Antidote

Him

Lucius closed the diary without reading the rest of the entry. "One draught to bind in love, another to break the fetters," he murmured. Andromeda could have been saved, and Narcissa had chosen not to. No wonder she poisoned herself by degrees and hid in drugged sleep.

Of course Cecilia Rookwood's fate would upset her. She had pictured Andromeda in her friend's stead. It had not been her will to abandon her sister. Narcissa had been weak all her life. First she had been a puppet on Bellatrix' strings, and later a boring and pliant wife to himself. He felt as much disgust at the web of deception that had ensnared him as he did at her indecision and suggestibility.

"Another to break the fetters," he said again and slammed his hand on his desk in sudden inspiration. The door to his office opened, and his secretary cautiously poked her head around. "Anything the matter Mr. Malfoy?" she asked timidly. He looked up shaking his head. "No," he snarled, annoyed at the interruption. "But while you're here, take the tray out, and make sure I'm not disturbed. Now leave!"

If he gave Andromeda the potion now, she would finally see Ted Tonks for what he was. Unblinded by her fake passion she would recognize the terrible mistake she had made. She would recoil in horror at the misalliance and turn back to him, the man she had truly loved. Perhaps she could even be induced to remedy her mistake by taking care of her husband herself.

Once he could present the Dark Lord with a report of how he had lifted an enchantment off a pureblood witch who had then redeemed herself by killing her muggle consort, his master might exercise mercy. It would be a powerful signal to other pureblood witches and wizards who now feared for their lives in the wake of all the raids. Some of them might also decide to exterminate their families to save themselves. His solution could actually win him favors with Lord Voldemort.

The thought energized him and he decided that the first thing he needed in order to put his plan in motion was some of the old love philter. And of course who else to go to than to his fellow Death Eater Severus Snape who had been responsible for this mess to begin with. Perhaps Lucius could induce him to help him by promising to spare his life. Severus had to see that would be an act of quite uncharacteristic mercy, now that Lucius knew what exactly had happened during the autumn of 1975.

With the first step of his plans standing clearly before him, Lucius felt he had not a moment to spare. He slipped into his long, fur lined outer robes, grabbed his gloves, his cane and the diary and strode out of his office, barely acknowledging his secretary and telling her he was leaving for the day.

Outside the Ministry he spoke a quick apparition spell that put him near the forbidden forest at Hogwarts and made his way towards the castle. Lucius knew that since the debacle regarding Dumbledore's suspension and Tom Riddle's diary the he was not exactly welcome at the school any more. Of course as a parent his visits were tolerated, but he preferred to make this particular excursion a secret.

Now at the height of summer there was little danger of being spotted by students, because everybody had left for the holidays. And as an old Slytherin Lucius knew a few secret ways into his old school. At dusk he had slipped past a secret portal at the base of the castle wall near the dungeons and softly walked down a deserted corridor that led to Professor Snape's private quarters. Light shimmered from underneath a low, squat door at the end of the passage, indicating that the potions master was home.

Lucius quietly opened the heavy oak door and pulled back the hood on his cloak. He looked around to get his bearings and felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of objects that surrounded him. The walls were lined with shelves stocked to the ceiling with bottles, flasks, jars, bundles, boxes, herbal presses, and tins. Tables groaned under the weight of cauldrons, spell books and trunks filled with nameless shriveled animal and plant parts.

The whole place was suffused in the smell of musk, sulfur, storax, asafetida, henbane and ingredients that the blond wizard could not even name. The combined effect nearly sent him gagging. Gingerly he breathed through his half-open mouth.

Finally he made out a human figure sitting at a desk in the clutter and the half-light. "Severus," he choked. The Hogwarts potions teacher carefully placed a finger under the text passage he had been studying in a large grimoire before looking up. Annoyance at the interruption showed clearly on his narrow, saturnine face. "Lucius, what brings you here?" he asked curtly.

"This!" The blond wizard stepped up to the potions master and slammed the diary on top of the grimoire, sending a small dust-cloud up in the air. The diary was spread open on the pages that described the events of October 12th 1975. Snape sneezed and thought to protest at the rudeness of the gesture, but then his eyes caught on the text and he grew still and rigid as he read. Lucius black-gloved hand held the diary open for him and finally the potions master looked up.

"You're mad, because of the deal I made with Narcissa 20 years ago," he said. "Come on, Lucius, I always took your for a man of the world. Did you really think in our times girls still saved their virginity for marriage?" Lucius removed and closed the diary. "No Severus, you don't even begin to understand. Frankly, after what I know now, I wouldn't care if you'd fucked Narcissa's brains out. In fact," he added bitterly. "I wish you had and then had damn well married her into the bargain."

Snape stared back at his acquaintance of many years in shock. An outburst like this was rare from a man as coldly controlled as the head of house of the Malfoys. "What?" he asked, uncomprehendingly. Lucius brought his face close to his, his voice nothing more than a snake hiss of hatred. "You made her a love potion. You made her and Bellatrix a love potion and those two bitches took it and broke my heart."

Snape pushed back from the desk and out of reach of his visitor. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "Narcissa was crazy about you while you wouldn't give her the time of day. So Bellatrix asked me to make her a potion that she could give you to make you fall in love with her little sister. Hell, we were all in with the Death Eaters. I owed her one, so I mixed her up a bottle. Big deal. You got a good marriage out of it, and a decent son and heir. I hear, you still sleep around regardless. So what's the problem?"

He stood up and began pacing, speaking now with some vehemence born from resentment. "Why are you so high and mighty about a bad decision Narcissa made before she was even married. I know you're not above knocking a good-looking pureblood witch off your bed even now, and that's way after your handfasting."

Lucius didn't even take the bait. He turned away and Snape almost missed the next words. "Bellatrix and Narcissa didn't give me the potion. They gave the potion to Andromeda, who was the one I wanted, and made her fall in love with a fucking muggle! The Blacks disinherited her and threw her out on the street, and now she is on Voldemort's black list slated for execution."

The potions master stopped in mid-stride. "The whole Tonks fiasco? That was my potion? Merlin's balls, I had no idea!" He sat down heavily behind his desk again and ran his long hands through his hair. "Gods, Lucius, I'm sorry."

The blond wizard turned back, leaning over the table top. "You have to make me more to use as an antidote. I need to undo this! Look, if a muggle or mudblood will do, I'll get you another virgin, whatever you need. If you want to redeem your sorry ass for what you did to me, you better help me now, or Voldemort will find out your part in this, that you were using potions to force the abomination of a mingled marriage on a pureblood witch. I'm sure he'll be delighted!"

Snape stared back at his visitor who had pretty much threatened him with the equivalent of a slow and agonizing death. His lips twitched in displeasure. "Look, Lucius, quit the threats. I'm not impressed and I will make up my mind whether to help you or not regardless. And no, I don't need a virgin." For a moment he lowered his eyes. "Actually I never did," he admitted. Lucius straightened. "What? Why the hell did you tell Narcissa…?"

The potions master sighed. "Look at me, Lucius. You just have to stand there, lifting an eyebrow and you have witches wetting their knickers over you. Do you think I'm that lucky? I was twenty years younger, of less sound judgment and I wanted to get laid, okay? I'm sorry I ended up doing your prospective wife. Matter of fact, it wasn't exactly spectacular, if that makes you feel any better."

The blond wizard turned away. "Just shut up, Severus! You lied to Narcissa just so you could get into her pants, and now you have the gall to tell me my wife was a lousy lay. So how exactly do you think this is going to make me feel better?" He tossed back his cloak. "Just mix me up the antidote, and I'll get out of your hair about this. If you weren't a fellow Death Eater and if I didn't need you, you'd be dead by now, you little meddlesome, sniveling sod."

Snape's dark eyes briefly flared up in anger. 'Snivellus' had been the Potter gang's nickname for him, and the memory still stung. Lucius had worked with admirable thoroughness to eradicate any spark of sympathy his fellow Slytherin had felt for him when he had spoken about Andromeda. "Just come back tomorrow," said the potions master coldly. "I will have what you need." Lucius Malfoy pulled his hood forward over his face and walked out of Snape's private quarters without another word.

Her

Malfoy Manor, December 26th 2004

Well, it's all over and done with. I am now officially Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy of Malfoy Manor. Actually I'm still having a hard time getting used to my new name. I'm having a hard time getting used to quite a few things, if I'm honest with myself.

The handfasting two days ago was absolutely stunning. My parents really went above and beyond to give at least one of their daughters away in style. I had the most gorgeous dress you could imagine. We had 250 guests and a most fabulous meal and entertainment. Celia, Denise, Monique and Bella were my bridesmaids. I was surprised that Lucius had chosen Rodolphus as best man, but from what Bella told me Lucius is now also a follower of this great wizard who gave her the mark, and she and Rodolphus advocated his admission and vouched for him. So they are all best friends now.

The ceremony was very solemn and dignified, but when I had asked Lucius whether we wanted to write our own oaths to each other, he had declined, saying that the traditional bonds should be good enough for us. I was a bit disappointed about that. Actually Lucius seemed kind of absent-minded most of the time. This was supposed to be the most important day of our lives, and he appeared somewhat bored by the whole thing. Of course he was really gracious and polite to my parents and to the other guests, and he danced with me when we were supposed to, but he didn't talk much with me. I almost felt like I had done something to upset or displease him, but for the life of me I can't think what it was.

When the celebrations were over, I said good-bye to father and mother and to Bella and my friends who stayed over at Black Manor. It was really nice to talk to my old classmates, actually. I hadn't seen them for a while and they made me laugh and kept my spirits up during the handfasting. It was just like old times at school. Then I apparated with Lucius and his parents at Malfoy Manor.

Old Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy welcomed me officially to their family and their home and then they left Lucius and me alone. I felt really nervous and unhappy by now. It had been hard to say good-bye to everyone and I would have liked to take more time, but Lucius had seemed so impatient, and he had talked to me less and less during the celebration.

Now he led me down a maze of corridors in the old family residence and finally pointed to a heavy door at the end of a long hallway. "Your rooms," he said curtly as he opened it for me. "My servants will collect all of your possessions tomorrow and bring them here. For now I have arranged for a few clothes and toiletries for you. If you are displeased with the furnishing or layout, we can make changes. As this is our wedding-night I will spend it with you here."

Gods, apart from the last sentence, he might have talked like that to a visiting great-aunt while showing her her rooms! The rest of the night continued like that. I had somehow hoped for passion and romance and love and – oh Hecate, I don't know – but it really reminded me of my encounter with Severus, minus the dingy surroundings, the firewhisky and the bad hair. Actually firewhisky would have been an improvement.

Well, I used the virginity spellwork Bellatrix taught me, and Lucius was considerate enough to ask me whether I hurt, but otherwise it just felt like going through the motions. He did try to relax me a little, I think, but by then I was so tense and unhappy, he gave up pretty soon. Honestly, I was relieved when it was all over and hoped I could just go to sleep in his arms and tell myself that I was only tired and exhausted, that I was really happy and that I was simply imagining things. But when he had finished Lucius got up and put his robes on.

I just stared at him in disbelief, too upset to ask him where he was going. He looked down at me once and said. "Your obvious inexperience excuses you for now, but if we plan to repeat these encounters until my family has an heir, you will have a lot to learn. I will see you for breakfast tomorrow. A house elf will wake you." With that he left.

I just cried myself to sleep after that. He really doesn't care for me at all. I think I have made a terrible mistake. And now I can't undo it. I wish I had someone to talk to, I wish Bella was here. Malfoy Manor is big, and ancient and dreary. Old Mr. Malfoy is wrapped up in his studies, I think he isn't even aware I'm there, and Lucius' mother seems very formal and strict. Every time she looks at me I feel like she disapproves of something. I would never dare to talk to her about her son and ask her what I could do to make him like me, and how be a good wife to him.

I want to go home…