He had just told Lucius Malfoy that he thought the boy was beautiful. What
in the name of Merlin and King Arthur had he done now? How could he have?
It was already very horrifying to think of him as beautiful but to say.
.there must be something wrong with him! Remus turned pale as he remembered
his own words.
And worse still, Malfoy had not bothered to rebuke him at all. He had merely thanked him and dear God, kissed him on the lips. It was the first time anyone had kissed Remus and he was thankful he hadn't fainted right there in shock. Then, Malfoy had smiled at him. It was the first time Malfoy had smiled at him in such a genuine way. It made him feel that Malfoy was no Slytherin bastard but a normal boy.
Remus decided that he did like Malfoy when he smiled and was nice. Yet he could not help thinking he had been a fool and was mildly grateful to Malfoy for not having humiliated him(which would have been a very Slytherin way to handle it). He's not that bad afterall, Remus frowned as he followed Lucius Malfoy out into the grounds.
It was freezing cold. A chilly wind bit Remus as he trudged behind the older boy who seemed unaffected by the chill at all.
'Are we allowed out after dark?' He fretted slightly as he heard Malfoy shut the entrance door behind them. A delicate hand was placed on his shoulder as Lucius Malfoy steered him towards the forest. Malfoy's hand might be pale and delicate-looking but his grip was like steel. His fingernails pressed into Remus' shoulder blade so hard that Remus winced visibly.
'That weak? I would have thought a little Gryffindor would be stronger. And no, we are not allowed but for you, I have made special exceptions,' Lucius Malfoy seemed vaguely concerned about school rules as he stopped just at the edge of the forest and turned Remus around to face him.
For a second, it seemed as though Malfoy was going to say something but then he merely bit his lower lip in thought before releasing the younger boy and took out his wand. He murmured something which sounded Latin and turned a stray snowflake into a whip.
'Good lord,' Remus winced again. He had a fairly good idea of what Malfoy intended to do. Lucius Malfoy turned to face him and then simply sat on the snow. 'Sit down, boy,' Malfoy said as he pulled free his hair from the leather band. Remus gulped nervously and sat with his knees drawn protectively towards his chest.
'Right. So it's around 7.30pm now. We shall stay till nine at least. Then, depending on your level of stupidity or intelligence, we might just stay out here till twelve. The time you are let off is your own hands, do you understand?' Lucius Malfoy cracked the whip against the snow nonchalantly.
Remus nodded, he had been around Lucius Malfoy a long time enough to know that he meant what he said.
'I especially delved through the Malfoy library to get this book. By the end of an hour, you must have memorised the first five poems. You may ask me if there is anything your mind does not comprehend. If there is any mistake, trivial or not, I shall not be lenient. I shall use the whip on you or use my free hand,' Lucius Malfoy spoke calmly, his voice was edged with threat.
Remus waited as Lucius Malfoy reached inside his cloak. His hand withdrew with a palm-sized leather bound book. 'Try not to destroy it or you shall suffer from my wrath,' Malfoy passed him the book and returned to his quiet and thoughtful observation of the whip. Remus flipped the first page.
Lucius Malfoy remained expressionless as he watched the vastness of white around him. The whip was still firmly held in his right hand and he cracked it occasionally to remind Remus of the punishment. He was thinking, thinking of the last time his father had arranged for a meeting at the dark alleys of Hogsmeade.
*********************
Damn you, father, for making me break off from the other Slytherins and come to this dark alley, he snarled angrily as he rounded the bend of the maze of alleys and came to the one mentioned. He need not wait long for there was a soft popping noise and he watched the dark figure which had just arrived.
The trademark silver-blonde hair, not unlike his own, long and left freely to flow down the shoulders, confirmed it. In the wizarding world, only the Malfoys, apart from all Veela, had silver-blonde hair, because they *were* part Veela. Not many people knew that though so their beautiful aristocratic looks had always been much marveled as normal Purebloods were rather hideous-looking. Just look at the Parkinson or Crabbe or Weasley families.
'Father,' Lucius Malfoy laid beside his normal pride and arrogance and was submissively obedient for once. 'Lucius,' his father curtly nodded. Lucius sensed that he was not required to speak and obediently waited for his father to spit out whatever he had come for.
'You know that you will be seventeen this coming May. Although it is still five months odd away, you are aware that the ranks will be open soon, to you, my son,' Lucius did not need to ask what ranks, of course, the Death Eater ranks. He would officially sign his own life over to Lord Voldemort as soon as he was seventeen. It had been foreseen. It was nothing but a step in life for the Malfoys.
But maybe, he was not the usual Malfoy. Sure, he was equally, if not better, beautiful than any other Malfoy, he had the same razor-sharp reactions and wit, same intelligence and cunningness and a thousand and other things he could mention, if you had so much time to spare. But the truth was, he did not really share the same aims in life. He did not do anything for power. He saw joining 'our dear pale Lord aka walking half- corpse'(as he privately called him sarcastically) not a very good deal in life. Besides, Lord Voldemort came across him as one slightly deranged half- blood.
'I am most honoured our Lord has decided to allow me into the ranks,' the words were not genuine, they were expected. Lucius had learnt from young that obedience was important in life and he said what he was supposed to. But he thought silently, did his father really think he was totally honoured? The figure nodded curtly again and said, 'You will need to pass a test. A test of courage, wit and pain-endurance. A test that if you fail, you shall not only suffer Lord Voldemort's wrath, but mine,'
Lucius remained expressionless. What good was wincing and whimpering? Malfoys did not show weakness and he was damned if he did.
'I am merely dispatching some advice, Lucius. Try to cover books from the restricted section. They may not be as dark as the ones you studied over the holidays, but they shall be sufficient,' his father stated clearly.
'Yes, father. May I leave?' Lucius could not bite back the last phrase, he desperately wanted to leave the eerie alley. 'Patience, Lucius. It is a virtue you must learn. You may not leave before I state my last order to you,'
Lucius waited.
'Do not attempt to escape or fight your destiny,'
***********************
Lucius continued to stare faintly in the distance before he was aware of Remus trying to jolt him out of the trance without touching him.
'Malfoy?' Remus gave up and patted his exposed wrist gingerly. 'What?' Lucius snapped, more venom in his voice than usual. He watched, his eyes still burning, as the younger boy stumbled back, the fear was obvious in his eyes.
'What do you want?' Lucius repeated, keeping his burning stare fixed on the boy. 'I wanted to ask what does this line mean, sir,' Remus snapped back, keeping his voice sarcastic and cutting. Silly little Gryffindor, he can't even mask his own fear of me, Lucius thought as he kept an impassive face.
He looked at the page the boy had thrust towards him and sighed inwardly, maybe the boy was too thick in the head to comprehend the beauty of French literature. 'I've got one question before I answer, are you from the old wizarding families of France?' Lucius flipped the pages idly while he waited for a reply.
'Yes,' the boy muttered sullenly. Remus knew why Lucius was asking that. He had thought that Remus, being from an ancient French family, might at least know some French.
'I thought so. Your surname speaks a lot. It speaks your family background, the pureness of your blood, although you do come across as a half-blood, and mostly, your dreadful mastering of your native language,'
Remus held his tongue. Lucius Malfoy did not like to be interrupted and he most likely would use the whip if Remus dared to.
'I see the hour is up. We'll run through the poems now. One more thing, any mistake and you shall see how beautiful your skin will be with whip slashes on it,' Lucius smiled sadistically. He was not feeling that though but thoroughly angry at himself, he had allowed his emotions to flow free for a minute, even a minute could not be allowed. His father would have done more than whip him. A brutal Crucio would have been used without hesitation.
Remus fidgeted uncomfortably in the cold weather as Lucius Malfoy stared at him patiently. 'We could stay all night if you want to become a frozen ice sculpture,' Malfoy offered sarcastically after a while.
Remus saw no escape route out of Malfoy's intense stare and cleared his throat uncomfortably. He turned to gaze over the white vastness instead of the grey pools and began reciting from his hopefully-capable memory.
**********************
10 seconds later
Lucius Malfoy winced inwardly at the horrible recital. So many mispronounced words and wrong pauses! It was really c'est abominable. Why, one might have thought that a boy from French wizarding blood who be able to at least appreciate literature! Lucius was also from an ancient French wizarding family and his French was doubtlessly perfect.
One mispronounced word. Lucius felt his former anger flare up. Another mispronounced word followed by a wrong pause. Lucius could not stop himself from flaring up.
CRACK!
The whip left a deep, white slash on Remus' arm. Remus flinched and dropped the book in a bid to ward off Lucius' wrath. It was a near-fatal mistake.
CRACK! CRACK!
Remus was beginning to think that perhaps he should get out of there for Lucius seemed keen on whipping him to death. The whip lashes were forceful and hard and skillfully struck at the same place to ensure pain. Remus stumbled backwards and examined his hand fearfully. His left arm was white and as he watched, little drops of blood formed and trickled down his arm.
'Pick up the book,' Lucius ordered calmly. The forcefulness and hidden wrath was there and Remus hesitated, fearful that he might just whip him. 'I said [Pick up the book],' Lucius repeated but this time his words were accompanied by a whip lash. Remus flinched from the pain and obediently picked up the book and handed it to Lucius.
'Good. Now hold out your left arm,' the command sliced the coldness in the air.
Remus knew better than to disobey and let Lucius Malfoy take his arm under the moonlight and examine it.
The slender fingers gracefully traced the trickle of blood and Lucius Malfoy smiled in satisfaction.
Suddenly, he asked, 'You think I am beautiful, do you not?'
Remus was surprised at the sudden change of subject and answered truthfully after a while, 'Yes,'
'You are ignorant. A beautiful person is often dark. And I prove it to you,'
Without any warning, three whip-lashes found their way to Remus' extended left arm. Lucius Malfoy held his hand calmly while his right arm maneuvered the whip.
White-hot pain surged through Remus and he cried out in pain. 'We are often even darker in our hearts than possible. You think the pain I inflicted is bad enough. Then this, should be even worse,' Lucius Malfoy's voice was emotionless as he pulled Remus closer.
************************** * Children and teenagers under the age of 17 should refrain from reading this.
Remus' flinching and wincing was visible but Lucius ignored them. He roughly slid an arm around Remus' waist, feeling the small stature in his arms. Ignoring Remus' gasp of surprise and fear, Lucius Malfoy slid the another arm around Remus' neck, where his pale fingers brushed against the softness of the latter's hair. He looked at the younger boy who was subconsciously pressing closer to him. A natural human instinct for warmth in the cold night.
'Good boy,' Lucius murmured into the silky hair as his right hand left Remus' neck to his chin and tilted it up. Cold grey eyes burned into hazel brown confused ones. Then, Lucius Malfoy dipped his head slightly and sealed the coldness of the night with a soft kiss. His kiss was gentle at first, a mere brushing of the lips. Then, his tongue hypnotically pushed against the boy's lips till they parted hesitantly.
Remus' lips might be cold but his mouth was warm and Lucius could feel the heat of their bodies together, a shield against the coldness. The gentleness increased in intensity and turned to harshness when Lucius forcefully bit and licked the blood from Remus' lips. A soft whimper of pain from Remus made Lucius hesitate for a while but the fierceness was back. More biting and licking and pressing against the wounds made Remus struggle but Lucius held him in place strongly.
His lips were bleeding when Lucius finally pulled away. The harsh imprint of that night held Remus vulnerable as Lucius calmly wiped off the blood from his own lips.
'That was emotional manipulation and torture. It is a better way. It involved the hurting of a soul,' Lucius Malfoy stated as he turned to leave Remus all alone.
*****************************
Ok. Another chapter. Reviews please! Also for those who went on reading the 'censored material' even though you are under 17, naughty naughty ( wagging finger at reader ).
Love,
Ice And Fire Vanessa
And worse still, Malfoy had not bothered to rebuke him at all. He had merely thanked him and dear God, kissed him on the lips. It was the first time anyone had kissed Remus and he was thankful he hadn't fainted right there in shock. Then, Malfoy had smiled at him. It was the first time Malfoy had smiled at him in such a genuine way. It made him feel that Malfoy was no Slytherin bastard but a normal boy.
Remus decided that he did like Malfoy when he smiled and was nice. Yet he could not help thinking he had been a fool and was mildly grateful to Malfoy for not having humiliated him(which would have been a very Slytherin way to handle it). He's not that bad afterall, Remus frowned as he followed Lucius Malfoy out into the grounds.
It was freezing cold. A chilly wind bit Remus as he trudged behind the older boy who seemed unaffected by the chill at all.
'Are we allowed out after dark?' He fretted slightly as he heard Malfoy shut the entrance door behind them. A delicate hand was placed on his shoulder as Lucius Malfoy steered him towards the forest. Malfoy's hand might be pale and delicate-looking but his grip was like steel. His fingernails pressed into Remus' shoulder blade so hard that Remus winced visibly.
'That weak? I would have thought a little Gryffindor would be stronger. And no, we are not allowed but for you, I have made special exceptions,' Lucius Malfoy seemed vaguely concerned about school rules as he stopped just at the edge of the forest and turned Remus around to face him.
For a second, it seemed as though Malfoy was going to say something but then he merely bit his lower lip in thought before releasing the younger boy and took out his wand. He murmured something which sounded Latin and turned a stray snowflake into a whip.
'Good lord,' Remus winced again. He had a fairly good idea of what Malfoy intended to do. Lucius Malfoy turned to face him and then simply sat on the snow. 'Sit down, boy,' Malfoy said as he pulled free his hair from the leather band. Remus gulped nervously and sat with his knees drawn protectively towards his chest.
'Right. So it's around 7.30pm now. We shall stay till nine at least. Then, depending on your level of stupidity or intelligence, we might just stay out here till twelve. The time you are let off is your own hands, do you understand?' Lucius Malfoy cracked the whip against the snow nonchalantly.
Remus nodded, he had been around Lucius Malfoy a long time enough to know that he meant what he said.
'I especially delved through the Malfoy library to get this book. By the end of an hour, you must have memorised the first five poems. You may ask me if there is anything your mind does not comprehend. If there is any mistake, trivial or not, I shall not be lenient. I shall use the whip on you or use my free hand,' Lucius Malfoy spoke calmly, his voice was edged with threat.
Remus waited as Lucius Malfoy reached inside his cloak. His hand withdrew with a palm-sized leather bound book. 'Try not to destroy it or you shall suffer from my wrath,' Malfoy passed him the book and returned to his quiet and thoughtful observation of the whip. Remus flipped the first page.
Lucius Malfoy remained expressionless as he watched the vastness of white around him. The whip was still firmly held in his right hand and he cracked it occasionally to remind Remus of the punishment. He was thinking, thinking of the last time his father had arranged for a meeting at the dark alleys of Hogsmeade.
*********************
Damn you, father, for making me break off from the other Slytherins and come to this dark alley, he snarled angrily as he rounded the bend of the maze of alleys and came to the one mentioned. He need not wait long for there was a soft popping noise and he watched the dark figure which had just arrived.
The trademark silver-blonde hair, not unlike his own, long and left freely to flow down the shoulders, confirmed it. In the wizarding world, only the Malfoys, apart from all Veela, had silver-blonde hair, because they *were* part Veela. Not many people knew that though so their beautiful aristocratic looks had always been much marveled as normal Purebloods were rather hideous-looking. Just look at the Parkinson or Crabbe or Weasley families.
'Father,' Lucius Malfoy laid beside his normal pride and arrogance and was submissively obedient for once. 'Lucius,' his father curtly nodded. Lucius sensed that he was not required to speak and obediently waited for his father to spit out whatever he had come for.
'You know that you will be seventeen this coming May. Although it is still five months odd away, you are aware that the ranks will be open soon, to you, my son,' Lucius did not need to ask what ranks, of course, the Death Eater ranks. He would officially sign his own life over to Lord Voldemort as soon as he was seventeen. It had been foreseen. It was nothing but a step in life for the Malfoys.
But maybe, he was not the usual Malfoy. Sure, he was equally, if not better, beautiful than any other Malfoy, he had the same razor-sharp reactions and wit, same intelligence and cunningness and a thousand and other things he could mention, if you had so much time to spare. But the truth was, he did not really share the same aims in life. He did not do anything for power. He saw joining 'our dear pale Lord aka walking half- corpse'(as he privately called him sarcastically) not a very good deal in life. Besides, Lord Voldemort came across him as one slightly deranged half- blood.
'I am most honoured our Lord has decided to allow me into the ranks,' the words were not genuine, they were expected. Lucius had learnt from young that obedience was important in life and he said what he was supposed to. But he thought silently, did his father really think he was totally honoured? The figure nodded curtly again and said, 'You will need to pass a test. A test of courage, wit and pain-endurance. A test that if you fail, you shall not only suffer Lord Voldemort's wrath, but mine,'
Lucius remained expressionless. What good was wincing and whimpering? Malfoys did not show weakness and he was damned if he did.
'I am merely dispatching some advice, Lucius. Try to cover books from the restricted section. They may not be as dark as the ones you studied over the holidays, but they shall be sufficient,' his father stated clearly.
'Yes, father. May I leave?' Lucius could not bite back the last phrase, he desperately wanted to leave the eerie alley. 'Patience, Lucius. It is a virtue you must learn. You may not leave before I state my last order to you,'
Lucius waited.
'Do not attempt to escape or fight your destiny,'
***********************
Lucius continued to stare faintly in the distance before he was aware of Remus trying to jolt him out of the trance without touching him.
'Malfoy?' Remus gave up and patted his exposed wrist gingerly. 'What?' Lucius snapped, more venom in his voice than usual. He watched, his eyes still burning, as the younger boy stumbled back, the fear was obvious in his eyes.
'What do you want?' Lucius repeated, keeping his burning stare fixed on the boy. 'I wanted to ask what does this line mean, sir,' Remus snapped back, keeping his voice sarcastic and cutting. Silly little Gryffindor, he can't even mask his own fear of me, Lucius thought as he kept an impassive face.
He looked at the page the boy had thrust towards him and sighed inwardly, maybe the boy was too thick in the head to comprehend the beauty of French literature. 'I've got one question before I answer, are you from the old wizarding families of France?' Lucius flipped the pages idly while he waited for a reply.
'Yes,' the boy muttered sullenly. Remus knew why Lucius was asking that. He had thought that Remus, being from an ancient French family, might at least know some French.
'I thought so. Your surname speaks a lot. It speaks your family background, the pureness of your blood, although you do come across as a half-blood, and mostly, your dreadful mastering of your native language,'
Remus held his tongue. Lucius Malfoy did not like to be interrupted and he most likely would use the whip if Remus dared to.
'I see the hour is up. We'll run through the poems now. One more thing, any mistake and you shall see how beautiful your skin will be with whip slashes on it,' Lucius smiled sadistically. He was not feeling that though but thoroughly angry at himself, he had allowed his emotions to flow free for a minute, even a minute could not be allowed. His father would have done more than whip him. A brutal Crucio would have been used without hesitation.
Remus fidgeted uncomfortably in the cold weather as Lucius Malfoy stared at him patiently. 'We could stay all night if you want to become a frozen ice sculpture,' Malfoy offered sarcastically after a while.
Remus saw no escape route out of Malfoy's intense stare and cleared his throat uncomfortably. He turned to gaze over the white vastness instead of the grey pools and began reciting from his hopefully-capable memory.
**********************
10 seconds later
Lucius Malfoy winced inwardly at the horrible recital. So many mispronounced words and wrong pauses! It was really c'est abominable. Why, one might have thought that a boy from French wizarding blood who be able to at least appreciate literature! Lucius was also from an ancient French wizarding family and his French was doubtlessly perfect.
One mispronounced word. Lucius felt his former anger flare up. Another mispronounced word followed by a wrong pause. Lucius could not stop himself from flaring up.
CRACK!
The whip left a deep, white slash on Remus' arm. Remus flinched and dropped the book in a bid to ward off Lucius' wrath. It was a near-fatal mistake.
CRACK! CRACK!
Remus was beginning to think that perhaps he should get out of there for Lucius seemed keen on whipping him to death. The whip lashes were forceful and hard and skillfully struck at the same place to ensure pain. Remus stumbled backwards and examined his hand fearfully. His left arm was white and as he watched, little drops of blood formed and trickled down his arm.
'Pick up the book,' Lucius ordered calmly. The forcefulness and hidden wrath was there and Remus hesitated, fearful that he might just whip him. 'I said [Pick up the book],' Lucius repeated but this time his words were accompanied by a whip lash. Remus flinched from the pain and obediently picked up the book and handed it to Lucius.
'Good. Now hold out your left arm,' the command sliced the coldness in the air.
Remus knew better than to disobey and let Lucius Malfoy take his arm under the moonlight and examine it.
The slender fingers gracefully traced the trickle of blood and Lucius Malfoy smiled in satisfaction.
Suddenly, he asked, 'You think I am beautiful, do you not?'
Remus was surprised at the sudden change of subject and answered truthfully after a while, 'Yes,'
'You are ignorant. A beautiful person is often dark. And I prove it to you,'
Without any warning, three whip-lashes found their way to Remus' extended left arm. Lucius Malfoy held his hand calmly while his right arm maneuvered the whip.
White-hot pain surged through Remus and he cried out in pain. 'We are often even darker in our hearts than possible. You think the pain I inflicted is bad enough. Then this, should be even worse,' Lucius Malfoy's voice was emotionless as he pulled Remus closer.
************************** * Children and teenagers under the age of 17 should refrain from reading this.
Remus' flinching and wincing was visible but Lucius ignored them. He roughly slid an arm around Remus' waist, feeling the small stature in his arms. Ignoring Remus' gasp of surprise and fear, Lucius Malfoy slid the another arm around Remus' neck, where his pale fingers brushed against the softness of the latter's hair. He looked at the younger boy who was subconsciously pressing closer to him. A natural human instinct for warmth in the cold night.
'Good boy,' Lucius murmured into the silky hair as his right hand left Remus' neck to his chin and tilted it up. Cold grey eyes burned into hazel brown confused ones. Then, Lucius Malfoy dipped his head slightly and sealed the coldness of the night with a soft kiss. His kiss was gentle at first, a mere brushing of the lips. Then, his tongue hypnotically pushed against the boy's lips till they parted hesitantly.
Remus' lips might be cold but his mouth was warm and Lucius could feel the heat of their bodies together, a shield against the coldness. The gentleness increased in intensity and turned to harshness when Lucius forcefully bit and licked the blood from Remus' lips. A soft whimper of pain from Remus made Lucius hesitate for a while but the fierceness was back. More biting and licking and pressing against the wounds made Remus struggle but Lucius held him in place strongly.
His lips were bleeding when Lucius finally pulled away. The harsh imprint of that night held Remus vulnerable as Lucius calmly wiped off the blood from his own lips.
'That was emotional manipulation and torture. It is a better way. It involved the hurting of a soul,' Lucius Malfoy stated as he turned to leave Remus all alone.
*****************************
Ok. Another chapter. Reviews please! Also for those who went on reading the 'censored material' even though you are under 17, naughty naughty ( wagging finger at reader ).
Love,
Ice And Fire Vanessa