With A Dragon's Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: The Impossible Mission part 2

(now Beta’d)


Narcissa just happened to be walking by the main entrance when the doorbell rang. She scoffed at the fact that she had to greet the uninvited guest instead of Yiska the house elf. Such a menial task. Opening the door, her eyes met a pair of dark onyx ones.

“Good evening cousin,” he said.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“Lucius,” the cold voice of his wife called out to him from beyond Draco\'s door.

“What is it?” he snapped.

“We have company.”

The blond snorted in disgust. “I’ll be right down,” he said abruptly.

He listened to Narcissa’s footsteps fading into the distance before leaning over his son. “We’ll continue this later,” he whispered.

Lucius coiled up his whip and hung it back up in his heir’s wardrobe closet. He took one last look at Draco\'s naked form lying face down on the bed before locking the door behind him.

The pale boy was finally able to relax and let his emotions emerge. He sobbed quietly to himself, knowing that his father’s game wasn’t over by a long shot.


~*~*~*~*~*~


The tall aristocrat felt a small breeze go by him as he descended down the long staircase, paused, but then shrugged it off thinking it was one of the many ghosts who resided there.

“Severus,” he acknowledged with an impersonal nod. “To what do we owe this … unexpected visit?”

Professor Snape sneered slightly at his choice of greeting then replied calmly, “I didn’t get a chance to talk with you today before you left.”

Motioning to the drawing room with a wave of his hand, Lucius watched as Severus entered in first, before following close behind. The blond offered him a drink then poured one for himself. Both wizards sat in opposite chairs, facing one another.

“And what is there to talk about?” Lucius drawled, continuing the conversation.

“Draco of course.” He paused for effect. “And Harry Potter.” Severus enjoyed noticing the unguarded changed expression.

The aristocrat slightly choked on his drink but quickly composed himself as if nothing unusual was said. Snape inwardly grinned.


~*~*~*~*~*~


The locked door to Draco\'s room was opened easily with a simple spell and soft footsteps approached the prone boy. Draco lifted his head and peered up at nothing. He gasped softly when a figure appeared out of thin air.

“What,” the young Malfoy rasped through a sore throat. “What are you doing here?” he whispered.

“Shhh. I’m here to help you.”


~*~*~*~*~*~


“As long as you’re here, Severus,” Narcissa said curtly, walking into the room, “why don’t you join us for dinner?”

Her husband shot her an evil glare. “Yes,” Lucius agreed unwillingly, “why don’t you,” his eyes not leaving hers.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“You… you have to leave. M-must leave. He’ll be back soon. He’ll… he’ll…”

“Don’t worry about me, Draco,” the dark figure said softly.

Long, white fingers stroked the bloodstained cheek affectionately as he glanced up and down the boy’s bleeding back.

“Did he...?”

“No,” Draco whispered, hiding his face into his pillow. “But he will. He always does.”

The man closed his eyes, part in relief, partly in disgust.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“Won\'t Draco be joining us?” Severus asked as he cut his potatoes.

“No,” Lucius responded, much too quickly. He sat up straight in his chair and cleared his throat. “No,” he repeated calmly. “He’s in his room waiting to be punished.”

The Potion Master glanced between husband and wife to find any sort of disagreement. But there was none.

Snape raised an eyebrow. “Punished? For what?”

“You should know, Severus. You were there,” the blond said sharply.

“I see.” He paused, still watching the two emotionless faces. Taking a quiet deep breath, he continued. “You do realise that Draco was not at fault.”

“And how do you deduce that?” Lucius sneered.

“It was the Potter boy who attacked Draco. Your son did nothing wrong.”

The brightly polished fork landed on the china plate with a loud clink. “Did nothing wrong?” the tall blond said, his voice rising slightly. “Do not insult my intelligence, Severus. You know exactly what occurred between him and that… boy,” he snarled.

“Lucius!”

“Silence, woman,” he hissed.

Narcissa looked down and continued cutting her meat.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Lucius,” Snape said casually. “I was with both of them the whole time.”

He glanced over out of the corner of his eyes. Lucius had his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed, studying him carefully.

“Stop protecting him, Severus. I know him better than you.”

Snape raised both brows at him. “I’m sure you do,” he said nodding solemnly. “However, the fact of the matter is, he did nothing … inappropriate.”

Narcissa glared at her husband with an ‘I told you so’ look.

Lucius ignored her and locked his eyes solely on Severus and they sat there quietly, waiting for a hint of deception to appear.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“Please don’t. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Hush now. Just do what I say. It will be all right,” he assured Draco as he untied the boy’s wrists and ankles.

He winced briefly as he saw the damage up close.

“I can give you something for the pain, but I can’t heal you. Not yet.”

The pale boy nodded. “I know.”

He helped Draco to his feet and led him into the bathroom.

“Now just remember what I told you.”

“I can’t,” the boy whispered, lowering his head.

“Draco,” he said softly.

The youth’s eyes looked up at him through blurry eyes.

“I won\'t let him hurt you again,” he said firmly. “Ever.”

The boy timidly shrugged, but managed to force a smile.

“Now come on. We haven’t much time.”


~*~*~*~*~*~


“You may be my wife’s cousin but as I told you before, as his father, I know what he’s capable of doing.”

“And as his godfather, I have taken a great deal of interest in the boy’s welfare.”

Lucius clenched his jaw and arched an eyebrow. “And what precisely are you insinuating?”

Severus’ mouth curled down with indifference, turning his attention to his plate. “Nothing. I’m just stating a fact.” He glanced over to him out of the corner of his eye. “Isn’t that what you asked of me when he started school?”

The Potion Master could now feel the heat radiating from the aristocrat. An unbearable silence lingered for a few minutes until Lucius was heard sighing in defeat.

“Perhaps you’re right. I do tend to think the worst when it concerns my only child.”

Severus swore he heard Narcissa sigh in relief. “A natural reaction from any parent, I’m sure,” he surmised.

Lucius gently laid his silver down and wiped his lips with his cloth napkin.

“I should go apologise.”

Snape raised an eyebrow at him. “Now? But you haven’t finished eating. Surely this can wait…”

“No it can\'t,” Lucius quipped. “He’s waited long enough.”

“Enough?”

For a moment the blond seemed to be at a loss of words. “For his punishment to be over,” he answered simply.

“Then by all means, go.”

Lucius sneered at him. “Thank you,” he said sarcastically.


~*~*~*~*~*~

A couple of minutes went by after Lucius left the dining room. Narcissa was delicately nibbling on her roll, knowing full well her cousin was staring at her. She looked over at him abruptly.

“Well? Say it.”

Severus barely shook his head. “How can you let this happen?”

“To quote your own words: ‘I have no idea what you are talking about’.”

“He’s your son.”

“And he’s my husband,” she snapped.

“He’s your son, Narcissa.”

She tightened her bright red lips into a thin line. “And what do you propose I should do?” she retorted sharply.

Severus smirked. “I can think of many things.”


~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucius removed the locking spell on the door and quietly shut it behind him. He crossed the room to where Draco was lying down on his stomach on the bed. Most of the gashes stopped bleeding and the rest of them had only a few dribbles running out. The older Malfoy closed his eyes and silently cursed himself.

He gingerly knelt at his son’s side.

“Draco,” he said softly.

“Yes, father?” came a low voice from under the strands of blond hair that covered the boy’s face.

Lucius held his breath then slowly released it. “I’m sorry, son. I shouldn’t have said those things to you and I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Draco raised his head from his pillow high enough to reveal a swollen cheek. Dull grey eyes looked at Lucius.

“Father?”

“Shhh. It’s all right now. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course, father,” the young man whispered.

“And I want to make it up to you.”

Draco watched his father go into his bathroom and brought back a damp cloth. Lucius knelt beside him again and he muttered an incantation while he gently rubbed along Draco\'s battered back. He took in a shuddering gasp of air as the healing lotion began to work it’s magic.

“Just relax, Draco. This won\'t take long.”

His son gave a grateful smile to him and closed his eyes. He could feel the pain draining away as the cloth caressed his skin, and it was replaced by a pair of warm hands. His breath hitched at the sudden contact.

“I was a fool to mark this beautiful skin. Such a fool,” the older wizard whispered near his son’s ear.

Long white fingers feathered up Draco\'s back and slid to each shoulder, kneading the tense muscles underneath. It was soothing to the young boy and he murmured in approval. Soft fine hair tickled the outside of his hips and he jerked ever so slightly. It was then that he realised that his father was sitting on top of him, leaning over, and he was naked. A breath of air caught in his throat.

“Shh. It’s time for your reward.”

The young blond gasped silently.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“Well?” Severus said impatiently.

“You’re mad.”

“And he doesn’t have much time.”

Narcissa looked at the clock sitting on the mantle.

“Well?”


~*~*~*~*~*~


Draco swore he heard his father whisper something, but couldn’t quite make it out what.

“Do you remember last summer, Draco?”

The boy’s eyes shot open. “Y-yes, father. Of course.”

Lucius went on speaking, clearly rhetorically. “It was an interesting time, to be sure. If I recall correctly, you angered me thoroughly. I can still hear your pleas of forgiveness echoing in my mind,” he sighed contently.

The naked aristocrat dug his fingers into Draco\'s flesh causing him to hiss. Lucius keen sense of hearing heard a soft gasp coming from the bathroom. He smiled.

“Do you remember your punishment, Draco?”

The blond lying under him swallowed hard.

“I do,” Lucius whispered with a hint of warning in his tone. “Maybe I should remind you.”

Draco\'s body froze. “W-why, father? Have I done something wrong?”

“How about betrayal, son.”

“Betrayal?” the young boy repeated.

“Oh yes, Draco. I long to hear your confession.”

“Confession?” he echoed his father again. “What confession, father?” he asked with a shaky voice.

“We’ll soon find out now, won\'t we?” he hissed.

“NO!” Draco screamed, running out from the bathroom.

“Draco!” the boy on the bed cried out.

Lucius sat up straight and grinned. He grabbed the pale white hair below him and yanked it backwards.

“And now. Tell me who you are.” he said to the young boy satisfactorily.


~*~*~*~*~*~