"Remember, speak clearly" Tom instructed from where he stood on the right of the fireplace with Cassi, with a deep breath, Harry took a pinch of floo powder from the fireplace mantle. Hermione stood to the left watching with Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa. The group was heading to Diagon Alley to get everything the three children would need for the new school year. Cassiopeia and Narcissa had plans to take the children to get new robes fitted whilst Lucius and Tom were attending to some business and then meet up for lunch. Harry nodded sharply at his Father and with bravado he didn't truly feel he stepped into the fireplace, he hated floo travel, even more than side along apparition.
"Di..Dia..gonalley!" Harry called out coughing as the dust and flames erupted around him, right before he lost track of everything he heard his Father sigh in exasperation and his Sister and Cousin laugh loudly. It felt like his spinning body was being forcefully sucked into a drain, he pulled his arms in tighter after he felt his elbow smack the bricks of the passing gates. He held his breathe in a futile attempt to stop inhaling the smoke and dust around him. Suddenly he came to a sudden stop, he had reached his destination, before he could register his surroundings his body lurched forward from the force of the floo, his eyes wide and arms flailing he went down. With a loud and sickening crunch, he felt his nose breaking as his face connected with a solid, cold, concrete floor. Moaning loudly, he rolled onto his back with his hands clutching his nose, he could feel the blood leaking down his face.
Dizzy, bruised, bloody and covered head to toe in soot, he delicately got to his feet. With his hands still clutching his nose, Harry looked around at his surroundings, he appeared to be in a dimly lit rundown little wizard's shop. A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards and a staring glass eye. Evil looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of what looked like human bones lay upon the counter. Rusty and spiked instruments hung from the cling. Taking a risk Harry peeked out the dirty windows, the broken cobbled street was definitely not Diagon Alley. He had to be somewhere down Knockturn Alley. Despite being the son of The Dark Lord Voldemort, he had never been allowed to adventure down the infamous underbelly of the Wizarding World. With his face still throbbing in pain he made his way silently towards the front door, the sooner he found his family the better. But before he even got halfway across the floor, two figures stepped into the store.
"Dad!" Harry gasped running forward when he recognized the formidable figures, it was very rare that he ever used the word dad or daddy anymore, but he didn't care for pureblood decorum once he felt his Father's warm arms wrap around him. The relief surged through him as he felt safe again.
"Hartford" his Father breathed taking solace in holding his son knowing nothing had happened to him.
"Are you okay?" Lucius asked from beside the embracing duo.
"I'm okay Uncle Luc, just a bit banged up" Harry said as he extracted himself from his Father's arms.
"I can't believe you ended up in Borgin and Burkes!" an excited voice proclaimed happily, Harry looked over his shoulder to see his Cousin poking his head around the shops open door.
"Draco?! What are you doing here?" Lucius asked shocked at the sight of his son and heir.
"We followed you" Hermione stated as her head of messy curls joined Draco's peering into the rundown shop with curiosity.
"Of course you did" Tom deadpanned.
"Your nose looks terrible" Hermione commented at her brother with a smirk as her and Draco entered the store fully.
"It feels it too" Harry grumbled unhappily.
"Oh Hartford" Tom sighed as he sent an Episkey to fix his sons broken nose, bringing forth a sharp yelp as the bone was corrected before sending a Tergeo to clean the blood off his face.
"What will I do with you" Harry grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
"Well you might as well stay here with us until we are done" Tom said looking at his excited daughter and nephew.
"But stay close" Lucius finished for him.
Harry took the chance with the permission to look around with Hermione and Draco following him around the dusty space. Lucius and Tom crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to the children and commanding
"Touch nothing." Draco, who had reached for the glass eye, snatched his hand back.
"This shop is freaky" Harry grumbled as he stared at a glass that held what seemed to be a preserved heart, from what Harry preferred to not know.
"We won't be here long" Tom assured them. Hermione just rolled her eyes at her Brothers disgusted yet fascinated expression as he looked at the bone collection on an old and dusty shelf.
"Ah, Mr LeClair, Mr Malfoy" all three children turned at the new voice, an old, worn and creepy man had appeared at the counter, his voice was as oily as his hair and skin. He looked worse than their Aunt Bellatrix and Uncles Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty after their small stint in Azkaban prison. Sunken in cheeks and jaw, sharp and slightly crazy black eyes which were surrounded by dark shadows. Harry shuddered as he felt the old man's gaze fall on him, instinctively he stood in front of his Sister before the man could stare at her as well.
"Mr Borgin" Tom's voice cut across coldly once he saw were the man's focus was.
"These must be your children" Borgin said grinning widely not taking note of the dangerous territory he was treading into. Harry and Draco flinched back as his teeth were revealed. There were at least a quarter missing, and those that remained were either black and holy or false gold. But they stood their ground in front of Hermione, even with their Fathers there they didn't like how he was trying to eye their Sister and Cousin.
"Yes they are, but they are not why we are here" Tom snarled, his glamoured eyes flickering red as he stood in front the children and blocked them from view completely.
"Of course. How can I be of assistance?" Borgin nodded before backing up slightly, even without knowing who Dion LeClair truly was, he could feel the angry magic swirling around the man.
"I have a few things that I got in just today" he simpered.
"We are selling, not buying" Lucius cut across curtly.
"Selling?" Borgin repeated sounding less than pleased as the smile left his lips.
"The Ministry is conducting more raids" Lucius sneered.
"We have some objects that would be…. Embarrassing should the Ministry find them" Tom said still glaring at the man, but he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. He wouldn't punish the disgusting fool until after he had become completely useless. The objects he and Lucius was selling were only minor things that they had no use for anymore, but by telling Borgin of the raids, the news would get around and their sympathizers and allies could hide their own artifacts before they got 'randomly' searched. Their true and cared for Dark artifacts that they had kept were in different underground cellars protected by Tom's own ParselMagic, it was undetectable and unbreakable.
"I understand sir, of course sir" Borgin gave a fake smile as he took a magically shrunken box from Tom.
"We have not been visited yet, but the way the Muggle loving fools have been hanging around the law department, it won't take long." Lucius sneered again.
"I even heard Arthur Weasley is trying to pass yet another law to protect Muggles" Tom snickered to Lucius.
"He won't succeed, not with us in the law department" Lucius rolled his eyes.
"Father can I have that!" Harry called out pointing at the withered hand on a blood red cushion.
"Ah! The hand of glory!" Borgin crowed gleefully as he made to move towards the children, but Tom and Lucius once again blocked his path.
"Insert a candle and it only gives light to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has great taste Mr LeClair" Borgin grinned.
"My son will amount to much more than a lowlife thief or plunderer" Tom sneered.
"Of course sir, no offense sir" Borgin nodded as he whispered his pathetic apologies.
"I am in a hurry Borgin, and would like to get this moving" Tom snapped.
"Of course sir" as Borgin tried to Haggle with Lucius and Tom, Harry walked around glancing at cases and shelves with Draco and Hermione behind him.
"Harry!" Draco hissed.
"Check this out" together they leant forward, in front of them was a beautiful necklace of opals. On the card resting in front of it was written;
Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed. Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.
"I wonder if it only affects Muggles, or Wizarding Folk as well" Hermione murmured.
"There's only way to find out" Harry shrugged reaching his hand forward.
"You can't be serious" Hermione and Draco cried loudly gaining the attention of their Fathers.
"Hartford!" Tom snapped.
"I have already had to heal you today. Don't make me go to your Mother and explain that she has to bury her idiot of a child already" Hermione and Draco snickered as Harry rolled his eyes at the berating.
"I wasn't actually going to touch it" he whined.
"Oh and what were you going to do then?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow daring him to give an unsatisfactory answer.
"Pick up the pillow holding it" Harry defended.
"And then what?" Lucius asked curiously.
"Throw it at the creep" Harry finally muttered much to Hermione and Draco amusement as they finally burst into peals of laughter. Tom and Lucius snorted whilst Borgin gave an indignant huff of anger, only to quail under Tom and Lucius' glares.
"We are done here" Tom sneered.
"Come Hartford, Hermione"
"Draco!" Lucius called. All three children scurried to stand with their Fathers as they walked out.
"Once his usefulness is over, there is a spot in the dungeons for that man" Tom growled as he pulled Hermione and Harry close to him.
"I'm surprised you didn't Crucio him then and there Father" Harry commented, looking up at his Father's furious expression.
"I would, but he is the best messenger the underground society has" Tom muttered obviously displeased.
"I still can't believe you worked there" Lucius commented dryly.
"That makes two of us" Tom grunted.
"YOU? You worked there?" Harry demanded incredulously.
"I applied for the Defence Professor at Hogwarts as you know, after Dumbledore convinced Dippet that I needed more 'real world experience' I needed work and Borgin needed an assistant" Tom explained.
"He was a creep even back then"
"Where are we going?" Hermione questioned causing Harry to notice that they had taken a left heading deeper into Knockturn Alley instead of a right towards the bright light of Diagon Alley.
"Potions store" Tom said as he stopped in front of another store, the appearance from the outside was very similar to Borgin and Burkes. The tiles on the roof and walls were broken and falling apart, the paint was clearly years maybe decades old and fading badly. The windows were dusty and broken, even the sign above the door was falling apart.
"Hey, isn't there a Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary in Diagon?" Draco asked as he wrinkled his nose at the state of the store.
"Yes there is, as far as I am aware he has 12 Apothecaries open in different locations. But this is the only one run for Dark Wizards and Witches. We can get illegal or dangerous ingredients here that aren't appropriate for selling" Lucius nodded.
"So what are you getting here?" Harry asked.
"Quite a bit, we are experimenting a bit with that marvelous stone you bought home" Tom said smiling as he ushered his children into the store.
/Flashback Starts\
Harry and Hermione shared a look before taking a breath and knocking on the maple wood door.
"Come in!" their Father's commanding voice yelled out.
"Hello Father" they chorused in greeting.
"Ah, back already?" Tom smiled warmly as he stood up to engulf them in a hug.
"How was the end of your school year?" he questioned sitting on the edge of his desk.
"Could of been better" Harry grumbled.
"Dumbledore gave the house cup to Potter and his sidekicks for defending the school from you" Hermione explained as Harry sulked.
"Of course he did" Tom muttered darkly.
"It turns out it was Quirrell pretending to be possessed by you" Harry said chuckling.
"And just how do you know that?" Tom asked sternly. Smirking Harry and Hermione shared a look, at his Sister's nod he reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone.
"Dumbledore doesn't know everything" Harry said as he placed the stone in his Father's hand, shock and awe flickered over their Father's face as he just continued to stare at the stone.
"Daphne, Luna, Pansy, Theo and Blaise played lookout. While me, Harry and Draco went down the trapdoor beneath Fluffy" Hermione said smirking as their Father demanded to know how they did it.
"Then we got past Devil's Snare" Harry said casually.
"Then Winged Keys"
"Chessboard"
"Mountain Troll"
"Uncle Sev's Potion and Logic Test" they continued taking turns to mention the tasks.
"Then The Mirror of Erised" they chorused happily.
"How did you get past all of those?" Tom cried as he hugged them close as if to reassure himself that they are okay.
"Fluffy we played music until he fell asleep" Harry grinned.
"Devil's Snare hates light so we lit a fire" Hermione snickered.
"Winged Keys, used a fishing net" Harry admitted sheepishly, giving a soft grin when his Father looked at him in shock.
"The Troll was asleep when we got there so we just snuck around it while it slept"
"Uncle Sev's Potion and Logic test was actually easy" Hermione giggled as Harry gave her a look that clearly stated 'says you'.
"The Mirror, we thought would stump us" Harry admitted.
"Wait how was the Mirror a task?" Tom questioned.
"The stone was inside the Mirror. But once again the stupidity of Dumbledore astounds me" Hermione muttered as Harry grinned.
"He had charmed it so it couldn't be removed by someone who wanted for themselves, to use it for gain" Harry explained.
"But I didn't want it for me, I wanted it for you and that was enough to work"
"I can't believe it" Tom whispered as he looked at the stone in his hand in reverence.
"And Dumbledore doesn't know anything?" he asked curiously.
"Quirrell was there waiting for Potter. We fought him, and wiped his memory of us being there. Hermione was brilliant" Harry grinned.
"You successfully used the Memory Charm?" Tom asked proudly.
"You children, you continue to surprise me. I am so proud of you both" he whispered. Suddenly his face broke out into an insane grin, his red eyes sparkling maniacally.
"You got me the Philosopher's Stone and Dumbledore has no idea! We will take him down, The Dark will succeed" he laughed loudly as his children shared twin dangerous smirks. The Light had no idea of what was coming their way.
/Flashback Ends\
Hey readers! Hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! Thank you so much for all the reviews :) it's so amazing knowing I have such great readers :)