. Sometimes he felt like she knew when something was about to happen she wouldn't like, as though she had a sixth sense for knowing when he was about to upset her and pre-empted him. It was really the only explanation as to why she would be acting the way she had this week now they had everything the two had aspired to in recent years: she was away from the muggles, he had a body, and they were together in the lap of luxury.
She was going to have to wise up soon because he had no intention of putting up with it in the long term, and besides, when she was miserable, he felt miserable. He blamed their connection…
