Sequel to Lucius Malfoy's Baseless Literary Snobbery

or

How a Seduction Changed a Life

Madeline Moody was a Squib and that meant she had no magic. As a result she had to make due with what talents she did have. They didn't amount to much. She had a sense of humor, a quick wit, and a gift for talking ingenious nonsense. She also had a pretty face, but she did not know that. For all her seeming boldness, she didn't have a whole lot of self esteem. Her brother would say that this was because she didn't do anything to actually be proud of, but she seldom listened to her brother. Her brother was, in case you don't know, the renowned auror Alastor (Mad-Eye) Moody.

Today Madeline is working in Borgin & Burkes. She has long black hair and is wearing jeans, black boots, a lilac hooded sweatshirt zipped half way up, and a gray t-shirt with some writing on it. Perhaps later, if you're good, I'll tell you what it says. For now, let's watch her as she makes a sale.

"Ooo, this is a fun one," said Madeline to the young witch beside her as they looked over the jewelry. She picked up a silver ring with a red gem. She put it on and gave a swift flick of her fingers and a secret compartment under the gem opened. She pretended to sprinkle it over a goblet. Another flick, and the ring closed again. "I don't know what one would put in there. Maybe a love potion?" she mused.

The young customer, who looked to be in her late teens/early 20's, grinned. "Or a sleeping draught so my dad wouldn't realized how late I came home," she giggled.

Madeline snickered. "Here, you try." As she removed the ring, the door of the shop opened causing the little bell on it to tinkle. She glanced at the door. Lucius Malfoy had come in amid a billow of black robes and long silvery hair. He smiled subtly at Madeline and started to stroll through the shop, browsing at the merchandise. Madeline turned her attention back to her customer. The young witch had put on the ring.

"It's turned blue," said the witch.

"So it has!" agreed Madeline. "I didn't know it could do that."

"I wonder if it reads moods," said the witch thoughtfully.

"Or maybe personalities. It was red last time I put it on as well," said Madeline. "But the azure blue is so amazing. It looks pretty with your eyes."

This remark caused the young customer to beam and admire herself in the mirror holding her fingers up near her face. "It is pretty, isn't it?" she said. Then she shook her fingers but it wouldn't open for her.

"It takes a certain little flick," said Madeline.

The witch passed her wand over it causing the secret compartment to open.

"Or that," said Madeline, reddening a bit. "More graceful that way," she admitted.

"It's a bit pricy," said the witch looking at the dangling tag. She removed the ring and the gem remained blue.

"It comes with a pretty silk pouch, any color you like. Come see." Madeline lured the girl to the till and produced a basket of small silk sacks from under the counter. The customer chose a silver one with black crescent moons. "Lovely choice," said Madeline. "So, shall I ring you up then?" she said in her perkiest voice.

"Oh, why not?" said the girl with a grin.

Lucius Malfoy had been surreptitiously watching the entire transaction with amusement. He managed to catch Madeline's eye as she wrapped up the merchandise. She felt herself blush and wondered at her own reaction.

"Thank you so much and do come again." She smiled at the customer. She casually turned her back on Mr. Malfoy and began needlessly rearranging little tinted bottles on the shelf against the wall and casually hummed "Headwig's Theme."

She suddenly felt a presence behind her. She turned around because it was no use pretending she didn't notice him standing there. She couldn't figure out why or what for he had always paid her so much attention. She had been amused at first, but lately wondered if she wasn't getting a little too familiar with a probable Death Eater. Charlie had said as much in several letters. She had only written to him about Mr. Malfoy because she thought it was all so outrageously funny. She decided she had better put on her sales-lady demeanor.

"Good day, sir. May I help you?"

Now Lucius Malfoy was used to people being extra polite to him. The shop owner, Mr. Borgin, practically bowed down to him, as did most of the other shopkeepers in Diagon Alley. Madeline, however, didn't. She'd tease, sass, and roll her eyes at him, but never kowtow. Oh, she was never unpleasant. In fact, he found her manner to be quite agreeable in an amusing sort of way, much like a drunk goose. Hmm, not a great analogy, but it's the best I could find on short notice.

He ignored her affected civility. "I have something for you," he said, holding out a wrapped parcel. She just looked at it as if it might explode at any moment. "Take it." He took her wrist, turned it palm upward and set the package in her hand.

"What is it?"

"Shall we look and see?" He pulled the end of the twine and the bow came untied. He tossed the twine into the air and it disappeared with a poof. She smirked at the silly theatrics. He smirked right on back at her as he unwrapped the paper and tossed it into the air. It fleetingly became a dove before also disappearing with a pop. She laughed and then looked down to gape at the gift. It was a book: Geoffrey Chauswander's Candleberry Tales.

She blinked at him in disbelief. "I can't take this."

"Why? I know you like it," he said.

"Uh..." she said with no eloquence whatsoever.

"Look inside." He opened the cover with one gloved finger. Written in elegant handwriting were the words, "To The Lovely Madeline, I hope my gift will bring you great pleasures." It was signed simply, "L" in a rather ornate scrawl.

All she could think in her head was, "Oh, bat droppings!" But what she said was, "Thank you," barely above a whisper.

"You're very welcome," he said with a satisfied smile. "I did read it, by the way."

"Oh," she smiled and blushed. "I was a bit unkind about that in Flourish & Blotts."

"Nonsense," he said. "You are never unkind. I should know. I can be very cruel."

"Yes, I've heard that," she looked down at the book in her hand and continued softly, "but you aren't to me. I-" she hesitated in her words and also her thoughts. "I can't understand why."

"You disarm me, somehow," he said softly. She looked up at him. Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the mouth.

I don't know what would have happened next, had they not been interrupted by a group of three wizards who came into the shop rather noisily. Lucius Malfoy turned abruptly away from her and strutted away. Evidently she was good enough to toy with but not good enough to be seen with. He brushed past the group on his way to the door, turned, and gave her a brief glance with those piercing eyes before leaving the shop.

We'll now take our story to what happened that evening at Alastor Moody's house in Kensington.

Alastor sat in his most comfortable chair, dozing by the fire, when suddenly Madeline came bursting in the front door. He yawned as he heard the familiar slam of the door and her boots being kicked off and fall onto the floor with a plip plop. He stretched and realized it was getting dark. He twitched his wand to turn on the lights just as she came panting into the sitting room.

"Hello dear," he said.

"Uhg! It's hot in here." She pulled off her sweatshirt to reveal her t-shirt.

You stuck with me this far, so I'll tell you what it said. It had the letters: S.U.F.F.A.R. and written under each letter was a word: Squibs-United-For-Friendship-And-Research. The acronym left something to be desired. People often thought it was just "suffer" spelled incorrectly. Madeline herself had founded the organization. Including herself, there were now five members. I'm using the term "members" very loosely. Once she had sent them each a shirt, she wrote down their names in a little ledger whether they had agreed to become part of the organization or not. That was just her method, you see.

Alright, back to our story.

She tossed her sweatshirt and bag onto the sofa. It was a WWII army surplus. The bag, that is, not the sofa. She knelt down dramatically on the floor beside her brother's chair.

"What is it dear?" He put a fatherly hand on her hair.

"We have to do something!" she announced. "Lucius Malfoy is in love with me."

Alastor burst out laughing at the unlikelihood of that happening.

"I don't think you're quite displaying the proper reaction," she said incredulously.

"I don't mean to brush aside your concern, dear," he chuckled, "but I find it highly improbably that Lucius Malfoy would fall in love with a Squib, even if that Squib is as lovely as you," he said, stroking her hair.

She reached over and grabbed her bag. "I'm afraid it's true." She pulled out the book and handed it to him. He opened it as she rose up on her knees to point out the inscription. He read it silently. He wasn't alarmed at first. Very often second hand books have writing inside. Why, Moody himself once bought a copy of 100 Recipes for Autumn Squash with an inscription that read, "To Jack, You are the Pumpkin King of my heart. Love Always, Sally."

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"He gave it to me."

"He gave it to you?" His concern began to well up.

She nodded. "At the shop today." He was about to reply but she blurted. "And he kissed me."

Now, Madeline had seen her brother angry before, furious even, but what she witnessed next was the rage that earned him the nickname, "Mad-Eye." He stood up to his full height without the assistance of his staff. He still clutched the book in one hand. In his other, he held his wand. His magical eye spun its socket.

"HE WHAT?!?!" boomed Alastor. A tiny spark shot randomly from his wand in response to his outburst. Madeline didn't answer. "How could you?" he bellowed.

"I didn't. He just-" she began.

"You must have encouraged him!" he yelled.

"I..." Had she flirted? She never intended to, but people sometimes took it that way.

"I won't let my sister become a Death Eater's whore!" The words stung and she stumbled to her feet to protest, but she just gasped when he ignited the book with his wand.

"Why did you-?" Her voice trailed away as she watched sadly as the blackened bits fluttered onto the floor like dead moths. She turned angrily and headed for the door.

"It's my job to protect you!" he yelled as he followed and cast a sealing charm on the front door. "I've been protecting you since before you were born and I'm not going to quit now!"

She turned. "Protect me? That's a laugh!"

"What?" he boomed.

"Since before I was born? Bah! You never protected me from our mother!"

"Beloved, I-" He began to speak He was going to tell her about the others, their siblings that were killed by their mother while still in the womb because her 'acuminous fetus' spell revealed that they weren't what she had wanted, so he lied to her when Madeline was conceived, saying she was a perfect little wizard, but Madeline cut him off before he could tell her any of it and continued on with her rant.

"You saved me from an orphanage after she had already gotten rid of me! Nobody protected me from her! NOT you, NOT father, nobody!"

"I had no authority to take you from her." His rough voice was losing strength.

"And you have no authority to keep me prisoner here," she spat.

"You're right," he said in a low voice. He flicked his wand and the front door opened part way. "Then go."

This, she didn't expect. She looked from him to the door and back again. "But..." she stammered, "you're supposed to protect me." He didn't respond. She turned toward the door, but hesitated and looked back. "You have to. It's your job," she said feebly with tears welling up. He just looked at her sternly, so she made a move to leave. Before she reached the door, however, Alastor made it shut with a wave of his wand and moved swiftly, if not a bit clumsily, to his young sister and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Ah, my beloved, ya never understood what evil there is in this world," he growled, his old scarred cheek on her head. Her body shuddered with her sobs. Tears poured out of his one normal eye and fell into her black hair.

Madeline didn't return to work the following day. She didn't even leave the house until her brother made arrangements for her to go stay with a cousin they had on a small unchartable jungle island. Neither of them told anybody what events lead up to the decision and she didn't return for a long time. Incidently, you can read about that adventure in "Sirius Black's Sanctuary."

Thank you for reading. I hope you'll see fit to leave me a review.