Edited 10/2/2023 Minor Grammar/Spelling. (SHOOT I HAVE A LOT TO CATCH UP ON…)

Two shorter chapters today because A. I start my new job tomorrow, B. I'm not feeling all that great today, and C. we have to build up to the great showdown between Draco and his fath- er Lucius...

Enjoy!

Thursday, August 13, 1998

"Hermione," Remus said tiredly, "we can't just send him back. They'll force him to tell them everything."

"We can't afford to have Theo and Draco be tortured so often!" she said heatedly. "We need them."

"She's right, Remus," Regulus said softly. "The Malfoy Notts are invaluable resources to all of us. We need to figure out a way to send him back without arousing suspicion."

"Plus," Kingsley added after a few moments of silence, "he's but a shadow of himself since Draco removed him from the Family."

Hermione smiled at Regulus and nodded to Kingsley. "I think that we just need him to be spotted, so it seems like he's on the run, not sharing Order secrets. Draco should be able to spin a tale about how he went mad after he felt the marriage bond break."

"Now there's an idea," Regulus said, fiddling with his sleeves. "The Dark Lord is convinced that Lucius is a loose end. If we can convince him that the Order doesn't have him and he's just turned tail, it could vault Draco higher into the Inner Circle and stop the torture."

"Are you suggesting that we let Lucius Bloody Malfoy run around England until he's spotted?" Remus blustered.

Hermione began to speak, but was cut off by Regulus. "There is no one named Lucius Malfoy any longer. Lucius Stone, as illegitimate or disowned children in Wiltshire are known, will remain in Order custody, but we will have someone utilise Polyjuice to stage a scene for Draco. We could have them duel to the death or we could have him just disappear into the night, but I think that would be up to Draco."

Hermione looked appreciatively at Regulus, "Has he decided to keep Lucius then?"

"I haven't talked to him about it," Regulus said with a shrug, "my guess is that eventually he'll choose something else, but only when it finally hits him that he's not a Malfoy any longer."

"They're leaving it up to you," Hermione said, stroking the back of Draco's hand where the three of them were curled up in the library. "We need to tie up the loose end that is Lucius Stone so that we don't have to endure the two of you getting tortured over it."

"I don't know what to do," Draco said, "I don't really want to fight him, but his 'death' is the most sure-fire way to stop the Dark Lord from trying to find him."

"Well," Theo smirked, "you won't be fighting him, just a Polyjuiced version of him."

"I don't really fancy being celebrated as someone who killed their own father," Draco scoffed.

"Mon étoile," Hermione started, "this will solidify your station in the Inner Circle. We can always do the other route, but then we'll have to keep up the ruse for far longer."

"He's already marked as deceased on the tapestry," Theo said quietly, "and it only says the year, so this is a really good opportunity for a clean break, amor."

Draco sighed and threw his head back against the back of the couch. "Who will I be fighting?"

"You and Regulus will be fighting against Kings, he has the most experience fighting Lucius so he'll be able to mimic his style best," Hermione said smiling at him. "I'm glad we're going to do this, I can't stand to see either of you hurt."

"When?" Draco asked, turning to her.

"This weekend, you can tell Tom that you'll be spending the weekend hunting for Lucius and Regulus will agree to join you," Hermione said carefully.

"Alright," Theo said, bouncing up, "enough moping, we only have a few more weeks with Gin, Blaise is coming over later to play some Quidditch, Nott's versus nots!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Poor Blaise," Hermione faux grimaced, "he's so outnumbered."

Draco scoffed. "Although I'm married to this wanker, I am not a Nott!"

"Alright, Lord Malfoy," Theo said, "but you do have quite a bit of Nott in you, don't you?"

Hermione laughed as Draco chased Theo from the room, both men laughing loudly.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think or if you have any thoughts about what might happen next!