A/N: Please give me any suggestions for how you'd think a Wizengamot session would be run! Help…
Disclaimer: None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me.
Title: Always
Author: hpjkrowling4ever
Chapter Twenty-One
Lord Voldemort was not a fool. He rather prided himself on being one of the cleverest wizards of the century, and thus despised it when things were hidden from him. He invariably worked it all out, after all. That was why, when Lucius Malfoy did not turn up to the next Death Eater meeting, Lord Voldemort decided that he either had to have an extremely good excuse or – no, Voldemort would not even consider that one of his biggest supporters and fund-provider had left.
"Severus." Lord Voldemort whirled around in a flurry of robes that would have made Snape proud. Instead, the Potions Master swallowed heavily and pulled up every single Occlumency shield he knew. He was even less of a fool than the Dark Lord, but instead of refusing to think that the Malfoy Patriarch had turned his back on his master, Snape considered it a very real possibility, and cringed inwardly at the blow this would carry to the Dark Lord.
"My lord." Snape answered, bowing very low. He had been out of contact with his school friend, but after this meeting, Snape rather hoped that Lucius would open his bottle of Ogden's finest.
"Are you aware of the reason why Lucius cannot attend the meeting today?" Lord Voldemort twirled his wand in his hand and Snape took a deep breath.
"No, my lord." Snape answered, and when he noticed Lord Voldemort's face darkening, he hurriedly continued, "I can find out for you, if you so wish, my lord."
"I do wish, Severus. Make that your highest priority and report back to me as soon as you have answers."
Snape bowed again before Disapparating.
"You better have a good reason for your absence, Lucius, or Merlin help you." Snape snarled, pushing his cloak onto the poor house-elf who had opened the door. His friend had been standing in the Entrance Hall of Malfoy Manor, wand in hand and looked rather alarmed at Snape's expression.
"I take it the Dark Lord did not appreciate my absence?" Lucius asked rhetorically. He turned to the house-elf and asked for some whiskey. Snape glared at Lucius a bit longer, and the Malfoy Patriarch relented and asked the house-elf to bring some of Ogden's finest.
"Not appreciate it?" Snape snorted and sat down heavily in a sofa in the Receiving Room. "Merlin, Lucius, what are you playing at?"
"I have changed allegiances." Lucius answered very calmly. A vase shattered on a table near Lucius and without a word except a raised eyebrow, Lucius fixed it with a wave of his wand.
"What the hell, Lucius?" Snape roared, standing up quickly. "You better have an awfully good reason, because the Dark Lord is not going to be happy."
"I am well aware of that, Severus." Snape subsided and sat down again. He noticed the fine tremors in his friend's hand when Lucius bent over the drinks tray that had appeared and picked up the decanter with Firewhiskey in it.
"You're scared." Snape said bluntly. Lucius looked up at him.
"I'm terrified." Lucius replied in an unusual show of frankness. "I don't know what game I'm playing here – Draco holds all the cards."
"Draco? What has my godson got to do with this?" Snape asked. It was true that he had kept his distance from Draco this year, wondering what side his godson would choose now that the war was public.
"He came into his inheritance, that's what. Cissa and I both expected his mate to be a Slytherin like Greengrass, but oh no, my son has to be the only Malfoy to have ever rocked the boat as violently as this."
"Greengrass?" Snape snorted again. "Lucius, I could have told you immediately who Draco would have bonded with, if you had ever brought up the subject with me. Your son has had an unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter ever since he started at Hogwarts. If you tell me that the Potter boy is not Draco's mate, then I will administer Veritaserum to make sure."
"I wish I'd consulted you earlier, then." Lucius took a deep drink of his Firewhiskey. Snape could see how utterly confused his friend was and felt some sympathy for him. At least Snape knew the layout of the game he was playing. "The bond has snapped into place uncommonly quickly. I visited Draco over the weekend, and I caught a flash of colour on his wrist when I was there. He and Potter were extraordinarily good at reading each other, as well. So when I returned to the Manor, I did my research and I found the Malfoy Family Tapestry yesterday. His and Potter's names are gold."
"A soul bond?" Snape went chalk white. Soul bonds were so rare that Snape could probably count on one hand how many there had been in the last century. "Merlin, Lucius."
"That was my reaction when I found out. I've spent the last two days researching how to get rid of cursed marks when one is a Veela and one's mate did not put it on you. I've found some dusty old tomes, but they're so archaic that I might have to refer to the Manor's Spirit. Oh Severus, it's all a mess and I've no idea what on Earth I'm doing."
Lucius was so rarely in such a state that Snape was at a complete loss. He'd come here expecting Lucius to be in a deep illness, and instead came face-to-face with a man who had made what was most likely such a life-changing decision that he didn't know what to do with himself. Lucius had always been in power and in control, but now that control was slipping away and all he had to rely on were two teenagers and an old man with a beard and a phoenix.
"You can count on my loyalty, if that alleviates any concerns you have. Anything the Dark Lord tells me or Dumbledore tells me I will relate back to you. It will be good to have you playing for my side, Lucius. It had been a long time since I could trust someone."
Lucius looked at Snape and raised an elegant eyebrow.
"I had my suspicions, Severus, but now I find myself in immense awe of your capabilities."
Snape raised a glass to his friend.
"I am nothing if not a Slytherin, and the only people a Slytherin trusts are those who have proved themselves time and time again." Snape looked over at Lucius over the rim of his glass. "You may not have been the most well-advised person, or the most selfless, by any stretch of the imagination, but you have been my friend and you have trusted me with your son, Lucius, and that goes miles to ensuring that I now try to keep you safe."
"I knew that I could trust you."
"Remember, Lucius, not to abuse this trust." Snape gave a smirk. "I am still a Slytherin, and despite my moment of Gryffindor sentimentality, I recognise an opportunity when I see one, and I know that I hold all the cards in my hands now."
"Not all, Severus. Draco still holds a good portion of them."
Draco's wand came down sharply and with a sudden hiss the parchment in front of him burst into flames. Harry jumped back as if scalded, and Hermione shot Draco a look of reproach.
"Bloody hell, what was that for?" Ron asked, looking from Draco to Harry.
"I'm trying to write a letter and it's not working." Draco hissed between his teeth. "Stupid – bloody – idiotic – "
Harry put a calming hand on Draco's arm and rubbed his thumb in circles. Draco let out his breath harshly and leant against Harry, who wrapped his arms around him and let his steady heartbeat calm his mate down.
"Draco's been trying to write to the more influential families from the Slytherins who have joined the DA, as Heir Malfoy, trying to persuade them to join the Light."
"That's risky business." Ron acknowledged, pulling up a chair at the rather official table that the Room had called up. As if called, Neville, Ginny and Luna, who had been practicing three-way duels, came up and sat down as well.
"No kidding, Weasley." Draco said, and a sharp poke from Harry brought his mate a reproachful look and a slightly apologetic one shot towards Ron, who gave a half-smile.
"It might be more help if I wrote them with you." Neville suggested, drinking some Butterbeer from the tray of biscuits and Butterbeer Dobby had brought along for them when they asked.
"Maybe." Draco said doubtfully. It would come off stronger if Draco wrote them without help, but it was so bloody difficult to phrase everything so that the Malfoy Family came off as the stronger, more powerful family. "There just aren't enough powerful families in the DA. I mean, no offense, but the Weasleys are blood traitors and the Lovegoods considered slightly insane. Longbottom and Bones and two of the only worthwhile ones, but they have nothing near the influence that the Dark Lord can amass with his families, even without the Malfoys there."
"What you're looking for is a Ministry upheaval, and that's not going to work." Ginny said. Though Draco had said 'no offense' the insult aimed at her family still rankled.
"Amelia Bones is awfully influential in the DMLE, and my Gran still has her wits about her. If we find out who's holding the proxy for the Potter Family, Harry can claim it, as he's the legal Head of the Black Family following his godfather's death – sorry Harry – and we can get a motion seconded for her to become Minister. We could garner enough for a no-confidence vote. The Wizengamot Law states that at least three Houses have to vote in a no-confidence for it to hold an emergency re-election for Minister. Stupid law, but some stupid person with a grudge against the Minister must have made it." Neville said, surprising everyone with his in-depth knowledge. He chuckled at the looks of astonishment. "Anyone would think that I don't know anything. My Gran is an active Wizengamot member, you know?"
"That…that was incredible." Draco breathed out, and praise that high from Draco was so unusual that everyone turned their looks of astonishment onto him. "Longbottom, you're an absolute genius!"
"Thanks, I guess, but what do you mean?" Neville asked, bemused by the look of rapture on Draco's face.
"If I outline in my letters to, say, the Durocher, Greengrass, Zabini and Parkinson Families that we're proposing to overthrow a heavily Light Minister and install a more Grey Minister – the Bones Family may be affiliated with the Light, but that's too recent for them to be considered Light, they used to be more Dark – they'll jump on our wagon. Those who may have sympathies with the Dark Lord will see it as a political move calculated to please him and since none of them except Pansy's family is heavily affiliated with the Dark Lord, it could be enough to sway them. Longbottom, you're writing these letters with me immediately. Harry, I want you to send a message to Dumbledore saying that you need to see him urgently. I may not like him, but he's not only the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot but also the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and having him on our side is essential. Well?" he asked when everyone stared at him. "What are you waiting for?"
Harry raced from the room, Hermione pulled out a heavy book on Wizengamot Law, Neville rushed to get ink and Draco sat down in front of parchment, leaving Ron, Ginny and Luna staring at the vacated seats.
"I feel like something big happened, but it was a bit too quick for me to notice. Please tell me I'm not the only one?" Ginny asked in a small voice. Ron sighed in relief.
"It all sounded like gibberish to me."
Luna smiled mystically.
"The Nargles have left." She pronounced, before gliding off, leaving Ron and Ginny even more discombobulated than before.
A/N: Thoughts? Is it moving quickly enough? Too quickly? Not quickly enough? I hope you liked it!