The Serpent's Tale: Sixth Year Summer
Lucius waited eagerly on the flight of stairs leading from the main entrance to the second level sitting rooms. He watched as the House Elves scurried about, desperate to stay out of any human's way and struggling to make the house emaculate.
Which it was. Like always. So there was really no reason to worry, but they set about doing it anyways, doting on the shiny polish on the suits of armor, fretting over the tiniest smudge of dirt, and generally begging for the Malfoy approval.
Of course, only Lucius would be giving it. His parents were above thanking people for their services, and that was fine with him. He knew that someday he would not appreciate the marvelous job the elves did as they washed the windows or shined a vase, but he did now, and his eyes were gleaming with approval.
For the most part, living in Malfoy Manor was not unlike living on a fancy, deserted island. There were fireplaces in nearly every room of the house, ensuring that the family could have emergency communication, if ever necessary, but that was about all he saw of his mother or father. His mother, and tall woman with strawberry blond hair, was always busy planning some big event or party, and would only see to Lucius to ensure his presence at the assembly. His father, a veela with no lack of female attention or affection, was often at work or in a meeting, though he still took time to teach Lucius some "mandatory" dark arts spells, since his "lousy excuse for a school" didn't teach them.
Either way, he was a lonely child who spent most of his time reading books, writing letters to his swarm of female admirers, or writing to Severus. He smiled, his eyes glancing back towards to large, cherry oak front doors. Somewhere above the ceiling, the visitor bell rang loudly and nearly scared a house elf into falling off the banister it was polishing. Lucius grabbed him and set him down on the floor.
"That's enough, now," he said before running full-thrust down the stairs and towards the doors. It would be a few minutes until the guest actually *made it* to the front door, but he wanted to be ready. In his head, he went through the obstacles he had written about.
The first set of gates are always open to anyone with magical powers, and Lucius' mind echoed with the sound of the silver, metal doors swinging open. Then, it was a rather long walk until he came to a bridge, which would actually not appear until given identification, (Lucius had supplied his friend with a bit of hair from his last cut,) and then he was free to walk across it and over the "bottomless pit." (Somehow Lucius doubted it was *really* bottomless, because the men spent about ten minutes outside before claiming to be finished digging it.) After, there was a short maze of stone walls, (two lefts, a right, skip two turns, the rotating wall, and the steps leading downward through the garden gate,) then through a small garden with a fountain, on to another set of gates, where armored, enchanted soldiers stood. If the front doors hadn't been so thick, Lucius could probably have heard the guards' metal spears clanging together, so as not to allow the visitor passage before checking with one of the house occupants.
A liquid-like voice flowed throughout all the rooms of the Manor. "Mr. Severus Snape requests the acquaintance of Young Master Lucius Malfoy."
"Let him in!" Lucius called to no one, his face breaking into a smile despite his attempts to prevent it. Slowly the doors opened and the wind blew in some stray green leaves which had been shaken down, and whirled that beautiful black hair around Severus' severe face. Which was almost smiling. Lucius guided him in through the door, like a right host, and had a house elf take his bag. (One house elf actually turned into three, for they were so small.) "I'm so glad you came!" Lucius exclaimed, throwing his arms around Severus' shoulders, which stiffened noticeably. He pulled back slightly, his eyes wide.
"What are you doing?" He demanded in a hoarse whisper, his eyes flickering around the expanse of the entry hall, where no one else was standing, never- the-less watching them.
"I can give my own friend a hug, can't I?" Lucius demanded, feeling put-out and rather uncomfortable. Severus shrugged and turned away from him, taking in the look and feel of the room. The walls were white to add the illusion of height, though it was completely unecessary in a room so huge. Severus gave a mock whistle. "My house is all dark colors," he said, "kind of like the dungeons at school." He paused. "My house practically *is* a dungeon. I did not know people *had* white houses."
Lucius snorted dismissively. "It makes it look expensive. Let's go to my room."
"Err. . ."
"Unless you want to meet my mother first."
"Uh. . ."
" 'S what I thought. C'mon; we'll get you all set up for the night." He used his right hand to coax Severus into walking, and lead him up the first flight of stairs. There was an ackward silence as Severus glanced around at the large hallways, accented by pictures of angry-looking Malfoy men and women, all clamoring for a view of the new visitor. "You can have your own room, you know." Lucius offered because of Severus' insistance at not allowing them to touch. "I just thought it would be better if we shared one, like at school."
The only response he got from his friend was a shrug. Lucius sighed, 'If he's going to be difficult, fine,' he thought. They stopped in front of a large painting of what Severus could only guess was some sort of abstract plant, and Lucius stepped straight through it, declaring, "Short cut." In less than ten minutes, they had made their way to Lucius' room where his friends bag was waiting on the bed.
"I'm glad you came, Sev," Lucius practically squeaked, his eyes wide with glee. "I think it's a pitty we don't get to see one another over the summer. And letters take so long. . ." Severus nodded.
Nothing happened for a moment and Lucius was beginning to worry that Severus did not want to be here.
"Who is that?" Severus asked at last, his hand gliding in the direction of a portrait, half covered by a closeable curtain, the only picture in the room. Many of the other paintings images were dropping into the frame.
"Get out of here!" Lucius snapped, shooting glares at his long-dead, but ever-nosey relatives. He matched eyes with an older woman with grey hair and narrow slits for eyes, and stared her down. "I want some privacy, please." The woman nodded harshly and the extras in the picture began to leave.
"Who is that?" Severus asked again, pointing towards the true inhabitant of the painting, who was straightening her bonnet and robes.
"That's my Great Great something or another Great Aunt. She was a stickler for purity, so my parents decided it would be best if she kept a watch over my personal quarters."
"All the time?"
"All the time." Lucius frowned slightly. "I can close the curtains when I'm getting dressed, but she insists they stay open otherwise, or she'll tell my parents."
"Why?"
The blond let out a resigned laugh. "She wants me to stay a virgin until I get married. No girls are even allowed in my quarters." He waved and smiled bitterly at the old woman on the wall. Severus snorted.
"So I suppose I have had the liberty to see your bedroom more often than Priscilla?" He sneered the last word in a mock attempt at imitation. Lucius frowned. "Of course," he mumbled, but moved on to put Severus' things on the floor.
"Now, " Lucius announced, straightening the other boys robes (Severus continued to bat his hands away and glance around nervously,) and, once satisfied, clapped his hands together. "Let us meet my parents, shall we?"
Severus paled. " 'Tay."
In a vain attempt to put his friend at ease, Lucius began trying to get him to sing along with him, with no results at all. Except an ackward glare sent in his direction and a rather bemused sounding, "Are you alright, Lucius?" He sighed and ushered his friend towards the tea room where his mother said she would wait for them, because she "can't wait until I get to meet your charming friend." Of course, Lucius suspected she would not approve of Severus as much ad he had hoped, mainly because he wasn't the most attractive guy to ever set foot inside the manor. But they were "just friends," so she would eventually shrug it off.
"We're here," Lucius said, gesturing to a set of French doors with white curtains hung behind the glass panels. Severus stiffened again, (Was he really that nervous?) but Lucius just smiled. "Just be polite and take your tea like a man."
Then he rapped on the door three times and entered. In a chair on the left side of the room sat a thin, rather fragile looking woman with fingers too long for her hands and nails too red to be allowed. When she saw them enter, she glided over and gave her son a polite, distant hug.
"Oh, hello dear!" She cooed, running her fingers through Lucius' hair in a fussing manner. Then she turned to Severus and nearly took a step back in shock. "Oh, my," she whispered before smiling once again. Severus bit his lip to keep from frowning.
Lucius cleared his throat loudly and gestured towards his tall, shadowy friend. "Mother, this is Severus, my friend. Severus, this is my mother, Margarette Caprice Malfoy." Both nodded politely at one another, but there was palpable tension in the air.
"Well," his mother sighed, "take a seat, won't you? How do you take your tea?" She poured each of them a cup, needing to ask her own son how *he* liked his tea, though Severus could have answered for him. "And you, Severus?" At least she was attempting to be civil and not scowl.
"Black," he said simply, but added "with a little sugar," after he saw Lucius shake his head over his tea cup. The lithe woman handed him his cup and sat up straight.
"So, Severus," she paused, sipping her tea for lack of anything better to do. "My son talks about you a lot. He seems he admires you very much." Although it wasn't a *lie,* Lucius frowned anyways. Yes, he *does* talk about Severus a lot, and he *does* admire him, but his mother would never have known that. She was just guessing. Severus smiled crookedly and nearly whimpered.
"We're best friends," Lucius announced, seeming to be the only person in the room who knew how to act around unfavorable company. Even if he liked his mother, he didn't now. Margarette nodded and purposely looked away from Severus' knotted hair. At last, she cleared her throat lightly and set down her tea.
"Honestly, I was expecting someone a bit different, dear." She seemed to have resolved herself to not looking nor speaking to Severus, which was alright with him. For a moment Lucius saw red, knowing how his mother treated guests who she didn't like. He had heard some of the things his mother had said to a woman at a party who had hit on her husband, and her voice was beginning to mimick that tone.
"Were you?" He growled out, not trusting himself to speak more words than necessary to keep up polite conversation.
She nodded solemnly. "A bit."
"Someone a bit more attractive, maybe?" Severus said lightly, his voice airly and almost drunken. Lucius' mother looked affronted.
"Now that is absolutely not what I meant," she said sternly, leaning forward in her chair. "I was expecting a man something like your father-"
She trailed off at the end, when Severus' eyes grew wide and dark. "I am nothing like my father," he hissed, placing the teacup roughly down on the table. Lucius discreetly slipped his hand over his, and Severus pulled away as if he had been stung.
"Well I see that now," Margarette whispered almost remorsely, looking at Severus with apologetic eyes. "And I am also sorry that I tried to discourage your friendship because of it." This part she said to Lucius, who face switched from a glare to a grin.
"Anyways," the lady said as she stood and straightened her robes, "I must be readying myself for tonight." Her face turned from friendly to stern, "And I expect you *both* to be there, and *on time.* Am I completely understood?"
"Completely," the boys chorused as she left the room.
For a minute the boys just stared at one another before Lucius took one of Severus' hands. "That went well," he giggled, pulling Severus through the door and ignoring his pleas of, "Lucius! Someone will see!"
The celebration started at six, as all the regular Malfoy parties did, and ran until midnight. Except for New Years, which ran from six at night to six in the morning, and Christmas, which lasted for 12 days, there were few holidays that ran otherwise. This party was for Assumption, though Severus was unsure as to what that *was,* exactly.
Lucius slicked his hair with some gel from his dresser and looked back at Severus, who was struggling with a comb. "Just pull it back," Lucius suggested, watching at the static puffed out the black hair.
Severus frowned at Lucius. "My father will be here, and he hates it when I put it up." Lucius shook his head, but said nothing, and Severus went back to his brushing. "You know," the taller boy prompted, "it never does this when it is dirty." Lucius knew he was referring to the fact that he had already taken two showers, and the day was not yet up.
"Yes," he agreed, "but it's also *dirty.*" Severus snorted. "Pull it back! It'll look good. Who cares if your father-"
"I do."
Lucius sighed "Very well then." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before he opened the door to the outkirts of his quarters. "But it would look good up. You could say it was just for one night."
Severus stared at his reflection until the mirror whistled. "I think he's right," the portait coaxed, "it will look classy. And if your father doesn't think so, he can come see me. My parties were *famous* back when I was alive, and I *always* looked good. Which explains why I had eight children. A record for the Malfoys, as I recall. . ."
Lucius grabbed Severus and yanked him towards the door. "Never give her an opportunity, Sev. She can talk forever."
They entered the hall early, watching as the elves swept the floor again and opened the doors leading out into the gardens. Lucius knew they did it for him, because he would always retreat into the fairy-lit garden when he got bored or tired, or just wanted to get away from the easy women.
As the guests began coming, all at regular intervals of time, Lucius introduced Severus, or just whispered the person's name to him, in case he might need to know. Parkinson had come with both his parents, (his mother had gone straight for the alcohol,) and had decided to hang around a bit.
"Priscilla here yet?" He asked, and Severus groaned loudly. Lucius was only half-listening as he tore a silver thread from the wrist of his robes. He looked dashing, to say the least, with his black robes and high collar, his hair set off by the silver trim. "No," he mumbled, then, "Aha!" as he got the strings free. He knew how undignified it look to have frayed sleeves, and he just prayed his mother didn't have time to notice.
Severus, of course, had gone back to watching the door, waiting for his father's entrance. He wondered who he would bring as a date, now that his mother was gone and his son was not forced to linger by his side. Barely registering his hair being tugged, he spoke to Parkinson. "Have you seen my father yet?" The boy shook his head.
"But I'll look for him if you look for- Priscilla!" He dashed over to his girlfriend and kissed her lightly on the cheek, ignoring the way her father rolled his eyes.
Severus turned around to face Lucius. "I want to leave."
Lucius smiled sadly. "So do I, but we're not allowed. Just sit back and make the most of it. There's food."
Severus tried to force a smile when a hand came down on his shoulder. Jumping, he spun around to see Mrs. Malfoy beaming at him. "I was wondering if you two could help keep the children under wraps?" She nodded over to a small boy, maybe about eight or nine, who was standing sadly by the window while his mother knocked back a martini. Lucius sighed.
"Sure, mother. When are the men retiring tonight?" The lady thought and responded "at around ten, I'd suppose," before floating off to greet more guests. For a second they watched the small boy stare at the moon, not causing any mischief, and moved away into the crowd to greet people, all complimenting Lucius on what a handsome young man he was. Most people looked stunned to see Severus,
"Why Severus, old boy!" One man greeted him, "I haven't seen you since you were just a young liitle thing! Why don't you come to these sort of affairs anymore?" Severus tried to be polite and not say, 'because they are boring,' and instead replied, "My mother always went with father, and I did not wish to be a burden." The man stretched out and slapped him on the back.
"Yep, kids are a burden. How's your mother doing, anyways? Haven'y seen her for a while."
Lucius nearly jumped out of his skin and punched the man, watching as Severus' face shuttered off and his eyes turned sorrowful. "Uh," Lucius tried to cut in, but Severus stopped him by holding out his hand.
"She passed on, a few years ago." His voice was tight and controlled, though he let his head drop slightly.
"What was that?" the man asked jovially, and Lucius growled. Severus bit his lip hard, and Lucius stepped forward.
"His mother died of an illness, a few years back, and I find it dreadfully rude of you to not listen carefully when you ask for a response." His hissed his words, challenging any of them to contest him, though he figured one would report him to his mother for being short with the guests.
He guided Sev away from the group, all of who were mumbling apologies.
"Are you alright?" Lucius asked as they neared a clear space in the large assembly hall. He gripped the sides of his friends' face and tried to make him look into his own, but Severus continued to look away. "Sev, are you okay? We can go outside for a bit." He shook his head and murmured something about being embarrassed, and Lucius hugged him. "It's alright, Sev." His friend nodded mutely and blinked back tears, two of which had fallen into silver hair, and another onto his robes.
"Do you want to go back there, or do you want to stay here for a bit?" He used his thumb to wipe over each of the red eyes, hoping to still his friend's sadness.
"Here." He said with finality, and Lucius was elated to be touching him in public, on the face no less, without him shying away. "And thanks." The blond smiled ruefully. 'Anytime,' he thought.
They stood still as Lucius waited for his friend to finish calming down, before a deep voice cleared near Severus' ear.
He jolted out of his reverie and gasped, staring at his father with eyes wider than Lucius had ever seen. "Father," he said breathlessly, and the man glared.
"Severus," he snapped, and pulled the boy by the arm into a corner. Lucius began to fret.
"I want you to call it off," Mr. Snape growled the moment they were out of earshot.
"Call what off?" Severus breathed, the tears stinging his eyes again.
"You know what I mean! Tell them you cannot stay here, and need to come home for family business." He whispered harshly, his voice venomous and threatening. Severus managed a weak, "Why?" before getting slapped roughly in the face.
"I saw the way that boy was looking at you! I will *not* have you staying over this house with someone like *that!*" Severus held back a pout.
"He was not looking at me-"
"He was. I saw it; I'm not blind! If his father and I weren't such good friends, I'd-"
"They asked about mother."
Immediately the man's face softened and his eyes slowly stopped narrowing. "What? Who?" Severus managed to shrug under the weight and pressure of his fathers large hands and fingers digging into his arms. "I had to tell them," he coughed to keep from sobbing, "to tell them she passed away."
His father looked suddenly angry and Severus feared he was about to be struck again. "I'll talk to them. They *knew* she was," his voice caught slightly, "gone." Severus looked up, his father still being almost an inch taller than him and standing upright, while he was slouched against the wall. Almost dreading the look in his eyes, he felt a warm tear slide down his face. The man seemed shocked. "Severus," he whispered, then eyed him oddly. "Severus, is that why-" He nodded to his father.
"He did not want others to see. He knows it is shameful. I am very sorry, father, I-"
"Stop it! Stop crying now, and you can stay." Severus sniffed loudly and wipped his eyes, hanging on to anything he could to keep back the sobs. "I suppose," the man added stiffly, "I mistook his expression for concern." He turned away and back into the hall, before moving back a step.
"But for Merlin's sake, take down your hair."
Severus gawked openly at his father for what seemed like an hour before he could close his mouth and think properly. "What the. . .?" He grumbled as he tugged at his ponytail. "I never did this." But just as he tried to take it down, Lucius came trotting up in front of him.
"What happened?" He pried, noting the redness on his friend's cheek, but not daring to reach out and touch it. "Is he mad? What did you do?"
Severus shook his head. "We sorted it out. It was all a misunderstanding." He pulled at the lock of hair tied loosely at the base of his neck by a silver string. "When did I do this?" he asked, reaching pitifully for the top of it.
Lucius batted his fingers away. "Don't. It looks good like that."
"My dad hates it." He said flatly. Lucius crinkled his nose then directed him towards a butler holding out a tray, in order to distract him from his preoccupation. Severus picked up something that looked like a pastry and Lucius took a crystal glass of what looked like pudding.
"I'm hoping this is vanilla," Lucius joked, tasting the white cream with the tip of his tongue. He coughed once, then smiled. "*Definately* not vanilla, but I'm not complaining."
Severus stared at his own dessert. "Apple?" He asked, and Lucius shrugged, urging him to take a bite. It wasn't apple, but honey, and he recognized it as cold baklava. "Not bad," he affirmed as they continued to walk the perimeter of the room and smile falsely at irritating guests. It was nearly nine o'clock, and soon the men would retire to one of the studies to smoke cigars and talk about their women.
"Too much honey," Severus whined as he took another bite out of his fifth baklava. Lucius had tried to choose one of everything, and there was a trashcan full of the expirements he disapproved of. "I am not used to things that are so sweet." Lucius grinned.
"I'm sweet."
Severus snorted. "Do you want this?" He asked, holding up one last bite of the pastry. The shorter boy contemplated this, he was rather full, but nodded and leaned forward. He had intended to take the entire treat into his mouth, but had overshot and bit lightly into Severus' finger, who laughed.
"Hey, I begin where this thing ends!"
Lucius tried to hold back his giggles and he licked the rest of the honey of his friend's fingers, pointedly ignoring how much he enjoyed doing so.
"You know, if you want it so much, just go get some." Lucius nearly choked on the delicate fingers in his mouth.
"What?" He asked, pulling back and shooting Severus an odd look. The latter rolled his eyes.
"The server is right over there," he pointed and turned Lucius so he faced him directly. "If you want it to badly, just take it."
The other boy pouted. "Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"Nothing."
"Well, it was *something.*"
"No really, it wasn't. I just don't know why I haven't seen my dad." He decided not to mention that his father was a veela, and therefore very likely to be somewhere in the middle of the pile of single (and some not-so- single,) women.
"He looks like you," Severus murmured nonchalantly, pointing to someone a few feet away from him. "And he is staring, too."
Lucius looked over, and sure enough his father was standing with a bunch of women hanging on his arms. His mother seemed to have left the hall for something, and all the ladies were on their own to claim him. The blonde's eyes lit up when he saw his son look back at him,
"Ah, there you are, Lucius! I was looking for you!" He managed to shrug quite a few of the ladies off with one movement. He practically ran over to greet him.
"Are you enjoying yourself, son?"
Lucius feigned excitement. "Oh yes, it's grand." Mr. Malfoy wrapped his arm around his thin shoulders and held him for the women to look at.
"Now if he isn't a great piece of work, I don't know who is!" He concluded by punching him roughly in the shoulder and turning away from his fan club.
"And who might this be?" He asked at last, sizing Severus up with his eyes. Then, looking at least slightly appeased, "I saw you talking earlier. You're Edgar's son, right? Severus? Lucius seems to be quite taken with you as of late. I'm glad he's made at least *one* friend who's worth his weight."
Severus shook his hand as the older man scowled. "Some of those peopel at your school-" he made a strangled noise, "I mean: Mudbloods! Everywhere! That place is going to hell."
Severus laughed along with him, the sound sonorous and beautiful to Lucius' ears, even if it was rather forced. "Your father and I are great friends. We go way back to Hogwarts, maybe even before then. At least some people are still giving their children a proper wizarding education."
Severus wondered vaguely why, if their fathers were such good friends, the two of them had never met until their first year at Hogwarts. The man continued to ramble on, pulling Severus every which way and introducing him to many of the guests, some of which he had already met, but pretended he hadn't.
"Father," Lucius begged at last, hoping to not sound too whiney for his father's taste. "Maybe Sev and I can go do something else-"
A squeal erupted from a couple meters away, and suddenly something with brown fur latched on to Lucius' right arm. "OH *Lucius!* I was looking *all* *over* for you!" Severus grumbled and began to walk away, but Lucius stepped on the back of his robes and held him in place.
"Hello, Priscilla. It's very nice to see you again, but Severus and I were just heading out into the gardens-"
"Ooh! I love your gardens! Can I come too?" She cooed and continued to squeeze his arm with every word, batting her eyes and rubbing against him. Somewhere in all the fuss, Mr. Malfoy managed to slip away and was watching the scene with his wife.
"Um, sure, Priscilla. You may come. We would very much enjoy your company, *won't we,* Severus?" The other boy moaned and continued to try and tug his robe tail away. His efforts went unrewarded, however, as he was dragged out into the garden to sit on the edge of a fountain, as Priscilla fawned over Lucius on the bench. Mere minutes had passed, though Severus would later swear it had been hours, when another girl pranced out and practically sat i the blond's lap. Their hair matched perfectly, and Severus used a moment to wonder if they were related, before recognizing the girl.
"Hello, Severus," she greeted formally, trying (and succeeding beautifully) to appear more classy than Priscilla.
"Hello Narcissa," he sighed back, wanting nothing more than to go back inside and go to bed. They fussed over him for a while longer before Lucius stood up abruptly.
"Ladies, ladies!" He admonished them, just as Narcissa had leaned forward to kiss him on the mouth, "I apologize for the bad timing, but it's nearly ten o'clock, and the men are to meet."
Priscilla whined. "Don't go with the other boys, Lucius. Stay out here with us; we'll take good care of you." Narcissa nodded her head silently, her neatly pinned hair coming undone slightly. Lucius shook his head, his once slicked back hair now becoming a little soft around the edges.
"Severus and I really should be going-"
"Severus can go alone. You stay here."
"He is my guest. I simply cannot-"
"We're your guests too!" Priscilla shrieked, "Just let him go! Honestly, who is more important?"
Lucius smirked at the ladies on the bench and bowed low. "We really *must* be going. Come now, Severus."
Severus did as he was told, albeit a little more than reluctantly, and they made their way into the house, ignoring the girls as they sobbed together.
"You are getting soft around the edges," Severus whispered, and Lucius bristled.
"I left, didn't I?"
Severus smled, his comment misinterpretted in one of the best ways. "I meant your hair." Lucius blushed as they made their way to the main study, where most of the men were already waiting, some alcoholic beverage in their fist. Lucius received some harsh words from his father for being late, but otherwise remained unscathed as they watched and listened as the older wizards drank.
"Fancy that," one wizard remarked as he peered down the neck of a tequila bottle. Severus could already guess at what he was looking at. Lucius had noted that, while drunk, majority of the men admitted to his father that they covetted his wife, and he brushed them off saying, "If she wasn't my wife, I'd covet her too." And of course, they all had a big laugh. Lucius made some drinks for the older, more wasted men, and Severus would pour scotch for everyone but his father, who glared fiercly at him but decided on a lighter drink instead.
Lucius leaned closer to Severus on the large chair they shared. "Are you out with me?"
"I beg your pardon?" He responded, still watching as the other occupants of the room began playing a game of cards. A muggle game, unless he was mistaken. Lucius noticed the way he scooted away, so that their bodies wouldn't touch.
"Because of those girls. Are you mad?"
"No. If I got mad everytime someone hit on you instead of me. . ."
"Did you want them to hit on you?" Lucius sounded incredulous, and at the same time felt a little hurt. Severus shook his head irritatedly.
"I want to go to bed. I have something to show you."
Lucius smiled, but stopped at the glare he recieved. "What is it?" he questioned, leaning in closer. "Oh, and just because you change the subject, doesn't mean I'll forget it."
Severus sighed. "They were pining all over you."
"Yes," Lucius agreed, "but I don't recall myself pining over either of them. Believe me, it's not as fun as it looks."
"Oh yes," Severus snarled, "we should invent a torture chamber where men who commit crimes are subjected to hours of fawning from two or more girls." He paused to glare again. "We would have men all over the world slaughtering people so they could be punished."
Lucius crossed his arms, suddenly in a foul mood. They remained silent while the men finished their games and said goodnight, but Lucius ignored his temperment for a moment to visit Mr. Snape, who was about to leave without saying goodbye to his son.
"Why would I say goodbye? He knows I'm leaving."
Lucius knitted his brows. "Maybe he wants you to." The other man said nothing, just picked up his coat and left the room. Lucius whimpered in frustration. No wonder Severus was so icy.
Lucius left with Severus a few minutes later, and Sev waited until they were out of earshot before pushing Lucius against an empty hall wall.
"What did you talk to my father about?" He whispered, not so much angry as hurt. Lucius patted his friend's arm.
"I said goodnight, that's all. Don't worry." Severus obviously didn't believe a word of it, but let the subject drop. "Now," Lucius announced as they entered his bedroom and began shedding his clothes, "What did you want to show me?"
Severus toed off his shoes as Lucius flung off his own, and made his way over to his bag. Opening a small pocket, he pulled out a small bag filled with something that made Lucius blush.
"Severus! What are those for?!"
Severus shrugged and sat down next to the blond, who was now stripped down to only his boxers. "I know they are muggle things, but I find them neat," he said, opening the bag and setting one in the palm of Lucius' hand, who blushed farther.
"Severus-"
"You put it in your mouth," he continued, and Lucius slipped off the side of the bed. Severus peeked over the edge at him. "Are you alright?"
Lucius pulled himself up and looked him in the eyes, grey meeting beautiful black. "You know, we don't need these. . ."
"No," Severus admitted, looking dejected and trying to take back the small package in Lucius' hand, "I guess not." Lucius frowned as he read the lable, determined to give it a shot, even if he knew he wasn't going to like it, just to keep his friend happy.
"They glow?!" He announced, his face, neck and ears all hot with blood.
"Well, yes," Severus said, tearing open a package and pulling out-- a stick?
"It's a stick?" Lucius exclaimed, utterly confused by now. Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Yes," he said slowly, "it has chemicals in it that makes it glow."
Lucius continued to gawk and sputter, and Severus watched him with concerned eyes. "What did you *think* it was. . .?"
Lucius mumbled 'nothing' before copying Severus and putting the stick into his mouth. He could see the faint yellow glow through the skin in his friend's cheeks, and he knew Severus could see past his own sparkling white teeth.
"It's weird," Lucius said, laying down on his bed and using his wand to set out the lights. Severus began to lay on the floor, but he held him back. "Stay up here," he instructed, and at Severus' nervous glance at the portait on the wall, continued, "I like to see it glowing." Somehow it made Severus blush, and the glow in his cheeks faded to almost nothing. Having his great aunt asleep, Lucius pulled the curtain closed with one arm and turned to face his companion.
Almost immediately, the two fell asleep, neither one having the sense to spit out the glowing stick before doing so. Unconsciously, Lucius began to chew on the plastic in his mouth.
Almost all at once, a bitter, horrible taste flooded his mouth, and he fell off the bed again, coughing loudly enough to wake his bedmate.
"Lucius?" He asked worriedly, patting him lightly on the back and crouching on the floor. "What happened?" He spit out his own stick in favor of speaking better, and continued to rub the blond's back until he turned to him.
"I bit it," he said hoarsly, looking at the stained, glowing ground from where he spit and back up to his friend, who was running fingers through his now-limp, disheveled hair.
"That was stupid," Severus confirmed, looking also at the glowing stain on the floor. "We should clean that up before it stays permanently." Lucius nodded, and quickly conjured up a wet sponge, not wanting to alert any of the house elves to his stupid mistake. Severus sat on the edge of the bed and watched him as he scrubbed furiously at the carpet.
There was a click somewhere near the door and Lucius shoved the wet sponge under the bed and tried to wipe the remaining stain off his arms and boxer shorts. The door swung open and entered Margarette, who immediately turned on the lights.
"Lucius, I-" her words came to a halt as she stared at them. Severus, leaning partly over the edge of the bed, and her son, crouched down on his knees directly in front of him. He turned, and to her shock she saw a whiteish liquid covering his lips and chin, and even some on his clothes. She gasped. "What are. . . What. . . What?"
"Mum!" Lucius gasped, wiping the back of his hand across his chin and looking sheepish. "I'm sorry. We made a mess." The woman in the doorwar continued to move her mouth noiselessly, but came forward and knelt down by him.
"What are you doing?" She managed at last, and spared a glance at a thouroughly embarrassed Severus.
"I bit it," Lucius coughed out, and the lady looked even more shocked.
Severus quickly got the hint and picked up the bits of plastic Lucius had spit out. "I brought some things over, and he bit one. They are very poisonous, and he spit it on your rug."
Margarette smiled. "Oh, I see. Well, why don't we get a house elf to clean it up?"
"It's alright," Lucius whispered, "I got it already."
Once again, the beautiful woman smiled and stood with her son. "Well, I just came up to say goodnight." She paused and patted each of the boys on the head fondly, smiling reassuringly at each of them. Then, moving towards the door, she stopped before closing it and whispered in a rather giggly voice: "You have no idea what I thought I saw."
The door clicked closed and Lucius slumped down onto his bed. "I think I have a pretty good idea," he laughed, and Severus attempted to as well. It was just too late not to find the situation quite hilarious.
Of course, it goes without saying that both boys were quite embarrassed the next morning at breakfast, and neither one of them could meet Margarettes eyes for the remainder of the vacation.
A/N: Well that only took forever. Let me see. . . Any reviews? Like it? Not? Was the summer a bad idea? I just figured I should put them somewhere outside of the school, though they still had most of the same people. Also, I know I made Lucius' parents seem nice, but so are all evil people. Once you think about it, even some of the most awful people are nice to the people they like.
Lucius waited eagerly on the flight of stairs leading from the main entrance to the second level sitting rooms. He watched as the House Elves scurried about, desperate to stay out of any human's way and struggling to make the house emaculate.
Which it was. Like always. So there was really no reason to worry, but they set about doing it anyways, doting on the shiny polish on the suits of armor, fretting over the tiniest smudge of dirt, and generally begging for the Malfoy approval.
Of course, only Lucius would be giving it. His parents were above thanking people for their services, and that was fine with him. He knew that someday he would not appreciate the marvelous job the elves did as they washed the windows or shined a vase, but he did now, and his eyes were gleaming with approval.
For the most part, living in Malfoy Manor was not unlike living on a fancy, deserted island. There were fireplaces in nearly every room of the house, ensuring that the family could have emergency communication, if ever necessary, but that was about all he saw of his mother or father. His mother, and tall woman with strawberry blond hair, was always busy planning some big event or party, and would only see to Lucius to ensure his presence at the assembly. His father, a veela with no lack of female attention or affection, was often at work or in a meeting, though he still took time to teach Lucius some "mandatory" dark arts spells, since his "lousy excuse for a school" didn't teach them.
Either way, he was a lonely child who spent most of his time reading books, writing letters to his swarm of female admirers, or writing to Severus. He smiled, his eyes glancing back towards to large, cherry oak front doors. Somewhere above the ceiling, the visitor bell rang loudly and nearly scared a house elf into falling off the banister it was polishing. Lucius grabbed him and set him down on the floor.
"That's enough, now," he said before running full-thrust down the stairs and towards the doors. It would be a few minutes until the guest actually *made it* to the front door, but he wanted to be ready. In his head, he went through the obstacles he had written about.
The first set of gates are always open to anyone with magical powers, and Lucius' mind echoed with the sound of the silver, metal doors swinging open. Then, it was a rather long walk until he came to a bridge, which would actually not appear until given identification, (Lucius had supplied his friend with a bit of hair from his last cut,) and then he was free to walk across it and over the "bottomless pit." (Somehow Lucius doubted it was *really* bottomless, because the men spent about ten minutes outside before claiming to be finished digging it.) After, there was a short maze of stone walls, (two lefts, a right, skip two turns, the rotating wall, and the steps leading downward through the garden gate,) then through a small garden with a fountain, on to another set of gates, where armored, enchanted soldiers stood. If the front doors hadn't been so thick, Lucius could probably have heard the guards' metal spears clanging together, so as not to allow the visitor passage before checking with one of the house occupants.
A liquid-like voice flowed throughout all the rooms of the Manor. "Mr. Severus Snape requests the acquaintance of Young Master Lucius Malfoy."
"Let him in!" Lucius called to no one, his face breaking into a smile despite his attempts to prevent it. Slowly the doors opened and the wind blew in some stray green leaves which had been shaken down, and whirled that beautiful black hair around Severus' severe face. Which was almost smiling. Lucius guided him in through the door, like a right host, and had a house elf take his bag. (One house elf actually turned into three, for they were so small.) "I'm so glad you came!" Lucius exclaimed, throwing his arms around Severus' shoulders, which stiffened noticeably. He pulled back slightly, his eyes wide.
"What are you doing?" He demanded in a hoarse whisper, his eyes flickering around the expanse of the entry hall, where no one else was standing, never- the-less watching them.
"I can give my own friend a hug, can't I?" Lucius demanded, feeling put-out and rather uncomfortable. Severus shrugged and turned away from him, taking in the look and feel of the room. The walls were white to add the illusion of height, though it was completely unecessary in a room so huge. Severus gave a mock whistle. "My house is all dark colors," he said, "kind of like the dungeons at school." He paused. "My house practically *is* a dungeon. I did not know people *had* white houses."
Lucius snorted dismissively. "It makes it look expensive. Let's go to my room."
"Err. . ."
"Unless you want to meet my mother first."
"Uh. . ."
" 'S what I thought. C'mon; we'll get you all set up for the night." He used his right hand to coax Severus into walking, and lead him up the first flight of stairs. There was an ackward silence as Severus glanced around at the large hallways, accented by pictures of angry-looking Malfoy men and women, all clamoring for a view of the new visitor. "You can have your own room, you know." Lucius offered because of Severus' insistance at not allowing them to touch. "I just thought it would be better if we shared one, like at school."
The only response he got from his friend was a shrug. Lucius sighed, 'If he's going to be difficult, fine,' he thought. They stopped in front of a large painting of what Severus could only guess was some sort of abstract plant, and Lucius stepped straight through it, declaring, "Short cut." In less than ten minutes, they had made their way to Lucius' room where his friends bag was waiting on the bed.
"I'm glad you came, Sev," Lucius practically squeaked, his eyes wide with glee. "I think it's a pitty we don't get to see one another over the summer. And letters take so long. . ." Severus nodded.
Nothing happened for a moment and Lucius was beginning to worry that Severus did not want to be here.
"Who is that?" Severus asked at last, his hand gliding in the direction of a portrait, half covered by a closeable curtain, the only picture in the room. Many of the other paintings images were dropping into the frame.
"Get out of here!" Lucius snapped, shooting glares at his long-dead, but ever-nosey relatives. He matched eyes with an older woman with grey hair and narrow slits for eyes, and stared her down. "I want some privacy, please." The woman nodded harshly and the extras in the picture began to leave.
"Who is that?" Severus asked again, pointing towards the true inhabitant of the painting, who was straightening her bonnet and robes.
"That's my Great Great something or another Great Aunt. She was a stickler for purity, so my parents decided it would be best if she kept a watch over my personal quarters."
"All the time?"
"All the time." Lucius frowned slightly. "I can close the curtains when I'm getting dressed, but she insists they stay open otherwise, or she'll tell my parents."
"Why?"
The blond let out a resigned laugh. "She wants me to stay a virgin until I get married. No girls are even allowed in my quarters." He waved and smiled bitterly at the old woman on the wall. Severus snorted.
"So I suppose I have had the liberty to see your bedroom more often than Priscilla?" He sneered the last word in a mock attempt at imitation. Lucius frowned. "Of course," he mumbled, but moved on to put Severus' things on the floor.
"Now, " Lucius announced, straightening the other boys robes (Severus continued to bat his hands away and glance around nervously,) and, once satisfied, clapped his hands together. "Let us meet my parents, shall we?"
Severus paled. " 'Tay."
In a vain attempt to put his friend at ease, Lucius began trying to get him to sing along with him, with no results at all. Except an ackward glare sent in his direction and a rather bemused sounding, "Are you alright, Lucius?" He sighed and ushered his friend towards the tea room where his mother said she would wait for them, because she "can't wait until I get to meet your charming friend." Of course, Lucius suspected she would not approve of Severus as much ad he had hoped, mainly because he wasn't the most attractive guy to ever set foot inside the manor. But they were "just friends," so she would eventually shrug it off.
"We're here," Lucius said, gesturing to a set of French doors with white curtains hung behind the glass panels. Severus stiffened again, (Was he really that nervous?) but Lucius just smiled. "Just be polite and take your tea like a man."
Then he rapped on the door three times and entered. In a chair on the left side of the room sat a thin, rather fragile looking woman with fingers too long for her hands and nails too red to be allowed. When she saw them enter, she glided over and gave her son a polite, distant hug.
"Oh, hello dear!" She cooed, running her fingers through Lucius' hair in a fussing manner. Then she turned to Severus and nearly took a step back in shock. "Oh, my," she whispered before smiling once again. Severus bit his lip to keep from frowning.
Lucius cleared his throat loudly and gestured towards his tall, shadowy friend. "Mother, this is Severus, my friend. Severus, this is my mother, Margarette Caprice Malfoy." Both nodded politely at one another, but there was palpable tension in the air.
"Well," his mother sighed, "take a seat, won't you? How do you take your tea?" She poured each of them a cup, needing to ask her own son how *he* liked his tea, though Severus could have answered for him. "And you, Severus?" At least she was attempting to be civil and not scowl.
"Black," he said simply, but added "with a little sugar," after he saw Lucius shake his head over his tea cup. The lithe woman handed him his cup and sat up straight.
"So, Severus," she paused, sipping her tea for lack of anything better to do. "My son talks about you a lot. He seems he admires you very much." Although it wasn't a *lie,* Lucius frowned anyways. Yes, he *does* talk about Severus a lot, and he *does* admire him, but his mother would never have known that. She was just guessing. Severus smiled crookedly and nearly whimpered.
"We're best friends," Lucius announced, seeming to be the only person in the room who knew how to act around unfavorable company. Even if he liked his mother, he didn't now. Margarette nodded and purposely looked away from Severus' knotted hair. At last, she cleared her throat lightly and set down her tea.
"Honestly, I was expecting someone a bit different, dear." She seemed to have resolved herself to not looking nor speaking to Severus, which was alright with him. For a moment Lucius saw red, knowing how his mother treated guests who she didn't like. He had heard some of the things his mother had said to a woman at a party who had hit on her husband, and her voice was beginning to mimick that tone.
"Were you?" He growled out, not trusting himself to speak more words than necessary to keep up polite conversation.
She nodded solemnly. "A bit."
"Someone a bit more attractive, maybe?" Severus said lightly, his voice airly and almost drunken. Lucius' mother looked affronted.
"Now that is absolutely not what I meant," she said sternly, leaning forward in her chair. "I was expecting a man something like your father-"
She trailed off at the end, when Severus' eyes grew wide and dark. "I am nothing like my father," he hissed, placing the teacup roughly down on the table. Lucius discreetly slipped his hand over his, and Severus pulled away as if he had been stung.
"Well I see that now," Margarette whispered almost remorsely, looking at Severus with apologetic eyes. "And I am also sorry that I tried to discourage your friendship because of it." This part she said to Lucius, who face switched from a glare to a grin.
"Anyways," the lady said as she stood and straightened her robes, "I must be readying myself for tonight." Her face turned from friendly to stern, "And I expect you *both* to be there, and *on time.* Am I completely understood?"
"Completely," the boys chorused as she left the room.
For a minute the boys just stared at one another before Lucius took one of Severus' hands. "That went well," he giggled, pulling Severus through the door and ignoring his pleas of, "Lucius! Someone will see!"
The celebration started at six, as all the regular Malfoy parties did, and ran until midnight. Except for New Years, which ran from six at night to six in the morning, and Christmas, which lasted for 12 days, there were few holidays that ran otherwise. This party was for Assumption, though Severus was unsure as to what that *was,* exactly.
Lucius slicked his hair with some gel from his dresser and looked back at Severus, who was struggling with a comb. "Just pull it back," Lucius suggested, watching at the static puffed out the black hair.
Severus frowned at Lucius. "My father will be here, and he hates it when I put it up." Lucius shook his head, but said nothing, and Severus went back to his brushing. "You know," the taller boy prompted, "it never does this when it is dirty." Lucius knew he was referring to the fact that he had already taken two showers, and the day was not yet up.
"Yes," he agreed, "but it's also *dirty.*" Severus snorted. "Pull it back! It'll look good. Who cares if your father-"
"I do."
Lucius sighed "Very well then." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before he opened the door to the outkirts of his quarters. "But it would look good up. You could say it was just for one night."
Severus stared at his reflection until the mirror whistled. "I think he's right," the portait coaxed, "it will look classy. And if your father doesn't think so, he can come see me. My parties were *famous* back when I was alive, and I *always* looked good. Which explains why I had eight children. A record for the Malfoys, as I recall. . ."
Lucius grabbed Severus and yanked him towards the door. "Never give her an opportunity, Sev. She can talk forever."
They entered the hall early, watching as the elves swept the floor again and opened the doors leading out into the gardens. Lucius knew they did it for him, because he would always retreat into the fairy-lit garden when he got bored or tired, or just wanted to get away from the easy women.
As the guests began coming, all at regular intervals of time, Lucius introduced Severus, or just whispered the person's name to him, in case he might need to know. Parkinson had come with both his parents, (his mother had gone straight for the alcohol,) and had decided to hang around a bit.
"Priscilla here yet?" He asked, and Severus groaned loudly. Lucius was only half-listening as he tore a silver thread from the wrist of his robes. He looked dashing, to say the least, with his black robes and high collar, his hair set off by the silver trim. "No," he mumbled, then, "Aha!" as he got the strings free. He knew how undignified it look to have frayed sleeves, and he just prayed his mother didn't have time to notice.
Severus, of course, had gone back to watching the door, waiting for his father's entrance. He wondered who he would bring as a date, now that his mother was gone and his son was not forced to linger by his side. Barely registering his hair being tugged, he spoke to Parkinson. "Have you seen my father yet?" The boy shook his head.
"But I'll look for him if you look for- Priscilla!" He dashed over to his girlfriend and kissed her lightly on the cheek, ignoring the way her father rolled his eyes.
Severus turned around to face Lucius. "I want to leave."
Lucius smiled sadly. "So do I, but we're not allowed. Just sit back and make the most of it. There's food."
Severus tried to force a smile when a hand came down on his shoulder. Jumping, he spun around to see Mrs. Malfoy beaming at him. "I was wondering if you two could help keep the children under wraps?" She nodded over to a small boy, maybe about eight or nine, who was standing sadly by the window while his mother knocked back a martini. Lucius sighed.
"Sure, mother. When are the men retiring tonight?" The lady thought and responded "at around ten, I'd suppose," before floating off to greet more guests. For a second they watched the small boy stare at the moon, not causing any mischief, and moved away into the crowd to greet people, all complimenting Lucius on what a handsome young man he was. Most people looked stunned to see Severus,
"Why Severus, old boy!" One man greeted him, "I haven't seen you since you were just a young liitle thing! Why don't you come to these sort of affairs anymore?" Severus tried to be polite and not say, 'because they are boring,' and instead replied, "My mother always went with father, and I did not wish to be a burden." The man stretched out and slapped him on the back.
"Yep, kids are a burden. How's your mother doing, anyways? Haven'y seen her for a while."
Lucius nearly jumped out of his skin and punched the man, watching as Severus' face shuttered off and his eyes turned sorrowful. "Uh," Lucius tried to cut in, but Severus stopped him by holding out his hand.
"She passed on, a few years ago." His voice was tight and controlled, though he let his head drop slightly.
"What was that?" the man asked jovially, and Lucius growled. Severus bit his lip hard, and Lucius stepped forward.
"His mother died of an illness, a few years back, and I find it dreadfully rude of you to not listen carefully when you ask for a response." His hissed his words, challenging any of them to contest him, though he figured one would report him to his mother for being short with the guests.
He guided Sev away from the group, all of who were mumbling apologies.
"Are you alright?" Lucius asked as they neared a clear space in the large assembly hall. He gripped the sides of his friends' face and tried to make him look into his own, but Severus continued to look away. "Sev, are you okay? We can go outside for a bit." He shook his head and murmured something about being embarrassed, and Lucius hugged him. "It's alright, Sev." His friend nodded mutely and blinked back tears, two of which had fallen into silver hair, and another onto his robes.
"Do you want to go back there, or do you want to stay here for a bit?" He used his thumb to wipe over each of the red eyes, hoping to still his friend's sadness.
"Here." He said with finality, and Lucius was elated to be touching him in public, on the face no less, without him shying away. "And thanks." The blond smiled ruefully. 'Anytime,' he thought.
They stood still as Lucius waited for his friend to finish calming down, before a deep voice cleared near Severus' ear.
He jolted out of his reverie and gasped, staring at his father with eyes wider than Lucius had ever seen. "Father," he said breathlessly, and the man glared.
"Severus," he snapped, and pulled the boy by the arm into a corner. Lucius began to fret.
"I want you to call it off," Mr. Snape growled the moment they were out of earshot.
"Call what off?" Severus breathed, the tears stinging his eyes again.
"You know what I mean! Tell them you cannot stay here, and need to come home for family business." He whispered harshly, his voice venomous and threatening. Severus managed a weak, "Why?" before getting slapped roughly in the face.
"I saw the way that boy was looking at you! I will *not* have you staying over this house with someone like *that!*" Severus held back a pout.
"He was not looking at me-"
"He was. I saw it; I'm not blind! If his father and I weren't such good friends, I'd-"
"They asked about mother."
Immediately the man's face softened and his eyes slowly stopped narrowing. "What? Who?" Severus managed to shrug under the weight and pressure of his fathers large hands and fingers digging into his arms. "I had to tell them," he coughed to keep from sobbing, "to tell them she passed away."
His father looked suddenly angry and Severus feared he was about to be struck again. "I'll talk to them. They *knew* she was," his voice caught slightly, "gone." Severus looked up, his father still being almost an inch taller than him and standing upright, while he was slouched against the wall. Almost dreading the look in his eyes, he felt a warm tear slide down his face. The man seemed shocked. "Severus," he whispered, then eyed him oddly. "Severus, is that why-" He nodded to his father.
"He did not want others to see. He knows it is shameful. I am very sorry, father, I-"
"Stop it! Stop crying now, and you can stay." Severus sniffed loudly and wipped his eyes, hanging on to anything he could to keep back the sobs. "I suppose," the man added stiffly, "I mistook his expression for concern." He turned away and back into the hall, before moving back a step.
"But for Merlin's sake, take down your hair."
Severus gawked openly at his father for what seemed like an hour before he could close his mouth and think properly. "What the. . .?" He grumbled as he tugged at his ponytail. "I never did this." But just as he tried to take it down, Lucius came trotting up in front of him.
"What happened?" He pried, noting the redness on his friend's cheek, but not daring to reach out and touch it. "Is he mad? What did you do?"
Severus shook his head. "We sorted it out. It was all a misunderstanding." He pulled at the lock of hair tied loosely at the base of his neck by a silver string. "When did I do this?" he asked, reaching pitifully for the top of it.
Lucius batted his fingers away. "Don't. It looks good like that."
"My dad hates it." He said flatly. Lucius crinkled his nose then directed him towards a butler holding out a tray, in order to distract him from his preoccupation. Severus picked up something that looked like a pastry and Lucius took a crystal glass of what looked like pudding.
"I'm hoping this is vanilla," Lucius joked, tasting the white cream with the tip of his tongue. He coughed once, then smiled. "*Definately* not vanilla, but I'm not complaining."
Severus stared at his own dessert. "Apple?" He asked, and Lucius shrugged, urging him to take a bite. It wasn't apple, but honey, and he recognized it as cold baklava. "Not bad," he affirmed as they continued to walk the perimeter of the room and smile falsely at irritating guests. It was nearly nine o'clock, and soon the men would retire to one of the studies to smoke cigars and talk about their women.
"Too much honey," Severus whined as he took another bite out of his fifth baklava. Lucius had tried to choose one of everything, and there was a trashcan full of the expirements he disapproved of. "I am not used to things that are so sweet." Lucius grinned.
"I'm sweet."
Severus snorted. "Do you want this?" He asked, holding up one last bite of the pastry. The shorter boy contemplated this, he was rather full, but nodded and leaned forward. He had intended to take the entire treat into his mouth, but had overshot and bit lightly into Severus' finger, who laughed.
"Hey, I begin where this thing ends!"
Lucius tried to hold back his giggles and he licked the rest of the honey of his friend's fingers, pointedly ignoring how much he enjoyed doing so.
"You know, if you want it so much, just go get some." Lucius nearly choked on the delicate fingers in his mouth.
"What?" He asked, pulling back and shooting Severus an odd look. The latter rolled his eyes.
"The server is right over there," he pointed and turned Lucius so he faced him directly. "If you want it to badly, just take it."
The other boy pouted. "Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"Nothing."
"Well, it was *something.*"
"No really, it wasn't. I just don't know why I haven't seen my dad." He decided not to mention that his father was a veela, and therefore very likely to be somewhere in the middle of the pile of single (and some not-so- single,) women.
"He looks like you," Severus murmured nonchalantly, pointing to someone a few feet away from him. "And he is staring, too."
Lucius looked over, and sure enough his father was standing with a bunch of women hanging on his arms. His mother seemed to have left the hall for something, and all the ladies were on their own to claim him. The blonde's eyes lit up when he saw his son look back at him,
"Ah, there you are, Lucius! I was looking for you!" He managed to shrug quite a few of the ladies off with one movement. He practically ran over to greet him.
"Are you enjoying yourself, son?"
Lucius feigned excitement. "Oh yes, it's grand." Mr. Malfoy wrapped his arm around his thin shoulders and held him for the women to look at.
"Now if he isn't a great piece of work, I don't know who is!" He concluded by punching him roughly in the shoulder and turning away from his fan club.
"And who might this be?" He asked at last, sizing Severus up with his eyes. Then, looking at least slightly appeased, "I saw you talking earlier. You're Edgar's son, right? Severus? Lucius seems to be quite taken with you as of late. I'm glad he's made at least *one* friend who's worth his weight."
Severus shook his hand as the older man scowled. "Some of those peopel at your school-" he made a strangled noise, "I mean: Mudbloods! Everywhere! That place is going to hell."
Severus laughed along with him, the sound sonorous and beautiful to Lucius' ears, even if it was rather forced. "Your father and I are great friends. We go way back to Hogwarts, maybe even before then. At least some people are still giving their children a proper wizarding education."
Severus wondered vaguely why, if their fathers were such good friends, the two of them had never met until their first year at Hogwarts. The man continued to ramble on, pulling Severus every which way and introducing him to many of the guests, some of which he had already met, but pretended he hadn't.
"Father," Lucius begged at last, hoping to not sound too whiney for his father's taste. "Maybe Sev and I can go do something else-"
A squeal erupted from a couple meters away, and suddenly something with brown fur latched on to Lucius' right arm. "OH *Lucius!* I was looking *all* *over* for you!" Severus grumbled and began to walk away, but Lucius stepped on the back of his robes and held him in place.
"Hello, Priscilla. It's very nice to see you again, but Severus and I were just heading out into the gardens-"
"Ooh! I love your gardens! Can I come too?" She cooed and continued to squeeze his arm with every word, batting her eyes and rubbing against him. Somewhere in all the fuss, Mr. Malfoy managed to slip away and was watching the scene with his wife.
"Um, sure, Priscilla. You may come. We would very much enjoy your company, *won't we,* Severus?" The other boy moaned and continued to try and tug his robe tail away. His efforts went unrewarded, however, as he was dragged out into the garden to sit on the edge of a fountain, as Priscilla fawned over Lucius on the bench. Mere minutes had passed, though Severus would later swear it had been hours, when another girl pranced out and practically sat i the blond's lap. Their hair matched perfectly, and Severus used a moment to wonder if they were related, before recognizing the girl.
"Hello, Severus," she greeted formally, trying (and succeeding beautifully) to appear more classy than Priscilla.
"Hello Narcissa," he sighed back, wanting nothing more than to go back inside and go to bed. They fussed over him for a while longer before Lucius stood up abruptly.
"Ladies, ladies!" He admonished them, just as Narcissa had leaned forward to kiss him on the mouth, "I apologize for the bad timing, but it's nearly ten o'clock, and the men are to meet."
Priscilla whined. "Don't go with the other boys, Lucius. Stay out here with us; we'll take good care of you." Narcissa nodded her head silently, her neatly pinned hair coming undone slightly. Lucius shook his head, his once slicked back hair now becoming a little soft around the edges.
"Severus and I really should be going-"
"Severus can go alone. You stay here."
"He is my guest. I simply cannot-"
"We're your guests too!" Priscilla shrieked, "Just let him go! Honestly, who is more important?"
Lucius smirked at the ladies on the bench and bowed low. "We really *must* be going. Come now, Severus."
Severus did as he was told, albeit a little more than reluctantly, and they made their way into the house, ignoring the girls as they sobbed together.
"You are getting soft around the edges," Severus whispered, and Lucius bristled.
"I left, didn't I?"
Severus smled, his comment misinterpretted in one of the best ways. "I meant your hair." Lucius blushed as they made their way to the main study, where most of the men were already waiting, some alcoholic beverage in their fist. Lucius received some harsh words from his father for being late, but otherwise remained unscathed as they watched and listened as the older wizards drank.
"Fancy that," one wizard remarked as he peered down the neck of a tequila bottle. Severus could already guess at what he was looking at. Lucius had noted that, while drunk, majority of the men admitted to his father that they covetted his wife, and he brushed them off saying, "If she wasn't my wife, I'd covet her too." And of course, they all had a big laugh. Lucius made some drinks for the older, more wasted men, and Severus would pour scotch for everyone but his father, who glared fiercly at him but decided on a lighter drink instead.
Lucius leaned closer to Severus on the large chair they shared. "Are you out with me?"
"I beg your pardon?" He responded, still watching as the other occupants of the room began playing a game of cards. A muggle game, unless he was mistaken. Lucius noticed the way he scooted away, so that their bodies wouldn't touch.
"Because of those girls. Are you mad?"
"No. If I got mad everytime someone hit on you instead of me. . ."
"Did you want them to hit on you?" Lucius sounded incredulous, and at the same time felt a little hurt. Severus shook his head irritatedly.
"I want to go to bed. I have something to show you."
Lucius smiled, but stopped at the glare he recieved. "What is it?" he questioned, leaning in closer. "Oh, and just because you change the subject, doesn't mean I'll forget it."
Severus sighed. "They were pining all over you."
"Yes," Lucius agreed, "but I don't recall myself pining over either of them. Believe me, it's not as fun as it looks."
"Oh yes," Severus snarled, "we should invent a torture chamber where men who commit crimes are subjected to hours of fawning from two or more girls." He paused to glare again. "We would have men all over the world slaughtering people so they could be punished."
Lucius crossed his arms, suddenly in a foul mood. They remained silent while the men finished their games and said goodnight, but Lucius ignored his temperment for a moment to visit Mr. Snape, who was about to leave without saying goodbye to his son.
"Why would I say goodbye? He knows I'm leaving."
Lucius knitted his brows. "Maybe he wants you to." The other man said nothing, just picked up his coat and left the room. Lucius whimpered in frustration. No wonder Severus was so icy.
Lucius left with Severus a few minutes later, and Sev waited until they were out of earshot before pushing Lucius against an empty hall wall.
"What did you talk to my father about?" He whispered, not so much angry as hurt. Lucius patted his friend's arm.
"I said goodnight, that's all. Don't worry." Severus obviously didn't believe a word of it, but let the subject drop. "Now," Lucius announced as they entered his bedroom and began shedding his clothes, "What did you want to show me?"
Severus toed off his shoes as Lucius flung off his own, and made his way over to his bag. Opening a small pocket, he pulled out a small bag filled with something that made Lucius blush.
"Severus! What are those for?!"
Severus shrugged and sat down next to the blond, who was now stripped down to only his boxers. "I know they are muggle things, but I find them neat," he said, opening the bag and setting one in the palm of Lucius' hand, who blushed farther.
"Severus-"
"You put it in your mouth," he continued, and Lucius slipped off the side of the bed. Severus peeked over the edge at him. "Are you alright?"
Lucius pulled himself up and looked him in the eyes, grey meeting beautiful black. "You know, we don't need these. . ."
"No," Severus admitted, looking dejected and trying to take back the small package in Lucius' hand, "I guess not." Lucius frowned as he read the lable, determined to give it a shot, even if he knew he wasn't going to like it, just to keep his friend happy.
"They glow?!" He announced, his face, neck and ears all hot with blood.
"Well, yes," Severus said, tearing open a package and pulling out-- a stick?
"It's a stick?" Lucius exclaimed, utterly confused by now. Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Yes," he said slowly, "it has chemicals in it that makes it glow."
Lucius continued to gawk and sputter, and Severus watched him with concerned eyes. "What did you *think* it was. . .?"
Lucius mumbled 'nothing' before copying Severus and putting the stick into his mouth. He could see the faint yellow glow through the skin in his friend's cheeks, and he knew Severus could see past his own sparkling white teeth.
"It's weird," Lucius said, laying down on his bed and using his wand to set out the lights. Severus began to lay on the floor, but he held him back. "Stay up here," he instructed, and at Severus' nervous glance at the portait on the wall, continued, "I like to see it glowing." Somehow it made Severus blush, and the glow in his cheeks faded to almost nothing. Having his great aunt asleep, Lucius pulled the curtain closed with one arm and turned to face his companion.
Almost immediately, the two fell asleep, neither one having the sense to spit out the glowing stick before doing so. Unconsciously, Lucius began to chew on the plastic in his mouth.
Almost all at once, a bitter, horrible taste flooded his mouth, and he fell off the bed again, coughing loudly enough to wake his bedmate.
"Lucius?" He asked worriedly, patting him lightly on the back and crouching on the floor. "What happened?" He spit out his own stick in favor of speaking better, and continued to rub the blond's back until he turned to him.
"I bit it," he said hoarsly, looking at the stained, glowing ground from where he spit and back up to his friend, who was running fingers through his now-limp, disheveled hair.
"That was stupid," Severus confirmed, looking also at the glowing stain on the floor. "We should clean that up before it stays permanently." Lucius nodded, and quickly conjured up a wet sponge, not wanting to alert any of the house elves to his stupid mistake. Severus sat on the edge of the bed and watched him as he scrubbed furiously at the carpet.
There was a click somewhere near the door and Lucius shoved the wet sponge under the bed and tried to wipe the remaining stain off his arms and boxer shorts. The door swung open and entered Margarette, who immediately turned on the lights.
"Lucius, I-" her words came to a halt as she stared at them. Severus, leaning partly over the edge of the bed, and her son, crouched down on his knees directly in front of him. He turned, and to her shock she saw a whiteish liquid covering his lips and chin, and even some on his clothes. She gasped. "What are. . . What. . . What?"
"Mum!" Lucius gasped, wiping the back of his hand across his chin and looking sheepish. "I'm sorry. We made a mess." The woman in the doorwar continued to move her mouth noiselessly, but came forward and knelt down by him.
"What are you doing?" She managed at last, and spared a glance at a thouroughly embarrassed Severus.
"I bit it," Lucius coughed out, and the lady looked even more shocked.
Severus quickly got the hint and picked up the bits of plastic Lucius had spit out. "I brought some things over, and he bit one. They are very poisonous, and he spit it on your rug."
Margarette smiled. "Oh, I see. Well, why don't we get a house elf to clean it up?"
"It's alright," Lucius whispered, "I got it already."
Once again, the beautiful woman smiled and stood with her son. "Well, I just came up to say goodnight." She paused and patted each of the boys on the head fondly, smiling reassuringly at each of them. Then, moving towards the door, she stopped before closing it and whispered in a rather giggly voice: "You have no idea what I thought I saw."
The door clicked closed and Lucius slumped down onto his bed. "I think I have a pretty good idea," he laughed, and Severus attempted to as well. It was just too late not to find the situation quite hilarious.
Of course, it goes without saying that both boys were quite embarrassed the next morning at breakfast, and neither one of them could meet Margarettes eyes for the remainder of the vacation.
A/N: Well that only took forever. Let me see. . . Any reviews? Like it? Not? Was the summer a bad idea? I just figured I should put them somewhere outside of the school, though they still had most of the same people. Also, I know I made Lucius' parents seem nice, but so are all evil people. Once you think about it, even some of the most awful people are nice to the people they like.
