The Little One with Green Eyes

26: Healing and all it entails

-October 31 1991-
"Your report on the New Ministry, Lucius?" Voldemort asked, leaning back in his armchair. The heat from the fire beside him warmed the right side of his body as Voldemort allowed his crimson eyes to flit over the people in the drawing room. His Inner Circle (minus one Severus Snape who was still in isolation) sat in chairs around the room, each member facing him.

Lucius shifted in his chair, holding his head high as he looked at Voldemort. "Minister Fudge's term is ending in a few weeks," he said. "The elections for the new term takes place next month."

Voldemort nodded absently. When Voldemort founded the New Ministry, he left Cornelius Fudge as the Minister---as much as he despised the man and the lack of backbone, the public had voted for him, and the last thing Voldemort wanted was to make matters worse by evicting the only democratically elected official.

(It wasn't that hard to get Fudge on his side, anyway.)

"And the runner ups?" Voldemort asked, a delicate eyebrow raising.

"So far, no one has stepped forward, but I believe that will change very soon." Lucius said. Voldemort raised an eyebrow, silently urging the man to continue. "This is the first election since you took over, My Lord, I am certain that many people will be vying for a position of power."

"I want a Minister that I can trust," Voldemort mused. "Someone that can do the job efficiently. I don't want to babysit."

"Is there someone you have in mind, My Lord?" Lucius asked. Voldemort hummed in thought.

"Perhaps you, Lucius, could run for Minister?" Voldemort suggested. There was a momentary lapse in the Malfoy Patriarch's mask, clearly showing his surprise at Voldemort's words before he regained control of his emotions.

"I would be honored, My Lord---"

Before Voldemort could respond, however, the door to the drawing room was pushed open to reveal Little One, a content Nagini slithering in behind him. Voldemort stops short at the sight of his child walking happily into the room, an air of ease and happiness surrounding him. It had been a long while since Voldemort had seen Little One so content.

But the surprises didn't stop there.

Little One, instead of walking immediately to where Voldemort sat, turned towards the nearest Inner Circle member, Lucius, dug his hand into his side bag and pulled out a handful of Tulips. Voldemort's eyes widened at the sight of his precious handing out flowers once again.

Seeing Little One close up and draw into himself after he was taken was one of the hardest things Voldemort had to witness, and Voldemort could not count the number of times that he wished Little One would go back to normal.

It reminded him of the struggles he faced the very first year Voldemort brought Little One home. Back while he was adjusting to being an Inferius, as well as the transition from abusive family to loving father, Little One would go through the good and the bad days.

It was hard. Very hard. Getting Little One to trust him and confide in him was one of the most difficult things he had to do. Some days, when Voldemort was in a horrible mood, Little One would relapse and go back to flinching away from him and hiding from his sight---Voldemort figured that Little One learned how to gauge the moods around him as a survival technique, thanks to his muggle relatives.

Whenever Little One would relapse back into his old habits, it would takes weeks of convincing and coaxing from Voldemort to get him back to the level of comfort that he'd previously displayed.

Voldemort was proud when, after a year and a half, Little One stopped relapsing entirely. He still had bad days every now and then, such was the way healing worked, but they were nowhere near as regular as they used to be. The feeling of joy Voldemort felt whenever he hugged Little One without relieving a flinch was incredible, and it filled Voldemort with such glee.