To Live Again by dragonwings
Chapter Notes: A thank you to my fantastic beta--Phia Phoenix!!!
Trembling slightly, Lucius pushed himself off the ground. Black had stormed off somewhere, muttering some of the more creative and painful uses of a cane that Lucius had personally never heard of (and he was in acquaintance with Bellatrix Lestrange).
So, it was up to him to find the little blood traitor brat. Fantastic. He’d never actually seen the girl, only heard about her from Narcissa who was so enamoured of her that she was actually pestering him to have one of their own, a thought that made Lucius shudder. Thankfully, Narcissa had sent him a picture of the girl. But knowing the girl was Black’s spawn certainly helped”find the most dangerous and reckless thing to do in this hideous little town, and he would find the girl.
This was a problem though. He had arrived in town a mere day ago and while the town was rather small, the farms around it certainly weren’t. He’d need local help if he was going to find the girl. He gave his clothes a quick “Scourgify” and headed back to the town square to see if they had one of those “Help Wanted” things that Muggles were so fond of.
Thankfully, they did, so Lucius sat down at one of the picnic tables in the small grassy square and tried to think of what to write.
First draft:
Rich, Caucasian male seeking attractive blonde woman as a personal assistant. Please contact Lucius Malfoy at the local pub where he will be drinking his sorrows away.
No, too forward.
Second draft:
Seeking personal assistant to help in the recovering of a blood-traitor brat from a different time period.
Too truthful. But he was running out of ideas. He didn’t want anyone too smart, or else they would quickly figure out that he was obviously a wizard. That was the trouble with Muggles in this time. But they still needed to be quick thinking or else he would probably forget himself and “Crucio” them for their stupidity. It was a dilemma, to be sure.
While he sat, he idly watched a group of small boys around the age of ten or twelve squabble over a litter of puppies. A matronly middle-aged lady was letting them each pick out one from the box and the boys were fighting over one particular puppy. Lucius could see why, it was the biggest one in the box and it would obviously do quite well as a herder, but suddenly, he wasn’t very interested in the fighting boys. He was more interested in the small, weedy looking boy who was playing with the rest of the puppies, scrutinizing each one carefully.
Lucius waited until the woman was preoccupied with the boys before going over to the lone boy. Lucius watched silently as the boy picked one puppy that had attached himself to the boy the entire time, and held it close.
“A wise choice,” Lucius remarked.
The boy looked up. “You think so?”
Lucius nodded. “Yes. It is always wise to ally yourself with the smartest and the most loyal.”
“How can you tell?” the boy asked as he scratched behind the dog’s ears.
“She has a look of intelligence about her. She will persevere too; the dog the others are currently fighting over will die very quickly from his mistakes.”
“That’s a rather morbid way of puttin’ it,” the boy said. “What’s your name, mister?”
“Lucius Malfoy,” he told him. “And yours?”
“Jack Persons,” the boy said. “I saw you over there, writing something. What was it?”
“A Want ad,” Lucius said nonchalantly.
“What for? You don’t look like you need anything,” Jack said. He looked like he spoke from experience. His clothes were a rag-tag collection of near rags and his face was smudged with dirt.
“But I do.” Lucius smoothed down the front of his suit and the gold in his pocket jingled delightfully. “I need someone to help me find someone.”
“What kinda someone?” Jack cocked his head inquisitively.
“A very special someone. I’m looking for my daughter,” Lucius told him. He crouched down next to the boy and showed him the picture of Molly.
Jack squinted at the picture. “Huh. She don’t look nothing like you.”
“She gets her looks from her mother,” Lucius lied.
“That right?” Jack went back to playing with his puppy.
“Would you be interested in helping me find her?” Lucius asked. “I’m willing to pay you for helping me.”
“Me mum told me not to go with strangers without her saying so,” Jack said uninterestedly, but Lucius could tell that it was an act. The spawn of poor were always the same”money grabbing, unintelligent slobs, who asked very few questions when it came to a questionable mission.
“Then let’s go ask her,” Lucius suggested.
“Alright,” Jack said and got up. He scooped up his puppy and after yelling goodbye to the flustered woman, led Lucius down a village road.
“What are you going to name her?” Lucius asked.
“Oh, I was thinking maybe Molly.”
Sirius stormed off, not really caring where he was going.
He was so… angry. Lucius had promised to keep her safe! He had made a vow!
There was nothing to do but walk. The weather, like all true English weather does, had turned suddenly foul and dark clouds loomed overhead.
He was out of the town and into the countryside again. He seemed to be in a different part however. Unlike the small, country farms he had seen on the other side of the town, here there were country manors that ranged from simple to elaborate. The trees were neatly trimmed and each house had a gate, a long driveway and a neat stonewall. It was enough to make him long for the busy, crowded streets of London with its smelly alleys and cramped side streets.
His head felt like London; busy, crowded, cramped, confusing. There were so many mysteries that needed to be solved. Where his daughter was, where the thing was, what the thing even was, where he was… So many questions… His head swam and he slumped against the stonewall and slid down to the ground.
His arms ached to hold Lily. He wanted to hug and kiss her and tell her about the pain and fear he felt. He wanted to hold her and he wanted to take comfort from her. Lily always had the answers to everything, she knew exactly how to take away the pain. He closed his eyes and saw her face swim before his face.
It wasn’t enough. A tear slid down his cheek. He was helpless against this force of nature that had taken his daughter and had kept his goal so far out of reach. He slipped his hand into his pocket and took out the Time Turner. It would be so easy to flip it over”disappear to a different time, before Voldemort, before all this hatred. Leave it all behind…
But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave Lily or Molly behind. He opened his eyes and let out a sigh. Across from him was one of those mansions with the high stonewall and the neat grass lawn. Big and proud, he had to admire its stateliness.
A window was suddenly thrown open with a loud clang and a small child with long, black curly hair peered out.
Sirius nearly fainted.
It was Molly.
Jack had led him so far out of town that Lucius was starting to grow suspicious of his motives. How was he to know that this wasn’t a trap to take his money or even worse, his life? He could easily overpower anyone who ambushed him of course, his magic being far superior than any Muggle “guns” but he would rather avoid any conflict. Through necessity of course”normally he wouldn’t have anything against siphoning off some of his frustration on a Muggle.
“How much farther?” he asked impatiently.
“Just around the bend,” Jack placated. He spun around and began to walk backwards. His dog still followed at his heels obediently.
“So, when did she go missing?” Jack asked.
“My daughter? Oh, about three days ago,” Lucius said carelessly.
“They’re usually dead by then.”
“Oh, is that so?” Lucius replied, not listening.
Jack watched the older man’s face for any signs of emotion.
“Yeah. You’re not worried?”
“She’s a tough girl. Are you sure that we’re going the right way?” Lucius asked. The houses here were more like mansions than the pitiful little shacks Lucius was expecting.
“Yep! Here we are!” Jack stopped in front of one the largest mansions there and slipped inside the gate.
“You’re trespassing on someone else’s property!” Lucius hissed.
“I live here!” Jack protested. “MA!” he yelled loudly.
“Be quiet!” Lucius ordered.
Jack shot him a look of disbelief. “Why should I? MA!”
“What is it Jackson!” A tall woman with curly red hair and pretty blue eyes came out into the courtyard and began walking towards them. She was neither fat nor skinny, but extremely fit and muscular. Lucius had to admire the way she carried herself proudly. She was obviously rich. But there was no way that she was this urchin’s mother…
“Look at the state of you!” she said a bit angrily. “You look like a gypsy!” She gave him a quick hug. “Go upstairs and bathe and change, immediately!”
“Yes, ma,” Jackson said obediently. “Oh! Ma, this is Mister Malfoy. He’s looking for his daughter and he asked me if I could help him. Can I, Ma? Please?”
“Hello, Mister Malfoy, I’m Jackson’s mother, Jane Persons.” She shook his hand through the gate and let him inside.
“Yes, I hope that you don’t mind if Jack, or Jackson--?” He shot a quick inquiring look at the boy squirming behind his mother, “helps me find her. I’m terribly worried. She’s a tough girl, but she is rather young.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Jane sympathized. “I know the feeling. This one”” she jerked her head towards Jack, “is always about, keeping me worried about him every moment of the day!” She shook her head.
“Would you like to come inside, Mr. Malfoy? I’d like to get to know you better if Jack is going to help you, and we can take tea while he bathes and dresses.”
“Please, call me Lucius,” he said smoothly. “And I would love to come inside.”
“I’ll have Alice get the tea ready then,” she said and smiled. “We don’t often get visitors from out of town,” she confessed as they walked towards the house. “Where exactly are you from?”
“London, currently,” Lucius replied. “We have houses all over England, but my work has recently required us to relocate there.”
“So your wife is not with you in town at the moment?” Jane queried.
“We are currently indisposed towards each other,” Lucius said stiffly. “We have been… taking a small break.”
“Oh,” she commented and said no more on the subject. They instead chatted about the weather in general and other subjects in which Lucius had no idea about, such as his job in the Muggle industry of travel (what on earth were airplanes?) and other such things that he had to nod and keep silent in order to not appear ignorant.
A maid brought down a tray of tea and biscuits once they were settled in the sitting room and the two had quite an agreeable time.
“So, is the master of the home present?” Lucius inquired. “This is quite an admirable manor.”
“No, I’m afraid he hasn’t been home for quite some time,” Jane said quietly.
“Ah. I see. Is he…”
“Deceased?” she asked bitterly. “Unfortunately, no.”
“I don’t mean to pry,” he began. “But maybe I could help if you told me, I do have some expertise on the subject,” he said dryly.
“Da ran off with a tramp!” Jack called as he nearly tumbled down the stairs in his haste.
“Jack!” his mother admonished.
“It’s true,” he said through a mouthful of biscuits.
“Manners,” she said firmly. And then, more softly, “Well, yes, it is true.”
“My best friend,” Lucius said nonchalantly.
“I beg your pardon?” Jane asked.
“My wife ran off, well not ‘ran’ actually, more like snuck around under my nose with my best friend.”
“How awful!” Jane exclaimed.
“Rather,” Lucius said. “I won in the end though.” He gave her a rather chilling smile.
“She stayed?” Jane asked curiously. “You let her?”
“She has no other choice,” Lucius replied smoothly. “She has grown too accustomed to the life I have provided for her. Anything less and she might… break out in hives.”
“She’s one of those high-maintenance aristocratic girls, isn’t she?” Jane asked sharply.
“Very high maintenance,” Lucius said and sipped his tea. “Beautiful and cunning, yet dreadfully spoiled and rather… weak.”
“Your children must be beautiful though,” Jane remarked. “The children of those kind of girls always are.”
“Only one child,” Lucius said regretfully. He was beginning to enjoy their talk and then that dratted kid had to be brought up. He reluctantly took Molly’s picture out of his pocket and gave it to Jane.
“Oh! She’s beautiful!” Jane breathed. She chanced a sly look at Lucius, “Looks nothing like you.”
“Precisely.” Lucius gave her a thin smile. Might as well let her believe that Molly wasn’t his daughter anyways.
“Her lover?”
“She’s his carbon-copy.” He paused as he thought of what to say next. It was hard pretending that Molly was his daughter when he had no children, let alone talked to one recently. “She’s my little girl, though,” he remarked, hoping she bought it.
“She lives with you?” Jane asked, surprised.
“Yes, for most of the year in any case. My wife is currently ensconced in our home in Switzerland and I decided that her whimsical nature and rather, ah, adult environment wouldn’t be the best for Molly.
“Well, I see no problem with having Jack help you find her,” Jane said and handed Lucius back the photo. “But why don’t you spend the night here? It will be getting dark soon and I can’t let you leave without inviting you to dinner! You can start in the morning; I doubt that she is in town, the barkeeper’s wife takes in all the stray children on her walks through town everyday and she usually calls me when she brings in a new child.”
“I’m very worried”” Lucius began, but Jack cut him off.
“You’ve got no choice now, anyway,” he said, pointing to the window. “It’s storming outside!” And as to prove his point, thunder growled in the distance and the rain began to pour harder.
“Molly…” Lucius said softly. Sirius was going to kill him if his dratted spoiled offspring caught pneumonia.
“I’ll be okay, Lucius,” Jane said soothingly and rubbed his shoulders comfortingly.
“Thank you,” he said and caught hold of her hand and her gaze and held it.
Meanwhile, in the Person’s manor, a small child was padding about unnoticed upstairs. Quiet, so as to not alert the overly protective maid who had kept her sheltered in the house for the past three days, or the people downstairs, she slipped stealthily down the hall.
Molly took hold of the doorknob and turned it silently, praying for the door to stay silent and not creak. She had been trying to get to the library for the past few days, but Alice had stopped her each time. The poor maid was petrified of Jane finding out about Molly, which had really impeded her quest and had made Molly all the more nervous. The only way she was going to be able to get back to Narcissa or her mum and dad was if she found the stupid book, which shouldn’t be so hard, it was only a”
She froze in thought and body, and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the massive library.
There was no way that she would ever find that book…
There was an ominous creak from the opposite side of the vast room and Molly whipped around with her stolen wand in her hand. Being as young as she was, it wasn’t much use (it wasn’t even her own wand!) but it was better than nothing. All this ran through her head as she stood stock still, waiting for the intruder to reveal themselves.