The Ties That Bind Us
School: Beauxbatons
Theme: Hagrid's Hut
Main Prompt: [Platonic Pairing] Severus Snape/Lucius Malfoy
Additional Prompts: [Genre] Hurt/Comfort, [Action] Skipping Rocks
Year: 3
Wordcount: 2261
Lucius Malfoy was very highly regarded by many of his fellow Slytherins. He was the epitome of a perfect Slytherin. He was cunning, clever, and most importantly of all—a pure-blood.
However, while they all respected him, not one of them would hesitate to stab him in the back if it benefited them.
Severus Snape was different, though. As a half-blood, he had little interest in pure-blood politics. At first, all he had cared about was staying afloat in the swamp that was Slytherin house. During the first month, he had been ostracised and bullied for being a half-blood in a house that placed such high regard on blood purity. The fact that he had a Muggle-born friend in Gryffindor only compounded the problem.
Lucius Malfoy had long seen Severus's potential for greatness, and it was with this in mind that he had taken him under his wing, so to speak. He told his friends—or rather, allies—that the only reason he was kind to Snape was to manipulate him. After all, who wouldn't want to have a disposable minion handy, one that they could send to do seemingly distasteful tasks? But, in reality, his explanation was merely a way of concealing the extent of his friendship with Severus. No one knew, and Lucius intended to keep it that way. Merlin knew that his reputation as a perfect Slytherin would be shredded to pieces if they knew.
It was an overcast April afternoon. Most of his fellow Slytherins were in the common room, frantically cramming for one test or another, doing their homework at the very last minute, or just lounging on the couches. A cluster of first years had taken over the tables at the far end of the room, but Severus was conspicuously absent.
Setting his quill down, Lucius strolled out of the common room, up the stairs, and out of the castle. As expected, he found Severus sitting on the outcrop of large rocks by the lake, skimming stones across the smooth surface. Lucius watched as a stone bounced once, twice, before plummeting into the darkness of the lake.
Picking up a smooth, flat stone, Lucius hurled it. The two boys watched as it bounced across the water and out of sight.
Turning to Severus, Lucius noticed that he was stoically stony-faced. He sat down next to him and waited for Severus to break the silence.
"Those stupid Marauder fools!" Severus exclaimed suddenly. "Merlin, I am going to murder them one day!"
He leapt to his feet and started pacing angrily, not even noticing the rock in his hand as it cut through skin. Lucius watched him expressionlessly, waiting for his anger to die down. Merlin knew how sharp Severus's tongue could get when he was angry, and he most certainly did not want that anger taken out on him.
At last, Severus appeared to have calmed down. Lucius saw him look down in surprise at his blood-soaked hand, staring between it and the rock he was clutching. He had evidently not realised that the rock had cut through skin. With a deep breath, he flung the stone into the depths of the water. He stared off into space for a few moments, watching the droplets of blood that were suspended in midair.
"Here," Lucius said, taking Severus's hand and waving his wand over it. "Episkey."
Severus watched as the cuts on his hand healed instantly, with no evidence that they were ever there in the first place. Severus noticeably relaxed a little at his friend's concern over his well-being, but then he sighed and looked out into the lake.
"What did the Marauders do this time?" Lucius questioned tentatively, breaking the silence that hung between them.
"The usual rubbish about a nasty Slytherin corrupting a Gryffindor," Severus spat, before launching into his standard tirade on the awfulness of the Marauders.
Lucius nodded sympathetically as he listened to Severus let off steam. While he had no fondness for the brashness of Gryffindors, he accepted that Severus thought differently—especially regarding one Gryffindor in particular. He would support Severus, though, even if it went against his core values, because that was the nature of their friendship, and he knew that Severus would support him in turn.
Truth be told, Severus was in a difficult position. Not only was he a half-blood in Slytherin, but he also had a friend in Gryffindor. If anything, that made him even more of an outcast among the other Slytherins. That was the sad reality of things. If you didn't behave like the epitome of everything Slytherin represented, you were shunned. Lucius feared for what would happen to Severus when he graduated from Hogwarts, and he inwardly resolved to stand by his friend, come what may.
The two of them sat in a comfortable silence, side by side, skimming stones along the lake until it became too dark to see.
"Thank you," Severus said softly, as they walked towards the castle together.
Lucius nodded in acknowledgement. "It's what friends are for."
-o-o-
It was nearly a decade later that, once again, it was Lucius there, listening to Severus let off steam as they skimmed stones. It was testament to the strength and longevity of their friendship that the same scene was repeating, and even though things had changed, there was a unique parallel in everything that was happening.
This time, though, it wasn't about childhood bullying, but rather of matters of life and death and evading the Dark Lord's constant threat of torture.
This time, though, both had matured, and although they were still young men, the lines of strain on their faces made both look older than their years.
This time, though, while they were once again skimming stones, it was at the pond under the looming shadow of Malfoy Manor, rather than the welcoming face of Hogwarts castle.
This time, though, their conversation was in hushed whispers, looking around, paranoid that they would be found out. They were no longer concerned about petty childhood bullying. The war had taken a toll on them, just as it had taken a toll on the rest of their generation.
For a long time, Severus had envisaged himself joining the Dark Lord, bearing his mark with pride. But reality had hit. It was a constant fact of life that he was sneered at for being a half-blood. While no one said anything overtly, fearful of facing the Dark Lord's wrath for messing with his right-hand man, the sniggers and knowledge that they were whispering behind his back struck deeply. The idea that he could never be as good as they were, if only due to his status as a half-blood—something he couldn't even control—was depressing.
And even though he had believed in the same cause that they all did, even though he had shared their allegiance to the Dark Lord, he had sometimes felt that there was an uncrossable chasm between them, him on one side, everyone else on the other, and Lucius somewhere in the middle, bridging the gap, offering a hand of support, his lone source of light in the darkness.
But Lucius's comfort could barely reach across the ever-widening gap that stretched even wider as Severus realised that reality wasn't all that the Dark Lord had portrayed it to be with his fiery speeches and exhortations—that not everything about their cause was perfect and just, and indeed, the leader of their cause was unstable, violent, and prone to torturing people at the smallest of infractions.
And as the gap got bigger, his friendship with Lucius became more and more tenuous. Yes, he still told Lucius things that he would never tell anyone else, but he carefully refrained from mentioning that one secret which pretty much changed everything anyone knew about him. For if he attempted to tell Lucius, would he even be given time to explain himself, or would he be turned over directly to the Dark Lord? Severus didn't know. Truth be told, he was afraid to find out. And the chasm between them stretched wider.
As the two of them sat in agitated silence, only broken by the harsh staccato of stones skimming the water, Severus opened his mouth, then shut it again. It was too much of a risk.
He did not realise that Lucius too had opened his mouth, then shut it again, for similar reasons. He, too, was considering defecting from the Dark Lord, if only out of consideration for the safety of his wife and son. But such thoughts were too dangerous to be voiced aloud, even amongst the closest of friends.
And so the two of them remained silent, and the opportunity to find comfort in their togetherness passed. Instead, they stuck to safe topics—or at least, as safe as any could be in the dangerous times they lived in.
The pond at Malfoy Manor became their spot. Sometimes they sat and talked, sometimes they skimmed stones, letting their frustration bleed out of them with each throw.
Until the fall of the Dark Lord, their conversations were fearful and agitated. They were constantly looking over their shoulders, jumping at each unfamiliar sound.
The years of peace until the Dark Lord rose again were treasured. Without the threat of torture and death looming over them, their conversations began to regain some of their childhood ease, and their friendship remained strong. Severus watched Draco grow up from toddler to teen, and each time they met, they skimmed stones along the pond. For now, they offered mutual comfort in adapting to the world in times of peace. Severus absolutely despised teaching students at Hogwarts, and as for Lucius, he had never quite regained his standing that he had before Voldemort's fall.
Together, they went through life like the stone skimmed its way along the lake—smoothly, but with a few bumps along the way. But just like the rock would have to fall into the depths eventually, the good times didn't last forever, and it was just a matter of when things would take a turn for the worse.
And turn worse they did, for what could spell a darker end to a journey than death itself? So Lucius had thought, anyway—until the truth emerged. Severus had been a double agent all along, and Lucius was shocked at how little he had really known about Severus. They had shared so much with each other, during their conversations while skimming stones. It was hard to imagine that Severus had hid such a huge secret as this from him.
How difficult it must have been for him not to have fitted in with either side. Too dark to be on the side of the light, but too light to be on the side of the dark. And it was this great dilemma that even Lucius couldn't support him in. At least when Severus was quarrelling with the Marauders and struggling to find a spot in Slytherin, Lucius had been there every step of the way (every bounce of the rock). At least when he was struggling to find a foothold in the ranks of the Death Eaters, Lucius had been there by his side. But in this fight, Severus had been alone. Neither side had ever fully accepted him, not until his death, and even then, not even entirely.
Lucius stared forlornly out into the lake, the splashes of the rock he had just skimmed bringing back fond memories, comforting him in his grief. He wouldn't find comfort anywhere else, he knew. Everyone ostracised him now—and for good reason too, he supposed—for his role in the war as a Death Eater. No matter that he had turned against the dark at the end, he would still always be a Death Eater, still always carry the heavy mark of his dark past.
He almost laughed at the irony. How was it that so many years later, at exactly the same spot beside the Hogwarts Black Lake, just when he most needed support, Severus was not there to give it? All these years, it had usually been the other way around, with Severus struggling to fit in. Now, it was Lucius's turn to struggle within this new system, comprised of Muggle-lovers and those who despised him because of the tattoo on his arm.
Over the years, this rocky outcrop—and the pond at Malfoy Manor—had become their spots. The places where they skipped stones as they talked about their days, sometimes joyful occurrences, but more often than not, the sombre, scary, and sad occurrences.
Angrily, Lucius hurled a rock across the surface of the lake, tears blurring his vision. He turned away quickly before the rock fell into the water, stalking across the grounds, brushing away those who tried to approach him.
As soon as he reached the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, he spun on the spot to Disapparate, almost laughing as he realised the sudden reversal of roles. All these years, Severus had been ostracised for being a half-blood in Slytherin, then for being a half-blood amongst the Death Eaters. And now, he, Lucius, was the one who was ostracised, but he knew deep in his heart that he deserved it a hundredfold, while Severus never had. Lucius had given him all the comfort he could when he had needed it the most. Now the memory of Severus would have to comfort and sustain him as he navigated the new world that had been forged in the aftermath of Voldemort's fall. He would do it, somehow. Merlin knew Severus had managed to survive. He would too.