Title: Allegiances
Words: 1080
AN:I just got back from camping. As in, pitching your own tent, sleeping on the floor, no internet camping. It was fun. I got a couple of leeches and pulled a leech of this chick I know. We camped right next to a river. And this guy herded some cows past us. Cows. They were really pretty. The calves were adorable. And then I drove for a couple of hours to get home, the dog was so excited when we arrived home. He went psycho. And, in all this craziness, I managed to write this. Feel Happy.
And I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It makes me happy to know you like my story, and miss it when I don't update. And thanks to hawkswench . Yeah, I did pull my thumb drive out without doing the 'safely remove...' thing. It was the first time in, like, months that I'd done it and then my thumb drive didn't work. I was so annoyed, but at least now I know why. Thanks also goes to serpentsrose who helped me with me thumb drive. Now I just need to find it. In my wisdom, I stashed my thumb drive in a safe place.
I don't suppose any of you know where that is?
Once again, Lucius Malfoy was drinking tea in his public sitting room. This time, however, he had not poisoned either drinks. He did not want to kill Severus Snape, after all. It would not help him to kill his acquaintance. The two sat in silence, neither willing to break the calm. Eventually, though, Lucius placed a piece of parchment on the table separating them.
"This piece of parchment contains the results of my blood test from several years ago." Severus picked up the parchment, face as stoic as ever. He looked over the results, not surprised by anything on there. It was practically the perfect pureblood result.
"This is a blood test from a couple of days ago." Lucius slid another piece of parchment across the table. Severus picked it up, an eyebrow lifting as he looked over the results. He placed the parchment back down on the table, leaning back in his chair and staring at Lucius.
"And?" He finally asked once it was clear that Lucius wasn't going to say anything.
"And I want you to tell me what could cause such a change and if you knew what the change could mean." Severus sighed, reading between the lines. He did not want to tell the fanatical pureblood what had changed for fear that the blonde would shoot the messenger, as the saying goes.
"Your DNA has, essentially, changed. DNA is a muggle thing it is, basically, what makes you who you are. It's your … essence. It's the building blocks for life. Yours has been changed. Irrevocably, it looks like. Something, I could not even presume to know what, has changed your DNA. It appears that a recessive gene has been brought forward and some previously dominant genes have been pushed back. It's almost as if entire parts of your DNA have been changed."
Lucius leant back in his chair, and Severus was wondering if it had been a good idea to drink the tea. He'd seen both tests and, with that, he could figure out what exactly had changed. That was both good and bad. Good, because Lucius probably wouldn't dispose of him until he'd gotten the information he wanted. Bad because he'd then know what had changed and if it was what Severus thought it was, then he would not accept any tea from Lucius for the rest of his life.
"Can you tell me what exactly has changed?" Lucius was suspiciously calm, and Severus wondered if the man already knew. Then again, he'd probably already taken care of whatever caused the change in the first place.
"Not yet." Lucius nodded, and Severus stood up with the two pieces of parchment, knowing the man well enough to sense a dismissal. Severus walked to the fire place, he'd floo back in a few days with whatever he found. But, depending on the news, he would only send his head through. Or maybe even just a letter would suffice.
One hand already in the floor powder, Severus was halted by the smooth voice of Lucius.
"The Dark Lord is an insane lunatic with delusions of grandeur." Severus whipped his head around, a retort on his lips. He mightn't be loyal to the Dark Lord, but he was a double agent and must keep up appearances at all times. He didn't get to respond to Lucius' bold statement, however, because the man cut him off.
"Don't bother Severus, I am aware of where your real allegiances lie. I know that you support Dumbledore, I do not know why. I don't particularly care, either. My reason for bringing this up, when I have been sitting on the information, is that I need your help." Severus had frozen, torn between fleeing straight away and trying to deny the accusations.
"The Dark Lord and the power he holds no longer interests me. I want to leave him and the Death Eaters and I want to be gone soon. I need you to organise a meeting with Albus Dumbledore for me." Severus raised an eyebrow, releasing the floo powder in his hand and turning to face the blonde aristocrat.
"And why should I believe that you wish to abandon the ideals that you've held since you were born?" Severus asked, body tense and ready to spring for the fire at the first sign of movement from Lucius.
"The person that I am courting is light way inclined. I do not wish to come up against them on the battle field. I would not be able to fight them. And imagine, if you will, another Death Eater trying to raise their wand against my intended? What exactly, do you think I would do?" Severus grimaced. He would not like to be that fool. Lucius was renowned for being a possessive bastard.
The Marauders had only tried to mess with him once while they were at school together. They had taken something that had belonged to him, Severus could not even recall what it was, and used it as the base of a practical joke. Lucius had, literally, hunted them through the school. He'd then hog tied them, stung them up in their birthday suits on the Quidditch pitch, an hour before a game, and disillusioned them.
Once everyone was seated, the two teams on the field and about to fly, Lucius had removed the disillusionment charm and everyone had seen the four nude boys. After that, they tried to regain their honour only once, and that ended up with them in the exact same position, except in positions that were less innocent.
They didn't try to prank Lucius Malfoy again.
"So I will be changing sides in the war. Your help would be appreciated." The best, and worst, thing about Lucius Malfoy was the way he made it sound like he was giving you a choice with what to do.
"I'll let you know if I manage to get Dumbledore to meet with you." Even as he said it, he knew Dumbledore would agree. Hogwarts Headmaster was all about second chances.
"We should get together more often, Severus." Lucius said, and Severus scowled at him.
"I'll owl you with what I find out." Severus said, referring to the change of Lucius' DNA. The blonde nodded, and Severus walked back to the floo, throwing the powder in and grumbling out his destination. The fire flared green and he stepped into it, not bothering with a farewell.
Lucius picked up his tea cup once more.