Chapter 2: The Revealing of Truths

'Creature' woke slowly, his mind a jumbled mess. He felt the unnatural softness of the floor beneath him and almost panicked, he quietly assessed his surroundings, the hum of magic relaxing him. There was very little he remembered from the previously evening. The two men that had come and taken him were nowhere to be seen, but they would be coming for him soon. They would see how worthless and freaky he was and send him back to 'Master' Potter. The chains around his feet were gone, giving him a freedom that he had never experienced since he was very young.

The door creaked open revealing the blond haired man that had entered his room. As the man approached Dalen allowed himself to lie limply on the bed. His eyes followed him as he approached. He wanted to flinch and beg for mercy, but speaking meant fifty lashes with 'Master's' favourite whip, and denying 'master' the right to punish him meant an hour under the Cruciatus. He wanted to escape the moment, he wanted to close his eyes, but again the punishments for doing so kept him from moving. He whimpered slightly when the man reached over to touch him.

Lucius watched as the boy flinched away from him, then held very very still.
"I'm not going to hurt you, never again. You will never again know that pain." He promised the child quietly. The warmth in his voice kept Dalen from panicking completely. Though he could still see the fear the twelve year-old held, there was a faint glimpse of curiosity, before it was masked quickly under the blank, lifeless eyes.

Lucius carefully grew closer, Dalen shuddered as he reached out his hands to touch the bandages that wrapped tightly around Dalens chest and stomach.
"I am just going to check the bandages child. Nothing more." Again, Dalens eyes filled with confusion. Won't hurt me? He thought, not understanding what the man meant.

A few minutes later Lucius left the boys room. His hands were filled with bloodstained bandages.
"He is awake and confused. I don't think he understands that I could never hurt him. Merlin Sev, the boy was trying desperately not to flinch because he thought I would get angry. I will kill James Potter, I will see him to hell." Lucius growled as he disposed of the blood covered bandages. Severus nodded silently along beside him as he ranted.
"The Dark Lord wants to see him soon. I can't keep everyone away forever. Albus also needs to know, if he didn't already. With his influence he probably did." Lucius shuddered at the thought of the grandfatherly old man doing something do cruel to a child. Severus looked anxiously back at the door that held his godson. Lucius could see that the man missed the boy terribly.
"Well, I will be off to Hogwarts. Inform me of his progress." With that Severus fled across the hall towards the main room. Lucius suddenly realized that his best friend had bandied him to tell the Dark Lord of his sons fate.
~~~~~Into the Light~~~~~

"Lilly, what happened to Harry?" Lilly looked up at Albus, her confusion written all over her face.
"Harry? Who's Harry?" She asked.
"Your youngest son. You know Harry, he had problems breathing so you left him at the hospital until he was strong enough to be brought home, which you did five days later." Lilly only shook her he'd at the Headmaster, unsure of what she should say. Albus reached out with his mind and poked a little. The memory barrier he was met with crumbled down at the smallest tap.

Flashback

"No not my baby, please not Harry. Not Harry!" Lilly pleaded, James stood firm while Sirius held his struggling wife back.
"If I had had any common sense I would have killed the baby when I took it from its mother. It isn't even human. How do you feel having kissed, loved and mothered a Death Eaters son." He sneered,
"Just fine!"Lilly spat back at him. Disgust marring her fiery features, disgust at her husbands actions. The man picked up the little boy, his green eyes shone with confusion at his fathers actions, by its neck. James shook the four year old by his shoulders,
"Daddy? Whats wrong Daddy? What did I do?" James snarled at the perfectly articulated sentence. His own son could hardly speak as well, Nicholas was just a couple minutes older that Harry and the two were as different as different could be for supposed twins.

"You should never have been born you disgusting creature! I should have killed you as soon as your disgusting head was out of that whores body." Sirius smacked Lilly across the faces when she true to curse James,
"He was an innocent child James. How could you? How could you?" Lilly shrieked as her husband dragged her youngest by his hair to the basement doors. The face of her beloved Harry began shimmering, and her green eyes darkened and turned to a startling red,
"Now you see this creature for what it really is. You know what to do Siri."
"Obliviate"
"Mummy!"
Harry? Har-... ...

End flashback

Lilly lay in a crumpled heap. Albus sat pale faced and horrified at what the two men had done. The child had been four years old. Harry had been four. The boy had spent eight years being thought of as dead, when he was very much alive... and Albus had been very much lied to. In fact, so had Remus.
"Master Headmaster Dumbledore Sir?" A house elf squeezed as it popped into the room, "Master Snape sir be waiting in yours roomses sir." Albus nodded blankly.
"Tell him I will be there in am minute." He was dazed, confused and couldn't understand why the two former Gryffendore's had done what they had. Perhaps Severus had a few answers, yes maybe he did.
~~~~~Into the Light~~~~~

Draco understood that not all children were as lucky as he was. He knew that. He also knew that one of those unfortunate children was taking up residency in one of the unused rooms in Malfoy Manor. He had heard his father and Uncle Severus discussing it as they made their way through to the dining room. His mother had apparently healed the child's injuries and Uncle Sev had refused to leave the boys side. Father had been in a rage ever since that last raid. Uncle Tom hadn't visited since the child had been brought to the manor, but he would be coming tonight.

Draco had grown up quite a bit in his first year at Hogwarts. Nicholas Potter was everything he had imagined him to be and worse (The arrogant pig could hardly sit on a broom without it tipping over). Draco had tried to be civil. The Dark Lord had not banned the Blood Traitors and rebels from Hogwarts as it meant he could keep track of them, only the Potters had been foolish enough to enrol their son there.

Though Draco had grown up, he was still a child and his parents still treated him like one. Which was probably why Father kept shooting Mother discreet glances and silent communication. Draco was just glad the Uncle Sev was not here to witness it. He would have been exasperated with the two. Draco was just about to ask the brooding adults if he could be excused from the table when his father finally spoke up.
"Marvovlo, there is something I desperately need to tell you. However, you should probably be sitting somewhere comfortable... And have a bottle of Firewhiskey nearby. Let us retire to the sitting room. Draco, why don't you go finish your homework?"
"Yes father" Draco answered dutifully, though he was disappointed he left nonetheless. As he retreated his thoughts mulled over the strange behaviour of his father and mother Nd the mysterious boy that had been hidden in one of the rooms. It was because of his wandering mind that he took a wrong turn and ended up in front of a room he had never seen before. Draco debated turning back, but his curiosity led him forwards. He was met with a pair of startling red eyes.
~~~~~Into the Light~~~~~

Lucius led his longtime friend to his sitting room. The man was confused, as he was right to be. He directed the man to the armchair beside the fire and offered him a glass of Ogden's Best', then he took his own place by the fire and began to talk.

"Tom, I'm sure you remember Marian, right?" At his friends jerky nod he continued, "when she was taken, seven months pregnant, another woman was also along seven months at the same time. She was expecting twins, but one was dead inside her body. Her husband knew this but tried to spare his wife her grief and did not tell her. When the twins were due, the husband had the nurse bribed not to tell a soul that one was dead. Conveniently, one of his prisoners was also due to have a child. The nurse took the stillborn and told the woman that her child was having breathing problems and took the baby to be watched.
"Two days later, James Potters prisoner had given birth and died in the process. He took the child and replaced it with the stillborn. His wife went home with the promised twins, and the corpse of the mother that had given her life for the child to live was left in a ditch for the father to find not a week later, the body mutilated. The other father went on believing that his wife had been tortured to death and miscarried. Never knowing that his child was in fact a very alive little boy, with his shocking red eyes, and the ink black hair of his mother.
"Years passed, and the Wizarding world fell to the childless man, the grief overcoming everything else. Only the mans goal of a better future kept him sane. Once the world fell, he retreated and rested until the birth of his godson. Then three weeks ago, the soldiers of the grieving ruler found the man that had given his wife a twin for her child. The man revealed that not only was the child he had stolen still alive, but was living in his own personal hell. The ruler ordered his faithful Death Eaters to find the boy that had been hidden away beneath Godrics hollow, and sure enough they found the boy. But were surprised to find themselves staring at the red eyes of their king instead of the green eyes of the supposed mother. Not only were the two Death Eaters shocked to find what should have been a twelve-year old boy, when in fact he looked almost seven, but that the boy believed himself to be called creature.
"I carried the boy home my lord. His injuries were many, and his mind was terribly scarred by pain and fear. Narcissa healed him as best as she could, but we don't really know how the child will react when placed in a different situation that exposes him to other people than the ones who hurt him. However, my lord. Under all his injuries and scars, we found your son Dalen. Dalen is alive my lord, he is alive." Tom was left speechless. His mind working impossibly fast. Then he jerked out of his chair, murderous rage engulfed his face.
"Who took my son Lucius? who tortured my son Lucius? WHO?!"

"James Potter."

A/N: I hope you lot enjoyed this. Thank you to all my reviewers, and those that followed and favourited my story. This is a great start to this experience for me.
Now to anyone who is a bit confused, Dalen is I fact Harry. James hated seeing how good Harry was and decided to remove him from the equation, he obliviated Lilly to make her forget Harry, but was ignorant and arrogant, so he did not obliviate anyone else.

Next chapter: a confrontation between a godfather and a grandfather, Draco meets his mystery child, and a bit of Potter torture.