Love From Afar Chapter 5

[altogetherisi]

Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: Love From Afar 5/?
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Lucius/Harry
Summary: Lucius has self-control and realistic views toward his relationship with his mate, but loves him none the less. My take on Veela!Lucius.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

And here's chapter 5...

 

Lucius Malfoy had long since stopped attempting to get the guard to even react to him, let alone tell him what was going on. He had been in the holding cell for at least five days now, although since it was where he had woken up he couldn’t be sure how much time had passed since that terrible day searching the forest on the Dark Lord’s commands.

He had attempted to get any information from the guard that was standing outside his door many times during the five days that he had been conscious for, but none of them ever even made eye contact with him, let alone tell him anything. The only thing that he could surmise was that he was being held by the Light. If it were the Dark Lord’s forces, he surely would have been tortured or at least insulted, regardless of orders about talking. Moreover, the Dark Lord would not bother to leave Lucius without observing him and bragging to the wandless and helpless man.

The guards changed three times a day when they brought him meagre meals, ensuring that every time the cell was opened at all there were two armed men should he attempt to escape. Apparently they also changed at least once during the night, as the guard Lucius would wake up to was always different to the one that had been standing there, stoic and silent, outside his cell the night before.

As in the wood, the worst part was that Lucius was alone with his thoughts. He didn’t even try to keep his mind away from thoughts of Harry- the Boy Who Lived had become a man since Lucius had last seen him, and to actually glance him, if only for a moment, in the flesh, had influenced him greatly. Harry was grown, strong and magically powerful. If he was to be killed, or simply left in the holding cell until he eventually died, Lucius knew he would keep those images right until the end. After he didn’t know his own name his would keep holding on to the vision of Harry and the white light, and the then the vision of Harry in the chamber, looking happy. If Lucius allowed himself, he could imagine that Harry’s tired but relieved expression that he had observed was directed at him, that Harry was looking happy to see Lucius.

It was while he was day dreaming those exact thoughts that his cell door swung open unexpectedly and Lucius looked up into the end of a wand. It was held by a nondescript wizard in Auror robes who was gesturing at Lucius impatiently.

‘Come along then, Malfoy, we don’t have all day,’ he said, clearly wishing he was anywhere else.

Lucius was far more startled than he was going to let on. Five days without interacting with another person made this sudden return to communication confusing and unsettling, but mechanically Lucius refused to allow any signs of his discomfort to show on his face. Instead he simply rose and followed the Auror out of his cell.

He recognised that the bland grey walls were deep within the Ministry of Magic as they walked down a seemingly endless and infinite tangle of them, all the same with no distinguishing marks or features. The Auror led Lucius in silence, wand drawn, with the two guards behind him. He had clearly walked these halls many times to be confident that he had not taken a wrong turning at all.

By the time Lucius realised where they were and where it was that he was being taken there wasn’t enough time to be scared or even angry. Instead he used his last moments of semi privacy to breathe and compose himself for the coming events. The small convoy didn’t pause to allow this, so Lucius simply did what little he could to steel his nerves.

They entered the courtroom.

The chaos was far more than Lucius had envisaged. There were huge crowds seated in the public stalls that started shouting as soon as he entered. Many surged to their feet and objects were thrown at him. There were shrieks of hatred, fear, loathing. Jeers and laughter. So much sound and movement surrounded him and Lucius struggled to take it all in as he was hustled to the chair in the centre of the room with chains hanging off it.

He knew that keeping his composure was of the utmost importance, but he was not sure even what the formal charges against him were or what exactly was going on. Had the Dark Lord fallen? Or was he simply a captured Death Eater, waiting for his Lord to reclaim him? And what had happened to Bellatrix and Avery? If Harry really had been in that wood, had it been them that had attacked them? Had they discovered a curse that could burn him all the way through?

Would they use it on him?

After all, there were no Dementors any more- whether or not the Dark Lord was alive, that was proved by his accompliment to the court room by guards and an Auror rather than flanked by the disgusting and terrifying creatures. Could he still be sent to Azkaban if there were no more Dementors? Would they kill him, or perhaps leave him in a dank hole to rot-

As Lucius sat down, the magical chains animated and bound him tightly to the chair, effectively silencing his frantic mind.

‘The court will come to order.’ A sharp voice cut through the din and Lucius looked up at the stern face of Rufus Scrimgour, standing in front of what was clearly the entire Wizengamot. ‘Lucius Malfoy, you have been charged with theft, conspiracy to use illegal magics, conspiracy to cause damage and destruction to public and private properties, conspiracy to overthrow the Ministry of Magic, conspiracy to torture, conspiracy to murder, use of illegal magics, counts of torture, counts of murder and countless acts of terrorism as a Death Eater. How do you plead- guilty or not guilty?’

‘I-’ Lucius faltered, confused and cursed himself for letting his weakness show in front of a crowd that only a few moments before had been baying for his blood.

‘Guilty or not guilty?’

The whole room appeared only in two sections- the glare and anger radiating from the Wizengamot, seated far above him, and the hate and impatience coming from the blurred audience to his farce of a trial. He caught sight of one particular face twisted in distaste and hate and then every face appeared to be wearing the same expression and the room was so huge and echoing and crowded and he was surrounded and confused and helpless and the crowd was impatient and seemed about the pounce and all the faces everywhere all around him-

There! Ignoring the Minister of Magic’s irritated call for his attention (‘Mr Malfoy!’) he craned his neck around, trying to find that face that his mind, his very magic, promised was there, and hadn’t been a mirage. There had been one he was certain-

Lucius gasped sharply and had he not been bound to the chair he might have collapsed out of it.

Harry Potter stared back at him evenly, his face showing no emotion at all.

There wasn’t just the one face either. On each side of his mate were his mate’s two best friends, and next to Ron Weasley was what appeared to be most of the Weasley family. Arthur and two of the sons were glaring at him like most of the crowd, but when they bent forward to murmur something to Ronald, he turned and told them something that made them stop quickly.

Behind Harry, sitting stiffly and looking blank, was Severus Snape, and next to him were Draco and Narcissa. Lucius suddenly felt a great pity for his family, struggling on and appearing dignified while he was on trial for murder and sitting through stoically while surrounded by people that hated them by association.

Harry’s face, the one that had cleared his mind and calmed him, gave him the tiniest of frowns and nodded ever so slightly.

‘Mr Malfoy! How do you plead?’

With great effort Lucius tore his gaze away from his mate and looked back at the angry lion like man in front and above him.

‘N-Not guilty,’ Lucius said, and worried that his voice was too weak that they wouldn’t hear him, that he would be dragged away to gaol again.

But his Harry was there, just inside the left side off his vision though not at all in focus. His mate was watching, was interested. Did not appear to hate him.

And sitting there, back straight and dressed in full formal robes, his mate looked so adult and wonderful. He had reached maturity and was beautiful, wonderful.

The minister looked angry and impatient, clearly having hoped that Lucius would not take long. But Lucius did not care that the courtroom was full of anger and hate and disbelief that anyone could think that he wasn’t guilty, because his family and greatest friend and his mate were all there and they didn’t hate him.

‘The Wizengamot has already heard a massive amount of the evidence against you. We will proceed with the defence testimonies then.’ Rufus Scrimgour made an expansive gesture before sitting down. A small man moved forward out of the shadows and Lucius recognised his long standing lawyer, Doy.

He hoped that he was worth what he was paying for him- Lucius wasn’t sure there was any way to prove his innocence. He wasn’t even sure he was innocent himself.

‘My client, Lucius Malfoy, has been before this court on a previous occasion,’ Doy began speaking in a voice that was loud but raspy. ‘In June 1996, my client pleaded guilty to several charges and carried out a sentence of 12 months in Azkaban prison. Since his release, my client has not committed any other count of wrong doing- he is here before you, accused of the acts of others, purely because he has a passed conviction. But the court should not take a prior sentence as proof of further wrong doing- rather they should acknowledge that my client has reformed and has not reoffended in the past year.

‘My client has been brought here today to answer to the crime of living. This court has already confirmed the innocence of Severus Snape, another man that was brought by those seeking justice against the dead. Lucius Malfoy is in the same position- effectively on trial for being alive, and to answer for those that are dead.’

Doy paused to draw breath before turning to the side where a man nodded at him.

‘I would like the court to regard the statement of Mrs Narcissa Malfoy, given to the court two days ago under Versiteserum. I would like to remind the court of the passage where Mrs Malfoy states that she has no reason to suspect that her husband has broken any laws since his release from gaol and that she believes unequivocally that he is not guilty of these charges.’

There was a rustling of papers before a few beats of silence. The Minister then bent forward and said, ‘It is noted, Mr Doy. Proceed.’

 ‘I would like to call Severus Snape,’ he said. Severus stood up stiffly and Lucius watched him make his way to the witness stand. A young man in white court robes stepped forward and passed Severus a vial that he drank from, before sitting down. Lucius realised that Snape had apparently consented to questioning under Versiteserum, something that Lucius didn’t think he had ever seen his friend do.

The room silenced as Severus sat and Doy began to question him in his reedy voice.

‘Are you Severus Snape, of Hogwarts School and Spinner’s End?’

‘Yes.’ Snape didn’t snap the answer, but he offered nothing more or less than the bare truth.

‘How long have you known the defendant?’

‘Approximately 22 years.’

Doy nodded and straightened his crooked back slightly.

‘Are you a Death Eater?’

‘No.’

Murmurs broke out in the audience.

‘Were you a Death Eater?’ Doy continued.

‘Yes.’

‘But you are no longer a Death Eater?’

‘No.’

‘Why is this?’

‘The Dark Lord and his followers are dead.’

‘All of them?’

Severus hesitated, and Lucius realised that there was no clear truthful answer that he knew.

‘I believe so.’

‘Why?’

‘All the marked Death Eaters are dead. I do not know whether there are any Death Eaters that were not marked that may still live. I do not believe that the Dark Lord would have not marked any of his human followers, but I cannot be certain.’

‘You have spent several years as a spy in the Death Eaters, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you send any length of time with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?’

‘Yes.’

‘Could you estimate how much time, approximately?’

‘Not accurately.’ Snape paused. ‘Some times only minutes, sometimes hours. Occasionally I spent entire days in his presence.’

‘Did others spend the same amount of time around him?’

‘No.’

‘Why do you believe this was?’

Snape scowled. ‘I was greatly favoured.’

‘How well would you say that you knew He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?’

‘As well as could be expected. Better than any other.’

‘And you believe that he would not have left his followers without the Dark Mark?’

‘I do.’

‘Is there any reason that you can think of that may have caused him not to mark any of his followers?’

‘No.’

‘And all of the marked Death Eaters, excepting yourself and the defendant, are now dead.’

‘Yes.’

Doy paused, contemplatively.

‘Do you know how the other Death Eaters died, Mr Snape?’

‘Not entirely. Their bodies are burnt, inside and out, and have no remaining magical properties, but I do not know what caused this.’

‘Did you witness the Death of any Death Eaters?’

‘Yes.’

‘Could you please explain the circumstances and what happened to the court please?’

Snape paused and cleared his throat.

‘On the 20^th June, I was brewing a special potion within the Dark Lord’s Manor House. It was very complex, and I had started very early in the morning, before 2am. I completed the first stage at quarter to six at which point I began the very sensitive second stage that would last a further five hours.

‘The Dark Mark on my arm began to burn at around 8am. The signal was different than usual, and I did not respond to it as I usually would have done because of the potion. The Dark Lord understood its use and how much time it needed and so I made the decision to continue with the potion. The signal stopped after a while.

‘Around 10am the Mark began to pulse. It was a different sensation to normal- a gentle, fluttering feeling. I continued to ignore it.

‘However, half an hour later the pain increased dramatically. I was unable to control myself and the potion was ruined. The pain and magic that rushed through me was terrible. I believed that I was dying.

‘The pain passed, and I left my lab since the potion was ruined. I hear screams and ran toward them. When I arrived, I saw there was a Death Eater screaming- his comrade was trying to help him but could not understand what was happening. As I watched, he two began shrieking, although he had not been cursed or spelled. They blackened before my eyes.

‘I entered the Dark Lord’s ante chamber, to discovered Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger surrounded by Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were mainly dad or passing through the last stage into death. Weasley and Granger were standing back to back- they appeared confused and defensive, and I believed that they had been fighting off the Death Eaters and preventing them from entering the next chamber before they had all died. I did not believe they had caused the deaths.

‘Weasley disarmed me, but before we could speak, Harry Potter entered the room. He seemed dazed but claimed that the Dark Lord was dead. Lucius Malfoy then also entered the ante chamber. He appeared to have been running and had expended a lot of magical power to enter the room. I was intrigued that Lucius and I appeared to be the only Death Eaters that had survived the Dark Lord, and did not notice Potter fainting. It was at this point that Weasley and Granger stunned Malfoy and I.’

Doy nodded.

‘Do you know why you and the defendant survived, Mr Snape?’

‘No.’

‘Does anybody know?’

Snape scowled again.

‘I am not certain. However, I believe that Harry Potter may know.’

‘Mr Snape, since his release from Azkaban prison, have you been aware of the defendant breaking any laws?’

Snape paused to think.

‘No.’

‘No further questions.’

Doy stepped back and another man approached the stand, presumably the prosecutor. He was much taller than Doy and was smirking slightly as he approached Severus.

‘Mr Snape, you have the Dark Mark, do you not?’

‘I do.’

‘So why do you believe that you are not a Death Eater?’

Snape looked affronted.

‘Because the Death Eaters are dead, and I am not.’

‘I don’t believe that means that you are not a Death Eater, Mr Snape. I believe that you are simply a Death Eater that is alive. And I believe the same of the defendant.’ He paused. ‘What exactly did you do for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Mr Snape?’

‘I made potions for him.’

‘Nothing else?’

‘There were a few other tasks over the years, but I do not remember them all.’

‘Were you often doing the same “tasks” as the defendant?’

‘Not usually, no.’

‘Were you always at the same meetings with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as the defendant?’

‘No.’

‘If the defendant was there, were you always aware of him?’

‘No.’

‘So really there is no way you can give an accurate testimony as to what exactly the defendant did for the Dark Lord.’ He paused again. ‘This court has already come to the decision that you are not guilty of the crimes that the defendant is accused of, Mr Snape, so I have to assume that your “tasks” from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, that you did not do with the defendant, were not illegal in nature. Which means of course that the defendant was not given such innocent tasks as you Mr Snape, correct?’

‘I suppose.’

‘And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did not allow his servants to discuss their separate tasks, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘So in truth, there is very little information that you would be able to give this court that is more than speculation on the subject of what exactly the defendant did on the orders of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, correct?’

‘…Yes.’ Snape was glaring angrily but had to answer.

‘No further questions.’

Lucius hated the bite of the chains more than ever at that moment. Doy walked forward again.

‘Mr Snape, you were not there when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was killed, correct?’

‘That is correct.’

‘But you are absolutely certain that he is dead?’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘And why is this?’

Lucius saw Snape scowl slightly, but he didn’t hesitate.

‘Harry Potter says he is dead, and my Mark is inactive. I am certain that he is dead.’

‘And you are certain that all Marked Death Eaters, except for yourself and Mr Malfoy, are also dead?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you know this because…?’

Snape scowl even more and practically snarled his answer.

‘Harry Potter believes this and I believe that he is correct.’

‘No further questions. You may step down.’ Doy paused as Snape walked stiffly back to his seat before speaking again. ‘I would like to call Harry Potter.’