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Restoration of Magic	By : Bickymonster & CelticKitsune Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 10396 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. We are not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
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Thank you to Emily for her work beta-ing this chapter.
October 1981

Voldemort was gleeful, much to the delightful, cowering fear of his Death Eaters. Ten long months he had been searching. Ten long months since the Potters had slipped out of his grasp. Ten infuriating months of plotting, planning, and searching, just so that he could destroy the one thing that was a true threat to him and the future he had envisioned.

He was not going to allow the prophecy that Snape had witnessed to come true. After all the lengths he had gone to to ensure his own immortality, he would not risk it at the hands of the Potter boy. He would kill the child and then there would be nothing that could stand in his way.

And if there was one thing Voldemort had learned over the years, it was patience. Without patience he would not have been able to find the Potters secret keeper, and it was thanks to that patience that he was now been standing on the front lawn of the Potters’ home. As he moved closer to the window, he watched James Potter simply sitting quietly on the sofa, the mudblood, Lily Potter, wandering around and talking incessantly; he couldn’t hear her words, not that he cared to.

What pleased him most was how oblivious they both were to the danger lurking just outside, to his presence, to how soon their world was going to crumble. It amused Voldemort somewhat to watch them ignorantly continuing on with their happy lives, but he could not see the Potter boy and he was forced to conclude that the child was not in the room with his parents.

Seeing no reason to wait any longer, Voldemort moved to the front door of the house, running his long fingers over the wood, relishing that he could see this place, that he could touch it now, despite all the futile plans that Albus Dumbledore had made to protect those within.

A sinister smile spread across his face as he drew his wand, the pale wood resting gently between his fingers as he took a moment to enjoy the calm before the kill, to let the anticipation of Death settle in his bones. He inhaled deeply; it was almost like he could smell the pitiful innocence in the very air around him and he bathed in the prospect of bringing suffering enough to engulf it.

With a swish of his wand, he wordlessly blasted the door from its hinges, sending it flying into the hallway beyond with a loud crash. He heard dual screams from the front room, the sound having finally alerted him to their presence.

“Lily, run!” Voldemort heard James shout, and he laughed at the futility of it. There would be no escape; he had placed his own wards around the property to see to that. Wand still held, Voldemort calmly made his way into the house, stepping over the splinters of wood that littered the hallway; he didn’t go into the front room, waiting instead for the two to come to him.

He didn’t have long to wait when James came charging into the hallway firing off a curse immediately. Voldemort deflected it easily before shooting off one of his own, narrowing his eyes as James managed to move quick enough to avoid it, despite the small space of the hallway. Red eyes flicked toward the stairs as Lily ran up them.

She fired one spell wordlessly as she reached the top of them, which Voldemort swept aside with a wave of his wand, deflecting a spell that James had fired too in the same motion, but she had disappeared around the corner by the time Voldemort had his wand ready to retaliate. He let her go for the moment, knowing that she would find no escape, that he would have time to deal with her after he was finished down here.

His attention was forced back to James, when the man shot another spell at him, one that Voldemort was forced to physically dodge. “I do not have time to play games,” Voldemort said firing off the killing curse, narrowing his eyes as James dropped to the floor, rolling sideway to avoid it.

“Pity, I’ve always enjoyed playing games,” James said, smirking as he all but jumped back to his feet with youthful agility, and shooting off another spell before Voldemort had time to respond. “Is that all you’ve got?” James asked ducking behind a door frame to protect himself from another spell and give himself a chance to catch his breath for a few second, but a blast just a few inches from his head had him moving once more.

“Now I’m beginning to wonder why people are so afraid of you! I’m right here, and you can’t even hit me,” James taunted, going as far as to actually laugh as he stepped back out, firing a spell of his own. James hastily ducked down to avoid yet spell another sent his way, only to cry out in surprise as the banister exploded in a shower of golden sparks.

Voldemort was growing angry, his patience rapidly running out, as he started firing one spell after another, attempting to hit the man who kept managing to dodge every single one. The hallway was all but destroyed now and James was left with almost nowhere left to hide. It was as he raised his wand to cast another spell that it happened, James managed to get a lucky hit.

Voldemort had no time to move out of its path, let alone reflect or block the Bombarda curse, and the small explosion hit him with enough force that Voldemort was thrown back a few feet, crashing into the wall by the front door.

Voldemort howled in fury at the blow that had been struck, his hand tightening around his wand as he forced himself to lift his head, ignoring the way that it throbbed painfully. James had taken his chance and darted towards the stairs, and was now halfway up them, scrabbling over the rubble in his desperation to follow after his wife.

Rage filled Voldemort’s mind, that they would try to defy him so, that this man had dared to inflict harm upon him, and with a single thought in his mind and a determination to finish James Potter, Voldemort raised his wand.

“Avada Kedavra,” he said, letting the words roll of his tongue, green light filling the hallway as the spell shot across the room and struck James Potter in the back. The thud of Potter’s body falling forward onto the stairs was almost anti-climactic, but the thrill of victory, of death, was not, and Voldemort cackled gleefully as the sight of the young man sprawled, face-down upon the stairs.

Voldemort pulled himself back up; standing, he took the moment to dust off his robes before he made his way up the stairs. He used his wand to shove James’ body out of the way and into what remained of the banister as he walked passed. He paused at the top of the stairs and listened, trying to find some hint of where the mudblood could be hiding.

It was only a few seconds before he heard a noise coming from one of the rooms. Smiling to himself, Voldemort went straight for that room, blasting the door off the hinges before he had even reached it. There was no scream this time though, no reaction and so he entered, looking around. It was a nursery, full of toys, baby books, a sleeping cot, and a rocking chair, but he did not see any sign of the Potter child, or the mudblood.

“Hiding from me is pointless, I will find you. But if you give me the child now, I may be convinced to spare your life,” Voldemort said, turning his back on the room and scanning the hallway; there were three other doors that he could try, but he did not want to waste his time with searching each room of the house.

“Homenum Revelio,” he said, with a lazy wave of his wand, waiting as his spell moved through the house around him, searching for other people. It only took a few seconds for it to tell him exactly where Lily Potter had hidden herself, and so, with a smug smile twisting at his lips, he turned back to the nursery once more.

Voldemort shot a blasting spell at the ceiling, and Lily cried out in alarm as she fell from the attic down onto a pile of rubble in the middle of Harry’s nursery. The fall left her momentarily stunned, and she moaned in pain, her body feeling badly bruised and her ankle feeling as though it might be twisted.

“Where is your little brat?” Voldemort demanded to know, his wand trained on the witch in front of him. His spell had done more than help him find the mudblood, it had told him that they were the only two in the house. Lily looked up at him in horror, shaking her head. “You will tell me, but it is up to you how much you suffer before then.”

“You’re still going to kill me, even if I could tell you what you want to know,” Lily said stubbornly, using Harry’s cot behind her to pull herself to her feet, glancing around, trying to locate her own wand, which had dropped in her fall. There was no sign of it, but she spotted James’ mirror, the one she had used to call Sirius, shattered and broken.

“I am a merciful Lord, and if you tell me what I want to know, I may be convinced to spare your life,” Voldemort said smoothly.

“Go to hell!” Lily snapped.

Voldemort cried out in fury, destroying the set of shelves covered in baby books, teddies and toys with a wave of his hand. Lily flinched at the sight of her son’s things being damaged, but her expression became steeled, even as Voldemort glided towards her. “You will tell me!”

“You really have no idea where he is,” Lily said, and the hint of surprise in her voice confused Voldemort, but his focus was in getting Harry’s location from her. He was realising that again this might take his patience. “He is safe from you,” Lily said, her voice almost a sigh as Voldemort reached out and wrapped his long fingers around her throat.

Shouting from outside caught Voldemort’s attention, he tightened his hold around Lily’s neck. “Where is the child!” Voldemort demanded, narrowing his eyes at the woman.

“James!” The devastated shout from downstairs had Lily turning as best she could to look at the door. Her heart lurched painfully; the way that Sirius called her husband’s name all but confirmed what she suspected, that Voldemort had killed James.

“Sirius! Up-” she yelled, only to have her words cut off as the hand around her throat tightened even more, cutting off her airway.

Voldemort was forced to think quickly. He had been so close, only to find out that the boy wasn’t even in this house any more. Knowing that this mudblood most likely knew the location of her son, and was the best option for him to locate the child quickly, he was reluctant to leave without extracting the information from her. While he may have been able to handle the Potters on his own, if the whole Order showed up, he would be outmatched.

Footsteps in the hall had Voldemort looking toward the door, shooting off a curse before he even saw the person in the doorway. Looking once more at Lily, he glared at her. “You are coming with me,” he said decisively, her eyes widening as Voldemort turned on the spot and apparated them away. The last thing that Voldemort heard before they vanished, was someone calling out Lily’s name.

------------x

Snape walked calmly through the halls of the manor, his face void of all emotions, and his mind just as blank for anyone who tried to read him. It really was the best way to survive any kind of meeting with the Dark Lord when the man was angry, or even mildly irritated about anything.

“Severus.” The smooth voice of Lucius Malfoy greeted him as he approached the room where Voldemort was currently waiting. “I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long. Our Lord summoned you an hour ago,” Lucius said.

“The Dark Lord knows that I can no longer be here the moment he summons me. Such is the price to pay for the position I am currently in,” Snape replied, moving passed the blond man and into the room where Voldemort was waiting for him, ignoring Lucius, who walked in behind him.

“You are late, Severus,” Voldemort said red eyes narrowing at the young Potions Master as the man knelt before him.

“I am deeply sorry, My Lord, I excused myself from the task you have given me as soon as I was able. If I had left any sooner it may have roused suspicion in those you have ordered me to get close to,” Snape said, keeping his head bowed; his body seemed relaxed, though he was mentally prepared for any kind of punishment, as he was sure that Voldemort still intended to give him one.

Eyes still narrowed, Voldemort studied Snape, seeming to contemplate if the man’s excuse was acceptable. “I do not like excuses, Severus,” Voldemort said in a low hiss. “Consider yourself lucky; your mission is important enough to me that I will let your insubordination go unpunished this once,” Voldemort said and he rose from the chair he had been sitting in.

“Thank you, My Lord,” Snape said, keeping his head bowed low, as he had not been given permission to stand yet.

“I have another task for you,” Voldemort continued, still looking down at the man knelt before him. “Unless you believe that taking on yet another task would be too much for you to handle,” Voldemort said, smirking when Snape shook his head.

“I will complete any task you give me, My Lord,” Snape said easily, taking the chance to look up at Voldemort. The Dark Lord didn’t say anything else, just nodding his head, clearly satisfied with Snape’s answer.

“Follow,” Voldemort snapped as he turned and headed toward the door that Snape had entered through; Voldemort strode across the room, without even glance in Snape’s direction, assuming the man would come as instructed.

Snape stood and followed Voldemort out of the room, making sure to always stay behind the Dark Lord; he had seen people make the mistake of trying to walk next to him as an equal, and had no desire be severely punished for it. And, though he was curious about where Voldemort was leading him, he didn’t dare ask the man. Voldemort appeared, on the outside, to be calm and in control, but having been serving the Dark Lord for a number of years, Snape had learned from observation and personal experience, that the calmness Voldemort portrayed was far from real.

They walked in silence, and Snape was sure they had walked from one end of the manor to the other, until they reached the hidden door. Voldemort opened it with a wave of his wand, revealing the sounds that the door had been keeping silent and making it quite apparent that it led down to the dungeons. The hallway was filled with the screams of a woman, the agonised voice chilling Snape to the bone; his black eyes darted to look at Voldemort, as the Dark Lord stood next to the door clearly waiting for Snape to go down first.

Snape had never truly had the stomach for torturing people, and he would only do so when directly ordered by Voldemort. The screams of the woman downstairs made Snape hesitate, just long enough for it to be noticeable, but he managed to force his feet to move forward heading down into the dimly lit dungeon.

The screams had died down by the time he reached the bottom of the steps. He looked first to Bellatrix, who was standing in front of a cell that Snape was currently refusing to look into. He didn’t want to see who had been this woman’s latest victim. So instead he turned to look at Voldemort as the Dark Lord walked passed him.

“Has she given you any information, Bellatrix?” Voldemort questioned.

“No, My Lord,” Bellatrix said, narrowing her eyes at the crumpled form of the woman in the cell.

“Severus, come here,” Voldemort ordered, his attention fixed on the person in the cell. Taking a deep breath, Snape moved forward until he was standing right before the cell, and only then did he look at the person lying on the floor, and the second he did, he wished that he hadn’t. He couldn’t see her face clearly because of the red hair that was covering most of it, but Snape knew who it was almost immediately.

“...Lily…” he said softly, his fists clenching at his sides as he used all his will power not to rush into the cell, gather her up and get her as far away from here as he possibly could. However, he also knew that if he did that, they wouldn’t be getting very far, he and Lily would both be killed before he even got out of the dungeon.

“Bellatrix has failed to get the information I require. Perhaps you would have better luck, Severus,” Voldemort said, his red eyes fixed on Snape, ignoring the indignant huff that Bellatrix gave at the mention of her failure.

“I just need more time, My Lord,” Bellatrix cooed. “We were just about to get to the fun stuff,” she added, her lip curling into a smirk.

“No!” Snape said, a little too quickly, causing Voldemort to chuckle knowingly. “I will find out what you need to know,” he said more calmly, thinking that anything that kept Bellatrix away from Lily was a good thing at this point.

“Sev’rus?” Lily moaned quietly, and one green eye opened enough to peer up at the three of them standing over her. Snape looked down at her, his hand twitched forward slightly, wanting to hold her, but he held himself back, still well aware of the fact that Voldemort was watching him closely.

“You think you can do any better at getting her to talk?” Bellatrix asked with a laugh. “Let’s see then.”

“What information does she have that you require, My Lord?” Snape asked, ignoring Bellatrix for the moment. He could not spare a thought for her ramblings and taunts, not when it was taking all his will power to maintain his calm facade.

“The whereabouts of her spawn,” Voldemort answered, still watching Snape closely and smirking when he saw the man’s hand clench into a fist in an attempt to stop himself from reaching forward once again.

“And once you have this information, may I ask what is going to be done with her?” Snape knew he was walking a very thin line at the moment; he had overstepped his bounds once before when he had first told Voldemort of the prophecy, simply by asking the Dark Lord to spare Lily’s life.

“You have an unhealthy fascination with this mudblood,” Bellatrix said, looking from Snape to Voldemort. “Please, My Lord, allow me to continue with her, I will get the information you require,” she said.

“You’ve had plenty of time with her already, Bellatrix,” Snape hissed, narrowing his eyes at her. “Your methods of getting information could leave her far too damaged to even speak.”

Voldemort chuckled softly as he watched Snape. “Bellatrix, allow Severus to have a turn, I am curious to see what methods he will use to retrieve the information I desire. And Severus, what happens to her will depend greatly on how cooperative she is,” Voldemort said, smirking when Snape gave a simple nod of his head, before stepping forward to open the cell door.

Lily was still laying on the floor, but she had been watching them as they spoke, her gaze was now fixed on Snape as he stepped inside the cell with her. It had been so long since she had seen her once best friend, and while some small part of her was happy he hadn’t been killed yet in this war, she couldn’t keep her own fear at bay as she wondered just what Snape was going to do to her.

“Hush,” Severus said softly in little more than a whisper, crouching down next to Lily. He was painfully aware of both Bellatrix and Voldemort behind him, but he could not bring himself to be unkind to Lily now, not when she looked so frightened of him. “I have no desire to hurt you,” he promised, “but you must give me something.”

“No,” Lily said stubbornly, her voice quiet yet full of determination that Severus knew all too well. It was so bitter-sweet; it warmed his heart to know that this truly was the Lily he had always loved, but it broke it to know that her refusal to speak would inevitably lead to her suffering.

“Come, Bellatrix,” Voldemort said, and Severus turned to look at him over his shoulder. “I believe that Severus would like some time alone with the mudblood; let us leave him to his perversions,” he taunted, smirking at the strained expression on Snape’s face.

Bellatrix didn’t look too happy about having her fun cut short, and now being told that she had to leave. But if there was one thing Bellatrix would never do, it was disobey an order from her Lord, so with one last glare towards Snape, Bellatrix turned and to follow Voldemort out of the dungeon.

Snape didn’t relax, even after being given the illusion that they were alone and not being watched any more, he knew that Voldemort always had a way of keeping an eye on people. Keeping this in mind, Snape looked back to Lily, who was still looking at him with a hint of fear in her eyes, but also silently daring him to try and get her to speak.

“Lily,” Snape sighed, reaching out to brush some of the hair out of her face, but she pulled away from him before he even had a chance to touch her, clenching his hand into a fist he pulled his hand away from her. “You have to give me something,” he told her pleadingly.

Lily gave a small derisive laugh, causing her to break into a small coughing fit that obviously caused her pain, though she brushed off Snape’s concern. “Never,” she said, once she had herself back under control. “Even if I could, I would never help you find, Harry.”

Snape stared at her for a moment, processing her words. “You expect me to believe you don’t know where he is?” he asked skeptically. Lily moaned in pain as he helped her to sit up, and shuffle back to lean against one of the cell walls. “Just tell me what you know, Lily, please. I will protect you.”

“You know you can’t promise that,” Lily told him, forcing a sad, indulgent smile as he sat down close to her. It was taking all she had to keep herself conscious despite the pain in her body.

Snape sighed; he knew that she was right. He couldn’t guarantee her safety, not given how unpredictable and volatile Voldemort could be, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do everything he could. However, his hands were tied if Lily wouldn’t tell him anything.

“You’re right, I can’t promise that,” Snape said, closing his eyes. “I can’t protect you from the pain and torture they will put you through.” Opening his eyes to look into her bright green ones. “I can keep you alive though,” Snape said, hoping that the promise of being kept alive would be enough.

“You really don’t understand, do you, Severus?” Lily asked rhetorically. “My life doesn’t matter. When Voldemort showed up, if Harry had been there, I would have gladly given my own life for him to live, just as James gave his life for me,” she told him, taking a moment to push down the wave of grief that washed over her at the loss of her husband. “Death doesn’t frighten me as much as the thought of losing my son does,” Lily explained.

“They will never let you leave here if you don’t tell us something,” Snape pointed out. “Just tell me where he is. It’s the only chance you will have to see him again,” he tried to reason, his voice full of desperation.

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know, Severus!” Lily told him firmly, becoming angry now, wincing as the tension in her body hurt her more. “I would give almost anything to see my son again, but I would rather die than lose him.”

“Sounds as though you have already lost him,” Snape pointed out harshly, pushing himself to his feet and glaring down at her, “with all these claims that you don’t know where he is.”

Lily sighed wearily. “I have,” she admitted, a devastated expression on her face. “Someone stole my son away from me months ago. But I still have hope that he is alive and safe somewhere. I have to hold onto the hope that whoever took him has kept him safe.” Lily closed her eyes as she was fighting to stay awake even as every movement sent a small wave of pain through her, and her heart ached heavily with the loss of her family.

“Rest now,” Snape said, his expression softening once more. He did not want to see her suffer anymore. There was nothing he could say to ease her losses, but he hoped that rest might at least ease her physical pain.

“Please, Severus, please don’t let them find Harry,” Lily said faintly, and Snape felt his chest tighten with Lily’s request.

“I will return later,” was his only reply before he turned and left the cell, hating the sound of the door as it closed and locked his Lily in once again.

There had once been a time when Snape would have done anything Lily asked of him, he would have promised her anything in the world so long as she remained by his side. And now he had that chance; the chance to get his best friend back, to prove to her that he was better than James Potter. All he had to do was keep Voldemort from finding baby Harry; not an easy task, but also not an impossible one. However, he couldn’t bring himself to promise her that.

Promising to keep her safe, to keep her alive that was something he could, and would, do easily and willingly. But going so far as to keep Potter’s spawn safe and away from Voldemort... Snape had built up to much hatred for that man over the years, that that was not a promise he could easily make; despite the fact that he knew the boy was Lily’s child as well, he couldn’t promise to keep him safe from Voldemort.

Letting out a small growl of annoyance, Snape left the dungeon and went back upstairs to the manor. He knew Lily, she was stubborn and would not talk, but she had hopefully given him enough information that would satisfy Voldemort for the moment.

----------x

Voldemort had been displeased about the lack of information that Snape had managed to retrieve from Lily Potter. The fact that the mudblood apparently really didn’t know where her own child was had angered the Dark Lord even more, and that is what had prompted him to give out the order that all Death Eaters were to start looking for information about Harry Potter’s whereabouts; any information was to be reported to Voldemort immediately.

While the lower ranks were curious about the order, they didn’t dare question them. However, there were some in the inner circle that were unhappy about having to waste their time looking for the missing Potter child. Lucius Malfoy was one of these people; though he was keeping his mouth shut about his irritation because he knew that their Lord had a good reason to want the boy found. Even with this knowledge though, some of the others in the inner circle were more vocal about their anger.

Lucius turned his attention toward his current companion, Corvus Nott, as the man made a noise of frustration. The two of them were sat in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor, looking over parchment detailing what little they knew regarding the Potter boy.

“This is nothing more than a waste of time!” Corvus growled. “Why can’t we just leave the child where he is? He is gone, no threat to our Lord at all,” Nott complained, looking at Lucius when he noticed the blond man staring at him. “Surely you must agree with me, Malfoy.”

“First of all, there is nothing which I ‘must’ do,” Lucius said, narrowing his eyes at Corvus. “Secondly, there is a reason why our Lord wishes to find the boy. If we simply leave him wherever he is now, he could come back when he is older and that is something that we simply can not allow; unless you have already forgotten about the Prophecy?”

“I have not forgotten about anything, I simply find it difficult to believe that a mere babe could kill our Lord,” Corvus stated as he narrowed his eyes. “Besides that, I could be spending this time looking for my own son, not the spawn of some mud-blood,” he spat viciously.

Lucius sighed, pinching the brim of his nose as he closed his eyes. “I understand your irritation better than most others,” the blond man said, forcing himself to look at Corvus, determined to make himself heard. “However, our Lord has ordered the boy to be found, therefore we must find him,” Lucius insisted.

“Give me one good reason why?” Corvus said petulantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Our Lord’s order should be reason enough. However, if the threat of punishment is not enough for you, and I can only assume that you have not put much thought into this whole situation,” Lucius said locking eyes with the man before him, who was now looking a little confused. “Has it truly escaped your notice the way in which the Potter boy has gone missing?”

Corvus still looked confused, even as he narrowed his eyes at Lucius in annoyance. He rarely appreciated Lucius’ arrogance and superiority complex, even when it wasn’t being rubbed in his face. Lucius smirked, when it became apparent that Corvus really hadn’t managed to put the pieces together.

“The Potter boy’s mother apparently does not know who took him, or where he is,” Lucius pointed out. “And if more information could be extracted from her, I am willing to bet that the boy was taken from his cot in the middle of the night, and that the protective wards on their property were undisturbed,” Lucius explained.

“Are you suggesting that whoever took our own children, has also taken the Potter child?” Corvus questioned. He looked skeptical about the very idea of it, but at this point he couldn’t dismiss anything that might lead to him locating his own son and heir.

“There has been very little evidence to prove my theory one way or another,” Lucius admitted, “but it is still a possibility. And another missing child feels too coincidental. I, for one, am not prepared to disregard the possibility, and so I will carry out our Lord’s instruction with the hope that I might bring my own son home. You would be wise to do the same.”

Corvus nodded his head in agreement to that. “Then what do you propose?” he asked, hoping that Lucius had more of an idea of where to start than he did.

“Frank and Alice Longbottom,” Lucius stated, lounging back in his chair as he spoke the thought he had been mulling over. “There are rumours in the Ministry that their son is missing,” he explained when Corvus again looked confused, “and I have been unable to locate anyone who will admit to having seen either of them in recent months.”

“You believe they are in hiding? That they might know something?” Corvus asked him, looking interested, but unsure. “Aren’t the Longbottoms friends with the Potters? If they knew something, then surely they would have already used that the find their sons.”

“We cannot know what they might know until we ask for ourselves,” Lucius told him firmly. “Besides, as you pointed out, they are friends with Mrs. Potter, so I am sure that they can be leveraged against each other,” he added with a devious smirk.

“So what great suggestions do you have for locating the Longbottoms?” Corvus asked imperiously. “I am sure Dumbledore’s group of vigilantes will have hidden them well, if they truly are in hiding. Afterall, it took our Lord ten months to locate the Potters.”

“I believe we can retrieve the information we need from our guest,” Lucius said looking thoughtful.

Corvus gave a huff of disbelief. “As though Severus would ever allow you anywhere near her. You’ve seen the way he fawns over that mudblood,” he pointed out with a sneer, doing nothing to hide his blatant disgust.

“Me, probably not,” Lucius conceded, “but there are others that Mrs. Potter might be more willing to converse with.” A smirk slowly spread across Lucius’ face, as he stood from his seat. “I shall return,” he said and before Corvus could question or even protest to being left alone to finish the work there, Lucius was already out the door.

The halls of the manor were thankfully empty. All the other Death Eaters, who would usually be around during this time, were also busy trying to find information about the missing Potter boy, and so Lucius wasn’t stopped by anyone as he made his way upstairs. He was heading toward the room that he had largely avoided since his son had been taken, but he knew that that was where he was most likely to find his wife.

Pausing in front of the nursery door, Lucius closed his eyes for a moment and pushed down the swell of emotion that threatened to show, before opening the door. Just as he had predicted, Narcissa was in fact sitting in the room; the rocking chair had been moved closer to the empty cot where their only child had been sleeping just over four months ago.

“Narcissa,” he said softly, as he closed the door to ensure they remained undisturbed. His wife turned slowly and blinked at him in surprise, and he could see Draco’s blanket in her lap. He took her hand in his own as he crouched down next to her, giving her a supportive smile.

“Lucius,” Narcissa greeted quietly, her eyes full of perpetual sadness. “You have news?” she asked hopefully, as she often did, and it nearly broke Lucius’ heart to have to shake his head.

“Our Lord has asked us to locate the Potter boy,” he told her, not wanting to give her too much time to dwell. “And to do so, I think we may need to locate the Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, whose son is also rumoured to be missing.”

“I have no contact with either of them, or any of the Longbottom family,” Narcissa told him, looking rather confused.

“I know of one person who may know where to find them; however, the situation is delicate,” Lucius said cautiously. “She is our only source of information at the moment, and because of this, the only person allowed near her is Severus,” Lucius said.

“Lily Potter,” Narcissa said, proving that she knew more of what was going on than Lucius originally thought. Narcissa let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. “What is it you need me to do, Lucius?” she asked, opening her eyes to look at her husband.

“Just talk to her, find out what she knows,” Lucius requested, thinking that he wasn’t really expecting much.

“Why me?” Narcissa asked, narrowing her eyes at her husband. She knew him well enough, after their many years together, to know that he would have his reasons, even if he wasn’t sharing them.

“Because you are a mother too,” Lucius explained, his smile not reaching his eyes. It was still so painful to think of Draco and that their son was gone. Lucius was holding onto hope that they might yet find his son and heir, but he didn’t dare get his wife’s hopes up.

“You mean, I am a mother who has had a child stolen away,” Narcissa amended, her eyes narrowing at Lucius, demanding he be honest with her at least. When Lucius remained silent, Narcissa considered refusing his request, but if she did that then it would be harder to find out what Lucius wasn’t telling her. “Very well, I will speak to her,” she finally agreed.

“Anything she could tell you...” Lucius said, but his wife didn’t want to hear it.

“Enough. I have agreed to help, now I wish to be left alone,” Narcissa said, turning her attention away from Lucius, ignoring him completely as he took his leave.

Narcissa always knew that in husband’s line of work secrets were to be expected, and they had never bothered her overly much; right now though, she was beginning to loathe the numerous secrets that surrounded her life. She had even blamed Lucius for Draco’s disappearance, thinking one of his rivals behind it, but now… If it was true that the Longbottom and Potter children had suffered the same fate, then there was a glimmer of hope.

------------x

When Lily next awoke it was to find herself alone in her cell, but that meant very little when the bars in front of her held her prisoner. She was still leaning against the wall she had been propped up against and her whole body ached so badly that even if the bars hadn’t been there, she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to make a break for it. Part of her wanted to return to unconsciousness, to not think of Harry or James; the grief she felt was worse that what Bellatrix had done to her body, but she felt she owed it to her husband to feel the pain of his loss, just as she always felt the pain of Harry’s absence.

In the lonely dungeon, there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts though, and soon her cheeks became tear stained. It felt impossible that less than a year ago they had been a happy little family, that she lived with her handsome husband who had stolen her heart, and their beautiful baby boy; she had fallen so far.

She had no idea how long it was before the sound of a door opening caught her attention. Lily froze, listening carefully as shoes tapped against the stairs, indicating someone’s approach. It did not sound like Severus, nor any man for that matter, and so she braced herself, expecting Bellatrix’s face to appear in front of the bars.

However, she was surprised to see another of the Black sisters; though the blonde woman now went by Malfoy, Lily well knew. The wedding of Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black had been big news, even within the walls of Hogwarts.

“Malfoy,” Lily tried to snarl, though her voice cracked in her dry throat, and came out far more feeble than she had intended. “I thought my suffering was being left to Severus,” she commented when Narcissa didn’t speak.

“Officially,” Narcissa told her with a small curt nod, her blue eyes inspecting the red-headed woman in front of her. “The Dark Lord does not know I am here. Nor does Severus,” she added after a moment.

“So this is a social visit. Excuse me for not looking my best; you have caught me at a bad time,” Lily said.

Narcissa narrowed her eyes as she looked at the woman in the cell. “I came to ask you about your son,” Narcissa said and watched Lily closely.

“Of course you did,” Lily sighed. “That's all everyone wants to talk to me about; what do you want to know? Where he is? Who took him? Or do you have some new questions for me?” Lily asked.

“I wish to know what happened,” Narcissa, said doing her best to ignore Lily’s attitude, the fact that this woman had been tortured and locked up, but still had this much fight in her, Narcissa could feel a small amount of respect for Lily.

Lily gave a wry laugh. “You know, Dumbledore thought… still thinks, I imagine… that it was you and yours who had taken him,” she said, pausing a moment to look Narcissa over. “But it truly wasn’t, that much is clear to me now. I am glad that he is out of your reach, and I will never help Voldemort find him.”

“I am not asking you to,” Narcissa told her bluntly, causing Lily’s eyes to narrow in suspicion. “I simply want to know what happened, the night your son disappeared,”

“Why?” Lily asked impatiently. “What is it to you?”

“Because whoever took your boy, may well have taken mine,” Narcissa admitted, and Lily couldn’t help her gasp of surprise. “It is not just your son at stake here.”

“That was never reported to the Aurors,” Lily said, knowing that if Dumbledore had been aware of the Malfoy boy’s disappearance, that would have changed many of their assumptions. It also made her curious if there were even more children that they had been unaware of.

Narcissa shook her head. “No, it was not,” she said with a hint of bitterness. “My husband decided that it would be best to let someone more competent handle the situation.”

“James and Dumbledore didn’t want to trust the Aurors to look for Harry either,” Lily said, surprised to find that she was actually feeling sympathy for the blonde woman in front of her. “There are others that you know of?” she asked.

Narcissa hesitated, not sure whether or not to tell her what she knew. There was, however, a good chance that it would help encourage Lily Potter’s openness, if she willingly shared her own knowledge. A mental picture of Draco’s empty cot was enough to make up her mind.

“There have been several others, who have also decided to keep quiet,” Narcissa said reluctantly. “It is not truly my place to reveal who, but Lucius seems convinced that the Longbottoms might have suffered the same fate?”

“And you want to find them,” Lily said, a look of understanding crossing her face. She hesitated for a moment, but realised that no one out there was truly looking for who had taken the children, not with the Order looking the wrong way. And she wouldn’t wish the loss of a child on anyone and it was possible that Alice might really be their only hope. “I don’t know much, but I might be able to point you in the right direction,” Lily told her with a sigh.
So this story is now ready to start moving forward! We now know where Dumbledore, and Voldemort both stand, and this is the last we will see of them for a while as we move on to Harry and the others!
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Restoration of Magic