Cheating time, Unwilling fate.

Chapter 6

Lucius was nervous. His father had informed him about his marriage contract with the Potter heir. He had heard reports of twins, a brother and a sister being reintroduced into the society at the Potter's ball. Initially he had thought that his intended was the girl who nobody had yet seen. She was rumored to be a beauty in the French pureblood society though she was never introduced. The reason had now become clear. The Potter heir was in training with foreign tutors and underage. Despite what the ministry rules stipulated, 16 was the actual age of majority in most pureblood societies. Now that the heir was back both twins were set to enter the society. Today he had found out that the truth about his intended. The contract was signed and sealed yesterday. His father and his master had taken this as a major victory against the light pureblood faction.

Lucius felt sick to his stomach. He had no say in the matter of his own marriage. To his father he was just another pawn in the political games to be auctioned off for gain. He used to think that only women were subjected to such measures. He had hoped to marry, if not for love then a girl of his choosing. However, his right was snatched away by his father’s master who literally salivated at the idea of having the handsome heir of the light family under his influence. Today was the day of the coming of age ball, the Potter’s have thrown in the honor of their heir, daughter and the younger son. Today he was going to meet the person he was supposed to be bonded to unless some catastrophe occurred. Lucius sighed and straightened his robes. He was the Malfoy heir. People expected him to be cold, imperious and ruthless and that is exactly what he was going to show them. Emotions had no place in this world. The only rule of the game was power; the rest of them were meant to be broken if the situation demanded. His mask was in place, his robes opulent. He was ready to take on the world.

Their carriage was received in the foyer of the Potter manor. As Lucius had seen in the previous parties the house was not much bigger than the Malfoy manor; on the positive side it was far more opulently decorated with vibrant colors and covered with a lush valley of wild flowers on three sides and a lake in the front; some of the herbs in their grounds were quite rare and the trees teemed with game. The flora and fauna on the grounds was what had initially made the Potters prosperous. Compared to the cold house Lucius had grown up in, there was certain warmth that lingered sweetly in the very air here. His heart clenched painfully. Was he expected to live here after bonding? Due to the political advantages the match had offered his father had relinquished the rights on him. The major decisions of his life now lay in the hand of his intended. He would love to stay here but he knew better to keep his mouth shut. One slightest mistake tonight might earn him an hour of Cruciatus in the dungeons.

They were shown to the boudoir where the majority of the guests were mingling. These were the elites of the pureblood society who would have the first glimpse of the ever elusive heir. He made for a chair near the window. He was however, ambushed by Sirius Black. They had never gotten on well together before. In school, they were in different houses and the house rivalry had led to quite a many skirmishes to consider the man in good faith.

“Black.”

“Malfoy." Black nodded and steered him toward a shadowed corner.

Through a side-door he was escorted to the first floor parlors. Black stopped and looked at him with a steady gaze. "He wished to see you. This is where I should leave you. Do not anger him. He is not like the rest of us. As your future brother in law it is my job to advice you. I would come back in 15 minutes and escort you to rest of our friends.”

Lucius was stumped. “Future, brother in law?”, he probed tentatively.

Black nodded, “I was engaged to his sister last week. He approved but he is scary when angered. James found out the hard way. Take care.” Then in a voice low enough not to be heard except at very close range Black muttered, “I do not want to collect bits and pieces of you later.”

Lucius nodded. Black left silently. Lucius took a deep breath and entered. The only occupant of the room turned to look at him. Lucius drew a sharp breath. The stranger was running a comb through his thick black locks while the house elves fussed around him. He looked beautiful in perfectly tailored green robes. However, it was the eyes that held him standing still. There was a glint in the other boy’s eyes which sent shivers down Lucius’s spine. This boy, his intended looked like a dangerous predator who at this instant was regarding him as prey.

“Leave us, please,” the boy softly said to elves. They curtsied and popped out. Lucius desperately wanted to pop out too but he stayed where he was.

“Do be seated, Lucius.” The boy waved his hand impatiently. “I am Alexandre Antione Potter. You can call me Alex.” Lucius took a loveseat near him. Harry ran the comb through a few more times and tamed his wayward hair with some gel.

“You look handsome tonight.” Harry observed him critically, “but we need to make a few changes. Come here.” Lucius obeyed. Harry took his wand started to trim his hair. Lucius had loved his long silky tresses which were now being chopped off but he kept mum. He couldn’t do anything anyways. So, he closed his eyes and slipped on his cool mask.

“Look .” Harry whispered in his ear. Lucius opened his eyes. He was pleasantly surprised when he accessed his new looks. If he dared he would have said he looked hot. His uneven cut hair gave him a layered look with a fringe falling in his eyes. “Now, you look roguishly handsome.” Lucius silently agreed.

Harry vanished the chopped hair with a flick of his wand. There was no trace on him yet and the wards blocked the ministry anyways. He liked Lucius’s new look. Now he looked like another handsome young man unlike his father. He knew Draco had tried to emulate his father both in looks and gait. Perhaps Lucius had done the same. He intended to change that. It was absolutely essential for him to break any hold Abraxas had on his progeny still. Lucius was now his legally and come high heaven or hell he intended to keep him. Period.

Now that he took him in, he noticed that Lucius had never protested whatever he had done to his hair. Lucius looked as if he hardly dared to breathe without his consent. Was Lucius afraid of him? Idiot, he was afraid of him. He had forgotten who he had asked to escort him in here. Sirius must have scared him silly for Lucius to be so terrified of him. It was kind of ironic. He was always intimidated by Lucius in his other life as he called his past now. Maybe it was the famous Malfoy mask that hid anything from the public that they wanted to hide. Here, Lucius was helpless, just as he was helpless before Voldemort.

Harry smiled at the other boy. His hands gripped the hips of the other and held him in close contact. They were standing together and Harry noticed that he was slightly taller than Lucius. He dipped his head and gave the other boy a chaste kiss on the lips. The kiss was sweet. The taste was of cinnamon and it was intoxicating to Harry. He ran his tongue over those lips and they parted. Harry dove in recklessly fisting up the boys hair in his hand. Lucius responded enthusiastically, his fears forgotten; his hands seeking contact with the bare skin of his intended. Robes were carefully opened and their kisses explored each other.

Harry pressed Lucius against the mirror and bit his bare shoulder. “Look at the reflection” he whispered and Lucius looked. His eyes were captivated by what he saw. His skin was flushed a beautiful pink, his robes were handing off his shoulders and there was a wanton look in his eyes. His back was pressed against Alex’s bare chest who had that glint in his eyes again. “You will stay the night.” It was not a question. Lucius nodded. Alex smiled. “Let’s get dressed. I am to be introduced to you tonight. The next door on the right is where Sirius and other boys are. For the sake of propriety, we will pretend this never happened.” He kissed Lucius again. It was deep and sensuous, leaving both of them quite dazed at the end. "I like your new hair."

"I think I like it too."

"This is just for tonight." Harry flicked his wand and created an illusion of long hair on Lucius.

A knock was heard on the door. The boys quickly dressed up and Harry opened the door. Sirius stood there. Harry nodded to him and told Lucius to follow Sirius. Lucius turned back once. Harry returned the gesture with a nod. Lucius’s slipped his mask in place again and entered the room. Most of his friends from school were here along with several foreign teenagers. They were to wait here until all the guests have assembled downstairs and then they would be called down. The last to be called would be the coming out teenagers all of whom must be in separate parlors.

Lucius smiled slightly. Instead of the normal pureblood custom where he would be first shown to the contracted heir in front of all and sundry Alex had managed to meet him beforehand. He admitted to himself that it was deviously accomplished with no one the wiser. The meeting had laid rest to almost all his fears and he had gleaned valuable knowledge. His bonded to be was passionate, alluring, and devious and not to be angered at any cost; all in the perfect contrast with Narcissa who his father had initially offered for. Yes, he could be very happy with Alex. He grinned at Sirius who looked taken aback for a minute.

“That good eh!” Black whispered at him with a grin.

“Yes.” Lucius whispered back. “Thank you.”

“Loosen him up a little. He is a strict taskmaster.”

Lucius blushed. “I will try.”

Black laughed, “Look he’s not bad. I bet he had had a hard life; cut off from the family like that. Those foreign tutors have worked him hard. When I first saw him he had this cold look in his eyes as if he had seen many people die in front of his eyes. James’s dad had several auror friends. The older ones have the same look in the eyes that Alex used to have. It softened up as he spent time with his family. He could be cruel too but at least he is fair. He told James point blank that he would stop pursuing Evans and court my cousin or the consequences wouldn’t be pleasant.”

“What happened?”

"James refused and Alex took action. He called the family lawyer and told them to make arrangements so that Lily’s parents would be offered a lucrative job in France and a place for Lily in Baeuxbatons. James was hysterical as their parents supported Alex. After that James backed down and Alex dropped his plans. James sulks around now avoiding everyone. Alex is concerned but doesn’t openly show it.”

Yet another piece of Alex was added to Lucius's image of Alex. He wasn’t afraid of making hard decisions. In fact he was a take charge kind of person; a person strong enough to fight for him. He was sure that Alex had taken him out of the direct reach of the dark lord. Indirectly he knew he was vulnerable anywhere. He thanked his lucky stars for small mercies.

“Let’s move.”

The signal to move downstairs had come. They joined the crowd and started mingling around. After all the guests have been introduced the three teenagers were called down.

They looked beautiful, Denise Raphunzel Potter was escorted by her two dashing brothers. James and Alex looked handsome, their looks quite similar though he knew Alex was much more poised than James. Denise was resplendent in her red robes. She looked an amazing belle of the evening. Had Lucius not seen Alex before he would have been jealous of Sirius who was now escorting his fiancé.

“Lucius come here”, hissed his father. His father was smiling. His hands gripped Lucius’s shoulders painfully. “Conduct yourself well; no mistakes for him to reject you.” His mother merely smiled at him. Lucius nodded.

He plastered a fake smile upon his face. Inside he was smirking. It would be perhaps that last time his father could legally command him. After the introduction, he would be Alex’s to keep. “Come.” Lucius followed his parents obediently.

Charlus saw them coming, “Alex, I should introduce you to the one of the most important guests tonight. This is Abraxas Malfoy, his wife Felicia and his son Lucius, your intended.”

Alex met the eyes of one Abraxas Malfoy head on, the glint in his eyes never ceasing. Finally, Abraxas broke his gaze and looked at his son. Lucius bowed. Alex ran a glance all over him and titled his head appraisingly. Then he held out his hand, “The roses are in full bloom this season. Care to accompany me to the gardens.' Lucius nodded his head and took his hand.

“Do be careful to return before midnight, dear. We leave then.” Lucius’s mother reminded.

Alex arched his head. “He would be staying, Felicia. We need to be properly acquainted over the summer. Do not trouble yourself to send his things. I need to learn to take care of him.” Then he steered his intended out of the gathering and into the night.