Disclaimer: I am poor so therefore please do not sue me for borrowing the characters for a little while. All Characters belong to JK Rowling, a brilliant and talented woman. All characters you don't recognise belong to me.

A/N. I know Lucius will be out of character but its explained why in later chapters. Just go with it and see what happens. Please?

Chapter 6

"Aggie is quite capable of looking after her well being at the moment but as she grows, she might not be able to cope. Also she needs to learn how to use her magic, and I thought who better than you, who got Outstanding in every test he ever took."

"And who turned out to be a death eater?" Lucius laughed. "Surely I wasn't the only person to fit that bill Sirius."

"The other person who did happens to be your master for the next few years. Remus can't do it, but to be honest, I have a feeling that you will use your hatred of her parents and me to be very hard on her when teaching her so she should excel at everything."

"What if she's stupid? Will you hold that against me?"

"I doubt that Lily and James are able to produce an idiot. If anything she'll probably turn out to be smarter than you." Sirius replied. "Harm her in anyway and you will die after killing Draco yourself."

"What's wrong with her?" Lucius asked watching Hailey who had been following the conversation with her head and was now looking at Lucius with a smile and waved in his direction

"Until 2 weeks ago she hasn't been able to open her eyes, they were sealed shut. She's still blind, but now doesn't look so different. She can't speak; I'm not sure about her hearing though. If she wants something I'm sure she'll find a way of letting you know." Aggie answered

"And Lily and James don't know she's alive, no one outside of us 3 do." Sirius added. "Are you going to agree?"

"I agree, but I want frequent visits with Draco."

"I'll see what I can do." Sirius replied putting Hailey back on the floor, who then wandered off back to her toys. "Tell me what you know now."

"Anything I knew is probably out of date, they only had immediate plans." Lucius replied

"Tomorrow, you will be going back to Voldemort. Don't wash and don't eat. Make them think you have been on the run. Use this wand; you stole it in order to get back. I have your own wand in my private collection; we'll see how you go."

"How do I get back here?" Lucius asked

"This will bring you back here, it's a different spell to what you may think so only use it when your sure you're alone. Anyone comes here other than you and I will kill Draco. Now I need you to write a letter to your wife to tell her to do certain things." Sirius explained handing over solid silver lighter. "Twist the crest so it's upside down and ignite it."

"Like?"

"Take this down." Sirius said gesturing to the parchment and quill on the table.

"Dear Narcissa,

If any of the following demands and requests in this letter are not followed and execute correctly, then our son will be killed, then probably us as well. I am so far unharmed, and will remain that way as long as possible. To do this you must not return to the Dark Lord. I will make your excuses and make him understand. You will do as Sirius asks, even if it goes against your principals and beliefs. You must not tell anyone of this letter or anything enclosed, especially Bella, if she should find out then I fear for our son's life. You must continue life as if you had never heard from me; continue about your life as you have been apart from that which I have already stated.

Draco's life is in your hands.

Make sure he doesn't forget me, I will be in touch.

L"

"Very good." Sirius said reading it over and then sealing it with a sickle.

"How can I trust you to guarantee their safety?" Lucius asked

"The same way I am trusting you to not kill Hailey." Sirius replied tucking the letter inside his robes. "Any questions?"

"Are there more like her?" Lucius asked

"Still alive you mean?" Aggie asked sitting on the sofa and he nodded. "Yes, they are hidden away, until its safe to let them back with their families."

"How long have you been doing this?" Lucius asked

"As long as the law has been in place, over 30 years." Aggie replied

"I am going now. I'll be back tomorrow. Don't try and send any letters other than through me because that will result in…. injury to one or more of your family." Sirius replied walking over to Hailey and picking her up. "And I will see you soon. Be good for Aggie. And don't through too many blocks at Lucius; his head is only so hard." Sirius said before kissing her forehead and putting her back down in amongst her toys then he disappeared.

"Happy to be out of Azkaban?" Aggie asked

"From one prison to another, the only difference is this one doesn't have any visible bars." Lucius replied

"You have a chance to do something good, something to redeem yourself with." Aggie replied watching as Hailey proceeded to build a fort out of blocks then throw things at it to knock it down.

"Redemption? I've killed so many… muggles, half bloods… redemption is something for other people."

"One act can do it. Do exactly as Sirius asks and your life and your families lives are safe. Bite the hand that feeds you and you will be punished severely."

"Yes I know. Sirius made that quite clear."

"He's given you a chance to prove that you are worth saving from Azkaban."

"He wanted a spy." Lucius sighed

"He has plenty of people to spy for him within Azkaban. People who will gladly do it just to avoid being the prison. He chose you for some reason other than he wanted a spy. Do you seriously think he would leave you alone with his best friend's daughter, who no one knows about, so no one would miss her if she met with an unfortunate end if he didn't have some form of faith in you? So he has put a lot of trust in you and so you should in him."

"But I am not alone am I? You are here."

"Mr Malfoy, I pose no danger to you. You could kill me as soon as look at me. You are an intelligent man so I am told. Don't ruin your second chance. It might not look like much now, but these things have to be worked at and built up. Now come on, you can help me get the little one ready for her bath."

"What?" Lucius asked as if she was crazy.

"Rehabilitation 101. Or look at it this way, you are a father, she has no family that she knows about, would you want someone to look after Draco if you or your wife couldn't?"

"Yes." He sighed.

"Come on then. She doesn't where diapers, all you have to do is catch her." Aggie said standing up. "Hailey, time for your bath."

With that said Hailey's head shot right up as she listened for where the foot steps were coming from then she stood up and ran in the other direction towards the open door and out into the garden diving in the vegetable patch getting covered in mud then running off and hiding.

During the chase around the garden Hailey had ran though the pond, back through the vegetable patch and fell to her knees and sat there rubbing her foot. Lucius took this as the time to go get her and as soon as he got his hands on her waist she was off again throwing him off balance and face down in the mud. Hearing no one following her she back tracked and knelt down beside Lucius who had landed face down in the mud.

She tapped him on his shoulder as he sat up with his back to her. He turned quickly and wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her on to his lap

"That wasn't very nice. I am covered in mud." He stated in his usually no nonsense tone.

This just made her smile bigger as she wiped her muddy hands on her even muddier dungarees and felt his face and traced his eye brows, nose, cheeks and lips. After tracing his lips she frowned and then drew her fingers back over his mud encrusted face and drew a smile in the mud, making him smile through the mud.

"Cheeky aren't you?" He said standing up and lifting her with him. The smile was replaced on her face and her arms wrapped around his neck as he carried her back into the house and to the bath tub.

"You had to warn her it was bath time?" Lucius asked Aggie after he had finally found and caught Hailey.

After taking her shoes and socks off and being given the rest of her muddy clothes by Aggie he walked back to the kitchen listening to her childish laugh.

"Laugh?" Lucius asked himself as he took his shoes and socks off and put and old copy of the prophet on one of the kitchen chairs before he sat down. "But she's mute." He said out loud

"That's right." Sirius said walking up behind Lucius.

"Geeze Sirius."

"I see Aggie pulled the bath time thing on you as well." Sirius said sitting down opposite the muddy aristocrat

"Rite of passage?" Lucius smirked

"More entertainment for her I think." Sirius replied. "You getting your head around this yet?"

"A bit. Aggie has a way with words like no other."

"She does get right to the point. I wanted you because should anything go wrong and one of his deranged flunkies gets through, since I have entrusted you with her care you would protect her until you were dead. You have honour Lucius, and even though there are some I don't agree with, you have conviction and determination. But above all that I saw in you that you have a genuine love of your son and I think that it runs deeper than just Draco. There was a point where you would kill whatever and whenever. But when you got together with Narcissa that changed. You only killed men. You have respect for those weaker than you."

"How do you know all this?"

"It's my job." Sirius replied.

"Why do you think you are so right?" Lucius asked wondering where Sirius got his conviction and his information. How did he know all that?

"Because I am observant. I watch people, and I've been watching you since school. Different ways to get you back when you intervened with Snape and our fun, then when you married Narcissa... did you know Bella and Regulus had a bet, Bella said you would never have children."

"I didn't know that."

"They are good at keeping their secrets but I also know most of them anyway. The inner circle isn't what it used to be. You're lucky, even though Bella is classed as the beautiful one; Narcissa isn't the one who is going to turn out nuts. Bella got the family trait on the female side, insanity before she's 45, if she lives that long of course."

"Out of the 2 of them you always felt for Narcissa. But why?"

"I hated them equally actually, but Narcissa was always over shadowed by Bella. Narcissa had to live up to her but the bar just kept getting raised. When Bella married Rudolphus the conclusion was drawn, Narcissa would never match up to her sister. But then she pulled you out of the hat and to top it off you seemed genuinely happy. If I had to choose, Narcissa was the favourite but I don't think it's possible to hate and have a favourite."

"Why are you helping us really?"

"Like I said you, Lucius have something that none of the others do." Sirius stated. "Though if I tell you I think you will laugh."

"Tell me." Lucius asked quietly

"You have the capability to love."

"Have you been drinking?" Lucius asked

"At least you didn't laugh."

"Are you drunk?"

"Are you telling me you don't love your wife and child?" Sirius asked

"No." Lucius replied

"My answer also."

"Are you sure she's mute?" Lucius asked after several minutes of silence.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I could have sworn that I heard a child's laughter when Aggie put her in the bath."

"Really?" Sirius asked as he was grabbed around the legs before being climbed on by a freshly washed and pyjama'd Hailey

"How can she know where we are?" Lucius asked

"Good hearing I guess. She was probably listening to us talking. Weren't you?" Sirius asked Hailey as he began to tickle her

"Can you not hear it?" Lucius asked

"What?" Sirius asked as he watched the grin on the child's face grow

"Laughter, I swear I can hear it."

"I think those Dementor's have done things to your head." Sirius replied stopping tickling the 3 year old and giving her a hug as her hiccups subsided

"How do you know when to stop?" Lucius asked changing the subject not wanting to talk about his mental state.

"You just learn… you'll pick it up. And until you do she'll find some way of telling you to stop." Sirius replied

"Why did you come back?" Lucius asked

"I brought you some clothes, some of it's yours; the rest of it is part of your rehabilitation and trust me you will thank me for the muggle clothing when she drags you outside in the rain to jump in mud puddles."

"Muggle clothing?" Lucius asked sharply

"Wouldn't want to ruin yours." Sirius said gesturing to the large suitcase by the wall. "Try them and you'll get used to them. But like I say don't wash too much, obviously since Hailey decided to turn you into mud man you need to but… allow me." Sirius said pulling out his wand and waving it at Lucius who looked just the part of a felon who had escaped Azkaban.

"I feel disgusting." Lucius stated

"You look it as well." Sirius said as Hailey laid her head on his shoulder and yawned. "Time for bed princess." Sirius said leaving the kitchen with Hailey waving sleepily at Lucius over his shoulder

"Tomorrow when you get back you are taking a bath." Aggie said sitting down in Sirius's vacated seat. "Is Sirius putting her to bed?"

"Yes." Lucius replied. "Where am I to sleep?"

"In your room. Come on I'll show you." Aggie said waiting for Lucius while he picked up the suitcase Sirius had brought, and then lead him to his new room.

"Do I not get a bed?" Lucius asked

"You need to be authentic tomorrow, that's why your dirty, not been fed for the past 3 days and you will be sleeping on the floor. When you get back tomorrow there will be a very comfortable bed here waiting for you." Sirius stated standing in the door way.

"Are you coming to get me tomorrow or…"

"Hold the lighter against the mark when he calls, it will transport you there, then do like I said and you will come back here." Sirius replied. "This is your test Lucius."

"Where will you be?" Lucius asked

"I might go and visit my cousin, or I might be busy at work. I'm so busy these days I don't get much me time. Good Luck." Sirius replied before leaving

"What if they find out?" Lucius asked while Sirius was in ear shot.

"Then they will be looked after for the rest of their lives." Sirius replied. "My word on it."

"Thank you." Lucius replied as he heard Sirius's footsteps get fainter then stop.