A/N: Merlin's beard! I'm not used to getting so many reviews in a week. That's kinda my average for the month! You guys are wonderful; such feedback! Wonderful, glorious feedback! If you're wondering why it took me so long to post this chapter, I had to put in some major overtime at work in order to ensure that the custom gift baskets that were slaved over reached the U.S. before December 12th; stupid FDA and their new regulations; it's not like we're trying to poison Americans with French candied chestnuts, or French, Swedish, Belgian, British and German chocolate. Sheesh. *rolls eyes and glares at U.S. FDA office*

And if things seem like a mismash, I'm very sorry. I tend to write this fic at one in the morning while listening to all of my GLAY songs. So by the time I'm done a chapter by three in the morning....my mind's functioning is somewhat debatable. But that seems to be when I have my rare moments of genius. Anyways, replies to reviews:

Miss Lesley: Whoo…I'm not too sure where to start with this one. One at a time I suppose:

1. Erm, thanks! The way I see it, no one knows everything. I highly doubt Lucius would have dealt with anything like that before. And Harry is not an idiot; some people seem to equate the age of 17 with a decided lack of brain cells.
2. Ditto. I have more to say on this but I'm not going to make this some huge-ass long reply.
3. Jeez, you must be some sort of mind reader or something. Lucius….well, you can read and find out. I don't wanna give away what happens. ^__^
4. I'm not the only one who noticed this?! T_T *tears of relief* I figured, at most, maybe he'd be promoted to head of his department; not end up running all of Wizarding Britain. Besides, we all know what would happen. Molly would browbeat him into something.
5. I'm keeping mum on that. I know exactly how this fic is going to end. Answering this question would spoil that. Gomen, but….. *whistles while twiddling thumbs*

Dir en Grey: Yeah, I know sweet. I felt adding in a bit of gratuitous fluff. Harry sleeping in Lucius' arms; that's the kinda fluff I like.

Ann: I make them look good together? Really? *scratches head and skims over chapters again quickly* I guess I don't see it cuz I wrote it. But thank you. ^__^ I'm always trying to improve my writing style, so I'm glad you like it.

SilverWolf7007: No no, don't you dare start giving me praise like that! *blinks for a moment at how weird that sounds* I'd much prefer constructive criticism. Criticize! Criticize! I guess my biggest worry is keeping them in character and not ending up with some weird……bastardization. Hmm, I could use a beta for this. I usually get two people to check over as a precaution and what not. Send me an e-mail and lemme know what your strengths are - what your best at checking and crap - and weaknesses are - I think this one is self explanatory in conjunction with the strength thing - and I'll squeeze in the time.

Hrm, with that said, I could use one more beta for this fic!

twilight witch: Thank you! More is here, and more is coming!

Prongs: 0.o Oh my God….. O.O *faints and recovers a few seconds later* Your fic 'Amid Sculptures & Other Fine Art' was the first Harry/Lucius fic I ever read. That and then 'El Hombre Rubio'. I'm just ignoring that stupid little '1' they tacked on. Whoa….I'm floored and don't know what to say really except for thank you.

Plastraa: I've kinda recently got into the Harry/Lucius pairing recently as well myself, since June, July, around then. Part of the reason why I wrote 'En Las Montañas' was because I got so sick and tired of seeing the 'whiney/angsty hormonal Harry who suddenly loses his backbone and become completely dependant'. It seriously does sicken me. I was aiming for balance in this fic and I am glad to see that I have conveyed that. I love an angsting Harry, if it's written properly, as well as the cold evil Lucius, but given the circumstances, I figured Lucius would have to show some of his better traits quickly or he and Harry would have found some way to kill one another.

Realm of darkness: Thank you. I've managed to update before I begin my whirlwind week that has me running around like a mad woman. Hopefully, once things settle down, I'll be able to update with the same frequency I used to - a chapter or two in a week.

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En Las Montañas

Chapter 5

It was Monday morning; a wretched Monday morning, with the picturesque sunshine streaming in through the glass panes, with proverbial dust motes dancing down the beams of yellow light. Lucius grunted in disgust and moved in closed to the warmth pressed against him. He didn't feel much like getting up today when he knew what he had to deal with. Firstly, Valencia with her-

Lucius blinked as it registered in his rapidly awakening brain. There was warmth pressed against him; the rather comfortable and welcomed warmth that moved slightly with slow and deep breaths. He pulled his arm back to find it sliding against smooth skin. He pursed his lips and drew back a bit, glancing down.

Lucius found himself with an armful of sleeping Harry Potter.

When the hell did this happen? Last he remembered he was asleep, with Harry finally out of that bathroom. When did Harry end up here? Or rather, Lucius asked himself with a wry frown, how did his arms end up so thoroughly wrapped around the younger wizard? Harry gave a small sigh that made Lucius look back at him, startled. What made him choke on his breath was when Harry snuggled in further, his raven hair brushing against Lucius' neck.

No one in their right mind had ever snuggled in closer to Lucius. Certainly not with Narcissca and their barren wasteland of a marriage, and with his lovers it had always been a rather 'wham, bam, thank you sir' affair; no snuggling at all. He'd always seen it as one of the benefits of no-strings sex. No snuggling, no unnecessary emotional attachment.

But snuggling….his poor wits was having a hard enough time understanding the concept. Just what the hell did that consist of?

He looked back down at the sleeping Harry, feeling his thoughts already start to jumble. Why did things suddenly seem to complicate in his mind when Harry was around? Better put, why did Harry tend to leave Lucius floundering in certain situations? Situations that Harry himself caused. Lucius' brow creased slightly.

Lucius had probably involved himself more emotionally with Harry than any other person he had ever encountered.

"Shit," Lucius cursed under his breath, drawing away a bit. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

It was perfectly clear before. Suffer the brat's presence until they got back to England where he would deliver him up to Voldemort and be crowned the champion of all Death Eaters. But the past three weeks had done more than enough to worm its way through that resolution effectively. It seemed nothing more than a hollow, riddled dream. He was more than lost as to when the line had distinctly blurred itself.

"Hrmsh," Harry mumbled in his sleep, moving in closer.

This was certainly not the thing that Lucius needed at the moment, though his body was saying it rather liked having Harry pressed this close against him.

His damned body was a traitor.

His damned body obviously didn't remember the things he had done.

His damned body obviously didn't remember that unspeakable, revolting night and the act he committed.

Even if Lucius was inclined to simply lay there and hold Harry - which didn't seem all that bad now - he certainly didn't deserve it in any manner. And so he carefully extricated himself from Harry. He didn't want to wake Harry up too soon; a cranky Harry was not fun to deal with in the mornings. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands clenched tightly via linked fingers.

He didn't want to think about it; he had spent the past twenty years trying to forget that one night. But he could still remember every detail - the cold winter air, the crunch of terrified footsteps, the panicked breaths, and the pleas. The pleas were what haunted him the most. The erratic, choked out words that seemed to clump in the glacial air and attack him with an inherent power that reached from beyond the grave.

Lucius inhaled a sharp breath, loosening and flexing his fingers. No, he couldn't be sitting here, contemplating such foolish ideas when he had committed such a…sin. He would, and should, have to suffer and atone in some-

// Good morning sleepyheads! \\

Lucius looked back to see Valencia standing in the doorway and beaming at them brightly. Harry sat up, looking around blearily, his eyes searching for Valencia even as he reached for his glasses.

// We have a busy day. Harry, you have to tackle the hayloft. That'll take you all week. And Lucius can watch the goats. \\

Lucius gave Valencia a look, narrowing his eyes. He heard his name and the word 'cabra' in there. He'd made it a point to learn something. Today, it seemed his hell would consist of stubborn creatures that undoubtedly made a much better meal rather than eating grass.

// Come on boys, up! \\ Valencia said as she looked between the two of them. // Breakfast. Then Harry goes to the hayloft. And Lucius watches the goats. \\

And with that Valencia shut the door. Lucius glared daggers at it. If this was fate's way of making him atone, it had a sadistic side he didn't like one bit.

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Harry knew it; he knew it was bad idea. He didn't know what had possessed him to ask Lucius that stupid, stupid question. But Lucius had been half asleep, or even on the brink of full sleep. Harry had been sure he wouldn't remember and by the morning, Harry would be on his side of the bed, and Lucius would be none the wiser. Hell, in all honesty, he wasn't expecting Lucius to roll over and wrap an arm around him.

He also wasn't expecting Lucius to eventually pull him in closer. Lucius was completely asleep when it happened, but Harry still felt his face flush at the memory of it. He had needed, at least, the pretence of being loved and cared for by someone; he needed the pretence before he found himself losing his mind.

But now Harry found himself with a small problem.

He was starting to fall for Lucius Malfoy. He was starting to fall for the man he was supposed to loathe, despise and probably kill, Voldemort aside.

Sure, Harry had a few boyfriends. And he had always known, been so sure of himself, willing to be either dominant or submissive as per the situation. With Lucius, he had no damned clue as to what to do. Sure, he could read the obvious things, and even then, that was something of a stretch, since Lucius typically masked his true feelings rather well. Lucius Malfoy was a tantalizing mystery.

Harry brought the rake down hard, causing a few stalks of hay to go floating out the large hayloft window, down to the ground below him. He sighed, watching them before he laid the rake down and sat on the ledge, looking over the farm. Ernesto was out in the fields, checking over something. Valencia was in her small garden, probably picking things for tonight's dinner. And Lucius was clouting the goats on their heads left, right and centre with his staff, in an attempt to keep them away from the laundry.

Poor Lucius. The thought made his lips give something of a wry twist. Poor Harry. He felt completely justified in adding that on as well.

Why did it always seem that life liked to screw him over all the time? He couldn't even entertain the thought of facing Lucius this morning. So once Lucius was in the bathroom, Harry changed in record speed, wolfed down breakfast and dashed out to the hayloft. It seemed so much easier to simply avoid Lucius.

"A very strange morning after," Harry mused a bit dryly to himself.

Just what could he possibly say to Lucius after spewing out all of that? And Merlin knew that Lucius was bound to ask him questions. And Harry didn't want to answer any questions just yet. He wasn't even sure of the answers or if he even had the answers. He ran his hands through his hair suddenly in frustration.

"Why can't anything ever be easy for me for once in my life?" he growled to himself.

He rubbed the nape of his neck, looking out once more. He started a bit when he realized that Lucius was looking right at him. A twinge of guilt hit him, and Harry looked away with a disgusted look on his face. Guilt? What on Earth did he have to feel guilty about? He picked up the rake angrily, focusing intently on his task, with his back towards the hayloft window.

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Lucius wasn't sure which one was worse: having hell with the goats or the fact that Harry had been blatantly ignoring him all day.

Hearing the bedroom creak open, Lucius watched as Harry entered and promptly went to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Lucius stood corrected. It was a toss up between the goats and the disgusted expression that had plastered itself to Harry's face before he turned his back Lucius earlier on today.

He found it remarkable that he hadn't thoroughly killed someone today. Lucius Malfoy was not to be ignored. More importantly, Lucius Malfoy didn't want to be ignored at this point, especially after the gruelling day.

Placing his feet on the bed, Lucius stretched before reclining back against his pillows. This situation was rapidly deteriorating by the moment. And there wasn't exactly anything he could do if Harry was choosing to ignore him. He started picking at a spot on his pants idly, trying to think of how to fix this strange situation. But every scenario that ran through his mind ended rather horribly - there was Harry yelling at him, or Harry hexing him, even Harry ignoring him for good. Lucius gave a thoroughly dissatisfied grunt. The list just kept on like that, and he did not like any of the options considering they ended with Harry doing something unpleasant to him.

Perhaps another talk was in order, no matter how-

"Are you going to sleep now?"

Lucius looked up to find Harry standing on the other side of the bed, his glasses resting on the night table. He looked into those malachite green eyes and saw something he never wanted to see there: fear. Harry was scared. Harry was scared of him. Lucius looked away, swallowing quickly. He couldn't do this; not now, and certainly not like this. The look in Harry's eyes was all too familiar and Lucius wanted no part of it tonight.

"You can have the bed," Lucius said quickly, grabbing a pillow and a blanket. "I'll sleep on the couch downstairs."

And before Harry could say a word, Lucius walked out of the room. He made his way through the darkened living room, tossing the pillow at one end and lying down on it. It was springy in some spots and sagging in others. It was far too worn for a decent night's sleep. But it certainly beat sleeping on the floor. Or even in the same room as Harry tonight.

He snapped out the blanket briskly and covered himself with it, closing his eyes. But he knew sleep wouldn't be coming easily tonight. The memories still plagued him, the words of 'No, please, don't' echoing through his mind like a cruel, sweetly mocking sycophant.

Lucius sighed heavily. It was going to be a very long night.

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It didn't look like Lucius was getting to sleep easily. Harry shifted a bit, relieved that the floor didn't creak and betray him. Harry wasn't all too sure why he had snuck down here two hours later. Why had Lucius left just like that after, undoubtedly, seeing a touch of apprehension on his face? There were times Harry wished he could mask his emotions as easily as Lucius could.

Harry curled his fingers around the corner and peered, seeing the end of the blanket at one end and the jutting ends of the plump pillow at the other. He was essentially spying on the man. He knew he should go back upstairs and go to sleep. Yet he had thought that earlier on; two hours later, he was still here at the corner, watching Lucius.

A wheezing creak from the couch told Harry that Lucius was shifting yet again; this made it the fifteenth time in less than half hour. Harry found it more than bothersome that he was keeping count. Just what could be making Lucius so restless?!

But it seemed that Lucius was finally settling down. After awhile, Harry finally pulled away from the corner and started to make his way towards to the stairs. But when he heard a creak once more, he paused, turning on the ball of his foot to creep back. It seemed that he had spoken too-

"No," Lucius' moan was low and hoarse. "Don't."

For the first time, Harry felt the chilling touch of pure anxiousness grip him. It left him frozen in mid-turn, hearing all of Lucius' words, drifting through the air towards him. When it all fell silent once more, Harry found it incredibly hard to move his feet. Yet he managed to make his way back up the stairs and crawl into the bed. He simply lay there, staring out the window, his mind running one sentence on a loop constantly.

It seemed like a long while later that he shivered slightly. "And they say I'm the victim…"

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