Our Little One

.~*~.Our little one.~*~.

Chapter Ten

Redemption

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This chapter is not from any particular first-person POV.

This chapter is entirely flashbacks.

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4th of June, 1993

*

Lucius Malfoy frowned slightly as he looked at the parchment in front of him, not really seeing anything on it. Or, if he did see something, the knowledge of it never reached his brains.

He had a lot to think about these past days. What the Potter boy had done made him wonder. Why would the boy set a house-elf free, especially the one that had caused him such harm when trying to "help" him?

He knew that Draco wouldn't have done that. Draco would have happily kicked the creature away to its former owner and waved cheery goodbyes as it limped away.

The problem was that Lucius didn't know if he should be proud or ashamed of this.

Maybe he should be just indifferent. Why should he care how his son treated the house-elves? It wasn't like he'd himself spoiled them or let them be lazy.

But he was never cruel to them. Whatever Dobby had told Potter was because Dobby was a mental - always punishing himself for every tiny thing. The Death Eaters that visited them sometimes also tormented their house-elves, and he had to be cruel in front of them, but he thought that a man who was evil to those so much weaker creatures was a coward. He could fight, and he could torture, but never something that he could win as easily as he could have won a mouse. There was simply no point in doing that.

The Boy Who Lived had no reason to be kind to anyone, according to what Lucius had heard of him. However, he'd had mercy and set Dobby free in a situation where Draco would have been downright cruel. What should he think about that?

What would Remus think?

He blinked. Where on Earth had that thought come from? Remus... Remus Lupin. The werewolf he'd secretly dated for... how long was it again... three years? It was already fourteen years since he'd last seen the boy-or, nowadays, the man. Why should he care what Lupin would think?

Remus would be ashamed. He'd be disappointed.

Lucius frowned. There was nothing more annoying than the little voice inside his mind. Last time it had told him that he shouldn't give the Weasley girl the diary. He'd given it anyway, of course, but the voice hadn't left him in peace for days after that. In fact the next day it had told him least once, to take the diary back and see that the book was destroyed.

Anyway to Hell with whatever Lupin would think. The werewolf had been pretty, true enough, and nice to play with-very nice, to be exact-but Lucius had soon forgotten him after leaving him behind. He'd sometimes remember the amber eyes, yes, or the golden hair, or the thigh little arse or sharp teeth, but then they faded from his mind again. Lucius Malfoy didn't hang on. Definitely not for years.

He was almost thankful as Avery Apparated in front of him, interrupting his thoughts.

"Lucius," Avery said, without as much as a greeting at first. "I have a task for you. From our Master."

"And what it is?" he asked warily.

"You're to use your Ministry contacts and sneak into the werewolf registries," the other Death Eater told him dryly. "Then you will make a copy of the list of them, so we can go and have a talk with them."

"Whatever for?" Lucius snorted.

"Our Lord is planning to gather his army again," Avery told him. "All the Dark creatures, werewolves among the others, are to join us... Or die."

"More will probably join, considering what they are," Lucius remarked. "Very well. I can do that."

"Our Lord will be pleased." With these words, he Disapparated.

Lucius felt quite stunned. Then another surprising thought hit him.

Remus is a werewolf.

He hadn't even had enough time to think about it as yet another thought came to him.

Remus will never accept.

Therefore, Remus will die.

*

Lucius was very distracted at the moment.

There would be no problems getting the list. He could just get it, take it to Voldemort, and forget it. It wasn't like he'd ever have to participate in the dirty work.

He could just let numerous people be coaxed to the Dark Side, or killed. And for no other reason but because they'd been attacked in the past, or their parents had been.

The little voice in his mind-Severus had once called it his conscience-practically screamed against it. It told him not to do it, to warn the werewolves, to at last realize just how wrong it all was, but he chose to ignore it. Keeping the list back wouldn't help any. Voldemort would get it anyway, and Lucius or his family would be punished. He couldn't warn them, either; the results would still be the same. And about it all being wrong.... Well, he'd been aware of that even before.

Lucius didn't approve Voldemort's actions. Not at all. It was just that he didn't really have options, once he'd received the Mark. He could either stay on Voldemort's side, or die.

He no longer participated in the "real" Death Eater actions. As Voldemort's right-hand man he was too valuable to the Dark to be risked. That was a relief to him. All those rapes, murders, and other things he'd had to do before, all just because of what kind of parents somebody had been born to, nauseated him even now as he looked back at them. The little voice told him that it was wrong, and he agreed with it. It was indeed wrong, and he could do nothing about it.

Lucius had a thirst for power, and power was easier to get near the more powerful ones. And Voldemort was the most powerful right now, despite his half-dead, half-alive state. He was the one Lucius could stay with if he wanted power--and if he wanted to stay alive.

Power, and his life. Those were things he valued over other things. Nothing was more important to him, except his family and closest friends. As long as those people and Lucius himself were safe, it didn't matter to him whether something he did was right or wrong.

Lucius didn't consider himself evil. He didn't consider himself good, either. He was mostly just indifferent, doing what he had to do. Right now, the thing he had to do was to get the list for Voldemort, no matter how wrong it maybe was.

It was nauseating, even more than anything else. He'd witnessed before Voldemort's evilness. He knew that the Dark Lord had murdered, and commanded to murder, because somebody had a Muggle in their family three generations backwards. That he'd never approved, but he had managed to cope with it. Malfoys were a pure family, as were the Snapes. There was nothing for him to fear.

But this. All the werewolves, most of them people who had never done anything wrong. Purebloods as well as Squibs, nothing mattered to Voldemort, if they were cursed. This wasn't about the purity of blood, or saving the blood line like Voldemort had always reasoned his actions. This was only the most purely evil and cruel thing he'd seen in his life. Voldemort was gathering his army, true enough, but he didn't have to do it this way. The motive behind this wasn't even the obsession about pure blood. It was merely Voldemort's will to murder and destroy, to rule everyone.

And it was wrong. More than ever before, he knew it was wrong.

There. Thinking about the werewolves brought another thing to his mind. That thing being Remus Lupin, and what to do about him.

He couldn't just wipe Lupin's name off the list. If Voldemort suspected something, he'd put somebody to get the same list and look at them both. And then, he'd be caught.

But Lucius couldn't let Lupin die. He didn't know exactly what was preventing him, but he just couldn't. He owed Lupin - owed him for more than for his life.

Therefore, he had only one option remaining.

Lucius Malfoy, the Lord of Malfoy, right-hand man to the Dark Lord, had to go to Albus Dumbledore to ask for help.

***

5th of July, 1993

*

"So, the Dark Lord is gathering his army. All the werewolves are to either join him or die." A slight pause. "And you know that how?" Dumbledore asked then, raising one amused eyebrow. The damned man was clearly enjoying the situation.

"Doesn't matter," Lucius said bluntly. "The only thing that matters right now is Lupin. He's on your side, right?"

The Headmaster merely nodded, urging him to continue. He paid no attention to the word "your," which clearly excluded Lucius himself from that side.

"You have to take him to Hogwarts," Lucius said slowly. "The Dark Lord is determined to execute every lycanthropic not willing to join him. Lupin would die. You have to keep him safe here."

"And why should I do that?" Dumbledore asked unnervingly, an annoying twinkle in his eyes. "It would be sad if we lost Remus, true enough, but I cannot endanger the students. Not to mention, if I hired Remus and somebody found out, I'd have Ministry on my neck immediately."

"I can pay -" he started, but the Headmaster silenced him with an abrupt wave of the hand.

"The school doesn't need your money," the old wizard said. "Nor do I. You know what I want. You're well capable of doing that."

Lucius clenched his teeth. He didn't mind that his loyalty to his Lord was under suspect. It wasn't like there was much to begin with. Neither was it annoying that Dumbledore knew. Practically all the Wizarding World knew about his Death Eater-ness, although no one could prove anything. None of these were bothering him.

No. It'd be terribly dangerous, and not only for him. If he'd fail, also Draco and Narcissa would be harmed. Voldemort had never been scared of using his servants' family members to keep them under control.

And if it'd turn out exactly what he was paying for with spying, they'd kill Remus as well.

But, he owed the man too much. Owed for all those nights together, all those tiny waves of warmth the small fingers had made fly around his body, for all those little things Lupin had done to him.

He owed him for his virginity, the largest debt in the Wizarding World. He owed for his innocence, being the one who had taught him all the Dark curses only available.

Slowly, very slowly, he nodded.

"Okay, then," he said, bitterly. "If you keep Lupin here and, in case he gets fired, safe elsewhere, I will spy Voldemort for you. But," he added, as the annoying twinkle multiplied, "only as long as he's safe. If anything happens to him, you won't get another word out of me."

"That much is clear," Dumbledore nodded. "Shall we call it a deal then?"

Lucius nodded as well, drawing his wand. "Deal," he agreed, as the tips of their wands touched each other, thus sealing the agreement.

He was just about to leave the office as Dumbledore's voice called him back.

"May I ask," the Headmaster said, "why do you consider Remus worth putting yourself into such a great personal risk?"

"Because I owe him," Lucius said briefly. "And because I was his friend once. Long, long time ago."

Because I loved him once, the little voice said in his head. He chose to ignore it.

Without another word, he left the Headmaster's office.

Once getting outside the grounds, he Disapparated immediately.

*

Lucius Apparated in front of a little cottage. He stood on his place for a while, collecting himself. Then he walked to the cottage and knocked on the door. He heard the fast sound of footsteps behind the door, approaching. Then the door was opened, and he saw Remus Lupin for the first time in years.

Lupin looked tired and older than his years would suggest. His cheekbones stuck out, and he looked dangerously thin. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and there were quite a few silvery strands among his light-brown locks. His former happy, yet weak smile had completely vanished, and instead he had put on a resigned, slightly depressed expression. His amber eyes, however, were burning with life and power. They were the only thing remaining of the old--or, rather, young--Remus Lupin.

"Mr. Malfoy," he said, his voice expressionless. "Please, come in."

"You're not very cautious, I see," he said dryly as he stepped in past the younger man. "One would think that you'd take more care of whom you're letting in your apartment and who not."

"Like I could prevent you if you wanted to come in anyway," Lupin said with an equally dry voice, closing the door behind him. "It's only a few days after the full moon. Therefore, I'm about just as capable of fighting anyone as a deathly ill feather."

Lucius nodded. He couldn't help but remember how weak Lupin had always been around the full moon. However, he stopped that train of thought at time. That meaning, before he'd get to the point in the memories where he used to gather the younger wizard on his arms, comfort him, give him strengthening potions and promise him to stay with him. It was ridiculous.

He truly had been ridiculous in his youth. Dating a Gryffindor, and a werewolf on top of it was one thing. He wasn't as frantic about the whole pureblood thing as he always acted like. In fact, he was more the opposite. He'd seen the dangers of inbreeding around him, and was determined not to let that spoil his own family line. Draco would probably have to marry a pureblood just to keep up the facade, but as long as Lucius was concerned, his son's spouse should be from as far away from Britain and their family as possible. Therefore, Lupin being a werewolf couldn't have interested him less.

But dating a Gryffindor werewolf and promising to stay with them forever, to love them, was truly ridiculous. Voldemort would never approve that, and Lucius did nothing that he didn't approve. He valued his life, and the lives of his family, far higher than anything else.

But Lucius Malfoy wasn't young or ridiculous anymore. He was a grown man, who knew what he had to do. He wouldn't fall into the whole fuss about "love" and "loyalty" anymore.

Not even if Lupin had the most shining amber eyes in the world.

Lucius let Lupin lead himself further inside. He was in no hurry, now that everything was settled.

Lupin eyed him curiously as they sat down in armchairs opposite to each other in the small living room of Lupin's house. The furniture was just as shaggy and worn-out as the man himself, and there was an atmosphere of stopped time and silence all around the apartment.

"So, what did you come for?" Lupin asked, startling him from his thoughts. Lucius collected his senses, considering how much he could say, and what he would say.

Well, there were no reasons to keep anything secret. It wasn't like Lupin hadn't known about his actions among the Death Eaters even before. "Lord Voldemort has given some orders to his followers," he said, forcing his voice to keep even. "All the werewolves are to either join his forces or die." He eyed Lupin carefully, waiting for his response.

"I was kind of expecting this," the werewolf said calmly. "It was only a matter of time until you'd turn your attention to us Dark creatures." Then he looked at Lucius watchfully. "So what are you doing here? Asking me about my choice? Then you can Avada Kedavra me right here on my seat. I'm sorry, but I won't turn to Voldemort."

"No," he said, a bit taken aback by Lupin's calm, casual speech. "I came to offer you an option."

Lupin said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow, his expression urging Lucius to continue.

"I've come to an agreement with Headmaster Dumbledore," Lucius explained as calmly as he could manage. "You will attend Hogwarts as a DADA teacher the next year. Even if you're fired due to your Lycanthropy, they will keep you safe."

Lupin eyed him sharply for a while, not saying a word. Then, suddenly, he snapped, "Okay, what are you looking for?"

Lucius was taken a bit aback. "Excuse me?"

Lupin let out a frustrated sigh, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "You heard me, Lucius. What are you after? If it is the obvious, then I'm sorry, I can't accept this offer. I am not, and I will not be, anyone's whore. Not for anything, not even for my life."

Lucius blinked. This wasn't really the reaction he'd been expecting. "I can assure you," he said, "this has nothing to do with that particular thing."

"What it is, then?" the werewolf asked sharply. "It's well known that Malfoys do nothing for free."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Would you believe me if I told I've realized how wrong I was to ever join Voldemort and am trying to make up for it?"

Lupin said nothing, just shook his head with a dry smile.

Lucius couldn't help but smile. Was he that obvious? Well, about this particular matter he certainly was, but...

Oh, well. Back to the business.

"I decided that I owe you," Lucius said, and shrugged. "I owe you enough to do this. Besides, no matter how this all ends, I'll be on the stronger side--whatever side wins, I'll be near the most powerful people."

Lupin snorted. "How practical of you," he said dryly. "But I must say that I'm surprised. Your previous statement suggests that you really think whatever Voldemort is doing is wrong." Lupin leaned back in his seat, letting his head rest tiredly on the back of the seat. "Do you think so?" he asked, watching him intently.

Lucius shrugged. "I'm well aware that whatever the Dark Lord does, must be wrong," he admitted calmly.

"And you still stay on his side?"

"Do I have any options?" Lucius scrutinized his long-fingered, perfect hands, then raised his eyes back at Lupin. "I've chosen my side, and Voldemort greatly disapproves traitors. Should I leave him now, my family and I would be downright executed. Whatever you think about me, I'm not going to let my son and wife be murdered."

"I'm impressed." Lupin's dry tone hadn't changed a bit. "Last time I heard you talking about your family, you were struggling against ever marrying Narcissa Snape. And now you don't want her to be harmed? If I didn't know better, I'd say you've developed feelings for her."

"She's a good friend," Lucius snapped. "And what I feel for my wife is none of your business."

"No," Lupin admitted, "it isn't. It ceased to be my business long time ago."

Lucius couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about that. Remus was right. Once, it had been his business. Then, something just... happened. He couldn't quite get a grip on it, but something it was, and....

"What exactly was it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice careless. "I don't seem to remember. When was the point we stopped contacting eachother?"

"You really don't remember?" Lupin asked, raising his eyebrows with a lopsided smile. "The point I decided to stop was when your name was published in the Prophet. In the list of disappeared."

Lucius nodded, understanding. As the War had been coming, the Daily Prophet had begun publishing a list of the people who had disappeared. They never assumed anything in the newspaper, but everyone knew how to read the list. If somebody on the list was a half-blood or a Muggleborn, they were dead. If they were pureblood, they were on the Dark Side. Plain and simple.

Think about that! the little voice told him angrily. You left him alone without as much as a word of explanation or a goodbye! You were a downright bastard back then, Lucius Malfoy!

As he thought about it, and had to admit that the little voice was right. He himself had been too excited about the new power he was receiving and the oncoming war to think about how his young lover might feel. But as he thought about it now, he realized how awful it had to have been to Remus--to have the only person you thought had cared about you turn into an opponent. Alone and distressed, in the middle of war where both sides would have been willing to kill him if they knew what he was. And as depressed as the werewolf even usually was...

"How come you're still alive?" he asked bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Now it was Lupin's turn to blink in surprise.

"How are you still alive? I can't imagine you managed without at least attempting to kill yourself. Not with the naturally depressed character you have."

"You're overestimating your own value to me," Lupin said, and snorted. Then he sighed. "You're right," he admitted simply. "Fortunately, I had friends who saved me. Otherwise, I would have died. And wouldn't it have been a real pity if I'd died for a bastard like you."

"Don't call me a bastard," Lucius said with the same conversational tone. "I'm pretty certain that my parents were married. Besides, I'm trying to save your hide here, and not to mention endangering my own. One might think that you wouldn't call me names after that."

"One might also think that you wouldn't have left me without as much as a goodbye after three years together," the Gryffindor replied just as calmly.

"You should know better by now than to trust my kind," Lucius said with a careless shrug.

"'Your kind' meaning what?" Lupin asked. "Malfoys? Slytherins? Death Eaters? Pure humans? Or just people who lure you into their bed on the first day they're of age?"

"You didn't seem too unwilling by then," he pointed out lazily.

"I never said I was unwilling."

"Well, this conversation is not getting anywhere," he said with a bored tone. "If neither of us has anything good to say, I think I should just leave."

"Er..." Lupin hesitated for a moment. Then he said softly, "Thank you. For doing this for me. I can only imagine what this could cost you if you were revealed."

"I won't be," Lucius said calmly. "Besides, I owe you. That's the reason why I'm doing this."

"So there are no other reasons?" the werewolf asked, his hand reaching out to allow the slim fingers to brush slightly against Lucius's hand. "Just because you owe me?" he asked again, drawing back again.

Lucius swallowed. The touch of Lupin's -- Remus', said the little voice -- fingers sent a tingling feeling through his hand, arm, and eventually his whole body. He hadn't felt anything like that for...

For fourteen years.

Not after the day he'd last seen Remus before "disappearing."

"No," he replied. "Not just because I owe you." He raised his eyes, searching the other wizard's amber orbs. "Also because I don't want you to get hurt." It wasn't even a lie. The little voice inside his mind had been nagging on him constantly, telling him that ensuring Remus' safety should be his first priority. He didn't particularly agree with it, but he had to admit that he would have felt bad if Remus had been murdered because of him. Therefore, he had to prevent it.

"Nice to hear," Remus said, smiling slightly. Lucius couldn't recall the point where he'd slipped from thinking about 'Lupin' to thinking about 'Remus.' He didn't exactly care, either.

"I figured as much," he said, trying to force the usual coolness into his voice but failing for reasons he couldn't really tell.

Remus got up on his feet. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "right after your disappearance I thought you were just spying, or they'd attacked you. I couldn't believe you'd be completely evil." He smiled slightly and glanced at Lucius, the amber eyes twinkling in the light. "Maybe I should listen to my instincts more often, seeing that they were right about this."

"Nice to hear that at least someone trusts me," Lucius said a bit dryly. "When I told Severus I'd found out he was a spy, he thought that I was going to kill him. Honestly, we'd been friends for seven years at that point! Am I really that horrible?"

"Not horrible," Remus said thoughtfully, walking slowly to the window and looking out of it. "Just too controlled. You never let your emotions show up. It's sometimes hard to tell if you have them at all, considering how cool you are."

"I have to keep my mask," he said with a shrug, standing as well. He didn't like sitting when somebody else was standing. The years of war had done it to him; he always wanted to be in the best position for a fight, if only subconsciously. "Just as Severus, I have a facade to retain. More often than not, it requires acting cold and emotionless. Showing feelings means showing weaknesses. Besides possibly blowing up my facade, I'd give easy to the weapons at Voldemort's hands. He knows how to use one's weaknesses against them."

"And again, it all comes down to Voldemort," Remus said, and sighed. "He controls your life, Lucius, no matter what you think." He was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, "Was it worth it, Lucius? Was joining Voldemort worth it at all?"

Worth losing my friend's trust? Lucius thought. Or worth losing the Wizarding World's trust?

Worth losing Remus?

Worth having to murder and curse and rape and torture?

At last, he came to a decision. "No," he said quietly. "It wasn't."

Remus nodded, remaining quiet. For a moment, neither of them said a word.

Lucius was distressed. His usually calm mask was shattering in a rapid pace. Remus' presence always did that to him for some unknown reason. The silence was getting pressuring, distracting him too much to allow him to consider things properly.

He took a couple of hasty steps towards the other man. "Remus," he said softly before he could stop himself, "can you ever forgive me?"

Remus at first merely watched him. Then, slowly, painfully slowly, his lips curved into a small smile. "Consider yourself forgiven," the werewolf murmured, reaching his hands out for Lucius.

Lucius grasped the small hands, pulling Remus nearer. Then he wrapped his arms on the small brunette's waist, his gray eyes studying the amber orbs for a while.

Then, as he felt Remus' small, light fingertips running up and down his back, he leaned downwards to meet the lips of his long-forgotten lover.

And when he at last reached them, Remus replied the kiss.

***

9th of July, 1993

*

"Ah, Severus," Lucius said, nodding at his brother-in-law. "I've been expecting you."

"I see that," Severus replied, eyeing the teapot and two cups on the table in front of Lucius. "Would you be terribly disturbed if I sat down?"

"Of course," Lucius replied and chuckled. "I'll cut your neck if you do that."

"Right," Severus grinned and sat down opposite to him. They both poured a cup of tea for themselves.

"So, what's bringing you here?" Lucius asked, although he had rather good idea about what Severus had came for.

Soon, he was proved right. "I heard from Headmaster Dumbledore," Severus said, "about your recent... developments." He glanced curiously at Lucius. "Is it indeed true that you are now spying for the Light?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," Lucius replied quite calmly. He had nothing to keep in secret from Severus. They both knew that Lucius would receive numerous benefits by turning Severus in to Voldemort. They both also knew that he'd never do that. Lucius might be hungry for power, but not enough to give up his friends or family. Lucius liked to think that he wasn't one of Voldemort's tools; he preferred using the Dark Lord on his own purposes.

"And why are you doing that?" Severus asked just as peacefully. "You've never fully agreed to our Lord's beliefs, so it can't be just a sudden realization that you've been on the wrong side. Neither are you in Dumbledore's debt. And you wouldn't risk your life just for fun. Therefore, what are you receiving from the Light?"

"Protection," Lucius replied briefly.

Severus raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Not for myself, of course," he continued. "You've heard of Voldemort's recent plans, right?"

Severus nodded slowly, then his eyes widened slightly. "You aren't saying that..." he started, but didn't finish his sentence.

Lucius nodded. "A werewolf," he said. "Remus Lupin, to be exact." He followed Severus' reactions curiously.

The younger Slytherin's eyes widened even more. "Remus Lupin?" he echoed. "And how are they protecting him?"

"Offering him the DADA position," Lucius replied. "Also, if he loses it, they'll keep him safe elsewhere." He saw Severus nod. They both knew that despite all his desire for it, Severus would never get that particular teaching position. Not with his Death Eater status.

"Why did you do that?" Severus asked then, eyeing him curiously.

Lucius shrugged. "I owe him," he explained.

"Owe for what?" Severus took a sip of his tea. "Did he save your life or something?"

"No," Lucius replied calmly. "I owe him for more."

At this, Severus almost choked on his tea. Lucius patted his back until he got his breathing running again.

"You must be kidding," Severus then said weakly, glancing at him in disbelief.

"I'm deadly serious," the blonde smirked. "Is it too hard to you to imagine that I might manage to seduce even a Gryffindor?"

"No," Severus said, "the fact that I can't accept is that you fell for a Gryffindor."

Lucius raised his eyebrows. "Not much better yourself, I might add," he pointed out. Severus glared at him sharply.

"Lucius, please... For the sake of my mental health, tell me that it was just that one time," the younger man pleaded then. "And, for Merlin's sake, tell me that he had already graduated at least!"

Lucius shook his head. "Nope," he said, secretly enjoying the other man's distress. "It was three years running. And our first time was the fifteenth of April, 1976. His sixteenth birthday."

"Oh, fuck," Severus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I might believe a life's debt of Lupin's from you. He's a Gryffindor. He might do just something like that. But Lucius... The debt of virginity? Honestly, what were you thinking?"

"That he was a nice, pretty young man," Lucius replied calmly. "And a damn good kisser, by the way."

Severus glanced at him suspiciously. "You didn't by any chance visit him after leaving Hogwarts, did you?" the younger man asked.

"What? Me?" Lucius said, playing innocent. "Would I do something like that?" Then his face melted into a smile. "Yes, I did," he admitted. "At first he was suspicious, but eventually believed that I had no other purposes for my actions but keeping him safe."

Now it was Severus' turn to raise an eyebrow. "And does he believe right?"

"Well, yes," Lucius said, shrugging. "I didn't expect anything else. Everything that came about was just some pleasant extra benefit."

Severus nodded understandingly. "So you got back into his pants?"

"But Severus," Lucius said, playing surprised, "I'm horrified. Since when have you used such rude language?"

"Ever since I began to hang out with you," the other man replied innocently.

"I figured as much," Lucius chuckled. "And, yes, you're right. But that's something I'm not going to spare you any more details about."

"And I'm not asking you to do that," Severus said with a dry chuckle. They both sipped their tea for a couple of times. Then Severus said, conversationally, "I'm near a breakthrough in my explorations."

Lucius nodded in response. "So may I assume you'll get the potion ready for September?" he asked almost pleadingly.

Severus returned the nod. "I already promised that to Dumbledore," he said, and let his cup down on the table. "He was very pleased, to say the least. He'd already been worried about how he might arrange Lupin's teaching schedule to fit the full moon, and the Wolfsbane will be a great help."

Lucius nodded again. "That's good," he said, then sighed. "I just hope there was some way to prevent it completely."

Severus didn't say anything. Suddenly, after a moment of silence, he said, "Voldemort will want me to turn him in."

"What?" Lucius said, surprised. Then he understood. "Ah, Remus' Lycanthropy. Yes, I am aware of that." He sighed again, then glanced at Severus. "He still hasn't given up the hope that you'll become a DADA teacher and give him a better footstep at Hogwarts?"

Severus shook his head. "Nope. He's hoping for either me or some other of his servants getting it. Maybe being dead confuses your mind. He should know that after Squirrel, Dumbledore will be very careful in choosing new teachers."

"And still he's hiring a werewolf," Lucius said with a little smile. "Surely he realizes the fact that you can't just go around yelling, 'Lupin is a werewolf, Lupin is a werewolf?'"

"No, supposedly not," Severus smirked. "Voldemort may be confused, but he's not stupid. He knows that I can't fail Dumbledore's trust - but he also knows that I can drop hints every now and then."

"So be it," Lucius said. "Dumbledore promised to keep Remus safe, however. He knows that I'm a too valuable source of knowledge to throw away, so he's not going to risk Remus' safety."

"Lucius?" Severus asked. As the blonde man snapped his eyes back at his friend, he continued, "You do realize that you're endangering not only yourself but your whole family with this?"

"Of course. But you know that the only debt greater than the life's debt is that of virginity." Lucius sipped his tea again. "Besides, he is a damn good kisser." He raised his eyes thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I was with him for three years, after all. And this annoying little voice in the back of my mind--you know this one, don't you?"

"Conscience?" Severus suggested, smiling.

"No, not that one," Lucius said, and frowned. "My conscience, like you call it, sounds like Narcissa on her worst. This other little voice sounds like.... Well, I don't know. But anyway, it tells me that I can't leave him alone. And I get a warm feeling whenever I'm around him. It feels nice to be with him."

"Lucius, old mate, I think you're in love," Severus observed gently.

"Yeah," he said with a resigned sigh, "I might be."

***

12th of June, 1996

*

A Death Eater meeting took place in an old, deserted house somewhere in the countryside. The house had been surrounded by numerous charms and spells, preventing anyone without the Dark Mark Apparating or Disapparating there. It also prevented all magical spying, eavesdropping, and watching.

Therefore, Lucius had to do it from the inside.

He stood calmly in the midst of the other Death Eaters. Lord Voldemort was growing annoyed. Petigrew was still to come, as well as two other men. And Voldemort didn't like waiting.

Petigrew. The mere thought made him boil inside. Trust the Ministry to fail. They'd caught Petigrew, they'd dragged him to the Ministry, they'd got the trial held. And what did Ministry do? Let the rat escape half an hour before he'd received the Dementor's kiss!

And Fudge had been too afraid to even tell anyone that he'd let the murderer of the Potters to escape yet again. If Lucius hadn't found out in the next meeting, they would all have been happily thinking that Petigrew was lying in the dungeons of Azkaban, mindless. The majority of the Wizarding World still didn't know.

Voldemort was growing impatient. Just as Lucius thought the red-eyed wizard would explode, the doors opened. Three Death Eaters, one of which had a silver hand, walked inside. The two with normal hands--Petigrew's companions - were dragging a struggling man between them. The captured man was wearing a gray robe with a large hood keeping his head from the sight.

"I'm sorry for not arriving earlier, my Lord," Petigrew said, kneeling down to kiss the bastard's hem, "but as you can see, we were a bit preoccupied." The two Death Eaters dragging the hooded man also bowed a little.

"We caught someone sneaking around," one of them said nastily. "Someone who you'd probably like to meet, my Lord." He and the other one of the taller Death Eaters shoved someone on his knees on the floor. "Peter caught him by arm. That's why the burn. He's silenced, so he won't disturb you unless you want him to speak."

Lucius took a sharp breath. The sleeve of the captured man had slid upwards when he'd taken support from the floor in order to prevent himself falling down to the floor his face first. Therefore, the black, obviously painful burn in the pale arm was clearly seen.

The burn was clearly shaped like a hand.

Who could a silver hand burn like that... except a werewolf?

The stranger's hood flew aside as someone murmured a spell. As Lucius saw the all too familiar honey-silver hair he felt like his heart had frozen.

"Oh my, what do we have here?" Voldemort asked in a mock-singsong voice. "Bless me, isn't it the werewolf friend of Severus' husband? Oh, that's nice!"

"I heard he's befriended Severus himself as well," Lucius said, struggling to keep his voice even. "And he's also friends with the Potter boy." He thanked Severus in his mind for the numerous Occlumency lessons he'd received from the younger Slytherin. Otherwise, Voldemort would have easily caught his distressed thoughts. All he really wanted to do was to run, take Remus, and go somewhere as far away as possible.

He saw Remus' head jerk up as the werewolf heard his voice. Fortunately, he came back to his senses soon, and didn't turn him in by staring at him. He did look at him for long enough, however, that Lucius could see the shock and disbelief in his expression.

Lucius fought down the ashamed feeling. Remus knew what he was, and what he had to do in order to keep up his facade. Remus also approved this, he had said he did. He didn't want Lucius to become like Severus; trapped in Hogwarts and sure to be killed should he ever lay a foot out of there. Lucius of course didn't want that himself, either.

He also didn't want to make all his loved ones like that.

"Really?" Voldemort snarled. "Then I'll be sure to treat him with the respect he needs." He pointed a wand at him, murmuring a quiet incantation. Immediately magical ropes flew from his wand, wrapping themselves around Remus' slim body.

Now Remus locked his amber eyes at the Dark Lord. Lucius could clearly see the pure hatred and anger boiling in his soul.

"Take down the silencing charms," Voldemort ordered emotionlessly. "We'll soon hear him scream."

Lucius swallowed. He felt a fist clenching around his heart. They'd talked about this possibility, even before Severus had been revealed as a spy. Remus had always insisted that their work as spies was much more important, and should he get caught, they shouldn't raise a finger to help him if it'd endanger their facades. They'd agreed, no matter how difficult it had been to Lucius.

Now, his promise was being tested. He knew that Remus wouldn't approve if he blew his mask just to get the werewolf out of trouble. Therefore, he could just stand back and watch, fearing what tortures Voldemort had prepared for his lycanthropic lover.

"Stand back and watch," Voldemort ordered maliciously. "I'm going to show you how to make a werewolf scream." Then he murmured again a quick spell, pointing at Remus.

Immediately, the ropes turned to silver.

Lucius could see the hatred being replaced by horror and agony. Remus' breathing became faster and faster as he struggled against the burning feeling, which he was able to get even through his clothes. The Death Eaters watched, majority of them amused, Lucius fairly horrified and disgusted.

Yet another spell was murmured, and the ropes began to become shorter little by little, tightening around Remus, burning their way through his robes.

At this point, Remus did scream. Loudly.

Lucius could hardly keep himself from throwing up, and just as hard it was to just stand back. Remus' face was a mask of fear and pain, his mouth opened in an endless scream, his eyes wide with horror. He tried to struggle free from the silver, only managing to burn himself more.

"We could just sit and watch," Voldemort said menacingly, "but I think we could leave Dumbledore and his pitiful little army some fresh evidences of my power. Smegal!"

"Yes, my Lord?" asked a tiny Death Eater with an annoying, raspy voice.

"I believe you still have those untraceable owls?"

"Of course, my Lord," the small man replied. Neither of them cared about the endless, pained screaming on the background of their conversation.

"Fine. I want you all to Disapparate now. Once you reach your home, Smegal, you're to send one untraceable Owl to Dumbledore, telling him the coordinates of this place. We wouldn't have used it anymore anyway, it doesn't matter if we leave Lupin here for them to find." With these words, the Dark Lord Disapparated, clearly insisting everyone to do the same.

Lucius was one of the first to leave. He just couldn't bear it there, Remus' frantic screams echoing in his mind. As soon as he Apparated on the grounds of the Manor and saw no one near him, he crouched down and vomited.

As he got up on shaky legs, his face pale and covered with a layer of cold sweat, he forced himself to consider the options. He couldn't leave Remus there. He just couldn't. There was a chance, maybe a faint one but still a chance, that Remus would survive no matter how bad his injuries were.

There was also a chance that one or more Death Eaters had decided to ignore their Lord's orders and stayed behind, enjoying Remus' pain and eventual death.

That didn't matter to him. He was becoming more and more furious instead of shocked every moment. Soon he'd reach the point where he could easily use the killing curse on at least three people in a minute and manage to Finish off them all. If anyone stood between him and Remus, they would be dead.

With these thoughts in mind, he Disapparated immediately, soon Apparating in the same house as he had left just moments ago.

Not caring if someone had stayed behind, he rushed inside the room where the meeting had taken place.

In the middle of the room lay Remus.

His cries had now lowered to quiet sobs. Lucius couldn't bear looking at his injuries, he just pressed the tip of his wand at the ropes and whispered a quick spell, transfiguring the cruel metal to oxygen - a very useful spell. One couldn't make anything completely vanish, but turning it into air was nearly the same.

As the silver disappeared, Remus fainted.

Lucius gently raised him with a levitation spell, not daring to touch the injured body. Then, after surrounding the body with various shielding charms, he started thinking about what he could do.

They were far from both Hogwarts and St. Mungo's. He didn't have a broom. He couldn't even Apparate nearer either of the possible destinations with his unconscious lover. The same went for Portkeys-- nothing could prevent him creating an unauthorized Portkey, but he couldn't risk the travel with Remus.

Therefore, he was left with only one option for transportation.

The mere thought made him grimace.

He put up his familiar disguise. It was a quick glamour spell he always used when dealing with the Order members who weren't aware of his identity, as well as every time he had to do something that wouldn't fit his Death Eater facade. Black hair, red robes, harsh features - only the silver eyes were the same, being impossible to change with spells.

This disguise had a name - George Johnson - a personality, a job, a family, and a past, all different to those of his. It had saved his life as Severus had been forced to tell Voldemort about Dumbledore's new spy in order to keep up his own facade. It had saved his life as he'd limped to Madam Pomfrey through a group of furious Aurors ready to kill anyone with the Dark Mark. It had saved his life as one of the Order, a witch called Gwendolyn Smith, had decided that Voldemort was more powerful than Dumbledore and had spilt all her information in a Death Eater meeting.

Now, the disguise would save Remus' life. At least he hoped so.

It was night already. He levitated Remus out of the house, listening to any sign of other people around. He saw a single wand on the floor near the door and, realizing that it must be Remus', pocketed it. As he got outside, he did the one thing he'd never do.

He pointed out his wand, calling for the Knight Bus.

All too soon, and yet not soon enough, the annoying purple vehicle stopped in front of him. The driver looked at him at first wonderingly. Then his eyes flew wide as he saw Remus' limp body flying in the air.

"To St. Mungo's," Lucius said with a raspy voice, tossing a couple of coins to him, "and fast. He doesn't have much time."

The driver nodded, not needing more coaxing. He started driving as fast as he could.

Lucius lowered Remus on a nearby bed, not wanting to risk him if his own concentration failed. Then he transfigured another bed to a chair, sitting down on it.

He didn't even notice the passing of time. He merely sat there, glancing worriedly at Remus, who remained unconscious. Therefore, he startled as the bus suddenly stopped.

"We're there," the driver said. "Go and get him fixed." Lucius nodded and levitated Remus again in the air, rushing out of the car.

He led Remus inside the large hospital in a rush. As he got inside, the receptionist raised her eyes at him. When she saw what he was levitating with him, she gasped.

"W-what..." she stammered, unable to finish her sentence. She stared at Remus' body, a mass of bloody flesh and ashes, in horror. Only his lover's head and lower legs were left unharmed.

"A silver burn," Lucius said briefly. "He's lycanthropic."

"I see." She hurriedly wrote something down. "Go to the third floor. Once you get there, go to the second corridor, you'll be in the Lycanthrope Section. I'll have an emergency called over there."

Lucius nodded, not staying for further instructions. He practically ran towards the stairs, all the time gently guiding Remus with him. He reached the third floor in no time at all.

He glanced around him. He saw a door with the sign, "Lycanthrope Section, 3 II." He threw the door open and led Remus inside the corridor.

He was greeted by a group of six mediwitches and mediwizards, obviously waiting for them. Even they paled seeing Remus' body.

"That's the worst silver burn I've ever seen," one of them muttered. "What happened?"

"There--there were Death Eaters," Lucius explained, forcing his voice to keep even. "He went to try and spy on them. When he didn't come back, I was worried and went looking for him. And..." His voice trailed off as he again glanced at Remus.

"I see." The mediwizard waved at a couple of others, who took Remus on their own charms. Lucius released his own magic, allowing them to levitate his lover through a nearby doorway. Most of the doctors followed, only one mediwitch remaining.

"Come with me, please," the doctor said. She was a young woman, blonde hair with grayish-green eyes. As Lucius hesitated, she continued, "I assure you that your friend is in good hands. St. Mungo's has some of the most skilled Lycanthrope doctors in the whole Wizarding World. If he can be saved, it'll happen here."

Lucius bit his lip and nodded, following the woman. She led him into a waiting room and told him to sit down.

"We'll inform you immediately when we know more," she assured him with a careful smile. She was obviously quite shocked herself. "Please, make yourself comfortable. We'll do our best for your friend."

Lucius nodded. "Is there any fireplace nearby?" he asked then. Some of his senses were already returning as he got in leads of his shock and worry. "I should call some people."

"In the room next to this," the mediwitch said, pointing at a door in the corner. Lucius nodded, walking to the door as she left.

He stepped into the room. There was nothing but a fireplace there. He murmured a quick spell, lighting up the fire, then threw some Floo powder from the small jar into the flames. "Albus Dumbledore," he called.

The Headmaster's head appeared in the flames immediately. "George!" he exclaimed as he saw the disguise, knowing better than to call him by his real name. The risk was too large. "I just got a message about Remus. Do you know about him? I had some people go there as soon as I received the owl, but they found nothing."

"They found nothing, because I've already taken him," Lucius replied. "I'm at St. Mungo's, I brought him here minutes ago. They've just gotten him into the operating room."

"I see." Dumbledore nodded, then asked, a bit cautiously, "Do they know if he'll survive yet?"

Lucius sighed deeply, then shook his head. "They told me they'll inform me as soon as possible," he said, his voice expressionless with all the held-back emotions. "He looks really bad, though."

The Headmaster nodded, understanding. "I'll tell the others that Remus is in good hands," he said. "Let us know as soon as anything happens."

"I will," Lucius promised. "But don't let Black come here. He'll go mad, and it'll be me who he'll be mad at."

Dumbledore looked serious. "It wasn't your fault, Lucius," he assured the younger wizard, understanding what was distracting him the most. "You couldn't have done anything. Besides, Remus would be disappointed if you had done something."

Lucius sighed, and nodded. "I know that," he said quietly. "I still can't help feeling that I could have helped him."

"Do you now see how evil Voldemort truly is?" the Headmaster asked then, not going to give up a perfect opportunity to try and coax him completely to the Light.

Lucius smiled faintly. "I've been aware of that for ages," he said. He knew what Dumbledore was after, and played along, like he always did. Lucius Malfoy now belonged to the Light Side, thanks to numerous conversations with Remus and Severus. He wasn't going to tell that to Dumbledore, though. At least not yet. That would have spoilt the man's pride and joy about "the accomplishment" in dealing with him.

"I'm glad to hear that." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, but then his cheerful smile faded away. "I'm truly sorry about Remus. I'd help, but my medical abilities are rather limited. I'm sure that St. Mungo's is the place where he can be healed, if anywhere."

Lucius nodded briefly. "That's what they said." He was quiet for a moment, then said, "Well... I'll call you if anything happens."

"That's good." At this, Dumbledore's head disappeared from the flames.

Lucius lingered for a moment, then turned around and left the room. He sat down in a chair in the waiting room, too nervous and worried to do anything but fear for Remus.

After a time that felt endless, the door finally opened. He raised his eyes at the approaching mediwitch. He forced himself to ask, both fearing and hoping a quick answer, "Will--will he make it?"

To his relief, the mediwitch broke into a broad smile. "Yes, he will," she said. "Werewolves heal incredibly well, and he's much stronger than he looks. It will take quite some time from him to recover, as they always have some difficulty in healing the silver injuries, but he will live."

"Good," Lucius sighed. He was happy beyond words now.

"Are you a friend of his?" the mediwitch asked then. "If so, could you fill these papers for our patient records? I assume he's a registered lycanthrope, right?"

"Yes," Lucius replied, quickly collecting his senses. "I am his friend, and he is indeed registered. He has been for over thirty years already."

"I see." The mediwitch handed him some parchments, a quill, and an ink bottle. "The operation will continue for several more hours. You can inform other friends if you like, but I'm afraid we can't allow any visitors for at least three or so days."

Lucius nodded. "Thank you." He looked at the forms. They demanded quite a lot of knowledge, but nothing that he didn't know. Remus' name, age, birthday, that kind of stuff. The only bit he had to think about was his werewolf registration number. After a while, he remembered it, though--he'd given Remus a golden bracelet with the number as a replacement for the Ministry's simple copper one, which he thought didn't look good enough with Remus' gold-silver hair.

It took him some time to fill the forms. He then left the room in search of the mediwitch, which he found in the nearby room working on some paperwork. He handed the forms to her, receiving thanks in return. Then he left again to the firecall room.

"Ah, Lucius," Dumbledore smiled as soon as he'd called the man's name. "There are many people here curious to hear your news." The Headmaster noticed the little smile on his face, and the old wizard's smile widened. "Is it safe to assume that the change has happened to better?"

Lucius nodded. "He will make it," he informed the Headmaster. "It will take lots of time from him to recover, however. They won't allow visitors for at least three days, so you still have to keep Black on a leash."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'll tell Sirius your news," he said, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Is there anything else we need to know, or anything you want to ask?"

"Nothing," Lucius replied. "Other than how were they able to catch him in the first place, but I assume that can be dealt with later." He then thought of something, and frowned. "Tell them not to spill this information around," he warned. "No one outside of Remus' closest friends, not even inside the Order. It's better if the Dark Lord doesn't know that Remus is still alive. Otherwise, they'd maybe use their advantage on Remus' weakened state and hurt him more. That time, they may manage to kill him."

"We've already agreed not to tell anyone if he survives," Dumbledore assured him. "And as for the how, I'm afraid we will have to wait until Remus can tell us himself. Unless you hear something, that is."

"Very well." Lucius nodded. "I'll see if I can have any more information about his condition once the operation is over. After that, I'll come to Hogwarts."

"So be it." Dumbledore nodded in return, and was gone again.

*

"Mister Johnson?" the mediwitch called his fake-name. "I wanted to tell you that your friend's operation is over. He will indeed survive--luckily at that, considering his former miserable condition."

"That's good," Lucius sighed. "What is his current condition? How is he"

"Well..." She glanced through his papers, then said, "most of the skin in his upper body has been or will be re-created with spells and potions, as it was almost completely burned and couldn't be healed. With some luck, he'll be awake in the morning and on his feet after a week, which is extremely good with the oncoming full moon. That'll hold his recovery back a bit, but not so much that it will be extremely dangerous.

"He'll still have some difficulty with moving around for at least a month, and he should avoid all extra work and efforts for two months, as he'll be rather easily tired and sickly until he's fully recovered."

Lucius nodded. He hadn't expected anything else. The werewolves healed fast to their feet, but the complete healing always took more time. The wolf's first priority was to get up and about again, the further healing was mostly a duty for the human side.

The mediwitch glanced at her papers again. "He doesn't seemingly have a family," she observed. "Do you know if there is any place he could stay at during his recovery? He won't be in the condition to survive by himself for a while."

"I think that can be arranged," Lucius said. Inside his mind, the sound of Remus' happy laugh echoing in the halls of the Manor teased him. If he asked, maybe Dumbledore would allow that. It was the last place where anyone would look for him, after all. And if not, then there was always the Black Manor. Even though the Headquarters resided elsewhere, some members of the Order, almost all belonging to Remus' friends and therefore aware of him being alive, spent most of their time there. The werewolf would indeed be in good hands during his recovery.

"Very good," the mediwitch said with a smile. "Would you like to see him as he wakes up?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I thought you just said, 'no visitors,'" he pointed out.

"I did say that," she replied, still smiling. "But you seem to be extraordinarily concerned about him, and obviously took a great effort to bring him here. It would probably be better for Mr. Lupin if he saw a familiar face as soon as he awoke, as the wolf may be restless in the unfamiliar territory, distracting his mind. I spoke with my superior, and he said I could allow you a visit. Not too long, though - only fifteen minutes. And you are not allowed to tire him."

"I want to see him, yes," Lucius said, without hesitating at all.

"Fine. You'd better go and get some food and rest. He won't wake up until in the morning, you don't need to stay the whole night."

Lucius shook his head. "I couldn't sleep anyway," he said dryly. "Nor can I eat anything before I see he's all right."

"You must be really good friends," the mediwitch smiled. "Don't worry, though. He will be fine as long as he gets rest and good care."

Lucius nodded. He seemed to have been doing it a lot recently. Remus will get anything he needs, he thought to himself. I'll take care of that.

Nice to hear, the little voice said.

And for the first time ever, it didn't annoy him.