Not Slytherin?
Draco left Madam Malkins and went to search for his father. The boy with the black hair and his giant companion where nowhere to be seen, quite odd considering the outstanding size, but Draco thought nothing more of it and went into Gringotts where Lucius said he would be.
Seeing his father stand at the end of the large marble hall and conversing with a grinning, sleekly dressed goblin, he made a beeline straight for him. The other customers were not noticing the boy, as they were far too busy with being scammed by the bankers to lend the Malfoy heir any ears or eyes.
"Father, are you finished by now? I've been waiting for ages and you said you were going to buy me a Nimbus 2000!", Draco complained. Lucius shook his head and turned around to face the wrath of his impatient son.
"I am busy, Draco. You will wait until I am finished and then -"
"But I waited forever! You told me that I will have one once I'm done with the tailoring!", Draco interjected angrily.
"I will hear no more. Go to your mother and wait until I am finished, then you might get a broom!", Lucius hissed furiously. As Draco opened his mouth to retort, Lucius spoke a final "No!".
A sulking Draco trotted out of Gringotts and went to find his mother, while a fuming Lucius returned to his business, which happened to be questionable from a legal point of view.
The negotiations being concluded with a satisfactory outcome for all parties actively involved, and a not so favourable one for those it passively concerned, Lucius returned to the busy street of Diagon Alley. Not finding his child and wife at Ollivander's, he strolled around a bit and looked inside all the shop windows until he finally spotted the two at Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlour. They were sitting outside, each savouring a large chocolate ice cream with many colourful toppings and the boy was busy telling his mother the story about the encounter with the, as of yet, unknown boy at Madam Malkins.
"Anyway, when she was finished with his robes, he left with that Hagrid, you know, the servant or gamekeeper or something, of Hogwarts. And he is really big, I don't think he would fit through our door!", he eagerly said to his mother.
"What are you talking about?", Lucius asked as he sat down.
"Father, are we going to get the broom now?", Draco said, ignoring the question and ice cream smeared around his mouth.
"First you finish up, then we can go look. Now, who did you meet at the shop?"
Draco dug his spoon into his cold snack and tried to devour about half of what was left, which proved to be a very bad decision and lead to an unpleasant brain freeze, much to the displeasure of his mother and amusement of his father. A little while and a helping charm later, Draco was able to talk again.
"I met some boy who went shopping for school supplies, but it was Hagrid who was there with him, not his parents because they were dead. I just found that a bit odd.", Draco replied and carefully took a far smaller bite.
"What did he look like?", Lucius asked.
"He had black hair which was probably combed three years ago, round glasses and very green eyes, greener than the Slytherin colour. And he was very small and skinny, didn't look like he ate enough, and his clothes came out of a dumpster.", Draco said and turned his attention to the brooms displayed in the shop window. Lucius imagined the child and got scared that Draco had taken a liking to him, in which case it had to be quickly changed and averted, since a Malfoy did not deserve the name should he keep such company.
"Did he say what his name was?"
"No, but I promised to him that I will find out.", Draco said and finished up. They paid for the meals, without leaving a tip, and made their way towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. While Draco tested the brooms and relentlessly questioned the employee servicing him, Lucius looked around and spotted a wall with pictures of Quidditch players.
Displayed on it where mostly professional players who had bought their brooms at this shop, but there was also a section of Hogwarts students who had outstanding talent and were considered worthy of being placed on the wall as well. A few of them caught his interest, mostly old yearmates and friends, and he remembered his own time at Hogwarts. Then he came across a picture of a chaser, who had very messy black hair, glasses and a build that was fairly skinny. Beneath the picture stood JAMES POTTER-GRYFFINDOR CHASER 1971-1978.
'Messy, black hair… glasses…', Lucius was reminded of what Draco had told him earlier. 'No parents because they were dead and he went there with Hagrid… Slytherins serpent, he met Harry Potter! Hagrid was with him, of course, and he was born the same year as Draco, going to Hogwarts in a month...', Lucius became aware of what had gone down inside Madam Malkins.
Draco interrupted his thoughts with a severe tucking of the black cloak and gave his stomach a hard poke with the desired Nimbus 2000. Lucius decided to think about this revelation once he got home and they went with a satisfied Draco and left behind a gracious shop owner and relieved employee.
Revenge was the only thought occupying Lucius' mind once he was back in his study. Draco had found entertainment for days in his new broom, while Narcissa left to go socializing with the matrons of House Parkinson and House Bulstrode. Nobody would disturb him now, exactly what he needed to think of a plan.
'How do I get to him?', Lucius asked himself. What he once believed, that Harry Potter was an even greater Dark Lord than his former Master, had been quickly proven to be false, since the Boy-who-lived would then not have considered going to Hogwarts and being subjected to Dumbledore's will. Risking that Dumbledore would find out who he truly was would not have been a decision that could possibly be made by him. Therefore, Harry Potter was all but a Dark Side wizard and far more likely another one of Dumbledore's never ending stream of admirers.
Now Lucius was faced with the question on how he would deal with the boy. Killing him was near impossible and would put himself and every other former Death Eater on the Ministry's hit list and no amount of money and coercion would get him off that. Telling Draco to befriend him once they were at Hogwarts would fail spectacularly, given how Draco interacts with other children his age and even the title of "Boy-who-lived" would not command respect or change the arrogance of his son.
What would he do? Disappearance of the greatest living legend of Britain results in an international manhunt headed by Dumbledore, and he would go against him and break him within an hour of it beginning.
'How do I sort this out?', he thought to himself and overlooked the Malfoy family portraits. They were looking back at him, but no one gave an answer as long as Draco was allowed to run around with a pencil and paintbrush. A slight popping noise came from behind him.
"Is the Master in need of anything?", Dobby asked. He had seen his owner contemplating something and was aware of the consequences for not aiding before being asked to help, a practice the little elf despised. Lucius decided to take his mind off things for a bit.
"Yes Dobby, indeed you can help me. What sort of punishment would you like to be exposed to the least?", Lucius asked and the elf gulped loudly.
"Dobby does not want to be punished! Dobby had a lot of punishment in the past and..."
While Dobby spoke, Lucius experienced a rare moment of lucidity in his mind. 'I sort it out by using the Sorting HAT!', he thought, pleased with himself for finding a solution so quickly, 'That thing is above the law anyway and decides the future of the person sitting beneath it! If the Hat says he should die, or better yet, go to prison and have the will to live being driven out of him by the dementors, then it will be the final decision! Not even Dumbledore could speak against it!'
"Get out the way!", he bellowed at Dobby and pushed him down the stairs, rushing down afterwards to get to the library. With all the ancient tomes in the Malfoy family's possession, there was surely something that could alter the mind of a powerful magical artifact like the Sorting Hat. But where was it, hidden inside the pages of this myriad of knowledge and a possibility of it being enchanted as well, this could take days!
A long night of researching, reading and a ridiculous amount of coffee followed. Interruptions had of course also be part of the program, which came in form of a crying Draco and his new hair colour. The bird he blamed for the little disaster would have been revolted by his retelling of the happenings in the tree, but why would it be its fault for releasing its most effective weaponry on the invader of his home. And the new hair colour was not all too different to his old one, was it now?
In the early morning hours, the wizard let out a triumphant cry for he had found a solution. Using a combination of multiple spells and curses, all of them ancient and extremely dark in nature, he was able to get his former Death Eater mask to speak what he wanted it to when he put it on Dobby. The spells did not seem to effect the elf beyond momentarily confusion, but that was not an insurmountable problem.
The harder part would be to get the Hat to forget ever meeting Lucius, should he see him manipulating and corrupting him. He decided to think about this later, after a long and large, delicious Breakfast and a few hours of sleep.
He left the library and headed for the Manors dining room, finding Narcissa in a white silken robe sitting there, drinking tea and reading the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Now, who has found his way back to the sunlight? You look terrible, were you up the entire night?", she asked him. He had coffee stains on his shirt, a slumped walk and very dark eye rings. Not being in the mood for banter with his wife, he retorted quickly.
"Don't sass me, Narcissa. And yes, I was up the whole night, but will be going up to sleep after the Breakfast.", he replied, sat down and poured his favourite breakfast cereal in a bowl. Nothing beats the little cinnamon cauldrons, whatever Goyle and his stupid banana brooms say.
"Were you successful in whatever it is you're doing?", she asked.
"Yesh, foa dhe mosh baht. But I haffnt managjd to do evrithin, sho I'll be goihn back thea laetha.", he said while chewing the sugary goodness. She barely understood him because of it, therefore just nodded and pretended to have comprehended what he said. Narcissa returned to her paper with a shaking head, while Lucius threw away the spoon, picked up the bowl and poured it all in his mouth, nearly choking to death during the process.
A loud burp made it clear that he was finished, and so got up, walked to the bedroom and disappeared into the land of dreams. Narcissa watched after him, and just as he scratched his arse, she lost all hope for the day being any good.
XxX
Ten Hours later, Lucius awoke from his refreshing slumber. The cover of the bed, as well as the pillow and sheet, had been thoroughly disrupted and thrown around the room while he was asleep, probably a bit of an aftereffect of the curses. A view out of the window told him that it was already afternoon, with the sun shining on the outside trees from the west and giving them a golden glow. Reminding him of a business he really needed to attend, he left the bedroom in a hurry and headed straight for the bathroom.
Having finished all his business upstairs and being clothed in new and fresh garments, the man quickly returned to his place in the library.
Upon seeing the many books strewn about over his table, he let out a heavy sigh. This was too much for him to study, coming up with the right way to enchant the Hat to say what he wants was hard enough, this was too much. Could he not be someone else, someone who could figure this out on his own. Then it hit him, a thought of pure brilliance struck his mind-polyjuice!
Lucius quickly left his table and hurried for the hidden cellar door, where he was sure to still have a bit of supply left. Heaving the old and heavy door open, a loud creak followed by a bang that signaled to every mouse and spider that danger was coming.
"Lumos!", he cast and the light of his wand illuminated the old, dingy cellar. Jars filled with green and yellow liquids stood on the sides left and right of him, a bundle of unused wands lay in a corner, Lucius having them gratefully "accepted" from their previous owners during the war and various machinery intended to be used for nefarious purposes stood alongside the walls.
Casting the light over the yellowing Inscriptions of the bottles, he soon found one with "Polyjuice" written on it, but there was only one sip left, at best. This was not enough, he had to have the appearance of someone else for a few hours at least.
After looking through his cellar multiple times and not finding any more, Lucius had to reach for and take the helping hand of Borgin&Burkes.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy, how can I be of service?", Borgin asked eagerly.
"I am in need of Polyjuice potion which should serve me for at least a day, Borgin. I hope you have this item in stock and for sale?", Lucius responded with a sneer.
"Polyuice? I will have a look at my stockpile, please have patience and I will return as soon as I can.", Borgin answered and left for the back of his shop. Lucius scoffed at the dirty and dusty interior of the Knockturn Alley shop, not wanting to be in it any longer than he needed. From the back came the sound of boxes being shoveled and a terrifyingly loud scream tearing through the air, but was quickly silenced, with Borgin adding a hasty "Sorry! The Tebo hasn't been fed in a while!".
Lucius shook his head and had a look around, not finding much that was of any interest to him. All but one thing, a cloak of Invisibility and the outrageous price tag clinging to it. He took it off its hinge and wrapped it around his arm, turning it completely invisible and impossible to spot, which also had the effect of changing his mind about the price tag, a little bit, at least. But then again, a tool this powerful could not be left hanging around in a place like Borgin&Burkes, any shady, criminal wizard could just waltz in, purchase it and have them use it for nefarious purposes, like Lucius Malfoy.
"Mr. Malfoy? I have found what you asked for!", Borgin called from behind the counter. Lucius turned around to look at him and the bottle he was holding.
"I am fairly short on supply though, so I had to implement a little change in the price of this particular commodity.", he said with an oily voice and sly smile.
"I doubt this to be the truth, Borgin, and for that little trick of yours, I will only pay for another good that you have. This cloak of invisibility!", Lucius said and held it up for Borgin to see.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy, I see what has peaked your interest. And I believe that this can be arranged according to your wishes.", Borgin said. Selling the cloak would net him a massive profit, even if the Polyjuice was an unwilling gift. "Seventeen thousand galleons it will be, then."
"Fifteen at most.", Lucius said with a final tone.
"We can arrange sixteen, but I will not go any lower than that. Times are hard, Mister Malfoy."
"Fine, but do not tempt me to give the Minister a little tip about the Tebo you have in the back.", Lucius answered and the smile of Borgin disappeared.
Lucius wrote a check for the money while Borgin greedily eyed him writing. A firm handshake completed their transaction.
"Oh, and one more thing, the cloak is fairly worn out, so you would do better to watch your step, even when you have it hide you from the eyes of any onlookers. Goodbye, Mister Malfoy.", Borgin said and shooed Lucius back into Knockturn before he could say anything.
"Thief!", he muttered and disapparated back to his Manor.
"OUCH!", Narcissa complained. "Stop pulling out my hair!"
"But its turning white, you're getting old and we can't have that, now can we?", Lucius shouted and sprinted after her.
"It's not turning white, you idiot! Silver is my natural colour!", she retorted and kicked a chair, making it fall on the floor and Lucius stumble over it.
"No, you're just imagining that! Please, it's for your best!"
"My hair turns gray because of you! Now stop it!", she shouted at him and closed the living room door before his nose.
But Lucius had gotten what he needed, three hairs of his wife's head, which could be easily cut up into small enough pieces to last him a day.
Having to use his wife for the mission he was about to do was not good, but the best available option. Nobody would think that he would be using someone so close to him, should Harry Potters placement in Azkaban be investigated, and take him off the target list.
The imposing sight of Hogwarts Castle stretched out in front of him. Draped in moonshine and the glistering wetness of the light drizzling rain it basked in its nightly glory, yet it was only witnessed by one Lucius Malfoy.
He stood on top of a cliff to overlook the castle and busied himself with crushing any doubt about his long and hard thought of plan. His hair had been bound together with a hair ribbon and hid as best as possible beneath his cloak, as the rain would lead to the demise of Dobbys hard work and curls look really bad on him.
Pulling out the invisibility cloak he bought from Borgin&Burkes and making sure that it truly worked, the latest purchases he had made from them often were equipped with the nasty tendency to not work properly, he covered himself with it. Borgins warning was still in the back of his mind, but who does not dare, does not win.
Narcissa's hair went into the Polyjuice potion and the moonlight showed it turning into a bright silver, very enchanting on its own. Lucius took a last breath and downed the disgusting liquid. His skin bubbled, the hair changed colour and he transfigured from the Malfoy patriarch to the Malfoy matriarch.
He apparated to the gate near Hagrids hut and made sure the invisibility cloak sat nicely and covered all of him. A last deep breath and he started to walk inside the castle grounds. No alarm ward went off and no window opened, apparently he was allowed to visit the castle grounds without making an appointment or being invited. Something that would have to be discussed with Dumbledore, once Draco went to school here.
A loud snore coming out of the hut startled Lucius and he fell face first in one of Fangs' turds.
Silently cursing himself and vowing to castrate the turds creator, should he ever catch sight of him, he got up and continued on his way. The greenhouses soon came into sight and he was relieved that no one was around to gain his attention, and with a quick step he disappeared into a side door.
The castle was eerily quiet, the only one noticing the entrance of Lucius being a little mouse that scurried away at the first sign of trouble she could not see. The wizard had not noticed anything suspicious and sneaked towards the staircase, where he would meet his first obstacle.
Peeves had his back turned to Lucius and stood at the other end of the staircase, cackling madly to himself.
"Filchy won't like that, no no no, he won't!", the Poltergeist laughed to himself and dumped the black, chunky goo on the stairs. Lucius took a whiff and the suspicious smell of Potion Putridis, a mixture of old dung, mixed with rotten milk and eggs, hit his nose. What hit him next was the bucket full of pebbles that was thrown by the ghost, making him tumble down the stairs and starting to regret this little venture. Peeves cackled once more at the thought of Filch running up the stairs in the dark and slipping on the stones and falling on his nose, then he left in search of more mischievous adventures.
Lucius groaned in pain and slowly, imitating the sounds of a dying parrot, got back to his feet. He was getting… older. Instead of using the staircase, he went to search for another and left the pebbles to be found by the caretaker. The castle remained silent as he strolled through it until he finally found the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
The Gargoyle stood before him, unimpressed by his aristocratic, pureblooded presence.
"Wonka Bar"
"Aero"
"M&M"
Lucius sighed. The Gargoyle remained silent and unmoving.
"Bananarama"
The Gargoyle came to life and turned his massive body, rose and revealed a spiral staircase. 'What the...' Lucius thought, but quickly pushed himself out of that particular rabbithole that was Dumbledore's madness.
The most basic of detection spells did not show anything out of the ordinary, but what he was breaking into were Dumbledore's private quarters. And however little he thought of Dumbledore and his views, he could not deny the skill and intellect of the ancient Headmaster. He proceeded to scan the staircase, but nothing significant came up so he convinced himself that Dumbledore was not as paranoid as he had suspected.
Placing his foot on the first step and waiting for some trap to be activated, Lucius held his breath and remained as still as possible. Once more, the overwhelming feeling of dread spread through him and he shivered, but because of Peeves he was behind his schedule anyway and proceeded with the plan.
The stairs did not respond to his steps and he walked up without any problems, external problems that is, internally his heart threatened to explode. Why did he not take Draco's broom with him? But he had to continue, his Lord had to be avenged.
On the final stair, his paranoia reaching climax, he suspected either nothing or everything at once. He fought against his closing eyes as the foot connected with the stone, and at the sound of hearing nothing, he opened them. Suddenly, a bright flaming phoenix appeared in front of him and flapped the burning wings menacingly. A quick reaction of Lucius followed and he shot an "Avada Kedavra" at it, but the spell went right through its chest and impacted with the wall, doing no damage whatsoever. The phoenix was, upon closer examination, just a flame in the birds appearance, but nothing more, intended to scare of anyone trying to enter and not harm the intruder. Or possibly a prank Dumbledore thought would be funny. Lucius caught himself panting and shaking, deciding to bring his pulse down to 80 before extinguishing the flame and continuing. Sadly, his cloak was now just about useless, as the heat of the flame had done irreparable damage and so he stuffed it in his pocket. Looking at the wooden ingress, he expected it to open without complaint, yet the door remained in place and the office closed.
"Alohomora", he whispered and the lock clicked.
'For the love of Merlin, that's not even funny!' Lucius thought. Malfoy Manor's loo had better security than this, what was the old fool thinking? Was he thinking?
The entrance to the office opened and the sight of dozens of small apparatuses greeted him. They spun around their own axis, clicked in unknown melodies and shone brightly when the moon light hit them. He knew not what they were for and how they could be used, but as long as they could coexist peacefully, he would not bother them.
On top of the largest bookshelf in the office, it sat. A patched and ragged old Hat, made out of leather and seemingly one of the most unimportant utensils in the room and entire school. Yet it was of such undeniable, vital importance to Hogwarts, that it could not be the way it was without it, even if it was only used once per year.
"Accio Hat!", Lucius whispered. At first it did not appear to move, but then it suddenly whizzed through the air and into Lucius' hand. A smile etched into the Malfoy's face, he placed the Hat on the nearby table and pulled out his identical fake replacement.
In the middle of levitating it back to the originals place, an old, low and curious voice reached his ears.
"My dear Narcissa Malfoy, what are you doing?"
The wizard dropped the flying hat and panicked, looking around frantically and ready to fight off the most powerful wizard after the absent Dark Lord. But Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, nobody but him was standing in the office. Then it dawned on him, it was the Hat.
"Hat?", he asked.
"Yes, Narcissa, you have indeed found out who interrupted your diabolical scheme. But I asked you a question, and since it is necessary, I will ask it again. What are you doing?", the Hat responded.
"Why are you not alerting Dumbledore? I thought you were loyal to the Headmaster of Hogwarts.", he responded with a baffled voice, that hardly resembled his wife. But the shock he just experienced made it sound very hoarse and somewhat believable to an uninitiated. Maybe Dumbledore had already stunned him and he was only dreaming this conversation, it was a fair possibility.
"The Headmaster is not in the castle, as he is the supreme Mugwump and had to attend a meeting of the international Confederation of Wizards. And I will ask once more, what are you doing?", a now slightly angry Hat said.
"I, uh, have been sent here on Ministry business, because, uh, we need you to...", Lucius tried to explain himself, but his unconvincing act did not convince the Hat.
"Don't sell me for a fool like you did with your husband Lucius! You never were a good actor and posses no talent in the art of deception!", the Hat started to shout. "For the last time, what are you doing here? I will alert everyone in this castle if you don't tell me right now!"
"I have to complete a little mission, of which you are an important part.", Lucius spat, annoyed at the Hats antics. "Therefore, you will be quiet!", he said and shot a silencing spell at it. The Hat opened its leathery mouth, but no sound came out.
"Finally. You will soon find out what is going to happen to you, but for now you will remain in the dark.", he hissed and threw the invisibility cloak on top of him, leaving him blind and mute.
Then it hit him. Dumbledore was not here and he was standing in the Headmasters unguarded office, all the little secrets of his adversary at his disposal. Such an opportunity would not come again, therefore it had to be exploited now!
The first to be searched by Lucius was the desk Dumbledore had been using for decades. Observing it from all angles did not provide him with any irregularities, so the exterior had to make place for the interior. After casting a quick "Alohomora" on the drawer, just to be save, he grabbed the handle and pulled it out. But the very sharp teeth that developed from the handle ,when he put his hand on it and were currently digging themselves into the unwelcoming limb of Lucius, had another way of action in mind. He nearly howled in pain and retracted his hand as quick as possible, which was far easier due to Narcissas skeletal structure and the sweaty hands he had from the nervousness.
One finger threatened to fall off his hand should it be wiggled around too much and he cast a few healing spells on it to stop the bleeding. Had he only brought some essence of dittany.
Deciding that this was enough of Dumbledore and his office, he checked on last time if the fake Hat was in place and left the castle.
Just outside of Hagrids hut and the snoring, which probably held the merpeople awake at night, he changed back into the form of Lucius. At least his adventure ended on a lucky note, he thought to himself and apparated back to his home.
The Hat sat on the old, used and shabby table (it had previously been emplyed as a workstation for experimental potions by Snape) in front of him and Lucius aimed his wand. The eyes of it were turned to face the wall, and he was fairly certain that it could not turn around fully. His death eater mask which he used as test subject, had proven to be working as intended and sorted Dobby into Hufflepuff. What the hat would do, would be decided soon.
He lifted the charms he put on it in Dumbledores office.
"Where am I? Answer me, thief!", he shouted and peered back as far as he could see.
"Are you ready?", Lucius asked with a high pitched voice, one could not be too careful.
"Ready for what? What are you going to do, foul kidnapper?", the Hat asked and Lucius sent the curses flying at it.
The Hat changed its colour to a far darker tone and the leather strained itself, threatening to tear apart at the seams. Lucius watched anxiously but continued with the other curses, causing it to shrink a few centimeters on the top and widen the same amount at the bottom.
The final spell he had to cast let the Hat scream out loud, emitting a sound he had never heard before and was impossible to recreate by a human, even with the help of magic. Then it finally stopped, the Hat was quiet once more and knew not what had happened or why he was here.
"Dobby!", Lucius whispered. The elf popped in next to him.
"Yes, master?"
"Put on the hat and face the wall!", Lucius ordered. The elf gulped and timidly walked over to the table. His hands grabbed it, a curious "Hm?" being said by the Hat when it happened, and he put it on his head.
"Now, who have we here?", the Hat murmured and peered into the elves' mind. Dobby shuddered and jumped from one leg to the other, clearly uncomfortable with his thoughts being read by the Hat.
"Yes, I believe GRYFFINDOR would be the best for you!", the Hat shouted to the wall.
It worked, his plan worked! He silenced the Hat again and put the bag over it again, planning to return it to Hogwarts during the night. His enchantments seemingly left the Hat with a patchy memory, but that was nothing too bad once considered.
Macnair and Yaxley were surprised by the letter of their old acquaintance Lucius Malfoy, but complied with the request nonetheless.
Being asked to come by his house for afternoon tea was not expected, but also not out of the ordinary. Both were certain that his intentions were far more sinister, but also possibly profitable for them and so they met each other at the gate of his manor during the afternoon.
"Ah, Walden, Corban, how good to see you again!", Lucius greeted them and opened the gate.
"Lucius, a pleasure it is!", Yaxley replied.
"It has been such a long time, hasn't it?", Macnair asked and stepped in after Yaxley. They exchanged the rest of the niceties and caught up to speed about their lives while walking back to the Manor. In the dining room, Lucius informed them about his plan.
"As you know, my boy will go to Hogwarts in September and we went shopping in Diagon Alley a little while ago.", Lucius told them. "Anyway, the reason of why I am bringing this up is also the reason why you are here. You see, while in Diagon Alley, Draco had met an old friend of ours-Harry Potter. The Boy-who-lived went shopping with the giant oaf and confirmed our worst fears. He will attend Hogwarts and be influenced by Dumbledore, to which I, and supposedly you too, are very much opposed to."
"It is true then, the boy is alive and hasn't died after the night it happened?", Macnair asked.
"I am afraid so, yes.", Lucius replied.
"And you are certain that Draco met him? Not someone who just told him that he was the famous Boy-who-lived, and really someone else even hungrier for attention?", Yaxley questioned him.
"Yes, Corban, because I made the connection that Draco did not. That is why I am certain.", he replied with an annoyed voice.
"And now what?", Macnair asked again.
"I have already done the preparations for this, it will not fail as long as you are part of the mission. You see, when Potter gets sorted and everyone will be looking at him, there will be a little irregularity. He won't be sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin, no, he will be sorted into Azkaban.", Lucius said proudly and the other two mouths stood agape. "Yes, you heard correctly, Azkaban. What I need you two to do, is to stand ready at the gate of Hogwarts once it happens, so you can storm in and take him into custody. I myself will be waiting in the Great Hall and ensure the success of the sorting.", he finished.
"Just how is that going to happen?", Yaxley asked.
"Not to worry about that, it will. Do I have your cooperation in this matter?"
"You have mine, Lucius, it will happen in about a month, I can take off work there.", Macnair responded. Lucius gave a pleased smile.
"Yes, you have mine too, I'll help you with that.", Yaxley responded and received a smile as well.
"Very good, gentlemen. A toast on Harry Potters future demise?", he asked while pouring three firewhiskys. They voiced their agreement and drank on the Boy-who-lived, for now.
"Bananarama", Lucius spoke and the Gargoyle turned.
The Phoenix was quickly extinguished, the lock did not stand a chance and the office of Dumbledore was once again invaded by Lucius Malfoy. The fake Hat was were it had been placed before and a quick switch with the original followed. As he was going out the door, he undid the spell on it and vanished without a trace.
The deed was done and the Hat had only be to placed on the head.
The large Owl flew through the window and settled before Dumbledore, who was writing at his desk. Spotting the letter, he picked it off and started to read it. The owl meanwhile flew onto the window ledge and watched him carefully.
To: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Hogwarts
From: Lucius Malfoy
Dear Headmaster Dumbledore!
It has come to my attention that the Sorting ceremony this year will be attended by one Harry Potter, the famous Boy-who-lived. It is my intention to witness such an event, as it will only happen once during both of our lifetimes and I would like to personally get to know and thank the saviour of the wizarding community.
Also, it is my desire to ensure a good start for him at your school, by keeping the more exhausting admirers in line, even if it amounts to my own son.
If that is not possible for a plausible reason, the I trust that I can at least witness the sorting with my own eyes? Thank you for your time, Headmaster Dumbledore.
Yours sincerely
Lucius Malfoy
Dumbledore read through the letter multiple times, quite unbelieving of the inquiry. The first instinct was of course to deny it, but this would most likely prompt him to assume a position on the school governors council and cause him many headaches to come. In the end, Albus Dumbledore relented and let him have his last request, he could watch the Sorting play out. He was very unlikely to attack, with all the students teachers and himself in the vicinity, therefore it was reasonably safe.
He wrote it down and sent the owl off back to Malfoy, hoping that it would satisfy him.
The wooden doors to the Great Hall swung open and Professor McGonagall marched in, her robe billowing behind her. Following closely after that came a flurry of small children, with red, black, brown and blonde hair being the most significant detail one could make out in the distance. They chattered quietly and the sound of amazement was a constant undertone.
Heads turned to look left and right, closely observing the many other pupils sitting all around them and taking in the spectacular sight of the Great Hall, the Ghosts and the Teachers, which in turn looked back equally impressed and hopeful.
No one really noticed the figure standing at the end of the Slytherin table, even if his long blonde hair made it fairly hard to overlook his presence. The view and general explosion of senses that was Hogwarts diluted the presence of Lucius Malfoy into a mere hardly noticeable detail unworthy of recognition.
Coming to a halt in front of the long tables, McGonagall turned around and picked up the ancient Hat sitting on a stool, whose leathery texture contorted and a curious face came to life on top of it. She thought that it looked a bit different, darker and had a few other proportions, but came to the conclusion that she merely imagined it.
The Professor started to explain to the children what would happen next, also attracting the attention of the remaining students and teachers of Hogwarts. Only the attention of one resident was not directed at her, the eyes and ears of Lucius only had one target, the Sorting Hat and its mischievous smile.
Lucius thoughts were interrupted by McGonagall calling the name "Draco Malfoy!" and the subsequent sorting of his son. As soon as the hat had dropped on the greasy, tormented hair of his child, it shouted for the entire hall to hear "SLYTHERIN!". That was expected and unsurprising, a Malfoy in another house? Not in a thousand years!
The sorting of the first years went on and Lucius returned to the good memories of Dobby and the Death Eater mask. The Hat had proven easy to manipulate, but considering his talents as a wizard and skills in the Dark Arts he acquired in the years of his Death Eater career, he had managed to get it to work, to gain the upper hand over thousand year old relic, enchanted by the four most powerful wizards of their age.
Finally, the name of the Boy-who-lived was read out and every single head that was previously preoccupied with other things turned to garner a view of him, of his face and most importantly-his lightning scar. The small boy was obviously unwelcoming of all the attention he now had, looking like he would rather disappear beneath the ground he was standing on, but even the magic of Hogwarts could not help him there.
He sat down on the stool and the Professor placed the Hat on his head.
It did not say anything, it did not move and it continued to be this way for minutes, no one knew what was going on and the whispering of confusion started. The boy under it was also confused, unknowing if this was the regular procedure and too afraid to ask. Then, suddenly a wrinkle formed on the hats face and a quiet groan escaped its mouth, as if it were trying to fight something off and to defend against.
Lucius twitched and breathed heavily, his eyes focused on the Mouth. This had to work.
The mouth of the Hat opened and with great effort it spoke, although it clearly did not want to. The house to which Harry Potter, saviour of the Wizarding World, would go, the future and path into which he would be directed, whether he wanted it or not, was now going to be decided.
"Better be...AZKABAN!" the Hat shouted.
The Boy looked around scared and confused, first to Professor McGonagall and then to the children, but no one answered him. No clapping, no cheering and no House. Even the Headmaster looked baffled with this decision, a man who never let it be known when he was surprised by somethin. The Hat had not shouted Azkaban before, only the four different Hogwarts factions and it was obvious that no one had informed the boy of the dreaded, infamous prison he was just sentenced to.
Lucius smiled victoriously, got to his feet and marched for the Boy-who-lived. The other people in the Great Hall did not notice him, as they were trying to figure out if this was all a dream. But apparently not.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story! A review with constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, Thank you!
Disclaimer-World and Characters are owned by JK Rowling and no money is being made of this.