Fall Out

Chapter Thirteen In which Lucius takes A-polyjuice potion…twice



The next day at ten to twelve, he took the A-polyjuice potion and left Harry. He made his way to Snape’s quarters and stood outside patiently. He had nearly an hour, should Snape choose to be difficult.



He waited nearly forty minutes before giving up in disgust. The return journey took a little less than ten minutes and so it was, that at 12.46 he entered the room which held Potter.



Or which should have held Potter.



Lucius stared around him frantically. The room was empty. The boy wasn’t in the bathroom, or hiding behind any curtains – his whale-like form made this last distinctly unlikely! – nor had he left through the door, as Lucius would have detected if the wards protecting it had been tampered with. But that gave him an idea.



He checked all of the wards. The boy had gone through them. But how? He had had no wand, was not even aware of where he had been taken, so how could he have escaped?



A frantic search of the room and its magic yielded him precisely … nothing.



He sank into the conjured chair and held his head in his hands groaning. The only thing left was to somehow get into Snape’s room and see if the boy were there and then…what? What could he do? If Potter were there then his plan had failed.



Still, he had to know.



He changed himself into Studdy and hurried to Snape’s quarters.



Applying an eye to the peep hole told him that, yes, Harry was sitting there. Snape was holding the young man tightly, and …? Lucius let out a bellow of rage – he had been betrayed! Studdy, the real Studdy, was waiting besides them, an anxious expression on his face.



At the sudden noise, all three turned to face the door.



It was Snape who approached it and opened it, roughly dragging in the impostor. His face was set into an angry, yet oddly gleeful expression as he beheld Lucius in Studdy’s body.



“Before you try and disapparate,” Severus said, seconds after Lucius had tried it, “We’re all trapped here. No-one can apparate or disapparate. Or floo. Or portkey, or anything. The only way in or out is through that door.”



“Very well,” Lucius sighed, frowning as they giggled at his Studdy voice, “I imagine you will wait until I am once again myself before you gloat or is my current form punishment enough?”



“Hardly.” Harry said coldly, and there was a steely glint in his eyes. “I’ve read the letter you sent Sev. You would have raped me. You kidnapped me, imprisoned me, and then you would have raped me! You fucking sick pervert!” His voice had risen, as had he, and he was now standing, shouting at the small form by the door.



“Yes, and when I am once again myself, and am restored to normal, I may just take pleasure in doing so, Potter!” Lucius snapped, although his threat lost some of its impact, delivered as it was in an elfish squeak.



“You expect Sev to cure you?” Harry cried, throwing his arms up in incredulity, “You threaten me and you expect him to cure you?”



“Yes!” Lucius snapped, his ears flattened on his head in his anger. “Because, if I am not cured, he knows that I shall continue to come after you, and after your child until I am. You will be my captives forever until I am given that antidote!”



Harry snarled, actually snarled, and took a step towards the pseudo house-elf.



“Enough!” Severus said, his voice loud and strict enough to quell any possible argument. There was silence for a moment before the potions teacher spoke again. “Lucius makes a strong case, despite not being in a strong position,” his lips quirked, “and I shall give him the potion to restore him to his full husbandly abilities.”



Malfoy smirked. Which seemed odd on a house-elf’s face. “And you, elf,” he said, pointing a finger at Studdy, “will pay for your treachery. I assume it was you who rescued the boy?”



Studdy nodded nervously. “St-Studdy was glad to do it, for Studdy knows that Mr Potter is great and good. Studdy went to see Mr Snape and told Mr Snape where his Mr Potter was.” He flashed a tortured face to Severus, who nodded, accepting the blame for the next part of the story, “It was Mr Snape, master, who told Studdy what to do. Mr Snape, sir, said that it was master who intended to receive the potion, but dressed in Studdy’s body. So it was, sir, that Mr Snape knew that his Mr Potter would be undefended, and so he ordered me to help rescue Mr Potter.” The elf lifted his chin and glared defiantly at his owner. “Studdy was glad to do it, master.”



Several parts of that caught Lucius’ attention, but he dealt with the one that most annoyed him first. “He ordered you? And precisely whom is your actual master?”



Studdy cowered a little, fingers pleating the dirty pillowcase he wore.



Snape cut in smoothly, moving to stand in front of the real elf and glare down at Lucius. “Be fair, Malfoy. At this moment in time he has no human master available.” He faintly stressed the word ‘human’. “And I tried asking, but his duty to your family over-rode even what he knew was right until I ordered him.”



“And how did you know that it would be I who would collect the potion?” Lucius asked, miffed that he had been so thoroughly found out. He crossed his thin arms over his own pristine white pillow case and stared angrily up. He bit back a few swear words when he heard Harry choking in the background, “God! He is so cute!”



Severus’ eyes widened at the murder glinting in Lucius’ ones. He spoke hurriedly to cover Harry’s comments. “Logic. When I spoke to Studdy, he knew nothing on the plan to await the potion at midday, and he mentioned the hairs that had been plucked. Thirdly, would you entrust the antidote to anyone other than yourself? It was, and is, too precious to you to allow any other to handle it, even a trusted elf, as , after all,” Snape grinned, “sometimes elves have the habit of defying you, don’t they?”



Lucius snarled and glared once again at his hapless double. Studdy once again cowered, throwing his arms up over his face as if to block the death glares being sent his way.



“Anyway,” Severus said after a long pause had developed into full blown silence. “When will you change back?”