I don't want to touch Lucius with a barge pole, but he needs to get what he deserves. So here's the last chapter in the Lucius segment. Enjoy! But be warned. The M-rating kicks in in force in this chapter.
Chapter 15: Council
"Severus! Come on! Time to go!" Poppy was getting annoyed, and rather worried. She was well aware, more than anyone, that he was weak and in dire need of more rest than he'd had, but he shouldn't be so deep in sleep that she couldn't wake him. He never slept that deeply, not even when he lay at death's door. It had often been a sourch of great annoyance to her, that he'd wander off with half-healed critical injuries, without a second thought. If he could get up with a hole in his gut, what could be wrong here to hold him in sleep?
"Severus! Wake up! Now, do you here me!" Please, please be hearing me. "Severus!" She stopped. Faint, barely detectable, as many of his expressions were, was a smile. Just a tiny curl of the lips, but he was smiling. Then she felt his soultouch on her mind, and realised that he'd been in contact with her for some moments.
"Severus? Do you mean to tell me that you've been awake this whole time!" His eyes fluttered open and the smile widened to an open laugh. The sheer delighted mischief in his face caused her considerable difficulty in restraining her urge to smack him. "You ... You vile, sneaky, cruel little ..." She couldn't finish. It was hard to speak when your husband had swept you down to kiss you rather thoroughly. And rather desperately. Oh.
"It's going to be alright," she whispered, once he'd released her. "You can face this. I know it." She smiled a wistful smile. "You're too deep for him ever to touch, remember? You've proven it a thousand times over."
"No," he whispered back. "He could always touch me. He could always make me afraid. Even as I fought him, I was terrified. I'm still terrified. With him, I always am. How can I be sure that fear won't cause me to make a mistake? How can I know that I haven't left him an opening to harm us? To harm the others? He always wins. Always. What can I do against him?"
"Everything, Severus. You can do anything you wish to him now. You're free. The shoe's on the other foot. You can do this!" Gods, she hoped he could. She wanted to see that smug piece of shit get all the pain he so richly deserved, and Severus was the only one who could give it to him. He was strong enough. He was a billion times stronger than Lucius. Even at his weakest, he was stronger. And by gods would they let Lucius know it!
"My, aren't we homocidal today?" he murmured in her mind, and she was glad to feel that amusement and determination edged out that paralysing fear. It was time, to show Lucius who the true master was, and had always been. And it wasn't the blonde.
The trial was to take place in Hogwarts, in the Room of Requirement. The Grey Council was there in all its solemn glory, headed by the 'house ghosts', and a battery of eight other ghosts. A jury of twelve, then. The dead to judge the dead. And as they faced the prisoner, Lucius Malfoy, arrogant as ever, their faces were as grim as only dead men could manage. "Well, at least they're taking this seriously," she encouraged Severus. He snorted. He had the nose for it. "You leave my nose out of it, woman!" Desperation still edged his humour, and it would until Lucius was dealt with.
The Grey Lady came to the centre of the room. She paused to look around, at the prisoner, at the Trio, at Albus, at Poppy and Severus. She stared long and hard at Severus. He stared back, grim determination to match that of any spirit here. She nodded an acknowledgement in his direction.
"I would welcome you," she began. "But this is not the occasion. There is no welcome to be found here. This is a grim event, rarely before seen within these halls. We come to judge a slave, a once-master of a slave, and a servant of a Dark Lord. We come to judge Lucius Malfoy." Behind her, the man in question sneered in contempt. "As the head of the Grey Council, I am the final judge of this man. What the council decides, I will consider, but mine is the decision that will determine his fate. It is I you must convince, one way or another. You will each get a chance to speak."
There were murmurs at this. Surely she couldn't mean to let Malfoy speak! Surely they wouldn't let the bastard slither out! Every human court the man had stood before had let him slip away. They could not let a court of the dead do the same. Enfuriated, Poppy stood forward to do battle, when her husband laid a calming hand on her arm.
"Would you have him say this was unfair?" Severus murmured. "I want him to get his chance. I want him to expend every inch of his Malfoy charm and persuasion. I want him to, because I want to see his face when he gives all, and still fails. I want him to know what it is to have your fate completely in another's hands, and less than merciful hands at that. Let him know what it is. Let him speak. Let him fail."
She subsided, a grim smile making its slow way onto her face. Oh yes, that would be fun! Yes indeed. See how the smug, superior bastard liked that one. She looked up at Severus, letting him see her gleeful agreement. Revenge was ever sweet.
The Grey Lady spoke again. "Four of you here shall speak before us. Severus Snape, master and ex-slave. Hermione Granger, victim. Albus Dumbledore, who once shared mastery of Severus with the accused. And Lucius, you shall speak also, and may reply to the accusations levelled against you. First to speak shall be Ms Granger, who has suffered most recently at this man's hands."
She ceded the floor to the girl. Poppy, seeing how Hermione shook, sent all her courage out to the girl, willing her strength for what must be done. She felt Severus direct a warm gaze at the girl, something rare, and shocking for those who did not know him. Under it, Hermione forgot for a brief moment her fear to stare back in shock and gratitude. Then he raised an eyebrow, and she turned away, blushing, to face the court, and the man who'd raped her.
Her voice quavered for a moment, then gained strength and power. "I don't know the laws of this court. I don't know what matters here and what doesn't. All I know is what this ... creature did to me." Lucius sneered at her, and she shivered, but went on. "Some things I can't tell, for they don't have bearing here. But I was separated from my friends, a long way from here, near Azkaban prison. I was separated from them, and this man found me. Or rather, I found him."
She swallowed. "He stood in a grave. A fresh grave. He ... he was entering a body. His dead body. I was paralysed. I didn't know what to do, and before I could think to run, he ... saw me. He saw me. I tried to tell myself run, but I couldn't look away. There were ... no eyes, but he saw me anyway. I could feel him looking at me, without eyes, through the shattered face. I ... I froze. I couldn't even think. He moved towards me, and still I couldn't look away from that face. And then ... he touched me."
Her breath hitched, and Poppy felt Severus quiver in reaction as well. She didn't want to think what that hand must have felt like to the girl.
"I woke up. The hand ... was beginning to rot. The smell, the touch on my face ... I woke from the daze. But it was too late. I couldn't get away. He ... It was so strong. I couldn't get away. He put me on the ground. He was grinning. There was no skin left over the teeth, and the grin ... I panicked. I struggled, but it did no good. I tried to cry out. He let me. No-one came. No-one came. He ripped my robes. And then ... then he ripped me. I screamed, a lot. He muttered something strange, and I felt the pain spread, felt something come up from ... from him and lodge in me. I don't remember him leaving. I don't remember Harry and Ron finding me. I couldn't stop screaming, and the thing in me hurt. I felt like my mind was shrinking under the pain. I felt nothing else until ... until Professor Snape came to me. He made it stop. He made the hurting stop."
She turned to Severus, tears glistening in her eyes. "You made it go away. You made me whole again. I felt you, in my head. I felt you helping me, soothing me. I felt you fight the thing. It hurt you too. It hurt you but you made it go away. I didn't ... I never thanked you. I never thought beyond today, having to see it again. But thank you. Thank you so much. I ..." Severus, unthinking of propriety and the court, moved to her. Gently, he guided her back to Poppy, smiling a gentle smile.
"I know. You did thank me. In here," He touched her forehead lightly. "You gave me all the thanks I could want. It's okay. It's all okay."
"How very touching," Malfoy sneered. Severus and Hermione stiffened in unison. "How romantic. So that's why you were so upset, slave. I didn't know that. Does her little boyfriend know she's your plaything? I ask only out of curiousity, you understand."
Poppy nearly went for him, snarling. It wouldn't have done any good had she reached him, or Ron, who lunged with her, Malfoy being a ghost, but it would have helped her. Harry only barely caught Ron, and Severus had to literally sweep her off her feet to stay her lunge. The ghosts were in uproar, both Bloody Baron and Nearly Headless Nick swinging in front of Malfoy, utter fury on their pale faces. They forced him back by sheer rage. He barely faltered, sneer still very much in evidence.
The Grey Lady bellowed for calm, her strident voice cutting across the babble, halting it immediately. Once silence had resumed, she turned to Lucius. "You were given leave to respond to accusations," she informed him, the very air around her crystallising with the ice in her voice. "You were not permitted to torment your victims further. This will cease. You forfit all right to speech, and the chance to defend yourself. Am. I. Clear?" He smirked contemptuously, but nodded.
The Lady turned back to them. Severus by now had set Poppy down, and Ron had subsided, but they were still furious, gathered protectively around Severus and Hermione, who looked around with a mix of pain and bewilderment. Severus, as always, recovered first.
"Lady? Shall we continue?" he asked respectfully. The warlike company visibly settled at his calm tone, and the Lady inclined her head gracefully. She gestured him forward, granting him the floor, and he stepped up smoothly, only pausing to lay a calming hand on Hermione's shoulder. And, that easily, the trial resumed.
"Lucius, that was low, even for you," he matched his once-master smirk for smirk. He was angry, Poppy realised, and that anger was drowning his fear. His usual condescending behaviour was asserting itself. Poppy was cheered. That meant he was recovering from the terror that Lucius inspired in him. It also meant that he could have a little fun, now.
"What happened to the sophisticated torments of our youth?" Severus continued. "What happened to the sadistic little promises? That was no better than your learning phase, just about as sophisticated as the time you forced me to chop me own hand off." Poppy jerked. She'd never seen that! She hadn't heard of this before! She knew he had a scar on one wrist, but there had never been any sign of the kind of trauma that would entail. Only if he'd reattached it straight away ... She'd never known he had the expertise. Or the raw nerve. Oh, he'd hear about this later. Mark her words.
Severus turned back to the 'jury', shrugging a touch helplessly. "What do you wish me to say? I cannot catalogue what he has done. I can only tell you that he had complete control over me, at least until he decided to share with Voldemort, and he exercised it in whatever way took his fancy. I have know everything from starvation to rape to enforced self-mutilation at his hand. I have been terrified of him for the twenty-six years he has owned me, and see no point in denying it. He knows it well. But I have had my own little pieces of revenge, too, and for fairness sake, I must mention them."
Poppy couldn't see why. Anything that bastard got, he more than deserved.
"I denied his mastery, by granting a portion of my bond, by choice and without Lucius' knowledge, to Albus Dumbledore, thus diluting his level of control over me. I even offered Albus the chance to kill me, which is a form of suicide, and prohibited by the bond. That, Albus refused." The children stared at Abus in shock, but Poppy was more concerned for Severus. Foolish, foolish gesture. Albus would never, ever kill an innocent. What had he been thinking to offer that? What had Lucius done to drive him there? The last thing she'd thought Severus would do was try to let himself be killed. He was far too stubborn for that. Or so she'd thought. So she'd thought.
"Later, I admit I set events in motion to lead to his imprisonment. I planted a suspicion in the Dark Lord's mind that Lucius was veering, and Voldemort put at the head of the Ministery attack, where he could keep an eye on him. This led to his capture, and later to his death. So though he controlled me, to a degree, I controlled him too ..."
Lucius cut across him with a snarl. "You had no such thing! I was master! ME! You think your pathetic little schemes had any effect on me! Hah! You think even the Dark Lord had control of me! Who lived in riches while he skulked the world, a half-spirit? Who kept you bound in a cage for a whole summer, while your precious Albus was none the wiser? Who sent you back to him, barely alive, and he none the wiser because I commanded you to keep your condition secret from all? You dare to think you could manipulate me? You dare to think you could be anything other than a mewling, quivering piece of flesh to serve my pleasure? I own you, slave! Not even the Dark Lord could make you quake in fear as I did. No-one could have commanded your terror save me! No-one! Nothing you could have done could have affected me! I. Am. Master!"
Silence bloomed in the wake of this little outburst. Poppy, who'd know much of this already, was not so badly stunned, but it hurt her to realise that Severus had been in reach of her aid, and had to try and help himself because of this filth's orders. But Albus was flat out horrified. Severus had never told him of some of Lucius' more petty habits, like starving him, or denying him treatment. As for the others ... Poppy had rarely seen such raw horror and hatred. She was glad. She may have been a healer, but the grudge she bore against this man was long. He'd hurt her husband.
The Grey Lady stood, the ghosts behind her. She stared grimly at the prisoner. "Lucius Malfoy, you condemn yourself from your own mouth. We are in agreement, all twelve. You make a poor master. We will see how good a slave you make. Severus, he is yours." She nodded to him, gravely. Then, without warning, the grey host slid out through the walls, leaving only Albus, Severus, the three children, and Poppy to face Lucius.
Lucius glared, his sneer momentarily faltered. Severus stared him down. "I have already given you some commands. Now here the rest of them. You will not speak to another soul, living or dead, until I say otherwise. You will have no contact with the Dark Lord, or anyone connected with him. You will betray none of our secrets. You will not pass the veil. You will remain invisible. I do not wish to ever see you again. You will not let yourself be seen by anyone who knew you, or was hurt by you. Go. Go now, and do not ever return."
Reluctantly, unwillingly, the evil spirit faded from sight, and was gone. Poppy moved to her husband's side. "That's it? That's all you're going to do to him?" She whispered in his mind. He turned to her.
"You do not understand what a fate I have given him. I am free. He now can never be. And I will not stand to have him near me. Not when I have the choice. But it's good to know that I can still push his buttons. I can still tweak him onto the path I need him to take. Now. I never want to bear his gaze again. Do you?"
"No. No, I understand. Let's just go back. Let's just be free of him."
And bye bye to Lucius. Well? That's the end of this chapter in the story. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what's coming next, but house-elves, and not-so-dark pasts are part of it. A touch of hope, to counter the darkness. See you soon. R&R?