Story Timeline
Chapter I takes place the morning the Ministry discovers Harry gone (Halloween Day/Day One).
Chapter II also takes place the morning the Ministry discovers Harry gone, though a few hours after Chapter I (Halloween Day/Day One).
Chapter III takes place the night the Ministry discovers Harry gone (Halloween Night/Day One).
Chapter IV also takes place the night the Ministry discovers Harry gone, though an hour or so after Chapter III (Halloween Night/Day One)

chapter IV

demon & dragon

The house elf held the clothes out before her as she bowed, nose touching the floor. Lucius Malfoy took them from her, noticing vaguely the tremor that he could feel even through the folds of silk. He waved her away, noting the way it scurried with distaste, and draped his robes on, watching himself in the mirror as he did so. Excellent. And indeed he looked excellent; crisp and powerful. Such were the enhancements good clothing made. Then again, he thought disdainfully as he left his room, not even proper clothing could make a better wizard out of Arthur Weasley.

He shut the grand door behind him softly, and slowly walked through the halls of his manor, enjoying the rhythmic clicks the soles of his soft leather boots made when they hit the floor. Narcissa had chosen particularly well this time for him. He must remember to let her know. Going down the curved stairs and into the richly furnished study, he found his wife seated there, opening the evening post.

"Anything important?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and glancing quickly at Killer, their falcon, which their son had so bluntly named. Narcissa wordlessly handed Lucius the Daily Prophet.

POTTER CHILD MISSING, read the headline. Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow, and sat beside Narcissa, reading further.

It has just been reported to authorities this morning that Harry James Potter, age three, has been kidnapped, reports Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet correspondent.

Harry Potter had been taken in by his muggle relatives at the age of one, after the devastating attack to his family at Godric's Hollow. Being the only survivor and the destroyer of the Dark Lord, more than enough families with respectable backrounds were willing to take the child in. Albus Dumbledore, current headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was left in charge of the child's safety, and left him to his muggle aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, in a safe location indisposed to anyone but the Minister, high-clearance Aurors, and Dumbledore himself.

Albus Dumbledore, a respected member of the community as well as a panel of the Wizengamot, also has an Order of Merlin, First Class. However, one must question the wisdom of his choice of guardians for the savior of the magical world. A witch wishing to remain anonymous told the Prophet that "Just a few days ago, I was shopping down in London, and had stopped by a bookstore to pick up a copy of Household Pests by Gilderoy Lockhart. I saw a boy who had a curious scar, and to my delight, thought it might be the Boy-Who-Lived. I followed, but then a big hulking fellow – his uncle – took the child by his arm and rushed him along. He was being terribly mean to the boy, calling him names and telling him he was worthless, that he should have been drowned rather than cause trouble to him. It was downright horrible, no proper adult should tell things like that to a child."

As far as this Daily Prophet correspondent is concerned, Harry Potter should be removed from the care of his aunt and uncle. Furthermore, the Ministry should look into exactly how and why Potter was removed from the premises of his home. Did he run away, or did his guardians kick him out? The significance of Potter being kidnapped on Halloween day, the third anniversary of his parents' deaths and the disappearance of You-Know-Who, also points to a kidnapping arranged by former Death Eaters that the Ministry did not catch after the Dark Lord's reign. Dumbledore has a lot to answer for, as he is the chief of the boy's security, and he had better be getting those answers ready.

Lucius' eyebrow raised higher and higher with each passing revelation. So the Potter boy had been abused, to some extent? Fascinating, fascinating....

"I feel a bit sorry," Narcissa said briskly, shifting through other papers, but speaking once she saw that her husband had finished.

"For the boy?"

"He's only four."

Lucius snorted, then stood, wrapping his arms around his wife from behind and nuzzling his nose into her blond hair. It smelled of lavender. "Only four? My dear, he destroyed our master at the age of one. There is no pity to be taken upon him."

She didn't answer, and he sighed, realizing that she was put off. "Wormtail will bring him to me and you can pamper him all you want."

"Before you kill him." Narcissa shook her head, and turned to face Lucius, leaning into his embrace as she brought her eyes to gaze into his. "I don't want you to kill him, Lucius."

Lucius then sighed, and shook his head. "If he will not mold into a follower of the Dark Lord, we will have no other alternative."

Narcissa lowered her face and pressed herself into his chest. In a pacified tone, she said slowly, "Yes, that is what we want. Be back as soon as you can, my aunt is expecting us over for the feast tonight."

"Draco?"

Lucius walked into his son's room, taking in the charming sight of the little boy. He was small, as any four-year-old might be, and had the same white-blond hair and gray-blue eyes of his father. Lucius felt a foreign emotion swelling with him, and as soon as he realized it for what it was, he squashed it viciously.

"Yes, Father?" the little boy drawled. He was leisurely lying on his bed, flipping through a picture book. He had several stuffed animals and toys arranged around him, and the large room was full of little trinkets and baubles.

"I came by to say hello," Lucius said, looking over the boy to see if he was in any way troubled. Seeing that the boy was fine as ever, he added, "I will be meeting some friends tonight." He turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Draco hurl his picture book at him out of the corner of his eye. Luckily it missed and hit the door frame instead.

"But Mother said you'd tell me a story!" the boy screeched, up on his feet, somehow managing to stay balanced on the soft mattress of the bed, despite knocking down all the stuffed animals. "I WANT TO HEAR A STORY!"

Lucius was forced to remember why he worshipped Narcissa for her strength; not only was she a beautiful and powerful witch, she was able to handle Draco with the simplest of ease.

"Very well," he said stiffly. Immediately, the boy quieted and sat patiently, waiting to hear it. Lucius tentatively sat beside him on the bed, and Draco crawled into his lap. Not quite knowing what to do about it, he let it pass, and settled on loosely embracing the boy. "What story do you want to hear?"

Draco looked up at him earnestly – Oh no you don't, Lucius thought, crushing up that rising emotion he hated so much, the one that Narcissa fondly referred to as fatherly love, though he himself called it foolish sap. "Father, I want to hear the story of the Boy-Who-Lived!"

Silence rang supreme in the wake of those words. Lucius stared at his son with no little disbelief, and took moments to collect himself enough to summon Narcissa to the room. His wife, upon seeing him with so little composure, frowned. "What's wrong, dear?"

Turning away from Draco, who was now playing uninterestedly with the sleeve of his father's robes, he hissed to Narcissa, "Did you put that silly idea in his head?"

She looked completely nonplussed of what he was talking about.

"He wants to hear the story of the Boy-Who-Lived," he said in a hushed manner.

Narcissa blinked, paused, then blinked again, before uncharacteristically shrugging her shoulders. "I guess you'll just have to tell him that story, then." She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she walked away, and Lucius listened to her footsteps as they faded away.

He then turned to his son, and watched the child. Draco was a bundle of mystery to Lucius. As a man who simply did not remember what it was to be so young, he did not know what to expect from his son – and he absolutely hated that. "Draco?"

"Are you going to tell the story, now?" Draco looked up with such trusting, gray-blue eyes...

Nooooooooooo, Lucius' inner-voice cried as the feeling of fatherly love finally overwhelmed him. "Yes, I will, Draco." He took a deep breath, thinking fast, and started. "Once there was a little boy named Harry Potter. He was an evil, devious little boy and when the Dark Lord – the good guy, Draco, remember? – came to put away his evil, equally devious parents, Harry Potter lived and through his evilness, destroyed the Dark Lord. All the other evil, devious people in the magical world made him their hero, and the good guys – like us, remember? – they have to wait until the Dark Lord rises again to save the world from the evil Harry Potter and his evil followers."

Draco was silent after the brief telling, resting his small head against his father. He shifted slightly, and looked up into his father's eyes, before saying, "That was really dumb, Father. Can you tell the real thing now?"

Lucius felt frustration well in him. Why wouldn't Draco just be a normal child and be stupid and naive like the rest of them, so he could just go away and meet Wormtail already? "That was the real 'thing', Draco."

Draco looked suspicious. "Then why is the Dark Lord called the Dark Lord if he's the good guy?"

"Misconception," Lucius brushed off swiftly, sounding very matter-of-fact to little Draco, and even to his own ears.

"Why's Harry Potter so famous, if he's a bad boy?" Draco shot.

"He should have died," Lucius explained, losing patience. "By all accounts, Draco, the boy should be dead right now, but he's not, and that's never happened before. So he's famous."

"Ohhh," Draco nodded sagely, "I see."

Lucius gave another soft snort – Back, I say, he thought at the foolish sap that he was feeling. "Well, Draco, I had best be off. I cannot be any later than I already – "

"NOOOOOO!" Draco all but shrieked, latching himself onto his father's neck so quickly that Lucius felt his breath leave him. "Take me with you!"

"No, Draco," Lucius said, trying to pry his son off of him – though it wasn't working, because Draco just kept tightening his grip and he was beginning to feel a little stressed for air at that point.

"Nooooo!"

Lucius moodily trudged through the crowd at the Hog's Head, tugging along at Draco's hand as he searched for a sign of Wormtail. "Come along, Draco."

Draco followed his father dutifully, looking around with wide eyes. He had never been brought here before, Lucius noted idly, glancing at his son. The little head bobbed with every haphazard step, and too busy looking around to watch his feet, he nearly fell more than once. Lucius felt a pang of guilt for not noticing before crouching to lift Draco up. The boy immediately hugged his neck and tucked his chin onto his father's shoulder, staying still with wide eyes still observing.

A figure with a pale pink balaclava draped over their head raised a hand to Lucius and waved him over. Lucius scowled, before seating himself in a chair, and pulling Draco into his lap. "You're pathetically cheap, Wormtail."

"S-sorry," the figure said meekly. "The family I'm staying with doesn't have m-much money, I could o-only afford here."

"Then make it quick," Lucius snapped. "I wish to remove my son and myself from the stench of this place as soon as possible. Where is the boy?"

Wormtail shuddered at Lucius' tone. "I-I left him in an alley a few minutes ago, it's n-n-near here. W-would you like a d-drink before getting him?"

"No," Lucius said coldly, standing up, Draco in his arms. "Lead me to him."

Wormtail stumbled to stand, keeping the pink balaclava steady to his head, and guided Lucius out of the Hog's Head. Lucius held Draco closer when his son shivered slightly in the cool night air, and followed after the stout animagus.

"Father, where are we going?" came Draco's little voice. He had been watching the lights of Hogsmeade fade as they walked further and further into the dark alleys.

"We're picking someone up, Draco," Lucius said breezily. "The Boy-Who-Lived will be coming to stay with us for a while."

Draco immediately perked up with excitement. "Really?" he asked, sounding amazed. "Can he stay in my room? I promise I'll share all my toys this time!"

"We'll see, Draco," Lucius said sternly, vaguely realizing that his son was probably very lonely most of the time, being alone in the large Malfoy manner. He'd have to fix that somehow. Turning his attention back to Wormtail, who he noticed was looking a bit lost even though his face wasn't visible, he demanded, "What is wrong, Wormtail?"

The now-trembling figure turned to face him. "I-I-I had left h-him here! H-he w-was tied up – couldn't h-have g-gotten away!"

Lucius froze. He took several deep, steadying breaths before speaking. "Do you mean to tell me," he hissed, "that you have lost the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Wormtail wailed miserably in reply.

"Find him!" Lucius roared at the cowering man. "Find him and bring him straight to me, or I will come after you and finish what your former friends should have done to you years ago!" Pulling his cloak around his form and that of Draco's, Lucius Malfoy apparated back to Malfoy Manor in a towering rage.

demon & dragon

end

A/N: There we go. The timeline shall now be featured in every chapter at the top for your convenience. I go out of chronological order on purpose, just so you know, I feel it creates a certain effect that I'm going for with this fic. I like going back and filling in the pieces as it goes along.

And yes, both this and Catch will definitely be continued.

I really appreciate all your patience and I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long. It was never my intention to do so, but…well, you all know about Darth Real Life. Ha. I'm such a dork. Anyway. For those of you who didn't think it was funny to hand poor Harry over to Gilderoy…you're going to hate me soon =9

Notes about the chapter: Wormtail did not leave Harry alone for long, and Gilderoy just happened to be leaving Hogsmeade as Wormtail entered the Hog's Head to wait for Lucius.

I wrote Lucius as a caring father, because that's the way I see him, despite his cold personality. Draco is proven to be very loyal to his father in the books, and I think that Lucius must have been a good father to him to achieve that, despite being misleading about the truths of being a Death Eater. I also wrote Narcissa as what I hope came off to be a woman who knows firmly what side she's on, despite her soft spot for children – namely the reason she doesn't want Lucius to kill Harry but rather raise him their own way. She has no ambiance towards the Potters or their cause, but as a mother herself would not want to subject one so young to such suffering.

OH! And lastly, I have a shameless plug; wrote a one-shot called To Be a Death Eater, You Must Be… and it's supposed to be funny but it's not. It'd be nice if you read and told me what you thought anyway :)

Jedi Cosmos