Chapter Thirty-nine: One Last Hurrah

Lucius sat at the edge of his chair, holding Rose's hands in his and looking deeply into her frightened eyes. "You look absolutely terrified, pet, so I'll come straight to the point. When last I visited Diagon Alley, it was very clear that my reputation as evil incarnate is swiftly vanishing." He gave her a small, charming smile. "Therefore, I intend to make it the first business of Monday morning to hire a maid, a cook, and a gardener for the estate. I want you moved out of the servant's wing as soon as possible."

Apparently, she looked as stricken as she suddenly felt, for his brows snapped together. "Rose? Pet, what is it?"

Forcing down the tears with quick, shallow breaths, she finally managed a weak, "Is it something I did?"

"Yes, it is." He leaned in further and brushed away an escaped tear. "You've enchanted me, my lady. I don't know what possessed you to offer yourself as a servant, but this is beneath you. You can never be happy..."

"But I am happy." The words were out before she realized that she had interrupted him, and she hung her head before adding softly, "Sorry, sir."

"My name is Lucius, Rose. Please use it."

"No." she started briefly at the look of disapproval in his eyes. "I mean, no, I don't want this. Please, don't do this to me."

"I only want what's best for you."

"I know that, and I appreciate what a rare gift that is." She fiddled idly with the onyx ring on his smallest finger. "But, I assure you that this is what's best for me. I need this. I need to serve you. I can't explain it. As a matter of fact, I always assumed that you'd explain it to me one day. You've engendered this within me, and if you take it away, I swear I'll lose my mind." She raised her eyes to his and was surprised to see astonishment there. "Am I doing something wrong? Is there more that I can do for you? I'll do anything." She knew she sounded desperate, but a truth she hadn't known was there was surfacing with such force that it pushed aside all logic, and the sudden, terrible fear that she would lose her master overwhelmed her.

He took a long moment to search her face, then kissed her very, very gently. "I don't want to hurt you, Rose. That was my last intention. I can't pretend to understand your decision, but it pleases me greatly." He cupped her cheek in his hand, and she leaned into the soft caress. "I adore being your master." He stood slowly, and offered her a hand. "Come to bed, pet, and we'll discuss this further."

She took his hand slowly, uncertain whether her body could handle a rough touch, yet. But, when she stood, he merely offered another feather-light kiss and guided her deeper into the room.

They stopped beside the bed, and her mouth left his long enough to whisper, "Lucius, I love you."

"And, I long to love you, Rose," he answered, the tiniest quiver in his voice. "I'm not certain that I'm capable of it, but you're precious to me, and I swear that I'm going to try."

Solemnly, sweetly, as if performing a sacred rite, he kissed the tears from her face before gently urging her body down beneath his own.

After dinner, Rose found herself by the pond, watching the splendor of the moonlight on the water, and weeping bitterly. How could she have done this to herself? To Alex? They'd be leaving here, soon. She had no business getting this attached, but it felt so good to rest in his arms, to lose herself within his will. No one had ever made her feel so safe. She could stay here and never be hurt again. Lucius would see to that. Even if he never loved her, he was insanely jealous of his possessions.

What are you saying? We are not a possession! Alex broke in furiously. Just listen to yourself. You sound like you're going insane! The minute Severus lets us go, we are out of here, and Lucius Malfoy can bite me.

Rose giggled. Lucius loved to bite. He, in fact, seemed to find her inner thighs irresistible.

Stop it, Rose! It's not an option.

The argument was interrupted by a summons. She sighed softly and directed her gaze to the green glow at her wrist. It was Draco, of course, ready to go on their traditional Saturday night outing. And Rose was ready, as well, decked out in a cherry-red dress that fiercely pushed the boundaries of decency. Tonight would be a celebration of anything she could think to celebrate, no holds barred. She owed it to herself and to Draco. They'd have to get back much earlier than usual because of Lucius' growing resistance to the sleeping draught, and it was likely their last hurrah. Good, Rose. Get the night started with a really depressing thought.

When she popped into his room, he turned, froze, then flashed a dazzling smile. "Wow."

"You, too," she answered, offering her arm. "Shall we, my young prince?"

"Most certainly."

The club was crowded as usual, filled with a wild assortment of wizarding kind, and Rose smiled to see them joined together under the banner of mutual drunken revelry. She glanced over at Draco who already had a drink in hand and was headed into the crowd, not bothering to hide his excited grin. The Weird Sisters were playing the Cauldron again tonight and they struck a wild chord just as Draco turned and grabbed her by the hand to pull her along with him. That, she decided, was well worth the lack of sleep and potential hazards of this tradition. A grin of her own spread across her face as she let go of the tension this week had caused and began to dance.

Two hours later, she turned away from her current partner, a tightly-muscled, ebony-haired beauty, and staggered to the bar. To her surprise, Draco was already there, procuring a drink for a beautiful young woman who seemed to be completely wrapped up in him. He was obviously less interested, but nuzzled her neck anyway as she delicately sipped from her glass.

His eyes lit up when they spotted Rose, however, and he'd ordered a gillywater before she'd even arrived. She took the proffered beverage, had a long pull, and smiled gratefully.

"You look tired," Draco shouted over the music.

She laughed. "Rough week."

"Oh, yeah?" he answered casually, eyes skimming the crowd. "What could possibly..."

His abrupt break in speech sharpened her immediately. The look on his face had evolved from relaxed pleasure to utter loathing in the span of seconds, and she followed his gaze to the source of his fury. There was nothing unusual in the direction he was staring, just another crowd of dancing kids. Schoolmates, she thought, probably from rival houses.

He stood slowly, craning his neck slightly to get a better look.

"What is it, Drac?"

He stared a moment longer before realizing that she'd asked a question, but his eyes never moved, his face never softened as he answered coldly, "It's Harry bloody Potter."

Rose scowled. Damn. Not a day had passed in Malfoy manor that Draco hadn't said something, usually something disturbingly threatening, about Harry Potter and his friends, and trying to talk to him about it had proven disastrous. It had marked the only occasion in which Draco had ever shouted at her, and she hadn't brought up the subject again. That didn't keep it from being a topic of conversation, but she'd learned to keep her peace where the Potter boy and his pals were concerned. Tonight, however, was probably their last night out together and she'd be damned if she'd let the presence of the kids who'd landed Lucius in prison ruin their evening.

She put an arm around her young friend and tried to turn back toward the bar, but he didn't budge, just glared holes through the boy and his red-haired friend.

"Come on, Drac. Don't let it wreck the night."

"Wreck the night? Are you joking? This is perfect. I just need to get them alone." He cast his eyes about. "See those two up there?" He pointed to two identical twins who must've been Ron's brothers. "Those are the Weasel twins; a nice, safe distance from their brother, trying to drum up business for their pathetic shop."

She followed his gaze and saw that the two boys in question were indeed identical, highly unusual in wizarding society. Presently, they were engaged in handing out flyers to a crowd of giggling witches, paying the two boys they'd likely sneaked out of the house absolutely no attention.

Draco flashed a grin that would have been charming had it not been for the ice-cold eyes above it. She shivered. He really was his father's son. "You up for a bit of sport?" he asked with a quick lift of his eyebrows.

She hesitated, not sure of how far she should go to indulge him. "What kind of sport?" she asked nervously.

"Relax, Rose. I just want to play with them." He turned fully then and pierced her with mercilessly clear, blue-green eyes.

She rolled hers. "Oh, not the thing with the eyes," she protested. "You know I hate that."

He laughed. "You're a slave to the eyes, Rose. Admit it." She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to hide her blush. If he'd known how close he was coming to the intimate details of her relationship with his father, he'd blush, too. "Come on, Rose. Help me with this."

She told herself to be strong, that this would probably lead to trouble, but at the sound of his pleading, she crumbled. "Alright. Okay. Fine." She held his chin in her hand, fixing him with a serious stare. "But, you have to promise that no one will get hurt."

"I promise," he said sincerely. "No one will get hurt."

"That's my boy." They turned in sync back to the floor where the boys were doing fantastic impressions of wallflowers. "What's your plan?"

His eyes moved to hers and a wicked grin spread across his delicate features.

Five minutes later, she was being hustled up the crowded stairway with her own knife in her ribs and Draco's arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She had to hand it to the kid. They had slipped past Harry and his friend expertly, close enough for them to get a glimpse of the knife, but not close enough to be sure. They had, in fact, managed to give exactly the wrong impression. The two boys had followed immediately, heroically, and just far enough away to avoid being spotted... at least, it would have been had Draco not already known they were there.

"I swear, Drac," Rose whispered, "if you put a hole in this dress..."

"Quiet, wench," he growled in his best pirate voice, "or it'll go worse fer ye."

She snorted a laugh, fighting to keep a straight face, but he shushed her in earnest. "Settle down, Rose, and move faster. Don't give them time to get the twins. They're trouble."

By the time they reached their destination (the same secluded room to which Draco had been lured a week ago) the two boys had almost caught up and were currently hidden behind a pillar halfway down the corridor.

Draco shoved her roughly through the door and slammed it behind them, uttering a silencing spell immediately. Rose turned with silent laughter to see Draco raise his wand to the door, eyes cold and mouth set in a hard line. It was then that she realized he found this much less amusing than she. In fact, he looked positively murderous.

That was enough for her. She drew her own wand subtly, just in case the Malfoy temper took control and things got out of hand. In a few seconds, predictably, the door flew open and the boys burst in. Draco had them bound before the door swung back on its hinges. A second spell disarmed and knocked them to the floor.

"Well, well," Draco drawled. "If it isn't Potter and Weasel come to rescue the fair damsel. You Gryffindor hero-types really are thick."

"And you Malfoys are complete cowardly gits, as usual," Harry spat.

"Shut your mouth, Potter," Draco spat. "You wouldn't know anything about family." He ignored Harry's furious look and tuned to his friend. "And you, Weasel, the whole lot of you ought to at least have the decency to do yourselves in instead of being such an embarrassment to the pure bloods. You aren't fit to carry a wand."

Ron's face turned a shade redder. "One way to find out, Malfoy," he shouted, sounding no more formidable than he looked, "or are you too scared to face me like a wizard?"

If the words had been intended to infuriate Draco into rash action, they failed utterly. He, in fact, seemed to grow ice-cold. "No, Weasley. The fact that you're down there, wandless and helpless, and I'm in control proves that I'm the better wizard, as if there were ever any doubt." He drew Rose's knife from his robes and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "But, in a few seconds, that won't matter. Like I told you, no one trifles with my family."

In that moment Rose realized that they weren't the only ones who'd been misled. Draco had brought them up here intending to kill them, and had lied to her about it outright. She grabbed his arm and yanked him around. "Draco, stop!" she shouted. "Think! This is insane."

"Shut up, Rose," he hissed. "This has nothing to do with you. You have no idea what they did to me. Now, sit down and..."

The sentence ended with cry of pain as she slid her grip to his hand and twisted violently. The knife clattered to the floor and slid out of view. Before he could raise his wand, she locked his other arm in a vice and they began to struggle for possession.

On the floor behind them, Ron stretched a long leg toward the fallen blade, caught it under a heel, and kicked it toward Harry. "Hurry," he whispered, leaning over enough for Harry to reach the ropes with the knife and eyeing the two combatants carefully. The bindings were severed quickly, and Ron shook himself free.

A feminine cry was heard then, as Draco gave Rose a vicious shove, with strength born of fury, that send her stumbling away. She tripped and fell backward, almost managing to miss the bedside table... almost, but not quite. One hand flew out to break her fall, and a sharp crack was heard as her head caught the edge.

She fell to the floor, silent as the grave.

The sight of her still, bleeding form froze all three of them at once as they waited for her to shake it off and get up. Ron was the first to recover, diving for Draco and bearing him to the ground in a brutal tackle, both kicking, punching, and shouting profanities as they rolled about, trying like hell to get the upper hand.

"Get him, Ron!" Harry shouted from the corner, still trying awkwardly to free himself.

The room quickly dissolved into panting, grunting, cursing, and shouted encouragement as the two boys fought. By the time Harry freed himself, both Malfoy and Ron were bloody. Deftly, he snatched a wand from under the rolling figures and leveled it at Draco.

"Stupefy!"

Harry barely had time to register the words and their feminine source before the world went black, and he dropped like a stone to the floor.

"Harry!" Ron shouted, rolling to his knees, just distracted enough for Draco to catch him squarely on the jaw with a solid punch. He shook it off furiously and lunged, but was halted in mid-tackle by a hand tangled in his hair. His head jerked back and Rose brought her blade to his throat.

The room froze.

Draco stared in awe as she gave the knife a small twist, just enough to draw a trickle of blood. The boy beneath the blade began to cry.

"Is this what you want, Drac?" she hissed. "You want me to slit his throat? You want to watch him choke on his own blood?"

Draco stared in stunned silence a moment more before slowly shaking his head.

The breath left her lungs in a rush. "That's my little dragon," she whispered. In a swift motion, she released her captive, drew her wand, and stunned him. He went down in a heap on the floor.

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him with a look. "Not a word, Drac," she snapped. "Just let me erase this catastrophe from their heads, and we can go home."

In short order that deed was done, and they disapparated in silence. Once there, Draco pulled away from her slowly and met her eyes with a look of utter contrition.

She sighed and brushed the wild, blonde hair back from his face. "I'm really disappointed in you, Drac," she whispered.

"I know," he answered quietly. "I'm sorry. I rather lost it."

"Yes, you did." She gave a small smile. "But, you're not a killer. One day, you might have to be, but not yet. I know it sounds like stupid, grown-up advice, but trust me on this one. I lost my childhood when I was younger than you are, and it... changed me in irreparable ways. Be young while you can, Draco. It's over in a heartbeat."

He nodded mutely, studying her as if he'd never seen her before, and they walked to the house in silence.

Quickly and quietly, they slipped in and closed the huge door behind them. It gave a barely-audible click just as a huge shadow descended on them at lightning speed. Before either of them could draw a breath, much less a weapon, a black-gloved hand slid around Rose's throat, grabbed Draco by the front of his shirt, lifted them both in the air, and slammed them into the stone wall with a feral snarl.

A swell of raw power could be felt pressing in on them, stealing their breath, and Rose shuddered as several vases, then the window exploded with the force of his rage.

Lucius Malfoy's voice, barely recognizable through clenched teeth, sliced them to ribbons with a single question. "Where. In. The. Hell," he slammed them against the wall again,"have you been?"

Queen of the Faeries: I'm glad to hear that you liked Macnair's death. It warms my heart to see poetic justice served, even if it's only fictional. Your concern about Rose's attachment to Lucius is certainly valid. He's not the most stable individual to cling to. Further details on that in the next chapter.

Intel Ewok: Hi! I missed you, though I'm truly sorry that your absence was not excused by some merry trip to Tahiti drinking margaritas out of other people's shoes. Whoa! Was that too vivid a picture? Anywho, I'm glad that you returned to chapters that you felt were worth reading. And, yes, Lucius has the uncanny ability to complicate everything. It's just one of the many things I love about him.

Silverfey: There you are, you little... silverfey, you! I was very sad to not hear from you, but this makes it all better. I'm glad that you weren't too offended by Marler's end. I hoped that wouldn't be taking things too far. Having been the victim of violence, it was very nice to get that scene on the screen and out of my system. And, once again, you make me day-glow red with your compliments. You're such a sweetie!