Come the Maëlstrom
Chapter ThirtyTo be honest, Lucius was not quite too sure what to make of Valerian's offices. It wasn't that he thought them unpleasant in any manner; they were tastefully done and were very bright using windows and whatnot. It was more the fact that he was not very accustomed to actually being in them for any indiscriminate amount of time, especially a conference room. The fact that he had to be here because of a Weasley did not help him in the slightest. That the Weasley in question was sitting right across from him with a barely veiled murderous look on her face… focusing on Valerian's office space and décor effectively distracted from the infuriating manner that Ginevra Weasley was glaring at him, and detracted from the urge to simply hex her. Plus there was Tonks sitting by his side, so that helped lessen that particular urge, even if only slightly.
Finally, bored with taking in the décor, Lucius turned his attention to the other lawyer. His hair was combed back and his face still had, of all things, baby fat. This lawyer was barely out of law school. He probably just passed the bar test. This was probably his first case. Valerian would chew him up and spit him out. At least Lucius could count on some sort of amusement during the very dry proceedings.
"When did Valerian said he would be getting here?" Lucius murmured, leaning in closer to Tonks.
"Sometime about noon," Tonks replied. "So he should be here any moment."
"Good. It won't be soon enough."
Tonks chuckled lightly. "What makes you say that?" she asked, her voice still low.
"I would certainly hate to violate my parole and create more work for you." He said quietly, sliding an oblique glance at Ginny. "Plus I have no doubt you'd be put out with me."
"I certainly would be," Tonks smiled. "After that great big whack of trouble with all those spells the first time, I should hope you'd learn something." She jabbed his shoulder playfully.
Lucius could feel Ginny's eyes on him and allowed the faintest hints of a smile come to his face. Let her muse on that for a while. He continued talking with Tonks for a bit longer. When the door creaked open, he glanced up and saw Valerian enter.
"You know," Lucius mused. "I don't pay you to be late."
"You don't pay me for a lot of things." Valerian quipped flashing a smile around the room. "Sorry I'm late. I came directly from the Wizengamot Archives."
"And what could you possibly be doing there, hm?" Ginny's lawyer asked dryly.
Valerian paused and looked at the other, head cocked before he walked over and offered his hand with a grin. "Been a long while since that day in the classroom, hasn't it Alasdair?"
"So you do remember me." Alasdair beamed as he rose and shook Valerian's hand briskly. "I'm definitely looking forward to this."
"Is there something I'm missing here?" Ginny asked, looking between Valerian and Alasdair in confusion.
"I lectured for a month in Alasdair's law class three and a half years ago," Valerian said as he took his seat beside Lucius. "And I had the distinct pleasure of being engaged in a debate by this young man here."
"The pleasure was all mine," Alasdair smiled.
Valerian chuckled as he sat down. "Even though he's just passed the bar, you found yourself an excellent lawyer Miss Weasley," he set out his files and papers briskly. "So, shall we get down to business?"
"I couldn't agree more," Alasdair replied. "This will more than likely take a long while to hash out."
Valerian made a wry grunt. "Well, quite frankly, I think your client's claim is a waste of time. She could be finishing up her studies and Lucius could be serving out the rest of his parole in peace. Why should we even take her 'claim' seriously?"
Lucius watched as Ginny swelled up at the implication behind the word 'claim'. Alasdair obviously was prepared for this, since he reclined somewhat in his seat.
"She lost both her lovers that day. And she believes that your client is the guilty party. I'm quite sure that if Mr. Malfoy is proven innocent, then she will drop all charges and continue her search for the guilty ones." He smirked. "Besides, you took it seriously enough to issue a public reply to it."
"Simply damage control," Valerian shrugged. "But Lucius' words still hold. As… displeased as he is with this, he is willing to co-operate so he can enjoy some peace and quiet again."
"Well, Miss Weasley is looking for peace and quiet as well, body and mind. Her demands are quite simple."
"Oh?" Valerian asked in a deceptively mild tone. "And what would they be?"
"That he submit to the Aurors and a full questioning via Vertiaserum. Then appropriate action will be taken from there."
"Should I even start as to where I object to that?" Lucius asked icily.
"Hiding something Malfoy?" Ginny spat.
"Miss Ginevra Weasley," Lucius said, barely masking the sneer in his voice. "I have much better things to be doing that parleying with you and your lawyer; and I am quite sure that Valerian has other things that won't waste his time as much. You've managed to waste everyone else's time but your own by this stunt of yours. This is the most you will get from me on your terms. Consider yourself indulged."
Ginny simply scowled at him while Alasdair looked unfazed. Lucius met her gaze and a few moments later, she looked away from him, a flush creeping over her face.
"Well, I am quite sure you can understand Lucius' hesitancy about this," Valerian said with a placating gesture. "The last time he endured a questioning by Aurors under Veritaserum, he became ill and almost died."
"An unfortunate set of circumstances, I'm sure," Alasdair began. "But there are precious few options left if he wishes to avoid Veritaserum. There are mirrors and books."
"My concern is that Miss Weasley is out to slander Lucius' reputation completely. What guarantee can you give me that the Aurors will be completely unbiased?"
Alasdair frowned. "Impartiality potions aren't very admissible in court unless done by a reputable Potions Master. And Mr. Severus Snape is currently busy teaching still. A foreign Potions Master won't be looked upon well in an English court, since potion making varies from country to country; it needs to be a native Potions Master and Mr. Severus Snape is the best one."
"Then perhaps a mirror can be used in conjunction with the testimony obtained from Veritaserum," Valerian suggested. "It will simply corroborate Lucius' story and end this farce of a lawsuit."
"Farcical as this situation may be," Alasdair began in a somewhat withering voice. "I can easily subpoena Severus Snape to provide us with the Impartiality Potion; that would help us forgo the hassle of utilising a mirror or the like."
Lucius and Valerian looked at one another in surprise. Lucius managed to cover up his snicker but Valerian broke out in howls of laughter. Alasdair's brow furrowed in bewilderment as he looked at everyone else in the room.
"Oh, that is the first thing that should be taught in the expert selection class. That is such a mistake," Valerian said wiping away tears from his eyes. "Even at Lucius' trial, I didn't subpoena him; he came voluntarily. That's the best way of getting something easily from him: by his own volition. I made the mistake of subpoenaing him once… I didn't ever go near him again after that; it cost me too damned much and my pocket was hurt badly. Yeah, I wish you luck in getting him to make that Impartiality Potion for you; you'll be floundering the red tape he throws your way."
"I should assume he gets many requests to brew potions for one reason or another." Alasdair asked a vaguely disappointed voice.
Valerian sniggered. "You bet. And everyone expects the best brew quickly at the cheapest cost. Well, Severus Snape certainly doesn't skimp on quality. And when he brews something, he'll use the finest ingredients that cost Galleons, some that need to be imported and cleared by the Ministry that could take months."
"Then I'll subpoena him and make sure everything is expedited at the Ministry." Alasdair said simply.
"Hm, you really did just graduate from the bar." Lucius murmured in vague amusement; this new twist amused him to no end, but he wasn't about to make that obvious.
Alasdair's face flushed slightly. Valerian shook his head, even as his shoulders still shook with suppressed laughter.
"Some things have to wait a while because they don't immediately display dangerous properties. So the Ministry has a standard wait time for ingredients like that."
"And the Impartiality Potion is only good for two weeks and then it's useless."
"Precisely," Valerian coughed to clear his throat. "So I'm quite sure that rules out the Impartiality Potion. And you clearly understand Lucius' aversion to Veritaserum let alone being questioned by biased Aurors. What can you offer in the way of compromise?"
"Maybe Lucius won't have to take Veritaserum again."
Every single pair of eyes shifted to Tonks in surprise.
"Are you saying there's another way?" Lucius asked finally.
Tonks squirmed in her seat slightly. "Well, yes, but I don't think Ginny's going to like it."
"What is it?" Ginny asked after a moment.
Tonks took a deep breath and muttered something about, 'wizards that watch too much Muggle television'. "You're really not going to like it."
"Miss Tonks, please," Alasdair said. "If it can solve this problem, then good; I have a sneaking suspicion that this will become long and drawn out over details of what's to happen."
Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Well, someone got the bright idea from watching a Muggle television show. Something from America, I don't know what it is."
"And it's relevant how?" Valerian asked watching her intently.
"It's relevant because Lucius won't have to do any talking whatsoever." Tonks said, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.
Valerian, Alasdair and Ginny looked absolutely stunned. Lucius simply frowned, mulling this over; what could possibly be done so that he wouldn't have to talk?
"What would have to be done though," Tonks took a deeper breath, steeling herself. "Would be to dig up Neville and Dean's bodies at Hogwarts."
A stunned silence filled the room. Well, Lucius certainly hadn't been expecting to hear that; what could two dead people possibly say? It wasn't as if their ghosts were still lingering around to solve this once and for all.
"How dare you!" Ginny said shrilly, standing up abruptly. "They're dead! Let them rest in peace!"
Alasdair rested a hand on Ginny's shoulder, urging her to sit back down. She did so, glaring at Tonks the entire time. Alasdair whispered something to her and she seemed to calm down somewhat
"Now," Alasdair began quietly. "Why, in Merlin's name, would we have to dig up Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas?"
"It has to do with a Muggle science called forecs. No wait, that's not it. Forcers… no, forceps, no, that's not it either."
Lucius watched as Tonks started muttering to herself with a crease in her brow.
"Forensics!" Tonks suddenly crowed in triumph. "That's it!"
"All right then Tonks; then what does this 'forensics' consist of?" Valerian asked.
"Well, Muggles use forensics to explain how people died and what killed them. That usually leads them to who killed the person. What some witch and wizard team thought of doing was using it to identify witches and wizards who had been killed during the war by Death Eaters and bringing their killers to justice by magical signatures."
"This sounds relatively new," Alasdair mused. "Has it been used before? Would it be admissible in court?"
"It's about a year and a half old. But it's been used in court loads of times, so there's plenty of precedent. I would have to say –"
"You're not digging up Nev or Dean!" Ginny screamed shrilly. "You can't! I won't let you!"
"As you were not married to them, that choice does not belong to you," Lucius said coldly. " That lies with their parents."
"Lucius is right," Valerian said. "If we choose this option, then we'll go to the parents and ask for their permission. That's beyond your right Miss Weasley."
Ginny had gone an ashy colour. Lucius resisted the urge to smirk but a tiny one slipped out. The girl just had some legal common sense beaten into her. Hopefully there would be more things to stop the uppity Weasley.
"So how exactly does this procedure work? Has it ever been wrong?" Alasdair demanded.
"Well, so far as I know, a curse, especially one that kills, leaves traces of the caster's magical signature, even after the person's been buried. The stronger the curse and its caster, the longer it takes to dissipate. So what they do is have the person in question cast a spell, then they do something to the body and then compare the results." Tonks paused. "So far, I've seen perfect matches, with virtually no error at all."
"But you admit that there's room for error." Valerian said, pouncing.
"I guess. Look, all I know is hearsay; owl Sir Percival Eddings and Mathilda Fisher for a more detailed explanation of how it works." Tonks said, throwing up her hands. "They're the ones that came up with it."
Lucius watched as both Valerian and Alasdair made a note of those two names. "So we're pretty much right back to where we started, aren't we?"
"I do believe so." Alasdair murmured in slight exasperation.
Lucius sank back into his seat and rubbed his brow slightly. This was going to be a long and frustrating afternoon.
"Harry, there's nothing to do."
"Try reading Ron."
"I'm tired of reading! I just got back from work; isn't there anything else more fun that we can do?"
"Watch some tv."
"I got bored of that telly thing."
Harry made a slightly disgusted sound as he looked up from his book. "Then take a nap."
"This late at night!" Ron sounded absolutely scandalised.
Harry closed his book and looked at Ron who was sprawled over the other end of the couch. "Then go out and do something."
"You'll come with me then?" Ron looked at him eagerly.
With a heavy sigh, Harry placed his book on the coffee table as he nodded his head yes. Since Ron had come here, his quiet routine had been majorly disrupted. It wasn't that he minded Ron being there… but Ron was awfully loud. And considering the fact that it was now the end of the week, Harry was starting to hope that Ron would be heading back home soon. After all, Ginny still couldn't be there.
"So where are we going?"
"I don't know. We haven't had dinner yet and I know a good pub down the street." Harry said as he rose, heading for the front door. "A lot of college and university kids go there."
"That sounds great. Hey, you think we should invite 'Mione?"
"Nah," Harry replied as he jammed his shoes on and slipped on a light jacket. "Besides, if she's not there, no one will get mad if we get some drinks."
"Serious?"
"Why not? You seem awfully intent on having a good time tonight." Harry shrugged. "Besides, she just might be out on a date tonight."
"Good point," Ron mused as he got on his coat and shoes. "You know, she still hasn't told me who this mystery bloke is. Any idea?"
"Er, no, not really." Harry replied; he really didn't have a clue why Snape and Hermione, of all people, had hooked up, but he wasn't about to stir up trouble for them. "You?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew." Ron snorted.
Harry chuckled lightly as they stepped into the hallway and Harry locked the apartment door. As they started walking down the hall towards the elevator, Harry caught Ron staring at the walls.
"Something wrong?"
"It just so… bare, like they never finished what they were supposed to."
"You're supposed to see the bricks Ron. And they're supposed to look like that; it's the style."
"Half done shoddy Muggle work is a style now?" Ron looked at him in surprise. "Your flat is so great and then you come out here and it's ugly. I mean, who wants to look at dirty mortar and crumbly brown bricks?"
"The mortar's grey and the brick is supposed to look that way." Harry explained, coming to a stop in front of the elevator button and pushed the little square.
Ron still gave a disapproving sniff. "I still say it's half done shoddy work."
Harry laughed as the elevator arrived with a clang. "You can't win them all Ron."
Ron grumbled and stepped in the elevator after Harry, eyeing the walls a bit uncertainly. "We couldn't have taken the stairs?"
"Ron, do you remember what happened the last time we took the stairs?" Harry asked in an amused tone.
"Fine, fine, fine." Ron grumbled as the door closed with a metallic bang and the elevator started down with an abrupt jerk.
Harry stared straight ahead and smiled. On Ron's second day here, they'd been taking the stairs to the ground floor when something had crawled up his arm and stopped on his neck. After Ron's impromptu tumble down two flights of stairs and mad flailing about for a few minutes or so, Harry had to stun him and take a look. It was a gecko. All it had done was stare at him and lick its eyes innocently. He gently pulled it off Ron's neck and then woke him. The he had to walk up to the fourth floor to the flat above his and explaining that the gecko got loose. After that, Ron had avoided the staircase like a plague.
Harry was chuckling to himself when the elevator arrived with a dull clang and the door rattled open. Ron looked at it warily as he stepped out. Following after Ron, Harry watched as his best friend looked at some of the Muggle contraptions warily. This had to be Ron's first real foray into the Muggle world and it was kind of amusing to watch.
The noise from the street hit them like a wall as they stepped outside. Harry zipped up his jacket and stuck his hands in his pockets. It was a lot colder than he had thought. Ron had taken it one step further and hunched his shoulders, with a grim set to his jaw.
"How far was this pub?" he asked a few minutes later.
"Not that far; it's just down the street." Harry said. "You'll warm up quickly when you're there, promise."
Ron subsided into grumbles and Harry focused on walking. He didn't think it would be any more helpful to be laughing at Ron, at least not until they had a few drinks. The pub was noisy and they had to wait a bit before they were shown to a small table for two people. They settled down and Harry couldn't help but notice that Ron looked a bit nervous.
"Something wrong?" he asked, leaning in to be heard over the chatter.
"Well, it's just that… are you sure we can drink here? I mean, it's not like we can… legally."
"Yeah, we'll be fine. If you act nervous, they're going to catch on. So just let me order, all right?"
"What if you get something I don't like?"
"Then what do you like?"
"I really don't know, since they probably don't have butterbeer. Give me a minute." Ron replied before disappearing behind the menu.
Harry did his best to not make some comment as he quickly looked over the menu and made his choice. Just when Harry wondered if Ron would have to be rescued from his menu, the redhead set it down with finality.
"I'll have the Salisbury steak and a pint of lager." Ron said with finality.
"Then I'll get the server," Harry said, raising his hand and resisting the urge to laugh.
Once their orders had been taken, Ron relaxed back into his seat with a smug, and slightly relieved, look on his face. Harry shook his head.
"I'm guessing this is the first time you've done something like this?"
Ron nodded his head. "I thought we would get into so much trouble."
Harry simply gave a shrug. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Go right ahead." Ron said sitting up and paying attention.
"I wanted to ask about Octavia because," Harry added on hastily once he saw the familiar scowl on Ron's face. "I'm trying to figure out why Ginny's friends with her."
Ron didn't say anything for a long moment. "Well ask something, would you."
"Where did Ginny meet Octavia?"
"King's Cross. Apparently she's a Squib and her older sister had just graduated from Hogwarts. I saw her and Ginny talking on the platform when me and 'Mione got off the train."
"So they only met a couple of months ago." Harry frowned. "Isn't it kind of odd that Ginny's told her so much so fast?"
"You don't know the half of it," Ron sniffed in disdain. "If she wasn't a Squib, I'd think Ginny was under some sort of spell."
Harry frowned. "What makes you say that?"
"The way Ginny's been acting lately…that's all Octavia's influence. You remember after Percy came by the school and talked to her? She was actually getting better. She didn't mope around as much, she was happy, she smiled and laughed… we had Gin back. And, not even a month, after meeting Octavia, she becomes bitchy, egotistical, and bigoted… I don't understand it. I've been trying to tell her, Charlie practically threw it in her face and she's still carrying on like this."
"What do you mean by bitchy exactly?" Harry asked a moment later.
"There's a difference between being assertive and being a bitch, and a mean, spiteful one at that; even I know that much. You heard what she said that day after dinner." Ron snorted. "This isn't the Ginny I grew up with. If I could just get rid of Octavia, I'm sure Ginny would come around."
"Neville and Dean's death shook her pretty hard you know," Harry said quietly. "Maybe all that bitterness is only coming out now."
"Yeah, I know," Ron stated softly. "And I thought of that. But I remember what she said that day in the memorial garden before we went down to the train…" he shook his head.
"What did she say?" Harry looked at Ron intently.
Ron gave a snort and shook his head. "She told me that she was finally feeling better and that she'd probably die old and alone but at least she'd been happy once. She also said that she wished she's gotten a better look at who had attacked them, so she could do more for Dean and Neville."
"Wait a minute, 'who had attacked them'? She didn't get a clear look at who did it?"
Ron shook his head. "In all that chaos, it's not surprising. Now, I don't like the man, but it was completely out of the blue when she started pointing the finger at Lucius. Not to mention dangerous, considering what the man can possibly do."
"Something's not right about this."
"I know. And honestly, it doesn't even feel right. But I can't do a single thing about it."
"Maybe you can't, but I can certainly try," Harry replied, rubbing his chin. "There's something off about this entire thing."
Ron nodded his head glumly but perked up suddenly. "All right! Dinner!"
Harry looked up to find a plate being slid in front of him and a glass of wine being placed down. Ron's steak and pint were placed down as well, but Harry was a bit puzzled by Ron's obviously curious expression.
"Since when did you drink wine?" Ron said finally.
"Since it tastes better than beer." Harry replied as he picked up his fork.
"Since when have you had beer?" Ron demanded.
"A while ago in Spain." Harry suddenly gave a wicked grin. "Have I got a scarring story for you."
"Are we finally done here?" Alasdair asked, rubbing at his face wearily.
"Yes, I do believe so." Valerian said, throwing his quill down on the parchment.
Lucius made a soft sound of relief while Tonks gave an enthusiastic 'Finally!' before slumping in his seat.
Valerian took a deep breath and picked up a sheet of parchment. "All right, so the terms are as follows: Mr. Lucius Malfoy is to appear in private court on the 31st of October in order to undergo questioning via Veritaserum by the Aurors under the supervision of his parole officer, Miss Nymphadora Tonks, a Wizengamot judge to be named at a later date, and his lawyer, Mr. Valerian Slean Nihilare. Prior to this, Mr. Lucius Malfoy will appear at the laboratories of Sir Percival Eddings and Mathilda Fisher in order to undergo magical signature forensics for compatibility between his magic and that which killed Mr. Dean Thomas and Mr. Neville Longbottom pending approval from the parents. Once Mr. Lucius Malfoy has given his testimony, Miss Ginevra Weasley will undergo the same procedure, barring the test for compatibility of magical signature. Should Mr. Lucius Malfoy feel that there is a bias present and the question of impartiality arises, alternate methods shall be pursued, of which are: questioning by Aurors with a Wizengamot judge to be named at a later date and the supervision of his parole officer, Miss Nymphadora Tonks and his lawyer, Mr. Valerian Slean Nihilare. The compatibility test will still be admissible, however, both parties, Mr. Lucius Malfoy and Miss Ginevra Weasley, will be given the option of the Reliving Mirror. Should it be proven that Mr. Lucius Malfoy is innocent, then Miss Ginevra Weasley will drop all charges and this case will immediately come to a close. Furthermore, she will maintain a respectable distance of at least twelve feet away from Mr. Lucius Malfoy's person in any public space. In regards to his properties, she must be a full kilometre away. Owling, firecalling, sending an acquaintance in her stead, or any other various means of communication be it by magical or Muggle means is strictly forbidden. Should she violate any one of these conditions, she will find herself fined in upwards of a minimum of 100 Galleons or more, depending on the severity of her actions."
Valerian gave the parchment it was all written on a pained look as he rested it on the table again. Lucius rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. Ginny had fought him to the bitter end over every single detail. But he had told her that everything else would be on his terms. He knew the restraining order would be necessary; should things turn out in his favour rather than hers, he didn't want to be stalked by a angry Weasley in any manner whatsoever. He glanced up at the youngest Weasley and she look pale and livid; it was as if this entire day had been one ordeal that smacked her around. That was precisely what he was hoping for. At least fortune had smiled on him this time.
"Now then," Alasdair began, looking at Ginny and Lucius. "You both agree to these terms? It would make this much easier if you signed it and a judge saw that you both reached an amicable conclusion." He had a sardonic look on his face. "It could even help speed up the process."
In all honesty, Lucius didn't blame the man. Ginny had stormed, raged and threatened him throughout most of the afternoon while he'd made sniping, vicious comments. Both Valerian and Alasdair were forced to play peacemaker multiple times before any sort of dialogue could continue.
"If anything, I daresay they might be impressed and more lenient in your situation." Alasdair muttered.
Lucius frowned slightly at that; it sounded like that comment was mainly directed at him.
"You both agree?" Valerian demanded as he rested his elbows on the table.
Lucius nodded his head. "I agree. The conditions are fair enough."
"Don't you even begin to think that those conditions are fair! You left me no choice but to take your–" Ginny bristled.
"Ginevra," Alasdair interrupted loudly. "We've just spent a good seven hours wrangling with this. Given Lucius' position, he is being very generous with you. I would definitely advise you to accept them."
Ginny looked at Alasdair and then at Lucius before she swallowed hard and gritted her teeth. "I accept."
"Good. Lucius, sign right here please." Valerian said, sliding the parchment his way and pointing to the line.
It didn't take Lucius long to sign. Once Ginny had signed hastily, she rose stiffly and stalked from the room. Alasdair packed up quickly, asking Valerian to send him a copy of the agreement once it was approved by a judge and hurried out after her.
"Christ!" Valerian exclaimed once the door shut. "I've never seen two more stubborn people clash like that."
"I'm surprised it actually ended at a decent hour. It could have gone on much longer if you and Alasdair acted like those two." Tonks replied, rubbing her stomach before she spoke plaintively. "I mean, you didn't even stop to get a snack or something. Aren't you hungry Lucius?"
"Not particularly." Lucius replied with a shrug.
"I'm absolutely starving." Valerian pronounced before he looked in Tonks' direction. "Would you care to join me for dinner Tonks?" he had a slightly hopeful look on his face. "Purely for the purpose of further discussing work of course."
"Of course, I would love to," Tonks grinned. "Right after I pass off this stubborn bastard here."
There was a momentary light of thoughtfulness in Valerian's eyes for a moment. "Today's Friday, isn't it?"
"It is," Tonks grinned. "So Remus should be waiting in the reception area right now."
"Come on Lucius," Valerian said as he hurried from his seat. "No point in keeping the man waiting."
"Yeah. I'll bet Remus got here early too. Very patient of him to wait." Tonks added as she grabbed Lucius' arm and practically started dragging him down the hall. "You don't want to be rude do you?"
"Excuse me," Lucius said coldly as he slipped his arm free. "But just what conniving idea have the two of you concocted?"
"Us? A conniving idea?" Tonks feigned a look of hurt. "And here we were trying to do something nice for you."
"How callous of you," Valerian tsked. "Tonks tries so hard to be accommodating for your sake."
Lucius took one look at their expressions and gave a disbelieving sneer. "I know you can do much better than that Valerian. Do you honestly expect me to buy such pitiful acting?"
"No, I didn't," Tonks said as she grabbed his arm resolutely. "So you will go with Remus, enjoy your surprise and thank me graciously with a super expensive gift when you get back, understood?"
"And just where am I going?" Lucius asked in a flat voice. He did not like some one ordering him around.
"You'll see." Valerian said simply as they entered the reception area. "You know, maybe it's a good thing we caught you that night."
"Yeah, I think it was." Tonks affirmed with a slightly condescending nod of her head. And then she gave him a little push away.
"I beg your pardon?" Lucius asked incredulously.
But by that point, Valerian and Tonks were already walking back down the hallway and chatting between themselves. Lucius watched their backs for a moment before he turned around. There was Remus, sitting down in one of the seats and flipping through Quidditch Today.
"The Cannons have decided to have an early draft pick. They hope it might increase their chances," Remus said as he looked up. "I've been here so long that I had enough time to read every single article in detail."
"That doesn't explain why you are here."
"They've been keeping track of you through Tonks' reports. So they might take your sudden change of location the wrong way. Tonks has graciously offered to overlook that small fact for a week or so."
"Ah. And just what would she be overlooking, location wise?"
Remus simply smiled. "It's a good thing I asked Hermione to set the Portkey for much later than originally scheduled. And it's due to go in a minute or so. If you wouldn't mind touching my arm for a bit…"
Lucius stepped up and obliged. "You know," he began slowly. "I'm not all that fond of surprises."
"I'm sure you'll like this one."
Lucius had a somewhat caustic reply ready but the Portkey activated. Everything dissolved into a chaotic whirl for a bit before it lurched to a halt in a new setting. Lucius stood still for a moment, blinking rapidly to gain his sense of balance and equilibrium back. Even though he had travelled by Portkey numerous times, he always felt slightly unsteady afterward.
The room that greeted him was dark and shadowy. But he could make out the faint lines of a couch and some potted plants. There was a large folding screen off to his left, the large white squares easy to see. Just up ahead, he saw glass doors leading into a room that was illuminated by the faint starlight from the sky. The only thing that betrayed the fact that this was not a house was the bare tops of the trees that he could just make out.
"Hm, well I guess Harry isn't home," Remus mused. "I'll have Tonks send over some things for you later on when she and Valerian are done with dinner."
Lucius turned to face Remus. "This is Harry's place?"
Remus smirked as he stepped back into the fireplace. "Surprise."
And with that the werewolf vanished away in a puff of green flame. Lucius was left looking around the dark room. Finally, he drew his wand and cast Lumos, as he couldn't see anything else that would provide enough light. He had a sneaking suspicion that the things in the corners were lamps, but he didn't see any way to activate them. He walked closer to the screen and peered past it, seeing a table crammed full of old Quidditch magazines, Daily Prophet, quills with the ends chewed up, ink bottles left open and parchment. There was a long curved opening in the wall with a polished wood countertop, which led directly to the kitchen. Lucius had a feeling it was supposed to be used for serving, not piled up with dirty dishes. With a snort to the competency of Harry's house elves, he turned and glanced momentarily at the staircase before making his way up it slowly.
The upper level of the place was darker than the ground floor. He made his Lumos brighter and started down the hallway directly in front of him. At the end he found two doors. Looking at them critically, he opened one and found it full of linen. The other one held some strange looking white machines. He closed the door and made his way back down the hallway. A door greeted him when he reached the end and he found an empty room when he opened it. The next door down held a very messy bathroom and the next one down held an equally messy bedroom. Either it was a guestroom that was occupied or he would be speaking to Harry about getting competent house elves. The next set of doors was just across from the messy bedroom and Lucius opened it slightly. It seemed much brighter than the rest of the house. A bit curious, he opened the door fully and stepped in. The entire room was painted white and reflected the light that came in from outside. A bed with curtains sat directly against the wall, with a small alcove off to the left.
Lucius was struck by the starkness of it all. He frowned and turned his attention to the sliding doors right beside him. When he opened them, he found Harry few clothes hanging on the racks and a dresser fitted right into the wall. So this was the reason why he didn't have a dresser. And, if the racks were any indication, the dresser would be just as empty as well. Lucius made a small mental note to take Harry shopping at some point.
The door that he opened led to the bathroom. But he didn't have much time to take it in as light suddenly flooded the closet behind him. He turned around and found himself facing a half-naked Harry who was staring at him in complete surprise and a shirt held loosely in his hands.
Lucius let his eyes run over Harry before he licked his lips with a small smile. "I'll have to make sure I buy Tonks something particularly expensive."