Rondo

Spring was cruelest, trees bursting mercilessly into emerald blooms, flowers daring to show their flaming colors after months underground. He had always preferred winter, the sharp gray skies reflecting the color of his eyes, the pale earth a relentless reminder of his heritage. As nature unfolded new life Malfoy Manor grew darker, ivy unkempt twisting over the walls, rains dampening the air in the stone fortress. Ten years had passed since that final day of their seventh year at Hogwarts, and all it took was one movement in the shadows or a flicker of a candle to bring him back to that dungeon, to the rage and loss. Harry Potter, dead, checkmated in the dangerous multigenerational game of human chess. Lucius Malfoy, the grand master, hiding his war tactics until the lethal end.

"No."

"No?" The seventh-year's response was genuinely shocked, and for the first time gray eyes showed a flicker of uncertainty.

"It's over, Lucius."

Silence, then fury. Lucius flung James against the wall of the empty classroom so fast James saw stars as his head met the brick. Shaking the world back into focus, James stared up at Lucius, Lucius's slender face drawn into a quiet sneer that looked more like he was hiding some great knowledge, rather than angry.

"You don't seem to understand. This is not something that begins and ends and we leave it unmentioned for the rest of our lives. Your life is tangled in mine, like it or not, as our families have been for years." Cold smile. "There is no 'No' here, James. The best you can hope for is to play the game and come out alive."

"To hell with the game, I quit. There is no reason for this game, as you call it, to go on!" and he reached for Lucius's arms to free himself from the wall. As he resisted, Lucius grew stronger. Angered by James's struggle, Lucius pinned him by the throat, and James's sapphire-blue eyes widened in fear as he choked.

"Shut up, Potter," Lucius spat. "Get it through your thick Gryffindor skull that we don't have a say in this. We belonged to each other before birth, raised to be each other's lover and enemy. I will have it no other way."

Lucius loosened his grip and James gasped for air. "In case you've forgotten, Lucius, I do have a mind of my own. I can make choices. And I have."

"That filthy red-haired Mudblood. Why don't you go and fuck Arthur Weasley while you're at it, they're all from the same ugly breed."

"Lily has twice the magical ability you could ever hope to have."

With a fist to his jaw, James lost his balance and crashed to the floor. Turning on his back and moaning in pain, he grunted as Lucius placed a foot in the middle of his chest.

"You can marry her for all I care. In fact, I expect you to. I expect our sons to be raised as we were, to bring the game to a new level. But I will not be left out of your life." Kneeling and pushing James into the floor by his slim shoulders, he lowered his face into the dark hair and his soft words caressed James's ear.

"I cannot live without you. There has never been a day in my life that you did not overpower what should have been my better judgment. For years I have loved you and cursed your existence. You are more powerful than I ever bargained for, a worthy opponent and brilliant partner. We go beyond lust, beyond love, beyond family."

"And where I go now--it's beyond you."

"Damn you, James!" The pale eyes drew fire as Lucius straightened his back, picked up James's shoulders, and slammed him into the floor. James cried out as his skull struck stone and he wavered at the edge of consciousness. "You will not leave me, I will kill you first!" As James slipped into the blackness, Lucius kissed him furiously, a reminder that there was no escape, no turning back from what controlled their lives.

James woke up alone, cold and sore, blood beading on his lower lip where Lucius had bit him before storming back to Slytherin.