Life in an Alien Land 2: The Werewolf Chronicles

Thanks to all who read and reviewed on the last chapter.

As usual, thanks go to Jilliane who reads my half-formed thoughts and translates them to readable syntax and grammar. Any mistakes remaining are my own.


Chapter 18: Compromise

When I entered the small parlour, Lucius had his back to both the assembled Weasleys in an attitude of ennui, hands clasped behind his back. I knew the lie in his body language, had seen him employ it in any number of tense situations, most times in front of the Dark Lord. I cast my gaze to Molly, my eyes skittering off of her gaunt features as she gave me the same measuring assessment. Frederick had changed little. It seemed that being a werewolf was only a small impediment to his oft-times sunny disposition. The boy had an enviable look of calm on his face, breathing evenly as if he took tea with the Malfoys daily. He moved one leg restively, but controlled himself much better than I would have given him credit. The only discernible change in the boy, that belied the stress under which he laboured daily, was that his face was slightly more lined, giving him an air of maturity that had escaped him before the war. But if he had aged since I had last seen him, I suppose I had aged as much if not more. I was used to my face, haggard, plain and severe. I was unused to the Weasley face with the same lined expression no matter how much exterior calm he projected. Frederick noticed me standing in the doorway and scooted over, making a space for me on the seemingly delicate settee.

I do not have cousins, siblings, or even parents. My family life, before both mother and father died, was disjointed and disastrous. I have never had a moment of kinship with another human being that I was not fucking or wanting to fuck. Albus had come close to that state of communion at times, but it is difficult to feel familial ties to a man who uses emotional blackmail to keep a person in line. I did not know how to take that small gesture of acceptance on Weasley's part. I remained impassively in the doorway, stuck there as if glued, until Frederick shrugged and returned his attention to Malfoy's back.

The moment of kinship had passed, it seemed.

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Weasley finally uttered in some disgust. He glanced at me again with his nearly indigo eyes. "Just sit down. You're looming."

Lucius whipped around, his features drawn, wand in hand, as Frederick broke the spell of silence. I slunk to the seat next to Frederick, feeling as if I were a first year who had been caught skiving off his first class of the school term. Lucius smirked, the haughty expression made more odious by the manner in which he dismissed those assembled. His cool, grey gaze flicked to me as he said, "Severus."

"Lucius," I answered in the same cool manner.

Frederick snorted, "At least you know each other's names."

"Indeed," was Lucius' tart reply, a hint of humour playing about his mouth. He busied himself with summoning tea, and waited until it appeared before taking a seat across from us, by the fire. Molly began pouring just as she had done when in the Order. Lucius suppressed a disgusted grimace as he accepted his cup, no doubt in consideration of the prospect of actually drinking the brew given to him by a Weasley hand. The Malfoys and the Weasleys had never gotten on, even before the introduction of the Dark Lord into our society. He finally said, "I do thank you, Madam."

Molly kept her face still, but her hands shook with suppressed emotion. Lucius had done her family great harm over the years, culminating in this latest batch of horror. She retreated to her corner of the divan after handing me my tea. I could not tell how she felt about me tupping her daughter, and so recently, so I retreated into my hard-learnt politesse as I said, "Thank you, Madam."

She smiled reassuringly. "Severus, it's always been Molly before."

She cast a darkling look at Lucius and remained silent afterwards, staring at her tea as if it contained the truth of the universe in it, or perhaps poison.

Ronald entered the room, looking much cleaner and a little more sober than he had when I had left him with his sister. The skin around his eye was turning black, and his nose and brow still seeped plasma from the cuts, but he had cleaned the blood from his face and had at least combed his hair. He almost looked like the recalcitrant child of his student days, unless one noted the deep sorrow and pain etched in the lines around his mouth and buried in his eyes. He glared at Lucius as he leaned against the wall, shoulders hunched, his mouth a tight line of disapproval.

Ginevra joined us moments later. I had forgotten how lovely she could be, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw her. She wore the same robes loaned her by Lucius on our previous visit, and had pressed her hair into a semblance of order with the judicious application of water. She paused in the doorway and licked her lips nervously, causing a jolt of awareness to snake into my gut. Both Lucius and I stood and she blushed, the pink staining her cheeks and making her brown eyes sparkle ridiculously. Lucius greeted her, "Miss Weasley, do please take a seat, we have much to discuss and little time before I must return you to the Colony."

She swept past me, and with an imperious gesture motioned me to take my seat. Once I did, she scooted her lithe frame between her brother and myself and leaned against my shoulder, bestowing a small kiss on my cheek and taking my hand. I thought I might choke from humiliation and desire at that moment. She had effectively claimed me as hers in an appallingly intimate fashion, and in front of her family no less. I felt my damnable cock stir against the rough fabric of my trousers as she scooted back to claim more of the seat, her hips mashed against mine, her breast brushing my arm. I had never been in such a position of intimacy before, and certainly had never shared my affection in the company of others. I pulled my hand away, but she merely drew it back, placing our joined hands on her thigh as she did.

I hissed softly, "Let go of my hand this instant, Ginevra. Your actions are..."

"No." She whispered in return, as she laced her fingers in mine, effectively trapping my hand in the manner of some overtly emotional bodice ripper. "Get used to it, Snape. I need to feel you right now. It's been too long."

Feeling the same need within myself, I trained my eyes on the wall in front of me, my face hot. Lucius quirked a sardonic, knowing brow at us as the youngest male Weasley made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. I sensed that Frederick was having much the same reaction as his brother to the scene Ginevra was making, but he, at least, had the tact to remain silent.

Molly fussed with tea for her youngest under Lucius' saturnine gaze, and as she handed Ginny her cup, she patted my knee. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Severus. She couldn't be in better hands."

I again felt the choking sensation, this time at the sentimental drivel that adult Gryffindors should know better than to express. I had done nothing to protect Ginevra, my actions had been selfishly motivated from the beginning. They always had been when my own desires came into play. Even with Lily, I had hoped to save her and have the toerag and his spawn out of the way. Albus' words of disgust had been well-deserved. As I settled into the situation as comfortably as I could, I thanked the gods that Lucius was too well-bred to guffaw, but as I looked at his face from the periphery of my field of vision, it was a near thing.

Ronald broke the uncomfortable tableaux as he asked, "So, Malfoy, why are we here? Is your sister-in-law about so she can give us what she did the last time we visited your home?"

Lucius' face stilled as if he had been struck, his colour high. His eyes flashed as he sipped more tea, and then placed the cup on the table beside his chair. "Your question is precipitous and ill-informed, but expected, Mr. Weasley. I shall endeavour to answer your queries with a modicum of couth and certainly do not plan to bring Bellatrix Lestrange into the fray. She is rather occupied with service to the Dark Lord at the moment. I shall send her your regards if you wish it, however."

"Fucking bastard," Ron mumbled.

"I assure you that my parents were both wed to one another when I was conceived." Lucius' voice cracked through the room as he rose abruptly once again, turning towards the fireplace.

Molly said quietly, her voice papery and ancient, "Ronald, do be quiet and let the... Mr. Malfoy... speak."

Lucius turned towards the speaker slowly, his knuckles white, his face livid.

"Thank you, Madam," he said as he looked about uncomfortably, twirling his cane under his palm against the floor. He swept the room with his gaze before letting it light on me. The contact was impersonal, cool and safe for him. We had been friends before he made me his slave. "I do wish to first, beg your forgiveness for the events of the past year... I... have tried... I have tried to do what I could to keep the members of the Order and your family... safe. As paltry as my efforts seem, I have worked under certain constraints, of which I am sure you are aware."

"What about before then?" Ronald's voice cut through the room, his fists clenched as he pushed away from the wall. "We don't have to listen to this, right, Fred? When has a Malfoy cared for anything other than himself?"

Frederick remained impassive, stating only, "Leave off, Ron. Let him talk."

"Fine," the youngest Weasley male said. "You just remember when he double crosses us all to that snake they call their leader, that you accepted his shite."

"Subterfuge and half-truths seem to come naturally to some, Mr. Weasley. You should remember that before you speak, Lucius answered, his voice low and frigid. Weasley's face coloured, ugly blotches forming from his neck up, before he flung himself to sit on the floor, face bunched into a murderous scowl. I wondered at the tension between the two, it seemed to be composed of more than the bad-blood between pureblood families, more personal. Malfoy continued after a moment of frigid silence, "I do regret my past actions and I have come to realise the error of my ways. I was a fool to be taken in by the Dark Lord in my youth, and even more foolish to not flee England after his resurrection. I wish to remedy the situation, but first need some assurance of your loyalty to this cause."

Molly rose, her voice hard as she asked, "What more can you want from us, Lucius Malfoy? All of us have been violated in some way. My poor children and Severus have had to endure..." She took as steadying breath before continuing. "You want assurances from us? How dare you!"

Lucius sighed, his shoulders sagging. I had never seen him look defeated before, not even when he returned from Azkaban after his failure to our putative Master. It was at once appalling and a matter of exultation for me. He lifted his gaze to Molly, and then closed his eyes. "I do not require anything other than an oath to secrecy from you, much like the Order's oaths, which I believe you all took."

"You tried it before." Frederick's observation cut through the tension in the room. "Borowiec failed and was caught. What makes you think we can make it work?"

Lucius gave a tight smile before answering. "Borowiec acted precipitously. I have certain fail-safes in place now."

"What, have you been poisoning him?" Frederick asked. "He's too damned canny to accept any food not tested by one of his goons. What have you done to make the situation different?"

"Yes, all of his food is tested for common poisons." Lucius answered, his voice returning to his normal drawl, his expression calculating. "That was, I admit, problematic at first. However, he does have other more voracious and less closely guarded appetites that have opened up certain possibilities."

"The children that he rapes..." Ginevra breathed as her body tensed. "You've been... poisoning the children you give to him?"

"No." Lucius turned toward her voice, his face held impassive except for the tick that had started beneath his eye. "I had nothing to do with supplying him his victims. Dolohov has been in charge of procuring for the Colony since September. The Dark Lord grew irritated at Greyback's demands for more children. The Dark Lord needs slaves and Greyback was diminishing his supply of healthy children. Dolohov has been supplying the most recent victims of Greyback's excesses from an area in Russian which sustained a rather nasty accident from a nuclear device. I merely wish to exploit the situation. Greyback sickens and will eventually die. We need to act before that happens. I don't want the area to fall into anarchy."

The room erupted in outrage at Lucius' words until Frederick whistled, a shrill noise that cut through the hubbub. He stood an air of authority surrounding him, "All right, Malfoy, but I want concessions from you before I agree to throw my lot in with you."

Lucius inclined his head graciously. "I suspected as much. Please speak, Mr. Weasley."

Frederick looked at his family, gathering his thoughts. "First, I want my Mum, brother, sister, and Cheri Olajewan out of harm's way. I don't want them anywhere near the Colony until the deed is done."

I felt Ginevra tense and I leaned to her, speaking softly, "He's correct, Ginevra. If you are present, he will worry about you. He does not need the distraction, and neither do I."

She relaxed against me, but I had learnt to distrust her seeming compliance. She had been the student most likely to disrupt my hard won calm during my brief tenure as Headmaster. I had admired that quality in her then, but felt sick that she might endanger herself now. I needed her too much to allow any harm to come to her.

The two men hammered out a rough truce as Frederick's demands were considered and met. Not only would Weasley's family be kept out of harm's way, but the Colony, once under Frederick's rule, would cease the insane push to London and desist in gathering more recruits in the more traditional manner of the Pack. It was an easy compromise to reach. Weasley had no stomach for Greyback's methods of coercion. It was not in his nature.

Once done, Lucius summoned a small luncheon for us all. After the repast was delivered, Ronald refused to partake, instead stalking to the small kitchen and banging pots about. The boy was an idiot. The food in the kitchen had been supplied from the same larder. It was all Malfoy in origin.

Ginevra stretched beside me with a kittenish yawn, and then she rose. She returned to my side with two small plates of food. She remained silent as I thanked her, instead settling for a pensive nod as Lucius said, "There is another matter we need to discuss. The Dark Lord wishes me to collect the Order members at the Colony and dispatch them in a rather public spectacle at my dau... at a dinner party. Severus and I have come up with a plan, but we will need some materials from each of you. We plan to make rather complex doppelgangers, and will need blood, hair, and other fluids from you to complete the potions needed."

&*&*&

The rest of the day was spent in much the same manner, hashing out the bare bones of the plan. Once done, Lucius gave Weasley and I Portkeys that would allow us to return to the Colony. I was allowed to keep my wand. I would need it to create the complex constructs from the bare materials given us. Ginevra's, Molly's, and Ronald's were to be made first. They would be needed for Malfoy to make a show of their apprehension from the Colony. We all had our roles to play. I informed Lucius that crude facsimiles of the finished product could be completed within a day. The doppelgangers would be mere automatons, unable to answer more than the barest of questions, and would not hold up to scrutiny. They needed a few weeks to let the magic mature fully, to infuse them with that spark of life they needed to hoodwink the Dark Lord. I worried that this portion of our subterfuge would be discovered. As much as I wanted Ginevra to be safe, I also worried that we would somehow be found out. I could not watch her be tortured again.

Lucius assured me that his operatives in the Colony would cover for the inadequacies of the constructs. I prayed that he was correct, and that his people were truly loyal. Not like us, coerced to make decisions by the exigencies of our situation.

Frederick activated his Portkey and was away in a swirl of colour. I turned to Ginevra, fear clutching at my gut in a way that hadn't happened since my first days as a spy for Dumbledore. She clung to me as I kissed her. When we broke from our embrace she whispered, "Be safe. I can't live without you, you snarky git."

"I do grow on you, don't I?" I said, masking my fear for her.

"Yeah," she answered. "You do."

I activated the Portkey and swirled away from her, hoping that our plan would not fail, knowing it could not if any of us were to survive.




Thanks for reading. Please take the time to rate or leave a review.