A/N: First things first! anon: thanks for your review! You're interested in more interactions between those too, well, those following two chapters are all about that. However, you were absolutely right about my punctuation and that's why...
I HAVE A BETA! Thank you so much to TheNameIsWatson! She has way more readers than me, however, if you read this, and don't know her, she's currently writing an awesome HP ff about Harry, Draco, the Malfoys and ... well, look for yourself!
Moving on!
As mentioned, this is mostly interaction between Lucius and Rodolphus. I don't really want to call this a filler chapter, but it's really mostly about those two forming a relationship, that's not just empty talk from Lucius, but actually something more. As you might be able to assume from the title, this chapter was so long, I had to break it in two. Hope, you're still going to like it!
The awful prankThe End of May 1967
"'Peel', McTavish, it says 'peel' not purée," Malfoy sneered through their classroom.
They had potions and Tarquin was having difficulties peeling the Blood Blisterpods, effectively squashing it and spreading the juice over the whole table. His potion had the wrong color, too. Malfoy had already put a safe distance between Tarquin's cauldron and himself. It was close to exams week, so everyone was a little nervous and many students had their heads somewhere else. Rodolphus own brew wasn't exactly perfect either. It was too dark and too thick. He looked for Professor Slughorn, who was just peeking over Ariadne Yaxley's cauldron and looked pretty satisfied with her work before he went on to Gideon Prewett. Slughorn slowly shook his head and gave some advise to the boy but Prewett's potion didn't seem half as bad as did Tarquin's. Only Dorian Handelmer, another Gryffindor, seemed to have even greater problems than McTavish. At least, Slughorn seemed to think it was hopeless and let the potion disappear with a flourish of his wand.
Tarquin's brewage was thick and slimy and of cyan color, instead of the desirable dark brown. He blushed when Malfoy commented his work and started sweating, agitatedly pressing the knife against the pod way to hard, making it slide away from the blade and practically jump into the cauldron. Rodolphus made a panicked jump to the side, while Emma Rowle and Malfoy laughed quietly.
Interestingly enough, the potion didn't explode but instead shrank into a think, blue lump. To even call this thing a potion now would do it an injustice. It looked more like a stone. McTavish's face got nearly violet from embarrassment but he didn't answer to Malfoy's mockery. Three weeks ago he had tried to throw Malfoy off his broom during their flying lessons. The blonde did fall off eventually, hovering about a yard over the ground, and didn't get more than a small bruise from it while the red-haired got detention for two weeks. After that, Tarquin had oddly quieted down. Rodolphus thought he might feel bad about it – his pranks had gotten pretty malicious lately – or had just calmed down. Maybe he was concentrating on his exams- at least, that was what Rodolphus was hoping for. He didn't wish for any unpleasant distractions.
Now as well, he stayed calm while Slughorn hexed his potion away and wrote his zero points down.
"Pour some water in it," Janis whispered at Rodolphus, pointing at the Lestrange's thickly potion. "I have exactly the opposite problem," he admitted on the quiet, pointing at his watery brew. Johanson frowned. Sure, Rod could pour some water in it, but Janis would have to drain his potion, and that was more difficult.
"We could mix our potions," Rodolphus suggested.
So they did. The Lestrange watched from a safe distance as Johanson mixed the two potions with each other. Nothing happened, so Rodolphus drew closer again. He could see a few lighter traces in his brew, that quickly dissolved. At the end, it did work and though he got no Outstanding, Slughorn marked both Rod and Janis with Exceeds Expectations.
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The next morning they had two free periods, which was why everyone woke up at different times. Rodolphus had written to his father until late at night, so he was still a little tired when he forced himself to stand up. He still wanted to write his astronomy paper. Unfortunately, he had overestimated his writing speed, he thought when he started reading the assignment. He'd never manage to read the chapter and write one and a half feet parchment within half an hour.
Malfoy had woken up about half an hour prior to him, he guessed. He'd been in the bathroom ever since. At least he reckoned it was Malfoy. He was the only one who could occupy the bathroom for that long. Tarquin had left the common room in high spirits, shortly after Rod had awakened. He hadn't even seen Johanson and Mason.
Rodolphus repeatedly looked from his parchment to the bathroom door. He'd wanted to at least brush his teeth before going to class, even if he didn't manage to finish the paper. He frowned after another 10 minutes had passed. Had Malfoy drowned or what was he doing in there? He'd always taken his time but it had never been this unreasonable, Rod mused. He didn't really worry, though, but he was certainly distracted.
He still had hardly written five sentences when the door suddenly opened. Malfoy stood in the doorway, stiffening and blanching when he saw the Lestrange.
They stared at each other. Malfoy was naked from the waist up, his hair in a Slytherin green towel, which he hold with his left hand. When he regenerated from his initial shock to see the Lestrange – though Rod marveled why that would even shock him – he let his gaze drift through the dorm, looking relieved nobody else was there. He looked as if he felt sick, Rod thought, and easily visible on his pale skin were red blushes from embarrassment and...
Rodolphus let his gaze roam over Malfoy, the pale skin at his shoulders, arms, and torso. Over shoulders and breast and – Rod reckoned – most likely his shoulder blades, he had big, ugly marks in every possible and impossible shade of red. Something, he was sure, Malfoy didn't have the day before.
Malfoy's gaze followed Rodolphus onto his torso, where the spots seemed fibrous and oddly shaped and looked like a painful and contagious decease. He blanched even further if that was even possible. He smacked his hand over his breast as if he could conceal the spots that way, but his hands and forearms were even worse, Rodolphus realized. He could even see it on his forehead.
"What the bloody hell are you still doing here?" Lucius snarled willingly threatening. But just the fact that he was using curses showed how little control he had over himself. He actually seemed close to tears. Rodolphus was startled at first, then he realized Malfoy might have only waited that long to make sure nobody was there to see him this way. As he understood that, Rod's brain switched on again and suddenly he thought this situation amusing. Lucius Malfoy, the great Lucius Malfoy, chalk-white, and half naked in the bathroom door, with ugly spots all over his body, which made him feel ashamed enough to be absolutely unable to move. For a moment, a spiteful part of Rodolphus wanted to leave for the common room and tell everyone. Malfoy with his snobbish confidence certainly deserved that much, he thought. But he didn't move.
"Homework...," he murmured with a growing smile on his face. Malfoy's eyes narrowed.
"Having fun?" he barked.
"Sure," Rod admitted. He could see anger creeping on Malfoy's face. But it didn't overshadow the shame.
"Give me my wand," demanded the blonde evenly, but still with a weaker voice than usual. He pointed at his bedside cabinet, where his elm wand was lying. Rodolphus decided to give him that much. But when he threw the wand at Malfoy, he didn't manage to grab it with his right, and it fell down. His face contorted.
"What did you do?" Rodolphus asked still grinning. "Did you pick up some odd skin disorder? What's that? Dragon pox?" The Lestrange had never seen a case of dragon pox, but he'd always thought, it would look just like that.
"Haha, very funny," the Malfoy snapped. "Dragon pox are deadly."
"And contagious," Rodolphus added, "so stay away from me. I don't want to look like you."
Malfoy only seemed to barely control himself, though the Lestrange didn't know whether he'd burst into tears or attack him should he lose his control.
"Don't worry," he snarled through gritted teeth, "these are no dragon pox. As far as I know I'm not contagious either." He bent low to get his wand. His towel shifted at the movement.
Rodolphus held his breath, when he saw, what was hidden under it. Then he burst into broad laughter. Malfoy's platinum hair was absolutely destroyed. His magnificent head of hair, which already was his trademark at the whole school, shimmered in an ugly muddy greenish tone. At many points it stuck together, even seemed to fall loose. Rodolphus tried to calm down. This ceased to be funny very soon, he realized, but he still couldn't shut up.
Malfoy froze. "Shhh," he hissed grabbing his wand and pointing it at Rodolphus almost desperately. When he got up again, his towel slipped off his head completely, educing a groan from him that sounded like a mixture of pain and shock. Suddenly he jumped at Rodolphus. "Damn, be quiet! Or do you want to draw them in?" he hissed whispering. "Is that what you want, eh? That they all laugh at me?" Rodolphus shook his head. He didn't want to draw them closer, he didn't even want to laugh anymore. "Please, Rod," begged Malfoy. An odd mixture of panic, shame, and hurt flashed over his face when he clamped his hands over Rod's face to make him shut up. "Please, Rod!" When Rodolphus felt the rough red skin of his hands on his face, he suddenly flinched.
"Silencio," Rod's laughter died down immediately, though he still moved his mouth, and the muscles in his belly were still contracting. He stopped completely after a short while, though.
"Sorry," Lucius hissed honestly. He spoke a "Colloportus," at the door, then he turned back to Rodolphus. "That should be enough. They'll know I don't just shut the door for fun." And Janis was the only one able to do a decent Alohomora yet, Rodolphus thought. "Please promise me, you won't tell anyone," Lucius begged. Rodolphus reckoned he'd never used the word 'please' this often in his entire life. Rod nodded.
"Right...," Lucius too nodded fiercely as if to muster the courage. He took the 'Silencio' off Rod. "So...," he began obviously fighting with himself about what to say, "help me for today, okay? I think I could need your help. We're Slytherins, so we must stick together, right?" he reminded him. "Just today. I know you can't really stand me but..." Something desperate flickered in his eyes, and Rod thought it might be panic.
"Sure," he cut in.
Lucius was visibly relieved. Rodolphus, on the other hand, felt slightly odd. Normally it was Malfoy helping him, not the other way round.
"What happened?" he asked after a short break. He hesitated. "Since, you know, it's not contagious?"
"I'm not sick," Malfoy grumbled and stood up. He didn't look panicked anymore, instead, the pain was more visible on his face. He went back to the bathroom. Rod gasped for air when he saw Malfoy's back. The red spots didn't only mark his shoulder blades but trailed in thin lines over the boy's entire back, down to the trousers. Where his wasted hair touched his skin, it was so thin, he could see the veins blue and fibrous on the reddish skin. Here and there he could even see blood.
Rod needed a while to recover from the initial shock. He followed Malfoy to the bathroom. The other boy was sitting on a wooden stool in front of the mirror. He looked at himself with open disgust. After a while, he grabbed a bottle and threw it at the Lestrange. Only when he caught it did he realized what it was.
"You use a conditioner?" he asked.
"That's not the problem here," Malfoy snapped at him, but he turned a little pink around the ears. "Just don't open it. I'm sure someone mixed something in it."
He pointed at his hair, his scalp, the spots on his neck, hands and shoulders. Sure, if his conditioner was poisoned, the injuries at those different parts of his body made perfect sense.
"Someone?" Rodolphus repeated. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow.
"McTavish, if I have to guess," he answered, "I knew, the idiot was planning something."
"You don't know that," Rodolphus tried to defend their housemate. "Theoretically..."
"THEORETICALLY!" Malfoy snapped white from ire. "Who else should it have been? The only other one who'd come into question..." He quieted. Rod knew what he was thinking, though. Aris was an idiot but he would never harm Malfoy. And Janis, while he might be good for some fun, would never go that far. Rodolphus would be the only one who, given a good reason, might do something like that to Malfoy, other than Tarquin.
"Sorry," Malfoy murmured meekly. "I know, it wasn't you. You wouldn't go that far."
A week ago, Malfoy had pulled a prank on him when he'd shut him in their dorm and forgotten about him until after lunch. It was a little joke, like Malfoy pulled them from time to time since he hung around Tarquin more often now. It was quite harmless really and Rodolphus wasn't really mad at him but he'd thought about avenging himself.
"I still have to do my astronomy paper," Rod suddenly thought.
"Astronomy?" Malfoy said incredulously. "You've got to help me get rid of this mess. Please. I don't know what to do but I won't leave the dorm that way. Take my paper if you want, but help me, dammit! Your father is a healer at 's, right?"
Rodolphus stared at him. He didn't have enough time for the paper anyway. "Keep your paper," he murmured and eyed the red spots on his skin.
"Merlin, just take it. I'm at Exceeds Expectations in Astronomy at the moment even without the paper."
Rodolphus didn't want to argue, so he just nodded. "I don't know how to help you, though...," he admitted apologetically, "does it hurt?"
"It bites... like acid or something like that. Especially where the hair touches the skin. I tried to wash it off, but it didn't really work..."
"Do you know, what kind of poison that is?" If they were talking about poisons and potions, Malfoy would sooner know than him, Rodolphus reckoned.
"No," Malfoy answered insecurely. "It smells like a magical lacquer my father sells in the apothecary, though."
"We should go to the infirmary," Rodolphus said.
"No!" Malfoy nearly screamed. "I won't set one step out of this dormitory like that."
"Oh, don't be stupid."
"I have a reputation to lose."
"Is that worth more than your health? If I do something wrong, maybe you'll never get better again."
"You don't have to heal them completely just enough to make it more presentable. I can't glamour all of it away... But I'd rather give my hand than let anyone see me this way." He hesitated, then added, "not my wand hand, the other..."
Rodolphus snorted.
"I...," Rodolphus hesitated, "I used my first accidental magic when I burnt my hand at father's cauldron. I relieved the burns." Maybe something like that would help, he thought.
Malfoy smiled confidently. "Can you control that? My first accidental magic wasn't as delicate as that..." Rodolphus nodded uncertainly. He actually could control it... or rather, he'd used that form of magic again when his brother hurt himself once. "Father taught me an anodyne charm, too," he added.
"First the painkilling one, then the one against burns...," Lucius demanded.
Rodolphus hurried back to his bed, to get his wand. He glanced at the hourglass, too. They'd be late for astronomy.
Back in the bathroom, he pointed at Malfoy's neck. The formula Rodolphus spoke was rather long and in English, instead of latin. There were other, arithmetically shortened versions of the spell, he knew, but he'd always had more success with this formula.
Lucius breathed in audibly when the white lite hit the reddened skin in his neck.
"There...," he mumbled more relieved than a few minutes back. "A private healer, I like that. Do you think you can do the charm against the burns?"
"Not really," Rodolphus admitted, putting his wand away.
"Try it regardless," Malfoy demanded, "now that you have a willing victim to train your talent." Malfoy chuckled but his shoulders were tense. Rodolphus realized he was afraid, even if he was too proud to admit it. After all, if Rodolphus couldn't control it, he could ruin him completely.
Rod nodded. "I think it's best, you try the less severe spots first," Malfoy said, "and Rodolphus...," he glanced at the Lestrange, "If something happens, get a prefect or teacher. Nobody else, okay? If anyone else has to see me that way, at least someone who has a sense of duty."
Rodolphus nodded and raised his hands. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at the gesture but Rodolphus ignored it. He'd always used this magic without a wand. Truth be told, he didn't know how to do it with one. He drew a deep breath and sensed for his magic. The wondrous energy surged through him and he led it to the tips of his fingers and over Malfoy's back. He was a wizard since he drew his first breath, but still, he never felt as magical as in that moment when he wandlessly drew on his powers. For a moment, he even forgot about Malfoy, bathing in this feeling of power and wonder. Then he opened his eyes and focussed on the not so blonde Slytherin in front of him.
Lucius hissed. Rodolphus immediately drew his hand away. That didn't sound good, he thought, but Malfoy's breath evened out at once. "It felt cold," Malfoy said, "not bad. I was just surprised at first. But I don't really feel different. Has it changed?"
Rodolphus was relieved that he hadn't hurt the other boy. "I think it paled a bit...," he murmured, looking at the spot he'd tried to heal. He was pretty sure. Triumph danced in his eyes.
"Then go on..."
It took a while. Nearly half an hour later, Rodolphus had worked himself up to the boy's neck, which he had to treat several times. He still had pink marks everywhere but if one only saw his face, they might just think, he'd slept heavily on his face. Lucius smiled happily.
"Thanks," he eyed his face in the mirror. "Now the hair."
Rodolphus groaned annoyed. "What do you want me to do with it?" Lucius' hair looked just as bad as before. Rod didn't think he could do anything to save it. He was sure while he'd treated Malfoy, some wisps had come out.
"Just chop it off," Malfoy said looking as if he'd rather lose his legs. He looked helpless.
"You can do that on your own," Rodolphus complained. A magical shave wasn't that difficult.
"I guess...," Malfoy agreed, "but my scalp hurts worse than anything else," he hesitated and cringed, "I don't want to accidentally scalp myself... Better someone does that, who can actually see, what he's doing."
Rodolphus just realized how much trust Malfoy just placed in Rodolphus' more than doubtful healing abilities. But he didn't ask again. He took his wand.
He had been right. It was the easiest thing in the world to turn Malfoy into a baldie. But what hid underneath his hair brought the Lestrange close to vomiting. Malfoy buried his face in his hands when he saw it in his reflection. It was far worse than his neck. His head was dark red, nearly violet, and bloody. For a moment, he thought, he saw Malfoy's shoulders trembling and he was sure he was crying.
"I'll kill him," he growled between his hands. "I'll kill him the next time I see him! That mangy halfblood!" He raised his head and stared at himself with wide eyes. Then he swallowed.
"We'll go to the infirmary," he decreed. "Thank you but...," Rodolphus shook his head. He wouldn't have risked treating his head even if Malfoy had begged him to. He wouldn't be able to heal it either way, he reckoned. "If you want to go to astronomy...," Malfoy continued. They didn't even need to look at the hour glass. "I'm afraid you've missed the first period for my sake," he noted dryly. Rodolphus didn't care. Lucius looked horrible.
"I'll take you there."
"You've done enough...," said the Malfoy, though he sounded relieved. Rodolphus shrugged.
"Maybe Pomfrey can excuse me for astronomy. We go together. I don't know how long this painkilling charm works, so I go with you."
He went to their first aid kit and got a cooling ointment that he put on Malfoy's head before he wrapped a bandage around it. Malfoy nearly screamed from the touch, making Rodolphus flinch. However, he seemed relieved when he didn't have to see the injuries anymore.
Malfoy dressed himself. He even put a pair of thin gloves on. It was the midst of may. Rodolphus chuckled at that. But Malfoy ignored him, pulled up a hood and even wrapped up his face behind a cloth mask, disguising himself nearly completely.
"You look like father when-," Rodolphus trailed off, shocked what he was about to say. But Malfoy ignored that, too, and just shrugged.
Rodolphus got his bag, while Malfoy took the Colloportus from the door. As if it was perfectly normal for two first years, to stroll through Hogwarts after 10 o'clock without breakfast, while they should be in classes, one of them disguised from head to toe, they left the common room and made their way to the infirmary.
Well, it was not normal and that was why it was difficult not to attract attention. In the Slytherin common room, nobody really cared for the two first years even if one of them was wrapped up like a Death Eater. Some of the other students looked at them but that was it. Outside, they were alone at first. The dungeons were nearly empty. Once, Rodolphus stopped when a cold sentiment came over him and he was sure he'd just passed through a ghost. Turning around, they saw the Bloody Baron disappearing into a wall as if he'd just appeared out of nowhere to fly through Rodolphus, only to disappear again. They went on and climbed the stairs. Now it got complicated.
A/N: Tarquin went a little bit too far, I fear. This was born from the question, what it would take, to get Lucius Malfoy to cut off his hair. Plus I really wanted to see him at least once, with short hair.
I'd still love to read about your opinions.
Greetings,
Ceies