Caught in a Snare

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Yesterday morning, Astoria had finished her morning work in her private botanical conservatory, which had been annexed to the manor's original greenhouse along with a potions laboratory as a wedding gift from Draco. She then hurried to go to her boudoir to bathe and change. Eagerly looking forward to going to Diagon Alley to meet Draco for a leisurely lunch, she stopped before going upstairs and made a detour first to the smaller, inner-drawing room of the manor, designated just for the family, where any mail was delivered and left. She was impatiently awaiting an owl from St Mungo with Draco and her fertility tests.

Expectantly, she glanced quickly over the softly-lit fireplace and hearth-rug to between the cushiony settee and sofa chair where an ornate, polished side table laid bare: No post!

Disappointed, she then hurried up the black marble stairs to give herself more leisurely time to bathe and primp, preparing herself especially to please Draco. She chose an ankle-length, satin black skirt, but for the blouse she hesitated before making a final decision. Hmm... the emerald-green bodice with the black laced plastron, one of Draco's favourites... just a low enough décolleté, the way he likes it.

After finishing her preparations, Astoria sauntered back down to the cosy drawing room, and to her delight, she saw that some owl posts had indeed arrived and been laid out on a side-morning table. Eagerly searching through them, her heart racing, expecting to find a bearer of good tidings among the parchments, she quickly became frustrated.

"Are you looking for this, perhaps?"

Startled, she turned around from where the question came.

It was Lucius. He was holding a posted letter in his hand.

"From St Mungo's. Your and Draco's fertility test results, perhaps?" There was an odd glint in his eyes.

Astoria walked slowly to Lucius and took the proffered envelope. "Yes, thank you."

She tried to suppress her shock. "It's been opened?"

"Of course. What concerns Draco and you, my dear, concerns me as well. Your business is my business." Ignoring his blatant breach of their privacy, Astoria's heart plunged knowing by Lucius' tone, not all was well with the fertility results. It's me... oh gods... what will happen? Will Lucius demand our marriage annulled?

She crossed around and sat on the plush sofa, bracing herself for the worst. Snatching the parchment open, reading her result first, she gasped softly. "I'm... I'm ... healthy... fertile." She slowly looked up and met Lucius' fixed gaze. Her eyes darted to the remaining part, but she closed them, reluctant to have the truth confirmed. No... no... this will devastate Draco. No, it can't be true!

She felt the virile presence of Lucius sitting beside her, his decisive taking of the parchment and thrusting it in front of her, forcing her to read the result. "Here!"

Sample 4: diagnosis: infertile +

"No, no," she whispered.

Devasted, Astoria's mind was racing. Draco mustn't know! She impulsively ripped the parchment into pieces and, jumping up, ran over to the fireplace and threw it in. She watched as the evidence was consumed by flames, temporarily giving her relief.

"That solves nothing," commented Lucius darkly.

Astoria felt weak in the knees and held onto the mantle for support. "You don't understand. It'll destroy Draco! Utterly destroy him. It's taken him so long to recuperate from the post-traumatic stress of ..." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began trembling. She suddenly felt Lucius' firm hands grasp her around the waist and upper arm; he guided her back to the settee.

"You mustn't say anything to him! Please, Lucius, promise me," pleaded Astoria. In her heightened distress, she forgot herself. She grabbed and squeezed Lucius' hand, touching his chest with her other, almost clinging, silently pleading.

Lucius noted her urgent touch. It lit a deep burning within him. It had been too long a time since a witch had so simply, femininely touched him. It appealed to him. She appealed to him.

Behind his neutral façade, he could not deny that he found Astoria's full lips and dewey-eyed, fair countenance appealing. Her dark hair and hazel eyes are lovely, so very pleasing, so different than what I usually find attractive... my usual preference.

He had a raw impulse to taste the silky skin on her neck. I wonder if that's her natural scent or perfume? He inhaled slowly and gave Astoria a tart smile. She is that rare flower nowadays: a true Pureblood. Blood is everything for us old, pureblood families and hers has not been mixed with filth; the Greengrasses have continually kept the faith; only interbreeding with closely related parents: our ways have not been defiled... At the thought of Astoria's pristine bloodline, Lucius' cock twitched in pleasurable, dawning arousal. Yes, the sweet Greengrass has blossomed into a captivating, little piece of witchery... Haven't you, Astoria?

His cool calculating eyes then took in her sincere concern. She has some true feelings for Draco... How quaint. How utterly irresistible...

Affecting a sympathetic tone, Lucius gently pointed out, "He'll have to find out. Sooner or later, he must. When these results don't arrive, Draco will simply give another sample, perhaps without you knowing about it." Lucius fluttered his eyes thoughtfully, and emphasised, "Secretly, and then – the truth will come out. These sort of things always do."

"No. No, it'll destroy him. He's... " Her voice faltered.

"Weak?" sneered Lucius. "That's not a secret, my dear. Not a new one, that is."

She protested, "He's not weak! He's... he's... It's easy to accuse someone of being weak, when you can't understand, refuse to understand what they've been through, what they have suffered! Voldemort–"

She caught herself, realising too late that she had mentioned the one name no one in the household allowed to be uttered. By anyone. After all the loss, injury, harm and punishment the Malfoys had undergone from the Dark Lord, it was forbidden. Lucius forbade it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wincing. Meekly, Astoria offered, "You too suffered greatly. How then can you not understand?" Draco had been broken... his sense of identity and fledgling manhood broken to the core by Voldemort; after the final battle, a mere hollow shell of a young man...

But Lucius was adamantly fixated and riled beyond measure at her gall. "What do I not understand about Voldemort?" hissed Lucius vehemently. "You dare to speak his name in front of me, girl?"

Apprehension at the searing gaze Lucius was casting on her, she could only apologise again and again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to imply that... I don't want Draco hurt anymore... or you – or anyone harmed... This, this will destroy him... he... he'd desperately hoped for a child. To become a father." Overcome with frustration, she stopped spluttering explanations.

Lucius watched as tears rolled silently down her cheeks. For the briefest second, something cracked slightly inside his hardened heart. Before he knew it, he had reached out and brushed the tears gently from her soft, moistened cheeks. As his fingertips slowly caressed her softness, he heard Astoria whisper, "Help me." Then, more resolutely, she pleaded, "Help us!"

Astoria looked up at Lucius. He was staring at her full lips, curious. Then his intense gaze snapped to peer into her hazel eyes, watching her every breath with his grey ones. Eyes which were so familiar. Draco's eyes. His whitish-blond hair, hanging sleekly, smoothly down his hardened, handsome face. The same as her husband's, only more defined. More lined with bitterness. The family genes were so very predominantly strong. It hit her hard how Draco's main characteristics were truly the same. Like father, like son... A rash, wild impulsive thought dawned on her. "Then, help us... help your son. Help me."

Lucius arched an eyebrow in answer, saying nothing.

"A sample. Your sample. Please." Impetuously, Astoria whispered, "Accio phial!" Within seconds, a laboratory phial appeared in her grasp. Her hand, trembling, held out the summoned container to Lucius.

Gazing at the object, pokerfaced, Lucius enquired curiously, "What, pray tell, is that for?"

Clinically, she bluntly told him, "Your sperm. Please. One sample is all." Astoria thrust the empty ampoule at him. "I'll take it directly to St Mungo's. I'm to meet Draco for lunch; I can drop it off beforehand for a second testing. The results will come back: positive," she analytically listed in one long breath.

Lucius started to point out the multitude of flaws in her impulsive idea. But didn't. Instead, he leisurely sat back, taking in Astoria's excited state which she was so poorly disguising. She's brimming with passion underneath her façade of primness. His eyes flitted appreciatively down to her décolleté. Something worn just for Draco, no doubt. He mused and reflected on the unexpected, delightful, opportunistic situation he now found himself being presented with; his eyes wide open. What a lovely, useful conniving little brain she has...

In her anxious state, Astoria chest began to undulate, breathing heavily, unnerved by Lucius' ambivalent stare boring through her and his seemingly relaxed unresponsiveness. If he refuses?

At long last, he finally commented, "Very well."

A warmth of relief gushed through her. "Oh, thank you, thank you." Again, Astoria proffered the phial, but he didn't take it. In fact, Lucius remained sitting very resolutely still, stone-faced, observing her.

"What is it? You just said you would..."

Slowly, he drawled, "If you think for one moment that I'm going to wank off like a Gryffindor schoolboy to fill that precious phial of yours, you're quite mistaken."

Shocked by his candid reference, but more so by the slow realisation of what Lucius was alternatively implying, reinforced by the smooth movement of uncrossing his legs, spreading them provocatively with the slightest tilt upward of his pelvis, Astoria was at a lost for words.

Seeing the comprehension of his body language dawn on Astoria's face, he smugly invited, "If you want it, come and get it, my dear girl."

Aghast, she struggled to form words. "You can't mean – you don't mean..."

"Oh, but I do."

Her face scorched red, and her chest tightened; she could barely breathe. She scooted away from him unable to speak.

Silence ensued. They stared at each other. Stalemated.

But Lucius knew that only he held the winning card. Only he had what she wanted. What she needed. He sniffed, and then sentimentally observed, "Poor Draco, not only will he find out he's infertile, but, as is the case for many wizards, this sort of news renders one temporarily impotent; sometimes with permanent effects. Your cousin Rodolphus, for example, was such. Drove Bella quite mad."

Astoria turned away from him, staring into the burning embers of fire.

Patronisingly, he mused, "Draco's always been too sensitive for his own good; gets that from his mother's side. The sensitive type. But, judging by your intimate relations, or lack of, you already know full well his inability to perform as he should."

Astoria began sputtering incoherently. "He is not... He's been under incredible stress – how can you insinuate – how dare you?"

"Well, when you've calmed down a bit, when you're able to think through all of this more rationally," Lucius hand grazed slowly over the pronounced bulge of his crotch to rest on his thigh. "My offer will still stand. Quite stiffly stand, I should say." He smirked.

Astoria's facial muscles flinched; she was flustered, bewildered and panicking all at the same time. What am I to do? Draco was expecting her for lunch. She'd destroyed the results from the old sample; she needed Lucius' sperm – I can leave it at St Mungo's before meeting Draco at the Ministry. She sighed frustrated, ruminating how she would only be able to stall for a day or two if....

She contemplated her worst nightmare: What if Draco goes to St Mungo's and insists on seeing the results? Only to be told they've already been sent? I have to act immediately! Even if I swore I never received them... It'd be so easy for him to ask for another copy or give another sample and wait personally for the result... That was the cruel reality awaiting her – at some point, either tomorrow or the next day – the truth was inevitable.

Draco would be devastated. Beyond repair. Utterly broken, once and for all: permanently damaged. In his post-depressive state, only the thought and prayer of rebuilding his life, reinventing himself in the post-war world with Astoria as his partner had given him strength, returned his belief in himself. Draco's only remaining wish was a child to fill in the missing piece to the puzzle. A child to whom he would give his love and dreams to.

The thought and prayer of future redemption with and through his own family to heal the mistakes of his past. This is what we both promised each other to have and make...

"All right," she hoarsely whispered. "All right. When can I do 'it' – when can I get the sample?"

A pleasurable rush coursed through Lucius' veins. His cock twitched, excited. I've won.

"Now is as good a time as any. I believe for your purposes, the sooner the better? Lunchtime isn't far away," replied Lucius coolly.

"Now?"

"Yes. Now." His eyes glinted with a hint of amusement, as he saw her shocked, hesitant manner of where and how to begin. To his immense surprise and pleasure, Astoria's awkward, embarrassed reserve was arousing him quite feverishly. He could feel his muscles tensing as the pleasurable, adrenaline flooded through his veins like lightening; he hadn't felt such a rush in a very long time. His arousal pulsed more pronouncedly. He heard himself impatiently coerce, "Come, come, no need to be shy... Just think of me as a biological specimen. Pollen needing extraction from one of your plants in your nursery."

Unable to look at him, she cast her eyes down and whispered tersely, "No need to mock me!" She felt dizzy, realising what was about to happen. What I must do!

"No mocking intended. This is not just about you. Or me. This is for Draco... for our Draco... for the future of our family: the pureblood lineage, the Malfoy lineage."

As he saw her disposition relax a minuscule bit, Lucius smiled to himself, knowing he would get his unforseen carnal satisfaction, unfettered, by playing to her feelings for Draco. Nor was he going to point out the obvious flaw: My semen in your little phial? Yes... but only my seed deep within you, buried and planted in your fertile womb is what is truly needed, my sweet dear... He stroked his upper thigh languidly, musing. Why indeed spoil what was presenting itself as a titillating prospect? The promise of further, unexpected pleasures to fill up his boredom and bide his time until he would be reinstated: trusted, respected and active in the wizarding community again.

This was too much to pass up. Such easy prey. Astoria being too beside herself to think things through clearly only added fuel to his fire.

He huskily pointed out, "We're quite alone. Narcissa won't return from her travels until tomorrow. Draco is at the Ministry all day; the filthy little house-elf daren't show its snout unless called. We have the whole Manor to ourselves."

He watched as she processed the information, and now that the tabooed proposal had been accepted, a myriad of sensual scenarios danced before Lucius' musings. With a new keeness, he noted her curves and expression. He gave himself permission to now admire and appreciate the multitude of pleasing, provoking details of Astoria's couture and the physical lines and curves the clothing covered. It amused him highly to anticipate what he would uncover. What a luscious piece of arse he'd be sure to discover. Very soon. Patience, Lucius. Patience.

Astoria couldn't look at Lucius. Her cheeks were burning and blood racing. She couldn't stop to think rationally; her emotions had taken over, and all she knew was that she needed his sperm, and she needed it now. Let me get this over with! Pushing aside her embarrassment and anger, channelling her concentration, she placed the phial down on the side table and leaned over his lap; she started unbuttoning the lower part of his long waistcoat, clumsily pulling his shirtails out, then awkwardly plucking his trouser's waist hooks open.

"No need to be so rough... no need to hurry..." teased Lucius wryly.

Refusing to have any eye contact with him, she shushed tartly, "Don't!" A thousand things rushed through her mind, and her fingers began trembling.

"Don't what?" The threat of his potential uncooperation laced his tone.

Astoria had stopped. The moment of truth appeared as she fixated on his twitching, tenting cock pressing against his silken underpants. Gods, what am I doing? She closed her eyes and whispered, "Don't you realise what we're doing?

"Saving Draco's life, saving the house of Malfoy," came the hoarse, throaty whisper from Lucius accompanied by his fingertips gently placed on and exploring the fullness of her hips. "It shows the depth of your love for him that you'd do this; I do so admire you, Astoria – you are a true pureblood witch of the utmost degree." His hand had travelled down her half-bending form and felt under her satin skirt to discover the svelteness of her silk stockings covering her defined calve, caressing it. I wonder if the stockings are thigh high? "You must truly love him to do this for him – for your future family... your future life."

She tuned his crooning rhetoric off. Just do it!

Having unbuttoned his trousers completely, her fingertips reached out and ever so lightly traced his stiffened cock which throbbed at her delicate touch. She stroked it gently through the silken material, but as she heard a sharp hissing inhalation from Lucius, she took the plunge and lowered his underpants, urgently and with an unforeseen excitement.

Lucius hastily raised his hips and helped push his underpants and trousers completely down to his ankles, swiftly kicking them off and away.

At the boldness of this initial action, a primeval impetus took over and Astoria forgot all else and began to stroke his throbbing, hardening cock in earnest, feeling its erect, swollen full length, burning in her hand. The tip was glistening and beckoning her to taste his pre-cum.

Which she did.

Having only expected a quick hand job, Lucius felt her warm, wet mouth envelope his knob's head, licking its center staff slowly, and let out an ecstatic groan.

The taste, touch and sound of him responding to her, made Astoria's libido kick into overdrive and she forgot everything but pleasuring him with her tongue and touch. She began to slowly swirl and suck his member, around and around, whilst keeping her rhythmic stroking tight on his shaft's base, firmly increasing the swelling pressure.

Lucius gasped and huffed, relishing her stroking and pumping.

And heavenly sucking... It's been so long...

His breathing became irregular, and then he felt his balls tightening up.

Lucius became rigid, trying to hold off, not wanting to blow his wad so soon; but nevertheless, Astoria felt his hot seed shooting out to the back of her throat. She swallowed hard. Momentarily lost in satisfaction. Lost in aroused oblivion.

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A/N: My greatest gratitude to the one and only, mentor, beta and *nudger* extraordinaire: star_girl!