Author's Note: This one-shot takes place sometime between when Voldemort retrieves the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb and the Battle of Hogwarts. There are mentions of Lucius/Narcissa and of Severus/Lily. This is not slash.
Lucius was alone in his study. He had managed to convince Narcissa to go to sleep, reassuring her that he would join her shortly. Bellatrix had been leaving Lucius alone since he had thrown a dinner knife at her earlier, which had been followed by a rather intense, frightening look from Narcissa. Draco was at Hogwarts. There were no other Death Eaters at the manor with the exception of himself and Bellatrix. The Dark Lord was also away.
Lucius was truly alone at the moment. It had been a long time since Lucius had been able to find a moment for himself. Narcissa knew without words having to be spoken when to leave him alone (and he knew the same when it came to Narcissa), but it seemed that every waking moment of Lucius's life since the Dark Lord had "saved" him from Azkaban had been spent in Dark Lord's company, Bellatrix's company, or another Death Eater's company.
Lucius didn't mind at all any of the moments he had spent in either Narcissa's or Draco's company, but Lucius (like his wife and his son) still valued alone time. Too much together time had the tendency to make the Malfoy family a little mad. Besides, even though none of the three Malfoys had admitted it out loud, they each needed time alone to deal with the mess their lives had become.
The mess which had started in the Department of Mysteries.
Everything had been going well (even with Harry Potter's and his friends' attempts to fight back) until the Aurors had shown up.
And Lucius knew which person had been responsible for the Aurors' appearance. Lucius just had not yet had the chance to confront the man.
Severus Snape.
While Lucius and Severus had never exactly been friends, Lucius had most definitely always held a huge amount of respect for Severus and his abilities in both the Dark Arts and Potions.
And Lucius Malfoy didn't respect many people. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of people he held any respect for.
Narcissa. Draco. The Dark Lord. Severus.
Yes, that was one finger short of one hand.
And Lucius had always thought that Severus returned that respect.
Now Lucius had to wonder about that.
Now it was time for Severus to finally face the music.
Lucius walked over to his desk, removing a key from his pocket as he did so. After the Dark Lord had taken Lucius's wand, Narcissa had Transfigured one of her combs into a key that would allow Lucius to still have access to his secret drawers and chambers.
The key was one of many of Lucius's and Narcissa's little secrets. Even Draco didn't know. Draco was a natural at Occlumency, but he was still learning.
And the Dark Lord was extremely skilled at Legilimency.
And the Dark Lord often used Legilimency on Draco.
Lucius held his key over a certain spot on his desk and waited for several moments.
Then, a key hole suddenly appeared.
Lucius couldn't help but smile (and he most definitely had not had any reason to smile for a long time) as he unlocked one of his desk's secret drawers. He really was fortunate that his beloved Narcissa was such a talented witch.
Lucius pulled out a jar from the drawer and then walked over to the fireplace.
Lucius then tossed some powder from the jar into the fireplace.
"Severus," he cried out in a voice that would not allow for any argument. "I would like a word with you. Come over here now."
Several moments later, Severus came walking out of the fireplace. He looked at Lucius with a hint of curiosity and confusion on his face but otherwise he appeared emotionless.
Lucius looked at Severus with the same emotionless expression.
"I didn't know you had Floo powder, Lucius," Severus spoke. "I thought the Dark Lord had forbidden it. You know you're not allowed to leave your manor."
"And I have done as the Dark Lord has commanded," Lucius replied in a cold voice. "I may manipulate a situation to my advantage, but I have never ran. And I won't run unless there is no other option."
Lucius left unsaid that Severus better not say anything to the Dark Lord about the Floo powder.
Severus nodded his head at both Lucius's spoken and unspoken statements.
Severus left unsaid that he wouldn't say anything to the Dark Lord about the Floo powder.
Lucius allowed himself a slight smile. One of the things he had always liked about Severus was the fact that they could communicate so much to each other without having to speak the words.
It reminded Lucius a lot of his relationship with Narcissa.
It was almost a shame that Severus had betrayed Lucius so greatly.
But Lucius was still going to speak his mind. It was enough that he had to keep quiet around the Dark Lord (which he had done partly out of fear but mostly because Narcissa had asked him to be nothing but respectful towards the Dark Lord so that the Dark Lord would not have any more reason to hurt Lucius).
But Lucius most definitely was not going to keep quiet around Severus.
"Why have you called me here tonight, Lucius?" Severus asked. He had always been one who liked to get straight to the point.
As much as Lucius loved to play the political game, he was often the same way. Like Severus, Lucius didn't like wasting words.
Severus's betrayal really was a shame.
"I want to talk about what happened in the Department of Mysteries," Lucius said.
"What about it?"
"Everything would have went well if the Aurors had not shown up. I almost had the prophecy in my possession, and I would have been able to deliver it to the Dark Lord if it had not been for those Aurors' appearance."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Stop acting so innocent, Severus," Lucius snapped. "This has everything to do with you. Harry Potter, after all, is the son of Lily Potter."
Severus eyes widened slightly but otherwise his face didn't reveal anything.
"I may have never commented on it out of respect for you, Severus," Lucius continued, "but I knew how you felt about Lily, how you still felt about Lily even after she had betrayed you and married that self-absorbed idiot James Potter. And despite any feelings I may have had regarding your relationship with that woman, I still passed the message to you, at great risk to myself, when I had learned that the Dark Lord was after Lily and James Potter."
"You did," Severus admitted.
"Ever since the Dark Lord's return," Lucius said, "I have wondered whether or not you were truly loyal to him. He did, after all, murder the woman that you had loved, even though she had never truly returned that love. But regardless of Lily Potter's holier-than-thou attitude in regards to you, I saw you after her death. And I could tell that you were mourning for her. So, of course it is only natural that you would want to protect all that is left of her. And that one thing would be Harry Potter.
"You knew, Severus, that Potter and his friends would be coming to the Department of Mysteries. The Aurors didn't know, but you did."
Severus didn't say anything, but his face was notably not quite as emotionless as it had been just a few moments ago.
"I would not have harmed Potter and his friends, Severus," Lucius snarled. "My only interest was the prophecy, not playing games with some children. I am not Bellatrix."
"You didn't mind playing games with children when it came to the Chamber of Secrets," Severus snapped back.
"That was different," Lucius insisted. "The Dark Lord had commanded me to find a way to get his diary into Hogwarts, and I did not dare disobey him. The Mark, after all, had only faded, not disappeared. And I don't just have myself to think about. I also have Narcissa and Draco, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe."
Lucius gave Severus a significant look. "Just like you will do whatever it takes to keep Harry Potter safe."
"What does this all mean in the grander scheme of things, Lucius?" Severus sighed, his voice sounding weary and slightly defeated.
"Well, fortunately for you, Severus, I am no longer in the Dark Lord's favor," Lucius replied. "You, on the other hand, currently have the Dark Lord's respect, or at least as much respect as the Dark Lord is capable of giving someone else. The Dark Lord is not likely to listen to me, even if what I have to say could possibly save his life."
Severus looked at Lucius for a long moment. "Let us talk to each other plainly for once, Lucius. You are not the type to let an offense against you go unpunished. And as highly regarded as I am by the Dark Lord at the moment, I know that he would have no problem with disposing of me if suited his purposes. And while you may prefer the subtle, diplomatic approach to things, Lucius, I know that you have no problem with getting your hands dirty if that is what the situation requires."
"I am not going to kill you, Severus," Lucius smiled. "The Dark Lord may end up being the one who does that for me. Like you said, I do prefer the subtle approach when possible."
Severus gave Lucius a look of confusion.
"I know that that the Dark Lord has the Elder Wand," Lucius explained, "and I know how the Elder Wand works. Draco may have been the one who disarmed Dumbledore, but merely disarming an opponent is not enough in the Dark Lord's book. With the Dark Lord, murder is everything, even if murder is not always the correct solution. But putting that aside for the moment because that is what the Dark Lord will do, let's not forget, Severus, you were the one who killed Dumbledore."
Lucius looked at Severus for a moment. "You can still run if you want to, Severus. I will even help you as much as I possibly can."
"Has the Dark Lord been torturing you that much, Lucius?"
"No more than usual," Lucius answered casually, as if the Dark Lord's torture sessions with him weren't painful.
"I thought you would be angrier at me," Severus said, his voice clearly reflecting his confusion.
"Oh, I am angry at you, Severus," Lucius replied matter-of-factly, "but I can also understand your actions. You acted out of love (Lucius sneered when he spoke the word "love," as he had always been taught that love was a weakness) when you told the Aurors where they could find Harry Potter. You wasn't thinking that your actions would end up ruining me. You were only thinking about protecting your precious Lily Potter's precious little boy. And as much respect as I have held for you all these years, Severus, I would not hesitate to betray you if that was the only way to protect Narcissa and Draco."
Lucius paused for a moment. "Besides, you managed to keep Draco safe while I was in Azkaban. If something had happened to Draco because I had not been there to protect him-"
Lucius had to struggle to keep his emotions under control.
"You may not believe me, Severus," Lucius said after he had managed to compose himself, "but I really do not desire your death. A part of me actually feels sorry for you. You have spent most of your life loving a woman who could have cared less about you. I am more fortunate in that regard. Narcissa has always cared about me, despite everything that I have done in my life."
Severus looked at Lucius, but he didn't say anything. And his face didn't betray anything, even though Lucius was sure he saw some hurt in Severus's eyes when he had mentioned Lily's lack of care.
"You should return to Hogwarts before someone notices that you are missing," Lucius spoke. He left unspoken that Severus should not tell anyone, including the Dark Lord, of their conversation.
Severus nodded his head, leaving unspoken that he wouldn't say a word to anyone, including the Dark Lord.
Severus took some powder from Lucius's jar and tossed it into the fireplace. "Hogwarts," he cried out. A moment later, he was gone.
Lucius looked at the fireplace for several moments. Then, he took the jar and locked it back up in its secret place. He really was grateful for Narcissa. It was time to return to her.