WRITTEN FOR THE HOUSES COMPETITION, YEAR 7, ROUND 9
House: Ravenclaw
Position: Astronomy (Stand-in)
Standard
Prompt: Mandatory Prompt: (genre) Crime
Optional Prompt: [dialogue] "Well, well, what do we have here?"
[location] Honeydukes
Word Count. 1922 (Google Docs)
Betas: CK, Sapph and Miakoda
AU!Bellatrix Lives
WARNING: mentions of child murder
Digging Two Graves: One For The Flower, One For The Star
March 20th, 2021
"Daddy!"
"Hello, little love! How are you doing?"
Lily Luna Potter beamed. In the light of the sun, her red hair looked like fire. "I'm doing well, Dad. But I haven't seen you since the summer holidays!"
Harry chuckled. "Yes." he agreed. "But now it's your third year, and you can go to Hogsmeade! We can meet more often!" He glanced around and furrowed his brow. "Where are James and Albus?"
"James's planning a prank," Lily said with a pout. "I can't believe that he'd miss Hogsmeade for that! And Albus is with Scorpius in the Hospital Wing."
"Why?" asked Harry, immediately concerned about his middle child. "Did he get hurt?"
"No, Daddy!" Lily giggled. "But his hair-growing charm backfired and he's going ballistic. His hair is even longer than mine. It's reaching the floor!"
Harry laughed, relieved that his son was in no danger. "Let's not talk about your brothers. What about you, Lily? Did you get an O on that Transfiguration test?"
"Yes, I did, Daddy!" Lily said with a grin. "Roxanne got an O, too. But Molly only got an E. She was really sad about it."
"But an E is still good, isn't it?" Harry said. "It means Exceeds Expectations. If she keeps it up, she'll pass third year."
"Well, she'd better," Lily grumbled. "Otherwise we'll be in different classes next year!"
They walked to the Three Broomsticks, Lily chattering, Harry listening and occasionally saying 'mmm' or offering words of encouragement. They sat down at a table together and were joined by Lily's cousins Roxanne and Molly.
"And then I said, 'Well, why can't you do it yourself?' And then he said, 'But -"
"Hello, Dad!"
Harry spun around, ready to draw his wand at a moment's notice. Even so many years after the war, he hadn't lost his reflexes. He relaxed when he realised that it was only his son Albus and his friend Scorpius.
Harry didn't really approve of Albus's relationship with Scorpius. Though the war had ended a long time ago, prejudice and old rivalries simmered beneath the carefully constructed surface of fake smiles and declarations of peace. When Harry had heard from James that Albus and Scorpius were associating with each other, he'd been half tempted to storm up to the school and demand that they never see each other again.
But Harry's childhood had mostly been spent in a cupboard under the stairs, and though he'd never put one of his children in a cupboard under the stairs, he knew that being forced away from friends could be as bad as physical abuse.
"Albus, Mr. Malfoy." Harry greeted.
"Hi, Dad!" Albus said cheerfully, rushing up to hug Harry.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," Scorpius said, performing the little bow that nearly all purebloods were taught from birth.
For a second, Harry was stumped on what to say. Luckily, he was saved from embarrassing himself in front of the son of his old school rival by Albus, who had rushed over to the girls and was now enthusiastically hugging Lily.
With a sigh, Scorpius gave Harry an 'I'm-sorry-but-I-have-to-go-and-get-Albus-in-order' look. Then the fifteen-year-old blonde walked over to the table, gave the girls an 'I'm-sorry' look, and started talking to Albus animatedly.
"I'm going to the Hog's Head for a pick-me-up," he told the teenagers with a sigh. Harry kissed his children on their cheeks. "Stay safe, Lily, Albus."
Harry walked into the Hog's Head, greeted Aberforth, and sat down at a table.
Even after seventeen years of parenting, dealing with his children was hard. James liked pranks a little too much, Albus was sometimes moody, and Lily was over-enthusiastic in a lot of things. A Firewhiskey or two could really help calm him.
He was about to order a Firewhiskey for himself when a dark shadow stopped in front of his table.
Harry raised his head. "Please, go -"
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
"Malfoy," Harry growled.
In public, they would pretend to be acquaintances, but in private, they were still rivals. While the Hog's Head wasn't a private room, there weren't many people in the bar, and most of them were ignoring both Harry and Malfoy.
"Potter."
Malfoy looked as immaculate as usual, his blonde hair gelled and brushed, his skin pale and flawless. He wore a clearly expensive black suit that looked like it belonged at a funeral.
"What are you doing here?"
It was a rude thing to say, but Harry was more than annoyed right now. First, Malfoy's son had to go and become Albus's best friend. Next, Malfoy popped up in the Hog's Head, just when Harry was planning to get a drink to relax.
Malfoy arched a perfect blonde eyebrow. "Now, that's not how we speak to business acquaintances, is it?"
Harry tried to smother his annoyance. "No, it is not," he agreed, in what he hoped was a pleasant, amiable voice. "I offer you my apologies, Mr. Malfoy, for my disrespect. Though I must insist that you offer yours, for your own disrespect."
For a second, Harry thought that Malfoy was going to explode. Instead, Malfoy smirked, and said, in a neutral tone of voice, "I offer you my apologies, Mr. Potter, for my disrespect."
Harry didn't know what to say. He and Malfoy stared at each other in complete silence for a while, before things began to get uncomfortable.
"So - so, um…" Harry tried to think of something to say.
"Don't embarrass yourself, Potter." Malfoy interrupted with a smirk. "You've done enough of that."
Harry tried to control his emotions. He didn't rise to Malfoy's bait.
A minute passed. Harry shifted, the seat suddenly quite uncomfortable.
Two minutes. Harry's hands began to absently rub against each other nervously.
Five minutes. Harry's legs started to rub against each other furiously.
Five minutes and thirty-one seconds -
The door burst open.
Both Harry and Malfoy stared at the newcomer.
The boy who stood in the door couldn't have been older than sixteen. He panted for breath, clutching his chest. Then he looked up and caught sight of Harry and Malfoy. The boy's expression turned nervous.
"Why are you here?" Malfoy said in a voice as cold as ice.
"Well, um…" The boy's hands began to move around. "Erm…"
"Is it something distressing?" Harry asked, in the softest voice he could manage.
The boy nodded.
"Can you please tell us what it is?" Harry asked.
"Well - um." the boy stammered. "Well, erm, Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Potter have been abducted in Honeydukes -"
Harry didn't listen to more. Blood rushed in his ears. This must be a prank. It couldn't be true.
Clearly, Malfoy was thinking along the same lines. "Stop joking around," he demanded.
"I'm not!" the boy said, his voice a bit more confident now.
"But - but - they can't have been carried off! They were in the Three Broomsticks just now!"
"It s-seems that they were t-taken by black-robed people -"
Black-robed people.
That brought back memories of the days in which Harry lived in fear, wondering how many of his friends Voldemort had gotten to.
He came to one conclusion: one inescapable, horrible conclusion.
The Death Eaters had struck again.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. But...this is all that we found."
Harry stared.
Candy displays were overturned, some Cockroach Clusters spilling onto the floor. A few stray chocolate frogs jumped around, ricocheting off shelves. The faint aroma of fudge lingered in the air.
And in the center of it all was a dark red stain - the color of blood.
A piece of paper lay beside it. Harry darted forwards, ignoring the owner of Honeydukes, and picked it up.
He flipped it around, and read:
I've taken little baby Potter and little baby Malfoy. Serves you two right.
They'll never be seen again.
You'll finally suffer for what you both did to my Lord.
And enjoy your last days on Earth, Potter and Malfoy, because I'm coming for you.
Harry hadn't rested for three days, sixteen hours, fifty-three minutes and twenty-one seconds.
Ginny had been trying to get him to come home since Lily Luna had been taken, but Harry had refused. He was relentless in his search for the people who had taken his daughter.
Every day, he wondered if Lily Luna and Malfoy's son had really been killed. Every time that possibility had come up, Harry had pushed it away.
For the thirty-third time, he tapped his wand against the wood of Honeydukes's floors. Little balls of light rose into the air, changing colors every few seconds. Harry examined them for a moment, then shook his head dejectedly and tapped the wood again. The balls of light disappeared.
"Potter, why do you keep searching there?"
"Because," Harry explained in the most patient tone he could manage, "The blood was found here. There must be some evidence."
"You've searched that spot thirty-two times already, not counting this time." Malfoy drawled.
"Evidence can remain hidden for a long, long time, so we must keep trying. And shouldn't you be helping me? Don't you want to find out who took your son?"
Harry knew that allowing Malfoy to trample all over the crime scene went against all sorts of Auror regulations, but he also knew that no one would fight harder to get Scorpius back than the boy's own father. Harry wanted Malfoy's determination in his corner because, for once, they had the same goal. And Harry would use everything at his disposal to get Lily back home safely.
Malfoy hesitated for a moment, then bent down and rapped his wand against the floor, not looking at Harry.
"Good," Harry pronounced.
"Shut up, Potter. You aren't my boss."
Harry hummed noncommittally.
After a while of working in silence, Malfoy gasped. Harry immediately crawled over and peered at what Malfoy was looking at.
A streak of blood covered the area of floor Malfoy examined. It was much bigger than the first one, and it seemed a bit newer.
Harry reached out and touched the bloodstain. The floor was cold under his fingers.
He leaned closer. It smelled like...lavender perfume.
The exact same lavender perfume that Lily Luna loved.
He sniffed it. It smelled fresh. At least fresher than the bloodstain he had been analysing.
"What does this mean?" Malfoy asked quietly.
"It means," Harry said with the first smile he had worn in days, "that our children might still be alive."
"Hey, Malfoy! Look at this."
Harry rapped his wand against the unassuming, normal tile. Nothing happened.
Malfoy walked over, ducking to avoid a box full of Cockcroach Cluster. He frowned when he reached Harry. "There's nothing there."
Harry huffed. "Malfoy, can you feel the magical aura radiating from this piece of floor? It's powerful. And recent."
Malfoy tapped the floor with his wand. His eyes widened.
"I can - I can feel Scorpius's magic," he whispered.
"And I can feel Lily's."
"They must be alive," Malfoy whispered, flicking his wand.
"Yes," Harry agreed. "They must be."
Potter and Malfoy,
I'm going to kill your babies soon.
Then I'll come after you.
B
Potter and Malfoy,
I'm getting ready to kill your babies.
You can get ready to be killed too.
E
Potter and Malfoy,
Your babies are dead. Their screams were so satisfying to hear.
L
Potter and Malfoy,
You'll join your babies soon. I'm coming for you.
L
Potter and Malfoy,
Enjoy your last days on Earth, because this time, I'm going to kill you for real.
A
"Malfoy, there's something with these new letters," Harry murmured, picking the third one - the one signed L - up. "They're signed."
"I know, but they're signed different letters every time! So it must be a group of people, which isn't really helping -"
"No. It says I'm. One person. And what if the letters spell out a name? That's possible. B-E-L-L-A -"
Harry stopped, his face full of horror.
But it was impossible. That... woman had died. But somehow, Harry and Malfoy looked at each other and both knew it was true.
They spoke at the same time.
"It's Bellatrix."