The Owl and the Pussycat

Homecoming.







At precisely three minutes past twelve, Lucius was side-along apparated with Harry Potter into his own home.



“Thank-you for the travel, I do apologise for the aroma; bathing facilities in Azkaban are much to be desired of.” Replied the blonde, though the blonde colouration was tinged with grime.



“We’ve been trying to get them to allow more often bathing, honest.” Harry replied with a shrug. What else could he say?



“Oh, they did – once per week is much preferable to once per month.” Lucius stated, looking in distain at his hideous striped tunic and equally hideous trousers.



“We were hoping for better than that – we pointed out they wouldn’t have to spend as much on medicinal potions if the inmates were clean in the first place!” Harry said, desperate to run in the direction of his screaming little boy.



“Oh? A rather vocal guest?” Lucius chuckled, it had been a long time since a baby’s cries had rung through the manor.



“Yeah, he didn’t sleep well last night – a little bit of a tummy upset made him really sick and cranky. We ended up waking Draco to make him better.” Harry sighed, running a hand through already messed hair.



“Is he well now?” Lucius asked, genuinely concerned. Guests were guests, regardless of their age. He was a host, regardless of the stripes on his clothing.



“Yeah, just tired, hungry and cross.” Harry smiled, James had his moments, but he loved him, and his Mother with every fibre of his being.



“And yourself, and your wife?” Lucius was in desperate need of a bath, but Narcissa would hex him if he wasn’t a dutiful host.



“Oh, I’m fine – just in need of sleep; Ginny’s brilliant and the best Mother ever!” Harry’s beaming grin dropped slightly, “It’s a bit strange to stand for Hermione – Her Father should do it, but her parents have no idea she exists. I’m honoured, but really scared I’ll mess it up for her. Hermione was always the planner and the one to make sure everything went well… or reasonably well.”



“You aren’t a boy anymore, you are a grown man, a Father – you are perfectly capable of representing such a close friend at her wedding.” Lucius beckoned Harry closer to whisper comparatively in his ear, “If you can change a nappy, then you are perfectly capable of being part of a wedding!”



“You changed nappies?” Harry said, shocked.



“Nobody has invented a spell to do it for you – and I wasn’t going to have some nanny or nurse doing it! I hated my nanny with a passion as a boy, I wouldn’t subject any child to that trout!” Lucius said, shaking Harry’s hand as the two men went in different directions: Harry to his son, and fifteenth draft of his speech; Lucius to the bath and his sixth speech draft.





***



Lucius had showered to remove the grime, dirty water and sadness running down the drain; he was currently soaking in the deep bath, an intense conditioning potion smeared into his (clean) hair. Narcissa had left the hairdresser tending to Hermione’s utterly rebellious curls to surprise her husband.



“Well hello, and who might you be? That is a rather attractive diamond choker you are wearing.” She heard Lucius say to someone. “You are certainly a pretty thing, aren’t you – and so friendly too… No, I don’t think joining me in the bath is a good plan – Narcissa won’t like that. Oh, if you must you can sit on the side.”



Narcissa’s hand flew to her heart, her mind reeling as she gasped in shock.



“I like my hair too, but please don’t play with it.” A chuckle, “Get your tongue out of my ear! Stop it now! You are such a naughty girl! No manners!” Lucius was laughing – the laugh that Narcissa had waited years to hear – and he was laughing with… another woman?



No. It couldn’t be. The chastity charm ensured he would be faithful.



SPLASH “Mrooooooooow!” came the howl of a very upset kitten.



“Claws! Claws close to sensitive anatomy!” Lucius winced, trying to protect his manhood from a floundering kitten.



“Roooow! Mrrrooooooow!” whimpered Bast, thoroughly hating the experience of swimming as she paddled over to the strange human male and proceeded to use his body as a ladder.



“Bast! You silly girl!” Narcissa cried, scooping up the soaked kitten in a fluffy towel. “Shhh. Shhh. Don’t cry so much, its fine, you’re just wet.” The kneazle struggled free of the towel to shoot under the master bed.



“Well, that was certainly exciting…” Lucius commented, fingering a scratch than ran from his breast bone to pelvis, blood tinting the water pink as it dripped from him.



“Are you alright? She has rather sharp claws!” Narcissa said, using her wand to clean the scratches, heal them and replace the bath water.



“I did notice that fact.” Lucius commented, rolling his eyes. “Do you have time to join me?” he asked, hopeful and desperate for contact.



Narcissa reached for his hand, grasping it firmly in manicured fingers, “I have too much to see to, and you need to get into your robes, sort your speech and see Draco… you know I’d love to slide into the warm water with you right now – but I wouldn’t want to get out again!”



“I am sorry, I just wanted to hold you.” Lucius whispered, his eyes closing.



“I know, Lu, I know. I’ve missed you too – more than you know.” She said, moving to kiss pale, damp lips. “You. Need. A. Shave.” She chided, not prepared to have whiskers up her nose while kissing.



Lucius ran his fingers around his ‘furry face’ (as Draco had named stubble as a young boy). “I am glad I always shaved without magic, I wouldn’t like to learn how to do so without my wand to perform healing charms.” Lucius’s own wand had never been replaced after He who shall not be named snapped it, not that he was permitted to hold one as a convict on a very short parole.



“I went to the trouble of getting you more of your favourite shaving soap and aftershave. I didn’t want you coming home to the ones you used before you left.” She leant in for a brief, yet passionate kiss; “Be careful with the blade. I have not the time to play nurse with you! I have a bride to dress!”



“I have a speech to write and a son to speak with.” Lucius said.



“And a beard to shave off!” Narcissa called from their suite door as she left for the room Hermione was dressing in.