HARRY POTTER AND THE PARADOX OF BEING
by Yih
beta'd by Blackumbrage.
Severus/Sebastian Note: Their relationship will be progressing after this chapter… so stay tune. J.
5: The Malfoys (April 27, 2004 to May 6, 2004)
"What did you do to my son?" Lucius Malfoy made quite the figure bursting into his office in his full dress robes. "I asked you, what did you do to my son to make him accept your offer and not Severus's?"
"Maybe," Harry responded softly, "he liked my offer better."
"I have read your offer," Lucius sneered, "and it is hardly anything."
"But perhaps Draco thinks it is."
"It is Draco, now is it?" Lucius's eyes narrowed calculatingly as his gaze swept over the rather attractive young man. Well, so here was the Professor that Draco had been raving about all semester. He did cut quite a nice figure, didn't he? Malfoys did appreciate beauty, but what Lucius didn't appreciate was Draco's tendency to migrate toward the male sex. Draco was a Malfoy and Malfoys did their duty, and Draco's duty was to marry a pureblood witch and provide the next Malfoy heir.
"There are things," he murmured darkly, threateningly, "that can be taken out of context," for he was sure that Draco and this Professor Biggerstaff had nothing in relationship yet, "that could prove to be quite detrimental to your teaching career. Do you understand me?" Biggerstaff merely looked at him in such a way that it made Lucius even more furious. The man looked positively indifferent! How infuriating! "And as a Malfoy, I could make things very difficult for you."
"Of that," Harry responded calmly, "I have no doubt. But you forget, Mr. Malfoy," he stressed deliberately, "you have not any circumstantial information at your disposal to wield over me and I would doubt you would be able to get any that isn't forged."
"That confident in your infallible behavior?"
"More like," Harry murmured, "confident in my abilities to keep any prying ears or eyes out of my personal chambers."
"I still think," Lucious retorted, "that you must have Draco bewitched for him to refuse his own godfather's offer. Draco has been waiting for Severus's apprenticeship since he first started Hogwarts. He was to be the first Potions apprentice at Hogwarts since Severus himself! You must have done something to change Draco's decision like that!"
"Maybe, he just discovered something he liked better."
"I doubt anything is as simple as that," he muttered darkly.
"Then you'd best ask Draco then," Harry murmured, "because I have no idea. And I will tell you this; I have done nothing that would allow you to get into my office with your present state of accusation."
Lucius drew himself up to his full height, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to get anything more out of Biggerstaff. He had done small probes against Biggerstaff and had been quite alarmed to find that what he thought were invisible touches were very much sensed by Biggerstaff. Now he fully understood why his Lord was so eager to recruit Biggerstaff into their midst. If Biggerstaff did become a Death Eater, it would be more permissible for Draco to be his apprentice… but still… Biggerstaff's apprentice? The man had no name! What was Draco thinking? And mediwizardry? Was Draco insane?
"Please… leave."
Lucius narrowed his silvery eyes, but he knew he was beat and it would be humiliating to be forced out of Biggerstaff's office. He could feel the power that was emanating from the medimagic Professor and it was heady stuff. It almost felt like the same aura that he felt emitted from his Lord. But… that couldn't be the case, no wizard alive could be as strong as his Lord. No wizard! And yet… was it possible? No one knew anything about Sebastian Biggerstaff and no Malfoy ever aligned himself with weakness. Maybe Draco had stumbled on to something after all. This did bear more investigation.
"Now."
"Good day, Professor Biggerstaff," Lucius murmured.
"Good day, Mr. Malfoy."
"Father," Draco greeted reservedly.
Lucius stared at his son none too pleased with the way things were turning out. Even though Sebastian Biggerstaff might be a powerful wizard, indeed he might be nearly as strong as his Lord--- he would still feel better if Draco would have gone with the plan that had been set up previously. After all, it did put a glitch in things. Lucius could only hope that it wouldn't displease his Lord. That was important.
"I am going to be Professor Biggerstaff's apprentice."
Lucius was annoyed and impressed that his son was disobeying him. It was rare to see Draco go against him. Actually Lucius couldn't remember a time when Draco had ever gone against him. It was good to see his son finally standing up for himself, but Lucius wished it wasn't such a breaking issue like this one. He doubted that his Lord was going to be pleased. If anything, his Lord had made it clear that he wanted his future Death Eaters to be trained by the current Death Eaters. He wanted complete segregation.
If Hogwarts wasn't the best school to learn magic, Lucius had no doubt that Draco wouldn't even be there--- along with all the other Death Eater children. Lucius shuddered, Merlin only knew how his Lord was going to react to this news. It could go either way. He wasn't really sure. The Dark Lord wasn't really stable in the mind anymore, but there was no denying that he was the most powerful wizard in existence. Hadn't he proven it by getting rid of his nemesis, Harry Potter?
"And what if our Lord," Lucius began, "does not like the idea?"
Draco gulped down harshly. "Then our Lord will have to deal with it."
"Brave words or very foolish words, son."
"This is my life, father."
"It is," Lucius agreed. "That it is."
"I won't back down."
"But what if you have to?"
"I won't," Draco stated firmly, his eyes holding steady in a way that Lucius had never seen before. It made him proud, though outwardly he appeared to be annoyed. It wouldn't do to encourage youthful rebellion would it? Definitely not. That would not be good. And what would Narcissa say? Ah… that he was such a bad influence on their son. "I won't back down."
"I speak with our Lord today," Lucius murmured. "Is that what you want me to relay on to him?"
Draco seemed to waver for a second but then he nodded. "Yes, that is what I wish you to tell him."
"Very well, then."
Voldemort, when he had found out that Draco was set on being Sebastian Biggerstaff's apprentice, wasn't as upset as Lucius feared he would be. Instead, a crimson gleam had overcome him. He was up to something. Lucius may not approve of what his son was doing, but he definitely didn't want any harm to come to Draco. Draco was his son, if there was anyone that was going to get upset at Draco--- it was damn well going to be him.
"That is surprising news," Voldemort declared. "I would have thought that Draco would have wanted to be Severus's apprentice. That has been what you have been grooming him for the past years haven't you? I remember you commissioning the best Potions Master from France to come and tutor your son in the summer in Potions so that he would be perfect for Severus. He is quite the Potions student, is he not?"
"He is good," Lucius phrased carefully. "He is certainly the best in his House but he is not the best student at Hogwarts. I believe a mudblood witch and some Ravenclaw student are making better marks than he is."
"Nonetheless, Draco is a talented wizard and a worthy heir of the Malfoy name and fortune."
"I do hope so, my Lord." Lucius bowed his head down respectfully.
"And it isn't terrible that he wants to be Sebastian Biggerstaff's apprentice. I believe good things may come from this alliance." Lucius held his breath. What did Voldemort want? His Lord was so volatile in his moods that it was difficult to tell when he was in a sane or in a crazy mood. "Draco is quite beautiful, is he not?" Lucius bit his tongue and nodded. "Like all Malfoys, am I not right?"
"You are right, my Lord."
"I want him to seduce Biggerstaff to our side," Voldemort murmured darkly. "I want him to bring Biggerstaff to our side. Think, with a wizard like Biggerstaff on our side, I will finally be able to break the wards of Hogwarts!"
His Lord was crazy. No one could take down the wards of Hogwarts, not without gathering the four heirs of the four Founders. It was impossible since the Ravenclaw line had died out centuries ago and Merlin knew where the Hufflepuff line was. Somewhere in Russia or Eastern Europe. As for the Gryffindor line, well, Potter had been rumored to be the Gryffindor heir, but that was preposterous speculation. It couldn't be true. The only known heir was Voldemort, the heir of Salazar Slytherin.
"And what if Biggerstaff is not attracted to my son?"
"You have some veela blood in your line," Voldemort whispered harshly. "Use the seductive power that all veelas are known to have to your advantage. You can get a withered old man to have an erection, I'm sure Draco can seduce a virile young man like Biggerstaff with minimal effort."
"You overestimate the power of our diluted Veelan blood," Lucius said carefully. "It is not that strong, and it has been further diluted in Draco. Narcissa has no Veela blood, and both my parents had some. That is why I have some influence."
"If your son cannot, then I expect you to."
Lucius gulped down harshly. For Merlin's sake he wasn't attracted to men! "Yes, my Lord." But it wasn't like he could deny his Lord's request without meeting the certainty of death. It was hardly a good thing to try to plot against a madman. No, it was certain suicide if he did. "I will do as you ask."
"You may leave, Lucius."
"Thank you, my Lord."
Lucius turned to leave but he stopped suddenly when he heard Voldemort's voice say, "Remember, I am not a patient wizard."
"I will do your bidding as fast as I can."
"Make sure that you do."
It was difficult for Draco to be in Sebastian Biggerstaff's presence without feeling slightly aroused. Thank god, he had gotten better at controlling it recently. If he hadn't, he'd have a full blown erection right now. What was it about being in Sebastian's private chambers and the Professor wearing far too few clothes than what was good for him? Egads, the man was only clad in a shirt that was partially unbuttoned--- enough to show his muscular chest. Draco gulped down harshly, thinking how good it would be to run his tongue over those dusky nipples he had seen.
"Please sit," Sebastian murmured, gesturing to the two chairs that were over in the corner of the room. "We have much to discuss about your apprenticeship."
Draco nodded and sat down, thankful that he was wearing his full school robes that hid the beginnings of his arousal quite well. Even if he did get a full blown arousal, if he arranged his robes the right way, Sebastian would notice nothing. "What did you want to discuss, Professor?"
"Your living situation, as well as what further instruction you'd like that I had proposed in my offer."
"I don't care about the living situation, whatever is the most convenient for you." Well, he did care a lot about it, but he wanted to seem not to care. And he knew if he said this that Sebastian would propose then that he live in his quarters with him. Draco was sure the only reason that Sebastian had offered to accommodate him in separate quarters was because he was a Malfoy and was used to having his own living space. Typically, he would have wanted that. If he had been apprenticed with Professor Snape, he certainly would have demanded it but this was Sebastian Biggerstaff and the possibility of catching his Professor half naked made his fantasies.
"Then you don't mind staying and sharing my quarters with me?" Sebastian questioned lightly. "It would be more convenient, especially as you will be my only apprentice this year."
"Mud…" Draco caught himself, seeing the irritated look coming into Sebastian's face, "Granger said no?" He knew very well that Sebastian did not tolerate house prejudices. It was probably because he hadn't gone to school at Hogwarts and didn't understand them. Whatever the case, Sebastian reacted badly to anyone showing house prejudices, but it wasn't only directed in favor of Gryffindor like Dumbledore but also to Slytherin. Other than Professor Snape, Sebastian was the only Professor to be openly kind to Slytherins.
"She declined, yes," Sebastian responded. "I believe that she accepted Professor McGonagall's apprenticeship."
"I thought she'd say yes," Draco muttered, feeling a burst of joy going out in his heart that Hermione had said no. Now he had Sebastian all to himself! He wouldn't have felt comfortable trying to seduce Sebastian in their private sessions with Hermione's all too insightful eyes on them. But if she wasn't there… he was definitely fair game now that he was no longer Sebastian's student.
"I was not as confident as you."
Draco felt stung. Was he then only a second choice? A safety?
"But I am glad that you said yes," Sebastian continued. "I feel you are the more gifted student."
Draco blushed. How could he ever have doubted Sebastian?
"So, what else would you like to learn when I mentally drain all the love of medimagic out of you?"
Draco glanced up and felt his insides burn at the intensity of Sebastian's gaze. "I would like to learn Charms and… the Dark Arts."
Sebastian grinned knowingly. "I thought as much." Sebastian stood up and gestured for Draco to do the same. "You had best be getting back to your dorm room, Head Boy, or I'm sure gossip will be running amok around Hogwarts about our illicit affair."
Draco smiled back and inside only wished whatever gossip might be going around was true.
Draco had expected a howler from his father, but instead what he got at breakfast the next day was something quite different. It was a letter from his father, no doubt, he recognized the elegant scrawling handwriting immediately. But it wasn't red like howlers usually were. He felt reasonably safe to open it up in the Great Hall even though it was possible that his father had done something to disguise that this was in fact a howler.
He sighed with relief when the letter fell limply to the table. Definitely not a howler, but if it had been a howler it would have started unwrapping itself and would have already given in to the tirade. He paused and opened the letter with cautious fingers and started reading the letter:
Draco,
I am sure you were expecting a howler, but it seems our Lord isn't as upset with you as I thought he would be. Instead, he is not unhappy that Sebastian Biggerstaff has offered you an apprenticeship. Actually, I think he is pleased. I had an opportunity to visit your Professor yesterday, so I can understand the interest that our Lord shows in him. Our Lord has a request for you and he desires for you to fulfill it as soon as possible.
Do not fail me, Draco. You are a Malfoy and Malfoys do not fail.
What our Lord wants from you is for you to seduce Sebastian Biggerstaff to our side. He mentioned using your inherited veelan persuasive skills, but for all that I know--- you have none. You do have the natural veelan beauty though, and that is not something to be taken lightly. Even if you don't have the ability to make Sebastian Biggerstaff pant in lust, I'm sure you know of human tricks to get him into your bed and to crawl your way into his heart.
You know our Lord isn't a patient man, so I would get started as soon as you can. You have my permission to use any resources that you need to succeed. Whatever Malfoy Mansion can offer in the way of books or spells or money or power will be at your disposal. As I have already said, Malfoys do not fail. So fail me not, son.
Yours,
Lucius Malfoy
That was unexpected. The Dark Lord wanted him to seduce Sebastian Biggerstaff to their side. He had gotten approval from his father to pursue a homosexual relationship. Good Merlin, his Malfoy ancestors must be rolling in their graves. It was unheard for a Malfoy to be openly homosexual. Surely, if he felt the attraction to Sebastian--- there had to be a Malfoy previously that had felt the tendency. But never, never openly. It just wasn't something that was done.
But now he was being commanded and by all that was magically holy, he wanted Sebastian to be his. Draco's eyes skimmed over to the Head table where the Professors were eating and chatting in the morning. His eyes narrowed into slits when he saw Sebastian lean over to whisper something into Severus's ear. Those two were rather closer, weren't they? That might be to his advantage, Draco reflected. He could use his godfather to discover more about Sebastian. He was sure he could get his godfather to tell him more about Sebastian. Severus had never been able to say no to him.
Draco glanced down at the letter one more time, before crumbling it into a ball and setting it afire with incendio. He knew that was what his father expected him to do with the letter. While the Malfoys might be allied with the Dark Lord, it still wasn't something that was openly declared in public. It was something that was known by those that were deep on the Light side, but for those that were more neutral than anything--- well what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. There was no need to make this public knowledge, and there was no reason for Sebastian to know that there might be an ulterior motive to this seduction.
He had planned on seducing Sebastian anyway, having his father's approval only made it that much easier.
Author's Note: Yeah, I got this out fairly quickly. I think this story is coming along very well. I'm not sick anymore! And my bf is in HK, so that means I have plenty of time to write while he's gone for the month of May. However, my cousin and he both come to Houston late May so --;; forgive me if I don't release anything in that little week span. But I should have chapters prepared. Don't you LOVE summer? Also it'd be great if you could answer some of my questions in your reviews.
Oh yeah, did pretty bad on my finals soooooo… --;; god I hope it's better than I fear. Chem was about 10 pts lower than I expected but that's not too bad. But I'm skimming between a B and B- right now and that really sucks if I miss the cut by 5 points. 10 pts (out of 250 that the final is worth). I made a D on the final but my other exams were C's and my lab grade was an A- and my hw was an A- too so that covered my ass. I'm still waiting for my 2 English classes (one of which I suspect will be an A- and the other I pray is an A), Biology (probably B, hopefully A- as I'm working for that Professor this summer), Biolab (hopefully I kept my B, don't want a B-), and Differential Equations (hopefully a B, but I failed that final miserably).
Not exactly what you expected a writer to take as classes eh? -- I take a creative writing class next semester! Yay! Oh yeah, this has been a long Author's Note… BUT I'm back for the summer and I don't go back 'til late August so I'll definitely finish Fallen and Love Atrocious during the span and get a load of POB done.
Chapter Length Note: I will be keeping chapters shorter until well… I feel like I can update the 4,000 to 5,000 length consistently. Let me just say, it's far easier to finish a chapter when you set out to write 3,000 and write exactly 3,000. It's harder to write the longer lengths, b/c the spacing of scenes and the number of scenes have to be done differently. I also always have to end on a good note and most of the time it's easier when the chapter is shorter. Anyhow, it's no shorter than Fallen nor the beginning of MOP. Chapters will get longer like they did in MOP and this story is going to be at least as long as MOP and will start to introduce new creative things like MOP did ;) and I'm going to finally touch on the subject of blood magic!
Questions: (1) Lucius/Sebastian interaction? (2) Draco's seduction plan? (3) And what the hell… a little veela blood in the Malfoy lines… who ever would have thought that?
Thanks for all your WONDERFUL reviews and support last time (I thought you all had abandoned me and I'm glad to see that that's not the case): walker-of-the-shadow-path (good guess!), Mayhem El-Diablo, Tracy Mintzmyer (getting sick always makes me feel terrible, but it never keeps me from writing too long), Ruth (glad the timeline helped), TigerBlak (glad you like the characterizations), Alucardou (yeah I think you're right about stress and exams, I've been sick for all my exams these past 2 months and that hasn't been good), ShadowQuirk, latin-freak, Al, AutumnBitch, Dracolover411, HecateDeMort, Korinna Myorin, keebler-elmo, PxW, GY (Harry's in denial which is why this Severus is trying to reach him and Harry keeps pushing him away), Jazz, marishamarish (light draco smut), Sky, Naia (thanks), Irin (I stopped b/c I reached my 3,000 word limit, aren't I evil? Sometimes word count makes the best cliffhangers.), The angelic vampire, atalante, CassaAndra (Oh Draco definitely has an obsessive complex about Sebastian), Robbly, darkess-knight, Freya Elise Raine (thanks for the defense and recommendation), aryth (the gradual ride will be stepping up… thanks to???), deliolith (oh yeah that line you mentioned was great), menecarkawan, Shuki – aka Quickjewel, sabriel-chan, athenakitty.
