Saving Lucius by sa1boy
Chapter 5
The Blind Beggar

Beta'd by Wolfiekins and Calanthe, many thanks to you both.

"Fancy dress is it?" The shabby grey-haired woman said as the three strangers walked into The Blind Beggar. She addressed Severus and his young companions with an enquiring tone.

"What...?" spat Sev, in an equally stand-offish manner.

"Keep your hair on, dearie! I was only being polite! You thespians are all the same, walkin' round pretending you're something you're not. Saw some fellow that looked like you on a couple of those action movies. Sure he tried to ban Christmas in one? Thank heavens for that fellow in the green tights I say! But that couldn't have been you, dearie…he had talent."

"That's enuff from yew, Moe!" growled the mean, spiteful looking man from behind the bar. "What 'ave I told yew about pesterin' da clien'ele? One more word from you and you'll be following that friend out the door! Understand, Moe?" Then, he turned to the new customers and spoke in an all together politer tone.

"Lawd above! Fancy a tiddley wink, geezer?" The two boys looked at each other not really knowing what to say.

Draco turned to Harry and said, "You're the Latin expert. What did he just say?" in a tone he hoped only Harry could hear.

"He's asking what you want to drink, lovey," Moe piped up, finding the visitors' confusion over the Cockney slang quite amusing.

"Coke, three glasses, please," said Harry. Taking the drinks to the quietest table at the back of the pub, Harry, Draco, and Sev unfurled the parchment from Lucius, studying the references to The Blind Beggar in the lines.

"Gordon Bennet! Slasher, is that you? Lawd above i' is, ain't it?"

Severus continued to look at the parchment in front of him as a large built man with a weathered, life-bitten face slapped down heavily on his shoulders.

"Ignore him boys, I'll deal with this." Severus said in a cold, hard voice. Neither boy had ever heard Severus sound so mean.

"It's me…its Wolfie, don't you remember? I'm not suprised, the last lemon 'n
lime you came in 'ere you were with Lucky Luke and you cleaned us out of all our money. Well, now what you are with your little bitches. I wan' i' back, an' I won' take no for an answer."

Wolfie's mind reverted to a time when Severus and Lucius had cleared him of all his money during a game of poker. Losing money gave poor old Wolfie a long memory, it seemed. Slamming the blade of a knife down on the table and just barely missing Draco's hand, Wolfie showed his intent to the rapidly angering Potions Master.

"Listen here, Wolfie-kins," Severus sneered as he kicked his chair back, knocking it over and getting the attention of all in the small bar. Those that heard him refer sarcastically to the brute as 'Wolfiekins' snickered, much to Wolfie's chagrin. He grabbed his flick knife and held it out to the stern-looking wizard.

"The last time you held a blade on me Little Red Riding Hood, I sliced your ear off. Next time I said I would slit your throat," Severus shouting the line to insult, rather than inform. "I am warning you, you filthy excuse for humanity, if you mess with me, I will...end you."

Severus stood still, staring intently at Wolfie, prepared to carry out the threat. The last time Severus came across this darker side of London, was with his lover, Lucius, and it was when they were young and dangerous. Severus hadn't even swatted a fly in the last ten years, let alone participated in a barroom brawl.

"You haven't the bottle without that psycho boyfriend of yours. You only 'ave babies for back up, what are they gonna do against a room full of us?" With that, it seemed everyone else in the room had appeared behind Wolfie, all of them standing ready to charge on his command. Harry felt the squeeze of Draco's hand against his knee, as he reached down into his boot to fetch his and Draco's wands.

Wolfie and his new gang stopped dead in their tracks as Severus spoke again, loud enough for all to hear, "The boy behind me is the son of that psycho. Do you really want to see him in a bad mood?" Severus took one step towards Wolfie and his cronies, and all except Wolfie stepped back in the face of the wizard's advance. "Back off, or be beaten down…it is your choice," Severus warned.

Wolfie lunged forward, thrusting his knife at Severus, but this didn't pose a serious threat, as Severus side-stepped easily. The hooligan fell forward, losing control as Severus brought his elbow crashing down on the back of Wolfe's head, dazing him, and knocking him to the floor. Wolfie tried to scamper to his feet, but was stopped by the Potions Master, who grabbed his jacket collar.

"I warned you, scum. Some people never learn! Say goodnight!" With that
Severus leant back slightly, and then in one quick motion, crashed his head into Wolfe's forehead, knocking him out. Severus let go of the oversized yob who slumped to the floor, the rest of the pub acting as if nothing had happened.

Severus threw his head back, adjusted his hair, and returned to his shocked young companions, sitting back down in the spare seat at the table. "Nothing like a good brawl to clear the mind, I always say," Severus said casually. Draco and Harry looked at him, and then across the room. All references to the little tiff with Wolfie seemed to have been forgotten. Everyone appeared to be getting on with their own business.

"What the fuck was that about, Sev?" asked Draco

"And was that guy referring to Lucius as 'Lucky Luke'? Because if he was, I'm sure I caught him saying it."

"Enough speculation, Potter. We have Draco's father to find, or have you forgotten?" Severus cut him off, skilfully dragging Lucius' disappearance into the conversation to side-swipe Harry.

"Yeah, Harry, shut up with the questions; we have to find my Dad." Harry looked at Draco, and made a mental note to revisit this topic at a later date. Returning their attentions to the parchment, they studied the line I 'A blind beggar on a Firebolt could see the way you look at him' /I ; Severus read it again, and lifted his eyes from the missive and surveyed the pub. There were no pictures on the walls, only newspaper clippings on horseracing and a few random page three bimbos. Harry watched what Severus was doing and joined him in quiet study.

Draco kept his eyes firmly on the letter, reading it over again to see if there was some detail he had missed. Like the proverbial penny dropping, suddenly Draco saw the answer. I Firebolt. A blind beggar on a Firebolt! /I A smile spread across his face.

Harry noticed his lover's excited expression, and couldn't help a smile from gracing his lips as he waited for Draco's explanation. "A blind beggar on a Firebolt, well…what is a Firebolt?" Draco asked triumphantly.

"A broom of course!" chorused Harry and Severus, a smile appearing on both mouths simultaneously, this time in realisation that this was a clue. And the clue was outside. Getting up a little too quickly, Harry and Severus bumped heads. Harry yelped "Ouch!" while Severus grumbled "Prat!" Draco giggled as he rolled up the parchment and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. Stepping over a now stirring Wolfie, the three men made for the front door to continue the search with the aid of their brooms.

Unbeknownst to the trio, Wolfie had reached into his pocket, pulling out a small handgun. As the pub door closed behind Draco, the oversized thug aimed at the spot where the young wizard's head would be on the other side, pulling the trigger. In the split second before the hammer dropped, Wolfie was suddenly petrified, unable to move. A figure swiftly moved in between the thug and the now closed door, further blocking the bullet's path through the old wood and a probable fatality on the other side.

"Hurt my family would you, scum?" Lucius' voice was heard. At this, the small side door to the pub suddenly burst open, and everyone, including the barman, ran out in a frenzied state. The only person left, Moe, stood over Wolfie speaking again.

"Moe, what the fuck do you want?" Moe's appearance shimmied into that of a very menacing looking Lucius Malfoy. Standing over Wolfie, his wand out stretched.

"Blimey! Luke, don't 'urt me! I was just stretchin' me bones. Honest" Wolfie stammered.

Lucius bent over, tapping the handgun once with his wand. "Put the gun in your mouth."

Wolfie's eyes went wide in shock, staring at Lucius and then at the gun in his hand, which was beginning to turn, slowly pointing in the direction of his mouth. Sweat broke out on Wolfie's forehead, as he fought and struggled against it, but no matter what he did, his hand and the gun were travelling to the destination Lucius had ordered. Wolfie made one last, desperate plea.

"Lawd above! No, Luke, 'ave mercy! What are you doin' ter me?"

Wolfie wailed frantically. Lucius cast a Silencing charm on the bar. Turning to the now screaming Wolfie, the muzzle of the gun was pressed against the roof of his mouth. Miming a gun with the fingers of his right hand, Lucius clicked down with his thumb; Wolfie's finger squeezed the trigger. The muffled screaming stopped as the back of Wolfie's head splattered against the bar wall.

"Bang!" was all Lucius said as he apparated back to his hiding place.

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Back across the street, the only sign of any unrest in The Blind Beggar was the flickering of the electric lights for the briefest of moments.

"Hello, my dearie, back for a repeat performance, is we? My regulars were delighted with your last session. I even have some offering ...100 galle..." Snape cut Mistress Vamp off in mid sentence.

"Finish that sentence...At...Your…Peril!" The bar area of The Leaky Cauldron took on a decidedly quieter tone on this threat; although, the young men did still get kisses floating in their direction. Severus' icy threat, and the death glare he'd been practicing for Draco and Harry, allowed the trio to make their way to the bar and the chore at hand.

"We require three brooms," Severus spoke, his tone menacing and immediate.

"Oh, I'm not sure, dearie. What do you want them for?" came Vampy's puzzled reply.

"Do you have three brooms or not, you overbearing, bloodsucking bitch?"
Severus snapped his patience, as well as that of Harry and Draco, wearing very thin. Mistress Vamp huffed herself from her corner, looking totally affronted.

"There's no need to be rude, dear. In the corner over there, you'll have to use the house ones; they're old but they'll do. Going for a nice fly, are we? Don't forget to put a Concealing charm on now, dearie. And we'll have none of your name-calling here, if you don't mind. I'll tell my husband about this, I will!" She threw a glance across the room at her long-suffering spouse.

Tom decided to return to his conversation with the Tell-All-Mirror, not wanting a conflict with the three powerful wizards. He was quietly happy someone had finally put his obnoxious wife firmly in her place.

Severus and the boys made for the oversized umbrella pot in the corner of the bar. To no one's surprise, all the brooms that stood in it were by the same maker; they were all Firebolt s, taking the brooms, Draco, Harry and their Professor went back to Severus' room. Once there, they put a 'Blend into the Background' spell on each other, and took off on the brooms through the open window. Severus was extremely wobbly at first, but, quickly regained his composure, remembering how much he missed the simple pleasure of flying.

They flew around The Blind Beggar, until all had comfortably mastered their new brooms, and then took off skyward for the roof of the pub. It was a four-storey, rather run-down pub, but not without a definite Victorian charm. Severus arrived last, Draco and Harry being the more capable on their rides.

They hovered very close to the roof, not seeing anything other than whitewashed roof tiles. 'Since when did people paint their roofs white?' Draco thought, then had an idea that they were perhaps a little too close to the building to see any clue, if one indeed was there.

Taking off, Draco climbed about twenty metres before Harry and Severus were forced to join him, wondering why their companion was making such a lot of joyful noise. "It's here, the clue, its here," chortled Draco, pointing down at the image his lofty position had now afforded him. Harry came to a hover next to him, laughing in unison with his lover.

"You were right, Sev, you were right! Look!" Pointing at the building fifty feet below, the pattern on the roof of the building was a huge white arrow pointing south. In the distance Draco could just make out the tree line of Hyde Park.