1991 – 1995
As Lucius had suspected, Percy was not invited to another Governors' Meeting that year. Dumbledore did not like to be undermined, particularly not in public. His place was taken by a rather insipid Ravenclaw girl, whose only interesting feature was her tendency to blush unbecomingly and cast her eyes down in a horribly coy manner whenever Percy Weasley's name was mentioned. Consequently – of course – Lucius made a point of mentioning the boy at every opportunity. This had the equally satisfying result of annoying Dumbledore.
Her name was Clearwater. Not a Pureblood family. In fact, Lucius suspected that she might even have been a Muggle-born. He wondered whether her interest in the Weasley boy was a mutual thing. It was possible that Percy, like Lucius, was receptive to the charms of both witches and wizards. He did hope, however, that he was not going to taint his blood with the mud of Muggles. Arthur Weasley would have loved that, of course. Ridiculous Blood Traitor.
It became clear by the end of the year that Dumbledore had indeed been hiding secrets in the castle. Risking the safety of the school children he claimed to cherish. Hypocritical old bugger. Lucius retrieved a relic from his library and began to formulate his own plans to smuggle something dangerous into the school. He was glad that he was able to involve Arthur's daughter in the design. He hoped her death would not derail the bright future he foresaw for Percy, but if the boy was too weak to withstand a little tragedy in the family for whom he was clearly too able, then he would never amount to anything anyway.
Sometimes even the best bloodlines produced disappointments. Narcissa's cousin Sirius was an example. Andromeda had been a loss, but Sirius had been corrupt from the beginning. Equally, some of the most dreadful families occasionally managed to produce a gem. It was possible that Percy Weasley was one of those.
Indeed, Lucius was very pleased, when he read that year's O.W.L. results, to see that Percy's were exceptional. Twelve. His intelligence had been apparent in that one meeting. Certainly, the boy was worth keeping an eye on. And later, as Lucius had predicted, he did indeed become Head Boy. Sadly, by then Lucius was no longer a governor, so they never did share another Meeting.
Lucius noticed Percy briefly at the Quidditch World Cup. He smiled to himself, knowing what plans he and his Death Eater colleagues had for that night. It would be Percy's turn to be impressed by Lucius. Lucius hoped that some future spectaculars might include Percy behind one of the masks. To that end, he sought Percy out before the match, when the boy was crossing the campsite on his own. He merely greeted Percy by name, shook his hand and held his gaze. It should have been enough to remind Percy of who Lucius was. If the flush on the boy's cheek was anything to go by, then it did just that. He was still a boy, though, and Lucius really was only interested in men.
Lucius ran across him a few times that year in the Ministry. He never omitted a nod and a warm, "Mr Weasley" when passing Percy in a corridor. He was always answered with a cordial, "Mr Malfoy" in return. Having started out with a very lowly clerical job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Lucius quietly watched him rise to the position of Crouch's personal assistant and awaited news of his next, well-deserved, promotion.