Lucius hadn't been happy to come across the Potters when he was trying to buy school items for his son. There were far too many people about and the crowds were making him irritable. He was most at home when it was only him and a few others. When 'a few' went into the dozens and they were all confined to such a ridiculously tight space, his enjoyment lessened considerably.

When a Muggle woman ran into him and dropped her child's books and potion ingredients at his feet, he almost hexed her. It was Narcissa's gentle touch to his arm that stopped him before he could act rashly. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoys didn't hex women because they bumped into them.

At least, not in public.

Finding the Potters amidst all those people had been an unfortunate accident. Draco still needed a wand, and Lucius, finally tiring of being jostled on all sides, had decided that now was the time to get it. Ollivanders Wand Shop was situated in a part of Diagon Alley that was usually empty. It was a darker, more closed-off part of the alley. Lucius imagined that might intimidate some people.

There were certainly a few things he could think of that were more frightening than some walls. Himself, for example. If there were any people settled there, he planned on scaring them off so he could have a few minutes of peace while Draco picked out a wand.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucius caught sight of hair strikingly similar to his own. He turned his head quickly but not without grace. His hair, and the hair of his wife and child, was the mark of a pureblood. It was respectable, and almost exclusive to the Malfoy line. If there was someone else out there who had it, then he had to know. If, Merlin forbid, it was a Muggle, not even his wife could stop him from hexing them bald.

He came face-to-face with a young man. He appeared to be in his early twenties, little more than a youth. It was no one that he recognised, although this was almost certainly a pureblood and unless Lucius was mistaken, someone from his own line.

The man reminded him of himself, but he was slimmer and softer-looking. It was partly youth and partly that he appeared to have not seen anything so terrible as to put new lines in his skin and hardness in his eyes. His hair fell to his collarbone and was neat, likely without effort as Lucius' own was. The clothes he wore were strange, but when he thought on them he found he could not concentrate. His gaze ran back to his face.

His eyes, Merlin, his eyes. They were a darker gray than he had seen on any Malfoy, and stronger than that unassuming body would have suggested. As he looked into them, Lucius was reminded of a thunderstorm. But they were calm, somehow holding both the power of a storm and the gentleness that came before it. As though the man was dangerous, but he had no cause to harm anyone. But the potential threat was there, clear in his eyes.

He was striking and, Lucius did not find it hard to admit, more beautiful than himself. He wondered absently what Narcissa would make of him, and then pushed the thought aside. Lucius began to reach out the man, intending for them to become at least acquaintances. "I-" he started but stopped when someone walked between them, obscuring the man from view. When they passed, he was no longer there.

If he had not seen far worse, Lucius would have been spooked.

But he had, so he set the encounter aside and murmured to his wife that they should head to Ollivanders. She consented with a minute nod and nudged Draco slightly with a hand on his back. The boy responded almost immediately.

They were training him well, Lucius thought. They had put it off for so long that he had feared he might no longer be mouldable. In that Draco had surprised him, rather than having their affection prevent him being able to learn deceit, it made him willing to learn it out of love for his parents. Under their tutelage he was learning quickly.

The first thing to learn was unquestioning obedience. From the way he allowed his mother to direct him through the crowd without being told where they were headed, Draco showed that he had already understood that concept. To be unquestioningly obedient did not mean ignoring the other person's motive, nor did it mean doing exactly what you were told without fail.

Draco was to think and evaluate, and obey when he deemed it appropriate and question only inwardly until he was proficient enough to riddle out the answers on his own. As it was, he was doing his parents proud.

When he was able to see the Potters at all through the unending crowds of people, it was too late for him to steer the family away from them. He had to settle for looking as though, while unexpected, this encounter was quite a bit of luck rather than something that made him want to pull at his carefully groomed hair.

Lucius approached them, seeing even from some distance the intense anger that was being directed at him. He did not warn Narcissa of the imminent confrontation, he knew she would have seen it already, perhaps even before he did. It was in her hands what to tell Draco. He preferred she not say anything to their son, so that he would be able to see his lessons in action and understand better of his own volition just why they were necessary.

As they neared, Lily stepped forward. So she was to be their delegate. A position no doubt self-appointed, loath as he was to admit it James was in truth quite a worthy opponent and would have been the better choice of the four that he saw. Lily's anger crackled off of her in a way that was quite unpleasant, while James' merely simmered behind his eyes.

That traitor Black he saw was with them, standing off to one side with James slightly in front of him. He looked positively rabid. Narcissa would be enjoying that, he knew. She had married into the Malfoys but no pureblood willingly abandoned their own line, even through marriage. She was a Black as much as she was a Malfoy, and that dog no longer had any claim to that legacy.

James Potter had stood between them to protect them from Sirius, he figured. Lucius had to commend the man's foresight, but felt the slight to his ability. As much as he might actually be protecting one party from the other, he was saying that Lucius was not capable of adequately defending himself. He wondered if it were intentional.

"Lily Potter," he said in acknowledgement. He pushed aside his annoyance at how this day was turning out, and forced some amusement into his tone and expression. Nothing would bother her more. "How pleasant to see you here."

"Malfoy," she threw back at him. How artless.

He let his expression show his disdain. An eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly and his gaze hardened. If the girl had any ounce of skill in her at all, she would recognise the insult. Lucius did not voice his reply, but it should have been apparent from his expression. 'Not even worth a first name, am I?' it said clearly to anyone who looked for it. 'All that shows me is your immaturity, you stupid, ignorant girl.'

As was to be expected, Lily didn't as much as blink. James however pulled back violently, his eyes filled with anger in much the same way his wife's were. His was different though, it was a direct threat, not simply intense emotion. It told him that he would hurt Lucius if he found him to be improper towards Lily, even if she didn't realise it.

Even when they betrayed their heritage and married Mudbloods, the purebloods were still so far above them. It amused him that James would probably be even angrier to hear his approval.

He noticed that the wolf standing on Lily's other side was shifting around somewhat. It was a minor detail and one that he filed away, should it prove important later. For now it meant nothing to him.

"So what are you all doing at Diagon Alley today, Lily?" Narcissa asked. Her manner was friendly and appropriately distant. There was nothing about her to be faulted. One would have to know Narcissa nearly as well as he did to realise that her actual idea of friendliness was telling someone before she tried to poison them. This was false, but impeccably so. He loved his wife dearly.

There was a condescending note in her tone but that should go without saying. They were speaking with Lily Potter, a Mudblood who had tacked a pureblood name to her own and seemed to think nothing of it.

Of all things it was that that Lily lost her temper over. Then again, she had always been more aware when it came to Narcissa. She hated her far more than she had ever hated Lucius, quite inexplicably. But his wife was rather good at that.

She almost threw herself at Narcissa, stopped where she was by James who held her tightly until she settled. It was he who eventually spoke. "Shopping, Mrs Malfoy, of course. For our son, you may have heard of him," his eyes narrowed, "...one way or the other."

Lucius almost laughed. It was not the most skilful manoeuvre he had seen, but it was impressive and especially so when one considered the source.

"I don't believe we've met your Harry. Unfortunate." And it was. It would have served him well in many ways if he had so much as laid eyes on the Boy-Who-Lived in person. "Draco here is also going to Hogwarts, and they are of the same age. Maybe your son and mine could have gotten along?"

It was a vain hope. The day a Potter and a Malfoy, as they were now, got along was the day he traded his cane for a pink umbrella. Regardless Lucius had to admit that it would be good for both sides if their children were friends. So long as Lucius didn't end up killing Harry, as they were so ready to accuse him of being prepared to do, there could be some semblance of amicability.

Not that he wanted to tie his family to one made up of a woman with hair the same as her temperament, a man who clearly had defied his potential to associate with people well below his standing, a traitor Black, a werewolf and whatever Harry was turning out to be like under their influence.

But Harry was going to be the most powerful person in the wizarding world at some point or another, and being allied with him in whatever capacity would work for the Malfoys. Aside from that, if Lucius fell to their Dark Lord's petty whims or alongside him, as the case may be, he wanted – needed – to know that Draco would be safe. Narcissa could protect herself, but his son may be irreversibly tangled up in matters beyond him simply due to Lucius.

He would not forgive himself for that. He trained his son now so that he could more easily evade the net that might fall upon him later in life.

"There are things more likely," James replied. Again, Lucius had to stifle his laughter. It was true enough. Their sons becoming close was less likely than Lupin over there finding a cure for his bloody curse, it was less likely than the Dark Lord overcoming a prophecy without being defeated by a bloody one-year-old and essentially instigating his own demise. It was practically impossible.

He slipped an arm around Narcissa's waist, and his grip tightened as a wave of bitterness washed over him. She would undoubtedly think him weak for the gesture, but as his beloved wife she would also understand what was behind it. If he didn't regain himself, she would become disgusted and leave him. But as long as he was Lucius she would be his Narcissa, and support him in the rare but increasingly less so moments of vulnerability.

When Narcissa's lovely and completely false laughter rang out, he knew that if she could touch him she would have done.

It was enough to regain himself. "The Potters are as charming as ever, I see," he said.

As if to prove his point, a young boy stepped out from behind Lupin. Lucius saw him before he ever saw Remus' look of dismay at having lost him. Lucius saw instantly what had happened. They had tried to protect Harry Potter from the Malfoys they so hated, by hiding him out in the open. James' earlier slight with Sirius paled in comparison to this insult.

What made the offense easier to bear was that Harry appeared to have been there against his will, if the werewolf's shifting about earlier was any indication. Lucius was curious as to why the boy would come out now, but he allowed him to act first. Admittedly he half-expected one of the stunned adults standing around him to grab Harry and Apparate right away.

But for whatever reason, they didn't appear to even move as Harry stepped easily towards their sworn enemies, staring up at them with an expression on his face that would have thrown Lucius completely off-balance if he hadn't sparred with James earlier. Before today, he would have thought a Potter incapable of it.

It was a look of muted curiosity, a look that said that Harry knew there was something to know and that careful study was the only way to uncover it. He had seen that look on his own face throughout his life, and recently on Draco's as he learned pureblood etiquette.

It was not limited by age or gender or ability, but it was limited to the wizarding elite. It was always respectable, for the person wearing it was showing that he wanted to learn something that he had recognised was beyond him. It was a look of study that remained entirely proper.

Knowledge was, after all, valued. Although weakness was frowned upon, it was not weakness but strength that led to this expression, the strength and skill that it took to evaluate and realise that the only way to attain this piece of knowledge was to openly and actively search for it.

Harry might not realise it – no, he certainly did not realise it – but he was asking the Malfoys to teach him what they knew in the most natural and esteemed way there was.

Lucius held his breath as Harry's eyes searched his face, and exhaled when they left to study Narcissa's. He noted with some amusement that the boy's brow furrowed slightly when he looked at Narcissa. She was able to hide her emotions from the best. If this child had been able to read her, Lucius would have renounced the Dark Lord and changed his allegiances to the Light.

His inspection of Draco was more drawn-out and it occurred to Lucius that it could just as easily be that Harry found his son's face hard to read as that he found it very informative. He may have to ask him that someday, if he ever got the chance. Which was looking increasingly more likely by the second.

Finally, Harry smiled at Draco, showing that his study of him had ended. That there was warmth in that smile seemed so impossible to Lucius that for a moment he doubted what he had seen. But it was true, whatever the boy had seen in his son he appeared to have liked it. Within two minutes the number of possibilities for the Malfoys' futures had multiplied many times over.

This child was incredible. It was a shock to admit it, but he really was above and beyond all of Lucius' expectations. What did he have, what was there in his mind that set him apart from the rest of his circle, let alone the rest of the magical population?

Without warning Harry's eyes met his, briefly, before returning to Narcissa's. There was that warmth again – he appeared to like her.

Thank Merlin.

Lily seemed to have started out of her reverie and lunged forward, pulling her son back to her and wrapping her arms around him protectively. The look in her eyes was so wild and suspicious that she reminded him briefly of a Knarl. "Harry! When we tell you to stay back, you stay back!"

"Sorry. I won't do it again," Harry said, looking at up at his mother and giving her a smile before looking back at Lucius. He looked very intent, on what Lucius couldn't be sure. He got a strange feeling from the boy in those moments, but fortunately it passed when the look on his face did, relaxing into something more casual as his hands came up to rest on his mother's arms.

Rubbish. Of course the boy would do it again, he already knew enough about him to realise that. He was cautious but Lucius had the distinct impression that he preferred to be apologetic than obedient and uninformed. His earlier hopes that he and Draco would become friends had faded somewhat, now. He did not know what Draco and Harry would do to each other, his son with his loving obedience and James' with his uncompromising rebelliousness.

He supposed that it was to be expected that Harry inherit traits from both of his parents.

James took a place at his wife's side, placing a hand semi-formally on her shoulder. It was enough to offer comfort in a way familiar to her and still maintain face in front of a rival family. Lily looked as if she wanted to lean in to him, and Lucius was surprised when she didn't. Perhaps she did have some understanding of these games that they played.

"Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy," he addressed them. "This is our son, Harry Potter. I don't believe he has been formally introduced to him."

"A pleasure," said Lucius, with a short bow.

"He is a lovely child. I'm sure he will grow up well and do you credit," Narcissa said softly.

From the look on Harry's face his mother's hold on him had just gotten tighter, but she didn't react to the sound of his wife's voice the way she usually seemed to, a fact that Lucius was grateful for.

It was only once that Lily had actually managed to attack Narcissa. Lucius had been forced to take Draco with him on an impromptu holiday for three weeks, and then keep to himself for another month. He didn't want to think who had suffered her rage in their absence. He knew someone had, or the Manor wouldn't have been standing on their return.

"He already does us credit," James replied. Lucius would have sneered at that. It was such a Potter thing to say. "But I am grateful for your words," he finished.

The last sentence only slightly redeemed him in Lucius' eyes, but it appeared enough for Narcissa, who inclined her head. "If you would excuse us, James. We're headed to Ollivanders now to get Draco his wand."

"Of course. Be well," he said by way of farewell, inclining his head as she had done.

Lucius noted that Harry's face was beginning to turn an odd-looking shade of red. His mother did not appear to be as unaffected by their parting civilly as she seemed. He chuckled quietly to himself when they had turned away.

They made their way down the alley, only speaking of what had happened when they were certain that there weren't many people around to hear it.

"I quite liked him," Narcissa mused. "Intelligent. Not nearly as cautious as he should be, but I don't think he took on more than he knew he could handle."

"High praise, my dear." Lucius raised an eyebrow at her. She looked at him for a minute before moving over to kiss him on the cheek, her lips lingering for a second too long in the way she knew made him crazy. "Did you really like him that much?" he asked her, his voice uncharacteristically soft. It was his way of saying that he was asking her a question honestly, and wanted an honest answer in return.

She drew away from him, smiling in a way that didn't reach her eyes. "I did."

"He liked you, I think. Had a lovely look on his face just before his Mudblood of a mother captured him," Lucius said, scorn audible in his voice.

Narcissa simply gave him a look that had him straightening his back, smoothing down his hair and composing his face and voice so that he looked as flawless as he had that morning, before this dreadful day had started.

Although, that meeting had been quite enlightening. Lucius appreciated that something had happened without him needing to instigate it beforehand, annoying as it had seemed to him just half an hour before.

As much as he tried to push them down, his hopes kept bubbling up inside of him. There was a chance, however slight, that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Make-The-Dark-Lord-Completely-Unbearable, might be able to carry his family through all of this.

There was no guarantee that Lucius would make it through the upcoming war, but he intended to do everything he could to make certain that his wife and child not only survived it, but lived well afterwards. He would give all of himself for that to happen, to the Dark Lord or the young Harry Potter.

And as much as he hoped that he could provide for his family, he selfishly hoped that at the end of it all Draco would understand that he had done it for him. Lucius wanted his son to think well of him, but it wasn't necessary and protecting Draco was more important than feeling appreciated because he did.

He looked to Draco, who was standing in front of Ollivanders looking up at the large, worn sign. Lucius' eyes narrowed when he saw that he was trembling slightly, almost unnoticeably. He moved to stand beside him, his wife still some feet away and watching both of them.

"We're going to go inside and get you your wand. Then we have to stop by the apothecary for an ingredient your mother ordered. And then we will return home," Lucius told him.

"Yes," Draco replied, his voice completely steady. His hands still trembled at his sides.

"Are you going to tell me what is wrong?" his father asked. He always gave Draco freedom to make his own choices when it came to discussing things. It was one thing to order him to the apothecary, it was quite another to order him to talk about what made him sad, or why he didn't want to do something. Lucius was conscious that his son was a person and should be treated like one.

Draco's head hung, his eyes on the ground and his hands alternating erratically between trembling and not trembling. "I don't like Harry Potter."

Lucius was silent for several long moments. "That's unfortunate. Well. Either it's good practice for you, or you'll have a rival who is more than worthy of you. Now, shall we go and get your wand?"

His son's hands abruptly stopped trembling, and soon his neck straightened again, slowly, as if his head was very heavy. "Yes, Father."

As they stepped inside, Lucius resisted the urge to hold his wife's hand and admitted to himself, in the security of his own mind, that he had no idea what was going to happen to them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Notes - I love Lucius. I think he's one of those characters you're just as happy reading being the bad guy as the secretly good guy. Whether he's following Voldemort because he agrees with him or he was pushed into it for whatever reason, I just find him incredibly likable. That may be why this chapter was very easy to write. Any other Lucius fans out there? Leave a review and say so, then I can justify writing from his point of view again. :)