Chapter 2
Narcissa Malfoy is quietly glad to see the child appear again, albeit at the dark lord’s side. He is dressed in a manner similar to the dark lord himself, in dark robes and tiny boots, and is carrying a small bag of parchment and quills.
“I’m going to school!” Harry smiles toothily at everyone.
“You are going with Mrs. Malfoy to the conservatory to study maths and magical theory,” Voldemort corrected the child, not looking up from his morning tea. “Narcissa, I trust you have prepared the boy’s lessons?”
Narcissa bows to the dark lord. “I have, my lord. I remember the time when I taught Draco, and have his old educational toys and activities still, in the attic. I have brought them out for young Mr. Potter.”
“Good,” Voldemort grunts. “It is imperative that his existence remains a secret, but it will not do to have the child go uneducated - not if he is to play a larger role in our affairs in the future,” he says ominously.
***
Voldemort checks in with Narcissa and Harry at around noon, and finds the boy chattering happily to the woman, sitting on her lap and showing her his sums.
He has, somehow, changed his robes as well, now wearing a pale blue set to match Narcissa. There is a tiny sprig of baby’s breath flowers in his hair, and ink stains on his fingers.
Voldemort thinks of saying something, but settles on just waving when Harry spots him and waves at him with both hands.
***
Draco Malfoy comes home for the summer and does an elaborate bow-curtsy combo in front of the dark lord, apologizing for his father’s failures and vowing to be better in his stead.
Voldemort asks wryly if he can kill Albus Dumbledore, and Draco splutters spectacularly. Honestly, in his day, youngsters were more down to murder, not so shirking and snivelling as this.
Still, Voldemort is cognizant of the boy’s mother being one of Harry’s caregivers, and does not push Draco, instead having him act as a spy within Hogwarts.
It’s better than nothing.
***
Draco sees Harry on his mother’s lap, as she hums quietly, smoothing the boy’s hair as he reads from the story of Babbity Rabbity. Draco resigns himself to having the sibling he never wanted.
Harry, in his imagination, thinks that the pale, beautiful, Draco is a magical fairy, and follows him around the house, politely applauding him whenever he does magic.
Draco thinks that he could rather get used to this.
***
In the afternoons when Narcissa is at lunch, Harry squirrels away to go and sit Voldemort, who always receives him with a proper little, “Ah, Harry. Good day to you.”
Harry bows every time, like Auntie Cissa taught him to, and says, “Good day to you, sir.” He then goes and sits next to Voldemort and reads improving children’s books with him, while the dark lord reads Latin treatises on the nature of blood magic or something just as sinister, and plots on how to use said sinister magic against his foes.
In the quieter moments, the dark lord wonders if he has managed to achieve domestic bliss, before quickly dismissing the idea as ridiculous.
(He has).
***
Severus reports back to Voldemort that Sirius Black has gone fully mad and enacted a blood spell as vengeance, so that should they ever meet, he will burn the dark lord’s hands off for daring to touch Harry.
On the one hand, it is an incredibly dark spell. On the other hand, his mother’s portrait has never been prouder.
One Remus Lupin has set aside his vow of vegetarianism and has instead taken an oath to eat the dark lord should they ever meet.
Voldemort wonders how exactly they are supposed to be the Light Side.
***
With Severus feeding intel back to the Order, it is not long before they act. Rather, one Hermione Granger acts.
Voldemort receives an owl at breakfast, with a letter addressed to him with a neat, small hand.
Voldemort,
I am Hermione Granger, writing on behalf of myself and one Ronald Weasley. We have been made aware that Harry is with you, and has regressed to a child.
It has come to our attention that you are raising Harry to be your minion, which galls and appalls me. Harry in any form is a good, pure-hearted boy, and you shall not corrupt him.
While I may not be able to find my friend right now, know that I have taken part in Sirius’ blood spell, and will avenge Harry when the time comes. In the meantime, you are to treat him properly, and if you are cruel to him, I shall rend you limb from limb.
I urge you to reply to this letter posthaste, confirming Harry’s safety. This is, coincidently, his owl, Hedwig. Use your own evil bird. We demand pictures as proof of life, or we will continue to send you mail with crudely drawn pictures of yourself in the nude.
Yours,
Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley
***
Hermione and Ron held true to their threats when every day for five days, the dark lord received images of himself drawn with increasingly smaller penises and laid out in various positions.
Finally, the dark lord had had enough, and made the painful decision to talk to Atticus Lestrange, Rodolphus’ uncle and Voldemort’s old classmate who had tripped and fallen into being a death eater. Atticus only attended meetings when he remembered to, being otherwise too busy being a seer and divining things from entrails. Voldemort hadn’t even branded Atticus because the man could never participate in duels or raids, he didn’t remember to eat half the time.
Seers, as a rule, were creepy and strange people. Still, needs must.
“What ho, Atticus,” Voldemort grumbled, stepping into the man’s house, dodging several crystal balls. “Have you still got that camera of yours?” Voldemort stepped deeper into Atticus’ house, only to finally see the man divining once again, this time with chicken entrails. He is also in the nude, because reasons.
“Voldemort,” Atticus hums. “I foresaw your arrival.”
“And yet, you did not bother with clothes.”
“It is bothersome to have layers of the mundane between the seer and the natural forces of this world,” Atticus replies dreamily. “I kept the camera on the kitchen counter for you, in anticipation of your arrival.”
“Thanks ever so,” Voldemort mutters, gathering up his prize. He leaves quickly, without bothering to tell Atticus to attend the next death eater meeting. In truth, Voldemort really does not want him to.
***
Voldemort sneaks a picture of Harry when the child is practicing his writing, and goes to pen a letter to the teenage menaces.
Granger and Weasley,
I am assuming that you were the ones who tried to duel me and threw a brain at me, respectively. Know that I know your faces and have marked you both for death at my own hand.
Also, how dare you send such crude pictures, knowing full well that there is a small child in the house, what if he had seen it? Was there any particular need to add shading to the drawings?
Here is a picture of Potter. He is well, as you can see, and is practicing his handwriting.
Stop writing to me.
Sincerely,
The Dark Lord
Hopefully, that would be enough to stem the flow of tiny penises in his mail.
***
Voldemort still wondered what to do about Potter’s owl, which had decided to roost in his study of all places, pointedly fouling the desk, making eye contact every time it did so.
Ultimately, Voldemort gives in and gives Harry the owl, and is hugged by a joyous six year old. It is a most beguiling feeling, and Voldemort does not have time to react before the owl flaps off to sit on Harry’s head, nuzzling her beak into her boy’s hair affectionately.
Rodolphus, who had somehow gotten hold of the camera, manages to get a picture of the hug, and leaves it on Voldemort’s desk for him to find.
Voldemort thinks that it is very kind of him not to crucio the man for his impudence. He keeps the picture in his favourite book, Dark Arts Moste Foul.
***
Lord Voldemort is not best pleased to receive another letter from the teenage terrors.
Dear Voldemort,
We didn’t actually expect you to reply, so thank you for that. It went a long way to see that Harry was safe. Why was he practicing his handwriting? Are you actually educating him?
I can send along improving books that I used in my childhood (Hermione).
I have some comics of Martin Miggs the Mad Muggle (Ron).
We would like to arrange to meet Harry, if that is possible. I know that you are probably drowning in incredulity at the thought of a muggleborn and a blood traitor anywhere near you, but we are not only Harry’s friends, but his family, and we miss him.
We promise not to bring Sirius.
We’ve also included a drawing of you for old time’s sake. It is clothed.
Best,
Ron and Hermione (and Dean Thomas, artist).
***
Voldemort is actually impressed at the artwork, and has it framed. He will make this Dean Thomas his official portrait artist when he has conquered Britain.
***
Harry was now comfortable enough to lean into Voldemort’s side during their lunchtime reading sessions.
Voldemort thought that it was very nice of himself to allow the incursion.
***
Hermione Granger sends Voldemort a book on child psychology, with a bookmark on the chapter highlighting the importance of socialization on the developing child’s psyche.
There is a note attached that reads, “Socialization with non-death eaters is important”.
Voldemort sends back a note that says, “It’s funnier to see Harry talking to Severus.”
Hermione sends him another book.
***
Dear Voldemort,
I notice you haven’t gotten back to us about the meeting. That’s alright, we figured you would need time to reconcile the idea with your evilness.
Is Harry eating properly? He isn’t used to a lot of food, especially at that age - we found out that his relatives didn’t used to feed him. Don’t give him anything that’s too heavy. He always starts out the year by eating light, and has to build up to it. He does have a fondness for treacle tart though.
Hermione and Ron
***
Voldemort sets the letter on fire with the power of his mind. Rabastan, who is nearby, catches on fire too, but manages to put it out.
***
Voldemort watches Harry as the boy picks at his food, and feels a deep anger and hunger that he has not felt since he was a boy during the war.
Narcissa frets quietly, and keeps giving Harry blended drinks and nutrient potions, but Voldemort suspects that the damage has been done in his early years.
That night, Number Four, Privet Drive, goes up in flames, and Voldemort drinks to his victory.
***
Only no, Voldemort doesn’t really like whiskey. He goes down to the kitchen and gets some lemonade instead.
***
Severus is in the middle of delivering his report during the death eater meeting when Narcissa bursts in. “My lord, you’re here! But Harry said that he was going to your room.”
Voldemort blinks and thinks that women as a whole are terribly dramatic. “Then he can wait in my room. Honestly, I don’t keep state secrets in there, just a bed and- Nagini!”
In a flash, Voldemort leaps over the table, jumps several chairs and phases through walls in a panic. Nagini does not know about Harry, and the boy will be easy prey-
Voldemort bursts into the room, dreading what he will find, only to see Hasry sitting next to his gigantic snake, petting her head as she hisses stories about her greatest hunts to him.
Harry asks.
.
At that moment, Voldemort is so relieved that he strides over and plucks Harry up, ignoring Nagini’s hiss of and places him on the bed.
“That was reckless of you child,” Voldemort scolds, “approaching a strange snake like that! If you would not approach a strange person, then you certainly do not with a snake! Is that clear?”
Harry looks surprised and chastened, and there are tears forming in his eyes as he nods. “S- sorry sir,” he whispers.
Voldemort is not used to feeling like this, but he isn’t given much chance to process his emotions on account of Nagini tackling him to get her new hatchling back.
***
Voldemort says for the tenth time that night. Harry negates this argument by laying his cheek on top of Nagini’s head.
Nagini cries.
Voldemort pointed out tiredly.
Voldemort gives up then, and Nagini goes back to telling Harry about how to find the juiciest hares for maximum taste.