Dolasitas

“You cannot keep me locked in your dungeons!” Lexy said incredulously. “You will never get away with it.”

“That is not necessarily my intention, Lexy. I brought you here so that you would know what the alternative to spurning my proposal a third time would be. Come, take my arm and I will show you the rest of the manor.” Though Lucius appeared to have calmed down, the anger was still apparent in his face, and Lexy did not miss the fact that he had pocketed her wand as he spoke. Silently, she took the arm that he offered and they left the dungeons, moving upwards into the heart of Malfoy Manor.

Lucius kept up a running commentary as they walked through the manor. Lexy saw the portraits of his ancestors lining the walls of the lower corridors; all of them sharing the cold, grey eyes that Lucius possessed and used to such effect, and it was clear that the aristocratic bone structure was another hereditary trait. They passed large, elegant dining rooms and ballrooms that reminded Lexy of the fairytales her mother used to read to her so many years ago. Truth be told, Lexy was more than a little overwhelmed by the wealth that was on display and being offered to her.

Lucius paused when they reached the third floor of the manor and turned to face her. “Do you approve, Lexy?” he asked her softly.

“The manor is absolutely wonderful,” she replied honestly. “You are a fortunate man to be living here, Lucius.”

“Thank you, Lexy. I am glad you like it. However, I am sure you will appreciate that the manor is much too extravagant for one man living on his own. I always dreamt of having a large family to fill it,” Lucius said, his eyes brightening. “Speaking of which, the nursery is just here on your left.”

Lexy blanched. The reality of the situation she was in had escaped her whilst she was absorbed in examining the manor, but now she was looking around the nursery that Lucius so clearly expected her to fill, it returned to her with a vengeance.

“Before that, of course,” Lucius said, raising his eyebrows suggestively, “you must be introduced to the master bedroom.” He resumed his grip on her arm and took her to the largest of the bedrooms. Lexy could not deny that it was a beautiful room; sumptuously furnished, it looked out onto the grounds. Sunlight was flooding in through the French doors that opened out onto the balcony, casting rays of light across the huge four poster bed that was draped in dark green silk. One of the doors led off to an en-suite which was equally beautiful, and the other door was closed. Lucius walked out onto the balcony and Lexy followed him, relieved to get away from the bed and the connotations it hinted at.

Lucius stared out across the grounds for a few moments before he spoke. “Have you thought any more on my proposal, Lexy?”

Lexy swallowed hard. So much was at stake, but she could not willingly commit herself to marriage with a man who she so clearly did not love. She had to tell him so, and take the consequences. Lexy opened her mouth to speak, but Lucius silenced her by holding up his hand.

“Before you tell me of your decision, there is perhaps one more thing I can show you to persuade you. Follow me,” he said, abruptly turning and opening the closed door in the bedroom. He paused before entering it and turned around. “This is the only room in the manor to which you will have restricted access. You are never to enter it unless I am with you and give you express permission to do so, do you understand?” Lexy nodded, and Lucius advanced to the desk in the corner, reaching into the drawer and pulling out a photograph. He held it facing away from her.

“Your brother – he went missing, you said?” he asked curiously.

Lexy nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Will had been a wonderful, happy child, and the family had been devastated when he disappeared. It was still painful to think about him. “Yes, not long before the Final Battle. We… we never even found his body.”

Lucius bit his lip. “Forgive me if my assumptions are incorrect, but I am certain that I see a likeness. My friend Caius Avery and his wife acquired a young boy child early last year. The circumstances were never explained. Here, I have a photo of them with the child.”

Lexy took the photo he held out, and saw her brother Will smiling up at her in the arms of the Death Eater. Silently, she fainted into Lucius’ arms.

Lucius smirked, delighted. The plan that had come to him whilst on the balcony had gone exactly as he hoped it would, and Lexy was entirely at his mercy. He had not been entirely truthful with her; the truth was, he knew for a fact that the child was her brother, having assisted Avery with the kidnapping of him in the first place. All he had to do now was promise to help Lexy get the brat back on the condition that she would marry him. Raising another man’s child was a small price to pay for the pleasure and the children of his own that he would gain from the deal.

Lucius easily lifted Lexy and carried her back into the bedroom where he gently laid her onto the bed. Before he woke her, he turned back to the study and securely warded it to his own signature. It was imperative that Lexy could not enter there without him, for he kept in his private study certain artefacts and information entrusted to him by the Dark Lord for safe keeping. It had taken a long time for him to be forgiven for his misuse of the Dark Lord’s diary, and he was not about to make the same mistake again.

But he did not wake Lexy immediately. Instead, he leant over her and tenderly kissed her lips, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation. It had been a long time since he had had a woman in his bed; Narcissa had kept a separate bedroom for the latter years of their marriage, and there was no way that he would bring home any of the Muggle and Mudblood whores provided by the Dark Lord at the revels. Softly, Lucius ran his fingers over her face before dipping lower and slipping a finger under the neckline of her robes. He traced the curve of her breasts with his finger, shuddering as he felt his cock harden. It took a great effort to stop himself from fucking her whilst she lay unconscious on the bed; the only thing stopping him was the realisation that he wanted her to be awake to fully enjoy their first time together. Breathing erratically, he rose off the bed, and pointed his wand at her. “Ennervate.”

Lexy slowly opened her eyes, disorientation flooding her senses before she remembered everything that had happened and rapidly sat up, blood rushing to her head. “My brother,” she said desperately, “please, Lucius, you must help me find my brother.”

Lucius settled himself in the chaise longue next to the bed and looked at Lexy, a calculating gleam in his eye. “Alas, I fear it will be very difficult to take him away from Avery. I would need permission from the Dark Lord, and it will have to be something significant to please him for that to be given.”

Lexy sighed. It seemed that Lucius had manipulated her into exactly the position he wanted. “Would you care to elaborate?” she asked tiredly.

“You know what our lord desires at the moment, Lexy. Namely, for those select few of us in the Inner Circle who are not married to do so with haste, to find a pureblooded witch to bear their children. I have stated my desire to marry you, and that is my price for returning your brother to you.” Lucius smiled triumphantly.

Before Lexy could answer him, a house elf knocked on the door. “Please, master, there is one of your friends to see you.”

“Who?” asked Lucius angrily.

“The werewolf Lupin, master. He says you was supposed to see him an hour ago.” The elf scurried out of the room.

Lexy’s eyes lit up, and she quickly looked down before Lucius returned his attention to her.

“I suppose we shall go and see him then, princess. He can take news of you back to Hogwarts,” Lucius stated, clearly pleased with the idea. He slipped his arm around her waist and they walked to the main reception room where Remus was waiting for them with no sign of the worry he felt.

“Lucius, how are you?” he greeted him. “I hope all is well; I was concerned when you didn’t show for our meeting, as you are normally so punctual.”

“Did you not get the message? I asked one of those infernal house elves to let you know that something important had occurred,” Lucius replied, hissing with displeasure.

“I got no message, no. Can I assume that the something important was the delightful Miss Beaumont?” Remus asked congenially.

“Indeed it was,” Lucius said, his smile returning. “We are to be married, Remus.”

“Is that so?” Remus asked, directing his question to Lexy. His eyebrows rose in evidence of his surprise.

“Yes,” Lexy murmured, refusing to meet his eyes.

“In that case, I shall leave you to it. Lexy, I will see you at Hogwarts on Monday I presume?”

Lucius shook his head. “No, Lexy will not be returning to school, Remus.”

Her head shot up, and she looked at Remus imploringly. Remus rose, and held up a hand to quieten her. “Lucius, that will not do! McGonagall will not stand for it, and it is unfair to your fiancée not to allow her to complete her education. Perhaps I can arrange it for you so that Lexy attends lessons, but returns here when the school day is over?”

Lucius looked thoughtful. “Yes, perhaps you are correct Remus. It will benefit her greatly I suppose. Lexy, you have finished your end of year exams, have you not?” She nodded, and he looked pleased. “Very well, Lexy will return to Hogwarts in September, but until then she stays at Malfoy Manor. I will speak with you soon, Remus. Come, princess, let us take luncheon.” It was clear that he would accept no further debate on the matter.

They left the room, and Remus was escorted out of the manor by a house elf. Lucius turned to her. “I am delighted that you have seen the merits of accepting my proposal, Lexy.”

“I accept, but I must set a condition, Lucius. I will not marry you until you return my brother to me,” Lexy said, quaking but determined to stand her ground. If she gave in immediately, there was no guarantee of having Will back unless she had her wand.

Lucius snarled. “How dare you imply that I would renege upon my promise?!”

“You are a Death Eater, Lucius, and I have been taught never to trust those who serve the Dark Lord willingly.”

“Then you will stay in the dungeons until you marry me!”

“Very well,” Lexy said coolly, though the fear she felt was threatening to burst through.

Lucius’ eyes darkened, and he grabbed hold of her and threw her over his shoulder, speedily covering the distance between them and the dungeons. He thrust open the door and threw her into the corner. “I will be back later, witch,” he spat before backing out of the room and sealing the door. Once she was certain he was out of earshot, Lexy broke down and began to cry.


A/N Again, please review - this chapter is evidence that it speeds up the writing process no end! Oh, and Muggleman - many, many thanks for the second review; it is extremely gratifying to know that people are sticking with the story.