Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Keeper
Prompt: Use the title of a story written by your Seeker for inspiration (Breaking Point)
Potions: Write about a canon pairing
Word Count: 2253
Warning: Character death. Suicide (not very explicit but implied).
To Uphold A Reputation
Lucius threw down the newspaper. He was furious. He couldn't believe the nerve of that Skeeter woman writing all of this garbage about him and his family. There was no way on this earth that Narcissa had cheated on him, let alone got pregnant by another man and passed Draco off as his son.
"What am I going to do?" Lucius sighed to himself.
He glanced up at the computer screen in front of him. The cost of shares in his company had already dropped by five percent and it was only nine o'clock in the morning. He dreaded to think how much more damage would be done to the reputation of his family's company. If he didn't do something fast, he would go down in history as the man who was at the helm of Malfoy Industries when it crumbled after over six hundred years in business.
"You could always go on her show," a voice said from the doorway.
Lucius looked up and saw his cousin and finance director, Barty Crouch Jr, standing there.
"And why would I do something so utterly ridiculous?"
"Think about it, Lucius," Barty replied, entering the room. "You go on her show, and refute her claims. Go through a DNA test and get the lovely Narcissa to take a lie detector test. When the results come back and prove that her article was full of lies, the share prices will soar back up."
"That is—not a bad idea actually," Lucius answered. "Set it up, Barty. The sooner, the better."
~o~o~o~
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Rita's Corner," the blonde said as she walked on to the stage. "I have an exciting and juicy episode coming up for you."
Rita made her way to the centre of the stage before pausing, enjoying the sounds of her loyal audience applauding her.
"You may remember a few days ago I broke the story that the beautiful Mrs Malfoy had cheated on her husband, and that Mr Malfoy is probably not the father of their sixteen-year-old son, Draco. Well, me, myself and I are delighted to have them here today as we get answers to: 'Did my wife cheat on me? And is our child mine?' You can rest assured this is going to be a jam packed special."
Rita glanced to her left. The couple were standing in the wings ready to come on.
"So shall we welcome our first guest onto the show?" Rita asked. The audience went wild with cheers and the blonde smiled. "Please welcome, C.E.O. of Malfoy Industries, Mr Lucius Malfoy."
She walked over to the wings and greeted Lucius before guiding him over to the dark red chairs.
Rita sat down and crossed her legs and leaned forward. She was eager to get started.
"Mr Malfoy—Lucius—why don't you start by telling me, myself and I, and my lovely audience, why you're here today?"
Lucius sat stiffly on the chair. Now that he was actually on the show he wasn't so sure it was the best idea, but there was no backing out now.
"To put an end to the absurd rumours you started about my wife and my son," Lucius answered.
"You believe your wife was cheating on you and Draco is not your own, is that correct?" Rita inquired.
"Of course not, but everyone else does and I wish to put the record straight," Lucius stated, keeping his tone as even as possible. The last thing he needed to do was make an example of himself on live television. "My wife is, and always has been, loyal and faithful."
"Speaking of the lovely Narcissa, shall we bring her on?" Rita asked, standing up and turning to her audience.
Loud cheers rang out from the audience as a tall, long haired blonde lady walked across the stage. Rita embraced her and invited her sit down next to Lucius, whilst she retook her seat.
"It's so rare that I see such a unified couple on my show," Rita commented as the couple joined their hands. "Narcissa, would you like to share your reason for coming on my show."
"The same as my husband's," she replied, glancing at Lucius. "I want to clear up any misunderstandings there have been. For my family's sake, I need them to know that Draco is Lucius' son—he can only be Lucius' son."
"I understand, Mrs Malfoy," Rita replied sweetly, wishing for some dirt. "And we are about to answer your wishes."
Rita stood up from her chair and made her way back to centre stage.
"Before the show, the family consented to a DNA test, and Narcissa underwent a lie detector test," Rita told her audience as a tall dark haired man handed her two envelopes. "And I have the results right here. But first, the results of the DNA test."
She waved the envelopes enticingly, fighting the urge to tear it open and expose Narcissa for the liar she was.
Rita ran her fingernail along the seal of the first envelope and pulled out the card.
"The DNA test reveals that Draco Malfoy—is your son."
The audience cheered loudly and Lucius smiled. He raised Narcissa's hand to his lips and kissed it chastely.
"And now, the lie detector results." Rita sliced open the second envelope and removed the card. "We asked Narcissa if she had ever kissed another man during her relationship with Lucius. She replied: 'no'." Rita paused and glanced down at the card. "The lie detector revealed she was telling the truth."
Lucius grinned. This was all going to plan. Quite soon, Rita Skeeter would have exposed herself for a liar who fabricated stories.
"Next, Narcissa was asked if she had ever slept with another man. Mrs Malfoy replied: 'no'." Rita sighed quietly as she looked at the result. This was not going to plan. "The lie detector test revealed she was telling the truth."
Lucius let out a sigh of relief. They were one step closer to getting rid of the stain against their family. Whilst he had every faith in his wife, waiting for the results of the lie detector test was nerve wracking.
"Finally, we asked Narcissa if she had ever cheated on Lucius. Again, Mrs Malfoy replied: 'no'." Rita glanced down at the card, hoping she could expose Narcissa as a cheat. The last thing she wanted was to write a retraction of her expose. "The lie detector test revealed she was—lying."
Gasps rang out in the audience and mutterings started as they tried to figure out how she could be lying about cheating on Lucius if she had never so much as kissed another man.
"WHO?" Lucius yelled, letting go of his wife's hand.
Narcissa shrunk into her chair and shielded her face as her husband's anger grew, whilst Rita Skeeter bounced on the spot in excitement. This is exactly what she had been hoping for when their appearance on her show had been scheduled.
"I asked you a question!" Lucius roared, grasping Narcissa's hand and removing it from her face. "Who did you cheat on me with? Who have you been making a mockery of me and my family with? ANSWER ME!"
"Alice," Narcissa eventually said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"A woman," Rita interjected, beckoning the bodyguard to come over who quickly moved a furious Lucius away from Narcissa. Rita took the seat next to the blonde and angled herself towards her. "Why don't you tell me, myself and I how you two met? And how your illicit affair started? This is a safe space to tell your story."
Narcissa glanced over at her restrained husband and then to the audience. A round beaming face stood out amongst them and nodded encouragingly.
"Alice and I met in the waiting room at my therapist's office," Narcissa whispered. "We didn't speak for a long time until one day I accidentally spilled my coffee on myself. She helped me and we got talking—I don't know when it turned into something more, but I swear Lucius I never meant to hurt you."
"Lies," Lucius hissed, wrestling in the grasp of the bodyguard. "Does anyone else want to drag my family name through the mud and share their own secret whilst it's being made a mockery of on live television?"
"Well if we're sharing secrets, Father, I have one of my own to share," a voice said, as a younger looking version of Lucius appeared on the stage.
"Draco, you were told to stay backstage," Lucius hissed at his son
"You issued an open invitation, Father," Draco retorted, raising his eyebrows at Lucius. "I have something I'd like to share."
"And what would that be? That you're gay! Because that would be the cherry on top of my day."
"Yes, Father, I'm gay," Draco laughed. "My boyfriend is Harry Potter."
"HARRY POTTER, THE SON OF MY RIVAL!" Lucius roared breaking free from his restraints. He picked up a chair and threw it in the direction of Draco. When it missed, he lunged at Draco and pushed him against a wall. "I FORBID IT! NO SON OF MINE WILL EVER BE WITH A POTTER!"
Suddenly six pairs of arms were on Lucius and dragging him off stage.
"Well, that's all for Rita's Corner," the hostess said, trying to take control back and attention away from Lucius. "Tune in next week for another exciting show with me, myself and I. Goodbye."
Rita waved at the camera before the director called, "Cut," and the show went off air.
~o~o~o~
Lucius stormed into his office. He was enraged. All his family's dirty laundry had been aired on live television—now everyone knew about his wife's affair and his gay son. How had this all happened right under his very nose? How had he missed the signs?
He sat down at his desk and turned his computer on. He needed to compose himself and do some damage control. After this debacle it wouldn't surprise him to find out that shares in Malfoy Industries were at an all time record low.
When his home screen came up, he typed in his password. His eyes widened when the words: access denied came up on his screen.
"It won't work," the familiar voice of Barty Crouch said.
Lucius looked up at his cousin and scowled. This was all his fault. It had been his brilliant idea to go on Skeeter's talk show.
Deciding to save that conversation for another time and focus on the most important matter right now, Lucius asked, "What do you mean it won't work?"
"The board had a meeting a few hours ago after your appearance on Rita's Corner," Barty stated, walking over and taking a seat. "There was a vote of no confidence. You no longer have any say in what happens at Malfoy Industries. Your access to the system has been revoked and a new C.E.O. has been chosen."
"They have no right to do that! I am Lucius Malfoy. I have a controlling stake in this company," he retorted. "It's not possible."
"You have a forty nine percent stake, Lucius. It's possible," Barty told him, placing his legs up on the desk in front of him. "And might I remind you of the clause in grandfather's will which does in fact state that if his chosen successor is deemed unfit, he may be replaced with another heir, and lose any stake they have in the company."
"Which buffoon did the board choose to replace me with?" Lucius scoffed. "I give it a week before they're begging me to come back."
"Me," Barty replied, smirking at Lucius. "They chose me."
Lucius scowled at his cousin. It suddenly dawned on him that this must have been Barty's plan from the very beginning. Somehow he knew about Narcissa's affair, knew that he would react badly when it was exposed and lose his cool, and knew the board would replace him.
"You snake," Lucius roared, jumping up from his seat and over the desk. He grabbed Barty by the scuff of the neck and pushed him up against the wall.
Barty laughed. "You'd have done the same in my shoes given half the chance." He smirked and winked at Lucius. "Security!" he called.
Three men, who used to answer to Lucius, entered the room. They pulled Lucius off Barty and awaited their orders.
"Remove my cousin from the building," Barty ordered. "And make sure all his access is revoked. I cannot have this disgrace walking into the building any time he likes."
The three men nodded at Barty and dragged Lucius out of the building.
~o~o~o~
He had lost everything.
His business.
His wife.
He son—or at least the son he thought he had.
His entire life was in tatters, just like his reputation.
There was only one solution he could see. One where he wouldn't have to face the backlash and further repercussions of what had happened. And one where he could at least have some small revenge on his darling wife.
He stepped onto a chair, grabbed the rope in front of him and placed it around his neck.
Lucius took a deep breath. "It's for the best," he reminded himself.
Narcissa would be the one to find him. She wouldn't get a penny from his life insurance. And given that he had lost everything else, she wouldn't inherit anything—and neither would his son.
He turned around, placed his foot on the back of the chair and kicked it from under him.