Author's Note: I got the idea of how Lucius pays for his more expensive purchases from another writer. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the author or the title of the story. But to whoever it was that wrote that story, thank you so much for that creative idea.
Lucius entered Ethelbert's Bookshop and immediately approached the counter, where he rang a bell.
As Lucius waited, he looked around. Unlike Flourish and Blotts, this bookshop was not filled with shelves of books. In fact, there were no books in sight, as this bookshop prided itself on having those rare books that could not be found anywhere else. A huge part of Malfoy Library's collection, in fact, had come from this bookshop.
This, however, was not a bookshop for common books. That was what Flourish and Blotts was for.
In order to prevent nosy Ministry officials and Aurors from being able to look around to see what could be found here, the owner, Nathan Ethelbert, kept all the books behind the counter in a place that only he knew about. Such people did not come into the shop as much as they did during the First Wizarding War, but Nathan had never been one to take any chances.
Even though wizards and witches with shops in Knockturn Alley were able to get away with quite a bit, there were still some things that could possibly land them in Azkaban. Some of the books that Nathan had in his collection were definitely "questionable" and "dangerous" enough to make Azkaban a real possibility for him.
Another bonus of Nathan keeping his books hidden was that there were no records of them, so it was particularly impossible for anyone to track who had bought what.
When it came to discreet businessmen, there were few more discreet than Nathan Ethelbert. That was one of the reasons why Lucius liked doing business with him.
Lucius did not have to wait for long.
"Lucius," Nathan greeted respectfully, "it's been a while. Welcome. What can I do for you today?"
"I need to know how to detect poisons in a person's blood," Lucius answered in a matter-of-fact voice. He had to stay in business mode. He couldn't afford to fall apart. Draco needed him to stay strong and focused.
Lucius was just glad that he knew how to enter business mode and how to exit personal mode in less than a second. It was one of the few things he would ever fully appreciate learning from his father.
"Of course," Nathan responded to Lucius's request. "Unfortunately, I only know parts of the theory, but I do believe I have a book on it. Give me a moment to see what I have."
Lucius nodded his head as he watched Nathan disappear from sight.
Nathan never asked any questions. If he had a book on whatever you wanted or he if knew how to obtain such a book, he got you that book. Proper Purebloods like him did not involve themselves in other proper Purebloods' business. That was another reason why Lucius liked doing business with him.
Several minutes passed until Nathan returned. He was carrying an ancient-looking, heavy book.
"I believe Chapter 8 will be of the most interest to you," Nathan said as he placed the book on the counter.
"Thank you," Lucius responded. "How much?"
Nathan named an amount as he pulled out a sheet of parchment from under the counter.
Nathan waved his wand over the parchment, and several blank lines suddenly appeared on it.
Lucius took the quill that Nathan offered him. He wrote in the book's cost. He then signed his name.
Lucius then handed the quill back to Nathan, who added his signature to the document.
On no part of the document was there any mention of the particular purchase that Lucius had made. But that wouldn't matter to the goblins at Gringotts. All that mattered to them was the amount of money that needed to be transferred.
Lucius was very grateful that goblins didn't concern themselves with the business of wizards and witches. Goblins had better things to do with their time then to be nosy.
Nathan then waved his wand over to document, and everything completely disappeared.
Most wizards and witches had no idea of how proper Purebloods operated when making most of their purchases, especially those purchases they wanted to keep discreet.
Lucius carried money on him, of course, but it was never as much as most people probably thought. No, Lucius carried just enough to remind people that he had more money than they did.
Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for Purebloods to be mugged (especially if they were doing their shopping at night, which was something Lucius had often done to avoid detection), so Purebloods made a point of never carrying much money on them.
Lucius watched as Nathan waved his wand over the document. Immediately, everything disappeared.
Nathan would later take this parchment to Gringotts, and the goblins would transfer the appropriate amount from Lucius's account to Nathan's.
And the amount on the form could not be changed. The quill that had been used had been charmed to prevent that.
The quill had also been charmed to know whether or not the signature truly matched the identity of the wizard or witch using it. The quill also couldn't be fooled by Polyjuice Potion or by any other method of disguise.
Nathan waved his wand over the book's cover. The book's title changed to something that sounded common and innocent.
Lucius knew how this particular charm worked. The words inside the book would be changed as well.
"Same password," Lucius said.
Nathan nodded his head in confirmation.
Lucius had done enough business with Nathan in the past to know what series of words he would need to speak in order to get the book to once again reveal its true content.
Lucius adjusted the book in his arms. In his cloak there was a bag of potion ingredients that he had already purchased for Draco's antidote.
He now had everything he needed. It was time to return to the manor.
Narcissa was gently stroking Draco's hand as she held it.
Narcissa took a moment to shift in her chair. She thought about Lucius's earlier visit. He had come to get a sample of Draco's blood, so that he could test it for something. He had not said what he was testing for, but he had said that it was important and that he would explain everything to her later. Time was crucial, so Narcissa could understand Lucius keeping it short.
The memory of Lucius taking a sample of her son's blood, though, still made her wince, even though Lucius had made the cut on Draco's arm as shallow as possible.
But Lucius had needed more than just a few drops of Draco's blood in order to perform an effective test, so the cut had been necessary.
Narcissa had not relaxed until Lucius had healed Draco's cut. Afterwards, it had looked like Draco had not ever been cut.
And Narcissa had felt even more relaxed when she had seen the hopeful expression on her husband's face as he had looked at the phial containing Draco's blood. His research was going well, and right now that was the most important thing to her.
"Your father is making a lot of progress," Narcissa spoke to her unconscious son. "You're going to get better real soon, and then we'll be able to return home. I know you probably miss riding on that broomstick of yours. I'm actually looking forward to watching you perform some of those tricks of yours, and you know how much those tricks scare me."
Narcissa gave her son a sad smile, even though she knew he couldn't see it.
"Mum," Draco suddenly spoke.
Narcissa looked at her son and saw that his eyes were open and that he was looking at her.
"Hi, Draco," Narcissa smiled weakly.
Draco looked at his mother for several moments, but he didn't say anything further.
A few moments later, his eyes closed and he once again faded into unconsciousness.
Draco no longer needed any potions to help him with sleeping. All he did lately was sleep. He wasn't conscious often, and whenever he was conscious, it was always just for a few seconds.
Narcissa had to struggle not to sob. She didn't want Draco to hear her crying. She had to be strong for him.
Her only solace was that Draco was barely in any pain, but that was only a small comfort to her.
As much as Narcissa would have liked to, there was no denying it. Her precious little son, her and Lucius's only child, was slowly dying.
"Lucius, please hurry," she whispered desperately.
Narcissa couldn't bear the thought of losing another child, and she knew that Lucius felt the same way.
At least Lucius's letter had sounded encouraging. Narcissa just hoped that everything would continue to go well for her husband in his research.
It was hard, tedious work. Chapter 8 was indeed what Lucius was looking for, but it was a difficult read. The theory behind detecting poison in a person's blood was very complicated, and it seemed that doing the actual application of the theory would be even more complicated.
Lucius wished now that he had spent more time in the past studying blood. There was definitely a lot to it.
Unfortunately, though, the study of blood (even among Purebloods) was no longer as appreciated as it had used to be.
At least that was what Abraxas always said. He was always complaining about how they just didn't make Purebloods like they used to.
Lucius knew that his father could be of great help to him in his research.
But Lucius also knew that Abraxas could care less whether or not Draco died.
Abraxas had made that very clear, as clear as the cut that Lucius had given him.
Having anything to do with Abraxas would only be a waste of Lucius's time.
And Lucius couldn't afford to waste any time.
Lucius took a moment to take another dose of Headache-Prevention Potion before getting back to work.
It was going to be a long night.
Lucius just hoped that he would soon have more good news to report to Narcissa.
Author's Note: I hope the beginning of this wasn't too boring, but I really wanted to explore how Purebloods conduct their business and their purchases in my headcanon. The reference to Purebloods sometimes being mugged was also a reference to another fic I have written, "Information Comes At A Price."