This one is a little short, but I had to use it to move things along. What are you feeling about this? Thanks for reading!

Lucius folded and unfolded his arms repeatedly as he stood outside the Forbidden Forest on the grounds of Hogwarts. Cygnus and Druella had organized a search party, and the press was there. Dora suggested he show up just because it would simply boost his image. So there he stood, not really helping, not really resenting his attendance. Cygnus approached him, hands folded behind his back. "Lucius," he said, looking out to the trees. "This is a difficult time. Not just for us. But for you too. Now the media likes to portray you as this…this monster who has no feelings towards his missing wife and son. But…I know you, Lucius. You just shut down when you think too hard. And that's what's happening." Lucius fought the urge to sneer at this man. He hadn't spoken to Cygnus for three years (or Druella, for that matter). How did he think he knew him? Knew his reactions? Knew who he really was? "You're so informed on my reactions and my opinions, Mr. Black; it's a wonder why they don't have you on the investigative team." he snidely remarked. Cygnus's mouth flapped open and shut a few times, just long enough for Lucius to swiftly turn away and walk over to the trees by himself.

Damn these people, damn all of them for suspecting him. For using him. Nobody would understand what he had been going through at the time when Narcissa and Draco just had to go missing….they wouldn't get it. Lucius tiredly sank down against the wood of a tall tree in the shade, looking up at the sky with an exasperated breath. "Mr. Malfoy?" a female voice called from a distance. He looked to his right and saw a slender young woman rushing towards him. He knew her, he knew this girl. What was her name? Her bouncy black hair and tanned skin—oh, that's right. It was Melissa Thomas, Dean Thomas's mother. She sank down onto the ground beside him. "How are you holding up?" she asked softly. Why did she want to talk to him? Probably expecting some sort of new information—something never before heard. She just wanted to be 'in on it'. "Just fine," he sighed. She didn't leave.

"They're saying things about you."

"One thing they haven't said is that I'm completely oblivious to it." he sneered.

"It must just be tough for you. An innocent man loses his wife and son, his house his ransacked, the evidence is painful….I can't imagine having to go through it. And they're portraying you as this horrible man…"

Strangely, hearing that was comforting. "I appreciate your sympathy, Mrs. Thomas."

"Oh, just Ms. Thomas now. My husband and I divorced about a year ago. It's final now."

"…I see."

"You know what you could use? You need some comfort. Everyone is so determined to focus on Narcissa and Draco and the murder—"

"It was not murder!"

"A-Alright, ok, I'm sorry…er, what I mean is, everyone forgets you're a human too. So why not have just a little bit of good in your life again at this time? I'm going to make you a nice pumpkin pie. Just something to nibble at when you find your spirits are down. It's easy to raise hope when you've got good food in front of you."

"…It's fine, you don't have to do that."

"I know I don't have to, silly! But I want to! I don't like to see you suffering so much."

Why did she give two hoots about him all of a sudden? He barely even knew her. Suddenly, a flashcube sent bright light shooting towards Lucius. And then someone was grabbing his arm. It was Dora. She pulled him up off the ground and yanked him away from the swarm of reporters that were beginning to swoop in, taking him over to the secluded place near the trees where the groups of searches were emerging for a water break. Dora looked furious. "Are you trying to make yourself look bad?" she hissed. "I told you not to go talking to people about what you're feeling and what things are being looked into! I said you don't want people running around and spreading more rumors about you! What are you thinking, Lucius?!"

"I haven't done anything wrong! She came and sat down next to me! It's not like I went looking for her!" he fumed back.

"But she can say whatever she wants now, regardless of what the truth is!"

"That's the problem with this entire case! It's all skirting around the issues, neither confirming nor denying the possibility that Narcissa had a stalker, or someone wanted to hurt Draco, or there were people that wanted revenge against my family! Nobody will say anything! You're letting them think it was me!"

"That's not true and you stop saying that. As professional Aurors, we're sworn to secrecy about case evidence. It's not like we can just throw ideas out there to the public while we're figuring everything out! It doesn't work. So you stop going around and thinking that we're not working on this."

"It has been a week! And all that's come out of this so far is that everyone is starting to think I had something to do with it!"

Reporters were shouting at Ms. Thomas, cameras were flashing, she was answering questions that were thrown out at her. Dora looked at Lucius and slowly shook her head. She turned and began to walk back towards Brade, who'd struck up a conversation with Druella and Andromeda. "If I were you, I'd look into a lawyer." she called to Lucius over her shoulder. He made a face, a cross between disgusted and obviously confused, and then he looked back towards The Daily Prophet's interrogation of Ms. Thomas. She was crying now. The media reporters were absolutely sucking that up, talking amongst themselves and deciding what the next news article was going to be about. They took in her answers, her state, and their own ideas.

And just like that, Lucius Malfoy suddenly had a 'girlfriend'.