Chapter 3: Your New Home

Harry lay in bed, watching the moonlight through the room's window. Iris was sleeping next to him, her head buried in his shoulder.

Once, he'd conjured separate beds for them, but the instant his sister saw them, she had bawled her eyes out till he put the single one back.

She was very attached to him. He could see how it came to be, though: he was her brother, her friend, her mentor, and her caretaker. She had no one else. He made sure to spend a lot of time with her, but it was unsustainable. She couldn't be alone forever, and would need friends her age.

That problem was going to start getting fixed tonight.

Gently removing himself from Iris's grasp, he got out of bed. She shuffled a little, so he pulled out his wand and tapped her shoulder, applying a weak warming charm. He adjusted the covers over her.

He had something important to do tonight. He was ten years old, meaning he was going to Hogwarts next year. He needed to get emancipated now. That was why he was going to Malfoy Manor tonight.

Walking over to the window and opening it, he jumped out, landing without a sound in the soft grass of the Dursley's backyard. He pointed his wand back up at the window and closed it.

"Silencio," he whispered, swiping his wand at the air in front of him.

Spinning on the spot, he disappeared without a noise.

Lucius felt cold, like a shard of ice was embedded into his chest. He was in a seemingly endless, dark maze, and his eyes found no end in sight. Looking down at his body, he found himself dressed in the black and silver robes of the Death Eaters. The last time he'd had these on was almost a decade ago.

He didn't know how he got here, but he needed to find his way out. Moving forward, he made his turns carefully, and tried to remember his path.

Eventually, he found his way to a towering set of doors with black snakes on each side. The snakes had glowing red eyes, reminding Lucius of... no, no, that was impossible, he'd been dead for nearly ten years...

Panic rising inside him, he turned around, only to find a wall in his face. He was trapped, with the door behind him as the only way to go.

"Come in, Lucius," a cold voice whispered in his ear.

"No!" he begged, "I don't want to! Please!"

The voice in the air laughed mercilessly. Lucius was lifted into the air, as if an invisible hand was picking him up, and slammed into the door.

Lucius awoke with a flaring pain in his head, laying on the ground. Looking at the floor, it seemed he was in his office. That was a dream, just a dream. Had he sleepwalked here?

Suddenly, he became aware of a presence in front of him. It was strangely familiar. The only times he felt this kind of foreboding was when he was around...

All breath left his body, as he slowly lifted his head.

Sitting in his chair was a towering, black figure with glowing crimson eyes. Black smoke rose from its robes.

"Greetings, Lucius," he spoke, in that familiar, cold voice. He waved a hand, and Lucius jumped as the doors slammed shut behind him.

"Huh... N-No... Ah..." Lucius heard himself hyperventilating.

The man rose from the chair and slowly start walking around the desk, arms behind his back. Lucius felt like his heart was going to explode.

"It has been such a long time. You've been quite busy, haven't you? So much kissing up to the Ministry. What did you tell them? That I used the Imperius Curse on you?"

The figure finally rounded the desk, and came to stand in front of him. Lucius tried to move, but found himself rooted on the spot.

"M-My... L-Lord..."

"So quick to denounce your master. The mark on your left arm never faded, and yet you still betrayed me."

"Mercy... my lord... p-please have mercy..." Lucius hiccuped, and felt hot tears running down his cheeks.

"You ask me for mercy?!" the Dark Lord roared, and suddenly Lucius was writhing on the ground, screaming as agony flooded every part of his body.

It felt like the pain went on forever. Lucius begged in his mind for it to end.

The sensation eventually faded away, and Lucius was left on the floor, rasping for air.

"Get up, and have a seat," the dark lord commanded. Lucius stood up as fast as he could, and walked over on shaky legs to the front of his desk. He sat down on one of the chairs that were usually reserved for other people; it was the dark lord who sat at the head chair. At this distance, Lucius could see his sunken, almost skull like face.

His old master narrowed his eyes. "If the circumstances of your betrayal were more natural, I would have punished you more severely. However, my... death was only a hoax."

For the first time since entering the room, Lucius felt something other than fear. His mouth opened in surprise.

The dark lord sat back, and clasped his hands. " However, you swore a oath to my service. How happily you left it, when you believed me gone. No longer. Starting now, you serve me once more, Lucius."

Lucius took a deep breath. "Yes, my lord."

"And to make sure you do not have a change of mind, you and Narcissa will sign a magical contract binding you to my service for life. Your wife will receive a dark mark as well."

Lucius's heart felt like it dropped out of his body. "Y-Yes, my lord."

"And then, you will get Harry James Potter emancipated."

Lucius looked up at him, confused. Harry Potter? The brother of the Girl-Who-Lived?

The dark lord ignored his bewilderment. "And last, you will take both of the Potter children into your care."

Lucius stammered for a second. "M-My lord, I would be... more than happy to sign the contract, and I am sure my wife will be as well, but... w-why do you-"

"Mention the Potters?" The dark lord said, with a small smile on his face. Suddenly, the black smoke faded away, and his form became smaller and thinner, and then the darkness faded away. And there was a boy was sitting in the chair.

"This is why, Lucius. I am Harry Potter," he spoke, the usual cold voice replaced by a child's.

Lucius kept staring dumbly. The boy with black hair and green eyes raised his wand, and shot a jet of light into his shoulder. Lucius yelped as he felt a sting of pain.

"Enough of your surprise, Lucius. Harry Potter is dead, but I possessed his body. I have the contracts ready. Sign yours now," the dark lord ordered, as he threw down 2 parchments on the desk. One was marked Lucius Malfoy and the other Narcissa Malfoy.

"Yes... yes, my lord," said Lucius, as reached for his quill on the desk.

Reading the contents of his contract, he swallowed. Signing this would essentially make him a house elf to Lord Voldemort. Surely, it is better than being dead, he thought, as he signed his name.

"Good. Now go get your wife here so she can sign hers and be marked."

Lucius nodded, shaking. As he stood up, the black smoke started rising again out of Harry, and he transformed into the Dark Lord once more. When he reached the door, he heard Harry speak behind him.

"Do not try fleeing, or alerting the ministry. I will know."

Lucius nodded and closed the door, rushing to his and his wife's bedroom.

When the door opened again, a woman's voice filled the room; it was as elegant as Harry remembered, but this time underlined with annoyance.

"...is the meaning of this? Why have you brought me-" Narcissa's sentence was cut off as she laid eyes on Harry. Her face turned white.

She fainted and collapsed on the floor.

Iris brushed her quill against her lips as she looked down at Magical Theory. Usually Harry would teach her, but he had been away a lot this week and told her to read instead.

She didn't know why he had suddenly become so busy. He'd always spent all his time with her, but now he was disappearing every day claiming important business. She hoped he would come back soon. It got lonely without him.

Speak of the devil, she thought as familiar footsteps came came from outside the door. Moments later, Harry came through.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bed. She rushed over, and tightly hugged him.

"Iris," he said, stroking her hair. "I have good news. I got emancipated."

She looked up at him, confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means, I'm considered an adult by the Ministry of Magic. And now I'm your legal guardian. Not the Dursleys."

He brushed a finger on her cheek, putting a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"And that means, we're leaving."

"Leaving? W-What? Where will we go?"

"We're going to a man named Lucius Malfoy. He's a good man, far better than the Dursleys. We''ll stay with him from now on."

She blinked, barely comprehending what Harry said. He reached towards his waist, and took out his wand.

With a wave, all of their possessions started being flown into Harry's trunk. Books flew off the bed and landed in neatly organized stacks, and the closet door opened with all their clothes folding and doing the same.

"Harry? Is this why you were gone all week?" she questioned, still clutching the back of his shirt.

"Yes."

By now, the entire room looked empty and uninhabited.

"Dobby," Harry called out to the air in front of him. Suddenly, a small creature appeared with a crack in front of them. It had pointy ears, and was wearing a dirty looking pillowcase.

"Master Harry calls Dobby?" the thing squeaked.

"Yes. Take that trunk to one of the guest rooms in Malfoy Manor."

Dobby bowed and snapped his fingers, disappearing along with the trunk.

"That was a house elf," Iris said, remembering her books on magical creatures. "And Malfoy is one of the pureblood families!"

"That's correct," her brother replied, smiling. "Now, come with me."

Harry turned and started walking out of the room, Iris trailing behind him. As they descended down the stairs, she saw that all the lights were turned off, and there seemed to be no one around. Her aunt and uncle had been here just a few hours ago, along with Dudley...

"Harry, where is everyone?"

"Don't worry about that," he replied. "Our uncle and aunt know we're leaving."

When they arrived at the living room, he reached down and took both of her hands. "You should brace yourself. This will feel very uncomfortable, but it won't last long."

"Are you going to do that apparition thing?" she asked.

He gave her a nod.

She took a deep breath, looking around at the house that had been her home ever since she could remember.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Harry turned on the spot, and suddenly Iris felt the worst sensation she'd ever felt in her life, like she was being forced into a tight tube.

Narcissa wrung her hands with nervousness, standing outside the front door of Malfoy Manor. Draco and Lucius were next to her, the latter of which feeling just as apprehensive as her. Her son was beyond happy, though. He would soon get to meet the Girl-Who-Lived, and... she internally sighed. It was still impossible to imagine Harry Potter and the Dark Lord as the same.

When she'd seen the Dark Lord in Lucius's office that night, she was sure her family would not live to see the next day. He had been surprisingly fairer than what she remembered, though, and only gave them a few demands to agree to.

Well, mostly fair, she reminded herself, thinking of the black snake mark now inked onto her left forearm.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as a crack sounded outside the gates, signalling their arrival. A few moments later, Harry and what must have been Iris appeared in the garden which led to the Manor. She glanced at Lucius, who gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed "It will be alright". Schooling her features, they approached the Potter siblings.

"Hello Lucius, Narcissa. And Draco," Harry greeted.

"Harry! Good to see you. And this must be Iris?" Lucius said, smiling at the girl clinging onto Harry's hand.

"Y-yes... I'm Iris. Hello," Iris responded, trying to hide behind her brother.

"No need to be shy, my dear. Welcome to Malfoy Manor. I am Lucius, this is my wife Narcissa, and this here is our son Draco."

"Greetings, Harry, Iris. Welcome," Narcissa said, giving the siblings a warm smile.

"Hello," Draco said, giving them a small bow. "It's nice to meet you."

At this point, Iris was trying to submerge her face into Harry's back.

Narcissa chuckled softly, a smile unexpectedly coming onto her face. Despite her clear lack of experience in social interaction, the girl was strangely cute. "Come you two, let's go inside," she said.

As they walked towards the house, Draco excitedly started a conversation with Iris, who gave small, shy responses. Normally Narcissa would scold him for doing such a thing, but this time she was glad Lucius and herself could hide their nervousness as the children talked.

Harry looked out of the living room window, watching Draco and Iris ride around on brooms in the Malfoy's quidditch pitch.

"You will treat her well," he said.

"She will be treated like family, my lord," replied Lucius, with Narcissa silently nodding.

Iris had been quite reluctant to leave him, but Draco managed to convince her by playing to their shared interest of flying.

"Lucius, how many know of my emancipation?"

"Only a handful of people, my lord. I used only people in my pocket for the process. I don't believe even Dumbledore knows, yet."

"The old man will figure it out. But it is no matter. He has no hold on me or Iris now," Harry said, waving a hand dismissively.

"It's just a wait until Hogwarts, then."

As the days passed by, Iris got used to her new home. Though she still clung to Harry, Draco occasionally managed to convince her to play with him. She'd also joined the etiquette and magical theory classes that the young Malfoy took, so Harry found himself with time to focus on other things.

The main tasks he needed to accomplish were getting the locket and breaking out his Death Eaters from Azkaban. The latter would likely take a few years until he had the manpower to do it, so the first took priority. That was why he had summoned Narcissa to his room.

The door opened and she walked in, taking a seat in front of his desk.

"My lord, you called for me?"

"Yes. I have a task that you will help me with. Does the Black house elf Kreacher obey you?"

She looked thoughtful for a second. "I think he does, my lord, but I've never thought to summon him."

"Do it now."

She turned to her side and called "Kreacher!" into the air. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the all too familiar elf appeared with a crack. He looked older than Harry remembered, and seemed to have tears in his eyes.

"M-Mistress Narcissa calls Kreacher? She calls him into her pureblood home?"

"Yes. I called you," she said, wrinkling her nose for a second.

"Ask him if he knows of a locket with the letter 'S' engraved on it."

Upon hearing Harry, Kreacher froze and stared at the ground nervously.

"Kreacher? Do you know about this locket?" asked Narcissa.

He shook for a second, then burst into tears. "Kreacher knows! Kreacher knows this locket, it was given by Master Regulus, but Kreacher could not destroy it, he could not..."

By now he was on the ground, rolling as he wailed.

"Kreacher failed Master Regulus, Kreacher could not break the locket..."

Narcissa jumped up from her chair with disgust evident on her face.

"Kreacher! Clean that mess you've made this instant!"

Harry, meanwhile, was watching with his jaw dropped. The elf had it? He was sure this would only get him a lead, but was it really going to be this easy?

"Narcissa. Tell him to get this locket and bring it here now."

"Yes, my lord. Kreacher, get this locket and bring it to me, now."

The elf bowed, his body still shaking as he disappeared with a crack. When he reappeared, he was holding a silver and emerald locket. Harry whipped out his wand at an inhuman speed and summoned it into his hand. This was the real thing; he could feel his soul inside it. The elf tried to get it back, but was told to stay still by Narcissa.

Harry let out a small chuckle, which eventually turned into full, almost unhinged laughter. It really had been that easy. He raised his wand at Kreacher's chest.

"Ah... thank you, Kreacher. You've been most helpful. Avada Kedavra."

A jet of emerald light hit Kreacher's chest and he fell back, lifeless. With another wave of Harry's wand, the body was consumed into black fire, leaving no trace of the traitorous elf behind.

Narcissa backed away several steps, her face a little whiter than usual.

"Thank you too, Narcissa. You may leave."

She gave him a shaky bow and exited the room, leaving Harry alone with his horcrux. He drummed his fingers excitedly on the desk. With the locket reclaimed, he only had the diadem and the cup before he would have perfect, pinpoint tracking on Iris at all times. And perhaps even that was not the extent of it.

Harry set the locket down on his desk and, pointing his wand at it, uttered "Absorbet anima". A glowing, grayish orb rose up out of Slytherin's locket and shot into Harry's heart. He fell back into his chair, groaning. It was like drinking a cold glass of water on a hot day. Making horcruxes was painful, but reabsorbing them was quite the opposite.

Closing his eyes, he could indeed hazily make out the direction Iris was. Concentrating as hard as he could, he felt a very weak trace of... disinterest? Boredom. She was probably in etiquette lessons, then.

He nodded unconsciously, smiling to himself. This was progress.