Chapter 3 - Punishment and Realization

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Thanks as always to June for all of her suggestions and help.

Chapter 3 – Punishment and Realization

Lucius scribbled a quick note and owled his solicitor. It was well past midnight, but he paid the man well, enough so that being awakened at odd hours was part of the package for being employed by Lucius Malfoy.

Upon Lucius' death, he wanted all his assets – all of the Malfoy vaults at Gringotts, all of the properties in the Malfoy name, every enterprise that held the Malfoy name in any way, shape, or form – to belong to Draco. He was happy in the knowledge that his son was already free of Voldemort's hold. While he knew Draco was somewhere safe in England, Lucius knew that his heir would never be a slave to the insane wizard.

"Emil!" he called out. Emil was the head elf in the Malfoy household, acquired just after Narcissa left Lucius.

"I am here, Master," said Emil as he popped in just in front of the bedroom door. Emil was a freed elf. His previous master and entire family had been killed during the raid that almost ended Draco's life. The elf was different from any other elves Lucius had ever seen; he was educated and wore clothes – real clothes, not tea towels. Lucius gave the elf a home and put him in charge of teaching the other elves in the household how to speak properly.

"Emil, I need for you to take an inventory of all of the books in the library. Title, author, category, as much information as you can give me." Lucius was pacing. The list of books was for Severus. There were many potions and dark arts books that might assist the Order in some form, and he wanted Severus to have them all.

The elf knew something was wrong. His master was acting odd.

"Of course, Master. When do you need this list?" asked the elf.

Lucius stopped pacing and looked at the green elf. "I need it yesterday."

Emil's ears popped straight up. "I see. I will ask Dari to help me. We can work quickly."

Lucius nodded and Emil blinked out. Dari and Emil were inseparable and made very good team. For several weeks after Emil came to the Malfoy home the new head elf had shown up on several occasions with a black eye or a scratch on his face. One time he had a bite on his ear. Lucius later found out that Dari hadn't taken kindly to having her job taken from her.

Lucius had never officially named Dari head elf, but she'd considered herself that since she had been with the Malfoy family the longest. He was equally puzzled when he started seeing them take walks together in the garden at night. Thinking they'd ironed out their differences, he decided to ask no questions.

He stretched out on a purple chaise near the window and waited for the owl to return from the solicitor. Ovid was a fast owl, so no doubt he would return quickly.

Lucius turned his head and looked out at the night sky. There was no moon, but the stars shone so brightly that there was a trickling of light surrounding the gardens.

He wondered if truly any god existed. Was he or were they looking down on him now, deciding his fate, dividing all the good and evil he'd done in his life? Was any god on his side now? Would his past be measured with all he'd hoped to accomplish in the future? Did Lucius even have a future?

He stood quickly, and began pacing once again. He thought back on his life, his son, his wife. He fell to his knees, and began to shake. He didn't want to die, yet he felt a coldness enveloping him at that moment. No doubt the soil that would surround him upon his death would be cold like this. It wasn't long enough; he'd not lived long enough. He couldn't allow himself to be taken down so easily. Whatever happened upon his return to the Dark Lord's home, he had to live through it. Whatever Voldemort did to him, he knew he had to take it and live.

A noise coming from the window caught his attention. It was his owl, Ovid, returning with a message for him. He took the small scroll from Ovid's talons and read it.

Mr. Malfoy:

Maximilian Oberon

Lucius threw the parchment into the fire, then walked to his bed and looked at the clock on the night stand. He might be able to get a few hours of sleep before meeting Maximilian. Lucius needed to be as sharp as possible. He had no doubt that his Dark Mark would be burning the minute the sun made its way up the horizon, and he would have hell to pay once he showed up at the Dark Lord's mansion.

Before he allowed himself to fall asleep he softly called out to Emil. The elf knew that he wasn't being summoned, but merely being given an instruction. Lucius was able to communicate with his head house-elf this way very easily due to their master-elf bond, and it enabled the elf to continue whatever duties he was performing. Emil was to awaken his master at seven-thirty in the morning, giving Lucius enough time to get himself ready and Apparate early.

Once the Dark Lord awoke and saw that Lucius was not there waiting for his shopping list, he would immediately Summon him by activating his Dark Mark. Lucius knew that once his Mark was activated, the next time he tried to Apparate he would automatically be taken to the Riddle home. Other than walking or using Muggle means, the only way to transport himself would be via Floo. It was imperative that Lucius finish what he'd set out to accomplish that morning. He might not be alive by the end of the day.

~*~*~*~*~

At Hogwarts, Severus was already driving Poppy to drink, and it wasn't even eight o'clock in the morning yet.

"Severus, for heaven's sake, if you don't drink your Skele-Gro I will be forced to administer it to you through another orifice."

Severus scowled. "Are you suggesting you will administer that through my..."

"Arse!" finished Poppy.

"Now listen here, Poppy. I've always hated taking Skele-Gro, and I have gotten to the point where the potion makes me want to vomit just from the smell. I would rather deal with the pain than drink that disgusting concoction again."

"What do you mean, 'again'? You all but choked on last night's dose, and your ribs aren't getting any better," the nurse lectured. "Fine, you are an adult after all, I can't force you to take your medicine." Poppy turned and began to walk away, then called out over her shoulder. "You're a Potions Master, so why don't you make something better."

He now leaned back slightly and felt a sharp jab of pain. What Poppy had suggested was something he'd never really taken the time to think about. Make a better potion? Why not!

He was in hiding after all, and needed to do something with his time. Also, there was the question of what he would do after the war was over, something he felt would happen soon. For months now he felt that Voldemort was growing more and more deranged. A man like the Dark Lord would eventually either self-destruct or try to destroy everything around him, and that is where he would make the mistake that would allow the Order to turn the tide.

His thoughts were interrupted by Albus' voice. Severus looked up and saw the Headmaster walking towards his bed.

"Severus, how are you feeling this morning? Poppy has told me that you have decided on a more natural method of recuperation." Albus smiled, knowing full well what a difficult patient the young wizard was.

"Albus, I refuse to drink that vile potion. Besides, as I am no longer concussed, and am fully functional, I fail to see why I have to spend any more time here than I already have," Severus said as he tried to swing his legs to the edge of the bed.

"I don't think you will get an argument from Poppy about you leaving," agreed Albus. "I spoke to Mr. Lovegood this morning. By this afternoon the entire wizarding world will believe you dead."

"Good, but I've just realized now the only problem is getting a message to Lucius. He most likely returned to the Dark Lord's home last evening," said Severus.

"He can't have spent the entire night there," argued Albus.

Severus shook his head.

"Yes, he could. As of late Voldemort has been flaunting Narcissa in Lucius' face. She left him so long ago, but it still disturbs him to see his wife as the plaything to that maniac. It's the Dark Lord's custom to make Lucius wait outside his chambers on occasion for instructions, while he plays with Narcissa," spat Severus angrily.

It bothered Severus to see Lucius being taunted in such a way. Lucius had always been a proud man, happy in his marriage to his beautiful wife. When Narcissa left him so openly to be with Voldemort it was a blow to the wizard's ego. To add insult to injury, Voldemort was constantly treating Lucius as his errand boy, and his friend had no other choice but to grin and bear it. The blond wizard was constantly spending galleons to make purchases for the maniac who was bedding his wife.

"Then all we can do is hope that Voldemort hears the news of your death before Lucius says anything to him," Albus said. "Lucius is a smart man. He will wait to be asked and even then, I am sure he will elude the subject as long as possible."

~*~*~*~

Lucius spent his morning with his solicitor. As he predicted, as soon as the sun fully perched itself just above the horizon, his Dark Mark began burning. It was incredibly painful but he had no other choice than to try and ignore the pain. It took less than an hour at Gringotts to add Draco's name as a vault owner on all of the Malfoy accounts. Once they were finished there, Maximilian guided Lucius to his office where there were a slew of parchments for the elder Malfoy to sign as well. These guaranteed Draco ownership of Malfoy Enterprises and Malfoy Manor. Upon Lucius' death the vaults and every business and property owned by Lucius would transfer to Draco. Narcissa – and thus Voldemort – would gain nothing.

After another hour of signing paperwork and reading contracts, Lucius was satisfied that Draco's future was taken care of, at least financially. He bid goodbye to Maximilian and they went their separate ways. With his Dark Mark burning what felt like a hole in his arm, Lucius knew he had to get back to the Dark Lord's home. He took a deep breath and Apparated.

As was expected, Lucius appeared in the large ballroom of the Riddle home. The room was dark but for a spotlight shining on Lucius.

"Did I not tell you to come back immediately?" hissed the disembodied voice of Voldemort.

Suddenly, before Lucius could answer, he heard the whip. Just a split-second later, he felt the sting of its leather on his flesh. Lucius felt his arms and legs bound so that he was standing spread-eagled. He looked down on himself and realized he'd been stripped. His clothes were gone and he felt a trickle of blood traveling down his back.

"You understand, Lucius, that I cannot have you so blatantly ignoring my orders," said Voldemort calmly just before yet another lash connected with a whirl of wind.

Lucius cried out only once during his punishment, when the tip of the whip grazed his scrotum.

After whipping him for almost an hour, Voldemort unbound his servant's arms and legs.

Lucius fell to the ground.

Wormtail then threw a bucket of cold salt water on him and ran away quickly.

Voldemort looked at Bellatrix and Narcissa and motioned towards Lucius' limp body. As the two women approached the suffering wizard, Voldemort caught Narcissa's arm.

"Finish him." His eyes glittered as he saw the hesitation in the witch's expression.

"But, my lord, I do not know the location of all his assets, his fortune," said the blond woman.

Voldemort scoffed. "I want his blood, Narcissa! All he had to do was come back and wait outside my door like many times before. Yet today, Lucius decided to assert himself. Well, no more, not again. No one defies my orders!" He shoved her towards her estranged husband.

Narcissa moved quickly, and helped Bellatrix lift Lucius. They guided him to a small room where they dropped Lucius heavily on a small cot next to the wall.

"If you cannot go through with it, sister, I can do it for you," offered Bellatrix happily.

Narcissa stared blankly at Lucius' battered body.

"No, I will do it." Her voice sounded hollow, devoid of any emotion. "I want to be alone with him, Bella."

"I want to see him die," insisted Bellatrix.

Narcissa turned to face her sister. Her eyes narrowed and her expression was now dark.

"And I said I wish to be alone with him. Get out!" The quality of her voice was such that Bellatrix paled and without another word left the room.

Narcissa turned back and stared at Lucius.

His breathing was heavy and his was body shaking.

"So it has come to this, Lucius." She approached him and knelt down next to the cot. "I had hoped never to be in this position, but the die is cast and I cannot go back."

Lucius lifted his head slightly and looked at her. She stepped back and turned her wand to him. He heard her mumbling a few spells, and his pain lessened immediately. He could still feel the tingling sensation of the aftereffects of the leather whip, but it wasn't too bad; Voldemort had taken the liberty of using his whip on Lucius' back, arms, legs and chest – not his face, feet, hands, or genitals. He then felt the roughness of his clothes against his raw skin.

When he was being tortured Narcissa had noted the placement of his clothes after they'd been spelled off. She also noted that his cane was placed right next to his clothes.

She now held his trademark serpent-head cane in her hands and pulled out the wand, thrusting it in front of him.

Lucius sneered. "You aren't honestly going to try to kill me with my own wand, are you? You know you can't, Narcissa," he spat out.

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "Always thinking the worst," she said as she sheathed the wand and handed the cane back to him. Lucius looked at her warily. "Go ahead, take it."

As he took his cane Lucius wondered why she had given him his wand – why she armed him. Did she want to duel with him?

"The door on the eastern side of the cellar is open. You can get there through the room next door. I will open that for you." She turned to leave.

"Narcissa," Lucius called out to her with great effort, as he tried to sit up.

She took hold of the doorknob and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly the realization of what she was doing, what she had done, hit him like a ton of bricks. "No, Narcissa, no," he said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I have done all that I could to keep our son safe. I gave up the last seven years of my life for Draco and now I will give my life for you. I love you; I have always loved you, Lucius. You need to live. My life...," she sobbed, "I am expendable. It is better to die now quickly than have him chase me down and torture me later. It is up to you alone now, Lucius. This is my last gift to my son and to you. Tell Draco...tell my son I have always loved him." She quickly opened the door and walked away.

Lucius stared at the door for several moments. He felt the burning sting of tears prickling his eyes. For so long he'd thought her heartless. She had abandoned her son and her husband with no explanation. But now he realized why she had done what she did. It was Narcissa who had convinced Voldemort that Draco wasn't good enough to be a Death Eater. She had given herself to the Dark Lord to deflect any interest he had for her son and to keep Lucius in his good graces. And now Narcissa had made the ultimate sacrifice. By helping Lucius escape she had just guaranteed herself death.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading.