The Other Potter

Chapter 2

I awoke to the soft purring of my cat, Flicker, who was nestled in the crook of my neck. I stroked his grey fur and his purring increased, vibrations tingling up my fingers. I coaxed him off me, and sitting up, I pointed my wand at the curtains and they shot apart. Sunlight streamed in, and I blinked rapidly, the sudden light searing my eyeballs.

Flicker took off under the bed, and I wearily hauled myself up, rubbing the crumbling sleep out of my eyes. I walked over to my MAHOGANY dresser, picked out jeans and a white t-shirt and got dressed. I ran some quick grey eye-shadow over my brilliantly green eyes and brushed my dark hair. It fell in long ringlets to my waist, and I tucked a strand behind my ear.

I’d packed my trunk three days previous, and simply had to convince Flicker to cage herself in the cat carrier. She seemed intent on staying under the bed, so sighing; I dropped to my stomach and crawled under. My cat was wrapped around the bottom of the bedpost, her light grey hair standing straight on end.

“Come on, girl. You need to come to Hogwarts,” I muttered, crawling further towards her.

“Are you alright?”

I jumped and hit my head on the bottom of the bed, unaware that there was someone behind me. It must have been Voldemort, only he could approach that quietly. I slid out from under my mattress, carpet burn stinging my back. The figure standing in the doorway was pale enough to be the Dark Lord, but had long blonde hair and sparkling grey eyes.

“Who are you?” I demanded, brushing hair out of my eyes.

“I was told to tell you-“

“Nobody enters my room without permission. Leave now.”

The boy shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. “The Dark Lord sent me here… I’m to escort you to Kings Cross.”

I wondered what must have been going on in Voldemort’s head for him to send that boy to escort me, he looked almost as incompetent as Lucius. I suddenly realised that he was the spitting image of Malfoy, albeit younger and less confident. “Who are you?”

He stepped forward and offered his hand. “I-I’m Draco.”

I turned my back on him, hoping he’d leave, and grabbed Flicker as she tried to sneak past my leg and out of the room. She clawed several long scratches into my arms, and I resisted the urge to snap the creature’s neck, I hated cats and yet she was the first creature Voldemort had given me. I stuffed her mercilessly into the wicker cage and shoved the door, ignoring the hissing and spitting.

Grabbing my trunk, I moved towards the doorway, only to see that Draco was still standing there. “You’re a Malfoy, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied stiffly.

“Then get out of my way before I end your family line.”

I walked briskly down the stairs, wondering if Draco would ever get the hint and leave me alone. Apparently not, as he continued to pursue me down four flights of stairs and down several corridors. I speed up, trying to lose him amongst the mass of passages that make up Malfoy Manor, but it is quite futile trying to lose someone in a place they’ve lived in their entire life.

When we arrive in the living room, Lucius ad Narcissa are already waiting for us, Draco’s trunk and owl at their side. Voldemort is standing at the far end of the room, watching impassively as Narcissa hugs her son.

“Leave,” he commands, and they retreat out of the room with Draco, leaving the Dark Lord and I alone. Voldemort steps close to me and wraps his arms around me, whispering, “Be careful, Eve.”

“This mission is a piece of cake. Potter will be dead within the week.”

His hand whips around my face faster than my eyes can register, and before I know it I’m on my knees, Voldemort standing over me. “Arrogance leads to failure, Evangeline. Do not fail me.”

I looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, my Lord.”

“Kill Potter and return to my side once more, that is all I ask.”

I cautiously stood, and he rand his wand over my face, the sting of where his hand connected with my face lessening. Voldemort hugged me once more, and I buried my head into his shoulder. “I’ll not fail you, my Lord.”

Voldemort cupped my face in his hands, and said softly, “I have never born a child and you are the closest thing I have to one, I consider you my daughter, Eve.”

I was speechless. Such emotion from the Dark Lord was unheard of, even for me. To be called his daughter was the highest honour any Death Eater could hope to have.  Biting my cheeks to stop myself from crying, I choked out, “And I think of you as my father…”

“Then go and serve me well, child.”

As if on cue, the Malfoys’ re-entered the room, Lucius’s eyes darting back and forth between Voldemort and I, wondering what had passed between us. Draco tried to carry my trunk into the fireplace for me, but I grabbed it off him, stacking Flicker’s cage on top.

I had never used floo powder before, and was slightly freaked out as Narcissa offered me what looked like pale green ash.

“You drop it in the fireplace,” she explained. “Say aloud where you wish to go, Kings Cross Station, and you will be taken there.”

Feeling rather awkward standing in the middle of their large fireplace with Draco Malfoy, I copied his actions and opened my palm, saying loudly, “King’s Cross Station, London.”

The floo powder swirled around me as the world erupted in emerald green flames.