055. He flashed his badge

Word Count: 1,100


Lucius made his way up to his Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, wondering where Severus had disappeared to this time. The less sociable Slytherin had done his best to hide as much of Lucius' liquor as possible, and he had done an irritatingly good job at it. Of course, since Lucius had figured out what he'd been doing, he'd tried to stay out of his way as much as possible.

"Lucius Malfoy?" a voice asked from Lucius' left.

"I have class in ten minutes," Lucius said, glancing over at the man who had spoken.

He frowned, reaching into the pocket of his robes.

Without hesitating, Lucius had his wand out and trained on the man.

"Impressive reflexes, Mister Malfoy," the man said as he pulled something shiny out of his pocket. "My name is John Clarke," he said as he flashed his badge. "I'm an Auror."

"I gathered that, what with the badge from the Ministry of Magic," Lucius said irately, not moving his wand even an inch. "What do you want?"

"You and I need to have a conversation in a more private setting, young man, and lower your wand before I decide to think that you are actively trying to threaten me," he said. "Come with me."

Lucius cautiously lowered his wand but did not loosen his hold on it. "I have to get to my Defense class."

"You have been excused from that class for today, Mister Malfoy. Come with me," Clarke said, motioning for Lucius to turn around and walk back the way he came. "Headmaster Dumbledore has been generous enough to offer me the use of his office for our conversation, so you'll be going there and behaving yourself like a young man who has nothing to hide," he said.

"What is this conversation concerning?" Lucius asked as he made his way up to Dumbledore's office.

"You'll find out when we get there."

Lucius frowned, tucking his wand into the pocket of his robe and started twisting his family ring almost nervously. "Now who's got something to hide?" he muttered irritably.

Clarke frowned. "Being a smart-ass is not going to make this conversation any easier for you," he snapped.

Lucius remained silent, still twisting his ring.

The Headmaster was standing at the entrance to his office, waiting for Clarke and Lucius to arrive. "Ah, Lucius," he said when he noticed the Auror leading the Malfoy heir toward the office. "Good of you to come."

"I didn't really have a choice in the matter," Lucius snapped.

Dumbledore smiled patronizingly. "Even still," he said. "Now, stop pretending to be nervous and stop fiddling with your ring. The three of us have a number of things to talk about before you return to your classes."

Lucius frowned, but followed Dumbledore and the Auror up to the Headmaster's office. "What is this conversation concerning?" he asked, once again reaching for his wand.

"You'll find out soon enough," Clarke said, slapping Lucius upside the head.

"Lay a hand on me again and I will remove your limbs, one by one," Lucius snarled, baring his teeth at the Auror.

"Don't threaten me, young man," Clarke snapped.

Dumbledore chuckled quietly and motioned over at the two chairs opposite his desk. "Have a seat, both of you," he said, his eyes twinkling.

Lucius said nothing, crossing his arms over his chest and standing stubbornly by the door. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just walk out of the room right now, Headmaster," he said icily.

"Because I am your Professor and I will be forced to suspend you if you remain belligerent with either myself or Auror Clarke," Dumbledore said, pointing at the unoccupied chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat and we'll get right to the heart of the matter," he said.

Just as Lucius took a seat in the chair, the fire in Dumbledore's office flared up and tinged green, successfully interrupting any sense of conversation that either the Headmaster or the Auror might have started.

"I was unaware that you were expecting company, Albus," Clarke said.

"So was I, it seems," Dumbledore said as he watched Lucius' father step out of the fire, looking as dignified as ever.

Lucius' father looked over at him, taking note of the irritated look on his son's face, before turning a mercurial glare onto Dumbledore. "Would you care to tell me what the hell is going on, Albus?" Abraxas asked.

"This doesn't concern you, Abraxas," Dumbledore said, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin on his hands. "Everything is fine."

Abraxas motioned for his son to stand up. "If everything is alright, then why is my son sitting in your office and not in a classroom?" he asked as he walked over to his son and put his hands on Lucius' shoulders.

"There was something that we needed to discuss with your son, and we will return him to his classes once our conversation is finished," Clarke said.

Abraxas smirked. "You are a fairly new Auror, John, so I understand how you might believe that this is a minor infraction," he said. "However, Albus is well aware that Lucius is still underage, and as such he is permitted to have a parent or a solicitor present whenever an Auror is questioning him."

"Abraxas, I think you're overreacting," Albus said, once again adopting a patronizing smirk. "This is just a simple conversation."

"One in which there is an Auror present," Abraxas snapped. "Lucius, get your things and go back to your class," he said, gently pushing his son toward the door. "And Albus, if you ever pull my son from class without having a legitimate emergency to warrant pulling my him, I will see you brought up on charges regarding this event."

Dumbledore looked over at Lucius, who arched an eyebrow at him. "You may go back to class, my boy," he said.

Without a word, though he nodded to his father, Lucius slipped out of the room and shut the door almost silently behind himself.