Author's Note: There are references at the beginning of this story to an earlier story I have written, "A Pure Gift." This story can either be seen as a sequel to "A Pure Gift" or it can be seen as a stand-alone story.
Additional Author's Note: Lucius is eight in this story.
To Lucius's surprise, there were not burning houses or the sounds of screaming and chaos when he and the Dark Lord Apparated outside a two-story house. In fact, the night sounded perfectly calm and peaceful.
Lucius looked around. There was no one outside except for him and the Dark Lord.
Where were the Death Eaters? The Dark Lord had told Lucius that they were going on a raid.
Lucius looked up at the Dark Lord, an unspoken question in his eyes.
"It's going to be a simple raid tonight, Lucius," the Dark Lord said. "We'll just be attacking this house. You disappointed me last time with your weakness."
Lucius looked away from the Dark Lord. He didn't want to think about that night, but the memories of it were still fresh in his mind. It had, after all, happened just a few months ago.
The burning houses. The screaming. The chaos. The panic. The fear.
Lucius remembered the Dark Lord leading him to a family of three, a father, a mother, and a child about his age.
They had all had blond hair.
Lucius remembered the Dark Lord telling him to torture the family of Muggles.
Even more painfully, Lucius remembered the look of pity that the Muggle woman had given him.
Even after Lucius had begun to torture the family, the Muggle woman had still looked at him with pity.
Pity was not an emotion that Lucius was used to. Pity was a weakness.
And that Muggle woman had been the first person to have even shown him any pity.
Lucius didn't know what to think. He wanted to hate that filthy Muggle for daring to pity him. He didn't need anyone's pity. He was a Pureblood. He was superior to everyone else.
Yet another part of Lucius had been touched by the woman's kindness.
Kindness was another emotion that Lucius was not used to. Kindness was also a weakness.
Lucius gritted his teeth. It was unbelievable. A Muggle had shown him more kindness in such a tragic short amount of time than his father had ever shown him in his entire life.
And Lucius had just stood there and watched as the Dark Lord had murdered the woman and her entire family.
Because he had been too weak to do it himself.
"Look at this house, Lucius," the Dark Lord spoke, interrupting the young boy's thoughts. "Look at how well these Muggles are living. They are living better than many wizards and witches."
The anger in the Dark Lord's voice was clear.
Lucius looked at the house. It was nowhere near as grand as Malfoy Manor, but it was clear that the people living in this house did indeed have money to their name.
"These Muggles dare to insult us," the Dark Lord hissed, clearly working himself into a murderous rage. "These Muggles must learn that their place is beneath us. And you will be helping me to teach them this lesson, Lucius. I trust you won't disappoint me again."
Lucius gulped, unable to form any words.
"Are you ready to prove yourself worthy of your noble blood, Lucius?" the Dark Lord asked.
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius answered in a weak voice.
The Dark Lord pulled out his wand and motioned for Lucius to do the same.
Lucius pulled out the Malfoy family wand. It was a wand that had been used by all Malfoy heirs until they were ready to receive their own personal wand for school.
The last time, Lucius had used the Dark Lord's wand.
Lucius remembered how honoured he had felt. But then he had disappointed the Dark Lord with his weakness. As a result, Lucius had lost the honour of holding the Dark Lord's wand.
The Dark Lord used his wand to unlock the front door.
Lucius followed the Dark Lord as they made their way through the dark house.
Despite the darkness, though, Lucius could tell that the house was nicely-furnished. It wasn't as nicely-furnished as Malfoy Manor, but once again it was clear that these Muggles had money.
The Dark Lord hissed in anger.
No one was found in any of the rooms of the first-story. Then again, it was late at night, so all the occupants were probably upstairs in their bedrooms.
A treacherous part of Lucius held onto the unrealistic hope that the family was out for the night.
"Let us go upstairs," the Dark Lord hissed at Lucius.
The young boy just nodded his head and followed.
Upstairs was just as dark, except for a beam of light coming from underneath one of the closed doors.
"Would you like do the honours, Lucius?" the Dark Lord said.
It wasn't a suggestion.
With a flick of his wand, Lucius opened the door.
To Lucius's relief, the Dark Lord then pushed him aside.
Lucius followed the Dark Lord into the now open room.
It was a bathroom.
A middle-aged Muggle man was facing them, no doubt trying to see who had opened the door.
The Muggle was clad in pajamas, and his hair was tousled. He was also holding a toothbrush. It was clear that he had been brushing his teeth, no doubt in preparation for going to bed.
The man's eyes widened at the sight of the Dark Lord.
"Who-" the man began.
Quicker than the eye could blink, a beam of green light shot out of the Dark Lord's wand. It struck the man in his chest.
Lucius winced slightly as the man fell to the floor.
The Dark Lord grinned in twisted delight.
Before he could help himself, Lucius found himself looking into the man's eyes.
There was no expression in them. They were completely lifeless.
It quickly became clear to Lucius that he was not yet numb to death.
"His wife is probably already in bed," the Dark Lord spoke, "and it's likely that they have at least one child. We shall split up. Kill whichever you happen to find. But be prepared for the possibility that there is more than just one child. Don't let that stop you. Kill them all."
Lucius looked up at the Dark Lord with wide eyes.
"Surely you're not thinking of disappointing me again, Lucius," the Dark Lord hissed in warning.
"No, of course not," Lucius gasped.
"As soon as you are done with your side, meet me at the front door," the Dark Lord ordered almost lazily.
Lucius bowed quickly to the Dark Lord before leaving the bathroom. He felt the Dark Lord's eyes watching him.
Lucius finally rounded a corner. There were now two ways he could go.
He went to the right.
Moments later, he felt the Dark Lord going in the opposite direction.
Lucius tried to keep his breathing under control as he made his way alone through the dark house. He hoped unrealistically that he found no one on the side that he had chosen.
He then came across a closed door.
Lucius took a few deep breaths before using his wand to open the door. He then closed the door behind him as quietly as his shaky hands would allow.
Inside the room, clearly a bedroom, he found a small girl sleeping on a bed.
The girl looked to be around his age.
At least she doesn't have blond hair, Lucius told himself. He had to keep himself from laughing nervously.
Lucius then slowly approached the bed. He looked down at the sleeping girl.
Her brushy brown hair almost overpowered her tiny face, her tiny, peaceful-looking face.
Lucius pointed his wand at the girl.
You can do this, he told himself. You know the words. All you have to do is speak the words. It will make the Dark Lord proud. It will make your father proud. You don't want to be disappointment for the rest of your life, do you? You don't want to be weak for the rest of your life, do you? Do you, Lucius Malfoy?
His wand shook in his trembling hands.
Then, the girl's eyes suddenly popped opened.
Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Lucius.
"Don't make a sound," Lucius quickly said, sounding more confident than he felt. "I'm not alone."
The girl looked around her bedroom, her huge brown eyes fearful.
"He's not with me," Lucius explained. "He's on the other side of the house."
"My parents," the girl gasped.
Lucius couldn't bring himself to tell the girl directly that her father was already dead, and that it likely wouldn't be long before her mother was as well.
"There's nothing that can be done for them," Lucius spoke in an emotionless voice.
The girl looked at Lucius with terrified eyes.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked. To her credit, her voice was only slightly shaky.
Lucius lifted up his wand and pointed it straight at the girl's face.
The girl looked at the wand in surprise. She then looked at Lucius with some doubt in her eyes.
Lucius twirled his wand, and some sparks shot out of it.
The girl's eyes widened with fear. It was clear that she now realized that the wooden stick being pointed at her was truly a weapon and therefore a threat to her.
The girl closed her eyes, but she didn't make a sound aside from a slight whimper.
Just speak the words, Lucius told himself. All you have to do is speak the words.
But he couldn't. Lucius lowered his wand.
"Open your eyes," he ordered the girl. "I'm not going to kill you."
The girl opened her eyes.
For several moments, she and Lucius just stared at each other.
"Your parents are probably dead by now," Lucius said sharply.
The girl flinched at the harshness of Lucius's voice, but she didn't say anything.
"Is there anyone else in the house?" Lucius asked.
The girl shook her head. It was clear she was struggling not to cry.
"He'll be coming for me next then, won't he," the girl said a few moments later.
"Not if he doesn't know about your presence here," Lucius responded without thinking.
The girl's eyes widened again, but this time it was with hope instead of with terror.
"Is there anywhere you can go?" Lucius asked, his voice now strangely calm.
"I have relatives not that far away," the girl replied.
"Then we have to get you out of this house, so that you can go to them," Lucius returned, his voice now sounding businesslike.
It was how his father often sounded whenever he was dealing with other people.
"How?" the girl asked. "If we try to go down to the front door, whoever you're with might see us."
Lucius looked at the window.
The girl followed Lucius's eyes. "No," she breathed. "There's no way I can do that."
"My master will eventually start looking for me," Lucius spoke. "Do you want him to come in here and find you?"
"How am I going to climb out the window?" the girl asked, her voice now noticeably shaky.
"I'll help you," Lucius offered. "I have plenty of practice with climbing out of windows."
Which was the reason why his father had started locking him down in the dungeons instead of in his bedroom whenever he was being punished.
Lucius took the blankets off the girl's bed. He twirled them into something resembling a rope.
"Are there any windows beneath us?" Lucius asked, his voice still businesslike, as he worked.
It was possible that the Dark Lord had already finished with his side and had went back downstairs. Lucius didn't want to risk him seeing a figure being lowered down from the second-story.
"No," the girl said.
"Good," Lucius replied.
He then tied one end of his self-made rope around the girl's waist.
Whenever he had escaped from his bedroom in the past, he had tied one end to one of his bedposts and had tossed the other end out the window so that he could climb down it.
That was how his father had eventually discovered that he had been escaping from his bedroom at night when he had supposed to been staying in there as punishment.
But this time would be different. Lucius wouldn't be going out the window with the girl, and therefore he wouldn't need anything to help him climb back up.
Besides, he had no intention of leaving any evidence that someone had escaped from this room.
He had learned his lesson with his father, and he had never been one to make the same mistake twice.
"I'm going to lower you down," Lucius said as gently as he could. "I promise I won't let you fall."
The girl looked at Lucius for a moment before nodding her head.
"Let me open the window for you," she said. "I know how to open it quietly."
The girl, with the blanket-rope firmly secured around her waist, made her way over to the window.
As soon as the window was open, Lucius helped her onto the windowsill.
"It may make you feel better to hold onto the blanket," Lucius told her. "I'll do the rest."
The girl wrapped her hands firmly around the blanket. She then began to climb out her window.
Lucius lowered the girl as gently but also as quickly as possible. As soon as he was no longer able to lower the blanket-robe flowing through his hands, he looked down. He saw that the girl was safely on the ground below.
The girl untied the blanket around her waist. Lucius pulled it back up.
The girl then looked up. For several moments, she and Lucius looked at each other.
"Go," Lucius finally mouthed more than actually said.
The girl gave Lucius one final look before turning and fleeing into the darkness of night.
Lucius untied and untwisted all the blankets, and he placed them neatly back onto the girl's bed. He then made his way out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him.
His task of covering up his actions done, Lucius made his way downstairs. To his relief, the Dark Lord was not yet at the front door.
It wasn't long, though, before he spotted the Dark Lord making his way towards him.
"Done before me, Lucius?" the Dark Lord asked in a slightly amused voice. "Did you find anyone?"
"No, my Lord," Lucius answered in a calm voice.
"What a disappointment," the Dark Lord said. "Considering how big this house is, I was hoping that they would at least have one child."
The Dark Lord looked straight into Lucius's eyes.
You don't know I'm lying, Lucius said in his mind. There's no way you can know that I'm lying.
"I came across a bedroom," Lucius offered, knowing that half-truths were usually easier to get away with than complete lies, "but it was empty. Perhaps it was a guest bedroom."
"What a shame then that they didn't have any guests over tonight," the Dark Lord smiled unpleasantly.
"What a shame indeed," Lucius echoed.
"Maybe next time you'll get lucky," the Dark Lord said. "Your first kill will be one you will never forget."
Lucius somehow managed a smile.
The Dark Lord opened the door. Lucius followed him.
Once outside, the Dark Lord used his wand to shoot the Dark Mark into the sky above the house they had just exited.
Lucius resisted the urge to shudder. He then suddenly found himself wondering whether or not the girl was currently looking up into the sky as well. Was she seeing the strange, evil mark hovering eerily above her house, the same house where her parents had just been murdered? Was she thinking about how close she had come to being murdered as well?
"Let us return to Malfoy Manor," the Dark Lord spoke, interrupting Lucius's thoughts.
Lucius somehow managed to keep himself from showing his relief. At least tonight he wouldn't have to worry about raiding another Muggle house.
Later that night, Lucius lied awake in his bed.
Why had he saved that girl's life? She was just a filthy Muggle, after all. She didn't deserve to live.
Was it because she had been so young, about his age?
Or had it been because of that Muggle woman from last time, that Muggle woman who had dared to look at him with pity when the Dark Lord had ordered him to torture her and her family?
What had he been thinking? Eventually, he was going to have to kill a Muggle. He most definitely wasn't going to start a Muggle-rescuing campaign.
He didn't want to risk the wrath of either his father or the Dark Lord. He had already risked more than enough with his actions tonight.
Besides, Muggles should mean nothing to him. They were inferior to him.
He should not have spared her. He should not have been so weak.
"Just forget about it, Lucius," he muttered to himself. "She was just one insignificant Muggle. Saving the life of a single little Muggle isn't going to change anything for you or for the world."
Hermione noticed that her parents, especially her mother, were unusually quiet as they were making their way away from the Leaky Cauldron so that they could make their way back home with the items that Hermione would be needing for her second year at Hogwarts.
They were probably still shaken from what had happened at Flourish and Blotts.
It truly was no wonder that Draco was the way that he was. All one had to do to understand Draco was to look at his father.
"Is there something on your mind, dear?" Mr. Granger finally asked his wife.
Mrs. Granger was briefly startled. It was clear that her mind had been elsewhere.
"No, honey," Mrs. Granger finally smiled. "I was just thinking about that unpleasant man from the bookshop. I hope you don't come across people like him often, Hermione."
"No, Mother, I don't," Hermione tried to reassure her. "Most of the people at Hogwarts are actually very pleasant."
"That's good to hear," Mrs. Granger smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, sweetie."
It was clear, though, that a part of Mrs. Granger's mind was still elsewhere. Hermione and her father, however, did not push her.
That hair. That distinctive hair. Surely there weren't many people, even in the Wizarding World, with hair like his.
Mrs. Granger shook her head. There was no way that man with the platinum blond hair was the same boy who had saved her life all those years ago. There just was no way.
There had been mercy and human emotions in that boy's eyes. There had been nothing but coldness and emptiness in the man's eyes.
They just happened to have the same color hair, but that did not truly mean anything. Perhaps platinum blond hair was common in the Wizarding World.
It had not been the boy all grown up that she had seen in the bookshop. It had been an entirely different person.
Lucius greeted Narcissa on his return to Malfoy Manor. He then left Draco with her and told them that he would see them at dinner.
As Lucius made his way to the study, he kept on thinking about that Potter boy and about the Weasleys.
One thing he did not think about were Hermione Granger's parents. They were clearly Muggles, and that was all that Lucius cared to know about them. They weren't important to him. They meant nothing to him.
They were just a bunch of filthy Muggles thinking wrongly that they had the right to be in his world.
There was something about Hermione Granger herself, though. She reminded Lucius of someone from long ago. She was almost like a long-forgotten memory, a memory that he couldn't bring forth into perfect clarity no matter how hard he tried.
Lucius shook his head. Hermione Granger was nothing more than a Mudblood who had no right to be at Hogwarts with his son.
There was nothing special or significant about Hermione Granger.
Lucius would give her no more thought.
Just like he would not give that troublesome memory he just couldn't remember any more thought.