Sold-Chapter 5-The Son
By Marmalade Fever
The room was unnaturally cheerful looking compared to the rest of the world. Evander almost thought that he had been transported back to his own home as he blinked his sleep encrusted eyes. Although there was no way that Draco Malfoy might have known, this was actually Evander's bedroom back in his own timeline. Sure, there were a few mementos missing… okay, all of his things were missing… but his bed was there. It was the same king-sized four-poster that had always been in this room, even before his birth. He knew it was the same one before he had even opened his eyes. There was just something familiar about the springs and the lingering scent of Laundro-magique that the house-elves used that made him feel safe and at home. Once he did open his eyes, his suspicions were confirmed. On the upper right bed knob the initials "LM" followed by slightly less worn "DM" had been carved into the wood. This bed had almost become an heirloom. Back in his own timeline, he had carved "EM" just below his father's initials. Indeed, Evander felt very tempted to carve them into this bed as well, but without a proper knife it was impossible.
Next to his bed was his old wardrobe that his mother had always teased him about. She said that it had been made out of an apple tree and that the apple had come from a faraway place called Narnia. When he had been about four, she had read him the entirety of the Chronicles of Narnia, and he had tried in vain to find his way to the land behind the coats. Obviously, this wardrobe was not made out of the same stuff that Professor Diggory Kirk's wardrobe had been made of.
The only other object in the room that was familiar was the large, ornate light fixture. He had never really liked it much. It had too many flowers for his taste. However, at the moment, it was very comforting to see.
By the light at the window, he could tell that it was now well past dawn. He had spent yet another night in this God-forsaken world. That meant that the danger Lily was in was growing deeper and deeper with every second that passed.
He had known that he liked Lily in a boy-girl sort of way even before Hogwarts. He had had a fixation with her since the age of six. He could remember it like yesterday. His parents had invited all of their friends for a dinner party. His mother had introduced him to all the children, but Lily was the oldest of them all. She had been eight and a good six inches taller than him. Even back then, her hair had been long, black, and luxurious. He had been instructed to entertain her, Maia Longbottom, who had been three at the time, and Benny Weasley, who was only a year younger than him. During a very long-drawn game of hide and seek, Evander had found Lily hiding in the old dungeons underneath the house. She had been in total awe.
"Why do you have a dungeon in your house?" she had asked.
"I'm not sure… I think some of my family were bad wizards once."
"You know who my dad is, right?"
"Harry Potter. Everyone knows that."
"I bet he'd be very unhappy if he knew that your family is bad."
"My family isn't bad anymore. Well, maybe not my grandparents, but my Mum and Dad are fine."
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Lily asked, turning to him with her deep green eyes.
"Um… I thought I might fancy healing." At that time, Evander had wanted to be able to stop his pet Puffskein from turning blue every time it took a bath. He thought that healing might have helped it.
"That's cool… I wanted to be the greatest Sorceress ever to have lived."
"Really?"
"Yep. My dad is wicked powerful. I want to be just like him." He saw the glint in her eye and felt the power that had been radiating off of her as she revealed this information. It was at that moment that he knew that this was the girl he wanted to marry someday… even if she did have cooties.
Evander's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. A small house-elf stuck its head in the room and peered at him. "Is Sir wanting anything to eat?" it asked.
Evander's stomach growled. "Yes, please. Thank you Kobby."
The house-elf jumped. "Sir is knowing my name?"
Evander sighed. In his home, Kobby had practically raised him. His mother, of course, had only agreed to keeping the elf on the condition that they pay him weekly wages of three galleons. Kobby had even had nappy duty when he was a baby.
"Yes, I know your name," Evander replied, smiling genially at the elf he loved so much.
"What would Sir like to eat? Kobby's master is allowing all sorts of food."
"I think I'd like a glass of juice and some of your cranberry bread." Evander paused, and looked at the elf again. It had a bloody bandage wrapped around its ear. "Say, what have you been feeding… Miss Granger?" He'd had to stop himself from saying, "my mother."
"Kobby did not bring her very pleasant food last night, sir. But this morning Kobby was bringing her fresh fruit and toast."
Evander let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. No matter what the situation, she was his mother, and it brought him comfort to know that she wasn't being starved. "Thank you Kobby, you may go now."
Evander watched as the elf closed the door, and began to wonder. He stepped up to the knob and turned it. Drat. It was locked again. He would have to figure out a way to rig the door so that it wouldn't lock when Kobby came back with his food. He wasn't the son of the brightest witch to ever walk Hogwarts for nothing, after all.
Evander looked around the room. He had a hunch that the door wasn't locked with magic. If it were just a regular lock… the lock that had been on his bedroom door his entire life… then he could manage. He walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a wire hanger. He bent it and tied an end around the doorknob. The idea was that when the door was opened again, he could slide the tip of the wire through the keyhole, so that it blocked the locking mechanism, thus allowing him to be able to pull the door open. And if he knew Kobby, which he did, the elf wouldn't even notice.
He had no sooner finished his contraption than Kobby knocked again and brought him his food. "Thank you Kobby," Evander said, feigning his excitement about being fed. As the elf left, Evander pushed the wire through the hole. Smiling, he went to eat his breakfast.
He hadn't noticed just how hungry he was. He remembered moments of groggy waking over the last week when he had been hand-fed by the elves. But now that he was fully awake he was ravenous. For the first time, he was very thankful that Kobby tended to send more food than he had ordered. In addition to his cranberry bread and juice, he had also been sent scrambled eggs and kippers. He tucked into his breakfast and felt himself grow stronger.
It pained him to imagine the skeletal version of his own mother that was at that very moment being held captive in a dungeon in his own house. He had seen the dark rings under her eyes. He had even seen the vital contrast between the way she looked at him and the way she looked at his "father." She looked at him as if he were a monster.
It seemed strange that she should have short hair. Her hair had always been long and full of curls…
Evander had a few decisions to make. Leaving his room wasn't necessarily the smartest action he could perform. If he was caught, which seemed likely, then there might be dire consequences. Not just for him, but for Miss Granger. Besides this, there was no certainty that if he escaped he could do anything to find Lily. Who knew, maybe if he cooperated he'd do her more good than harm. His "parents" seemed to be working to solve the mystery of his presence. They might just rescue Lily anyway. And overall he still needed them to find him a way back to his own world.
And so, Evander did not leave his room just yet. He did, however, take a peek into the hallway to check out the situation. It came in very handy that he already knew the house like the back of his hand. He knew every crook and cranny, every trap door, every mouse hole… everything!
The view out of his window was not quite as it had always been. The flowerbeds were missing and a few of the trees looked damaged. One of the fountains was gone as well. From the window, he could just make out Malfoy Manor.
Without his bookshelf to keep him occupied, Evander contented himself with his thoughts. The son of the Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor Brainiac was no one to be trifled with, either.
A.N.: Sorry I didn't post on Sunday. I've been busy. I'm graduating from High School on Saturday. (I got magna cum laude!) I'll try and post as often as I can.