Marked as His Equal
Chapter One: August 20, 1994
Lucius sat in his study, mindlessly staring at a tumbler of fire whiskey. The faded mark on his arm steadily growing darker, he said to his wife "We are all led to believe that this boy, while a superb flyer and above average abilities at Defense Against the Dark Arts, is to have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. Tom Riddle was an exceptional student while at Hogwarts and grew into such an elite wizard that people shudder at the mere mention of his name. This boy is an average student at best. If we are to have our faith placed in him, we are truly fucked." Narcissa raised a single eyebrow at the uncharacteristically coarse language from her husband but did not disagree. "I don't know," she said. "It seems that he's able to cast a corporeal Patronus at 13. Neither of us are slouches when it comes to magical power, and we couldn't do that until after we graduated. And from what I heard from Andromeda, he was able to drive away nearly a hundred of those foul beasts." That gave Lucius a pause. Perhaps there was something to the boy. "How is your sister?" he asked. "She is doing well. Her daughter has just completed her auror training, with distinction apparently. Too bad she's too far taken with the myth of Albus Dumbledore. That's one thing my sister and I still agree on." She truly did miss her sister. They were the closest of the Black sisters, and it broke her heart when Andromeda abandoned them. She often wonders what things would be like if she had not been cast out.
"Either way" he replied, "if he's as entrenched with Dumbledore's camp, he'll lack the fortitude to do what is required. And if he's successful, he'll just bow down to the blood traitors and we'll see our way of life die anyway."
Lucius would be the first to admit that he was not what most consider a good man. He was vain, petty, and held those he deemed beneath him in contempt. He was not a willing killer. He did love his wife unconditionally and while he knew his son was quite spoiled and arrogant, he loved him dearly as well. Much of the same could be said for his wife. While Andromeda was disowned for running away with the mudblood, she was still Narcissa's sister. He still encouraged correspondence between the two, because blood still means something. His family's well being and the legacy he left behind were two of the most important things to him. He saw it as his duty to build upon what those came before him left for him.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not hate muggles, half bloods, and the muggle born. He did think wizards were inherently superior to muggles, but he didn't hate them. They belonged in their own world, and out of the wizarding world. The problem he had with the mudbloods and half bloods was that they thought of themselves as muggles that could do magic. They wanted to turn the wizarding world into a copy of the muggle world, to destroy centuries of rites and traditions. They were too lazy to learn about the world they were entering and quick to label it as backwards and outdated. One would not travel to France and demand that everyone speak English, would they? It was enough to drive him mad.
Was he wrong to believe that blood mattered? Shouldn't everyone want to preserve familial lines? It was proven that talents and abilities run in blood lines. Shouldn't they be preserved and made to be strong? Should he not want his son to marry a witch that would bring prestige and gifts equal to what his family line brings? His wife is among the best the Black family had to offer. Even her niece Nymphadora was an amazing witch in her own right, and a metamorphmagus to boot. Is it wrong to want to make the world better? So many lines have disappeared forever, such as the founders and the Peverells, and the patriarchal Black family line was down to Sirius Black. Therefore, it was so easy to follow the Dark Lord when he was a young man. He was handsome, charismatic, and powerful. He was the last descendant of Slytherin. He spoke of preserving the traditions and building a world where magical blood mattered.
It wasn't until he was in too deep that Lucius realized how deeply he misjudged the Dark Lord. He was only after power and would do anything to get it. He cared nothing for traditions or family, only how he could achieve power. He saw himself at the top and everyone else was to serve him. He changed from the powerful charismatic lord to the erratic monster the world came to fear. By the time he realized this, it was too late. He was marked. The Dark Lord would go on to eliminate more pureblood houses than Grindewald. And he was dragged along for the ride.
The Imperious Curse is truly a nasty piece of magic. It is incredibly difficult to fight when properly cast by a master of the mind arts. It was true that it could make people do some truly abhorrent things such as kill their family, jump off a cliff, self-mutilation, or any number of truly ghastly acts, but what made it so insidious was that if one was already inclined to a certain way of thinking, it was quite easy to push someone further in that direction. While Lucius was firmly a traditionalist, he made no qualms about how he felt about muggles, mudbloods, creatures, and the like, he truly did not have the desire to eliminate them. Couple that with the only true opposition was Dumbledore, who would see the muggleborn and halfboods trample the traditions, it was quite easy for Voldemort to keep Lucius under his thumb.
Now Lucius can only stare as the mark grows darker by the week. He wonders how long he will have until he returns. He never really believed he was gone, and after the diary incident in Draco's second year, he knew without a doubt that the Dark Lord was not gone. He knew the diary was an absolute foul piece of magic, but he didn't know how abhorrent it was. It wasn't until after hearing what happened to the Weasley girl that he was sure of what it was. Whatever possessed that madman to make a Horcrux? Did he not know the consequences, or did he just not care? The soul is not something to be defiled in such a way.
"What are we to do, my love" he asked his wife. "We are stuck between two titans, and neither care about us nor their other pawns, only how we can fit into their plans. Since Charlus and Fleamont have died, there isn't anyone besides Dumbledore that can magically stand against the Dark Lord. I cannot follow someone who does not care about our traditions and way of life." Narcissa regarded him carefully, "Were the older Potters truly that formidable?" she asked skeptically. Lucius sighed and replied "Individually, they were quite the force of nature, even the Dark Lord was hesitant to engage them. Perhaps they were not as magically powerful, but they were without a doubt very talented wizards. The Dark Lord said several times it was a shame they could not be brought around to our side. I believe the only reason they fell was treachery, perhaps your cousin Sirius had a hand in their demise as well as the younger Potters'?" Narcissa paused. "We may have a few things to discuss." "What do you mean?" Lucius asked. She took a deep breath. "About Sirius. One good thing about Nymphadora being so close to Dumbledore is that she is a wealth of information. Sirius may not have betrayed the potters or killed their other friend Pettigrew. Apparently, Sirius was never their secret keeper and was never a follower of the Dark Lord." This information genuinely shocked Lucius. "How was this not addressed at his trial?" he asked. "He was never afforded the luxury of a trial. Barty Crouch threw the heir of the House of Black straight into Azkaban without a trial or tribunal." This got Lucius' attention. "Even the Lestrange's got a trial, and they were caught in the act of torturing the Longbottoms. If this is true, what would you have me do? He is your family, and blood matters." Narcissa looked at her husband with tears starting to form in her eyes. Her family was reduced to a shadow of what it once was. Sirius and Andromeda were the only Black's left. "We were close once. I would like to at least get the truth of the matter. Then we can go from there."