The Lion Cub Chapter 49: Fleur-de-lis (Patreon)

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Voldemort kept a strong grip over his right hand which was once again acting up with spontaneous tremors. At first, he had assumed it was the aftereffects of his resurgent magic and soul settling into his newly furnished body. But he no longer thought this to be the case.

‘Something must have gone wrong with the ritual. That blasted boy must have done something or that bumbling moron Wormtail must have botched it up.’ he thought.

If it was Potter, he’d enjoy torturing the boy to death the next time the boy faces him. If it was Wormtail…well…there was hardly anything he’d have to do to the coward.

“All of them are dead. Are you sure?” Voldemort asked imperiously sitting on a transfigured throne.

“I’m afraid so my lord. The remains of your servants shall be handed over to the close surviving relatives at the Ministry.” said Lucius, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground.

“Did the Ministry find who attacked my Death Eaters?” Voldemort asked, conveniently leaving himself out even though he too sustained some injuries. But he was not going to expose his weakness to Lucius.

“I’m afraid the Ministry is under the impression that the Crouches are behind the attack. Also…”

Voldemort perked up at the infliction in Lucius’s tone.

“Out with it, Lucius.” He snapped, not in the mood of entertaining the idiosyncrasies of his servant.

“My lord, the Potter boy claimed the Crouches were led by a third man who represents a fringe Muggle group.” said Lucius.

“What?” Voldemort asked incredulously wondering for a moment whether the Potter boy has gone mad. “So, what you are saying is that Harry Potter has not at all mentioned my presence in the graveyard?”

“Not directly. He has not used my lord’s proper name but the other which Dumbledore alone uses.” Lucius reported, a healthy dose of fear shining in his grey eyes.

Voldemort felt his rage spike within him at the implications but he beat it down as he was not at liberty to use the Unforgivable curses on those who offend him. Conserving his power was now paramount and therefore he spared Lucius save for a glare which was enough to put the fear of death on the Malfoy family patriarch.


Dumbledore was now most likely aware of his return which was unfortunate. The Ministry it’d seem has jumped right in and had the Crouches face the Kiss of a Dementor. That should neatly tie up any loose ends. For some reason, the Potter boy was not keen on declaring his return to the public. He was not going to complain at the opportunity that his archnemesis has gifted him.

As for what happened in the graveyard was still not making any sense. Who could have possibly found him and attacked him on the spot? Only Crouch was outside his immediate observation but he doubted the man would betray him. For a moment, he entertained the thought of Potter setting up a trap but he discarded the thought. He was sure Potter could not have possibly planned it all out and somehow found out his plans.

No, this was the work of someone else. But no matter how much he thought he could not find a possible explanation for how this mysterious enemy found his hiding spot in the first place. Unfortunately, both Crouch Jr. and Pettigrew were dead leaving him with a huge mystery.

‘I need to revisit my memory and look for something I missed. There must be some clue that could prove useful.’ He thought.

Whoever this rogue enemy was, they were certainly dangerous and had dealt him a heavy blow by decimating most of his favoured Death Eaters. They have deprived him of precious resources and for that, they shall suffer a most painful end by his own hands.

“Lucius, tell no one of what transpired in the graveyard. For now, let the world believe the lies the Ministry has spun around the eve of my resurrection.” Voldemort ordered.

“As you will, my lord.” Lucius bowed low.

Voldemort eyed Lucius and for a moment he suspected the man but he dismissed such thoughts. Lucius was ignorant of his location and his moves. Besides, the man was hardly knowledgeable when it comes to muggle weaponry. Not to mention, Lucius was also injured during the attack and had sought him out after the wounds were partially healed.

‘Perhaps Potter had some helpers who managed to track the boy to the graveyard. Pettigrew had not exactly done a thorough check on the Potter boy.’

“Enter.” Voldemort said coldly, hearing a knock on the door of the hall halting his thoughts.

Voldemort’s red eyes narrowed as he watched Severus Snape walk inside and kneel beside Lucius.

“You have come at last Severus. I thought you had forsaken your master for that old fool.” he hissed at the potion master while carefully hiding a tremor that went through his arm.

“My lord, I’d have joined you when you called but I was among the Hogwarts staff with Dumbledore watching my every move.” Snape said, his head bowed in deference. “I have been ever loyal to you and our cause.”

“On your feet Severus. I’ll be the judge of that. Now, tell me what has Dumbledore planned?”

“Dumbledore is aware of your return and he is moving as we speak gathering the former Order members. He is also planning to reach out to the Giants and Werewolves to keep the neutral in the coming conflict. He plans to hold a meeting once the summer holidays commence. I shall be able to know who is assigned the tasks and what decisions are made.” Snape said swiftly keeping himself strictly on the matter at hand.

“Hmm… We'll see whether you are useful in the coming days Severus. For now, return to your post. I shall call on you soon.” said Voldemort, dismissing his sole spy amongst Dumbledore's rabble.

Voldemort watched Snape withdraw from the hall. At this moment, he did not trust the Potion master to make him a Pepperup potion much less find a solution to his weakened state.

First, he needed to get out of this muggle house and get access to a proper wizard's home. Then he needed access to some potion ingredients to stabilize his worsening condition. Everything else can be dealt with later.

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Fleur barely held back a moan as she felt Harry leave a trail of kisses between her shoulder blades.

“So, ‘ze Dark Lord ‘eez back?” Fleur asked, her eyes half-closed enjoying the ministrations of her lover.

“Mm-hmm.” Harry groaned against her skin which made her shiver in pleasure.

They were just lazing in the bed reluctant to part just when they had shared the bed together. But there was no other choice before them but to go their separate ways. They were just extending the time they had until the inevitable.

“So, those Death Eaters…?”

“They fell into my trap. Someone needed to take them out at some point. Dumbledore and his goody two shoes gang are not going to do a thing. So, I acted.”

Fleur turned around and raised a curious eyebrow.

“Well… Dobby and Winky acted. I just provided them with the opportunity.” Harry amended.

Fleur let out a giggle before she pulled him into a kiss.

“I've to go. I'll ‘zee you again ‘Arry.” Fleur said, pressing up against him and giving him another kiss.

Harry lay there in bed as he watched Fleur get dressed in a hurry. He was a little let down to see her go but as Fleur said, this won't be the last time they'll be seeing each other. If everything went according to plan Fleur would be coming back to Britain after smoothing things out with her parents.

Letting out a sigh, he too decided to leave for the Gryffindor dorms.

When the sun was up Harry was dressed properly for the ride back from Hogwarts. His trunk was ready, Hedwig was ready and he was ready. Dobby had done exceedingly well in packing up everything promptly without anyone noticing. Dobby also had the presence of mind to put his dorm mates to sleep so Harry's disappearance would not be noticed.

‘I should give Dobby and Winky a suitable gift for the splendid work they have done so far.’ he thought as he tied his shoelaces.

“You are up early. When did you even return?” asked Rob, who had just woken up from his slumber.

“You were sleeping.” Harry grunted.

“You know, mum wrote to Dumbledore asking whether you could stay with us for the summer. He didn’t allow it. He said you need to go back to Privet Drive with everything that's going on.” said Ron.

Harry raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. He was not going to that place at all like a good little pawn.

‘If dumb-ass-door thinks I'll just slink back to that little madhouse like a good little pawn then the old man is as dumb as his name sounds.’ Harry thought.

Half an hour later Harry was at the Hogsmeade station with his trunk and Hedwig in her cage. He could see the disturbing visage of the Thestrals drawing the carriage. From time to time he looked at the creatures of death and they were eyeing him with a disturbing amount of interest. It took all his willpower not to get disturbed by their stare.

“You look troubled ‘Arry.”

A familiar voice greeted his ears. Fleur was hurrying up towards him with a small group of friends hanging back near the carriages.

“I couldn’t find you at ‘ze entrance ‘all. Sorry.” she said before hugging him.

“See you soon.” Fleur pressed a kiss on his cheek before she left to greet Cedric who was quite happily chatting away with Cho.

If there was one thing that made him relieved even though he murdered quite a few Death Eaters, it was the survival of Cedric Diggory.

‘I saved one budding wizard while stuffing out more than ten criminals.’

A fair exchange as far as Harry was concerned.

“What did she want?” asked Hermione, frowning at Fleur who was now hugging Cedric and Cho Chang.

“Just some pleasantries.” Harry shrugged, noting that Ginny was also standing nearby Hermione. “So, what about Krum? Any plans you two have for the summer?”

Hermione blushed and stuttered out a denial.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Daphne and Tracey boarding the train. He still had no clue what he should do when it comes to Daphne. For now, he put that out of his mind as he focused on getting his trunk and Hedwig inside the train.

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The King’s Cross station was packed as usual. He easily found Sirius on the platform but his godfather was not alone. Curiously enough, Damien Greengrass was standing beside Sirius. Me and Mrs Weasley were also present although they kept shooting Mr Greengrass with distrustful looks.

Having endured the endless questioning of Hermione throughout the train journey, he was quite eager to leave the place as fast as possible. So, the moment he collected his luggage he made his way quickly toward Sirius.

“Mr Potter.” Damien nodded, keeping their familiarity under wraps which Harry was thankful for.

“Mr Greengrass. Here to pick up Daphne?”

“And Astoria.” Damien answered.

“I don’t think he knows me, papa.”

A small thin blonde girl came out of nowhere and hugged Mr Greengrass.

Harry blinked in surprise. “Ah!”

“Really Harry. You did not know my sister? Then again, she is so small easily mistaken for a dwarf.” said Daphne, coming to stand by his side as she rolled a trolley carrying her trunk.

“I admit I've not seen your sister around at Hogwarts. That doesn’t mean I'm ignorant of her existence.” Harry said, keeping the surprise off his face.

“Hmm…” Daphne eyed him doubtfully.

“Anyway, it is good that we met today Mr Potter.” said Damien Greengrass, offering him a neatly wrapped envelope. “You and Mr Black are cordially invited to a small party in the Greengrass Manor. You are allowed to bring a guest each if you so desire. The date and time are in the envelope.”

“Thank you, Mr Greengrass. We shall endeavour to make it in time.”


After Sirius and Damien engaged in a polite exchange of words the Greengrass family took their cue and left.

“Before we leave I have to act on a promise to these two pranksters.” Harry jabbed his thumb at the Wesley twins as they came nearby.

“Fred, George. Meet Sirius Black, my godfather. He also goes by the name of Padfoot. He is one of the members of the illustrious group known as the Marauders.”

Fred and George stared at Sirius and openly gaped.

“Really?” they chorused together.

“Well…guilty as charged. Harry's father was Prongs and you already know Moony. He was your Defense Professor, Remus Lupin.” Sirius said, making the twins give an overly exaggerated bow to Sirius.

“Take us as your students, great master of pranks and chaos.”

“Stop that you two.” Mrs Wesley snapped at the twins smacking them behind their heads.

“Well, then. Time to go Harry. Don’t expect a warm welcome in my house though. My mother's portrait is not so welcoming to visitors or anyone for that matter.” said Sirius, who shrunk down Harry's trunk for him while Harry took Hedwig's cage into his hands.

“Sirius, wait! Dumbledore said Harry needs to go with the Dursleys.” Mrs Weasley protested.

“Dumbledore is merely the headmaster of Hogwarts. He does not decide where I live nor does anyone else. Good day Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley.” Harry nodded at them as Sirius whisked him away by apparition.

The last thing he saw was the shell-shocked faces of the Weasleys.