Summary: Lucius Malfoy, CEO for Deschutes Enterprises. Harry Potter, upstart at Aurora International. Two people destined for greatness, and each other. But at what price? SLASH of the Lucius/Harry variety and a blatant AU.
Disclaimer: I am sad to say that I own nothing but the plotline. Most of the people, places, etc. are creations of the brilliant JK Rowling. This is a work of fanfiction that I am writing purely for my own enjoyment (and hopefully the readers' as well) and I am not making any profit whatsoever off of it.
CHAPTER ONE: PARTY OF TWO
"Angostura(1), fancy seeing you here," Lucius Malfoy spoke congenially, a sentiment which did not often enter the languid timber of his voice. "And what new 'acquisition' might you have gained since we last saw each other?" he continued with a slight smirk and an arch of one of his elegant, blonde eyebrows. He glanced discreetly around in the vicinity of the lovely, brunette Miss Clagg to whom he had been speaking, in search of her latest conquest, certain that she wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to sport the new eye candy she had surely picked up since the function last month.
Just when he was about to retort with something along the lines of how disappointed he was that Angostura seemed to be losing her touch before she even hit forty, he spotted a gorgeous young man making his way over with two crystal, stemmed glasses filled with a bubbly, light amber liquid that he assumed to be champagne. Of course, he couldn't be certain on the contents of the glasses, seeing as how his attention was occupied elsewhere, namely on the fine specimen carrying the unidentified alcoholic drink.
"Lucius, I would like to introduce you to my new partner in crime, Mr. Harrison Potter. Harry, this is Mr. Lucius Malfoy, CEO for Deschutes Enterprises and right hand man to the esteemed President of the company, Lord Voldemort," Angostura introduced graciously, taking the offered glass of champagne from Harry and eying Lucius with amusement when she took notice of his focus on her young associate. She just knew that they would hit it off.
Harry seemed shy and nervous, unlike his usual easy-going, talkative self, and Lucius had gone into full on seduction mode, obviously noting the fact that Harry was not one of her so called 'acquisitions'; she almost felt sorry for the poor boy with Lucius eying him like a predator would its next meal. But she was sure that Harry could take care of himself. "Oh dear, I just spotted Nott. I still have a few 'business arrangements' to discuss with him, things I'm sure Harry wouldn't be interested in. Lucius, if you don't mind entertaining Harry for a few minutes...?" she left the sentence trailing, waiting for Lucius to assure her that he wouldn't mind entertaining Harry in the least, a fact which she was most certain of.
"Of course, Angostura. That is, if Harry doesn't mind being stuck with me as company," Lucius intoned, turning to Harry with a sexy half-smile that he had perfected over the years and waiting for a response.
Harry blushed a bit at Lucius's obvious interest, but managed to reply without stammering incoherently like an enamored fool. "I would be delighted," he spoke, gazing coyly up at Lucius as he swirled his champagne languidly in the delicate crystal glass he held tightly within his grasp, glad that he had something in his hands to keep him from wringing them together in his nervousness.
"Fabulous," Angostura broke in, pleased. "I'll just leave you two here to get to know each other then, and catch up with you later." And with that said, she smiled knowingly and turned, making her way across the room in purposeful strides, her black evening gown swishing gracefully as she hunted Nott down amongst the crowd.
Harry gave a nervous smile to the older man whom Angostura had quite purposefully left him with. He couldn't believe how obvious she could be at times, though he knew his blushing and apparent nervousness had given away much more than she ever could have. He could feel another blush coming on as he realized how silly Mr. Malfoy must think him, and quickly turned his attention to the contents of his glass, pretending to take interest in it and letting his fringe fall down to cover as much of his face as possible.
Little did Harry know that Lucius Malfoy found this image very enticing and did not think him 'silly' in the least. In fact, he found him quite intriguing. After all, Angostura didn't hire just anyone; this boy must have quite a bit of potential to have caught her interest. Of course, he had caught Lucius's interest as well, though undoubtedly for a much different reason, although he assumed that Angostura appreciated her new employee's good looks just as much as he did.
The young man had a classic beauty and a certain boyish charm, though he seemed not to be aware of it, which made him even more desirable in Lucius's expert opinion. His hair was shiny and dark, almost black in color, contrasting nicely with his pale, unblemished skin. He had a slender, though muscled, build. He stood at an approximate height of 5'7", a good four or five inches shorter than Lucius himself, just the way he happened to like it. He was overall very pleasing to look upon, although Lucius found himself most intrigued by Harry's startlingly green eyes, reminding him of two sparkling emeralds, his favorite jewel for some indefinable reason. But it looked like he had found a new favorite 'jewel,' at least for the time being.
Ascertaining that Harry didn't seem apt to start a conversation any time soon, Lucius took it upon himself to strike one up. "So, do you enjoy working at Aurora International?" he asked conversationally, hoping to loosen Harry up a bit before he started in on the questions he really wanted to ask.
Harry glanced up from under his curtain of hair, pausing to look at Lucius appraisingly for a moment before answering. "Yes, everyone has been very kind. Angostura has helped me out a lot. Do you enjoy working at Deschutes Enterprises, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry remarked politely, tilting his head in question as he looked up at the imposing figure of one of the most powerful business men in all of Britain, if not the world.
Lucius smiled at Harry's inquiry, grasping the opportunity he had inadvertently provided him with. "Feel free to call me Lucius, Harry," he practically purred, completely ignoring the question that had been asked of him. He felt there had been enough small talk and besides, it was almost time for him to be leaving. He had made his appearance, which was all that was required of him, and was now ready to go home, preferably in the company of the young man standing before him. "I do enjoy my line of work, though I typically hate having to attend social events such as these. The only redeeming factor that made this one worth coming to is the fact that I met you," Lucius spoke charmingly, smiling sensuously. Harry seemed a bit shocked at his forwardness, but in a pleased way. He decided it was time to go in for the kill. "How would you like to get out of here? I have an apartment just a few minutes away and I would love it if you would join me," he lilted, turning the last sentence into a question, asking if Harry would care to join him for the night.
Harry seemed interested in the offer, though reluctant to accept. He bit his lip in consternation as he contemplated the situation, looking nervously around the ballroom, everywhere but at Lucius. Spotting Angostura chatting to Nott across the room, he latched on to the excuse. "Well...I really shouldn't leave Angostura. I mean, I arrived here with her and all..." he trailed off uncertainly, turning back to Lucius, who only smiled in reassurance.
"I'm sure she won't mind. In fact, I'll bet she figured that we would be leaving together when she left us here to go talk to Nott," Lucius supplied, hoping that it would assuage Harry's worries.
Instead, it seemed to make Harry's anxiety increase tenfold as he attempted to sort out his thoughts. He was attracted to Lucius, but it really wasn't like him to go home with someone after having just met them. But you only live once, right? And he might not have another opportunity like this any time soon. His mind made up, he turned back to Lucius with a more confident air than he had previously had. "I assume you have a limo to take us there?" he asked, deftly accepting Lucius's offer.
Lucius smiled lasciviously in response, swiftly leading his new prey towards the enormous double doors leading into the stylish ballroom. They quickly made their exit, easily forging their way through the crowd, which parted fluidly to make room for Lucius. Neither of them noticed Angostura watching their escape from across the room with a smirk on her face and her amber eyes glowing with pleased amusement.
Author's Notes: I just felt like writing a Harry/Lucius fic and somehow it just turned out an AU based in the 'real' world. In case you were wondering, Harry is about 22 years old in this fic and Lucius is in his early to mid forties. And as a side note, Angostura is not going to be a Mary Sue; so don't worry. I hope you found this first part interesting. I'm not exactly sure what will happen in the next chapter, though I do think that I will be introducing Draco in it. And don't hold your breath waiting for chapter two; it will probably take a while before I get around to writing it. By the way, I am sorry if there are any errors in spelling or grammar; I do not have a beta for this fic as of yet. So, if you find any mistakes, please just let me know and I will try to fix them as soon as I can.
(1) Angostura – the aromatic bitter bark of either of two South American trees (I thought that the whole aromatic but bitter thing would help to sort of symbolize her personality.)