The Ministry of Magic was exactly as Lucius had left it several weeks ago. The atrium was flooded with wizards and witches going to work and he was unsurprised to spot Potter and Arthur Weasley at the check in desk. He avoided them and slipped into the lift with a crowd of people that looked at him quite oddly.
He understood immediately that his pieced together costume was likely not going to be enough for these people. The Ministry was used to seeing him in resplendent robes of forest green or black with silver trimmings. His hair was always perfectly combed and slicked back which left his face to look as superior as his personality conveyed himself to be. Everyone had seen him stalking the corridors on his way to a meeting with the Minister of Magic or some important department head.
Now however, his hair was disheveled as it had been combed with nothing but his fingers. The shirt he had found was wrinkle free thanks to a well placed Charm but his trousers were frayed at the cuff and he was wearing boots instead of dress shoes. The shirt was untucked and he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to shower. He couldn't quite remember the last time he'd eaten either and he was certain that he had dark rings under his eyes.
Yes, he probably looked to be a mess but there was nothing he could do about it now.
The lift deposited him on the ninth floor of the Ministry. He had known for weeks now that the Minister would try to best Potter by moving the time and location of the boy's hearing. He was also quite certain that boy had no idea what he was about to go up against. Yes, Potter had known he was being thrown to wolves but Lucius doubted he fully understood what that meant.
In the corridor outside of the courtroom were several of the Wizengamot members. Some of them he recognized and some of them he hated quite thoroughly. A particularly frizzy haired witch that he knew as Cynthia McIntyre was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and looking thoroughly disgruntled. Lucius approached her quickly.
"Cynthia," he greeted politely. She looked at him, prepared to greet him just as politely but pulled up short at the sight of him.
"Lucius, are you ill?" she asked quietly, instinctively dropping her voice. Cynthia had been a Slytherin in her day but Lucius hadn't known her until he himself had graduated and interned in her department. She had taught him quite a bit about which person had which quirks and how to maneuver his way through the politics of the departments.
"Yes, in fact," he said lapping up the excuse for his appearance with grace. "I need to speak with you." He gently guided her by the arm and moved them up the corridor, almost back to the lift.
"What is it?" Cynthia asked quietly.
"It's about the hearing," he replied.
"Yes, it's going to happen any minute now," she confirmed. "Bit of a nasty trick if you ask me, but Fudge doesn't ask me much of anything anymore."
"Fudge is an idiot," he replied, meaning every word. She smirked at him, her characteristic snideness coming to the forefront in the presence of both a student of her own and a fellow Slytherin.
"Quite," she said. "But what exactly are you concerned about? As I recall you have no good will towards the Potter boy."
"This has nothing to do with good will," he told her and crossed his arms, unconsciously trying to shield himself from her scrutiny.
"Yes," she said and he noticed that there was an odd look on her face. It was as if she knew something. Something she wasn't very interested in telling him about. "I didn't think that was it."
"I need you to vote in favor of Potter returning to Hogwarts."
"I will vote as the evidence demands I vote."
"Please, Cynthia," he said refusing to acknowledge that his tone could be misconstrued as begging. "This is very important. Potter must return to Hogwarts this year."
"Why?" she asked not budging. If she was going to vote a certain way it wasn't because she was going to be doing him a favor. She wanted to know exactly what the consequences of her own actions would be.
"I cannot tell you," he said. There wasn't enough time to actually tell her anything.
"Then I cannot help you," she replied coldly and turned to move away. He caught her by the arm and held her in place firmly.
"What do you want in return?" he asked, knowing that the only real effective way to get a Slytherin to do anything was to offer a trade. If she did this for him, he would do something for her. Both of them would get something they wanted and neither of them would question the motives of the other. That was how it was done, especially among friends.
Cynthia smiled, her feelings of success showing plainly on her face. It wasn't often that Lucius Malfoy was desperate enough to offer a trade so quickly. Lucius very rarely wanted to admit that he couldn't get his way without some sort of payment in return, whether that payment was gold or action. However, when someone did get offered a trade, it was an opportunity that could not be squandered on petty circumstance.
"I don't have the time to run through it with you now," she said and thus accepted his offer. "If you want Potter in Hogwarts, then I have work to do." Lucius dropped her arm as if it was on fire and she took her leave into the courtroom. When she opened the door he could plainly hear the sounds of the majority of the WIzengamot inside. They were clearly enjoying themselves if the laughter was anything to go by.
Lucius sunk into contemplation about the Wizengamot. They were quite satisfied with themselves and the power they held over a fifteen year old boy raised in the Muggle World. He was quite thoroughly disgusted with them, not because they were despicable in their actions but because they were pathetic. They held no real power over half of the country and they didn't even know it.
The Death Eaters and Dark Families had been flaunting their rebelliousness for decades, if not centuries. They didn't care for the Wizaengamot's rules and edicts and were quite often known for their lack of respect about the government. The Wizengamot and indeed the Ministry in general did not recognize this obstinate populace and chose instead to ignore them completely until someone managed to explode a building or murder someone of import.
Furthermore, he doubted that the Ministry had any idea of what was happening with the Muggleborns. It was notoriously difficult for a Muggleborn to get a job in the Ministry due to the fact that most jobs were granted not on qualifications but through politics. Lucius had been offered several jobs simply because he was a Malfoy and for no other reason.
Muggleborns spent most of their lives as the working class. There was anger because of that but the Ministry likely didn't understand how much. Lucius however, had been spending quite a bit of time with the Muggleborns that congregated on Papa Odie's property and he knew just how little respect they had for the Ministry. Papa Odie's closest people very rarely listened to the Ministry or gave it much thought. Lucius would pay money to see the Ministry try to tell Papa Odie not to do something. In fact, he would pay good money to witness it.
"Lucius?"
He was broken out of his thoughts by none other than the thunderstruck Minister of Magic. Lucius was quite certain that Fudge had never considered that Lucius could ever look this disheveled and he found the man's expression amusing.
"Are-are you feeling alright?"
"Yes," Lucius said curtly. He was always curt with Fudge. Lucius neither liked nor respected Fudge and his time away from his normal life had only deepened that dislike. Potter may be every bit as crazy as Fudge thought but the boy certainly wasn't dangerous. Probably.
"Where have you been?" Fudge asked. "I've been trying to contact you about what's going to be happening at Hogwarts this year." As member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors Lucius was often in touch with Fudge. Recently however, Fudge seemed to be determined to be bring the school under the control of the Ministry, something Lucius didn't care to happen. He would much rather the school be under his personal control and not in the control of a man easily influenced by the whims of people smarter than him.
"I have been ill of late, Minister," Lucius lied, forcing himself to sound respectful.
"Oh, yes," Fudge stumbled. "I see that." Lucius narrowed his eyes dangerously as the Minister took in his disheveled appearance. Putting his hands casually in his pockets, Lucius rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Such casualness was not something that anyone in the Ministry had ever seen from him but at this point Lucius felt it was more prudent to keep them all guessing.
Everything was getting ready to change anyway and there was no reason not to keep his options open. If that meant dropping a carefully crafted facade, that was what he was going to do. He was no longer a servant of the Dark Lord and thus, he had no reason to play nicely with the Minister-a man he had been instructed to manipulate.
"Well," Fudge continued cautiously, cottoning on to the fact that Lucius was apparently bored with him. "The trial will start in a few minutes."
"A bit strange isn't it?" Lucius asked. "A full trial for a bit of accidental magic?"
"It was hardly accidental," Fudge corrected and Lucius shrugged. "Lucius, my friend, surely you can understand the situation. You've been saying for years that Dumbledore's power had grown too strong."
"Yes," he said. "Potter isn't Dumbledore."
"He's in Dumbledore's pocket."
Lucius actually laughed at that. It was a laugh of derision but a laugh nonetheless.
Everything he had seen from Potter said something quite different than what the Minister was thinking. He knew that Potter was loyal to Dumbledore and would likely always be loyal to Dumbledore. They were teacher and student and Potter genuinely liked the Headmaster. But Potter was not someone to follow orders. He was-in the end-his own person.
In fact, when the Gryffindor had first captured Lucius, Fenrir, and McNair it hadn't been to Dumbledore he'd tried to run to. It had been Papa Odie he had taken them to. Lucius wasn't quite sure how that would pan out in the future but it was certainly telling. Potter talked quite a bit about the Headmaster and it was clear that although their relationship was strained, Potter wouldn't hear a bad word against the man.
However, Potter had said a few choice words about Dumbledore ignoring him. It was clear that Potter prefered an open line of communication with the Headmaster that he would acknowledge or ignore as he saw fit.
"I don't think you know Harry Potter very well," he responded noticing that Fudge was waiting for some elaboration on his amusement. "He may like Dumbledore, but Potter is more interested in doing what he wants, when he wants. Whatever happened in that alley has nothing to do with Dumbledore."
"He's claiming there were Dementors in Little Whinging," Fudge said incredulously. "And now we can't find the family. His relatives are Muggles. Whatever he did scared them so badly they've gone into hiding. He's going crazy I'm afraid."
"I don't think so," Lucius said and Fudge's eyes widened dramatically.
"You think he was telling the truth?" he asked, eyebrows trying to disappear into his hairline.
"I think it is possible," Lucius said knowing that he was treading in dangerous waters. He had just handed Fudge a reason to cut all ties with him, something that could make things very uncomfortable for Lucius. On the other hand, Fudge was also going to have to give up quite a bit as well. Lucius-despite his leave of absence-was very much still influential. And now all of that influence was benefiting no one but himself. Fudge didn't know that but it felt good to realize that Lucius's power was now his own.
Fudge stared him for far longer than necessary but thankfully, never got the chance to act. The lift doors opened and out popped Potter and Arthur Weasley. Lucius and the Minister broke eye contact and moved in different directions. Fudge went into the courtroom and Lucius made his way to the lift. He nodded at Arthur, who was too surprised to do anything but eye him wearily. Potter was so busy trying not to throw up that Lucius was positive he didn't even notice him.
Lucius took the lift and made his way to the atrium.
It was there that he noticed something was infinitely off. The second he stepped off the lift, he could feel it in the air. Something had changed in the half hour he'd been on the ninth floor. The Atrium was still as busy as it always was and there was still chaos as people made their way this way and that. It looked completely normal. But something was off. He could feel it in his stomach.
Stepping to the side, Lucius peered into the crowds of Ministry wizards and witches. He knew many of them by sight, having passed them in the corridors and in Floo lines for years.
However, when he broadened his focus he spotted what was wrong. There-in the corner-was a man he recognized from Papa Odie's dining room. Lucius knew him to be a Squib and he was currently dressed in the robes typical of a Ministry of Magic caretaker. He was mopping the floor but his eyes were scanning the crowds just as Lucius had been. He looked nervous but determined.
Finally, his eyes landed on a woman coming through the Floo. The woman was an Auror if her uniform was any indication and Lucius had never seen her before. Her hair was blonde, pulled into a tight bun, and she had an unpleasant scowl on her face. She was speaking to someone he recognized as a Weasley. Lucius recalled that this had been the kid that had followed Crouch around like a puppy. He sneered.
As he watched, Weasley and the Auror stopped by the garish fountain that dominated the Atrium and engaged in a very quiet conversation. Had the Ministry not been warded against Listening Charms Lucius would have attempted to listen in. He also didn't dare move closer knowing that they would recognize him even in this state. So he settled for watching the Squib watching the pair of Ministry workers.
He put the mop in the bucket and then reached into his pocket where he was clearly gripping something tightly. Lucius watched closely, thoroughly interested as the Squib crossed purposefully to the fountain, withdrew what looked like bright purple chalk, and dropped it into the water of the fountain.
The effect of the substance wasn't immediate but it didn't take long before the water began to turn a deep, royal purple and began to bubble as if it was boiling. And then, suddenly, it exploded. The water reached all the way to the high ceiling and spilled over the floor with such a huge crashing noise that Lucius's ears began to ring.
Weasley and the Auror woman were thrown violently to the floor. The water itself had turned into something else and wherever it touched his skin there was a small burning sensation. And Lucius had only been hit by a few drops. Weasley was clutching at his face in pain. Lucius didn't doubt that he'd been burned. Perhaps horribly.
People were running and screaming.
Alarms were blaring.
The Squib was gone.
Lucius wasn't entirely sure what he had just witnessed. Had this been a sanctioned attack on the Ministry by Papa Odie? Did the Ministry know about Papa Odie? Were the Muggleborns getting ready to rebel?
Rebellion seemed the most likely cause. After all, Lucius had heard whispers about it in the dining hall at the motel. But why now, when Potter was in the building? Lucius quickly left through a set of stairs that led to the outside of the Ministry. The Floo had been shut down and so had the Apparition points. However, these stairs weren't well known and it was a simple matter of using the right Unlocking Charm.
He didn't want to be caught in the Atrium for the next eight hours as the Ministry bumbled it's way through an investigation. He was quite surprised to reach the street and then hear the sound of the door opening again to reveal another person. The Squib. He had ditched his robes along the way and was now in nondescript Muggle clothing.
The Squib brushed past Lucius and leapt into a car. Lucius peered in through the window to receive another shock. He recognized that driver. The window rolled down and the driver stuck his head out to talk to him.
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get in?" Papa Odie asked.
Lucius was too surprised to do anything except jump into the back seat and pull his seatbelt on as the car tore away from the curb and through London.
What had he gotten himself into now?