Chapter 43

Lucius made his way through the master suite and into the former lady's boudoir which Narcissa had converted into her private research study. She called it her war room. Lucius was not fond of that term, it hit a little too close to home for his tastes.

He found her seated at her desk, several books in front of her, writing on a long scroll of parchment.

"What are you doing?" He questioned in greeting.

"Cross referencing these creature texts, there's a disturbing amount of disagreement between them so I am trying to determine the most common opinion on several of the creatures that meet the criteria we know of so far that could be the one at Hogwarts."

"That's sensible."

"Well, I am sensible," she responded, an edge to her voice.

He sighed and she finally turned to look at him her face set in a hard expression which softened when she met his eyes. "You're home safe."

"I am," he attempted to moderate his tone. "As I told you I would be," he couldn't help but add.

She gazed at him cooly. "I apologize for the way that I expressed my concerns."

Something about the prim way she said that almost made him want to laugh- because she didn't usually don that personae in their home, much less when she was alone with him- and he fought to keep a smile off of his face. "You mean that you don't really believe that I'm a stubborn, thoughtless arse?"

"Oh I do but that was not a very lady-like way of putting it," she looked up at him through her lashes coquettishly.

He bit his lip to keep from laughing. "And will I still be sleeping in a guest suite for the foreseeable future as promised?"

"I haven't decided." They just sat there looking at each other for a few minutes until her shoulders slumped. She stood and made her way over to him and put her arms around his neck. "I was worried about you."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that, but I think that from now on very few things are going to come without risk."

"I'm aware of that. But I still think this was a foolish one to take."

Lucius had decided earlier that morning that he needed to go to Hogwarts, to meet with Severus and just get a general feel for the atmosphere in the castle. The night before, things had been so chaotic that he had failed to consider that at some point, and some point soon, he was going to have to go to the Dark Lord and report what had happened.

The man had always been almost obsessed with the goings on inside Hogwarts, Lucius might not survive failing to tell him something like this, especially considering what he suspected about the Dark Lord's connection to this creature. Which meant that he needed as much information as possible as quickly as possible.

However, Narcissa had vehemently disagreed with his proposed course of action and had expressed that opinion colorfully and loudly.

"We keep telling the children not to put themselves in unnecessary danger and then you turn around and do something like this."

Lucius bit back a vicious retort. "But I am not a child, Narcissa. This mark on my arm means that I am going to be in danger. I have a responsibility to the children to take risks so that they don't have to, and to end this war, hopefully before it really starts. Did you tell Draco and Hermione where I was going?"

"Of course not," she huffed, "I didn't want to worry them. They're down at the lake swimming and having a picnic, oblivious. They volunteered to help me research but I knew they'd be able to tell that I was anxious. However, I believe I'll take them up on it when they come in. The two of them are really something as a team, it's like they can read each other's minds and it helps them solve problems with remarkable efficiently."

"I know," he chuckled, but decided this was not the time to remind her that he knew them as well as she did. "I've seen it, it's because rather than thinking in the same way they are complementary. Draco is intuitive whereas Hermione is more analytical." He led her over to a settee in the corner of the room and they sat.

"Anyway," she sighed, "I need all the help I can get, there are a disturbing number of possibilities," she gestured to the desk covered in books.

He nodded and decided to change the course of the conversation. "Severus sends his regards."

Her mouth tightened. "Did he say anything? Or did you notice anything unusual in the castle?"

"He said a great many things, and also nothing at all. And before you can ask, nothing appeared amiss, it was just like a normal first day of classes."

"So you learned nothing."

He shrugged. "Apparently, the professors did a sweep of the castle last night, they found nothing. Severus appears to believe Mr. Potter, but only because Dumbledore does. His hatred for the boy is...irrational, almost maniacal. The way he describes him you would think he was the most spoiled, attention seeking, misbehaving teenager in existence. It's actually almost the opposite of the boy that I know. And he's no fan of Hermione's either, but you knew that, you've heard him talk about her. However, it's worse now that Black has hired them a private potions tutor."

Narcissa's eyes flashed. "Worse how? Do you think he's a danger to them?"

"Not physically, no," he shook his head. "He's not insane, he wouldn't harm a student. Also, I think deep down he knows that he's being irrational and that it's not really Mr. Potter he hates, but that it's just a reflected hatred for the boy's father and godfather, so he wouldn't take it that far anyway. However, I no longer think Black was being dramatic in pulling him and Hermione out of Severus' class."

Narcissa just quirked an eyebrow in question.

"I believe Hermione has the confidence to let Severus' opinions just roll off her back, but Mr. Potter does not. He will lash out against the man or he will wallow, neither is healthy."

"Are you ever going to call him Harry? He's Hermione's best friend and is becoming close with Draco and even Claire. And he's a regular visitor to our home."

Lucius sighed. Frankly, he feared for the boy, except that he would have preferred if he didn't. He already had Draco and Hermione to worry about, he was trying not to get invested in another child, but he was coming to accept that was a hopeless wish. If for no other reason than Narcissa seemed bound and determined to mother him.

"Harry then," he agreed with a sigh. "But surely you know what I mean, you saw him last night. He blames himself for everything that goes wrong and he's going to need to be strong for what's to come. I can see that he has the mettle within him. The gracious way he accepted Draco and Hermione's relationship, and even my place in his life speaks to that fact, I think. But it's something that needs to be nurtured and Severus is certainly not the one to do it."

"Ha! I knew it! I knew that you liked him!"

"Well, I'm not ready to help Black murder Severus on his behalf," he looked at her pointedly and she rolled her eyes.

"You know I said that to calm Sirius down, he's irrational about many things and Severus Snape is at the top of that list. I couldn't have him storming off and ruining our plans. He needed to feel like he had an ally. That said, I can count on my fingers the number of people I wouldn't plot to murder given the right circumstances."

Lucius chuckled, but he hated that things had come to this. "When did you become so bloodthirsty?"

She went very still and then turned to him with a gemlit eye. "Let's not pretend husband. It was the moment the healer placed Draco in my arms. The same thing happened to you when I placed him in yours only minutes later. I know I told Sirius that you shouldn't mess with a Black, and that's true, but you really shouldn't mess with a mother. Or, I think, a father."

"Speaking of Black, did you talk to him?" Lucius prevaricated. When she called him 'husband' she was truly annoyed with him. "And don't expect me to start calling your cousin by his given name."

That made her laugh. "I wouldn't dream of it. And yes, he was very happy to agree with me about the fact that you are an idiot for- and I quote: 'risking his life all for the pleasure of speaking to Snivellus,'" she rolled her eyes.

"I bet he was very eager to agree with you," Lucius snorted.

She huffed but ignored his comment. "Meanwhile he's been keeping an eye on the map and he hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary."

"Well, we didn't expect him to. I'll admit that thing is a clever piece of magic but we can't expect it to be omniscient. It doesn't recognize pets so there was no reason to believe it would be able to locate any other creatures."

"Yes, I know" she sighed, "but it was worth a try and it's certainly disappointing. Anyway, he and Harry are going through the Black and Potter libraries. We were planning on having dinner this evening to compare notes."

Lucius nodded, between these three ancient family libraries they probably had more information at their disposal than any other private collection in Europe.

"He mentioned something else. I think he was hoping I'd warm you to the idea before he gets here."

"So, I'm assuming I'm not going to like it? Nevermind, it's Black, of course I'm not."

"I doubt you're going to like what he's thinking. But keep on digging that hole."

"Go on," he sighed, wondering if it was too early in the day for firewhisky, but then he remembered what he would have to do later and he discounted the possibility of having a much desired drink.

"He thinks we need to tell Albus what we know about the horcruxes."

Lucius sighed again, unwilling to admit he had been considering that as well. Given this new development it was clear that things could be hidden in Hogwarts that the headmaster knew nothing about. Not only did that mean that they had to consider that this creature might be a horcrux, but even if it isn't, the Dark Lord may have hidden one inside the castle. Or, if Lucius was right about the Chamber of Secrets, in there. Lucius didn't think he could justify hiding this information from Dumbledore, as wary as he was of the man.

"Did he explain his thinking?"

"He has several reasons. First, if there is even a small chance that Dumbledore knows how to destroy them he thinks we need to ask him. And I agree." She grasped Lucius' wrist. "We keep acting like we have time to figure all of this out, but I think that this has reminded Sirius that we very likely may not. We really have no idea what our timetable looks like. Second, he believes we need to offer the headmaster something. He's very angry that Sirius wouldn't allow Harry to help, and he made an indirect threat that he would report Hermione to the Ministry for not being at school, as technically she's in violation of the law as a muggleborn."

"He did what!" Lucius went to stand up but Narcissa grabbed his arm. "There's nothing you can do, and you know it, you'll only anger him and that won't help anything. He won't say anything for now because he doesn't want the Ministry involved in this, so don't go and push him into doing something rash, or blow your cover."

"I despise having to work with him," he growled.

"I know," she consoled. "Anyway, Sirius mentioned he's been missing from the castle, per the map. He thinks he's meeting with the Order."

"Oh good, there's a dangerous creature stalking his school and he's not even there."

"I know," she sighed.

"I thought Black was a member of the Order? They meet at his bloody house. How does he not know for sure if that's where Dumbledore is?"

Narcissa shot him a look suggesting that she was disappointed by his reasoning. "He is, but Albus is obviously not very happy with him at the moment. They've been at odds since Sirius took guardianship of Harry and he just made things more combative last night. Dumbledore's going to want people who trust him unquestioningly surrounding him and for all of his faults, Sirius knows better than to do that, and Dumbledore knows it. Honestly, I think they really must be desperate to still be using his property. Did Severus mention them gathering?"

"No, but he wouldn't have said anything to me. That's something he would save for the Dark Lord or keep to himself. And that's assuming Dumbledore even consulted him in the first place."

Narcissa ducked her head and began toying with the buttons of his robes. It was unlike her to be so lacking in subtlety. "Did you get any further indication from Severus as to his loyalties?" She asked as she released her hair from the pins holding it back, and shook it out.

It was all Lucius could do not to betray any sign of frustration at her obvious maneuver. "I know what you're doing."

"What?" She asked innocently.

"I'm not quite that easily handled. If you want to go on holiday some place I don't fancy, or if you've gotten it in your head that you want to redecorate our entire wing, you're welcome to attempt to seduce me into it. But it's not going to work about this."

"It was just a question."

"Cissa," he sighed, "we discussed this."

"I know, but every time you get summoned I feel like you're just walking into the lions' den with nobody to even watch your back. Severus seems the natural choice. He would do it."

"No, love, he wouldn't, that's just not how these things work. Even if I understood for certain where Severus' loyalties and motives lay, I wouldn't share my position with him, and I don't believe he would thank me if I tried to do so. It is enough that we each keep our own secrets."

He and Severus were friends of sorts. At least as much as two people who came from such different backgrounds and who were as distrustful as they both were could be. There had been too many years between them at Hogwarts for them to be more than passing acquaintances. However, in the years since Lucius had joined the Hogwarts Board of Governors he had come to appreciate the younger man's company and his insight into the goings on in the castle. And he trusted him more than he did any of his other fellow Death Eaters, but wouldn't expect him to put his own neck on the line for him, nor would Lucius be willing to do the same.

Narcissa was grasping at straws and they both knew it, but he had been trying not to be too harsh with her. He really didn't want to tell her too much about how the Dark Lord operated. She could handle it, he was confident in that fact, but she shouldn't have to.

"I'm sorry, I was not as prepared for this as I thought I was."

"I'm not certain there is anyway to prepare for what we are in the midst of."

They sat quietly for a few minutes. "When will you go to the Dark Lord?"

Lucius' eyes fell shut at her simple acquiescence. "Tonight."

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Lucius apparated into the entrance hall of the dilapidated manor house that the Dark Lord was using as his base of operations. Not that there were- thankfully- all that much in the way of operations these days, the wizard in question had thus far (with some subtle persuasion from Lucius and a few of his wiser fellow Death Eaters) been content to lay low and take advantage of the fact that the Ministry was refusing to acknowledge his resurrection.

The house had barely been cared for- much less lived in- in decades. It was very unlike the wizard Lucius had met when he was still just a child (he realized now that he had been a fifth year upon his first introduction to the Dark Lord, Draco's age, which was a thought that sent chills up his spine) but for some reason the Dark Lord couldn't be bothered to spare the time or the magic to make his surroundings more habitable. Nor did he make any effort to hide its muggle origins from his followers.

Lucius could now recognize that the man had always been a monster. But he had still fallen so far, it was difficult to witness. It was especially difficult to stand before him feigning respect when all he felt was disgust.

He was still, to be sure, a powerful wizard but he was not the brilliant, meticulous man Lucius had once known. However, that was cold comfort to Lucius because he had become unhinged, if not outright insane, and that made him unpredictable which, in turn, made Lucius' position more dangerous.

Upon entry to the house it appeared to be deserted, but Lucius had to assume that Wormtail was lurking around somewhere. In theory the rat was no real threat to him, but even the idea of his presence made Lucius uneasy. He was sneaky and had no sense of honor.

Perhaps Black was wearing off on him. He made his way to the former ballroom, the room in which the Dark Lord now used to meet with his Death Eaters. He did his best to clear his mind as he walked.

He had a theory that some of the Dark Lord's natural magical abilities had been dampened in his new body- especially his talent for legilimency, as the man had never bothered to hide when he was searching through one's mind in the past, and his efforts since his resurrection seemed meager at best. However, Lucius was still uncertain and it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

When he arrived he genuflected in front of the Dark Lord's makeshift throne and waited until he lifted his vibrant red eyes in recognition of Lucius' arrival before he stood again. Nagini was curled up at the Dark Lord's feet and Lucius has to suppress any reaction to her presence, though he longed to step away from her.

Her presence wasn't a surprise. The Dark Lord kept her very close, which made sense, as did Lucius' horror by her very existence. Because the more times that Lucius encountered her the more he became convinced that she was a horcrux, and there was no telling how that could warp a living being. Her magic was more repulsive than either the diary or the locket, the two objects he'd encountered that he knew were horcruxes. He might have feared her more than he feared the Dark Lord himself.

"Lucius, to what do I owe this unexpected..." the Dark Lord drummed his fingers along the arm of the chair and smiled maliciously, "I shall not use the term 'pleasure.' This unexpected visit?"

"My Lord," Lucius bowed his head as he spoke, "I have news from Hogwarts."

The Dark Lord tilted his head only ever so slightly, but Lucius knew this was actually a sign of supreme interest.

"As you know," he continued, "today was the first day of term and when my son was returning to the school last night he heard something interesting, and perhaps troubling, which I thought you should be made aware of."

"Continue."

"Before he even reached the castle he was intercepted by the Potter boy."

"Harry Potter? Why would Harry Potter be seeking out your son?"

Lucius shook his head. "He wasn't, My Lord. You see Draco has been named prefect, he waited to take the last carriage from Hogsmeade in order to make sure he'd fulfilled his duties and he was unfortunately forced to share a carriage with a Gryffindor prefect who also happens to be Harry Potter's friend. Potter was searching for her and Draco just happened to overhear their encounter."

"You're referring to the mudblood? Harry Potter's prefect friend?"

Lucius winced internally, realizing his mistake. In an effort to distance Draco from Harry he had inadvertently drawn attention to Hermione. "Yes, My Lord," he was forced to admit.

"Severus tells me that she's the top of her class, above your son," he smirked and arched what would have been an eyebrow, if he had any.

Lucius tamped down his surprise. He wouldn't have imagined the Dark Lord would have cared about that kind of information, certainly not enough to remember and repeat it, and so he had to scramble for a response. "As I said, My Lord, she is a Gryffindor, you know how Dumbledore favors them, I'm sure that's the only reason."

"Really?" He sneered. "Because Severus says she is very clever. It's clear he doesn't care for her and he's still willing to admit as much."

"She is a mudblood," Lucius deflected. "Perhaps she is clever enough, but how powerful could she possibly be?"

"But mudbloods have their uses," he shrugged casually. "For instance, Lily Potter could have been very useful to me, had she been willing. And this particular mudblood: best friend of Harry Potter, I believe she is also the ward of House Black- Severus says Lord Black dotes on the girl, it would be a real blow to the light if she consented to join us. Don't you agree?"

Lucius' heart was pounding in his chest. He'd thought the most immediate danger was to Draco, and of course Harry, he had never imagined the Dark Lord would take an interest in Hermione (or that he would even be aware of her existence.) Severus probably thought he had been giving up relatively innocuous information on Harry Potter. He hadn't lied to Narcissa, he didn't think the younger wizard actually meant Hermione any harm, but this still made Lucius want to return to Hogwarts and strangle the man for putting her in this position.

"I must confess that the thought never would have occurred to me but, as always, My Lord knows best."

"I know that under normal circumstances Draco would not desire to associate with a mudblood but perhaps he could begin cultivating a friendship, or something more, with this one as a favor to me."

"I am sure he would be happy to serve in whatever way he can. However, in this instance I don't know how successful he will be. Their history is...not good."

"Your son is a Slytherin, is he not?"

Lucius just nodded, he was trying not to panic. How had this meeting gone so completely off the rails?

"He is wealthy, from a good House. What I'm saying is that he is not without his enticements."

"Of course, but he is betrothed, My Lord, it is widely known."

"I am aware, but I am certain that a witch of such murky origins would be flattered by any attention she received from such a prominent wizard."

Lucius scrambled for something to say, anything to take the attention off of his children. But he obviously remained silent too long because the Dark Lord's gaze, which had turned thoughtful as they conversed, turned downright malicious again.

"I have graciously forgiven House Malfoy for not coming to my aid in my time of need, haven't I, Lucius?"

"Yes, you are a most gracious Lord." The words were like sawdust in his mouth.

"And you spent that time while I was indisposed worming your way back into the good graces of society," he hissed, it almost sounded like he'd partially switched into parseltongue. It was chilling. "It is time that you made that work for me."

"I understand My Lord, of course, we are here to serve."

"Good, now back to the matter at hand. What did young Draco learn from Harry Potter?"

"Apparently, as soon as Potter entered the castle he heard a voice. It was speaking parseltongue."

"And we are certain the boy truly possesses the gift?"

Lucius took a deep breath. He'd known from the beginning that this was where he truly had to tread lightly. As far as the historical records could demonstrate, the only Parselmouths in Britain for hundreds of years had been directly descended from the Gaunt family. It was a gift the Dark Lord treasured highly and, if he could have found a way, Lucius was certain he would have hoarded it all to himself. Telling him that he believed his mortal enemy shared that gift could easily land him at the wrong end of the older wizard's wand.

"My Lord, you are of course aware that I have not been gifted with the ability, but I did witness the Potter boy utilize it during the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It appeared genuine."

"Show me," he demanded.

Lucius took a fortifying breath, pushed the memory to the forefront of his brain, and waited patiently to allow a madman into his head.

"Legilimens."

Lucius immediately decided he would have preferred a round of the Cruciatus. This was like being ripped apart. At least this confirmed his theory that the Dark Lord had lost some of his ability, because while he'd never bothered to be gentle in the past, this was different. As a gifted legilimens himself Lucius could tell that the pain was due to the fact that the Dark Lord was struggling and in his frustration was attempting to rip through his mind.

When he finally pulled out of his mind Lucius did his best not to fall over.

"It seems you are correct," the Dark Lord stated. "I do wonder…" he linked his fingers across his lap and appeared to become lost in thought. "The power…" he whispered.

Lucius swallowed thickly, of course he had linked this to the prophecy.

He scooted forward on his throne- a little too anxiously for Lucius' comfort, even as he'd almost expected this reaction. "And did Potter say anything more about this voice?"

"Something to the effect that it wanted to rip and kill. And also that it was looking for its master."

"And Draco took his word for it? Severus describes Potter as rather desperate for attention."

Again, Lucius had to tread carefully. It wouldn't do to appear that he was willing to put too much stock in what Harry Potter did or said. "I've spoken to Severus about the boy and Draco describes him differently, which is, I suppose to be expected. He is Potter's peer and Severus is his teacher, their perspectives are different. That said, I think Draco thought the danger could be real and I was unwilling to take any risks with my heir. So, when he came home I kept him there. However…"

"Yes?"

"My son is only fifteen, in many ways he is still a child. It's possible that he latched onto this as an excuse to extend his summer holidays."

That actually made the other wizard laugh.

"But I also thought it was important to come to you with this information. Especially considering the bit about this voice seeking out its master. That seemed like an odd thing for the boy to make up. I also thought the timing was too much of a coincidence."

"Oh?"

"Yes, My Lord. Those of us who are honored enough to bear your mark all felt your resurrection, your return to full power would have been impossible to miss, it was glorious My Lord." Lucius paused to consider if he was pushing his flattery to far but then decided better too much than too little. "You are the greatest wizard of all time and a descendent of the great Slytherin. It occurred to me that you might have a servant at Hogwarts who is attempting to seek you out and that I may somehow be of service."

"You have, in fact, done very well Lucius."

"And is there something you would have me do, My Lord?"

"Why yes," he grinned, it was a disgusting sight. "We are going to use this to run Albus Dumbledore out of Slytherin's castle and when the time is right we will take it for ourselves, as is my birthright."

"I look forward to it, My Lord," Lucius bowed as his mind began to race.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the lack of Dramione but this seemed like the right place to stop, and I'll admit that writing Voldemort is intimidating and exhausting, so I hope you like this. Thanks to my Alpha, Weestarmeggie who keeps me going with advice and baby pics :) Thank you for reading!