I don't own them. It's all JK Rowling's. I'm just borrowing them for the moment.
"Come on, Lucius! I think you'll like this."
"Like what, Severus? Sometimes, I think you have too much of a taste for Muggle things."
Severus narrowed his eyes at the tall, platinum blond-haired wizard. "Some of us have a refined taste in music," he retorted.
"Oh, and Messiaen is considered good taste?"
"Messiaen is ethereal."
Now it was Lucius' turn to roll his eyes. "Since when did you classify anything as ethereal? Who are you, and what have you done with Severus Snape?"
Severus growled at Lucius as he roughly took his arm and Side-Along Apparated him to an alleyway in Paris. He released Lucius' arm and said, "Follow me."
Lucius rolled his eyes at Severus. "Is this part of satisfying your taste in bad Muggle music?"
Severus ground his teeth as he took Lucius' arm and dragged him down the street. They ended up at Place Saint-Sulpice. Lucius stopped and gawked at the enormous church on the east side of the square.
"Severus? What is that church?" Lucius asked.
"That is Église Saint-Sulpice," Severus answered. "Come and have a look."
Lucius followed Severus as he crossed the square and entered the church. He marvelled at the size of the church and wondered how was it that Muggles could build something so large and yet so exquisite in its beauty.
He turned his head as he heard the strains of … something, the likes of which he had never heard before. He wasn't sure how to describe it, except … ethereal, perhaps?
As if he was reading his mind, Severus came up behind Lucius and murmured in his ear, "It's amazing, isn't it? The Cavaillé-Colle organ is one of the most impressive Romantic-era instruments in the world."
Lucius was transfixed by the music. He was amazed at how majestic it was and how well the sound filled the entire building. "This comes from an organ?"
"Yes," Severus said. "This is one of my favourite pieces. Let us listen to this for a while."
Severus led Lucius to a pew, and they settled in. Lucius closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. He could almost see the colours in the music as opposed to hearing them, which greatly surprised him, as he never expected listening to music to be a visual as well as an aural experience.
By the time the organist played the last thrilling chord of the piece, Lucius felt like he had flown around the world. He opened his eyes to see his black-haired, black-eyed friend smirking at him.
"So?" Severus whispered.
Lucius sighed. "Words cannot describe how exquisite that was! Perhaps Muggles are not culturally bereft, after all."
"I'm afraid it would be we in the wizarding world who are poorer for not appreciating such music as this."
"Who composed that piece?"
"Olivier Messiaen," Severus replied. "As I said, this is one of my favourites – that was the final movement of La Nativité du Seigneur, Dieu parmi nous."
"Well, my friend," Lucius drawled, "I will never question your taste in music ever again."
"I would hope not," Severus smirked.
A/N: Prompt issued by ladyinthecloak: Lucius visits a cathedral and is enchanted by the sound of an organ playing. Thanks go to ladyinthecloak for the beta-reading, and to voxangelus for coming up with the title.
