Chapter Four

"Getting friendly with that boy?" Lucius asked over breakfast the next morning. "You know sex can backfire on you, and through you, me," he added, giving Chariot the impression he was more worried about his own reputation than his son's feelings.

Chariot nodded like a child whose fingers were caught in the cookie jar. "Frankly, I don't know where you got an idea like that Lucius."

"Frankly, I'm quite pleased with this match: my son and, virtually, the Princess of the Underworld. But I'm not sure the Dark Lord would share in my opinion."

Chariot wasn't so sure. Anything to put her ahead. The Dark Lord had taught her that personally.

A lie, she needed a lie. "It won't happen again, I can assure you." She made sure her voice was hard and unfeeling.

The breakfast was only Lucius and Chariot: a business meeting.

"Has He sent any confirmation of what we're getting into, Lucius?" Chariot lowered her voice and changing the subject.

"Yes, he has actually. I received the order two days ago and destroyed it immediately."

Chariot's eyes flared. He had deliberately kept it from her to show his power of her. "When, exactly, were you going to share this piece of vital information?" she sipped the tea in front of her composedly.

"That was within my power to decide, I believe. This is my house." He was reminding her of his power over her: his 'age-benefits.' "We must retrieve a roll of parchment."

"From where?"

"The Ministry of Magic."

Chariot nodded. This would be tough. But not out of reach, of course. She had done it before. Nothing was out of reach.

On the night of the job, they stood just inside the front doors of the Ministry building.

"Did the occasion really call for such trappings?" Lucius eyed her, irritated.

She didn't answer him. Chariot had dressed in all black and lined her eyes with heavy kohl. Her heels clicked on the stone just inside the Ministry.

The building was mostly dark; the only lighting was from the fountain in the center of the hall and the moon shining through the glass windows set high near the vaulted ceiling. The fountain: all the creatures of the magical world in harmony. Chariot wanted to gag.

Lucius had gotten them inside, to the hall. He'd used his prestige and power within the Ministry to get them inside. Chariot didn't ask why the Ministry was closed. She'd thought it was open all day, all night. But it didn't matter that she didn't know. Thankfully not this time.

Chariot pulled a small kit of tools from her inner thigh. In a leather pouch the size of her fist were metal rods. She chose one and proceeded to pick the locks to the Minister's office.

She marveled at the idiotic simplicity of the Minister's security system. It was a Muggle system and was familiar enough from the last time she'd visited the Minister's office. The luck of it was that most wizards couldn't pick a lock if their lives depended on it. At least, that's what it appeared to be on the outside. Nothing but a locked doorknob. It actually boasted magical defenses, but those could be dealt with easily and in a few moments. First, the door.

With a finishing twist of Chariot's wrist, the latch clicked and the door swung open. Chariot checked the watch on her wrist. 'Not bad,' she thought. Forty-seven seconds. Not up to her usual standards, but not terrible. "Okay. Where to, Lucius?" she said quietly over the ringing water of the fountain.

Lucius pulled out his wand and entered the dark corridor. "Chariot!"

On her own cue, Chariot waved her wrist. Three small explosions illuminated the hallway. An indignant Lucius watched her pass.

'Pathetic security,' Chariot thought as she strode past Lucius into the office. It was a comfortable room and Chariot was impressed by the Minister's taste, if not by his prudence.

They began to rummage through the handsome desk at random. Chariot searched through drawer after drawer.

"I found it!" Lucius was thumbing through a file cabinet. He pulled out three small roles of parchment.

Chariot nodded and adjusted everything in the desk to where it was before. "Let's go."

As they entered the main hall of the Ministry again, Chariot waved her wrist. This time, instead of explosions, the cameras reassembled themselves with a slow burst of green light. Good as new. Best of all, no one would know that they had even entered the office. And as quietly as they'd come, Lucius and Chariot left the Ministry and Disaparated.

"Congratulations, Miss Allison, on a job well done."

They were back at the Malfoy Mansion, in Lucius' study. The room was dimly lit with only kindling burning in the grate.

Chariot clinked together her wine glass with his. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Same to you, as always."

The scrolls lay on his desk. Chariot wanted to know what they were, but didn't dare moved to open them.

"You know, Chariot, you are a very beautiful girl." He put down the glass on the desk, leaving both hands free. Lucius seemed more dangerous that way. He moved closer to her, rested a warm hand lightly on her cheek.

Chariot turned her head away from his touch.

"Such wastes for a little boy like Draco…why, when you could have me…"

Chariot shuddered. She had to escape. In the struggle for physical supremacy, Chariot had no delusions of who would win.

"Yes. That does sound like an interesting prospect, Lucius." Chariot smiled teasingly. "But I'm afraid it is my bedtime." She backed herself to the door and pressed herself against it while she worked the knob.

Lucius didn't move closer. "Ah, so it is. You've won this time, my dear, but you will come to me eventually."

"As always, Lucius. I don't give myself away as easily as you like to think. Goodnight, Lucius."

"I have something for you before you leave."

Chariot finished off her wine with a hard gulp. "What's that?"

He tossed her the scrolls they'd just stolen from the Minister's office. "Fill these out. The Dark Lord wants them at the next meeting."

Chariot unraveled the parchment. She looked up from them in confusion. "Registration papers for boarding school?"

Lucius crossed his arms. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to be precise. I suggest you get started. This may take awhile."

Wa-ho. In retrospect, maybe a bit too much sex here and in the previous chap, but oh well. That's what the T-rating was for. After all, Chariot is on the dark side. Review real quick and keep reading! Much love, hippy