2nd May 1998

Draco was safe; that was the main thing. Voldemort was dead and Lucius was glad of that too. He sat quietly in the Great Hall with Narcissa and Draco, surrounded by his former enemies as they mourned their dead. It was getting late. At some point he would have to take his family back to Malfoy Manor, but just now none of them could face it. Voldemort was dead, but his presence would still taint their home.

Narcissa looked at him with resentment. She blamed him for leading them all into Voldemort's control. He had been doing what he thought was best for the family. Draco was safe. It had all turned out fine in the end. She should trust him to steer them into the future. Somehow, though, he doubted that she would. And now that she no longer trusted him, she would start to vent her resentment of all his other small betrayals of her and the family. There had been a time when she had been devoted to him. Then she had assumed that every choice he made had been for the best. She had obeyed all instructions and turned blind eyes when that had been necessary. The only way he was going to be able to win her back to his side now was through decisive, clever moves to secure their futures. He had no idea how his son felt about him.

Lucius wondered where the Potter boy was. He would be the key. He had been around a few hours ago. Narcissa had been smart to lie to protect him. Had he known what she was doing at the time then Lucius would have stopped her; these past months his only motivation had been fear of the Dark Lord. She had been right, though. It would stand them in good stead. There was every chance that Azkaban awaited all three of them. Lucius shuddered. He couldn't face going back there. He needed to remind Potter that a Malfoy had saved his life. Potter would protect them. He needed to get close to Potter, or close to someone in his circle.

Lucius stood. Neither Narcissa nor Draco watched him go. They didn't care. He kept to the edges and the dark places of the hall, hoping not to be noticed. Everywhere were huddles and clusters of the living surrounding the dead, or whispering together, or comforting each other in silence. He located the group of gingers. There was a corpse at their centre. It looked like a son, though it wasn't like they didn't have a few spares. Arthur Weasley held his chubby wife close. Lucius scanned their faces. He thought he had seen someone earlier. Yes! He sat back quiet against the wall until eventually Percy turned his head.

Percy froze. He looked a little sick. Then he took a sharp look around his family, before jerking his head towards a hole in the wall to his left. He lowered his gaze to the floor again, before standing slowly and backing away from the family group. One of his brothers spoke to him and Percy muttered a reply which must have been acceptable judging by its reception, before picking his way carefully out to the damaged part of the castle wall.

Lucius waited a moment, then retraced his steps towards the front door. He passed his family without them acknowledging him. Once outside, he felt his way through the star-less dark, circumnavigating the castle until he found Percy. Percy had cast Lumos; Lucius had not even dared to do that.

"My brother's dead," Percy said.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Silence stood between them. Lucius did not ask which one. The name wouldn't have meant anything to him anyway.

"How did you know?" Lucius asked eventually. "I always knew you were clever. I didn't see it coming at all, but you managed to switch sides at the most perfect moment." He smiled. He hoped it was convincing. "I'm afraid I was still under the illusion that our best chances lay with the Lord, but you knew better. You rejoined your family just in time. How on earth did you know?" He paused. Percy was looking at him oddly. "That the schoolboy would defeat the Great Dark Wizard? It hardly seemed possible, but you managed to call it right."

"I didn't," Percy said. "Like everybody else, I thought that Lord Voldemort -" Lucius felt an uncontrollable twitch of terror run through him at the use of the name "- was going to kill Harry."

"Then why ...?"

"Join up with the losing side? You've always credited me with far more cunning than I actually possess, Lucius. You always said that I should have been a Slytherin. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm a Gryffindor at core. I joined the battle against the Death Eaters because it was the right thing to do. I can't see it as the perfect moment. I've missed my family too much for too long. I should have made a stand sooner. Now... Fred..." he looked down his long nose and a single teardrop sparkled in the wand-light.

Lucius reached to pat his arm, but Percy pulled back from him before contact was made. Lucius swallowed.

"Nevertheless. You do find yourself in rather a fortunate position. Moving forwards. Whereas my own, um, social placing - shall we say - is a little more tenuous just now. Will you have a word on my behalf with -?"

"You made your bed, Malfoy!" Percy snapped, cutting off Lucius' sentence. "We may have shared it occasionally, but I can't help wondering if you weren't partly to blame for some of my less worthy decisions over the last few years. What do you want me to tell people? That you never meant any harm? You and I both know that that would be a lie. I've undermined my family's safety, betrayed them, rejected them. I won't mislead them on your behalf."

"But after everything we've been to each other – could you not -?" Lucius grasped Percy's forearm hard between his hands. "Percy, please. I need you."

Percy laughed bitterly. "I have to go and be with my family," he said. "You should return to yours."

"Percy. Please." Lucius' voice cracked.

But Percy walked away. He took the light with him as he climbed over the rubble and back into the building. Lucius sank slowly to his knees as he watched.

THE END