Chapter 10: Stolen Away at Midday

This was it. The day. Lucius and Severus would make their way to the Ministry of Magic, present their cases, and either leave as free men or condemned prisoners. Lucius refused to admit it out loud, but he was terrified. His mates had had to pry him from the bed and stand him up before they woke him, knowing that if he woke lying down he would refuse to get out of bed. They had cuddled, cajoled, pleaded, and finally threatened him before he finally woke in his standing position.

He had made his mates promise him that, should he be condemned, they would find a way to visit him at least one last time. He knew that if he was found guilty he would receive the kiss, and he couldn't bear the thought that the morning of his trial was to be the last time he would ever see them should he fail. He had silently cried (Though a Malfoy never cries, of course) in the shower, thinking of the possible worst scenario.

For the first time in years, Lucius most desperately wanted and needed his mates with him right now! Of course he wanted them all the time, and of course he needed them always, but in this moment where he faced the possibility of losing his very soul Lucius craved a supporting hand and a comforting touch.

The words 'It doesn't matter' had somehow been replaced with 'What if?' in the past few hours. What if he failed? What if he never got to see his mates in person? What if he never saw Draco again?

Lucius and Severus had been preparing for this day for weeks, and had recently held a small press conference outlining their cases. Severus almost felt relieved. He would never have to spy again after this mess. That was one major point on him where Dumbledore and Harry seemed to split. Dumbledore had been O.K. with subjecting him to Voldemort "for the cause", whereas Harry seemed to loathe the idea of someone getting tortured for "the good of the group". Harry had felt that, with the final battle being so close now, there was no need for someone other than Harry himself to keep an eye on Voldemort.

"When the battle comes, it comes, and we will be ready." Harry had said at the last meeting. And honestly, it wasn't hard to find Voldemort these days. Harry had mastered Occlumency, and had even found a way to use the dreams Voldemort sent him to his advantage. The Order now went off Harry when they needed to save a group of unsuspecting muggles or wayward wizards. Yes, when they needed to find Voldemort, Harry would know where to look.

This new way of tracking that red-eyed madman had given Severus his freedom. Severus did not envy Harry, or the young man's dreams. He saw this trial as his last 'test' before he would be able to really rise up and fight for the Light. He might not be a goody goody Gryffindor, but he knew where he wanted to lay his loyalties and Harry was where freedom held base.

As the two men neared the Ministry, Lucius thought once more of his son, Draco. It seemed that his son and the Boy-Who-Lived had finally gotten over their differences, and were now actually becoming quite good friends with each other. Granted, there were still times when Lucius received an owl bearing a rant about Harry from Draco, but now it seemed that those rants consisted of Draco's worry for Harry's welfare, and Harry's seeming carelessness for it. After a month of Harry disappearing for no reason, Draco had confronted the other boy in a panic, and Harry had yelled a confession about his hunt for Horcruxes. It seemed that Harry thought if he just told Draco, then the other boy would just shut up about it. Obviously, Lucius thought, Harry didn't know his son well enough yet.

When Draco finally decided that someone was worth his concern and friendship, he would protect them from anything he considered a threat… Even if that meant protecting them from 'their own lack of self-preservation and common sense' as Draco often deemed it when talking about the Boy Wonder. Draco had taken to watching over Harry when the other boy went to meals, making sure he was eating and taking care of himself. He offered to help with homework (for Draco was second in their class…everyone knew who was first), and proved to be an excellent study partner for Harry because he was somehow always able to keep Harry focused and interested.

Draco had slowly gotten on Ron and Hermione's good sides, and now the trio turned quartet were nearly inseparable when Harry wasn't on a hunt. Draco also seemed to know when Harry just needed a break or a silent presence.

There was, of course, one huge fight between the two formal rivals. Harry had come back two days late from a hunt, and Draco had been so freaked out that he pounced on the other boy to check for wounds. Harry had stood the attack for about ten seconds before his tiredness had gotten the better of him and he snapped at the former Slytherin. Draco had been offended, and it had taken Ron, Hermione, and Crabbe and Goyle (who had openly defended Draco and turned to the light for their childhood friend) to get the two boys to talk to each other again and apologize for their actions. Harry now stood Draco's scrutiny when he returned, and Draco was more calm when assessing the damage or lack there of. Even Ron and Hermione had been subject to Draco's mothering when they returned from a small mission for the Order, though Ron had a feeling that Draco's gentle treatment of Hermione had nothing to do with the small cut above the brilliant girl's eye.

Over all, Lucius was pleased with the way Draco's seventh year at Hogwarts was progressing. True, the Slytherins still tried to bait him, but it seemed that no one was really willing to cross Harry Potter, his two brilliant and magically talented friends, and the two strongest boys in Slytherin to get to the former Ice Prince. In the span of three and a half months, Draco had managed to cut his dark ties and find the most loyal and loving friends a young man could ask for. The positive attention had definitely done wonders for the boy's disposition and self-image, and it was obvious that Draco was becoming well liked by his peers.

These random thoughts about the past few months helped bolster Lucius' spirit. He and Severus could see the Ministry front door now. There was a light flurry of snow, and the weather seemed to threaten a big storm on the horizon. Lucius hoped the trail would be quick, both for his own sanity and so that he and Severus wouldn't have the chance of getting caught in the storm on their way out of court.

Lucius and Severus were about twenty feet away from the door, surrounded by press, a few aurors, and those few curious wizards when there was a flash of light and a loud explosion. Lucius was knocked to the ground, his eyes temporarily blinded by the flash. When he became aware again, not ten seconds later, he realized that he was laying in the middle of a death eater attack. He and Severus had been told to leave their wands back at Grimmauld Place, and Lucius now cursed Ministry protocol for rendering the two of them helpless.

Before Lucius could get a firm grip on his bearings, he was hauled to his feet, and felt something forced into his hand. Lucius glanced up as he felt the tug of a portkey, and found himself staring into the angry eyes of a masked death eater.

'Well I'm screwed….' Was his last thought before he landed and was knocked unconscious.

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AN: Wouldn't you hate me if I left it here? ;)

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When Lucius came to again, it was to the sight of unblinking black eyes. He would've jerked if it hadn't been for his years as a death eater. He wouldn't let whoever else was there with him know he was awake until he was ready. After a few seconds he realized the eyes were Severus', and that the other man was trying to communicate to him using legilimency. Hence the lack of blinking. It was easier to get a person's attention when they saw you with wide eyes.

'Stay still.' Well thank you, Lucius had figured that one. 'We are tied down, so there's no point, unless you want to give Voldemort the satisfaction of watching you flop around like a trapped animal.'

Lucius suppressed the urge to sigh. He had had a feeling this day would end badly, he just hadn't known this morning what manner the 'bad ending' would take. He took a quick physical assessment of himself and Severus and found that, as of yet, they hadn't been injured.

"Welcome back Lucius, Severus." And the 'yet' went out the window, along with Lucius' hopes that maybe they had just been stranded somewhere for the Order to find.

It seemed that Voldemort had learned that monologuing before torture often gave his victims a slim margin of chance for escape. He immediately launched into a slew of curses and hexes, holding off his monologue until his two new victims were in the throws of a well placed Cruciatus. Lucius vaguely heard him droning on over his and Severus' screams, but he honestly couldn't have cared less what the madman was yapping about. Probably some "You deserved this, I am God, it's the end of the world as you know it and I feel fine, but you obviously don't" lecture on how "That Potter boy" would die and they wouldn't be there to see it. Well he had one thing right, at this rate they wouldn't be at the last battle.

Lucius barely even noticed when the hexes and curses stopped. His body still twitched painfully in response to what it had been through. Lucius was untied, dragged, and then held up by his arms in front of Voldemort.

"You've turned on me, you've turned on your fellow death eaters, and you've signed your own death warrant." Voldemort then addressed his followers. "This is what happens to those who desert me. This is what will happen to your family if you desert me. I will hunt you down, and I will not rest until you are nothing more than a pile of dust at my feet." Voldemort then turned to Lucius.

"Your son will not survive this war. I will find him, and when I do, I will kill him slowly and more painfully than I will kill you." Voldemort raised his wand to Lucius' temple. Lucius braced himself, and sent a final prayer for Draco's protection. "Oh yes!… You had a couple of mates didn't you?" Lucius wanted to hurl.

'Not my mates, you bastard! Don't you TOUCH them!' He threw in his mind. Voldemort smacked him.

"I'll do what I want, you insignificant insect! But, don't you want to see them before you die? I know you never reached for them…How about I say the incantation for you hmm? It'll be easy, I'll just force my way into your tiny little mind, and out will come the words you were too CHICKEN to speak of your own free will."

Voldemort started muttering an incantation that Lucius couldn't decipher. He felt a push at the edge of his mind, and then the push became a shove, the shove a banging, and all of a sudden another presence was there. Lucius felt like his skin was on fire, a headache burst forth as he tried desperately to shove the intruder out. This was like rape, only of Lucius' mind instead of his body. He almost wished for the latter if it meant he could keep his mates safe.

'You will bow to me!' The thought was shouted in his head.

'NEVER' Lucius fought with all his might, but the curses had worn him down. To his horror, Lucius started mouthing, and then saying the words that would conjure an image of his mate at their current state. It was like watching a hologram come into focus.

Features defined themselves, and an image of a man standing with a look of rage on his face came into focus. Lucius didn't want to look, but he knew that everyone else there could also see the image, and so keeping his eyes closed would do no good. A collective gasp rose through the death eaters as they recognized the person, and as they realized that said person was in their midst.

Severus Snape stood in the image as well as in the center of the circle, shock clearly written on his face before the rage took back its place. Before the death eaters could even comprehend that their other captive had some how become loose of his bonds, Severus knocked Voldemort away from Lucius, grabbed up the fellow captive, and wandlessly apparated away from the crowd of their would be killers.

They apparated to three different locations before landing at Grimmauld Place. Upon spotting them, and their state of injury, the Order sprung into action. Medical supplies were rushed down to the kitchen, and torn robes were slowly removed.

Severus was definitely in better shape than Lucius, and after a few healing spells he joined in the effort to save Lucius.

"Stop!" Lucius yelled.

"What?! Lucius you..!" Lucius cut Molly off.

"He forced me to find one of my mates…Yes, I have two destined mates. Severus is one of them," there was a murmur of shock, but they let him continue. "I want to know the other one."

It saddened the Order that Lucius had been forced to start the incantation to find his mates, but they knew that if he didn't finish it he would slowly go crazy. Mates were rare, but if a person had them and started the incantation to find them, then that person must finish the incantation soon or risk the chance of never finishing it. The person had to start off at the place where they had been interrupted.

Lucius started to murmur the words. His words were resigned, and everyone in the room felt an ache for him. It was horrible to force a person to find their mates before they felt ready, almost like stealing something from them. As the image began to take form, the front door opened and shut, and footsteps could be heard heading to the kitchen at a fast pace. Harry walked through the door, and right into the image. Image and person blended, and then the image was made clear over Harry's features.

The Order gasped, and Lucius sagged back on the table he was lying on. The image and the man standing behind it matched. Harry Potter was Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape's second mate. Severus fainted.

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AN: There you go! You now know who Lucius' mates are. :) Thanks for reading this far, and please continue to read this story! I've got a lot more on the way! For those of you who answered the question for pairing the of Draco, you might not be able to review, but try anyway:) If it doesn't work, just tell me what you think on the next chapter...or on a chapter you haven't reviewed yet:) You can also click on my author name and send me a message. :) Thanks again, and please review:)