Two chapters up in two days…go me!  Hope you like it ;)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Truth About Lucius Malfoy

And yet another familiar sight was seen at the greatest school of magic that ever existed; a couple entwined in one another's arms, a woman laying her weary head on his proud chest, his chin resting gently on her pale hair, his back resting against a window.  It was always a window with Reign.  It provided an escape while still maintaining a sense of safety.  The sun was slowly setting, producing colors of unimaginable beauty.  Reign sighed as the sun sank beneath the surface of the earth.  Lucius opened his eyes and pulled one of her braids into his fingers, playing gently with it while rubbing his chin affectionately over her hair.  Reign smiled and dug her body deeper into his.  Her arms held him like she would never let go.  She lifted her head and kissed his cheek.  Afterwards they both sighed and melted into each other.  In the distant world outside her rooms Reign could hear the faint patter of footsteps from the many students descending to the Great Hall for dinner.  She grasped the man even tighter as she groaned.

            "I do not wish for dinner to come, nor for what shall come afterwards."  Lucius pushed her away and gazed into her possessed eyes.  Her weapons were still strapped to her body, and as he spoke he helped to pull them off.

            "You knew this meeting was inevitable." he whispered.  "Whatever the outcome, remember that I will always be here."  He kissed the skin above her brow as she let her sword fall to the carpet below them.  When she brought her head back up she noticed Lucius eyeing her quiver, which he now held in his hands.  "This is new."  She took it from his hands and ran her fingers through the feathers at the ends of the arrows.

            "Actually, it is quite old.  I found it in the woods this afternoon before you came."  She paused, the odd feelings she had experienced in the Forbidden Forest once again creeping up on her.  "It seemed as though it was left for me, for I cannot remember leaving it where I found it."  Lucius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

            "Do you think it's cursed?"  Reign laughed.

            "Of course not.  Only another elf is capable of such a thing.  And there are no elves for miles around here."  The man smiled against the window as her comment reassured him.  "I don't want to talk to him, Lucius."  Her arms wrapped themselves around his body again.  "It will be just like before.  I am tired of his sinister remarks and malicious glares."

            "Tonight you will see the last of them, I promise."  Reign lifted her head and smiled as she kissed the cool lips of Lucius Malfoy.  Together they rose from the window and glided across the room.  Before exiting, however, he stopped her.  "Remember, Reign, that I am here, and know that whatever Severus says about me is entirely untrue."  The eyes of the elf widened.

            "What?"

            "Nothing," he stammered, "just know that it is unwise to trust everything you hear."  Reign slowly nodded, still quite perplexed by his sudden anxiety.  However, they both relaxed when Lucius took her hand in his and they walked through the castle to dinner. 

The last of the sky's magnificent colors faded to a dark navy as they entered the hall and gazed at the ceiling.  With their hands still clasped together, Reign and Lucius proceeded carefully down the side of the room so as not to attract too much attention to themselves.  Severus noticed their entry and frowned.  He shook his head and cursed himself.  Himself, Lucius, and even Reign.  What had gotten into her?  What had he done to her?

Reign took her usual seat next to Helena, who frowned at the sight of Malfoy, who sat on the other side of the elf.  Lucius smiled a most handsome grin, but Professor Saxon just shook her head and leaned back, avoiding having to look at him. 

Reign ate slowly and cautiously, for there were many emotions invading her senses that evening.  From below, she could sense the joy and laughter of the students, but also the worried glances from students like Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  And from the teachers came the scowls.  She could even sense Dumbledore's uneasiness at Malfoy's presence.  And then there was Malfoy junior—Draco.  A very suspicious and awkward feeling rushed over her as she caught a glimpse of his nervous figure residing at the Slytherin table.  So too, did his father notice his anxiety.  Draco looked shamefully away as his father glared down at him, daring him to defy him.  It hurt the young man immensely to watch his father play his sick little games—to act as the Dark Lord's puppet.

And then there was Severus...his aura struck her and released the most painful and agonizing sensation of all.  His disappointment in her was the worst possible feeling she had ever endured, and it razed her appetite.  Lucius noticed her anguish and squeezed her hand gently as it rested beside her fork.  And then more feelings came over her.  Warmth she thought she would never feel again, and yet darkness she hoped she would never again be forced to experience.  It flowed through her veins and boiled her blood, making her want to scream out and demand an explanation.  Why light and dark from the same smooth hand?  Why cold and warm at the same time?  What was it with him?

And then he released, and she relaxed.  Though her plate was still mostly filled when dinner was over, she had managed to consume enough to get her through the next leg of her night.  When they left the hall Lucius veered toward the main gates.  Reign caught hold of his cloak and they stumbled toward the doors. 

            "Where are you going?"

            "I don't live here, remember?"

            "But you said you would be there for me."  They were outside now, out in the inky blackness of the night that washed over them like the plague. 

            "And so I shall."  He kissed her deeply.  "I will return in a day or so."  She looked up at him, pleading and begging with her eyes for him to stay.  "No more than two days I shall be gone.  I promise."

            "You make a lot of promises, Lucius Malfoy."

            "Have I ever broken one I have made?" he asked defensively.

            "Not yet."  He laughed.

            "And I don't intend to."  His carriage had arrived on the drive and Reign was forced to release him from her grasp.  She followed him as he stepped into the dark vehicle and smiled at her.

            "I look forward to our next encounter," he said to her as he stroked her cheek.  Before she could reply the door had shut and the carriage lurched forward, leaving her alone on the drive in front of Hogwarts.

***

The descent down into the dungeons was one of the longest Reign had ever had to endure.  The darkness swallowed and choked her as she stumbled along the ancient stones.  Grateful as she was to finally find Snape's office door, she wished desperately for the night to be over.  She pressed her ear against the heavy wood, listening for any sign of movement.  The faint scratching of a quill on parchment could be heard, as well as the gurgle of liquids residing in the many beakers scattered amongst the Potions Master's shelves.  She listened for more—for any sign of his anger toward her—but there was nothing.  So she knocked.  And a very cold voice jolted her.

            "It's open."  Of course it was.  He was expecting her.  Reign tucked her hair behind her ears and fluffed her robes.  After taking a deep breath she pushed open the door and entered into the lair of Severus Snape.

He did not look up upon her entrance.  His quill still rushed feverishly over the parchment to which it was bound, slashing through his students' homework as if nothing else mattered to him. 

But what he was really trying to do was control himself.  Perhaps if he refrained from looking at her he could avoid a very ugly confrontation—or a very pitiful breakdown.  But it was unavoidable.  As soon as she glided in she took a seat across from him and folded her hands in her lap.  Severus could feel the familiar power seep into his skin and warm his soul.  He tried to banish it, to push it so far away out of his mind that it would not affect him, but she was too strong.  Too confident.  Damn her.

            "You wished to speak with me, Severus?"  Of course he did.  What an obviously absurd remark.  He set his quill down and leaned back in his chair.  He hadn't been this close to her since their uneasy encounter almost a week before.  And already he had forgotten how innocent and beautiful she really was.  Her hair was longer than before, now falling elegantly to mid-shoulder length.  Her eyes still held the same amount of life in them as he remembered.  And her tattoos—the thin marks below her eye that represented the comet to which she was born under—how long ago had that been since he had asked her about them?  How long had it been since it had been him that kissed her and held her?

Reign shifted in her seat as the man across from her inspected her.  She hadn't seen that glint in his eye since that fateful night they had first kissed.  He had been so different back then—younger, more charming, less sadistic—but now, now he had changed.  Because of her.  She had created the man that now sat before her, and she cursed herself for it.

            "Lucius Malfoy is a dangerous man, Reign."

            "So I have heard."

            "And yet that causes no reason for alarm?"       

            "None that I have yet seen the need for," she sneered.  Severus picked up his quill again.  This is going to be harder than I thought.  Reign crossed her arms and waited for him to speak.  Before he did he sighed and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the dreaded Dark Mark on his lower arm.  Reign's heartbeat quickened at the sight of it.

            "Remember this?"

            "How could I forget?"  He hid the mark from her view and folded his pale fingers on top of the desk.

            "Lucius has one just like it."

            "What is that supposed to mean?"  Severus rolled his eyes and got up from his chair, resorting to sorting his beakers in some unfathomable fashion.

            "You know perfectly well what I mean, Reign.  Lucius is a Death Eater."  He turned as he heard the swish of her robes behind him. 

            "What do you mean, he's a Death Eater?"

            "I mean he's a Death Eater.  He is practically the Dark Lord's right-hand man, and is probably working right now to retrieve you."

            "That's ridiculous," Reign said with a nervous tint in her voice, which caused Snape's upper lip to curl.  "Lucius isn't like that...he couldn't be--"

            "Oh I assure you, Reign, he very well is."

            "He told me not to trust you," she said, pointing a finger at him.

            "And why would he say something like that?" Severus snapped as he raised his eyebrow at her.  Reign lowered her finger as she thought about it.  What reason did he have to warn her not to trust him?  What could Severus possibly say that would sway her mind?  "Reign, I have known Lucius far longer than you have, and you know that I am a man of my word.  I have no reason to lie to you."

            "You are just jealous," she whispered.

            "What?"

            "You heard me.  I'm tired of this, Severus.  If you won't take me back, the least you can do is let me live my life in peace.  The least you can do is let me go on living."  The man threw up his arms in disgust.

            "I can't believe I'm hearing this," he muttered.

            "Severus, I am sick of these games.  It ends here, now."

            "Fine," he said, spinning on her, "but did you ever stop to think about why he let you fall so willingly into his arms...when he has a son?"

            "What does Draco have to do with any of this?"  Severus laughed.

            "Surely you don't think Lucius is capable of reproducing by himself."

            "Come off it, Severus.  What are you getting at?"

            "He's married, Reign.  And the only reason he even acts like he cares for you is because he's trying to lead you into the hands of the Dark Lord himself."

            "Married?  But--"

            "I'm surprised you hadn't caught onto that sooner," he said sarcastically.  "Tisk tisk.  What would Narcissa think about all this?" 

            "Narcissa?"

            "His wife, of course."  Reign sank back into the chair with one hand over her mouth.  How could she have been so naïve?  Of course he had a son, what made her think that that son didn't have a mother?  As she fell into the seat, the neck of her robes fell down to her shoulder, revealing her saphie.  Severus leaned forward in his chair and unfolded his hands.  "Where did you get that?" he asked after noticing the Black Diamond.  Reign followed his gaze and quickly covered up the jewel.

            "It's nothing."  Severus slammed his fists into his desk and laughed.

            "Nothing.  Ha.  You would think that, wouldn't you?"  He got up from his seat and strode over to her.  Using one hand, he lowered her robes again as he sat on his desk in front of her, and Reign did not stop him.  "Honestly, Reign, I didn't think you could ever be this blinded by false love."

            "Stop it, Severus," she said, springing from her chair.  "No more...no more."  She was almost to the door, almost to safety, when that cold voice found her ears once more.

            "He's spying on you, Reign.  That Black Diamond of yours is a tracing device.  He knows where you are at all times."  He paused until she was facing him again.  "And if he knows, you can be sure the Dark Lord knows, also."  Reign's eyes darted around the room as she thought.  What had she gotten herself into now?

            "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.  Severus got up from the desk and walked slowly toward her.

            "Because," he paused, "someone is concerned about you."

            "You?" she asked hopefully.

            "Perhaps," he said gently.  He laced his fingers through her hair, soaking in that silky feeling he once got whenever they were close.  Reign closed her green eyes and sighed.

            "Severus--"

            "Yes?"

            "I...I'm so--"

            "Sorry.  I know."  He dropped his hand.  "Me too."  Reign went to embrace him, but he backed away.  "You'd better sort things out with Lucius.  Like he said, you cannot trust me."  He turned his back to her and stalked back to his desk.  Reign followed him with sad eyes.

            "Severus...you know...you know how vulnerable I can be, right?  You know how easy it is for me to fall into a trap...to run from things I do not wish to confront..."

            "I know all too well."

            "Then...will you grant me a second chance?"  Severus froze.  A second chance?  Did those words even exist in his vocabulary next to each other?  He looked at the pitiful elf that stood before him and frowned.

            "Not yet--"

            "Please--"

            "Talk to Lucius.  Get rid of him."

            "And then?"  He was seated now, sorting his papers and placing his quill back in his long fingers.

            "And then we shall talk."  Reign smiled affectionately at him, but he did not return it. 

He was not quite sure exactly what he had just done, but he was definitely nervous about it.