A/N: In a huge rush, but I didn't forget! I'll reply to reviews and the like next chapter, hope, you all enjoy this one. I'll try to fix the formatting...I hate double work when I have practically no time.

Come the Maëlstrom

Chapter Eight

The Dark Lord was livid. To put it rather crudely, he was super pissed and would be thrashing someone's ass before the night was done. Avery's contorted body lay on the floor, an expression of pain and horror frozen onto his face. No one dared moved lest they attracted Voldemort's attention. Those red, slitted reptilian eyes gazed down at Avery's body with loathing before he flicked them up to rest on the throng of nervous Death Eaters. Lucius' could the malevolent gaze rest on him for a moment; it was safer to keep his eyes on the floor.

"This is unacceptable," Voldemort spat out. "First Nott and now Avery; two failures are unacceptable!" he said venomously. "And no information from the woman as of yet!"

Thank Salazar Lucius was already tense; it hid the shudder that wanted to ripple through his body. He'd managed to make a Portkey – what was more illegality to his name anyhow at this point? – and slip it into Valencia's cell. It was, quite simply, a battered spoon. She had two more days to go before it transported her out of here into the one place that was undoubtedly safe: the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. If she could hold on for that much longer and not relinquish any information...

"Unacceptable!" the quaking word was followed with a Cruciatus curse to the person right by his side, Rookwood or someone else. He was never sure sometimes.

But the cold, calm rage in the Dark Lord's voice was even more terrifying; he'd never heard anything like this coming from the pale skeletal man before. But the Dark Lord had worked himself up into a nice little frenzy, yet all he was doing at the moment was gripping his wand tightly. Lucius wasn't sure what to make of it, or where to even start.

"Crabbe, Goyle," his voice crackled like an icicle shattering. "You are to purchase a house in the vicinity of Hogsmeade. No more of these long distance attacks."

Both Crabbe and Goyle nodded their heads and made a bow so low it was like grovelling on one's feet.

After a long moment, Voldemort spoke again. "Severus, how well does that simpering old fool trust you?"

"Well enough, my Lord." Severus said with a deep bow.

"Not good enough. I want him to trust you completely, in two weeks."

Severus seemed to hesitate for a moment. "My Lord that will take more time than-"

The rest of Severus' words were gone as Voldemort raised his wand so fast and uttered 'Crucio' that Lucius wasn't all that sure he heard it. But seeing Severus drop to the floor writhing in agony was proof enough.

"I don't want your excuses!" Voldemort hissed. "Don't you dare to contradict me! You have two weeks!"

"Y-Yes, my Lord!" Severus managed to gasp out.

Voldemort dropped the curse from him, leaving Severus to pick himself up to his feet shakily and kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe before melting back into the crowd of Death Eaters.

"Lucius,"

"My Lord?" Lucius gave a deep bow as well, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.

"You are to continue as planned and to report back to me by the end of week." Voldemort paused for a moment. "And bring Draco's letters as well, I wish to read them myself."

"As you wish my Lord," Lucius replied; how advantageous for him that he withheld information.

"Now get out of my sight," Voldemort said. "You all disgust me."

That was all anyone needed to hear. They each bowed before vacating the room quickly. Lucius was no exception. The Dark Lord had been spitting with rage and yet only Avery had died and Severus had only suffered from about a minute of the Cruciatus. There was something going on here. Speaking of the ever-scowling man, where was he? Lucius turned around to see him coming up the hallway slowly, half bracing himself against the wall. A sharp pang of disgust struck him; Severus was one fairly conceited bastard and seeing him reduced to this due to the maniac's ego wasn't something he wanted to see at all. It could happen to him at any moment. He took Severus' arm and dragged him to a nearby fireplace, reaching into the container mounted at the side for Floo powder.

"Severus Snape's chambers, Hogwarts!" he said and threw down the powder.

The darkened hallway disappeared with a large burst of green flames and was replaced by the sight of simple black leather chairs and a dark forest green rug. Severus' chambers hadn't changed one bit from when he last saw them. He sat Severus down in a chair and quickly fixed him a cup of tea, wrapping the other's slightly trembling hands around it.

Severus glared at him. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Lucius simply sat down, pulling back the cowl and removing the white mask. "What do you think?"

Nothing was said for a moment as Severus gulped down the tea, despite it being hot, and sagged back against the seat.

Lucius regarded him for a moment. "Another?"

"I need a drink," Severus snorted.

With a wry snort, Lucius rose and got Severus a glass of red wine, as well as one for himself. "This is not good," he commented thoughtfully as he sat back down in his seat.

"Obviously," Severus said in a snide tone. "He's accelerated his plans. At this rate, the attack will be in two weeks. One and a half if he attempts to speed up anything else. And as to the woman...well, it's only a matter. Either she gives the information or..." he trailed off.

"We'll have to try and soon," Lucius mused. "The plan is still workable; the Dark Lord has done so many rituals to himself that he must be vulnerable to something. Everything has a weakness. Once we find the hole, we have to blast it open as much as we can and quickly."

"Let that dratted brat do as he's supposed to." Severus snorted, taking a sip of his wine.

Lucius swirled his around gently in the glass, contemplating the ruby depths. "It's tight, but it can still be done. If you could find something to...expedite the process..."

"Daft," Severus mumbled before pausing for a moment. "Why the sudden rush?"

Lucius took in Severus' sidelong glance and gave a soft chuckle. "Aren't you tired of pandering to his megalomania?"

"I tired of it a few months after I joined. I'm rather curious though," Severus began, staring at his glass. "As to what could have happened in Spain to change you so much."

"And since when did it become any of your business?" Lucius replied smoothly.

Severus didn't say anything for a moment. "Oh yes, I brewed you a new batch of the Obscumens potion."

The note of mocking disagreement in Severus' voice wasn't lost to Lucius. "Will it work?"

"The potion's duration is two weeks, however, after a week; it is quite safe to ingest another batch of it."

"I see. I just want the thing to work," Lucius paused. "And possibly have a bearable taste." he added second later.

"If you wait here, I'll go finish it off," Severus said, rising from his seat slowly. "It'll take 30 minutes. No wandering."

Lucius watched Severus with scathing amusement as he disappeared into a back room and firmly shut the door. He sipped his wine once before leaving it resting on the short table by the arm. The silence of the room was welcoming and oppressive at the same time. When he felt slightly bored, he knocked on the door of the lab, only to receiving nothing in reply. He couldn't even hear anything. Severus must have soundproofed his lab with a charm. Ah, some things never changed. He was just sitting back down on the couch when an abrupt, and angry sounding knock, came from the door.

Normally Lucius wouldn't be bothered with it. But he was bored and the possibility of sending some student fleeing from the doorway was vastly appealing. And so, Lucius made his way to the door, listening to the following two knocks with great amusement. When he opened the door however, he saw the last thing he expected to see.

Harry. Harry Potter. Who looked like he had just rolled out of bed, hair flying in each and every way as the ends brushed just at his neck, green eyes looking like dark jade and those lips had never appeared to be such a dark coral, or so pouty...or ravishing.

"All right, look, Sir," Harry began, eyes fixed on his feet as he pushed past Lucius into the room, running a hand through his hair. "It's fairly obvious that..." Harry's words trailed off as he looked up, surprise written all over his face.

Lucius took one look at Harry before taking his hand and pulling him out into the hallway. Last thing they needed was to have Severus come out for something and find them together. He closed the door silently, hearing the lock click softly into place, before he turned around. And that was the last thing he was able to do since he suddenly found himself with an armful of Harry, who was kissing him rather passionately. He slid his arms around the younger wizard, his body reacting to having Harry flush against him and squirming in such an appealing and erotic manner.

"Merlin Luc," Harry gasped as he broke the kiss off, his glasses askew. "Can't say I'm not happy, but what are you doing here."

"Potion," Lucius replied tersely before he kissed Harry again, coaxing Harry's tongue out with his own.

Harry whimpered as rubbed against Lucius, sliding his arms around his shoulders. With a soft groan, Lucius broke off the kiss, nipping his way down Harry's neck.

"Classroom...down the hall." Harry said hoarsely, while his fingers started undoing buttons on Lucius' robe and shirt, seeking skin.

Lucius wasn't all that sure how he and Harry made it to the classroom. The way Harry was moving his hips, and the way his deft fingers were sliding over Lucius' skin and nipples, not to mention that thing he was doing to his earlobe, it was all very difficult to concentrate much less form coherent sentences. As soon as they were in, Harry reached down to turn the lock, while pulling on Lucius' robe with his other hand, causing the blond to tip forward slightly, pressing Harry against the door with his weight.

"Good," Harry smirked before he started kissing Lucius once more.

It seemed rather abrupt to Lucius, the way he buried his fingers in the thick messy black locks, and the way he seemed to be experiencing a massive head rush all at once. He felt rather breathless, as if he were riding a broom again for the first time. The way the blood was pounding in his veins made him think of the adrenaline rush of outwitting a far superior nemesis. Of course, they both could be attributed to the way Harry was kissing him rather thoroughly as Harry raised his hips to Lucius' to rub their hard, clothed cocks together. Their tongues clashed together, battling with familiarity and a touch of teasing.

They continued on, kissing and rocking against one another, hands seeking as many bared spots as they could. It wasn't long before Harry was writhing against the door, thrusting his hips frantically against Lucius. The friction, the sensation, the way Harry had clawed his fingers into Lucius' ass, creating a perfect blend of pleasure and pain, it wouldn't be long now before they both came.

With a soft growl, Lucius kissed Harry harder, rocking his hips more insistently. Harry's grip tightened even more as he bucked his hips wildly, shudders and hisses coming from him. That was Lucius' undoing as he felt the warm flood of release wash through his body, along with the seeping afterglow.

"Merlin..." Harry panted a few minutes later. "Bloody amazing..."

"Hm, I agree," Lucius said softly, nuzzling kisses against Harry's neck. He waited a bit before pulling out of Harry.

Harry whimpered a bit from the loss before he reached into his pocket for his wand with a slightly shaking hand and a few moments later, they were standing in the room, fully clothed. Another charm later and the traces of Harry's cum vanished from the desktop. The younger wizard stepped forward, burying his face in Lucius' chest.

"Mmm, I missed you so much." he sighed.

Lucius simply hugged him tighter, bowing his head and inhaling the scent of Harry's hair. This he would remember; the scent of tangerines and something else uniquely Harry. This...he would. "You have to show me that particular charm one day." He said quietly.

"One day," Harry said with a peculiar tone in his voice. "Lucius?"

"Yes?"

"Ernesto is here in Hogwarts. Dumbledore says that Valencia..." he trailed off.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "The Dark Lord does have her. So far he has been unable to get any information from her. I smuggled a Portkey to her; it's not set to go off for two more days."

"Two days..." Harry murmured before chuckled. "That must infuriate him to no end, getting absolutely nothing from a mere Muggle."

Lucius couldn't help but smile at the biting sarcasm in Harry's voice. "Infuriate isn't the proper word; it's more along the lines of he could drop dead at any moment from stress alone."

"I bet," Harry chuckled once more before he gave a heavy sigh. "I'd better get going before Mrs. Norris comes sniffing around and gets Filch."

"That mummified old cat is still alive?" Lucius asked.

"Unfortunately," Harry chuckled softly with a faint smile. "I really don't want to leave..."

"I'll make it easier for you," Lucius murmured as he took Harry's hand and pressed a kiss to the palm.

Harry nodded his head, ghosting his fingertips over Lucius' lips. After pressing a light kiss against the fingertips, he turned to leave, steps slowly echoing in the classroom. Lucius hadn't thought that leaving Harry would be that hard. The part of his brain that he liked to call irrational was yelling at him to turn right back around and stay with Harry, consequences be damned. Thankfully, the rational part was still in control and it guided his steps out into the hallway and back into Severus' room. He was just walking in when he heard Harry's steps come out from the classroom, heading towards the stairs. He sighed and closed the door, only to find Severus standing in the doorway of his lab.

"Where were you?" Severus demanded.

"Kitchens; even I remember how to get there. I wanted something to eat." Lucius said in an offhand manner.

"The last thing we need is some student babbling that they saw you here in the night." Severus said after a moment. "Here, it's done."

Lucius regarded it for a moment before taking it and swallowing it down. It had gone from a wonderfully 'earthy' taste to something that, by all rights, would make a person seriously contemplate to eat lemons for the rest of their natural life if they had to take the potion frequently. Tears sprang to his eyes as he forced his protesting throat to swallow it. He was lucky he didn't' spit it out the moment it touched his tongue. But it must have been working properly this time because he definitely got a reaction.

"Bleah!" he spat out vehemently a moment later handing the empty beaker back to Severus. "That was even worse."

"It would have been worse had I not improved the flavour." Severus said in a snippy voice. "Well?"

"Well what?" Lucius asked.

"You know what I mean," Severus snapped impatiently.

"Tingles."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Good. Don't do any casting of complex spells. This potion needs a good hour before you'll be back to your normal state. And don't drink any other brew for a week. This batch is much more volatile and will more than likely react with anything else. Stick to water; that's about the only safe thing." He looked over Lucius critically. "Now why don't you leave? I have a long, brat-filled day ahead of me tomorrow."

"Heavens forbid I stay then," Lucius replied starting for the fireplace. "Besides, I always thought teaching was a highly over-glorified profession."

"There's the fireplace. Disappear." Severus snarled and stalked off to his rooms.

Lucius watched the door close with a loud slam before he stood in the fireplace, with a handful of Floo powder. "Malfoy Manor!" he called out.

Severus' chambers disappeared with a burst of flames and he was hurtling along. Everything was going fine when everything lurched and he suddenly found himself racing along in another direction. Only when he was deposited out, he didn't find himself in the front foyer of his home. No, he found himself in a strange grey room, bare of anything else save for a chair and table sitting in a pool of light. And sitting right there on the table was a small vial with a clear liquid. Undoubtedly this room had anti-Apparation wards on it as well. Salazar, this was not good.

"How nice of you to join us Mr. Malfoy. Now, don't do anything rash or you will regret it."

He looked up to see Minister Fudge come walking out of the shadows, his assistant close behind him, quill just hovering over to the parchment. Off to his side he could see two figures materializing, wands aimed right at him. Two Aurors....one was Kingsley Shaklebolt, the other one...he had no clue, but she was a peculiar looking woman with bright purple and blue hair and odd light violet eyes.

"Keep a good eye on him. Weasley, if you would be so kind as to prepare Mr. Malfoy's seat."

That's why the face seemed so familiar; Percy Weasley had been hiding himself well behind the minister. Percy gave Fudge a resentful look but gave Lucius an even nastier one. He came around to the other side of the table and bowed a bit mockingly, making a sweeping gesture towards the chair with his hand. He rose from the fireplace, dusting himself off and walked over to the table, pulling out the seat and sitting down easily in it. His eyes rested on the vial for a moment. He couldn't take Veritaserum now; Merlin knew what would happen to him if he did. He had to stall for time somehow. But how was he going to stall Fudge, of all the incompetent idiots in the world, for one hour? It was highly likely he would hold out for half an hour, and that's if he was lucky.

"And what may I ask is the reason for infringing upon my rights and kidnapping me?" Lucius began calmly as he smoothed the wrinkles from his robe.

Fudge already looked blustered. "Look you; it's only a matter of time until we find something on you."

"Why Minister, I thought it was 'innocent until proven guilty'?" Lucius replied smoothly.

Fudge glared at him. "I'm the Minister; I don't need your attitude."

"You don't need my attitude, but you certainly needed my Galleons, didn't ?" Lucius didn't say anything for a moment, regarding the now slightly paling man. "Or does no one else in this room know of that besides you and me?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about!" Fudge snapped.

Judging from the curious looks on Weasley, Shaklebolt and Tonks' faces, they certainly didn't. Fudge didn't say anything for a long moment, pacing about the room. So far, this was going well. He could see the avid curiosity in Weasley's face while it was much more subdued in Tonks and Shaklebolt faces. The Minister finally stopped and turned to face Lucius.

"How dare you accuse me of taking bribes from you, of all people?" Fudge finally said.

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "Have you been living in denial since your ascension to power? Oh yes, I do remember how much you liked power Cornelius, how much it."

"Ludicrous!" Fudge spluttered as he rose and started pacing once more. "Besides, I brought you here to be questioned, not vice versa."

"Oh yes. Once this is done, I imagine you'll be hearing from my lawyer. He's quite...stringent upon matters such as this."

"The threat of a lawsuit doesn't scare me."

"Not yet. You have yet to deal with my lawyer."

"Aha!" Fudge crowed in triumph. "Threatening me and-"

"If you bothered to listen," Lucius said in mild annoyance. "I was simply predicting what my lawyer's reaction will be. Since he has had such...close and personal experiences in matters such as these, he will undoubtedly be more fearsome that an entire herd of Manticores on an unpleasant day."

Fudge snorted. "As you say Lucius. Now, if you'll just take some of this Veritaserum and answer my questions, we can all be on our merry way home to our beds."

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Lucius was far from amused. "First you kidnap me and keep me here for no justified reason, legal or anything else for that matter and now you want me to voluntarily take Veritaserum so you can get whatever you want?" he snorted in disdain. "Then you're a bigger fool that I thought. If it weren't for me you wouldn't even be where you are today. I should end this now and tell them of your little-"

"Silencio!" Fudge snarled, aiming his wand at Lucius.

Lucius' mouth opened and shut in complete silence as Fudge's face went bright red. He motioned curtly to Shaklebolt and the other Auror, pushing his lime green bowler hat back on his head. Lucius started in his seat when he realized what they planned to do. Strong hands slammed him back into the seat while the woman picked up the vial and unscrewed the top. He pressed his lips tightly together and almost immediately fingers pinched down on his nose. Lucius thought wildly for a moment before he opened his mouth and allowed the woman to drip a few drops into his mouth. He swallowed it on his own and a few moments later Shaklebolt's hands left his shoulders. He had to answer Fudge's questions and get out of here as soon as possible before Merlin knew what happened.

"There, much better, right?" Fudge said nastily. "Now, what I want to know is where you disappeared to for three whole months."

Lucius simply looked at him as if he was a dolt. Fudge didn't quite seem to get it so he opened his mouth to speak to show Fudge's spell was still in place. It took Fudge a few minutes to catch on. Fudge muttered a curse under his breath before he said 'Finite Incantantum' just loudly enough to hear.

"Now, answer my question."

"That wasn't a question. Perhaps you need a lesson on the art of interrogation...Minister." He sneered.

He heard soft snickers coming from behind him, and Fudge glowered at him.

"Where were you for three months?"

"Spain." The reply was out of his mouth before he could really stop it.

"Did Voldemort send you there?"

"No."

That seemed to stump Fudge. "How did you end up there?"

"Don't know." He had an idea but it was for too vague to be called a truth.

"Were you alone?"

"Yes." At least that's the way he saw it before he started getting along with Harry.

"What took you so long to get back?"

"Had to work on a farm to get money and travel back." Lucius replied easily; that seemed to garner a few interested murmurs.

"Travel back? Why didn't you just Apparate?"

"You are daft," Lucius said in disgust. "Would you Apparate over an ocean to somewhere that's a good 1000 miles away? I certainly wouldn't want to try it, much less attempt it."

"And why didn't you use magic?"

"I know you have Aurors after me, and you would have used the slightest reason to haul me in here," Lucius said a bit pointedly. "I decided it would be in my better interest to simply lay low for a bit and then make my way back. And that, as with anything, costs money."

Fudge didn't say anything for a moment. "Rumour has it that Harry Potter came back at roughly the same time as you did. Did you see him in Spain?"

"It was only for a moment," Lucius said. Compared to three months, that day in the bathroom had been like a moment. That was when he had seen the real Harry. "But considering everyone where I was had black hair and is tanned, it very easily could have been my imagination."

"How do you know Harry's tanned?" Fudge asked suspiciously.

Lucius rolled his eyes. "The boy plays Quidditch. I have seen a few games at Hogwarts. He's the Gryffindor Seeker. Considering the substantial amount of time spent outside for Quidditch, it is very likely to assume he does have a tan. Are you quite sure you know how Quidditch is played? Or would you like an explanation of that as well?"

Much more audible snickers came from behind him. Fudge's glared nastily and they subsided before he turned his attention back to Lucius. "And how did you end up back here?"

"Portkey."

"Who gave you the Portkey?" Fudge's voice quivered as if he sensed a victory.

Lucius had to pause and think. It was dark and all those masks mad him unsure of who was who.

"I asked you, who gave you the Portkey." Fudge asked in an irritated voice. "What's so hard to answer about that?"

"It was dark and I don't know for sure who it was," Lucius paused once more. "But I believe it was Severus Snape."

"Snape?" Fudge sounded as if he was burned by a hot coal.

Lucius was getting very annoyed. "Se-ver-us S-na-pe. Need I spell it out for you any more?"

"How did he know to find you?" Fudge asked.

"To be honest, I have no clue." Lucius replied easily, even though his stomach was starting to feel a bit floppy.

Fudge didn't say anything for a moment. "Were there Muggles on the farm?"

"Yes."

"And are they still there?"

"No."

"What happened to them?"

"They were taken away."

"How do you know that?" Fudge asked again.

"I made it a point to know." Lucius said, ignoring the rather painful manner in which his guts decided to be twisting upon themselves.

"You? To know Muggles?" Fudge laughed.

"Contrary to popular belief," Lucius began coldly. "I'm not overly fond of stupidity, not because someone does or doesn't have the ability to do magic. And, in case you haven't noticed, a rather large percentile Muggles tend to be bigoted idiots. And as I don't like dealing with stupidity much less a narrow-minded view, it's much easier to have them think I am a bigot than to try and reason with them."

"Wait a moment," the woman said. "You tolerate Muggles but would have them think you're a bigot? That makes no sense Malfoy."

"So, someone else sees the hypocrisy," Lucius murmured. "But no one said the world was a sensible place or that people did sensible things to protect themselves, Miss..."

"Tonks." She said in a bemused voice.

"Miss Tonks." Lucius finished. "Is this all?" he asked, looking back at Fudge.

Fudge looked as if he was swallowing something very bitter and very tough. "Yes," he said gruffly. "Take down the anti-Apparation wards." He said.

Shaklebolt raised his wand and murmured something Lucius couldn't quite hear. There was a sharp breaking sound before the silence came back for a moment.

"You're free to go." Fudge said sullenly.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. "Be sure that you'll be hearing from my lawyer."

Fudge paused for a moment. "Who is your lawyer anyways?"

"Valerian Slean Nihilare."

The horrified silence from Fudge would have been fairly enjoyable if Lucius hadn't been feeling rather ill at the moment. He rose from his seat, his stomach protesting violently and his head swimming slightly. He closed his eyes and when he opened them once more, everything was stationary.

"Pfft," Fudge said after a moment. "I'm not scared of a lawsuit coming from him."

"I believe some of his experiences came from when you were junior minister once yourself and from Dolores Umbridge. He may find this to be something of a personal challenge. You would do well to fear him; his wrath is quite fearsome when it is awoken."

Fudge didn't look all that happy when Lucius Apparated from the room. The wards of his home slid over him as he appeared in the front hallway. His stomach seemed to be quite intent on tearing itself out from his body, along with the rest of his viscera. He clutched a hand to his abdomen as he made his way up to his study, grateful to not have Narcissa flitting around him like some bothersome insect with some trivial worry. He made it into his study. The pain was intensifying and spreading outwards at a rather alarming rate. All he could manage to do was scrawl out two words, call his owl over and instruct it to take it to Severus. He watched the owl winging off into the night sky before his eyes rolled right into his head and he collapsed on the rug.