Chapter 30
It had been barely a week since Lucius had removed Nichol from Hogwarts; two days later he had tried to have the Headmaster deposed and was extremely annoyed that the other governors had not agreed with him about Dumbledore's lack of control at the school. So now he had a personal score to settle with the headmaster and also following his attack on Nichol and his revelations about Draco's parentage – Lucius now wanted no less than blood from Severus. Narcissa he felt could wait for later, with her current relationship with the Dark Lord Lucius knew he would need to tread carefully there.
Since the dramatic rescue of Nichol Lucius had heard the tale from her of what Severus had both done and said, he had almost imploded with the rage he now felt towards Severus, not only for touching one of his possessions, namely Nichol, but also for his pathetic childish grudge and the way he had aided Narcissa. Lucius had checked up on this story and had even allowed Nichol to use muggle science to check out Severus' story, and it was found that he had not lied – Lucius was definitely not the father of Draco, in fact according to the muggle science of DNA it would have been impossible for him to have fathered the boy.
For Lucius this was both a relief and a disappointment, it was no secret that he bullied the Draco. The boy, Lucius felt was a let down, a weak and spineless peacock – he was more interested in fashion and the latest trends – he had no concept of furthering himself and gaining power, both for himself and for the name of Malfoy. The problem now however meant that Lucius had no heir – he himself had let down his lineage, the main credo of the Malfoy name was that each generation were to gain wealth and power, and to ensure the line continued … Lucius had failed in this.
Lucius was not exactly a priest when it came to his sex life and yet he had never fathered a child other than Draco – and now to find he had not even done this, left Lucius wondering if he would now never give the Malfoy line an heir, was Severus correct in his assumption that he Lucius Malfoy was incapable of this?
Making a decision he threw some powder into the fire 'my Lord might I speak with you?'
A face appeared within the flames 'what is it Lucius?'
'I have a plan that might aid both of us …'
Nichol was a nervous wreck, after everything that had happened with Severus and now she had a secret she needed to tell Lucius and didn't know how to. She was also afraid to leave the house at the moment, terrified that somehow Severus would be out there waiting for her and yet even more fearful of the news she was hiding from Lucius.
She was sitting in the conservatory at Malfoy Manor reading and flicking through what appeared to be the wizarding equivalent of Brides Magazine when Lucius came in to see her. 'I have to go out, but I will be back later tonight.' Nichol looked worried 'don't worry' he reassured her 'I have just spoken with Tom he will drop by in an hour or so to see how you are doing.'
After Lucius left the house Nichol tried to keep busy, but she could not concentrate on anything, not even her book. Every sound within or outside the house made Nichol jump and she was a on the edge of panic by the time an elf arrived and held out a try to her – on the tray there sat one envelope. Nichol took the envelope and opened it; upon reading the contents she screamed and fainted just as Tom arrived in the Manor.
Once Tom had Nichol settled on the sofa with a mug of hot sweet tea he read the note she had dropped:
Nichol, I cannot bare life without you, if you will not be mine I cannot leave you there with him … I am no longer in St Mungo's and I intend to come and take you away – one way or another - from that man.
Forever Yours
Severus
Tom called for the elf who had brought in the envelope 'who delivered this?' he asked the elf.
'Not know sir…' the elf cowered.
'How can you not know? Where did it come from?'
'Under door and knock knock, no-one there' the elf replied.
'You are saying someone pushed it beneath the door, knocked and vanished?'
'Sir' the elf nodded.
'Okay you can go, but call your master home, tell him it is most urgent' Tom then turned back to Nichol. 'It will be alright my dear' he soothed.
'How can it be' Nichol gasped 'it's from him isn't it? Is he really out of St Mungo's?'
'I have checked out the paper and the writing – it does appear to be authentic and not magically tampered with, I will have people check on St Mungo's right away.'
He left the room and went into Lucius' study - little did Nichol know Lucius was awaiting him in there;
'She got the letter?' Lucius asked quietly as Tom walked into the room.
'She did, and I assured her that it is quite authentic, she was very shocked and afraid when she read it.'
'Good, good' said Lucius 'then she will have all the more reason to join you so that she can be protected.'
'I had better go back through and inform her of Severus' escape from St Mungo's – have you set in motion to plans to free him and give him a safe house?' Tom asked as he headed for the door.
'Everything is in place My Lord…' Lucius nodded.
'Very good, give me about 30 minutes and then I think it will be time for the worried fiancé to arrive home – don't you?'
Back in the conservatory Tom tried to consol Nichol 'is it true? Is he out?' she asked.
'Yes, sadly it is true; he has escaped from a secure ward.'
'Do you think he will carry out his threat to kill me?' she whispered through her tears.
'We won't let him hurt you again…' Tom replied.
'There is another problem' she looked even more drained of colour as she said this.
'What is it Nichol?'
'I don't know how to tell Lucius … oh what am I to do?' she sobbed.
'Well I am not entirely sure myself – unless you tell me what the problem is' he smiled at her.
'I am pregnant!'
Tom looked shocked for a few seconds 'and the father is?' he asked.
'Lucius…'
'You are sure of this?'
'Yes, of course I am sure! I already had my suspicions before Severus; I had gone for tests and was awaiting the results when he…' she broke of with a whimper.
'My girl, you have to tell Lucius, I suspect that he will be shocked but extremely pleased, after he found Draco was not his son this is the best news.' He looked up as he heard footsteps coming.
'Ah Lucius, you're home, good' Tom explained to Lucius about the note and how he had found that Severus had in fact escaped. Once he had made a good show of updating Lucius he said 'I will leave you to speak to Nichol, you really need to talk to her, and I will be in your study.'
Once Tom had left the room Nichol motioned for Lucius to sit with her. 'Lucius, I…' she bit her lip and figured it was probably just as well to just come out with it 'I'm pregnant Lucius.'
'What?' he gasped.
'Pregnant' she repeated, putting her hand on her stomach 'baby…'
'Who's?' he asked.
'Yours of course'
'Are you sure?' he asked.
'I am positive' she nodded.
'It is definitely my baby?'
'Yes, Lucius, I am definitely carrying your baby – I was already pregnant before Severus captured me, I was just awaiting confirmation of this.'
'So you are telling me that I will have an heir after all?' he actually grinned.
'Yes Lucius,' she replied somewhat coldly 'you will have your Malfoy heir.'
Lucius looked thoughtful 'Malfoy? The wedding had better be brought forward to as soon as possible then hadn't it?'
Nichol had not even thought about that 'if that is what you want.'
'I will have no heir of mine being born out of wedlock Nichol, it might be acceptable with muggles but it is not acceptable with me!' Lucius looked like he would not make this into a discussion and he considered that matter closed.
'On the Severus issue' he took her hands into his 'there is a solution but I am unsure if you would do this.'
'What is it Lucius?'
'Well there is an organisation I am a member of – if I needed their protection they would back me up and protect me – we – Tom and I, feel it would be prudent for your right now if you were to join with us.'
'You believe this would be best for me and' she placed her hand protectively over her stomach 'the baby?' she asked blindly, not even asking what this would entail.
Taking her into his arms as though protecting her, he whispered 'Yes Nichol, I think it would be for the best … for us all.'
'What do I have to do?'
'Don't worry; I will arrange everything for this and the wedding.'
Lucius then called for an elf to fetch their guest back into the room 'I think it is time for us to give the good news to Tom, don't you?'
Lucius and Nichol's wedding was a very quiet affair – the ceremony was carried out by Tom at Malfoy Manor. Following her attack at Hogwarts Nichol had chosen not to invite any of the staff as she felt uncomfortable with them knowing what Severus had done to her.
After the ceremony their guests joined them for dinner and then they all went down the stairs into the cellars of the Manor. The guests who attended had all been at the engagement party and Nichol felt quite at home with them, well most of them…
Narcissa had made it more than plain that she would rather be anywhere but here. Nichol could not help but smile as she recalled the conversation Lucius had early with Narcissa when he pointed out that he knew Draco was not his son, and that although he would continue to support the boy and his education, Narcissa was now on her own financially.
Once in the cellar all of the wedding guests donned black hooded cloaks and masks, when everyone was ready Lucius opened some doors and they all entered a huge stone room filled with candles. Whilst everyone else stood in a circle around the room Lucius led Nichol towards a man she believed was Tom, it was hard to tell with the mask as he stood in the centre of the room. When Lucius had escorted Nichol into the centre of the circle he raised her left arm and gave her hand to Tom who took her hand in his …
That night Nichol lay in bed trying to recall some of the events of the evening, much of which was a blur, she could recall standing in a stone room surrounded by a circle of people whilst Lucius handed her to Tom as though he were giving away the bride.
She was still unsure of what had actually happened down there, but right now she was in her bed with her husband … she had to smile at the thought of her being married now, not only married but pregnant also.
Looking down at her forearm she looked again at the mark on her arm, it was identical to the one that Lucius bore but much fainter, Lucius had assured her that it would darken with time – his was just darker because he'd had it on his arm for many years. She still had no idea just what the mark actually mean, but it could hardly be anything bad if Lucius had encouraged her to take it … could it?
The figure in the bed beside her stirred and she looked down at the slumbering man, running her eyes over the way the sheet clung and moulded itself to his form …
Reaching down she ran her fingers over the perfectly rounded globes of his taut arse 'hmmm' she mused 'there could be some good things to come out of this marriage thing.'