Title: Diverging Reality
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Lucius, Blaise
Chapter: 9
Word Count: 1757
Warnings: nothing
Edited by: eiliagh
AN: I took last week off because of not feeling good. But I'm back and mostly okay. I'm doing what I need to do and writing a lot. Going through a lot of my half-finished/planned mini stories and I'm going to try to finish those off.
But for now, enjoy this!
Sitting down at his desk in his office, in the building out of which he and his business partners worked, Lucius checked on his young apprentice as Blaise worked on something at his own, smaller, desk that he had moved nearer the fireplace. The morning was bitterly cold as they got closer to December and the heart of winter.
Lucius placed his quill into its holder and stood up with a grunt as his back popped. Blaise looked up from the papers that he had been reading through to create a practice report on. One of the exercises that all apprentices did when they wanted to become a solicitor was to go over past cases and write out a report on how they would defend or prosecute the person.
Lucius smiled as he looked at the mostly completed marriage contract. They had nearly finished it in such a way that gave all of the power to Harry instead of Ginny and Dumbledore. Blaise had done quite a bit of the research into the Charters with Hermione's help. But, at the moment, it wasn't the research that he wanted to talk about with his young apprentice.
He was worried about the teen.
Draco had told him one day that Blaise had been talking about getting to know Harry, to learn just who the young male truly was beyond his reputation. He had already started to make headway on that when the marriage contract had been enacted. Which meant that Blaise didn't have any options but to be friends with the Potter-Black heir no matter what his personal feelings were. And Lucius knew that the young Italian had some deep feelings for Harry.
"Come with me, Blaise. Let us have a drink together," he said, tilting his head to the small break room just off of his office. Blaise groaned in appreciation as he marked his spot on the paperwork with a sticky note, putting his notebook to the side. The Muggles created such useful items, not that they would tell anyone that they used such things.
Blaise followed after his teacher and friend, taking a seat on the couch that the room held. Lucius smiled as he flicked his wand at the kettle to set it to heat as he placed coffee grounds into a french press, both of them wanting something stronger than tea.
Once the coffee was ready, Lucius poured it into two cups, adding a bit of his favorite whiskey to both cups along with some cream and a touch of sugar. He picked up the mugs and walked over to Blaise, handing him his cup before he took his own seat. Blaise took a deep sniff of the coffee, making a pleased sound at the scents. "Thank you," he finally said.
"Of course," Lucius replied, tilting his head as he settled into his chair. "How are you holding up with everything?" he asked.
Blaise sighed before taking a sip of his coffee, trying to figure out how to answer that. "I'm holding," he admitted. "I didn't love him. Not the way that I could have if we had had time. Yes, I care deeply for him, but I wasn't quite at the point of love."
"But it still hurts that the very possibility of a relationship with him has been stopped before it could have had the chance to start," Lucius said, Blaise nodding. "You will learn that sometimes Fate and Life have plans for us. What are you planning on doing after school now?"
"Beyond continuing my apprenticeship with you?" Blaise asked, slightly amused as he sent the other man a smile. He sipped his coffee, feeling the whiskey work on his nerves and soothing them. "I was thinking of taking a year to just learn on my own. Do some research, write a few paperpers. Go through some old laws and compile the ones that should probably be dealt with so that the Queen doesn't come down on us like a ton of bricks. Miss Granger-Potter has explained to me that the technology that the Non-magicals have are changing and evolving every day, growing more and more advanced. I wish to take a year and really explore all of the muggle world. I think that we need to grow ourselves and update things. It's my generation that will have to change our world, kicking and screaming if need be."
Lucius made an agreeing sound. "That is something that Lord Slytherin does wish to happen," he admitted. "He wants to catch us up to the Non-magical world so that we may blend in better and keep our abilities hidden better. He has long been discussing with other countries about how they keep their magical half hidden. From what he learned, a few of our potions do work on those without magic as long as it's made correctly and they use those in a medical setting. Cold medicines and such," he said. "They mingle with the non-magical side in other ways."
"Miss Granger-Potter told me something to that effect. Apparently the lighter pepper-up potions work more like something called energy drinks and that someone in North America has started to create a non-magical version using non-magical ingredients," Blaise snorted. "But back on topic. After the year where I'm exploring, I was thinking of doing some long-distance schooling with the French University that you went to. I know how to handle my estate and all that, but it is always nice to have those classes in hand for my certification in law," he said.
"I suppose that it will help that Heir Black-Potter will most likely be gone by then, too?" Lucius asked. Blaise smiled slightly.
"Yes. It will be easier to get past the feelings that I'm dealing with. This summer I am going to visit my father's family and speak with them about taking on more of the responsibilities in preparation for my coming of age. They're not able to do much about anything in regards to my estate, as it is, since it's my mother who holds those reins, but it is polite to warn them that I will be auditing everything over the summer months," Blaise said. "Keeping them on the straight and narrow after all."
"Of course it does. I do the same," Lucius chuckled, shaking his head with a smile on his lips. "Very well. I will make sure that your hours do not get in the way of your familial duties. Make sure that you give me the information on what you are going to do each day or at least give me some warning if something comes up."
"I will," Blaise promised with a tilt of his head. "After that, I am hoping to become Miss Granger-Potter's lawyer as she works on making sure that the Wizarding World shakes in horror when she takes up the Dagworth-Granger Wizengamot seat that she is due." He smirked. "Her, Heir Longbottom, Heir Black-Potter, Heir Malfoy, Heir Parkinson, and Heir Greengrass have all created quite the interesting alliance so far. It is looking as if they wish to start changing things up and if they throw their power behind Lord Slytherin, he should find it easier to get done the things he wants to accomplish," he told him.
Lucius hummed and nodded. "I will speak with Lord Slytherin about contacting them after their last year," he promised him. Blaise nodded his head. "Will the Zabini family be joining in?" he asked.
"We will be. We are part of the main line here in England so we will have our own power. And since I also head my father's family, we are also a part of the international part of the Wizengamot," Blaise told him. "But for the time being, we're just the alliance of heirs until we turn of age and are able to take our places."
"What is the first thing that they are planning on doing?" Lucius asked.
Blaise smirked at him. "They wish to remove the added spells that the last five Grand Warlocks have placed onto the Wizengamot to return them back to just the wardings that Merlin and LaFay placed when they started the Wizengamot. Heir Black-Potter is going to be assigning his regent for the next year and have her bring it forth as a proper call to magic," he said.
"Which will force it to happen should Magic wish for it to happen," Lucius said, snorting. "Why did none of us think of doing this before?" he asked.
"Because the school does not like teaching about Calling Magical Judgment unless we are willing to do our own research," Blaise replied. "I find that Heir Black-Potter and Miss Granger-Potter both have some amazing ideas for what they want to see for the Wizarding world. I wish to see these things happen. They'll only be good for us."
Lucius hummed and sipped his coffee in thought. "What do you think would happen should Lord Slytherin wish to contact them?" he asked.
"I would suggest that should Lord Slytherin wish to contact them, to send it to the future Lady Hermione Granger-Potter as the secondary heir of the Potter family and Heir to the Dagworth-Granger family. Currently Heir Black-Potter is still having his mail stolen from him by his betrothed, if she thinks for a second that she can get away with it. He is about to start putting charms on it so that he can keep his mail safe," Blaise said.
Lucius hummed. He stood and found a small book on his bookshelves, handing it over to Blaise. "This is a book of privacy spells. If he has a Gringotts box for his mail, he will be able to place it onto the box and set it up so that only mail will go through there," he said. Blaise flipped it open and started to work through it. "This way should she steal his mail again, it will be nothing but scribbles or inane things depending on the mail that she is reading." He smirked as Blaise got to one part of the introduction and his eyebrows rose up. "And should she try to destroy it, the spell will rebound onto either her homework or on her personal journal depending on what she is trying to destroy."
"I will make sure I send that memory to you when she tries it," Blaise promised, smirking as he tucked the book into a pocket, it being small enough, and the two turned their conversation to other things.