Walden Macnair arrived precisely at the time they had agreed upon. He was in no way a gentleman, but he would never dare to disrespect someone like Lucius Malfoy by being late for a scheduled meeting.

"Come and have a seat," Lucius said, motioning towards the sofa in his private study at Malfoy Manor. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Some red wine would be nice, thank you," Macnair returned.

Well, at least the man had not asked for red tea. Lucius had offered Macnair some tea on one of his previous visits to the manor, and it had not taken Macnair long to turn the tea from its original color to the color red.

He may be a bit obsessed with blood, Lucius could not help but think with some amusement.

Macnair's gruesome nature did not bother Lucius in the slightest. Even though the blond-haired wizard preferred to handle matters of business with the least amount of mess possible, he had grown up in a world full of darkness and horror. His father had exposed him to dark artifacts and to poisons at an early age. He and his father had been attacked by would-be thieves on several occasions when he had still been a young child. The Dark Lord had taken him on countless raids before he had even started at Hogwarts. Lucius, therefore, knew how to handle the brutal world that many of the Death Eaters took pleasure in embracing.

Lucius handed the other wizard a glass of Superior Red before taking a seat on the nearby couch with his own glass of the same wine.

Macnair took a sip of the red wine and nodded his head in approval.

"What's the special occasion, Lucius? This has to be your best wine."

"It just seemed appropriate," Lucius replied with a casual but elegant shrug of his shoulders.

The blond-haired wizard did not consider Macnair to be a friend, but he did tolerate the Ministry's executioner more than he did most of the other Death Eaters. Macnair wasn't the brightest when it came to book smarts, but there was no denying that the man was effective in his twisted but creative methods when it came to getting tasks accomplished. Lucius had always held a great respect for fellow wizards and witches that were able to think outside the box.

It also didn't hurt Macnair's case that he had always held Lucius in high regard and had always respected him as a leader.

Lucius waited until Macnair had taken several more sips of wine before launching into the reason why he had invited the other man over in the first place.

"Did you enjoy your vacation with the giants?" Lucius drawled casually.

"It went very well," Macnair smiled, not seeming surprised at all that Lucius knew where he had been for several months. "The giants had gotten themselves a new Gurg, Golgomath. Lovely fellow for a giant. He had recently beheaded the former Gurg, which was why he was the Gurg when I arrived."

Macnair laughed at his own words.

Lucius gave the other man a slight smirk. Personally, the blond-haired wizard could care less for giants. They were lazy, uneducated, and uncivilized. Lucius, therefore, had not been thrilled at all when the Dark Lord had told him that he wanted to create an alliance with them. Not that Lucius would ever say that out loud to his master, of course. He wasn't that foolish.

"This Golgomath sounds like he would be a perfect match for you," Lucius remarked with amusement. "You both have a thing for taking heads."

Macnair laughed again, even though this time there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes. Like Lucius, he had not forgotten the incident with Hagrid's Hippogriff. Macnair was still upset over the fact that he had been denied that creature's head and blood, and he was still regretful over the fact that he had not been able to deliver the justice that Lucius had desired after the Hippogriff had attacked Draco.

"Golgomath allowed me to keep the head," Macnair said. "I got it in my bedroom."

"Do you sleep with it?" Lucius couldn't help but ask. Just because he personally didn't care much for this whole beheading business didn't mean that his stomach couldn't handle it. Lucius had lost his queasy stomach at an early age thanks to both his father and the Dark Lord.

Macnair laughed once more.

"I take it then that we will be able to count on the giants' assistance," Lucius said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Macnair nodded his head, his eyes bright with excitement and twisted joy. A moment later, however, he frowned slightly.

"The only bad thing was that Dumbledore's half-giant friend and a half-giant woman accompanying him managed to escape from us," Macnair admitted with clear disappointment in his voice. "Apparently, they were also trying to recruit the giants."

"Don't be too disappointed, Macnair," Lucius responded. "There will be another time to take care of that Dumbledore-loving fool. For now, take pleasure in the fact that the giants chose you over him and therefore also over Dumbledore. This is still a victory for us."

"Indeed, indeed," Macnair smirked, "and the Dark Lord was pleased enough by that piece of success that he has already given me another mission."

"Bode," Lucius said simply.

"The Dark Lord encouraged me to have fun with disposing of him," Macnair grinned.

Lucius did not say anything for several moments as he looked towards the study window.

The blond-haired wizard did not have anything personal against Bode. Lucius had just thought that the other man could be helpful in retrieving the prophecy, being that he was an Unspeakable. It had all been nothing more than a simple matter of business.

What power does that prophecy hold? Lucius couldn't help but think.

Lucius had always considered himself a master at the Imperius Curse, so he definitely didn't like the thought that there was something in the world powerful enough to break his Imperius Curse, with perhaps of course the exception of the Dark Lord. But that was exactly what had happened to the Unspeakable when he had tried to retrieve the prophecy. Bode's mind had been damaged, and the Imperius Curse had been lifted prematurely. Lucius knew this from having seen the man on several occasions while he had been at St. Mungo's, his reason being that he wanted to personally donate some money to the hospital for all the noble work that its Healers did.

It wasn't regret that Lucius was feeling. It was nothing more than damaged pride. Lucius had always prided himself on his smoothness on his casting of the Imperius Curse. Unlike most of the other Death Eaters, Lucius could cast and remove the Imperius Curse from his targets without causing any permanent damage. The blond-haired wizard had never before had a target remember that he or she had been Imperiused. Lucius's targets had also never stopped acting normal. They had continued to act normal after the Imperius Curse had been cast on them. They had continued to act normal after the Imperius Curse had been removed.

Am I losing my touch? Lucius couldn't help but think with some worry. No, I can't be.

Regardless of whether Lucius was losing his touch or whether there was just something about the prophecy that was beyond his control (not a thought that he liked), it unnerved the blond-haired wizard greatly.

Lucius's thoughts turned back to Bode. It didn't matter to the blond-haired wizard that Bode would have to die in order to keep the Death Eaters' dealings a secret, but that didn't change the fact that the Unspeakable should not have needed to die to protect anything. Bode should not have remembered anything. Bode should not have been damaged.

Lucius had discussed the matter with the Dark Lord. He had asked how likely it was that Bode would remember what had happened to him. Lucius, after all, had always been smooth with his casting of the Imperius Curse.

"We cannot afford to take any chances, Lucius," the Dark Lord had said. "The fact that you usually are effective in casting the Imperius Curse just gives us more reason to be cautious. Your curse should not have been broken, but the prophecy managed to do exactly that when Bode touched it. Besides, the Ministry already believes that he was injured in a workplace accident. They won't suspect anything if he was to suddenly die, especially if his death was seen as just another tragic accident."

"I understand," Lucius had replied.

Back in the present, Lucius directed his attention once more to Macnair.

"The Dark Lord told me to have fun," Macnair said, "but he also told me to make sure that Bode's death would not raise any suspicion."

A look of disappointment crossed Macnair's face as he spoke. He didn't like accidents. He liked executions.

"I was wondering if you had any ideas, Lucius," Macnair continued. "You know I'm not very good at being, what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Low-key," Lucius suggested. "Subtle."

"Yes, that's right," Macnair grinned. "I'm not very good at being low-key and subtle, not like you are."

Lucius was silent for several moments. Then, he finally said, "It's Christmas. I know from being at St. Mungo's in the past during the Christmas holidays how busy it is. A gift could easily slip by a Healer's attention."

"I've never before given anyone a gift," Macnair frowned. "What do you get someone who's in the hospital?"

"Plants are common gifts," Lucius replied.

"Who in the world would want a plant as a gift?" Macnair frowned again.

"Well, I don't know, Macnair," Lucius returned. "I guess everyone doesn't appreciate the beauty of a snake or the grace of an axe like you do."

"You know me so well, Lucius," Macnair laughed. He then sighted. "I suppose it would be too obvious if Bode was to receive a snake or an axe, so I guess it's going to have to be a plant. Such a boring gift."

"Indeed," Lucius said, "but perhaps you could make it more interesting."

"I think I could do that," Macnair grinned. He finished his last sip of wine. "Most excellent wine, Lucius. I could do with another glass of it after I'm done having fun with Bode. I don't know what it is about this wine, but it just seems to inspire me."

"Well, it is red like blood," Lucius drawled, "and there are few that love blood more than you do."

"That's what it is," Macnair laughed, standing up. "Well, I suppose I should be going now. I have to go plant shopping."

Macnair rolled his eyes as he spoke.

Lucius could not help but chuckle slightly. Macnair was brutal, but there was no denying that he was also amusing in a twisted sort of way.

It also didn't hurt Macnair's case that he was creative and more than capable of thinking outside the box.