AN: This chapter was so much fun to write. Lucius, as dastardly and twisty as he is, is such a joy to play with. Hope you enjoy! JKR is the goddess that owns all of them.
Lucius POV
My research and digging take just over a month. I look at the papers before me and try to regain order in my mind. Adopted. The bane of my son's existence was adopted. Her "mother", Rebecca Hitchens Granger, is a fourth generation squib married to a Muggle. Is it possible the little chit is ignorant of her status? What is her true ancestry? And why does her birthdate twitch in my mind as something significant?
Fortunately I know a skilled wizard with both the means of collecting a blood sample and of concocting a potion to verify her lineage. Checking the time, I toss some powder into the fireplace of my private study and call my destination.
Accepting my call, Severus' private quarters appear before my eyes. "What do you desire from me now, Lucius," his dark voice drawls. I can hear his sneer, even from his unseen position in the shadows.
"Careful Severus… one might think you were unhappy to hear from an old friend," I reply condescendingly.
He steps into the weak light with narrowed eyes. "Of course not, Lucius. Why would I not find pleasure in your company? It isn't as though you have used me for the past eighteen years. Fertility potions for your wife, health and strengthening elixirs for your premature son, being 'requested' to show favoritism toward that same son, despite another student being more proficient at the subject… pray tell, Lucius, how further can I help you?"
"Are you looking for some sort of reciprocity, Severus? You need only ask and if it is in my ability to provide, it's yours. I owe you too much," I tell him honestly… humbly. It's not a tone I use often, especially with half-bloods, but Severus is an exception to the rule. I know too well that he has gone above and beyond any duty to my family that he may feel.
"I want for nothing that you can provide, Lucius. Shall we skip the small talk and get to what you need from me now?" he grumbles resignedly.
As I tell him of my discoveries and needs, he sits back in a leather wingback chair facing the fireplace. When I conclude my monologue, he leans forward, gazing at me with hard black eyes. "Why should I do this, Lucius? What possible concern is it of yours if the Head Girl is adopted? How does it impact you if she's more than a Muggle-born? Give me a reason why I should do what you're asking of me."
I don't like having demands being placed upon me, however Severus is in the unique position to be able to do so. "I am becoming disturbed by Draco's relationship with her. He claims there is nothing between them, but the tone of his letters seems… unlike him, especially in reference to the Granger girl. Let me tell you how he closed his last letter to me!" When I describe the blasphemous response to our family motto, I swear that his onyx eyes sparkle with humor. I keep my sigh silent and continue as to why I need to know more about the girl.
At the end of my righteous diatribe against the mingling of blood and how it can weaken the strongest stock in our society, Severus reclines in his chair with a bitter smirk. "I see. So I am deficient because my father was a Muggle? Crabbe, Goyle, and Longbottom are more valuable to society because their bloodlines are pure? By your thought process, a blatant and unrepentant dunderhead like Ronald Weasley will contribute more to the wizarding world than Hermione Granger. It's never made sense to me, this unmitigated prejudice of yours.
"However, I can respect and understand your concern for Draco. Brilliant as Miss Granger is, she is still a quintessential Gryffindor with atrocious taste in companions and tends to be a shameless know-it-all. I will do as you request, but more to resolve my own curiosity than to help support your bigotry." He drums his fingers on the arm of his chair for several silent minutes before muttering to himself. "If I modify the Retego Tectus potion… add dianthus petals and a sassafras leaf… replace chicory with lotus blossom… substitute a dragon scale for the unicorn hair…" He looks up at me, "It's unheard of and untested, but it may provide the answers you seek. If I start brewing tonight, it should be ready by the new moon."
Three weeks. I can be patient for three weeks. "Severus, if this is successful…"
He cuts me off, his ebony eyes glittering dangerously. "Lucius, the Retego Tectus is only borderline legal. It can be more reliable than veritaserum as it can reveal secrets in the blood. The modifications I'm making will reveal ancestry only. Imagine otherwise… with a drop of Draco's blood, I could discover your most nefarious deeds that he's not even aware of… simply because he shares your blood. But the subjective guesswork would hardly make it worth the trouble.
"The revelations shown through the potion are typically symbolic and open to interpretation. One might see the badger as the symbol of a Hufflepuff, yes? But it can also symbolize cunning and revenge… rather Slytherin qualities, wouldn't you say?"
My brow furrows as I consider his words. It sounds frustratingly abstract and who knows what conclusions will have to be assumed by the revelations of Miss Granger's blood. But this curiosity has gripped me like nothing else I can remember and I have to know who and what she is. I thank Severus for his assistance and withdraw from the floo, stretching my back from being crouched for so long.
The untouched glass of amber firewhiskey sparkles in the low light from the fireplace as I slowly ring my finger around the rim, meditating to the low, melodic tone it produces. Severus had many valid points that I can accept… privately. No matter how much I try to accept that mindsets have changed over the years, the thought of my only son cavorting with someone of lesser stock still sickens me.
A memory of my own time as Head Boy comes to me out of nowhere. Each room is equipped with a floo for call, not travel. I miss my son and want, more than anything, to ensure he stays on course for leading his life in the manner of a wealthy pureblood, as is his due.
I grab another handful of the glittery green power and toss it into the fire, turning the orange flames emerald. Ignoring the undignified position required, I place my head into the blaze and call out "Head Boy's Dormitory, Hogwarts".
The black I encounter seems deeper than it was in Severus' chamber as the room is lit only by a single candle. It takes my eyes several moments to see into to the dark, but my hearing doesn't suffer the same weakness.
"Merlin… Mya, why did we wait so long for this?" My son's panting voice says from the gloom.
"Oh, Drake…" a female voice breathlessly giggles, "I've told you before… patience is rewarded. The longer the wait…"
My vision starts adjusting when Draco growls, "The more valued the prize."
Two pale bodies twist on the bed before me, both glistening in the weak candlelight, neither noticing the flickering green head floating in the fireplace. One body, the larger of the two, is long and lean, with a strong back and muscular legs. The smaller form is delicate looking against my son's athletic frame, with graceful curves that do nothing but emphasize her femininity. I can see her appeal, loathe as I am to admit it.
The girl straddles Draco's legs and with ease, she sinks down, both moan at the sensation. It's clearly not the first time for either of them. I withdraw from the flames, not wanting to alert either to my inadvertent voyeurism. I slam back the warm firewhiskey and refill the glass to sip on as I think.
No pureblood family that I can think would dare put a child up for adoption. Bluntly, a child is a form of currency that can be traded for connections, power, and the fortunes that come with an alliance of marriage. Even poor families like the Weasleys can appreciate that; why else would they have so many brats running around? If anything, the Granger girl can't be more than half-blood, I'm sure. Nothing else would make sense.
It makes my son's… relationship with the girl even more problematic. While I can understand his want to rebel combined with the fact that his pureblood counterparts are expected to be virgins until they are wed, cavorting with someone so much… less than him turns my stomach. I only hope he's taking precautions against impregnating the girl. Merlin only knows what kind of abomination would come of their union.
AN: It's never made sense to me in the fanfic world when a pureblood bigot like Lucius would name a halfblood like Severus as godfather to Draco. Just my opinion. "Hitchens" is directly from the Black Family Tree on the Harry Potter Lexicon (which was a godsend while writing this since all my books are in storage). Retego Tectus is Latin for "uncover the hidden" and is one of the few things besides the plot that I own. I look forward to hearing more thoughts!