A/N So... it's been awhile. My apologies. It's the muses, not me, promise. I wrote part of this in 2019 and the rest this week, so if there's a writing style discrepancy, that's why! I also wanted to get this out asap so it's not super polished, but let's be real, none of the chapters so far have been. But hey, here's chapter 8. I also went back to re-read my notes and information on this story and realized it deviated from what I was originally going to write, which means even I'm not sure what all will happen in this story anymore. And yes I know I should go back to rewrite some character stuff after this chapter. I need to kind of rewrite all of it tbh. My style has changed.
Due to how long it's been, this chapter is also especially long. Possibly too long. But anyway,
Enjoy!
Although Lycus had a technical break from his missions, his parents did not, making them difficult to catch for a conversation. Villa had been there for just a few hours when he got back from Hogwarts four days ago, and the only interaction they had was her telling him to go see the Dark Lord. She had apparated off to Thailand for some communications before he got back from that discussion. Lycus caught his father on day two of break, and just like with Villa, he was only able to exchange a few words with Anton about the garden - within which he only received confirmation on making one. Anton hadn't been back since then, as far as Lycus knew, making it nigh impossible to ask about what types of plants Anton wanted in the garden, and therefore hadn't begun the project.
He didn't just have his father or Marvolo to wait on, however, and it was only a couple of days after his letter to Hermione that he received one back. It was written in neat paragraphs addressing his paragraphs in consecutive order, beginning with an admission of guilt at her brash presumptions about house elves: something which Lycus was not the only one to try and explain to her, but was the only one to do so with a non argumentative or accusatory method, which meant she had been much more open to what he had to say. She was glad that he still aimed to provide them with the resources of rights and leave the choice up to them, as that was something nobody else really seemed to understand. She still intended to have a more in-depth conversation about house elves in person though, and he got the feeling she still believed they could be freed somehow. Her use of the word "brainwashed" when talking about the elves meant he didn't need to read between lines for that.
As for the other creatures, she had given brief thought to before, but had become so absorbed by the house elves that she maybe had brushed them off until something was done about the house elves. But by reading his letter, she realized there were much more immediate concerns for other creatures she should be having, and resolved to put more attention into those areas. In particular, she took an interest in those canny goblins, wondering how they could work with the Ministry as much as they had while being mistreated. Lycus hummed pleasantly while reading that part. He hadn't explicitly said anything about the goblins, only that they were among the long list of creatures that would benefit from a better Ministry. Her interest in them he believed would entail an easier time retrieving that elusive sword of Gryffindor.
She consented to the desire to conceal his identity: not necessarily because she agreed with alleged social suicide as a reason, but rather because she understood, to an extent, that a pureblood being creature friendly would be hard to pull off, and she was more than happy to take action where Lycus could not. She vowed to do some research into all of it so they could start making plans when they got back to Hogwarts.
This was all well and good except for the underlying tone of her letter. Lycus gathered that she felt like she needed to pave a path for the creatures rather than allow them to make a path themselves. Almost as though she saw them as unable to help themselves, which, while true to a degree (centaurs can't change the Ministry alone, after all), meant that her approach to the creatures would end up being dictatorial in a way, which was the opposite of what Lycus needed - and the opposite, he was sure, of what she wanted to do. Just like with the house elves, she didn't seem to think about giving the creatures the ability to help themselves, but rather to do it all for them. It was almost motherly, but that motherly instinct would need to be nipped in the bud. That topic was best addressed in person, however, so Lycus's reply didn't include it. It did hint at the subject though. With that, he signed and sent his letter off with Ashwinder, his scops owl named for her favorite snack. He took a relaxed moment to watch Ashwinder fly into the sunrise.
Returning to his desk, he contemplated how to approach his other missions when back at school. He knew where to go with the centaurs and merpeople, and Hermione was hopefully going to provide an in for the elves and potentially Hagrid. And he needed Hagrid to get to the acromantulas.
Inevitably, his thoughts turned to Anders, Anders who was realistically the best option for Marvolo to go with, and probably would be who was chosen. The only thing, well, Lycus didn't want him to be chosen. Whoever was chosen would end up dead, and Anders didn't deserve that. Neither did Daeli or Absalon necessarily, but it's different when you know them. Nobody Daeli or Absalon knew would know they were gone, replaced by Voldemort 3.0. Lycus would. And because he was Marvolo's right hand, Marvolo would have no reason to pretend to be Anders when around him alone, which meant that he would never really see Anders again.
He stared at the patterns of wood in his desk as he comprehended what the death of Anders would mean. As he fell deeper into the rabbit hole of that thought, an icy stream suddenly gripped him, twisting around his lungs and heart up to the back of his throat, and with every heartbeat it crept and pulsed along his blood vessels. He felt as if his throat had constricted, allowing only short, shallow breaths to be taken. He swallowed, only to find no moisture in his mouth. He couldn't breathe.
Hairs raised like a cat in defense, he stood up abruptly, almost knocking the chair over at the sudden dizziness he felt with the motion. Deliberately taking a sharp and deep breath, he felt an elevation of pressure in his chest, causing him to become acutely aware of his abnormal heart rhythm. The logical side of him tried desperately to understand what was wrong with him, to no avail. As the wood patterns on his desk began to distort, he left his room to walk around, hoping that it would distract him from this onset of... something. It worked, until he thought about Anders's eventual absence from the world again, at which he was thrown through another bout of this something.
Yet he couldn't stop thinking about it. If Marvolo chose Anders, he would be gone. Not even a memory, because Anders would live on in everyone's life except his. Anders would become a cipher, in two senses of the word: he would be a mere cloak for Marvolo, or he would be nothing. Absent, gone, demiguised. Lycus refused the thought.
Footsteps. Lycus halted, not wanting Marvolo to turn the bend and see him in such a weak state. A mask of composure wobbled into place and he stopped for a moment to straighten up before he continued walking in a cool manner that contrasted with his internal struggles. As he approached the turn, he was met with eyes of gray marble-
"Father." Lycus tilted his head in greeting and relaxed, feeling a surprising rush of warm relief flow through him. "I've been meaning to talk to you."
Anton smiled wittingly, "It's nice to see you too, Lycus. Walk with me?" he motioned forward. Lycus gave a nod and joined his father in stride. "What do you want to talk about?"
The garden, of course, but this presented an opportunity to mention the possibility of Anders's death, and Lycus had decided then that he would try to prevent such a thing.
"Anders." Lycus plainly stated before he could think on it more. He felt another swoosh of discomfort in his chest, and Anton hitched in his next step at the name.
"I expected you to ask about the garden," he said after a few seconds. "What about Anders?"
Lycus visibly hesitated. Maybe he shouldn't bother. After all, the likelihood of his parents considering a plan to trick their Lord was slim, let alone go through with it. Besides, he wasn't even sure if they were supposed to know about the take over. If Marvolo ever found out he told them... let's just say that it would not be one of those things that Marvolo allowed to go unpunished. On the other hand, mentioning it at least meant there was a chance they might agree to help him in some way later.
"I can't give you any details," he started, pausing to consider how to broach this topic. "Anders might be removed as part of Marvolo's plans."
"Removed, you say," Anton parroted slowly. "Am I correct in assuming that means killed?" Lycus winced, which did not go unnoticed by his father.
"You are."
Anton sighed, shoulders drooping slightly in predetermined acquiescence, "I don't know what to tell you, Lycus. It's not our choice to say what the Dark Lord does and doesn't do."
"I know. I don't want you to talk to him. I want you to help me disguise Anders. Make it so Marvolo thinks he's dead. The only issue is we would need a physical replication of him."
Only their steps could be heard for a long moment as Anton thought, until he said "I will refrain from asking why we'd need to hold onto a copy of his body," another, shorter, moment passed. "I understand your wish to keep Anders from harm, but I don't think we should interfere with the Dark Lord's plans."
Lycus ran a hand through his hair, "It wouldn't interfere with his plans. He would never know."
"That may be so, but it's not our place-"
"Do you care if Anders dies?" the teen interrupted.
Anton blinked, slightly bewildered by the question, "Of course I care, I simply don't think-"
Lycus snorted, "That's obvious."
Anton stopped walking. Lycus kept on for a few steps before stopping as well, turning to look at his father. Anton's brows were furrowed with concern.
"Are you alright, Lycus? This is unlike you. You seem... distraught." The way he said the last word implied Anton was struggling to connect that word with his son.
Lycus took a deep breath before responding, "Yes, I'm alright," he directed his gaze at the wall. "I just don't enjoy the idea of Anders being gone."
Anton stepped towards Lycus to close the gap, admitting "Neither do I."
With a quiet sigh, Lycus looked back at his father with solemn eyes, "I know."
Anton looked intently at his son for a minute before he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and once again motioned forward, "Come. We can talk about the garden." As they began walking, he added "Now, I've recently thought about having one of the elves take up beekeeping, and if you start gardening," he flashed a grin at Lycus, "Win-win." Lycus huffed in amusement and continued to listen to Anton's ramblings about various beneficial herbs, and what both the herbs, bees, and bee products could do for his potions' consumability. While not the less-than-legal flora Lycus imagined he'd be cultivating, the distraction from the topic of Anders was appreciated.
They departed once reaching the kitchen, Anton's apparent destination. Anton insisted Lycus retrieve something sweet to eat while there. Lycus complied with only minor resistance, grabbing an elderberry tea cake - eating the confection did make him feel better, he found.
On his way back to his room, Lycus began thinking. He didn't get a definitive yes to deceiving Marvolo, but he knew that wouldn't happen. Not with one conversation. For now, he just needed to plant the seed. The hostile takeover of whoever Marvolo chose wouldn't happen until after summer began, so he had time. He had to be available for Marvolo 24/7 right now, or be at school, so he couldn't just go visit Anders for a couple of days to set this up. But his parents could. If he was unable to get them on board, he didn't know what he would do. But he knew, on the walk back to his room, that he would do whatever it took to save Anders. Only with that final decision did the last of the something recede.
If Marvolo did choose Anders, and Lycus subsequently tried to save his honorary uncle, the set up required would be immense. Something that he would have to start soon. He needed to fool not only the Dark Lord, but magic itself. In order to save Anders, he needed to create an Anders golem, much like he had made a Marvolo golem - but this time, it had to be able to act without a soul but die as if it had one.
Or maybe it was simpler than that. Maybe all they needed was for Anders to be without a soul. Part of his soul, specifically. Lycus had a lot of thinking to do later.
When he got to his room he paused. It was still early morning and as he had already determined, he couldn't really do anything important until Marvolo informed him of his decisions. But he had a starter for the garden now, so with a hum, he entered his room while calling "Olly!"
With a quiet pop, a rather small house elf with almost disturbingly large eyes appeared in the middle of his room with a slight bow. "Young Master calls, what can Olly be doing for you?" Olly was the newest house elf, barely out of being a baby - the Valerians tried to keep only four or five at a time, but, well, they had a house elf couple, and never thought to order them not to have a child, so there they were with a sixth.
Luckily, this meant Olly was a blank slate. They didn't need any more cleaning or cooking or personal elves. So Olly got to be her own kind of elf.
With a sportive smile, Lycus asked "You haven't been given anything to take care of yet, have you?" Olly shook her head, her ears flopping against her face as she adopted an eager look. "Excellent. I'm intending to start a garden, and my father wants one of you to start beekeeping. I'm going to tend the garden myself as a hobby, but I'll need someone to take care of it when I can't." Olly was already vigorously nodding her head, excited to finally be given a job of her own. None of the other elves, even her parents, liked when she helped them. Their job was their job after all.
"Unfortunately though, I don't know the first thing about gardening. As such, I would like you to gather any books we might have on it and set them on a table in the study above the library. I'll meet you there."
Olly gave an enthusiastic grin with an equally enthusiastic nod before popping off to do as she was told. Lycus absently righted his askew chair before heading out for the library. He had Olly go without him both to give him a chance to contemplate getting his parents on board with saving Anders, and as a way to give Olly time to gather the books he requested. Several minutes later he was at the library, no closer to a way to convince his parents to 'defy the dark lord' than he was when he began the walk there.
Mentally shaking his head clear of those thoughts, he went left up into the study room above the library, lips quirked in a slight smile at the sight of a table neatly covered in books, and on the ground next to it, a proud Olly.
As soon as he was close enough to hear, Olly began talking. "Olly did as Young Master asked. Olly gathered all books on gardening and brought them here." She proudly stood next to her feat.
"Yes, thank you Olly." The young house elf preened. "Now how about we tackle these books?" He said as he took a seat and grabbed a book.
Olly stood, now appearing both confused and perhaps a bit shocked. "Young Master wants to read with Olly?"
Lycus nodded briefly, "We both need to learn how to garden, don't we?"
Suddenly, Olly looked sheepish and guilty. "Olly has already learned to garden, Young Master." This statement interrupted Lycus's skimming of the book he picked up, instead opting to look at the little house elf who appeared on the verge of tears. At his confused look, she continued "Olly used magic to read the books."
"Oh. I didn't know you could do that." Lycus said airily as he stared off into space, considering the heavenly possibility of reading books with magic. He shook himself out of it when he heard Olly sniff and realize the young house elf probably thought she had done wrong by reading ahead. "That's great, Olly." He gave her a comforting smile. She sniffed once more but the tears forming dissipated with her widening eyes.
"Young Master is not mad?" She asked timidly.
He lightly shook his head, "Not at all. In fact, I'm glad you went ahead of me, because that means you can help me learn it." Olly's eyes bulged from the quick switches in her emotions - terror that she had done wrong, relief that Young Master wasn't mad, delighted he approved of her actions, and faint that she was able to help with the very thing she had just been afraid she'd done wrong. It took all her strength not to actually faint.
Instead, she passionately nodded her head, so forcefully that Lycus feared her head might pop off. "Olly will do her best!"
Lycus speculated shortly on whether the grievance Olly just had was natural or taught by the other house elves. All house elves he had ever known were like that, so he figured that's just how they were. But Olly was so young, he couldn't help but wonder. Maybe there was more to Hermione's beliefs than he had been willing to consider. Maybe.
He patted the spot next to him. He noted with curiosity that Olly popped onto the seat without hesitation, when he knew all the other house elves would squawk at being asked to sit next to their master. He filed those musings for later, shifting his attention to the matter at hand.
As it turned out, his herbology classes would actually help him outside of school, as working with non-magical plants was appearing much easier. None of the ones they read about so far posed a risk of biting you, crushing you, setting you on fire, or otherwise harming you without prompting. Certainly none of them could kill him unless he ate one that happened to be poisonous, and since his father wanted flowers more than herbs, he probably wouldn't have poisonous plants at all. Given that he wanted to do it "the muggle way" though, he had quite a bit to learn about fertilizing, watering, sunlight, compost - even soil structure and composition, and climate to a degree. Beneficial versus harmful insects, pesticides, pollination, germination, the list went on. There was even a short passage on playing music for plants in one of the books that he had to read twice to make sure he got it right.
This and more they went over for the next few hours, faster than he would have been able to alone. Olly assured him that she would be able to show him how to garden without use of magic, hers or otherwise, when he offhandedly mentioned that this theoretical knowledge would only get him so far. She was so confident in it that he believed her.
Light was beginning to encroach into the room from the stairs leading to the sun room, indicating noon was nearby. Having finished their initial research, Lycus went into debriefing Olly on what he wanted.
"I was thinking, since we don't have much in the way of external grounds, we could convert part of the sun room above into a garden. Nobody really uses it as is unless they want to stargaze, but that doesn't require the whole room. And it won't be hard to turn it into an indoor or outdoor - or both - garden." While all of that was true, he also liked the idea because it meant the garden would be right above the library.
Olly nodded along to his suggestions. At the end, she hesitated only briefly before asking "What of the bees, Young Master?
Right. Those were a thing. "I think I would defer to you on that since they'll be your responsibility." He tapped nonsensically on the table as he thought, then continued. "I suppose it would be best to convert the majority of the sunroom into a garden with a bit of space for someone to hang out within if they wanted, and part of that to a connected exterior area for the bees. The rest of the room would be for lounging and stargazing." He paused, then added "If you think that would work for the bees and garden that is."
Another vigorous nod was given by the excitable elf, "Olly is thinking that would work. Olly can adjust the environment for the bees and plants as needed." She nodded again to affirm herself.
"Perfect. Thank you, Olly. You've been most helpful." He smiled at the young house elf, who blushed under the compliment yet seemed unabashed or insulted as the other elves would be. Another musing filed.
With a quick tempus, he whistled at the time. "Looks like we should get to lunch. Reconvene here after?" She gave a happy affirmative and popped off at his dismissal.
He stood, stretching out the familiar kinks that came with extended periods of sitting down. He took a quick look at the books he forgot to tell Olly to put up, but decided maybe they would be useful again later, so he left without calling her back to do so.
On the way to the main dining room, he considered what he knew about house elves. Or what he thought he knew, what he had grown up with. They needed magic to live, and couldn't produce their own, only use what they were given - thus, they had to be bonded to a magical person. When a house elf got too old, they wouldn't be able to channel magic and would instead focus on mentoring younger house elves. Or be beheaded, as was the case with families like the Blacks, at least until more recently. Aside from the necessity of bonding, they enjoyed serving their masters and were fiercely loyal, to the point where they would punish themselves if they did anything against said masters. They were also incapable of disobeying a direct order. All house elves were like this, and they all followed these practices without resistance. Aside from one that Harry Potter befriended, Dobby was his name.
From his birth, Lycus had known four Valerian house elves, plus one who died of old age and was subsequently replaced when he was ten, making six he had known personally before Olly. Olly, however, was the first house elf he had met that he knew from their birth. And she wasn't quite like every other house elf. Fiercely loyal, eager to serve, afraid to displease, and in need of being bonded, yes. Other than that, she seemed to have few typical house elf behaviors.
He altered his perspective for a moment. Say house elves did need to learn certain behaviors, rather than that they acted the way they did because that's just how they were. If that were the case, then house elves would only punish themselves for their misgivings if their masters taught them to. Tell them they weren't to speak, they should only perform given tasks, they were below their masters and should never act as equal and certainly not above said masters - he could go on - and that's what they would come to believe. And then take what those house elves had learned and integrated into their beliefs, and that they would pass them onto their children automatically... Lycus frowned. The Valerian elves acted differently than Malfoy elves. They were also given different expectations, punishments, and duties. His frown deepened. Maybe Hermione was more right about house elves indeed.
It made him cringe to think he might be wrong about something, but better to acknowledge mistakes and make amends than ignore them. Assuming he was actually wrong of course. If he concluded he was wrong, he would send a follow up letter to Hermione later, or just talk to her about it when they met next.
Turning into the dining room, he turned his deliberations from house elves to the fact that both his parents were sitting down at the table.
Both sets of eyes turned on him. Villa's eyes sparkled with unveiled amusement at his shock at seeing both of them at once, something that hadn't happened since Marvolo gave them their missions a few months ago, while Anton seemed like he was making sure Lycus was doing well.
Lycus blinked. "Hello mother, father," he acknowledged while taking a seat across from his mother. "It's nice to see you two again. At the same time." As expected, food appeared on the table in front of him.
Villa got up with a grin and went around to hug Lycus, peppering kisses on his face. He scrunched his nose at her antics while she laughed, declaring "I'm allowed to give you affection when I haven't gotten the chance to see you in so long."
Resisting the urge to wipe his face off, he replied "I saw you four days ago."
"Only for a few minutes! I didn't even have time to hug you, I was in such a hurry." She retorted. He grumbled a begrudged agreement while Anton chuckled at the interaction.
As he began to pick what he wanted to eat that lunch, he asked "How have your missions been going?"
His mother gave him a mildly disapproving look from across the table where she had sat back down. He tilted his head at her with slightly furrowed brows, silently questioning her reaction.
"Lycus," she chided gently. "We haven't been able to eat together since before Christmas. Can't we leave that stuff out for a while?"
"I agree. We should take this time to have a normal family lunch." Anton concurred.
Lycus stared at them, trying his hardest not to look dumbfounded. His parents, evading a talk about the Dark Lord's plans? His parents, the ones who could do nothing but think about the Dark Lord and how to not disappoint him unless prompted otherwise?
He noticed them exchanging a look when he didn't respond quick enough. He was so confused. His Ravenclaw brain was trying to piece together what happened to cause this unprecedented attitude. He could think of nothing. He hesitantly settled that, maybe, they really did just miss him, however unlikely he thought that was.
"Alright," he conceded, to the relief of his parents who were becoming increasingly concerned by his silence.
A few quiet minutes passed as they ate, but not for long. Taking a sip of his beverage, Anton took it upon himself to introduce the first topic. "So Lycus, finally got around to dating someone?"
Lycus, who had just taken his own sip of water, sputtered and coughed as it went down his windpipe. If his parents' grins were indicating anything, it was that Anton timed it like that on purpose.
They did realize he really couldn't date anyone even if he wanted to because of his duties, right? A partner would demand his time and energy, and he had to dedicate that to the plans and things related to them. After he stopped coughing, Lycus took a second to look at them again. They were highly amused at his pain and awaiting his response with conniving smirks. He realized, then, they really did want to have a normal lunch.
Alright, he conceded, to himself this time.
"No?" He responded, only to open his mouth again. "I guess, there's a few people that have, er, caught my eye. But with OWLs I don't think it would be a good time to get into a relationship."
Villa hummed thoughtfully before saying "Maybe. Alternatively, you could date someone you study with." She gave a knowing grin and slight wiggle of her eyebrows towards her husband. This time, Lycus choked on a bite of buttered toast.
Anton seemed intent to continue this line of thought, ignoring Lycus's new set of coughs. "Indeed. I remember when we were in Hogwarts, Villa. I helped you study for OWLs, but more importantly, I made sure you didn't overwork yourself by engaging you with occasional distractions." His shit-eating grin would put Sirius's to shame, Lycus thought while glaring at his father.
Lungs caught up with the amount of oxygen they needed, he quickly interrupted the chain. "Okay, okay! I see your points. I'd rather not hear details about your excursions in Hogwarts though." He breathed out, taking a quick drink of water to relieve his throat.
They yielded with Villa saying "Alright honey, we'll spare you the lessons," with an entertained smirk. He could only roll his eyes in relief.
"So what people are so lucky to have caught your eye, as you said?" Anton questioned right when Lycus went for a third drink, but this time Lycus successfully avoided another coughing fit, aiming another glare at his father.
He had admitted it, so he couldn't say nobody, but he also didn't want to have this conversation. He opened his mouth to retort, then closed it, unable to come up with a good response.
Villa leaned her head on her hand, "Is it a girl?"
"A boy?" Anton followed.
"...a teacher?" Villa finished. Lycus tried his best not to look mortified at the idea, but didn't succeed entirely if the laughs of his parents indicated anything. "I ask only because Ravenclaws are particularly notorious for those."
Lycus closed his eyes, regretting agreeing to eat lunch with them. "I'd rather not talk about it."
With a hefty sigh, his mother said "Fine, sourpuss. How about your totally platonic relationships?"
From there they talked about his friends, not that he really had friends since all his relationships with his peers were for academic purposes. Except maybe Hermione and Luna, but even then, were they friends or just research buddies? He wasn't sure. What he did during his free time, no surprises there. How prepared he felt for the OWLs, also no surprise. The garden he was going to make and subsequently Olly getting her own set of responsibilities to fulfill was of interest to them. That last part included calling Olly to congratulate her, for which she was overwhelmed, overjoyed, and in happy tears over.
Normal things. Lycus couldn't remember a single time they sat down together to have a normal conversation with him. Normal according to anyone else that is. It was always Dark Lord this, perfect servant that. Always be on top of things, anticipate the Dark Lord's needs, don't make a mistake and don't fail. The only times he could remember having conversations like this were with his peers at school or with Anders.
The teen paused and watched his parents laugh while explaining a time they successfully convinced one of their friends, Ophelia was her name, that she had gotten so drunk she slept with someone she absolutely loathed. To this day apparently, Ophelia was under the impression that happened. He laughed along, taking note of that prank as something he could pull on his own friends in the future, assuming he found some long-lasting ones.
Except he didn't have such opportunities in his future. His future was destined to include paperwork, communications with magical creatures, destruction of governments - nowhere in his lease did it mention having the time or friends to pull some pranks.
He winced involuntarily as he came down from this high of a normal family lunch. Glancing at the window, it looked like at least two hours had passed. Time had flown by while he had fun chatting with his parents. They took note of his lost interest in the conversation.
"Lycus? Something wrong?" Villa intoned. He pursed his lips and cast a tempus. Yep, they had been there for two hours and thirty-three minutes. He usually ate and got back to work within twenty minutes. That was a lot of time to lose.
His parents frowned at him checking the time, frowns which only deepened as he stood. "I just realized I need to get back to work. I was supposed to meet with Olly about the garden again after lunch." He suppressed a sigh.
"I see," his father began. "I guess we have no choice but to let you go then." He sighed dramatically with a hand on his forehead, an attempt to lighten the mood Lycus thought.
Villa smiled at her son, "Don't think you're off the hook, mister. Next time we're all here again, we'll be having another visit."
With a stiff smile, Lycus gave a curt nod and walked off. It was fun, yes, but he had better things to do than sit and chat with his parents. And they should know that. They're the ones who taught him so.
It appeared to him that Anton told Villa about his misgivings concerning Anders, and they decided to try and cheer him up by treating him the way Anders did. It worked, in the moment, but now he felt a bit contemptuous. They raised him to be a perfect servant while Anders treated him like a kid, and as soon as it comes out that Anders might disappear, they decide to turn tail and act like they were always normal, caring parents? They're the ones who raised him knowing that his life would be under Marvolo's control, and somehow thought it was okay to pretend that Lycus could have a life of his own? For what reason? To make him feel better, or make themselves feel better?
Then another thought struck him. If they were trying to make him feel better about it, that means they felt bad. And if they felt bad, they might be willing to help him. He could use their guilt to his advantage. He would use those skills of deception and manipulation they taught him to get them to do as he wanted. With that notion in place, he released his building anger.
He met up with Olly in the sun room and they discussed the design of the garden and beekeeping area, along with what kind of bees and flora he wanted. Carniolan honey bees, and whatever flora would keep them happy was the simple answer to that.
As for the area itself, they would open up a little less than half of the sun room, with the beehives being kept outside, and a magic ward to confine the bees inside a certain area, which would double as an area of climate control. They intended to mimic optimal conditions for the bees and flowers, while keeping with the season so they got to have their natural yearly rhythms.
Around the beehives, and all but a small portion of the middle on the inside, would be turned into a stone garden leaning on the side of nature. The middle of the room would be left as a separate elevated astronomy platform. It was sort of like turning part of it into a garden, and the rest into a greenhouse.
Design in place, Olly put the books back in their spots and, with permission to use Lycus's personal vault, left to obtain all the necessary ingredients to construct this area. Olly guessed it would take her a day or two to complete the garden portion, which meant he might, might, be able to start his garden on his last day of break. And if not, then at least Olly would get experience to teach him the ways of getting down with plants without magic when he came back.
He perused the library for a while after, looking for some books on both basic and advanced charms, thinking that if Marvolo decided against the horcrux method, he could maybe come up with a mix of charm and rune work to create a method of undetectable communication. After picking up some books, Lycus finally retired to his room to settle in for some nice, light reading.
A knock sounded from his door some time later, after dinner, and in came Marvolo, brandishing the journal of Nicandro Fame.
"Say you make a horcrux out of mine. You could then remove your soul from it if it failed to allow us to communicate?" Marvolo asked airily.
Lycus spared a self-satisfied smile. "Yes, however, I think I may have found a better alternative to that." He brandished his own book, one of the charms books he picked up earlier. The dark lord peered at the book with a raised brow.
"Oh?"
The teen got up to show Marvolo what he had found not thirty minutes ago, opening the book to a page marked with a feather, "It's called epoximise. It binds two items together. My thought is that I could make a horcrux, and bind the two into one object."
Marvolo squinted at the short description in the book. "You think this would be more effective than just making a horcrux out of mine?"
Lycus gave a noncommittal shrug. "I think it's possible. Either way, the two soul pieces would end up in the same object, so if it didn't make the connection stronger, it would at least make a connection... theoretically." Now Lycus took his turn to peer at Marvolo. "Were you thinking of using that method?"
Marvolo made a face that told Lycus he was unsure about the whole matter, but willing to try it anyway. "As long as you're confident nothing will go wrong, and you can remove your soul piece from it if needed, then I see no reason not to give it a try."
"I see. I would like to use the binding route though, just in case it does make the connection stronger."
Marvolo nodded slowly. "Very well. What object were you going to use?"
Lycus reached under his shirt to retrieve the pendant, Marvolo's horcrux. "Why this of course," he stated with a sly grin. "Might as well use an exact replica of the pendant so when the objects bind there's no visual difference." The look he received was dry, but Lycus ignored it in favor of performing the doubling charm on the pendant. He held up the replica of said pendant, an empty shell.
"Right. Let's get this done, then."
Lycus did a mental double take. Right now? It was eight at night. "Of course, Marvolo." Marvolo turned to begin walking to the nearest parlour, evidently expecting Lycus to just follow. And naturally, he did, with some hesitation.
The prospect of killing someone. He knew that in self-defense, or defense of Marvolo, he would have no reservations in harming or killing someone. And if Marvolo's horcrux was endangered, no quarter. That had been all but hammered into him his whole life. But for this horcrux, he was going to have to kill, just, a person. Probably someone harmless, indefensible. He thought he'd have no problem with it when he came up with the idea, but now that he was actually going to... he felt nervous. He wasn't supposed to feel nervous.
Lycus turned into the parlour Marvolo had gone into to find Dacarus waiting. Of course. He brought out his wand, and with a swish, he was his own persona. The bright smile Dacarus gave him almost put him at ease.
"We'll be going to the Leaky Cauldron and then apparating elsewhere this time." Dacarus stated as he grabbed a handful of floo powder off the mantle.
"Excellent idea. I'll be right behind you." Arnou replied. Dacarus disappeared into the green flames, and for a split second Lycus wondered what would happen if he locked the floos down and pretended Marvolo didn't exist.
With a glare at nothing in particular, Arnou followed Dacarus through to find him in a similar situation to the first time they did this. This time, though, Dacarus noticed his arrival and extracted himself from his conversation politely, waving for Arnou to head outside.
Outside, they walked a ways away into an empty alley. Dacarus held out his arm, which Arnou took, and they were zipped away to be unzipped into a different alley. Arnou could only assume they were in a different city. Dacarus took the lead again, exiting left of this alley with Arnou at his side. The city looked different than he was used to. The buildings were more spaced apart, and the amount of bright neon lights surpassed that of any he'd seen before. A lot of blinking lights too. And tons of people. Everywhere. It was a curiosity nobody noticed them apparate in.
But Dacarus seemed to know where they were - given he apparated them there, Arnou hoped he did. Dacarus grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, leaning in to say "This place is loud enough and bright enough that we won't have to worry about people noticing us."
Someone walked by with a cloak of feathers and mock medieval armor with glowing inlay as if to punctuate Dacarus's statement. They began to walk along the pavement, Arnou attempting not to look overwhelmed in this new atmosphere. Where on Earth had Dacarus taken him?
"Ah!" Dacarus lit up. Arnou glanced at what attracted his friend and caught sight of someone facing the wall of an otherwise empty and trashed alleyway. Dacarus tugged on the arm he had never let go of, pulling Arnou towards this alley. Arnou took a deep breath, the fact of what he was expected to do filling him with... something. Something both unsettling and nerve wracking. He couldn't tell if he was excited or terrified or both.
The person in the alley fiddled with something in front of them and - oh, they were pissing on the wall.
Dacarus let out a noise of disgust, but the man didn't seem to care, or even notice. "Muggles." Dacarus muttered under his breath. "Anyway, here's your target." He motioned at the man.
Internally, Lycus felt anxiety well up in his chest. He wasn't sure if he could do this. This person had done nothing, that he knew of, to warrant death. He was just some poor muggle who probably got drunk at a party with his friends. This person had a life, and those friends were probably waiting or looking for him.
And what if he couldn't do it? What would Marvolo think? He would be a failure.
"Well?" Dacarus asked, sounding on the verge of being peeved. "Is it the muggles? I can put up a muggle repelling charm if it's bothering you that much." Dacarus - or Marvolo, as it sounded in this case, had an edge of disappointment in his voice when he said that.
"No." Was Lycus's terse reply. The man had been done pissing for a while, but only now seemed to think to zip his pants up to return to the fray in the streets. The man turned around, and his hazy eyes came into contact with Lycus's, stopping his movement forward. Lycus could see the confusion register on the muggle's face.
He unceremoniously cast the spell to capture his to-be-broken soul and clasped the pendant replica in his pocket. He lifted his wand at the man. This person was a necessary sacrifice. The man's life was worthless, but now could be given the purpose of splitting his soul. He had to die. Lycus needed this reason to steel himself. This reason and one other.
He could not fail.
"Avada kedavra."
The burst of neon green of the Killing Curse went well with all the other lights in the streets and on the buildings. Nobody seemed to realize someone just died. If he had been listening, he might have even heard some cheers somewhere beyond the alley. But as it was, he couldn't hear anything over the sound of his pulse.
Lycus swallowed thickly, feeling his soul be encased in the replica. Absently, he wondered if it was supposed to be painful. He wondered if he was supposed to feel anything after killing a person in cold blood.
After a few seconds of staring at the crumpled body, he turned from it to show off his new horcrux to Marvolo - Dacarus, whatever - who gave an uncharacteristic proud smirk in response. Lycus felt he had just passed a test he didn't know he was taking.
"Very good," the dark lord inflected. "For a second there, I thought you wouldn't do it."
Arnou allowed himself a quiet scoff. "I'm disappointed you would ever think such a thing."
"It did take you a couple of minutes." Dacarus sported before holding out his arm again. Arnou pocketed his new horcrux before taking hold, and they disapparated back to the alley near the Leaky Cauldron.
"Say, Dacarus," Arnou started as they walked out of the alley back towards the magical pub. Dacarus gave an inquisitive hum. "Why didn't we just apparate there to begin with?"
"Hmm? Oh, I was planning to take a trip to Diagon Alley."
"What for?"
"Rats. Empress has gotten big enough to swallow them now."
At the thought of the little battle worm, Arnou smiled. Empress was definitely worth a trip to Diagon Alley. They went through the pub, Dacarus again having to wade through the people so interested in his opinions, and to Magical Menagerie. Several rats and a floo later, they were back at Valerian Manor.
Marvolo, back in Marvolo form, cheerfully said "No time to waste." Followed by an expectant look at Lycus.
Lycus, back in Lycus form of course, brought out his and Marvolo's horcrux and laid them on the table in the center of the parlour. For a split second he was concerned that in doing this, if it worked, he would be unable to hide his thoughts from Marvolo. That could be a problem. Oh well. He'd deal with that if he had to. It was beyond too late to turn back now.
With a face of confidence, he intoned "Epoximise." The two pendants wavered as if they were ripples in water for a moment, then slowly morphed into one another, before settling as one.
Immediately, Lycus could feel a presence in his mind. A pressure behind a thin barrier, a writhing mass of someone else's consciousness on his own. He confined himself from outwardly shivering at the odd and somewhat unpleasant feeling.
The writhing mass prodded the barrier - again he had to restrain himself from outwardly reacting - and he focused on it, responding in kind, testing the limits. Like a veil, the barrier parted until he was able to feel the unrestricted entirety of Marvolo's being in his head. He almost grimaced.
A strand of the writhing consciousness rose up, 'Not pleasant, is it Lycus?' The teen... heard? Comprehended? He wasn't sure what to call it. He sent the notion of agreement towards the mass of Marvolo in his head, and the Dark Lord chuckled both in person and in mind. 'At least it works.'
"If you would be so kind, Lycus," the physical voice of Marvolo brought Lycus's attention back to the physical plane, "Floo somewhere far from here."
Lycus nodded, knowing they needed to test the reach of the connection. It wasn't really useful if they could only use it within the manor. He put the pendant back on then grabbed a handful of floo powder and thought of Anders. The Devonshire estate would be the farthest he could floo to without being questioned. It was in Norway and they were in the lower part of Britain. He sent a short question of if this was alright to Marvolo, and receiving the affirmative, flooed to the house of his honorary uncle.
When he arrived, he made a concerted effort not to think about his plans of opposition when it came to Anders. He could still feel that presence, as intense and there as it was when he was feet away from Marvolo. Through it, an uncanny feeling of glee filtered through, mildly disturbing the teen. The Dark Lord and glee did not go well together.
'Splendid!' was the only word he could discern through their connection before Anders came around the corner. Instinctively, Lycus smiled at the man, redoubling those efforts of not thinking about that.
"Lycus! What a charming, if bizarre, surprise." Anders proclaimed, walking up and grabbing Lycus in a bear hug. Lycus returned it as best he could with a jubilant laugh.
"I'm testing something and needed to escape the manor for it. I didn't realize you'd be up." He replied coolly, with a bit of false bashfulness, once Anders released him, not quite telling the truth but also not lying. He could feel Marvolo listening through him, seeing through his eyes. It was almost like worms attaching themselves to his senses. Very peculiar, and highly disturbing.
Anders raised an eyebrow at him, "You're testing something that requires you to escape the manor at 8:30 at night?"
"Ah, well-" Before he could continue his would-be convincing explanation, Anders clapped him on his shoulder.
"I remember the days of youth, son." Anders grinned at him. "No need to explain." The man chuckled at his reddening face. "I don't suppose you have time to stay and hang out with your boring godfather would you?"
'No,' Marvolo told him.
With a sigh, Lycus shook his head. "Not tonight. I'll see if I can't spare some of my time for you before spring break ends though." He flashed a sprightly look at Anders, who in turn nodded wisely.
"I look forward to it. I missed you at Christmas." Anders smiled genially and let him go. With a nod, Lycus turned and flooed back to Valerian Manor. When he stepped out, he discovered that Marvolo had closed his side of the barrier.
"Can you hear what I'm telling you right now?" Marvolo asked. Lycus gave it a moment before shaking his head and closing his side as well.
"I cannot."
Marvolo dipped his head in acknowledgement, "It would appear, then, that both of us need to open it to communicate." An ear-splitting grin made its way onto the Dark Lord's face, and while Marvolo was handsome, that grin only served to unsettle Lycus. "This is unequivocally remarkable. Well done, Lycus."
The teen inclined his head, "I do live to serve. And upstand all other followers." He remarked casually. Marvolo didn't even bat an eyelash at his cheek, too thrilled to mind at the moment it seemed.
"One more matter to attend to tonight, Lycus, and then I'll let you return to your own." The Dark Lord stated.
"Yes?"
"I have decided who will be my future competition for control of the world." Marvolo declared casually, as though telling Lycus what had decided to eat for breakfast tomorrow.
Lycus smothered the want to swallow for his suddenly dry throat. Here it was. He had been worrying about this in the back of his mind all day, and now it was time to see if the worry was warranted.
"After seeing that interaction with Anders, I thought it would be a bit annoying to have to play godfather to you," the Dark Lord began. Lycus wanted to believe that meant Marvolo decided against Anders, but he knew better. "However, I think the benefits of playing Anders outweigh that headache, so I regret to inform you that your godfather is my choice." A toddler could tell that Marvolo didn't regret it at all.
Despite his reaction to the idea of Anders being chosen that morning, Lycus felt rather serene in the moment. "Wise decision, Marvolo. I was thinking the same."
The serpentine glint in Marvolo's eyes did not go unnoticed by the Ravenclaw, but Marvolo merely said "With that out of the way, I have a snake to feed." He gave a glib wave and walked out of the room.
Lycus followed the notion, heading to his own room. Within minutes he arrived and shut himself in. He leaned against his door and stared out the window across the room, trying to discern if he really didn't feel anything or was in some sort of shock.
He couldn't tell, so instead of pondering his emotional state he decided to plan. Now that he knew Anders was the unfortunate victim, and his parents felt bad about such a thing, he could take steps in preventing the death of his godfather.
The plan was already forming. The best, easiest option was for Anders to make a horcrux. That way Marvolo could kill him, and Lycus could bring him back at a later date in secret. This would require his parents' help, though, as he didn't have time to see Anders and get this set up. He felt confident that Marvolo would want to get this done as soon as summer break began. So he needed to make sure his parents were on board before spring break ended.
He walked up to the window and gazed out at the sky full of stars, thinking with amusement that horcruxes probably weren't a good go-to quick fix for his problems. Anders might not even be able to make one, and while Lycus had read methods of tearing your soul apart that didn't involve the Killing Curse, they were informal and ill-defined. There was no guarantee he could figure them out soon, or that the methods themselves would be quick enough.
With OWLs in a little over a month, the sessions with Hermione and Luna, the Gryffindor Sword quest, getting to know Hagrid, establishing communication with the magical creature colonies of Hogwarts... He had to rely on Anders being able to do it, or his parents on coming up with another solution.
He mused for a while longer before deciding it was late enough to go to bed.