Spoiler Warning: This story is a sixth year fic that follows on from the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As a conseqeunce this story contains *major* spoilers for book 5. You have been warned.
SNAKE HEALER: THE MALFOY MUGGLE LOVER
CHAPTER 12: OCCULUMENCY
For a variety of reasons, Harry's lessons didn't actually begin start for another week; the only one he knew of was his Uncle Janus' funeral five days after Lucius' surprise announcement. The funeral itself was a private affair, attended only by Janus' and Maria's close family and friends, none of whom Harry had ever met, with the exception of the Malfoy's of course. Unsurprisingly, Draco appeared to be the only notable absentee, from the gathering, which took place in the Malfoy Manor Chapel, which was situated at the edge of the manor grounds and resting place to countless generations of Malfoy. None of this stopped both Lucius and especially Maria making extremely passionate speeches about Janus, why he was a true Slytherin and the need to oppose Voldemort. Lucius then repeated his speech at the public memorial service for Janus, which took place at the Ministry the next afternoon, making only a few minor variations to explain why he joined the death eaters, before going on to say why it was such a big mistake. Nobody seemed to take much notice of anything else, even the fact that Maria and Lucas were not present, a fact that didn't make the next morning's Daily Prophet, despite the fact that Lucius' speech made the front page under the headline 'Death Eater Repents.' As such a headline indicated, the article itself was highly supportive of Lucius as it boldly proclaimed that, 'Doubts about the loyalty of Lucius Malfoy, the convicted death eater, to the light side were dispelled in spectacular fashion yesterday, when the 41 year old from Alton Magis in Wiltshire made a highly passionate and devastating attack on He-who-must-not-be-named.' The article even went as far as to call for the Malfoy Patriarch to be released from House Arrest and bemoaning Fudge, when the Minister, in a rare show of sense, refused to countenance such a notion.
The day of the newspaper article was also the day of Harry's first occulumency lesson, an event that was to take place in a deserted room on the second floor, far away from where they might have been disturbed by any visitors. Harry wasn't particularly looking forward to these lessons, nor did he feel they were particularly urgent, as his scar and the link it represented had not bothered him for at least a fortnight. Not that he didn't want the lessons – he would need to know Occulumeny when Voldemort found out he was alive and, more importantly, it gave him a chance to reverse the process and look inside Lucius' mind and find the truth about his situation. Everything would be fine though, as long as he kept his temper under control, something that was easier said than done, especially when Lucius Malfoy was the one who was going to be teaching him. On the bright side though, he didn't expect the lessons to take that long, he already know the basic technique, he'd learned that during his previous attempt at learning Occulumency, which had failed due to Snape's unswerving ability to always annoy and anger Harry, a talent Lucius did not possess.
The difference between the two men's teaching style was noticeable immediately, if only because Lucius did not look at Harry with the expression of intense dislike that Snape always wore around him. It was only a small change, but seeing your tutor wear an expression of neutrality, made Harry feel a lot calmer, even this was countered by an increased wariness, that made Harry be on his guard. Nevertheless, such wariness was an improvement, in Harry's opinion, on the effect that Snape had on him.
"I trust you remember the correct technique?" Lucius asked when Harry walked into the room, not giving him enough time to settle.
"Clear your mind and focus," Harry parroted disdainfully, feeling a little patronised by Lucius' question. He expected the blond man to react to such a tone, but surprisingly, he didn't. Unaware that Lucius wanted him to be as calm as possible, he had no reason for the Malfoy Patriarch's lack of reaction He was just pleased that he didn't have to cope with the other man's temper.
Instead, Lucius cut the conversation short. He had suffered from the same temper problem that Severus had mentioned when he had been receiving Occulumency and Legilimency, but then he had never had the best of relationships with his father. In fact, there were striking parallels between his own disdain for his father and Draco's current attitude towards him. By launching directly into the spell casting, he hoped that his second don's suspicion and distrust wouldn't hinder his Occulumency attempts. "Legilimens."
Certainly, the sudden onslaught caught Harry completely unprepared, cutting off his thoughts as he struggles to clear his mind and retain the control he needed to reverse the process and peer into Lucius' memory. The shock also made him quell what little emotion he had been experiencing, thus increasing the calm effect that Lucius' unconfrontational approach had on him.
Not even the flash of successive memories that accompanied Lucius' penetration into his mind disturbed his temper. Random memories flashed past him: Landing on the roof of his old primary school, meeting Ron for the first time on the Hogwarts Express during first year, receiving the Invisibility Cloak during his first Christmas at Hogwarts, In the Hospital Wing after going through the trap door. That was as far as Lucius got before Harry managed to reassert control and reverse the process. With a moment of fierce concentration, he pushed the invading entity out of his mind and back into it's own body, before following up the effort by pushing after it, deep into the mind of his true father. He took Lucius completely by surprise, allowing him for a few moments, to glimpse flashes of the older man's memories. He saw Lucius alone in a cemetery, weeping, kneeling in front of a freshly dug grave. He could see several bunches of flowers resting beneath the headstone, all of them white Lilies. He barely had time to read the name before the image faded. What he saw shocked him – it read 'Lilly Potter.' The second memory could have been anywhere at anytime, because it was of a death eater meeting. He saw very little of interest, but that was more than made up for by the emotions that Lucius had been feeling. They were so strong that they penetrated through the emotionless void, that Legilimency created, meaning that he shared the fear and loathing that Lucius was directing at the Dark Lord.
Such strong passion instantly broke through the emotionless barrier that was needed for Harry to maintain his intrusion into Lucius' mind. It didn't really matter that the memory also broke the nascent control that Lucius had re-established after the shock of the intrusion, for the Legilimency connection broke anyway. Harry soon discovered, however, that such a loss of control on Lucius' part had been intentional.
"Nice try," Lucius said a little mockingly. Harry was sure the tone was a thin veil for the anger he felt at being subjected to a Legilimency attack, "But, as I demonstrated, tricks such as that will not work on me. On the bright side, your impetuosity has provided the means to teach you the more useful tricks that Severus, in his stubbornness, neglected to teach you.
The lesson continued for over an hour, with Lucius explaining how emotion could be used to foil a Legilimency attempt just as effectively as the blank mind technique, especially when facing someone as persistent in their intrusions as Voldemort. The whole practice relied on the ability to control what memories you let someone see, which was easier said then done. He spent most of the time being demonstrated on by Lucius, who kept on asking him to perform Legilimency properly, only for the blond man to kick out of his head because the memory aroused some emotion or other in Harry, it varied every time. He eventually picked up some inkling of the technique though; more from the explanations than from the demonstrations, and as a consequence was finally allowed to practice it on Lucius. Not that he had much success, as he couldn't find a memory that made Lucius emotional enough to lose control. He eventually found one that made him react, causing him to storm out of the room in a mixture of anger and humiliation that shocked Harry. The memory itself was, retrospectively, one that Harry should have realised would have an effect, because it was of the one death eater meeting Harry had been present at – The one moments after Voldemort's resurrection.
Harry followed Lucius out, immediately heading back to his room, to relax. Having arranged not to meet his familiar friend until the next day, he had nothing better to do. Besides, he was not in the mood to be teased his new found crush on Pavarti, something his dorm mates had teased out of him on the last day of term. Especially if he repeated the unwelcome comment that he had made five days previously about his crush's tendency to date blonds. Naturally, though his friend had apologised profusely afterwards.
His peace didn't last though for several hours later Harry heard a knock on his bedroom door. Without thinking, he asked whoever had knocked to enter to enter. As a consequence, he was extremely surprised to see a somewhat calmer Lucius enter the room. Whilst he had been half expecting a visit from the head of the Malfoy Family he had thought that he, like anyone else Harry didn't want to see, would simply barge in without respect for Harry's privacy. He did, however, walk over to Harry's desk and sit down without being invited, before speaking.
"I assume your attempt at Legilimency during today's lesson was far from accidental," Lucius stated, showing no anger at the intrusion he had experienced. It was not a question.
"Of course," Harry replied levelly, looking Lucius directly in the eye with a gaze that matches his vocal expression, "I had to know the truth about my mother and whether I could trust you. All I have is your word and I'm hardly going to trust that."
Lucius grinned slightly, disarming Harry. His calmness was highly disconcerting, especially when taking into account the blond man's anger that existed when the last time the issue was raised previously. "Your caution would be admirable under normal circumstances," He stated. "When it comes to familial relationships, however, trust is an important feature…."
How can I trust you given what you are?" Harry hissed in reply, causing Lucius to stiffen visibly as a consequence of being called a death eater. The venom that he showed might have contributed to the tension, despite the fact he was not particularly angry. "I know that you claim you're a spy, but how do I know that you're not lying. I need proof of everything you say, before I can even think of you as something other than the enemy."
Again, Lucius failed to react badly to Harry's comments, despite his initial tense reaction. This was because he had been expecting the exact same attitude and had prepared the response to it. "As I was saying," Lucius continued in his previous tone, giving Harry a stern look that showed his dismay at being interrupted. Apart from these four words he simply ignored Harry's comments and simply carried on with what he had been saying. "Given the newness if your position, your caution is both understandable and justifiable, especially when our previous misunderstandings are taken into consideration. That is why I have decided to aid the acceptance process by showing you the proofs for my previous explanations.
If Lucius' strange attitude had been unexpected then this pronouncement was a complete surprise to Harry. Not that he showed it or at least he tried to hide the shock as much as he could. "Go on then, show me the evidence," he said, his surprise just about showing through the emotionless mask that he was trying to erect to disguise his feelings.
The response was to indicate a small bowl that Lucius had placed in Harry's desk without the Gryffindor noticing. He recognised it instantly as a pensieve containing memories, presumably those of Lucius. "It will be better for you to view these memories alone. I will be here when you come out to answer any questions," Lucius explained, making it sound as much like an order as an explanation. Harry walked over to the table holding the pensieve from where he had been lying in his bed.
The moment Harry touched the silvery liquid he was pulled into an ornately decorated room in Malfoy Manor. From the furniture, it appeared to be a formal lounge or a drawing room of some kind. Whilst he may not have recognised the room, he instantly knew the identities of its two occupants. His mother, who clearly looked as though she was pregnant with him, sat on a comfortable looking green armchair by the fireplace. Lucius stood on the other side of the fireplace looking regretfully at Lilly.
"I can't carry on with this anymore," Harry's mother was saying softly, sounding full of regret. Lucius showed no reaction to disturb the steady gaze that he directed at the woman in the chair. Harry presumed that 'this' was the affair his mother had conducted with Lucius, leading to his own birth.
"I presume that Potter has run back to you now that Aranel Spencer has disappeared," he stated objectively. He sounded so objective that it was obvious his emotionlessness was a cover for disapproval. That his gaze showed a hint of this disapproval only confirmed Harry's suspicions and made Lucius' views on the issue under discussion perfectly clear.
Lilly smiled softly, looking at her lover warmly, even though she was clearly in the process of breaking up with him. "I know you don't approve Lucius," she pleaded, sighing regretfully, "But I am his wife, despite all the bad things that he's done to me. He's hurting. His parents have just and he's a total wreck. Bastard or not, he needs me to there for him."
Lucius nodded glumly, resigning himself to the end of their relationship. "He doesn't deserve it, but it is your duty," he said, his smirk having just a hint of wryness about it, the cause of which Harry knew nothing about. "I'm not going to stop you." Lilly smiled even more, tension that Harry hadn't even noticed vanishing into thin air. All the emotion on Lucius' face disappeared too, to be replaced by a seriousness that promised strong consequences if the Malfoy Patriarch's Will was denied. The edge in his voice reflected this change in emotion. "If anything happens to you or your baby, however, I will be holding Potter personally responsible."
"I'm not some defenceless maiden, Lucius," Lilly goggled, sounding a little bit offended by the implication of his remarks. "I can take care of myself."
"Normally you can," Lucius agreed. He wandered over to the red head in the armchair and sat on one of the arms in the chair, before pulling Lilly into a hug, "But normally you're not five months pregnant. Things are a little different at the moment."
Lilly grimaced a little before agreeing with Lucius. "I know," she admitted half-heartedly, "But James will look after me as well as you can. His friends will make sure of it." Lucius looked doubtful, an expression which caused Lilly to laugh. "Don't look so sceptical," she said sounding amused, "He may be selfish, but he is a Gryffindor too."
"I don't care," Lucius snapped, the fierce passion in his eyes exactly reflecting the emotion in his voice. "You and your baby are part of my family. Your safety and well being are my responsibility. If anything happens to you I will blame myself."
The smile on Lilly's face broadened into a sweet grin, which looked a little too loving for Harry's taste, "Lucius, you silly fool," she chirped, "You can't be there all the time, nor can you control everything. I am my own woman with free will."
Lucius looked as though he was having none of it. "I made a promise to protect you, Lilly and I mean to keep it, whatever it takes and whatever you think," he said sternly.
"You made a promise to protect our baby and I from You-Know-Who not from James or from the general public," she said severely, while trying to look down at Lucius in a chastising manner, even though he towered above her. He responded equally sternly, clearly giving the impression that he was not going to back down.
He didn't see anymore because the scene in front of him changed the ornate drawing room faded away to be replaced by a moderately sized office with a large desk as its centrepiece. He stood behind the desk, next to Lucius, who sat in his large carved desk chair, looking down at the small house elf who stood fearfully in front of him. Harry recognised the house elf to be Dobby. The year was given away by the Malfoy family photo on Lucius' desk, in which an eleven year old Draco and twelve year old Lucas stood at the centre. He knew what was going on before Lucius had even began to order the house elf.
"Harry is not to return to Hogwarts," Lucius ordered strictly, his gaze causing Dobby to cower slightly, "I will not risk having him harmed by the heir or his monster. I made a promise to protect him and I intend to keep it."
The house elf nodded eagerly at his orders, showing his obsession with the on looking Gryffindor, which included sharing Lucius' desire that he wasn't to be harmed. This was a point followed up Lucius, when he extracted a promise from the house elf, which knew would be broken. "But I want you to promise not to harm Harry, while doing this." Unsurprisingly the house elf swore eagerly, despite his later attempts to give Harry a crippling injury.
Sigh! I had hoped to release a chapter every two weeks or so, but distractions intervened, not least the fact that I only got my home internet connection back on Thursday. I am going to try harder, but I can't guarantee anything except that this story will be finished.
Thank You to all those who reviewed chapter 11, your reviews and your patience were most appreciated. If you want me to e-mail you when I update this fic leave your e-mail address in your review.