Author's Note: This is a companion piece to my multi-chapter story "Not Just Another Weasley." However, this one-shot is from Lucius's point-of view instead of Percy's. This takes place in between Chapters 9 and 10 of "Not Just Another Weasley."
Lucius had left Percy alone in his private study at Malfoy Manor for just a few minutes to respond to a Summoning from the Dark Lord. Lucius, of course, had told Percy that he wanted to say "good night" to Narcissa before they talked more, an excuse which the younger man had readily accepted.
Percy, however, must have drank more Superior Red than he was ready to handle because he was fast asleep on the couch by the time that Lucius had returned.
"Oh, Percy, I did warn you that it was stronger than it might taste at first," Lucius could not help but chuckle with some amusement.
Lucius then drew his wand and used the Levitation Charm on Percy's clothes to gently float the younger man from the couch to one of the guest bedrooms in the manor, even though the blond-haired wizard was careful to stay away from the hallway where Bellatrix was currently residing in another guest bedroom.
As Lucius was gently lowering Percy onto the bed, he could not help but wonder why he was bothering with all this. He could have just woken the younger man up.
But even though he's clearly not drunk, there still might be just enough alcohol in his system that he might have possibly Splinched himself while Apparating back to his flat, a voice spoke in Lucius's head.
Once again, Lucius found himself wondering why he was being so concerned about Percy Weasley's well-being of all people. Besides, it wasn't as if he could not have used Side-Along Apparition to get Percy back to his flat. He had learned the location of the young Weasley's flat not long after he and Percy had started talking with each other on a regular basis.
It didn't make any sense for Lucius to bother himself with making Percy comfortable for the night, as if he actually cared about the younger man.
There were very few people that Lucius genuinely cared about. His father Abraxas Malfoy had taught him at an early age that caring for others was a weakness that could be used against you.
Yet, there was something about Percy Weasley. There was no denying that he was different from the rest of his family, especially from his father.
Lucius looked down at Percy. The young Weasley looked so peaceful and so innocent in his sleep.
While there was no denying that Percy was an intelligent and talented wizard, he was also in many ways naïve and innocent. He had theories on how the world worked, but he didn't truly understand the world. It was clear that his parents had tried their best to keep him sheltered from many of the cruel realities of the world.
That all be easily changed, though, a voice spoke in Lucius's head. He approached you. He wanted to see for himself if there was more to you than the cruel, evil man that his father had often described to him. You didn't have to do anything to gain his attention. He sought you out all by himself.
Lucius had always valued intelligence, and he had always respected people that were willing to think beyond just what they had been told.
On many occasions, Percy had shown himself more than willing to have his own beliefs and not just the beliefs that his father had taught him.
A memory suddenly flashed through Lucius's head. He and Percy had been discussing the hospitalization of Arthur Weasley.
"I heard what happened to your father recently," Lucius said to Percy.
"Oh, yes, it was very alarming news to me," the younger man returned.
"How is he doing?" Lucius asked.
"I really don't know," Percy answered. "I mean, when I heard about his accident, I did make inquiries at St. Mungo's about his condition."
"But you didn't go visit him," Lucius said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"No, I didn't," Percy admitted. "Of course, if his accident had been a lot worse, I would have gone to visit him. Despite all our recent disagreements, he is still my father."
"Yes," Lucius breathed softly. "I suppose one should respect their father like that."
"Did you have a bad relationship with your father?" Percy inquired.
Lucius looked at Percy for a long moment, as if he was seeing him for the first time.
"It has been a long time since anyone has asked me such a personal question," Lucius finally spoke. "I had always assumed that no one thought that I actually had a personal life or personal feelings for that matter."
Lucius knew for a fact that he would never have such a conversation with Fudge. The Minister was always interested in what Lucius could do to help him in his pursuits and goals. Fudge, however, had never showed any signs of caring to get to know Lucius on a personal level. Oh, the Minister had of course asked Lucius on many occasions how his wife and son were doing, but they had never spent long discussing either Narcissa or Draco. It had all been nothing more than a matter of professional, not personal, courtesy.
It was a strange feeling to care about someone else. It was an even stranger feeling, though, to have someone else care about you.
Other memories flashed through Lucius's head. He remembered the time he had shown Percy his sword collection. It had quickly became clear that the younger man had no skill with a blade, but he had still listened eagerly and respectfully as Lucius had told him about the history of each type of sword.
Lucius had also told Percy about his desire to preserve everything that the Malfoy family had collected throughout the many generations.
"Perhaps when things calm down at the Ministry," Percy said, "I can help you with organizing all the relics and heirlooms that your family has collected over the centuries."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Lucius replied.
Lucius continued to look down at Percy. He truly was different from the other Weasleys.
Perhaps a part of Lucius did genuinely care about Percy.
No, you can't afford to get sentimental now, a voice quickly spoke in Lucius's head. You need to stay focused on keeping the Dark Lord pleased. Percy Weasley is nothing more than a potential weapon to be used against Dumbledore's precious Order.
The blond-haired wizard began to entertain himself with the thought of Percy being in a situation in which he would have to literally choose between his father and Lucius himself.
It would break Arthur's heart so much to witness one of his sons choosing his enemy over him, Lucius thought with twisted glee.
There was no denying that Percy had come to view Lucius as more than just a colleague, even more than just a friend.
"Draco is lucky that you care so much about his education," Percy remarked to Lucius.
"You don't think your father cared about your grades while you were at Hogwarts?" Lucius asked with concern in his voice.
"Not really," Percy admitted. "I mean, I was never under the impression that they were the most important thing to him. I hate to say this because he is my father, but growing up I sometimes felt as if he found a lot of amusement in my strong dedication to my studies. I don't think he ever really understood me."
Oh, yes, there was no denying that Percy had come to view Lucius as both a mentor and a father-figure. With a little more time, Lucius had no doubt that Percy would choose him over Arthur Weasley without even a brief moment of hesitation.
Yes, Percy was nothing more than a potential weapon. He was nothing more than a way of breaking Arthur Weasley's spirit.
Lucius felt the presence of his master arriving at the manor before he felt the Dark Mark burning. The Dark Lord wanted to see him immediately.
Lucius used his wand to cast a quick charm over Percy that would ensure that he stayed asleep. Even though the blond-haired wizard did not truly believe that Percy would wander around the manor all by himself if he happened to wake during the night (he had better manners than that), Lucius still did not want to risk the younger man stumbling upon his meeting with the Dark Lord.
That would result in a huge mess, and Lucius preferred to avoid messes as much as possible.
It had nothing at all to do with the fact that Lucius wanted to keep Percy safe from the Dark Lord because it truly did not matter to Lucius if the young Weasley got hurt or even killed by his master.
Author's Note: Most of the memories came from Chapter 5 of "Not Just Another Weasley." The memory of Lucius and Percy discussing the organizing of the Malfoy family relics and heirlooms, however, I came up just for this one-shot.
Additional Author's Note: According to Harry Potter Wiki, the Levitation Charm does not work on human beings. People can be levitated, but it's actually their clothing that the charm is affecting, not the person himself/herself.