The Boy Who Found a Home

"We had an agreement, Hydra," the wizard said to the woman prostate on the floor. "You wanted to extract revenge on your former husband when he mated with and impregnated a Muggle. I helped you. I saw to it Lenis Snape took you back.

"What did I ask in return? I only asked you to introduce the boy to the Dark Arts, and bring him to see me once a year. Have you met your end of our agreement?"

Slowly he circled her. She had to turn to watch the wizard slowly spiral ever more closely to her kneeling form.

Hydra felt resentment building rapidly at his chastising words. "I did fulfil my obligation."

The man walked in a slow, even pace, and his long robes dragged behind him on the parquet floor of the manor house he had taken over.

"Where is he then? I expected to see him before the term ended. I have been disappointed, Hydra," he said with menace beginning to colour his tone.

In her self-centred resentment, Hydra missed the growing anger from the wizard. "I was widowed recently."

"The husband you did not love died in June. You have been absent from our circle in recent months; yet you have found time to socialize with your friends," he said in a barely audible whisper.

Sensing this meeting was perhaps not going as she had planned, Hydra tensed. The ever decreasing circles were closing tightly about her like a fist.

"I have heard rumours, rumours that trouble me, Hydra. No one has seen the boy since he disembarked the Hogwarts Express. When he was spotted recently, do you know who he was with?"

She did not reply.

"In whose company was the boy?"

Hydra's lip began to quiver as panic rose in her chest.

"Answer me, Hydra. Was it you? No? Was it your house-elf? No?" He walked ever more closely to her toes and fingers.

"NO, he was with Rubeus Hagrid!"

The wizard's left foot balanced a hare's breath above her fingertips. She wanted to pull her hand back but felt rooted to the spot.

"Tell me," he hissed, "why Dumbledore's man was with him?"

There was a barely discernable movement of his hand, and Hydra felt herself pulled up into his hand by his sheer magical power. Her heart raced madly in her breast.

"What was my Slytherin doing with that doddering old fool's groundskeeper?" He pulled her closer to his face as he tightened his hold on her upper arm.

"I- I don't know." She squirmed in his tight hold.

With a violent thrust Hydra felt herself thrown across the room where she struck the wall. A slight flick of one hand brought her back to his feet.

"I have plans that require that boy and you..."

"Forgive me; I didn't know you had plans for him. He's tainted with..." she interrupted in a panic of self survival.

He flicked his wrist again and she found herself dangling with her toes floating twelve inches from the floor.

"You stupid bitch! Tainted or not, I want him. Where is he, Hydra?"

She hesitated and swallowed deeply. "I-I don't know where he is, Master. I--"

"Some understand where their loyalties lie; some know their duty and informed me how you were congratulating yourself on your cleverness in ridding yourself of a troublesome husband. You bragged before others about how you manoeuvred to gain control over the inheritance. You then bragged about how you threw the boy out on the streets."

"I... That is, I...." she mumbled quickly.

The handsome face grew harsh and ugly. Finally he asked, "Yes? Were you really so stupid to think I wouldn't discover what you had done? I would gladly kill you now for your singular lack of intelligence; but I will be merciful if you retrieve and bring him to me."

"I-I cannot," she said in a small voice.

A wand suddenly came to rest on Hydra's forehead; she hadn't seen the movement, it was so fast.

"Why not?"

"I let Dumbledore have him."

Rage exploded from the wizard and sent out static charges around the room. "Dumbledore has him? Why does that interfering fool have Severus Snape?"

Hydra tried to shrink back from the charged particles in the room; they struck her forehead with needle-sharp pricks.

"H-he called me to Hogwarts and demanded to know why I hadn't met that little brat at the platform. He accused me of not doing my duty. Me! Me not do my duty?

"I fulfilled my oath to that Muggle loving bastard of a husband. While Lenis lived I raised his spawn as if he were my own. When he died, so did my obligation to his ugly freak of a child. I turned that repulsive brat from my house."

"You did not do what I asked of you."

She was so intent on the imagined slight done to her, that she only half heard the malice in the wizard's voice.

"I did what you requested," she argued. "I saw to it he studied the Dark Arts."

"You stupid bitch; you handed what is by rights mine to Dumbledore. Get him back!" he cried and dropped her to the floor at his feet.

Hydra's eyes grew large and fearful. She crawled forward and kissed the wizard's foot in subjection. "I-I can't my Lord."

He kicked her viciously. "You will bring that boy to me!" he screamed.

She began to moan loudly and whimper in pain.

"I cannot, Master. Dumbledore tricked me into giving the bastard to him."

A jolt of raw magic ran through the witch's body, leaving her unconscious on the floor. The furious wizard kicked her hard in the kidneys.

"You will see if there is any way to gain custody of the boy. I want him here with me, not at the side of that old crackpot of a Headmaster," the wizard said as he turned to a masked man standing at the side of the room.

Bowing low in supplication, the aristocratic man said, "I will look at all methods to regain him, my Lord." He backed from the room.

"Remove that from my sight."

Two other robed and masked forms moved forward cautiously to remove the witch. "What would you have us do with her, Master?" the taller of the two asked.

"She needs to be punished for her disobedience. I will not kill her yet, her stepson will be permitted the pleasure."

***

Vagus Malfoy Disapparated from his Master's North Yorkshire location, to his own carefully warded home in south central England. A house-elf immediately was at his side to take the Death Eater robe and mask. He spared a look into the cheval glass, tidied his hair, and straightened his under-robes.

"Where is my son?" he drawled lazily to the house-elf, nudging it to move out of his way with a toe.

Bowing low the house-elf replied respectfully, "Young master is in hims room, Master Malfoy."

"Ask Lucius to join me in the library," Vagus replied as he flicked a stray hair into place with the practiced wave of his wand.

"I goes, Master Malfoy." The house-elf popped from the corridor.

The elder Malfoy pulled open the doors to his fruitwood panelled library and entered. He closed the doors and then crossed the thick carpet to the liquor cabinet. With a lazy wave of his wand he released the ward protecting his precious and rare liquors. Pouring a small glass of Wizards Blue Sapphire India Gin, he sat behind the spacious inlay desk. Waving open a lower drawer, Vagus propped his leather encased legs on it.

His moment of relaxation was interrupted by a knock. Vagus flicked his wand at the doors.

"You wanted to see me, Father?" a white-blonde youth asked deferentially from the far side of the doorway.

Sparing a glance for his teenage son, Vagus waved him to enter the room. The young wizard closed the doors after himself before he crossed the Axminster carpet to stand before his father.

In an unusual and unexpected demonstration of generosity, Vagus motioned his son to sit. Properly trained, the young wizard sank gracefully into the side chair and looked expectantly to his father.

"Have you been to Diagon Alley for your school kit, Lucius?"

"Yes, Father. I went two days ago."

Vagus nodded thoughtfully while he swirling the blue liquid about the glass. "Did you see any of your Slytherin brothers or sisters?"

"Yes, I went with MacNair, sir."

"Did you meet up with anyone else?"

"Yes, Father. I met up with Trevor LeMont and Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Ah, that is most excellent. How is Mr. Lestrange enjoying his freedom from Hogwarts?" Vagus asked.

His face gives away his thoughts, Vagus mused as he studied the teenager. He wonders why I am asking him these questions.

"He seems to enjoy it fine, sir. He introduced us to his younger brother, Rastaban."

"What of the returning first years, did you see any of them?" he asked casually, sloshing the liquid in his glass before taking a sip.

"I saw a few, sir. I saw Evan Goyle. And Flint, I saw Flint with his mother at..."

"What about Severus Snape? Did you see him as well?"

"No, but I heard Flint say he was there with Dumbledore's oaf. I did not believe it of course, sir."

"Did Flint know why Snape was with the Keeper of Keys?"

"I am sorry, Father. I did not ask; I assumed it wasn't true. Why would a Slytherin be seen with..."

"No need to be concerned that you have failed me, Lucius. I would like you to write to this 'Flint', however, and glean what you can from him. Prove to me that the effort I have put forth in your training can produce a satisfactory result."

"Yes, sir. I will owl him directly."

"Good, good. Use my owl and ask Flint to be prompt in his reply. Ask Attila to wait for the return message and bring me the letter when it arrives."

Lucius bowed to his father and backed from the room. Once he'd closed the fruitwood doors, he dashed up the stairs to his room. Pulling out a roll of parchment he wrote to Flint and marked it urgent.

He climbed the stairs to the widow's walk, where the families' owls perched in a small owlry. Looking up to his father's fierce bird, Attila, he signalled the creature to come down to his proffered fist. The swift owl dropped silently to Lucius' waiting arm; he gave the creature instructions to wait for a reply even as he tied the scroll to the bird's leg. With the flick of his wrist the young wizard launched the strong, stealthy owl from the rooftop out into the dimming twilight of midsummer. The lowering sun shone golden on the feathers until he slid into the woods beyond the estate.

Attila tapped at Lucius' window, several hours later. Opening the window, Lucius stepped back to allow the creature to drop onto his desk. He untied the scrolls and glanced at the unbroken seals to be certain they had actually come from Flint. He thanked the owl and ran from his room.

Approaching the library, Lucius composed himself and gave a quick look at his reflection in the mirror. His father would not appreciate anything other than perfect composure when he entered his presence. Straightening his robe, Lucius looked down at his feet and did a quick wipe of his shoes on the back of his robe. Holding his breath, Lucius knocked on the door.

"Enter!"

The doors slid into their pockets in the wall. Bowing, he stepped into the room.

"Yes?"

"Father, Flint has returned the inquiry."

Vagus indicated Lucius was to approach. Lucius placed the scrolls on the highly polished desk.

The parchments slid across to his father's outstretched hand.

With a studied indifference, Vagus flipped the first scroll open and read. A look of repugnance crossed his face. "Disgusting penmanship, it is embarrassing to see such poor craft in the youth of today. How does this boy think he will get anywhere, if he cannot write a decent letter?"

The older man finished the first letter before he opened and read the second one. He placed them face down on his desk. Rising, Vagus walked the length of his office and sat in a comfortable chair beside the fireplace.

"Lucius, come here," he said with some distraction.

Quietly, his son crossed the room and stood attentively several feet from his father's chair.

"You may sit."

Lucius dropped into the matching chair, keeping his spine from the tufted back.

"I would like you become a friend to Severus Snape," Vagus said. Then seeing minor resentment in his son's face, he added, "I know, I know. He is only a second year from a family without Slytherin roots, but there is great interest in him from our friend. I want to know everything about him."

"Yes, Father. What would you like to know?"

Smiling coldly Vagus sank back in his seat and stretched his long legs out. He looked into the fireplace. "I want to know: where he goes, who he sees, what he likes, what he doesn't like. I want to know who his friends are, and who his enemies are, both among the student population and the staff. I want to know what he reads and what he says. I want to know everything about him, Lucius."

"Yes, Father."

"Don't be too obvious in your observations," he warned his son. "I don't want him to be aware you are observing him, and I don't want anyone else to notice either."

"He doesn't have any friends to speak of, sir. He doesn't get along with others at all," Lucius stated.

"Make him trust you, and then make him your friend. He is very interested in young Mr. Snape."

"Why?"

"Do not ask why He is interested, that is not your concern." Vagus threw his son across the room.

Bowing submissively from the floor, Lucius said, "Yes, father. I am sorry to have been so presumptuous."

"Do not do so again, Lucius. Your mother would be upset if I had to teach you a lesson that you would find most unpleasant! Now, get out before I change my mind!!!"

His son crawled from the room on his knees.

Lucius knew that to rise would have been taken as a sign of gross lack of respect. The doors slid shut behind him, and the younger Malfoy wiped a shaking hand across his face in relief.

***

Vagus Malfoy quietly went to the Wizard Social Services Inspectorate of the Ministry of Magic. Armed with a Muggle newspaper article about the lack of adequate protection for orphaned children, he used his considerable acting skills to learn about statutes protecting orphaned and abandoned wizard children. The Wizard Social Services Inspectorate was thrilled to have such prominent wizard display interest in child welfare; they couldn't do enough to assist a man with such noble intent.

As the laws were as laborious to read, a mid-level bureaucrat was assigned to assist Vagus in interpreting the statutes. He also made certain to give financial remuneration to key personnel to ensure unlimited entry to the stacks of law scrolls.

Malfoy blackmailed Ministry of Magic personnel for access to all the documents pertaining to, or ever signed by Lenis Snape; he found nothing suspicious.

Then he came across the Inheritance Records section. He studied the scrolls pertaining to the estate for a month before he discovered Hydra Snape's clever manoeuvring. The more he examined the documents; he found a grudging respect for the witch who had so cleverly taken control of the Snape estate for herself.

Hydra had carefully manipulated the words of the legal parchments to give the impression of protecting the estate for the legal heir until he was of age. All the while, in fact, she was diverting the profits for herself through suspect investments. While she had done nothing technically illegal, she had danced a dangerous tango around the law. Vagus considered that it might take years and incredible persuasion to regain the monies for the boy by which time the assets could be gone.

He looked at the birth certificates of Lenis Snape, Hydra de Winter, and their son Severus. The tall blonde wizard found that Severus' Caesarean delivery was recorded two months after his birth, with only his father named. A substantial fine was levied and paid for having to alter Muggle records.

A further notation, at the bottom of the scroll, indicated an addendum was made to the birth certificate two months later naming Hydra as the mother. That was an interesting titbit of information. Why was there no mention of the Muggle female?

This was potentially useful information to Vagus. If the witch was listed as the mother she could be charged with child endangerment and abandonment. The threat of a term in Azkaban might alter her attitude. He filed that fact away for the present.

Looking into the register listing all wizard births, Vagus Malfoy traced all possible immediate living relations of Lenis to establish whether custody could be gained via legal means through a compliant family member. If he was fortunate that person might be sympathetic to the Dark Lord.

He discovered a number of persons, but the Prewett family was most closely related to Lenis Snape. Vagus wrote a chart of descendants in the Prewett family:

Severus Snape marries Eve Pax, 1830: four children:

Lenis b.1832

Perriwinkle b. 1834

George b. 1835

Victoria b. 1842

Lenis Snape marries Delphinium Prewett, 1858: two children:

Discipulus b. 1860

George b. 1861

Discipulus Snape marries Livina Pax, 1890: one child:

Lenis b. 1890

Lenis Snape marries:

1) 1954: Hydra, ends in divorce 1958 (no children)

2) 1959: Unknown Muggle: dies 1960, one child, Severus born 9 Jan. 1960

3) 1960: remarries Hydra; she is listed as mother on birth certificate

The elder Malfoy studied the chart, sorting through the information. He determined the need to visit the Muggle births and deaths records in the General Registers Office. Briefly, he considered ordering one of his servants to visit and then changed his mind; he knew his Master would wish for first hand knowledge.

Vagus, with plenty of pounds to grease the palms of easy to bribe Muggle civil servants, spent two weeks traversing the maze of bureaucracy. It was the same in both the wizard and Muggle world: to move rapidly required patience and the proper spreading of cash.

After diligent reading and cross referencing of information, Vagus learned the Muggle woman had died, at age 46, just minutes before the surgeons cut open her womb to remove the near full term infant. There was a police inquiry, but her death was ruled accidental. She had no living relations that might lay claim to the teenager.

Vagus researched the Muggle police inquiry. Indications were the woman had fallen down a flight of stairs. The coroner had noted unusual bruising on the deceased's body, not consistent with a fall. The strange Muggle photographs showed the bruising; Vagus recognized it as a result of the Cruciatus Curse. It was amazing the Muggle survived long enough to have the infant cut from her belly. Hydra had removed her competition, but not completely.