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Unintended Consequences by xenasquill [Reviews - 2]

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Chapter 2: A Visit with the Malfoys

As the familiar, crushing sensation of Apparition receded, Snape appeared next to Lucius in front of the ornate wrought iron gates to Malfoy Manor. Lucius flicked his wand at them, and they opened wide. Together, Snape and Malfoy strode through the gates, which closed silently behind them. The wide, graveled walkway that led to the front entrance of the manor was lit by lanterns hung at regular intervals.

“The least I can do after that performance is to give Narcissa that recipe, Lucius,” Snape said as they walked. “In five minutes you have radically improved my standing with my employer. I hope you at least need that Veritaserum antidote,” he added with a smile.

“Indeed I do. The Dark Lord’s business, Severus. But you are quite right, I chose the time and place with you in mind.”

“Narcissa must be beside herself, if this could not be handled by owl,” Snape said.

“Not really. I wanted to invite you here anyway, Severus, to discuss some matters of interest,” Lucius said. Ah, yes. Letting Sophronia know he had friends who could place large orders with her was worth more than a potion recipe for a baby, Snape thought.

They had reached the stone steps leading up to the main entrance. As Lucius’s foot grazed the first step, the heavy wooden doors to the manor opened to reveal Dobby, the Malfoys’ house-elf, dressed in a tastefully monogrammed satin pillowcase. Bowing so low that his thin, pencil-like nose nearly grazed the floor, he beckoned Snape and Lucius inside.

“Master is home!” the elf exclaimed in a squeaky voice. “Dobby welcomes Master’s honored guest to Malfoy Manor. My Mistress is asking the respected sirs to please join her in the library.”

“Yes, Dobby,” Lucius said in a bored drawl, tossing his cloak onto one of a series of busts atop marble pillars that decorated the vast entrance hallway. It hung for a moment, and then slowly began to slide down.

Dobby’s green eyes, already as large as tennis balls, seemed improbably to widen further in fear, as he scurried to snatch up the cloak before any part of it touched the floor. As the elf folded it carefully, Snape slowly took off his own, handing it to Dobby just as he finished with Lucius’s.

“Thank you, sir, Dobby will put it in the cloakroom, sir,” said the elf, bobbing up and down at Snape.

“Make it quick,” said Lucius impatiently. “We’ll want whisky in the library, you know the barrel I mean,” he added, striding forward. Dobby jumped out of his way, barely avoiding being bowled over. Snape stepped around him and followed Lucius.

“You really need to get used to house-elves, Severus,” Lucius said with a sneer. “Lazy, tricky, annoying creatures, unless they are managed with a firm hand.”

“Single rooms in Knockturn Alley boarding houses don’t come with house-elves, Lucius,” Snape said with a wry smile, deflecting the criticism.

“True,” Lucius agreed, as they reached the library. He gestured to let his guest pass in first.

At the far end of the room, a large fire crackled merrily, dispelling the chill of the damp autumn night. Narcissa was sitting in a large, upholstered armchair by the fire, her long blonde hair gleaming redly in the firelight. Her face glowed, and she wore a smile of peaceful contentment as she leaned over the sleeping form of baby Draco.

Narcissa rose smoothly, cradling the baby, one finger raised to her lips. “I just finished feeding him, and he fell asleep,” she whispered, displaying Draco to his father. Lucius’s grey eyes softened a bit. “I’ll just put him down and come back,” she finished. As she passed out the doorway, she smiled up at Lucius, and waved a hand casually at Snape.

Dobby appeared through another door, bearing a crystal decanter of whisky and three matching crystal glasses on a heavy silver tray. He set them down on Lucius’s large desk, and then bowed deeply.

“Your whisky, Master,” he squeaked. Lucius waved dismissal, and Dobby scurried back out.

Snape followed Lucius over to the desk.

“It seems Draco is sleeping well, tonight,” Snape observed.

“The problems start after midnight,” Lucius said, sighing with irritation.

“Have you a blank parchment?” Snape asked. Lucius opened a drawer and rummaged around, before laying a piece of parchment on the table. Snape picked up the large black quill lying on the blotter and dipped it into the ornately decorated silver inkpot nearby. Leaning over the desk, he quickly scribbled the recipe down.

“This baby potion is one of your recipes?” Lucius asked with a supercilious smile as he handed Snape a glass.

“No,” Snape replied, straightening. “It was one of my grandmother’s signature potions. You’ll appreciate it once you’ve tried it on Draco, believe me.” He took the offered glass of whisky.

“The Dark Lord,” said Lucius, raising his glass.

“The Dark Lord,” Snape responded with a nod, sipping the whisky. Apparently, Lucius was in a celebratory mood; this was even better than the whisky usually served at Malfoy Manor. Lucius sat down in one of the leather-upholstered chairs grouped in front of the desk. Snape joined him.

“As I mentioned, I did not invite you here just for Narcissa,” Lucius began, pausing to take a drink of his whisky. Snape sat silently, waiting. What did Lucius want? The favor had certainly been a handsome one.

“It has been well over a year since you accepted the invitation,” Lucius said.

“So it has,” Snape agreed with a nod of his head. It was as Lucius’s protégé that he had been introduced into the Death Eaters, he knew. A circumstance that had become in Snape’s mind a mark against Lucius, over the past months.

“You have done well, Severus.”

“I have tried, at any rate,” said Snape.

“Ah yes, you refer to your misfortune with the prophecy. I know all about it,” Lucius said smoothly. “You see, Bellatrix came by for a visit this afternoon. She had some very interesting news.”

“Indeed?” Snape asked neutrally. He and Malfoy’s sister-in-law did not get along well.

“It affects you, Severus,” said Lucius. “The Dark Lord is pleased, very pleased. The prophecy that you were apprehended trying to overhear, it turns out, has truth to it. Two boys were born who might be the one, and as further confirmation of their importance, Albus Dumbledore has already hidden both families.”

“For the time being, it hardly matters,” Snape said, feeling slightly queasy. He had hoped the prophecy incident was behind him…“After all, neither of the babies will be doing anything of interest for many years.”

“Oh, it gets better, Severus,” Lucius said with a smile, taking a sip of his whisky. “You see, it seems the Dark Lord has turned someone close to one of the families, and we know where they are hidden.”

“How fortunate,” said Snape silkily, his stomach churning. “So your sister-in-law has become a spymaster, then? I would have thought her a trifle…impatient, for such duties.” He took a sip from his glass. Lucius laughed.

“You are becoming a diplomat, Severus,” he said. With a curl of his lip, he continued, “No, subtlety is not a strong suit of Bellatrix’s. She is leading the team that will pay the family a little visit, a far wiser use of her talents.”

Snape’s imagination supplied a sudden, horrific image of Letitia McKinnon, sitting placidly with a smile just like Narcissa’s, and a sleeping baby just like Draco in her arms, as Bellatrix approached. Letitia had, of course, never lived long enough to have a baby of her own…but some unknown woman and her baby would be meeting the same fate because of him. He took another sip from his glass and leaned back in his chair, fighting to appear calm.

“As you say, a far better use of her talents,” Snape agreed.

“Bellatrix is, of course, delighted with this sign of the Dark Lord’s favor,” Lucius sneered. “But I have reminded the Dark Lord who brought him the news. He knows what is most important; he has not forgotten your contribution.”

Ah, so he was now playing the role of a pawn in Lucius and Bellatrix’s continuing game of one-upsmanship, Snape realized disgustedly. Lucius did not lead raids, but he had laid his claim to a share of the credit by making sure the Dark Lord recalled that his protégé had heard the prophecy in the first place.

“So I have this to thank you for as well, Lucius,” Snape said, with a grin he hoped was not sardonic. He remained, and always would remain, as loyal a Death Eater as he needed to be. However, Letitia McKinnon’s fate had convinced him that he preferred to stay as far away from the Dark Lord as a loyal Death Eater could manage.

“It is always a pleasure to help a deserving friend succeed,” Lucius said, with a gracious smile. As Snape struggled to find a suitable response to this fatuous expression of noblesse oblige, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his left forearm. Lucius, to Snape's surprise, seemed oblivious. Hastily, Snape stood up.

“Please present my apologies to Narcissa, along with the recipe, Lucius. I have been summoned,” he explained. Lucius snapped his fingers.

“Dobby, Severus’s cloak!” he said loudly, as he, too, rose. “Well, it seems the Dark Lord wishes to express his appreciation in person, Severus.”

With a sharp crack, Dobby appeared, holding the neatly folded cloak. He bowed deeply and handed it to Snape.

“Good night, Severus. Remember, you will need to pass the gates before you Apparate.”

“Good night, Lucius,” Snape said, hastening towards the door. He had no wish to be any later than he could manage for his next meeting.

Unintended Consequences by xenasquill [Reviews - 2]

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