Patience

chapter eighteen: in which harry meets draco

It was incredibly uncomfortable seeing the man he was infatuated with morph out of his aunt's skin.

"You could have put them under imperio"

"Far too risky, and, I was feeling nostalgic"

"How did you go about getting my relatives DNA anyway?"

The pair settled into the leather sofas in Tom's office.

The Dark Lord shifted uncomfortably. "In a time effective and normal easy way"

"...."

"Speaking of your relatives, I think it would be best to alter your appearance, so you look more like Regulus Black"

"I am not drinking polyjuice every day, I have no idea how Crouch does it"

"No, a glamour ring would do the trick, who have you told about the Black heirship?"

"Ron and Hermione"

"I think it would be best to wipe that from their memory and work on bringing Sirius Black into the Death Eaters this holiday."

"My Godfather will be a better double agent than Snape, less of a prick too"

Tom got up and began rooting through his desk drawers. Finally finding a small ring box inside and a mirror. Harry wondered if he was some sort of trinket hoarder.

"My memory of Regulus is probably adequate but we will make adjustments so you look more like Sirius. It will be more effective since people will be able to see you together"

Gently, Tom took Harry's hand in his own and slid the ring onto his finger. Then he knelt beside the armchair and began tapping his wand against the band. Harry could feel the glamour falling over his skin but could hardly focus on the tngling sensation when the Dark Lord was kneeling as his feet. Harry could see every hair in the stubble he hadn't shaved this morning, tiny freckles under his eyes and his delicatce eyelashes on a face that seemed far too perfect.

"You have quite a lot of Black features anyway that made it more difficult, but have a look, tell me how to improve it"

It certainly wasn't Harry Potter that stared back at him, bit strangely he still recognised himself. Tidier, brown hair and dark brown eyes, a thinner but larger nose and heavier eyebrows.

"I think it's pretty good, I can still tell it's me, maybe mess with the teeth a little bit, and I think it'd be better if I had the Black's grey eyes?"

"I like your eyes" the man sighed.

Tom tapped a few more times until he was satisfied.

"Shall we take your new face for a test drive?"

Harry laughed. "You know, when you were trying to murder me in my first year, I wish I knew how much of an awkward klepto you are"

"I paid money for that mirror!"

"Sure... Who is the ring from?"

"I believe... Wesley Downing, when I was at Hogwarts. His parents were jewlers or something and he had an abundance of jewlery"

"I wish I could have seen you, well, been there with you"

"Your company would have been welcome, to the garden?"

The garden was a brilliant hillside of wildflowers and garden beds. It managed to look completely composed and also abandoned with grassy clearings under westeria and wrinkled apple trees with no rotting fruit under them.

"Bellatrix has a flare for the outdoors, and she wanted to make Lucius have allergy attacks as frequently as possible."

"It is astounding, isn't this his house?"