Chapter 1
This is a story, a story about a prince. The prince’s mother, Narcissa Malfoy, had fallen sick whilst pregnant. The only cure was a myth, but that was all they had at the time. The only hope. Hope is the strongest emotion. It is stronger than fear. That is what drove the soldiers to a magic golden flower, and Narcissa drank the mix that was given from the flower and got better, as did her baby. She was to give birth to a beautiful Draco Malfoy. He was the sun to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, bright and beautiful. He also held the magical properties of the flower, his very own hair glowed to that certain lullaby. There was only one problem.
That flower was the only flower of its kind, keeping one alive, unlike a regression potion that only makes you appear young. For hundreds of years Tom Riddle, a spiteful and selfish man, used this flower to stay young and handsome, immortal. When the flower was taken, Tom Riddle was furious. His first thought was to get revenge on the family that had stumbled across it. They somehow deflected his oblivion, or so he thought. He went to do two things that night; kill the family and take the magic.
Peter Pettigrew easily gave information about the family's location. All he had to do was threaten Peter. The killing curse was easy, well it was supposed to be. Tom Riddle had no problems with it in the past, so when the child had survived, he had run to the castle where the prince would be kept safe. Leaving the child that belonged to the parents he had killed.
Tom Riddle had plenty of experience getting through wards, this was as easy as breathing. He snuck in, late at night, the kingdom slept while he did it. While he cut the silky smooth hair of the prince. When he realizes once it is cut, it loses the magic it holds. His morals were all bent, so of course the only solution was to bring the whole boy back with him. It was as easy as getting in, Tom Riddle swept through the shadows, slipping past every guard on duty.
Far away in a forest, hidden by mountains surrounding it, was a castle. A tall, skinny castle with moss growing at its edges. This was where Draco Malfoy would live for the rest of his life.
***
The burrow was possibly the most comfortable place for Harry. He didn’t care if the Weasleys weren’t actually his family, he chose it was fine to pretend they were. It didn’t change anything whether or not he did. He loved the comforting smell of the warm spices Molly used in her meals, the overflowing decorations and items that gave off the energy of love. It was enough to flow through Harry’s body.
“Harry, are you free for dinner? Molly is baking a lot of different stuff.” Hermione smiles at Harry, and it makes Harry almost feel bad to decline.
“I’m sorry, Mione. Tell Ron and Molly too. I’m very busy tonight.” Harry winks over at her.
Harry Potter had a very interesting life. Interesting, lonely life. At only one, his parents were murdered by his very own Godfather. Since then, he had lived with the Weasley’s, but at the age of sixteen, he deemed himself ready to go live on his own. He thought of himself as a burden to his very own two friends. At sixteen, he decided Ron and Hermione did not need to know how he could afford to live. Though they most definitely figured it out, Harry was adamant about not needing help. So they did not turn him in, they just kept suggesting a different way of living. Harry knew this was the only way, so he pretended to listen each time,
and continued to steal.
Really, Harry liked the thrill of it. It filled him with feelings, and he often felt nothing. So when Bellatrix and Greyback talked about a deal, he didn’t even have to ponder the decision, as it was already made. Today he was to help them steal the Prince’s crown for a split prize. Harry, of course, had plans to take them out of the equation and have the prize to himself. It would be perfect to buy Ron and Hermione gifts, something he couldn’t often do.
The crown was, of course, guarded by many. It would be hard to get through not only the guards but the wards too. Ever since that night, the King and Queen held their guards up even higher. It was next to impossible to get through the wards and everything. Luckily though, Harry had a will and with that will he wasn’t going to give up.
It spent a few hours with delicate wand work to weaken the wards enough to sneak down and take the crown. Harry was quite annoyed by then, he had done all the work meanwhile Bellatrix and Greyback stood there, urging him to hurry. At one point he even considered letting them go fetch the crown before he finished the safety steps. It would’ve been hilarious, but it wasn’t enough to risk being caught just for a laugh. Plus, the crown would practically grant Harry a luxurious life. He wasn’t about to give that up just because of his desire to watch those two suffer. He already had a plan for that later.
“You, Harry Potter, are going to be the one to take the crown. Me and Greyback will be fine up here.” Bellatrix insists, so once the wards are down Harry lowers himself on a rope and takes the crown. The gold was cold against his sweaty palms, and the diamonds glistened.
Harry didn’t have enough time to stare at the beauty, for a guard turned around and caught him in the midst of raising himself back up.
“Hey, you! Stop right there!” One of the guards yelled, pointing his wand towards Harry casting an immobulus. Luckily, Harry was fast enough to dodge the spell to run to Greyback and Bellatrix on top of the gable roof.
“Go, Go!” Harry yelled to them, and they all began running, jumping from rooftop to rooftop till they were able to get on the ground free of people wandering around. They all ran fast towards the forest, away from the kingdom.
Harry catches a glimpse of paper on one of the trees and goes to it, far enough from the guards to spend time on this much-needed atrocity. The poster was an inaccurate one, Harry’s scar was not at all right. It was pure mockery at this point. It made him look completely different, that tiny scar on his forehead could make a huge difference Harry didn’t know how. But it was far too big in this drawing, too thick it made Harry look more like Erik from that one muggle book.
“I look horrid! They won’t even be able to recognize me at this point.” Harry still held on to the poster, feet rooted to the ground.
“Come on Potter, no time to care about your hideous face,” Greyback growled. The guards were fast, but they were faster, and soon enough it was time for Harry to go through with his unspoken plan.
The rise before them was all smooth stone, going up to grass. It would be nearly impossible to climb alone, and Bellatrix and Greyback seemed to notice this too.
“Well, let me up!” Harry ushered to them, and they agreed, as long as they held the satchel that held the crown. Harry reluctantly gave it to them, and while he was climbing up them, he managed to slip the satchel back into his hands without either of them noticing.
“Thanks, our journey was quite the adventure. See you around!” With that, Harry smirked as he saw both of their faces drop, noticing the satchel was gone. As soon as they gathered their thoughts back, they started yelling loudly in hopes that would somehow stop Harry.
He kept running, dodging every line of sight the guards shot. Many times he found himself trying to make himself flat against trees, it worked and for a moment he thought he was free, no guards were around, and that one horse finally got off his arse.
To catch his breath he went to lean up against the side of the cliff with vines covering it. However, there was no rock to lean up against, so instead of catching his breath, he went through the vines clumsily. Honestly, though, Harry was too astounded to be mad about it. Beyond the hidden tunnel, he found, was a very tall castle. The only opening seemed at the very top, a window of some sort. It had to have been abandoned, the vines and moss were so overgrown that perhaps it might have been there for centuries.
He had to climb it and see what was in there. That was the rule, at least in Harry’s mind. Something abandoned? Plenty of opportunities to find good treasures and interesting stuff in there and a perfect place to hide, so Harry took out his two pegs to climb up this tower.
Oh and it was not easy, he struggled multiple times. Luckily, the tower was so run down the pegs could fit easily into just about any spot. Near the top of the tower, he was already so tired and worn out that he was glad that he could seek refuge in this, if not only for a little while. When Harry finally dragged himself onto the ledge and into the inside, something with long blonde hair knocked him out before he could even have a breath.