FHB: Chapter 26

“Father!” Lucius called.

Abraxas Malfoy stopped in his tracks, almost unwillingly. He rested his hand on the doorknob before turning to Lucius.

“Is something wrong?” Lucius asked uncertainly.

His father shook his head and was ready to leave.

“I know something is,” Lucius quickly said.

His father let go of the knob, and said, “No, you don’t.” Before Lucius could prove his point, his father apparated without another word.

Knowing there was nothing he could do to find the answers he wanted, he sighed and exited the basement. He was so sure of leaving the dingy shop empty handed when he saw a familiar face at the counter.

The boy rang the rusted bell on the wooden surface, but no one came out to greet him. Disappointed, the boy turned towards the door and caught the reflection of Lucius in an old copper cauldron. Immediately, he stopped in his tracks.

Lucius caught the boy’s surprised expression and walked up to him.

“What are you doing here, Severus?” Lucius asked. “Who gave you permission to visit Hogsmead?

“Professor Slughorn. I was looking to buy a new cauldron, but…” Severus trailed off.

“What happened to your old one?”

“It…”

A boy with talent in potions could not have blown up his own cauldron.

“It?” Lucius asked.

Severus shrugged. Lucius knew he was too embarrassed to admit he was still being bullied. Maybe if Severus joined the Dark Lord, he would find a reason to stand up for himself.

Walking up to the counter, Lucius gave the bell three rings. When not a soul showed interest in selling a cauldron, Lucius took out a few galleons from his cloak and placed it on the counter.

“Take that one,” Lucius said and pointed at a new silver cauldron seated by the window.

“But…” Severus only managed a word.

“Thank you would suffice,” Lucius simply replied.

Severus nodded his head and muttered the softest ‘thank you’ Lucius had ever heard. He then hurried towards the cauldron, but before he could reach for it he stopped and picked up something from the floor.

“What is it?” Lucius asked.

“I don’t know,” Severus answered, as he handed the piece of paper to Lucius.

While Severus struggled to find the right position to carry the cauldron, Lucius examined the piece of paper. The only thing written was, “Dr. Maddock. Highly recommended” and it was signed off with D.B.

Something about it felt familiar and when he thought it through, he recalled the last time he fell ill. His mother called the family doctor who signed off a few exotic herbs with ‘D.B’. At the memory of it, Lucius wondered if the piece of paper belonged to his father. Something was definitely wrong and Lucius was beginning to worry. Yet at that very moment, he kept his cool and headed back to Hogwarts with Severus stumbling beside him.

That night, Lucius could not fall asleep. He wrote a brief letter to his mother asking if everything was fine back home before he rested his head, but that only made things worse. His worry would not die down and when the sun came up the next day he decided to act on his own. He did not have a plan but he hoped the day would work to his favour.

When afternoon came, day was on his side as Lucius stumbled upon a prefect reprimanding a group of students. It was not hard to guess what had happened as the students were split into a group of three boys against one. Picking up speed, Lucius closed in on the debate on ‘who started it’ before saying, “I know who the bullies are.”

Little did he know, he was wrong with his assessment. The three boys were Avery, Mulciber and Severus, and the one they were against was a Gryffindor boy; a boy he had not seen before. He was probably someone no one noticed, making him an easy target.

“You do?” The Hufflepuff prefect asked.

Lucius was not sure if he should sell out his own to save this new face, so he played it safe and said, “Better they confess to lighten the sentence.”

“He did it!” the Gryffindor boy said, and pointed at Severus.

It was unbelievable as Severus was commonly the target of bullies, not the other way around.

“He jinxed Severus’ cauldron!” Avery responded in accusation.

“We just wanted justice,” Mulciber added, in the most threatening tone.

 When the Gryffindor boy hesitated to defend himself, Lucius knew it was true.

“What’s your name?” Lucius asked him.

“Peter.”

“Peter what?”

“Peter Pettigrew.”

“Detention Mr Pettigrew. And if you jinx another cauldron, you’re paying for it,” Lucius said.

The Hufflepuff prefect looked at Lucius uncertainly and Lucius doused his suspicion of biasness with, “Ask Professor Slughorn about the cauldron. As for the fight, we can just let it go.”

Reluctantly, the Hufflepuff prefect nodded his head and took Pettigrew with him. When the two were out of earshot, Avery and Mulciber began high fiving and praising Lucius. Severus on the other hand, thanked Lucius and turned on his heels.

“You owe me, Severus,” Lucius simply said.

It was then that Lucius had an idea. Maybe he could use Severus once more, and do the Dark Lord’s bidding at the same time. After all, Severus was indebted to him, and Tanya was no longer around to question his motives.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should use Severus again or let him go!)

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Loser

Before his father left him and his mother, he taught him a lesson. It was a lesson he never forgot and a lesson he was sure to practice.

It all started when his father started gambling and drinking. His mother was afraid of the man she married, and he was afraid of being thrown across the room every time he did something wrong. His father never really cared if he broke a leg or bled, because to his father, a little pain was a good lesson. But that wasn’t what he learned from his father.

It was during an evening game with his friends when he saw his father standing by a tree watching. His team wasn’t winning and he was sure his father knew that. When they took a break for water, his father called him over.

“Who is winning son?” his father asked, as the stale smell of alcohol escaped his breath.

“Harriet’s team,” he replied softly.

“Are you in Harriet’s team?”

“No,” he replied even softer than before.

“Then beg Harriet to take you,” his father ordered.

“But… I can’t leave my friends.”

“You what?” His father reached for his arm roughly and pulled him closer.

“I- I can’t leave my friends,” he repeated.

“But your friends are losing, do you want to lose?” The grip of his father’s hand tightened, and his dirty and untrimmed nails dug into his flesh.

“No sir,” he whimpered.

“Then make Harriet take you in his team!” his father shouted, shoving him backwards and causing him to fall on his back.

“It’s only a game,” he immediately replied in anger.

“It is not ONLY a game boy. Do you want to lose all your life? Do you want to be a loser? Do you like being a loser? Do you?!” His father had pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the tree.

From the corner of his eye, he saw his friends stopping to watch. They were whispering among themselves, not sure if they should help him. But what can three 10 year olds do to a grown man? He was certain he was on his own. And just when he was about to get hit in the face, he heard his mother scream.

“You stay away from him! Don’t you dare touch him!” she yelled as she tried to pull his father from him.

His father turned towards her and slapped her across the face. He was strong enough to send her flat on the ground, weeping.

“Don’t!” he yelled, struggling to free himself from his father’s grip.

“Don’t?” his father asked, and then he laughed, releasing his grip on him.

Immediately, he ran to his mother’s side, and tried to prop her up. Tears were streaming down her face as her lips bled.

“Why do you have to hurt her?!” The sudden anger made him bold.

“You wanna know why? Because losers deserve it.” His father spat on the ground and continued, “You mother is a loser, and so are you. I don’t want to be around losers.”

His father chuckled to himself and shook his head, before he left them. He hated his father even more then, but he knew he would have to face his father when he got home, so he sucked it up and tried to help his mother. By the time he had gotten his weak and weeping mother on the couch in their living room, he noticed something was different. His father’s shoes weren’t in the walkway, and when he headed up to his parent’s bedroom, he saw the wardrobe door wide open and the clothes on his father’s side were all gone.

When his mother entered the bedroom after him, she fell on her knees and wept even more. The picture of their family that once hung above the bed was also on the floor, with the frame shattered.

“He’s gone!” his mother wailed.

“It’s o.k, I’ll take care of you,” he immediately replied.

“You’re a boy. A boy who can’t even win a stupid children’s game. It is your fault he is gone!” his mother accused.

He knew she wouldn’t intend on hurting him, but those word stung. He was indeed a loser. How was a loser going to look after his mother? He was going to amount to nothing, and his father was right. That was why his father left, his father didn’t want to be around losers.

“No, I’m not a loser,” he said to himself.

“Mother, I’m not a loser. I’ll pick the winning team, and we’ll be alright.” He turned his mother to face him.

“No, Peter, you’re not a loser,” his mother replied, merely repeating his words without giving much thought.

“We’ll be alright, you’ll see,” Peter assured, as he embraced his mother, whose sobs continued.

True enough, Peter Pettigrew made sure that he was always on the winning team. He left the friends he used to play with for James Potter when he started at Hogwarts, and he left James Potter for the Dark Lord when a war was starting. And during all those times, his only motivation was to be a winner and not the loser his father said his was.