-+- Chapter 3 -+-

1987

Lord Voldemort was dead, but Tom Riddle was not. No one had ever drawn the connection between the two, Tom Riddle was a regular wizard. Naturally, he's had to pass himself off as his own son, but it's worked.

Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters had scattered and disappeared.

"How old is Abraxas' Grandson?" Tom asked.

"Nearing his seventh year." Korvin responded.

Tom hummed quietly, "I'd like to see him. Have it arranged." He all but ordered.

Korvin chuckled lightly, "As you wish."

"Are you mocking me?" Tom spared a glance at his friend's transparent form.

"No, of course not." Korvin denied, "I simply find your mannerisms amusing."

Tom's lip twitched, an unidentifiable emotion playing across his features. He steadily held Korvin's gaze, until the ghost caved and looked away. "When do you want the young Malfoy brought?"

"At their earliest convenience." Tom replied.

"It shall be done." Korvin rose out of the armchair he had been sitting in and floated to his room in the manor. He quickly donned his cloak and mask, smoothly transitioning into his 'Shadow' persona.

He swiftly disapparated and reappeared in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. He floated through the gates, but he stopped in front of the doors to the Manor. He would allow the Malfoy's a warning, he was feeling generous. He rapped his knuckles on the door. He didn't have to wait long before a House Elf opened the door. The elf shook in obvious fear when it laid eyes on him. "M'Lord," the elf bowed his head.

"Where might I find your masters?" The Shadow asked, a grin starting to form behind his mask. He easily removed the human elements from his voice, sounding more like his father than he'd like.

"P-please follow Dobby, sir." The elf closed the door behind the Shadow and started walking in the direction of its masters. The Shadow trailed behind it, silent as ever. The elf stopped in front of a set of doors. It knocked on the door. "Enter." the voice of one Lucius Malfoy said. The elf opened the door, "Lord Shadow is here." The elf said.

Lucius, who had been previously writing something at his desk, froze. "Let him in." Lucius said.

The Shadow floated through the door, "Lucius Malfoy." He greeted.

"My Lord." Lucius rose from his seat and bowed his head, "What might I do for you?"

"Your son, where might I find him?" He drawled.

"I'll summon him for you immediately." Lucius said, any expression he might've shown was hidden behind a tight mask. Lucius flicked his hand towards the House Elf. The elf disapparated and went to retrieve Draco Malfoy.

"You have questions I presume?"

"I do." Lucius agreed.

"Then please, feel free to ask."

Lucius hesitated for a split second, "What do you need Draco for?"

"He's of use to me, worry not, he won't die by my hand." The Shadow reassured. His words seemed to have done little to deter Lucius from his worry. "He will be returned to your care the 2 weeks surrounding Christmas, and the summer season."

Before Lucius could utter a word of protest, the elf came back, a young child following behind.

"Ah, Draco, how nice of you to join us."

The young boy startled slightly, he'd never seen the Shadow in person before. He'd only heard the stories. Draco desperately hoped the Shadow wasn't here to take him away and kill him. Based on the rumors, he didn't do house calls. He took children off the streets of his own violation.

"Draco," Lucius' voice held no emotion, "pack your bags. You'll be staying with the Shadow for the majority of the year."

Draco quickly scurried off, taking the opportunity to leave the Shadow's presence. The second he was far enough away from the cloaked being, his mind started racing. His father was sending him off? With the Shadow of all people? Was his mother okay with this? Or was she left out of the loop?

"Dobby," Draco called, the elf appeared. "Pack my bags for a long trip." Dobby nodded and vanished again.

'I need to find Mother.' Draco thought. He quickened his pace and all but ran in the direction he knew his mother would be in.

He burst through the doors of her study, knocking would've wasted time he didn't have. "Mother!"

His mother looked up from the book that was flipped open on the desk in front of her. "Yes dear?"

"Father! He's sending me off!" Draco explained.

Narcissa slowly stood up, her face blank. "Wait here my little dragon, I'll be back soon." She was gone before Draco could utter words of response.

Draco stood quietly in his mother's office. He really didn't want to leave with the Shadow of all people. The creature ate kids like him for breakfast. He shuddered, hopefully his mother could do something.

He took a seat in his mothers chair and waited. He idly tapped his fingers on his mother's desk. No matter what he tried he couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to the Shadow. He had a suffocating presence, the feeling of his magic was still fresh to Draco. He could feel it creep around on his skin, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

-+-

"Narcissa," Lucius begged, "please, we don't have a choice-"

Narcissa cut him off, "He's six Lucius."

"Do you think it cares?" Lucius whispered, "I don't like it anymore than you do, he won't be able to learn the Malfoy ways if he's never home."

"That's what you care about?! I won't get to see my baby grow up!" Narcissa whisper-shouted, she couldn't believe her husband sometimes.

"If you two are finished, I've things to do and places to be." The Shadow re-entered the room, he was tired of floating around waiting for the couple to finish arguing. "Your son will be home for Christmas, and the Summer. We can revisit the terms of the apprenticeship every year." The Malfoy's took note of the stress the Shadow put on the word 'apprenticeship', that made it abundantly clear that as far as anyone else was concerned, Draco was apprenticing under someone who noticed his potential and wanted to harness it as fast as possible.

Many pureblood families have tutors and other teachers for before their children go to Hogwarts. Sending a child off for an apprenticeship wasn't the most unbelievable thing, with just the right amount of made-up details and alcohol, it was quite simple to get anyone to believe anything.

"W-will he be allowed to send us letters?" Narcissa asked, she tried her best to remain composed.

"Yes."

Narcissa nodded to herself, "Then, I'll go fetch him for you." She hurried out of the room back to her study.

-+-

"Mother!" Draco jumped slightly in the chair he had made himself comfortable in. Narcissa had burst into the room with no warning. "I'm sorry Draco."

Draco's eyes widened a fraction, "No, no please, don't let him take me!"

"Pack your things." Narcissa said.

"Dobby already did." Draco replied.

Narcissa nodded, "I see." She walked over to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder. She silently said goodbye, and willed herself to be strong. She couldn't, wouldn't break down now, especially not in front of her son. She gathered her thoughts and continued, "You'll be back home for Christmas and the Summer, you can send us letters." She explained.

"My birthday?" Draco questioned.

Narcissa shook her head, "We'll send you gifts, worry not."

Draco nodded slowly, he sensed his mother and father wouldn't change their minds, "I really have to go don't I?" He already knew the answer.

"You know the answer to that." Narcissa stated. Draco closed his eyes in resignation and took a breath. Narcissa made her way to the door of her office, she could hear her son start to follow her. She turned around right before reaching the door, she stared into her son's eyes, "I love you son, don't ever forget."

She quickly turned on her heel and left her office, acting as if nothing had been said.

Draco stared dumbfounded at his mother's back. He couldn't remember the last time his mother had outright told him she loved him.

-+-

The Shadow floated gently in the foyer of Malfoy Manor. He was waiting for the young Malfoy and his mother to make an appearance. His Lord hadn't exactly said he wanted the child to live with them. But the Shadow had a thing for taking children away from their parents, he doesn't quite know what his Lord expected him to do in this situation.

He held a certain joy at the idea of a child running around the Gaunt Manor.

"My Lord." Narcissa greeted, as she approached the Shadow. Her son in tow with his things.

"Let us be off then, young Malfoy." The Shadow stretched out his hand to the young boy. He hesitated a little, throwing one last glance at his mother before accepting the outstretched hand. The world blurred in an instant.

When Draco's feet stood on solid ground again he had to fight to keep his contents in his stomach.

"Come along little one, there's someone who has asked to meet you." The Shadow waved his hand and Draco's luggage disappeared.

The halls of the manor were cold, and empty. They had a certain eerie feel to them. Draco felt like the walls could swallow him whole.

Draco reluctantly trailed after the Shadow.

The Shadow stopped in front of their destination, and rapped a seemingly skeletal hand against the door. "I've brought him, my Lord."

Draco froze, there was only one person whom the Shadow called Lord (according to the numerous rumors and myths, the Shadow was a creature of Legend after all), and that person was he-who-shall-not-be-named.

"Enter."

The voice sent chills down Draco's spine. He thought the Dark Lord was dead. He felt the Shadow's hand on his back, it was cold. He could feel it through his clothes.

The doors opened on their own and Draco was gently pushed inside the room. Draco locked eyes with a teenager. The teen looked to be around 18 or 19 years.

"Do you know who I am, little Malfoy?" The voice was undoubtedly the same as the one who told them to enter. It held unspoken power and a dangerous edge. Draco was made hyper aware of the hand still on his back. It nudged him gently, prompting him to answer the question.

"I... I thought you to be the Dark Lord." Draco answered.

"Might you explain how you came to that conclusion?"

"Well... it is known that the Shadow only bows to one: the Dark Lord. So when he called you 'Lord' I assumed..." Draco trailed off.

A grin stretched itself across the teenager's face, "You assumed correctly little Malfoy."

"I- I don't understand." Draco admitted.

The Dark Lord swiftly glided to his feet and made his way over to the little Malfoy. He brushed his hand against the little Malfoy's cheek. "Why don't I tell you a little story?"

The hand on Draco's back moved to his shoulder. It guided him past the Dark Lord, to the nearest chair in the room. It pushed him down, and forced him to sit.

"Before I begin, what do you know of the Shadow?" The Dark Lord inquired.

"J-just the rumors that fly around the wizarding populace."

"Would you like to know what it really is?" The Dark Lord ran his hands over the back of Draco's chair.

Draco kept his eyes on the floor in front of him, frozen, he was hyper-aware of the Dark Lord's breath on the back of his neck. Draco heard the Dark Lord shift closer, bringing his lips to Draco's ear, "I recall asking you a question."

"I... I would like to know." Draco answered.

The Shadow floated into Draco's line of vision. Draco's eyes drifted upward, fully looking at the Shadow.

Its skeletal hands moved up and removed its mask and cloak.

Draco studied the creature in front of him. It was a transparent gray, almost black ghost. Its forearms and hands were skeletal in appearance, so was the lower half of its face. One could still clearly see its mouth and nose, but its skeletal jaw and teeth were portrayed openly visible directly behind an otherwise dead human face. (I can't explain things, visualize him however you want. According to a picture with ghost orbs, {which in this case is the overall colour of the ghost} black means evil, idk.)

The rest of its body was like any ghost one might seem, transparent, no hint of bones.

The Shadow wore a suit, with the sleeves of his button up shirt rolled up. He had a Death Eater tattoo on his left forearm and a 'T' on the side of his neck.

The Shadow bowed, "Korvin Featherstone, pleasure to make your acquaintance young Malfoy."

Draco gave a shaky smile, "Pleasure."

-+-

"Korvin." Tom stated. The two of them were alone in Tom's office, Draco had been taken to his room.

"Yes darling?"

"The young Malfoy, you've arranged for him to stay here permanently?"

"That's correct, he's to be sent back for the Summer and Christmas. Once he starts going to Hogwarts, that arrangement will change." Korvin confirmed.

"Well, it seems your obsession with kidnapping children works in our favour this time. Draco Malfoy has the makings of a great Wizard."

Korvin grinned, he floated over to Tom. Korvin pushed Tom against the nearest wall, "You're happy then, Master?" Korvin's lips ghosted over Tom's ear.

"Yes indeed pet, you've done well." Tom gave a lustful smile, "Do you think you've earned a reward pet?"

Korvin lit up, well as much as a ghost could, "Yes Master."

Tom's eyes flicked to the floor and back to Korvin. Korvin got the message and sank to his knees in front of his Master.

Thoughts?