Beta: Julie. fjad
Chapter Four
Call me Harry
The comfortable armchair was making his back itch and his whiskey tasted bitter.
What a horrible day.
"Lucius, I am going to bed. Are you sure you're alright, darling?" Narcissa's blonde head appeared in the doorway, and Lucius nodded, producing a painful smile that was noted by his wife, who had the eyes of an eagle when she saw jewellery, other women near him or his mood swings.
"It's nothing to worry about, dear. Go sleep, it's late. I'll join you soon," Lucius lied without blinking, and when Narcissa had finally left his office, Lucius buried his head in his palms.
Durmstrang or Beauxbatons Academy of Magic?
No way in hell was he going to allow his only child to attend school with that maniac present as well.
Since Dumbledore flat out refused to send Potter to any other school, and Fudge was as useless as always, then Lucius was going to change the school for his child.
Tomorrow the menace called Potter would appear fully, and Lucius wasn't so sure he looked forward to it.
Should they move to France?
His thoughts were interrupted when an owl flew in and dropped the letter onto his table.
2.14 a.m.
Who writes at this time?
Lucius opened the envelope and almost dropped it back.
"Early bird catches the fattest worm. Am I fat enough, Mr. Malfoy? Meet me at Long Gardens 18, London.
Now or never.
P.S Come alone and tell no one.
Eternally yours,
Harry Potter"
Fucking hell…
Xxx
His damn curiosity would be the end of him, Lucius was sure, as he stood near the written address, in the middle of the night, looking around for Potter.
What if it all was a joke?
What if not...
Lucius turned around when he heard someone whistle, and then he was looking at the boy with Slytherin-green eyes that held as much humanity as the Dark Lord's eerie, red eyes had had.
The door opened fully, and carefully, Malfoy walked towards it, not taking his eyes from the figure of the boy-who-lived.
"My, my, Mister Malfoy, what a nice robe." Potter's voice was polite, but had a note of mocking in it. No eleven year old spoke like that to him.
Maniac, in one word.
"Mister Potter," Lucius greeted, not taking his eyes from the boy who was now closing the door. He was crazy for agreeing to meet the Boy Wonder alone, and without telling anyone.
They were now in a large, richly decorated lobby, and Lucius looked around, not showing his fear or uneasiness. Potter had a green sweater on, and some dark trousers.
The outcome could either be beyond perfect, or ridiculous if he ended up dead.
"No worries, you'll walk out on your own in any scenario, Mister Malfoy," Potter remarked offhand, tongue bitten in the corner of his lips, eyes squinted.
How did he know?
"And your Dragon will be safe and sound if we manage to find similarities in our…approaches."
"What did you say about Draco?" He'd murder that little shit before he could utter his son's name again.
"I said, Mister Malfoy, that you better listen carefully. I may be a child, but I am Harry Potter. Iceman told you enough about me, didn't he?"
Iceman?
"Mycroft Holmes, your buddy." Potter was now showing no emotions, and Lucius was at loss at what to do.
How did Potter know?
"I wasn't going to make my acquaintances known, but you and those fools Holmeses left me no choice. You shouldn't play in the ground on a cemetery if you're afraid to dig out old bones."
"I'll kill you now and all problems are solved." He was a Death Eater, and no matter what Wormtail thought, they didn't do night dancing parties . They were the bad guys, who loved terror and power.
"Yes, that's very possible, considering your background. But I doubt it."
His background? Just how much did Potter know?
"Everything."
Did…did he read his thoughts?!
"I would await from a pureblood racist more eloquent expressions than what you have produced so far, Mister Malfoy. It's called Legilimency, for your humble information."
THE HELL?!
"Hmm…I wonder how your Draco speaks with such a foul-mouthed racist for a daddy. You really are not the behaviour model, are you, Lucius?"
His wand was out in a second, sparkling with magic, and it was pointed directly into Potter's face that didn't change its expression.
"Nice stick. I'll get mine tomorrow." The voice was childishly happy now, and bored at the same time.
"What do you want, Potter?"
"I am offering my friendship, Mister Malfoy. Simple as that."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
He was so pissed he was going to really murder that weird freak. Legilimency at age eleven?
"I can bring down the muggles, and make sure your child is safe and sound. Be my friend, Lucius. What do you say about that?"
Lucius Malfoy's eyes were drilling the boy-who-lived face, and then he lowered his wand.
"Alright, Potter, what do you want from me?"
A brilliant smile illuminated the boy's face and a twinkle appeared in his otherwise emotionless eyes.
"I need help taking care of my dogs when I am at Hogwarts," Potter said, already walking towards the stairs that led to what only could be dungeons.
What?!
Xxx
"In case you have gotten your information wrong, I am a Malfoy, not a Weasley," Lucius remarked angrily, and almost huffed in addition, all the while taking slow steps towards the dungeon. Potter was ahead and Lucius thought what would happen if he pushed the boy. Would he break his neck?
"Yours will definitely crack."
Just why did he not learn Occlumency the way Severus had?
"And in regards to your smart-ass comment, you could be a Weasley if you had six more children, if you stole that robe and all the rings, and if you bleach your red locks. Are you a redhead with no money and too many children to count?"
Potter did humiliate the Weasleys, and Lucius was torn between smacking the boy's head or patting it.
"If you know about the wizarding world, why didn't you come sooner?"
"And spoil all the fun? Look how you live, Mr. Malfoy. James found out about the wizarding world before I did, and he's a Muggle. Brilliant, rich, but muggle. What does it say about wizarding security?"
"James?"
"Jim."
"I see."
Potter was right. Too many Mudbloods telling about their secret.
"Exactly."
"Stop reading my thoughts, Potter, or I will maim you."
So, Potter was pro-pureblood. Interesting. Very interesting.
"And the nuclear bomb?"
"And what about it? Want to buy one? Then we have to be friends first. I don't go out with strangers."
It freaked Lucius out that he couldn't feel Potter's magic. It was there, but he felt very little. It was deliberately blocked by the boy himself.
They reached a door now, and Lucius thought that he may very well die behind that muggle door, in a muggle house.
"You are a fanatic, Lucius."
"Mister Malfoy for you, Potter."
"You're still a fanatic, Mister Malfoy. You are more afraid of dying in a muggle house, from a muggle weapon than of the death itself. I cannot say I am surprised, though."
The door now fully opened and Lucius saw darkness.
"Lumos."
The tip of his wand was now glowing, allowing to see a bit of the entrance, and illuminated Potter's face that had now a sneer on it.
"I get that you're all old- fashioned, but come on…Use the switch, I don't have a torch here, you know."
Sarcastic little smart-ass. Draco wouldn't have been able to sit for a week after talking to him like that.
Potter entered first and turned the switch on, illuminating the lamps on the ceiling of the long corridor.
"You keep your dogs here?"
He could take them to Malfoy Manor, and make the elves walk the dogs. With that he'd keep his status as a Malfoy— who did not walk dogs, and especially if they belonged to someone else—and have Potter's agreement to cooperate when it came to Draco.
It looked like Potter wasn't very animal friendly, though. Who kept the dogs in cells?
Lucius could see four cells in the end of the hall, and when he made a step closer, Potter's hand caught his wrist.
"Ah, I would suggest not stepping onto the guards, Mister Malfoy. Even if they are your House's mascot, they dislike pushy fans."
The floor wasn't very well illuminated, and when he brought his wand closer to the ground, a scream was torn from his throat, and he almost jumped back.
"This is Daisy. And this is Pooh," Potter explained to the white faced Malfoy while taking one of the snakes onto his arms.
"Peepe and Leila are sleeping, and Micki and Rex are over there." Lucius looked to where Potter was showing to see four huge snakes, in addition to the one on ground—near his fucking feet!—and one in Potter's hands.
Peepe and Pooh? Those were deadly snakes!
"You imbecile! Those are vipers!" Lucius hissed, afraid to make loud noises and looked at that idiot boy who had only one play-pal. Death.
"Are they really?" Potter sounded truly surprised. Didn't he know what kind of snakes he had around him?
Considering who his main influence had been, it shouldn't shock him the way it did.
It looked like the boy was really mad. He needed to get out of here, now!
"Are you a bad, bad viper, Pooh?" Potter was now cooing with the snake, which somehow still didn't bite his moronic head off. Why? Why were the dogs so quiet?
"Haaaaaaaaaryyyyyyyyyy."
The fuck?!
"Would you stop cussing, Mr. Malfoy? I am eleven, after all. What are you teaching me?" Potter was now walking towards the cell from which Lucius had heard the eerie, spooky moaning.
Could muggle dogs do that?
He needed to learn Occlumency. Yesterday.
The snakes were all awake now, and circling near Potter's feet. Bite him!
Potter's eyes were cold as he looked over Lucius's frozen figure, and then the boy hissed.
…?!
It all made sense now. Potter had a gift for Legilimency—which wasn't normal—and he could talk to snakes.
My dear Merlin!
"You can call me Harry."
And then Lucius saw the dogs.
Xxx
It all made sense now. Especially, why Potter had chosen to contact him out of a long list of possible candidates.
It looked like Potter had all the necessary information if he bet on him without worry. He knew Lucius would cooperate.
"This is Horsie."
A thin body of a woman was lying on a dirty floor; the woman's eyes were dull and face had only one emotion: anticipation.
"Potter, that is no dog. That's a human."
"Is it really?" Potter asked him in a mocking tone, and Lucius held his tongue.
Well, it was a muggle.
After the trick with the vipers—which Potter could obviously communicate with—he didn't buy the boy's tricks that easily.
Sneaky little bastard.
Potter snapped his fingers and the woman on the floor started to bark.
The bark was now accompanied by the bark from other cells, and Lucius felt hairs on his neck raise.
"This is Whalie."
A muggle boy, thin and dirty.
"This is Skeletor."
A man with no meat on his bones—only layers of skin—kept on barking while lying on his back, on the dirty, muggle floor.
"And this is Margie-Dargie."
Another almost-corpse on the floor barked in anticipation, and Lucius wished to wake up. He was dreaming.
"Where did you get the Muggles from, Potter?"
"They come with the bonus package. You have one too. Just different." Potter wasn't making any sense. What did Lucius also have? Which package?
"People call it family."
This was Potter's muggle family…
Potter's family…
If he did that to his own family, then what could his enemies expect?
"I like how sharp you are, Mister Malfoy. We're going to be great friends."
Lucius was still in a haze as he watched two snakes slither away at Harry's hiss, and then return, each holding something sparkling in the deadly jaws.
Glass?
"Syringes."
He wasn't even going to guess. The boy was just beyond mad. Lucius knew well what was in the syringe. He had shares.
Drugs. He wasn't a junkie, he was a businessman. And Afghanistan had very nice opium plantations…
"I like your way of thinking, Mister Malfoy," Potter offered before adding with a tiny smile, "Heroin." The boy hissed and the snakes slithered into the cells, giving the syringes to all four occupants of the cells. "I kick them out, and they crawl back, begging to stay here. I cannot say no to the family."
The laughing, green eyes were deadly serious while shining with sadistic joy, and Lucius shivered despite himself.
"So…I hope you understand my issue with the feedings. There is no need to walk them but you have to make sure they get their dosages in time. We don't want them suffering from the withdrawal, do we now? We aren't some heartless monsters, are we, Mister Malfoy?"
"You keep away from my son, and I want a magical oath from you that you won't touch Draco."
"And?"
"And I'll show you a few interesting spells, Harry."
Those were Muggles, after all…
Maybe Potter wouldn't be so bad?
All this dog-theme was a hoax, and Potter was showing him something else than destroyed Muggles.
Potter needed an accomplice.
Hmm…
Xxx
It was seven a.m. and Moriarty was nowhere to be seen.
Sherlock took a breath, and looked around, noting details that normal people would miss, calculating the outcome of the meeting.
"Sherlock, come closer, let's catch some goldfishes together!"
Moriarty was sitting on the dock, feet lowered towards water, and he was holding a fishing rod in one hand, while waving with the other.
Sherlock missed him at first, as Jim's hair was all dirty and not styled like usually, and he had a cheap hoodie on, with similarly cheap trousers and no shoes.
Socks only. One white, one black.
His steps were slow, and as he approached Jim, Sherlock immediately noticed the mad glint in the usually crazy, but stable, eyes. Now they were shining.
"Sit down, Sherlock. We have a lot to talk about, and the clock is ticking."
Jim smiled a friendly smile when he patted the place near him.
He needed to find the bomb no matter the cost.
xxx
"So you're the good guy, and I am the bad guy. You are nothing without me, Sherlock."
Moriarty was having fun, and he needed to stop that. He needed the upper hand.
"And what about Harry?"
As soon as the boy's name left his lips, Sherlock noticed the change in Moriarty's expression.
His weak spot.
Finally he had found one.
"Ah…I see…Iceman couldn't hold it to himself, and decided to share with his little brother, the Virgin. You dislike Harry, just like your big bad brother, am I right, Sherlock?"
"He's not normal, and he helped you for several years. How did you find the boy?"
"Oh...It's a long story. Let's say Harry wished to be found. He's a very nice young man. A lot of potential," Moriarty whispered in mock concern, and then threw his head back and laughed.
"Harry is going to get killed sooner or later and it will be all because of you."
Sherlock saw the opening and grabbed onto the boy's image, as he was the only person Jim Moriarty had at least some feeling toward to.
"You're the good guy, I am the bad guy. We have each other, and Harry would have to find his own toy. I'm not sharing."
"This a game to you, but every game has an end. And yours is coming."
"Wrong, Sherlock, wrong. First, let's get rid of the balance, shall we? I sent Harry away, and Harry complied. Can you do the same with John?"
Sherlock's cold eyes were looking into the laughing face of Jim Moriarty, and he could see how this all was going to play out.
"Send John far, far away, or I will kill him now."
John wouldn't let him alone, he wouldn't leave him like that, and Sherlock thought quickly how to save the life of his dear friend.
"On the other hand, why bother with all the warnings and drama? I'll just kill him, and spare you the troubles. Is that alright with you, Sherlock Holmes?"
Sherlock's gun was out when Moriarty took out his phone.
"You shoot me, the bomb goes off. You don't shoot me, I order John dead. Haha, what a nice riddle, isn't it, Sherloooock!"
What to do, what to do?
Jim Moriarty suddenly put his phone away and raised his both hands, when the police and special forces appeared on the dock.
"James Moriarty, you're under arrest." Detective Lestrade put Jim's both hands into the cuffs, and turned him towards Sherlock.
"Who is James? I am Richard. Richard Brook. And I am fishing." The smile was full of mirth, the voice was nervous and pathetic, and as Moriarty was led away, he turned over his shoulder and winked at Sherlock.
The phone!
In a second, the left behind phone was in Sherlock's hands and before the smoke started to come out of the device, he saw the last message Moriarty had sent.
Time of the sent message: 6.59 a.m.
"Bye, Bye, Dr. Watson!"
NO!
It was 7.27 a.m. now.
"John!"
Xxx
a/n thank you for your reviews!