A/N: Written for Round 8 of the House Points Competition, representing Slytherin House. Category: Themed [Slytherin Character] / Prompt: Interhouse Relationship / Word Count: 1678

A/N 2: This story takes place during the Easter break in Lucius' sixth year, he would be approximately 17 years old in this story.

o.o.O.o.o

Lucius straightened his robes as he exited the floo. He'd warned his father that there was something they needed to talk about, something very important. Lucius rarely came home for Eostra, preferring to remain at Hogwarts and focus on revising for his exams. However, this was not something to be discussed by owl mail. Inside he was shaking like a leaf, but he was a Malfoy…and Malfoys did not cower. Not even when they needed to tell their fathers that they'd gotten a witch pregnant outside of wedlock.

He ignored the house elf as it popped his trunk up to his bedroom. Lucius crossed the expanse of the main hall, heading towards his father's study. He'd grown up with a healthy respect for his father, bordering on fear at times. Lord Abraxas Etienne Malfoy was a powerful man, with many dangerous friends. He'd impressed on his son the importance of the family, and his responsibilities to it from a very young age. Lucius' mother had died when he was about six, and there was precious little he remembered about her. His father had been his whole world, and now he was going cruelly disappoint him. That grim thought in his head, he knocked sharply at the door and waited to be acknowledged.

"Come in, Lucius," his father's cultured voice called through the heavy oak door.

Lucius took a steadying breath and opened the door. He squared his shoulders and crossed the room to stand in front of his father's desk. "Father," he said respectfully.

Abraxas Malfoy set the papers he was working on aside, and leaned back in his chair as he took a moment to take in his son's appearance. He could see the tightness in his jaw, the slight shadows under his eyes, and the slight tremor in his form. "Sit down, and tell me what was so urgent that you had to come home to discuss it with me."

Lucius sat down, holding himself carefully. "I need to ask your permission to honour an obligation," he began, swallowing nervously. "I know you're aware of my 'attachment' to Miss Scabior. I'm sure that some of my classmates will have passed word to you about it, and I have no wish to deny it. I care very much for her, I love her." Lucius' silvery eyes watched his father warily, preparing to dodge the explosion when it came. "We were not as careful as we should have been, and Melisandre is with child. She's a month gone, and it is a son…my son," Lucius added and lifted his chin, bracing himself.

The cutting hex slashed at Lucius' face, opening a bloody line along his cheek bone. "You utter FOOL!" Abraxas thundered. He came to his feet and rounded his desk, an expression of utter fury on his handsome face. "If you think I'll allow you to marry that piece of gutter trash, you've taken complete leave of your senses!" He struck his son across the face.

Lucius stood, spitting blood onto the expensive oriental carpet. He met his father's eyes coolly. "Melisandre is not trash, and I will not allow you to speak of her in that manner," he said, tramping down his fear under an iron will. "She is a Ravenclaw Prefect, and the top of her year in all her classes. She is beautiful, intelligent, and talented. I will marry her, with or without your consent," he said recklessly. He was his father's only heir, he couldn't risk disowning him.

"Not intelligent enough to keep her legs closed, apparently," Abraxas hissed and lashed out with his wand. A snarled 'Crucio' sent Lucius crashing to the ground.

Lucius was adrift in a sea of bone-crushing, sinew-tearing pain. His father had cursed him before, but never with this. A particularly sharp stab of pain tore a scream from his lips, and then it was suddenly gone and he was left gasping helplessly on the ground. He rolled up onto his knees, only to feel his father gripping a hand in his hair tightly. "Father!" His head was wrenched backwards, neck at an awkward angle.

"You will remember your duty to me, and this family. I will ensure the girl and the child are provided for, but you will have nothing to do with them from this moment onwards. If you defy me, I swear on the graves of our ancestors that I will kill them both, slowly and painfully before your eyes. You belong to me Lucius, and I will not let you destroy our family name because you were distracted by some little slut's charms," Abraxas hissed and roughly shoved his son back down onto the floor.

Lucius laid there, his muscles twitching uncontrollably in the aftereffects of the curse. He couldn't let his father hurt Melisandre…even if it meant pretending to give her up. He felt tears slip down his face, even as his heart hardened. His father may have won this battle, but he swore that he would pay him back in kind one day.

"We'll speak no more of this. Take yourself upstairs and get cleaned up. We're having guests for dinner," Abraxas said, his tone perfectly controlled once more as if they'd just argued over school marks.

Lucius stood slowly, not even acknowledging his father as he left the room. He felt like his heart had been carved out of his chest. He went to his private bathroom and looked into the mirror, disgusted with himself for being so weak. He should have fought harder for Melisandre, for his unborn son. He drove his fist into the mirror. He'd find a way…somehow.

o.o.O.o.o

Lucius stepped onto the Hogwart's express, the searing pain of his left forearm second only to the pain in his heart. He headed for the last compartment, not feeling up to patrolling with the other prefects. He opened the door, and was unable to help the soft smile that crossed his lips. "Mel…" He whispered softly.

"What the hell is this, Lucius?" she demanded, brandishing a letter. "I don't want your father's money…I want *you*."

Lucius entered and warded the door behind him. "It's not what I want either," he said and took her hand, tugging her down to sit with him. "You remember when I told you my father was a dangerous man?" he asked.

Melisandre nodded, letting him speak.

"It was this…or he was going to kill you Mel, you and the baby." Lucius squeezed her hand. "He would do it, you have no idea what he's really capable of. I didn't even know, not really." A shadow passed through his stormy grey eyes. Until this holiday he'd had no inkling of just how cruel his father could be. He'd held him down to be marked by the Dark Lord, as though he were nothing but a tribute to this man. The pain had been indescribable.

"We've always found a way Lucius, we will again." She reached out and stroked his cheek. "This time it'll just be harder."

Lucius nodded. "We can't be seen together at all. My housemates will be watching me for the rest of the year." He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. "I'll find a way for us to communicate, somehow." He promised. They'd always had to be creative. Dating outside your own House was always tricky, though a Slytherin with a Ravenclaw was one of the least scandalous options. She was the embodiment of her house in his eyes. She had the cool logic that he needed sometimes to temper his own plans and desires.

"I love you Lucius, no matter what happens…remember that," she whispered softly. Melisandre was able to tell that something horrible had happened to him. It was in his posture, his eyes, and screaming to her in all the words he couldn't say.

"No matter what happens, you will always hold my heart. It's far safer in your keeping than in mine," Lucius said frankly. His father would betroth him to someone else, he knew that. Some Slytherin girl with a perfect pedigree, and a fortune to match. He would never love anyone like he loved Mel, he knew that with frightening certainty. "Did you know that Salazar Slytherin was in love with Rowena Ravenclaw, back when it all started?" He said softly.

"I remember you mentioning it once, or twice."

"Before the holidays I found an empty room, near Ravenclaw Tower. Over the windows there is an eagle, entwined with a snake. It's small, easily missed…unless you're looking for it. Maybe that's where they used to meet?" Lucius shifted, wrapping his arms around her and settling her back against his chest.

"It makes sense. They would have needed somewhere to meet in secret. It was rumored that Godric coveted Rowena…and that it was jealousy that drove his rivalry with Salazar, not disagreements over blood purity." She fell into one of their old discussion, finding comfort in it.

"When you come down from the tower, turn left down the corridor. It's the third room. I'll cast a notice-me-not charm on it, and we can leave notes there for one another. It's a start anyway." He tightened his arms around her, wishing this train ride could go on forever. He didn't want to let her go. He buried his face in her dark, chestnut tresses and just breathed in the scent that was uniquely her.

Merlin, he hated this. She was his, a tiny spark of light that he feared losing. His world had always been so dark, and what few lights he had were being snatched away. One by one they were going out, and he knew he'd have to face the coming storm alone. He pressed a kiss to her neck. If facing the dark alone could protect her, he would do it. He owed her nothing less. His father would come to regret the day he made his son into a colder version of himself. Lucius would pay his father back with interest, and sooner than the old bastard would ever see coming.

~Fin~