Chapter 21 – Thorn in the Side

“Your parents write back to you yet?” Harry asks, taking his seat next to Ron.

It is now Friday, and Harry and his friends are looking forward to the weekend. It doesn’t stop their teachers from providing extra homework to complete over the weekend, but it still gives them time to catch up before the sadists use OWLs as an excuse to pile on more assignments in the following weeks. Even Hermione, who usually thrives on homework, is beginning to look frazzled. However, Hermione regularly writes two or three lengths more than requested, so Harry has no sympathy for her.

“Nothing yet,” Fred answers somewhat glumly.

Two days ago, the Weasley children had spoken to Professor McGonagall about dropping Defence Against the Darks. The discussion had gone well, and McGonagall had been completely understanding and sympathetic and agreed to let the children drop the class from their timetables and take up Independent Study – providing they get written permission from their parents.

Until then, McGonagall encouraged them to attend, advising them that Lucius had the authority to give detention to truanting students. However, she did promise to supervise any detentions earned. Only Fred and George were likely to serve detention as they had skipped Lucius’s class without permission. In contrast, Ginny had sought approval before her lesson, and Ron had yet to have another lesson with the elder Malfoy, having missed the first due to Harry and Snape’s altercation on the first day of classes.

They’d had a Potions class yesterday morning’s second period, taken by Professor Sinistra. However, it was easy to see she hadn’t been pleased as she always had her Astronomy classes late at night and wasn’t usually seen in the Great Hall until lunch, which was her breakfast.

Sinistra had explained it was a one-off morning cover for her, and no one had to ask why. No one dared. Harry was pleasantly surprised to see Draco Malfoy kept his gob shut, even though he seemed to glare daggers in Harry’s direction.

They have DADA later today, and Ron is looking forward to skipping it and having a free period instead. Especially fortuitous as DADA is the last class of the day as it means he can finish the day earlier than Harry and Hermione. Ron maintains any detentions for skipping Malfoy’s class would be worth it.

“No Holly today?” Lavender asks, dropping into a nearby seat.

Though it has only been a few days, Harry’s Housemates are used to having Holly join them for almost every meal.

“She’ll be along,” Harry says as he adds some brown sugar and cinnamon to his prepared bowls of porridge.

“No breakfast butty today?” Fred asks with amusement.

Harry shrugs and stirs both bowls of porridge. He reaches for a banana and begins peeling and mashing it before dividing it between both bowls. He then adds a handful of blueberries to both, folding them into the porridge mixture.

“I think I’ve come to realise, Fred, that Harry doesn’t love us,” George laments.

“Too right, Fred.”

Harry sighs, “I’m not making you breakfast.”

“See, Fred.”

Harry shakes his head in exasperation.

“Are you both Fred today?” Lee asks brightly, much too indulgently for Harry’s liking. Then again, it must be a defence mechanism for the other boy, having the misfortune to share dorms with the twins.

“Take an empty bowl,” Harry instructs before any twin can answer.

Fred, George, Lee, Dean and Ron reach for empty bowls, though Ron doesn’t push away his plate full of bangers.

“Fill the bowl three-quarters with porridge,” Harry tells them.

The boys scuffle good-naturedly for the massive bowl of prepared porridge before an exasperated Hermione passes one to Lee. It doesn’t escape Harry’s notice that she adds porridge to her own bowl.

“Add a tablespoon full of brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon and mix thoroughly,” Harry adds with a smile, laughing at how they seem to be following his instructions so carefully.

“What’s going on?” Holly asks as she approaches the bench, plonking herself in the seat next to Harry, which everyone knows is reserved for his sister.

“Harry’s giving us a Potions lesson,” Fred answers seriously. “The Porridge Potion is an excellent start to the day, and Harry’s kind enough to share his recipe with us.”

 Holly giggles as she reaches for the bowl prepared for her.

“What comes next, Harry?” George prompts.

“Use a ripe banana. The more brown spots, the better. They’ll be sweeter. I used one banana for mine and Holly’s, but you can use the whole banana if you want it sweeter, ” Harry explains as he reaches for the milk jug to pour a glass for himself and Holly.

He watches in amusement as the group reach for the bunch of bananas, having serious debates on which ones have the most brown spots. He exchanges a grin with his sister.

“Do we mash it?” Lee checks, grabbing a fork and another bowl.

“Do you know how much work you’re creating for the House-Elves but using extra dishes?” Hermione complains.

“Mash it in the same bowl as mine then,” Ron offers, peeling and breaking his banana into the same bol Harry used to mash his.

In the spirit of peace, the twins share a bowl between them, as do Dean and Lee. Harry knows they don’t care about House-Elf rights as Hermione does. They just don’t want Hermione to lecture them so early in the morning.

At Harry’s prompting, they add the mashed banana to their porridge, too busy to notice they’ve garnered attention from the nearby students.

“It doesn’t have to be blueberries,” Harry tells them. “You can add strawberries, peaches, or any fruit you like. You can even have it without fruit and leave the banana by itself.”

Fred takes a tentative taste after adding blueberries to his porridge, looking pleased.

“I’m sure it would have tasted better if you’d made the porridge for us, but it still tastes all right,” George concedes.

“Thanks,” Harry says dryly. “Your sincere compliments warm my heart.”

Holly giggles, watching them in amusement as she continues to spoon her porridge into her mouth.

“I probably wouldn’t add the brown sugar next time,” Hermione admits, “not when there’s a huge ripe banana in there. But it tastes okay. My parents and I usually just add some honey to our porridge.”

“No one said you had to use the whole banana,” Ron points out in between shoving overflowing spoonfuls of porridge down his throat.

Thankfully before Ron and Hermione can start their bickering, their attention is diverted by the arrival of the post owls.

The Weasleys all look up eagerly, hoping to see Errol or Pig with a letter from their parents. Pig comes flying down, hyperactive as usual. The little owl lands in the first free gap he sees in front of Ron, hopping impatiently as Ron hastily reaches to untie the letter from his parents.

Duty completed, Pig flies happily over to Holly to be fussed over. Holly wastes no time nicking some rashers from Neville’s plate to feed the chirping owl.

Neville doesn’t seem to mind. Harry’s Housemates are well used to Holly’s affinity with owls. It’s not unusual to see some owls fly by Holly before they leave the Great Hall. Though none of the owls dares to come by when Hedwig is with the little girl. Hedwig is highly possessive of her tiny black-haired human.

Harry can only be glad that his sister is fascinated by relatively harmless creatures, such as owls and cats, rather than actual dangerous beasts that Hagrid insists are misunderstood.

“They’ve given permission to drop the class with Malfoy,” Ron announces with relief after he’s skimmed through the letter. “They said it’s our choice but insisted if we drop the class from our schedules, then they want provisions in place to make sure we’re using our time effectively.”

Ron’s happy demeanour fades away the more he reads.

“What?” Ginny asks impatiently.

“They’re going to tell McGonagall to set tests for us once a month to ensure we’re learning what we need to,” Ron grumpily explains.

George snatches the letter from Ron and reads through it himself, with Fred reading over his shoulder.

“Well, we have permission to skip, so it’s good enough for me,” Fred shrugs.

“Yep,” George agrees as Ginny nods.

Ron seems to teeter between happiness at having one less class to attend and the subsequent outcome of less homework and grumpiness of having to do monthly tests to prove he’d actually been learning.

“Harry won’t make tests very hard. Will you, Harry?” Ron appeals to his friend.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” Hermione scoffs. “It’s not like Harry will be setting the tests, even if he has agreed to tutor you. Professor McGonagall will probably test you herself.”

“Don’t forget to pass the permission slip to McGonagall,” Fred adds with a nod at the second note in front of Ron.

Ron nods dejectedly.

Holly wisely stays quiet, purposefully paying more attention to Pig than the conversation around her. She’s spent enough time with Harry and her friends over the last few days to understand that they don’t like Lucius Malfoy but doesn’t know the reason why. In private, she had attempted to ask Harry but understood when Harry explained that it was a personal issue between the Weasleys and the Malfoys, so she didn’t press for answers.

“Finish your food, Holly,” Harry prompts when she neglects her porridge for the hyperactive owl.

“Yes, Mother,” Holly giggles, reaching for her bowl but still keeping one hand on Pig.

Harry sighs in exasperation but doesn’t comment, especially when Fred and George pretend to hastily eat their porridge for fear of being reprimanded.

“If you have some free time later today, Harry,” Hermione says, “maybe you can come up with a sort of curriculum. I can help you.”

Harry nods. DADA has always had a dodgy record for teachers; some have been good, bad, or just plain useless. However, the exams for the OWLs and NEWTs have remained the same. It should be easy enough to look at previous records in the library to see what they should be learning. Plus, he has some of the older books Eileen left for him to use as reference- he already knows they’ll be infinitely more useful than anything that’s been listed in the least decade or so. Harry can look up anything he thinks might be outdated in the library.

Harry can’t wait for the weekend to start. Though he’s effectively missed almost two days’ worth of classes, he’s still had to catch up on all the work for those missed lessons. With the excitement of finding Holly at Hogwarts and Snape’s subsequent loss of temper, Harry feels like he’s been at Hogwarts a month already, rather than a week.

Still, he would put up with all that and more to have Holly by his side.

After finishing his porridge, Ron goes back to demolishing his plate of bangers, piling on fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, and bacon rashers. No one dares disturb his single-minded pursuit to fill his belly, and Harry reaches for scrambled eggs, black pudding and toast, proceeding to eat it at a more sedate pace.

Also, he’s looking forward to Quidditch tryouts. Ron’s hoping to fill Oliver Wood’s position as Keeper on his old Cleansweep, which is barely a step above the battered old school brooms. Harry’s never seen what Quidditch tryouts are like for any of the Houses, let alone Gryffindor. The Gryffindor team already had all positions covered when Harry joined as a Seeker, and Oliver had been happy enough with them not to ever hold any trials to replace them. Angelina and Katie used to sneak to the other House tryouts to see what the competition was like and report back to Oliver.

Cormac McLaggen has been bragging in the Common Room that he’ll be bagging the Keeper position at the tryouts, but Harry knows that Angelina is hoping there’ll be someone better than McLaggen. Though the older Gryffindor is decent on a broom and has demonstrated his skills as a Keeper, he’s an awful team player who often tried to tell the Quidditch team how to run their plays until Alicia threatened to stick his broom where the sun don’t shine.

Harry admits that having a McLaggen on the team would drive him batty; the other boy couldn’t help but brag; he was simply less skilled than he thought. He hopes, instead, that Ron overcomes his confidence issues enough to do well. Though his red-haired friend is a Quidditch fanatic and plays well at home with only his family and Harry – he’s unable to take even a hint of criticism, falling apart if someone makes a joke about his ability to fly or his Quidditch skills.

Growing up and being compared to his older brothers has made Ron sensitive to others’ words. Fred and George rarely took anything seriously and didn’t always realise how much their words, even jokingly delivered, impacted their younger brother.

“Which teacher are you with today?” Harry asks Holly as he finishes the last of his orange juice.

“I’m with Aunt Min today,” she answers, still playing with Ron’s owl. “She wants me to continue reading my story books and then practice my Latin.”

Harry nods in acknowledgement. Harry and Holly already had a good grounding in Latin, as Eileen had taught them some over the years. He had always been confused about why he’d needed to learn Latin, though he’d never argued over the lessons. Little did he know that Eileen was preparing Harry and Holly to re-enter the wizarding world. Thinking back over the previous years, Eileen had been preparing for quite a lot. Without telling him he was a wizard, she still helped him prepare for being one and continued to do so via her letters to him during his school years.

“Then I’ll be going to Uncle Filius’s classroom after lunch, and he wants to go over my essay-writing skills,” Holly continues, oblivious to his thoughts.

Harry smiles. He’ll never get over how quickly some of the staff insisted on being Holly’s aunt or uncle. The funniest and most bizarre is whenever she refers to Dumbledore as Uncle Albus.

“I’ll meet- ” Whatever Harry was going to say next is cut off when a black ball falls from above, accompanied by an ear-piercing screech that has everyone in the vicinity wincing and covering their ears to block out the sound.

“Artemis- no!” Holly yells.

“Hey!” Ron yelps as he sees his owl attacked by the black feathered menace.

Harry has to reach forward to pull Holly away, not wanting her to be scratched by those sharp talons. No matter how much the owls love his sister, they could still hurt her.

“Artemis, don’t hurt Pig!” Holly orders angrily, even as Harry drags her from her seat and pushes her behind him. “Harry, help Pig. Artemis, stop it!”

Harry and Ron both surge forward to protect the smaller owl. Dean tries to reach for the black owl but shies away when it screeches menacingly at him.

Pig, rather than being intimidated, battles the black owl head-on.

“Who the hell does that bloody owl belong to?” Ron rails as he tries once again to protect Pigwidgeon.

Harry has to bite his lip from answering. The aggressive black owl belongs to Lucius.

Harry quickly looks around the Hall; no one is paying attention to their food as all eyes seem to be on the owl fight. Turning back to the owls,  Harry is surprised to see Hedwig flying down and headbutting the black owl in the side. From there, chaos reigns as the owls battle each other, Hedwig and Artemis completely going at it. Anyone sitting at the Gryffindor table jumps back in alarm and disbelief at the birds fighting each other. Pigwidgeon isn’t helping by hovering behind Hedwig.

“Pig, get back here,” Ron snaps.

However, it seems Pig is trying to prove himself to the black owl and show he’s not afraid despite his more diminutive stature.

“Hedwig, Pig, please stop!” Holly calls out desperately. With one last, mighty thwack from her wing, Hedwig moves back, forcing the small owl with her.

Silence reigns as Pig lands on the table, covered in scrambled eggs. Hedwig, often annoyed at the hyperactive owl for what she considers unprofessional owl behaviour, still takes a protective stance in front of the smaller owl, with white feathers stained orange and pink from eggs yolks and tomatoes. Artemis lands opposite Hedwig, covered in porridge and stares the snowy owl down.

Harry and Ron cautiously reach forward to grab Pigwidgeon. Artemis doesn’t seem to like this and screeches straight away, launching himself at the tiny owl hiding behind the bigger snowy.

“Everybody move back,” McGonagall snaps as she strides towards them, wand out though making no move to use it on the owls, but Ron has already grabbed his owl, and Harry manages to catch Artemis before he can get far.

Hedwig hisses menacingly at her rival owl.

“Hedwig,” Harry quietly admonishes his familiar, keeping a tight grip on the black-feathered menace. “Back up.”

Hedwig obligingly hops back, flaps her wings, and flies to Holly, landing lightly on her shoulder. Harry rolls his eyes at the smug look she aims at Artemis. Flitwick and Lucius slowly come up behind McGonagall, Lucius’s eyes curiously blank.

“Is anyone hurt?” McGonagall asks, looking around the table.

The Gryffindors examine themselves, and exchange looks with each other before shaking their heads.

“Then you are free to leave. You have enough time to clean yourselves if you need to,” McGonagall dismisses them.

Most of them walk out slowly, reluctantly, clearly not wanting to leave without knowing what happens next.

McGonagall sweeps her gaze down the Gryffindor table, taking in the chaos of the owl fight. Glasses, goblets and jugs have been knocked over; platters, tureens, plates and bowls have been upended. The not-so-small section of the table where the fight occurred is covered in various foods and beverages.

The cat animagus first pins her eyes on Artemis, the unrepentant black feathered owl meeting her gaze head-on. An odd staring contest takes place, and Harry is reminded of Mrs Figg’s cats when they occasionally stared at each other to show dominance. Artemis seems to have lost this round as he tears his eyes away, apparently ruffled.

Harry spots a gleam of triumph in his Transfiguration professor’s eyes when the owl concedes defeat. Even in her human form, he recognises the look of satisfaction Mrs Figg’s cat had when they got their way.

“Are your owls injured?” McGonagall asks, directing her gaze, particularly towards Ron and Pigwidgeon.

Ron carefully examines his tiny owl. It isn’t often Ron receives anything new and just for him,  and though he likes to complain about his small owl’s hyper activeness sometimes, he still loves the little animal and looks after him meticulously.

“He’s fine,” Ron announces with relief.

Artemis hoots as if in disappointment. Hedwig snaps her beak at her rival.

When Holly lovingly examines Hedwig, the black owl tenses in Harry’s hands, who has to take care to keep a good grip on the owl without hurting him. Hedwig nuzzles Holly the whole while, to the increasing annoyance of Artemis.

“Let me take him from you, Potter,” Lucius offers, moving cautiously forward.

Artemis snaps his beak threateningly at Lucius, and Harry has to strain to keep the owl from launching himself at the blond Professor.

“Who does this owl belong to?” McGonagall questions, though by how her amused gaze flicks to Lucius, Harry can tell she already knows the answer.

However, before Lucius can confirm his ownership, Holly jumps in.

“He’s mine, Aunt Min,” she says earnestly, looking worried. “Uncle Luc gave him to me. He’s just very possessive and was jealous that I paid more attention to Pig than to him.”

“Be that as it may, Holly, I will not allow him to harm any students or pets. From now on, he is no longer allowed to enter the Great Hall with the other owls. Not until he is trained not to attack other familiars.”

Holly eagerly nods her agreement.

“For the time being, I will take him to my office,” McGonagall tells her. “You may visit your owl there.”

“Yes, Aunt Min.”

McGonagall waves her wand and silently cleans the area with Lucius and Flitwick’s help.

Harry sees the porridge disappear from the owl in front of him, as does the feel of the resultant stickiness. Pig and Hedwig are likewise cleaned as well.

“Wait for me in my office,” McGonagall orders. “My windows are open.”

With startled confusion, the students realise she is talking to the owls.

Hedwig and Pig fly off with an acknowledging hoot.

“Er, Professor?” Ron starts hesitantly. “Why do you want our owls in your office?”

“You need not worry about your owl, Mr Weasley. Your owl shall return to you later,” McGonagall answers without answering. Turning to Holly, she asks, “What did you say your owl’s name was, Holly?”

“Artemis,” Holly responds instantly.

Stowing away her wand, McGonagall holds out her other arm, gives the black feathered owl an imperious look, and orders, “To me, Artemis.”

Harry reluctantly releases the owl, tensing as it settles on the Professor’s arm. He notices Lucius also tracking the owl’s short progression, but it docilely perches on McGonagall’s arm without further incident.

Lucius kneels in front of Holly, asking, “Are you hurt?” as he checks her over.

“No,” she replies. “Harry pushed me behind him.”

Lucius nods to Harry as he looks up from the little girl. Handing Holly her school bag, he gives her a quick hug.

“Time to make your way to classes,” McGonagall instructs. Then, turning to the rest of the Houses, still seated and watching the drama unfold, she orders them to do the same if they are done with their breakfasts.

No one dares argue as they all reach for their school bags and, as reluctantly as the students before them, make to leave.

“I’ll see you at lunch, Holly,” Harry promises as he, too, makes to follow.

“Bye, Harry,” she smiles at him, darting forward for a quick hug before skipping to McGonagall’s side and slipping her hand into the Professor’s free one.

By the time Harry reaches the door of the Great Hall, McGonagall is already striding out of the teacher’s entrance with Artemis perched on one arm and Holly holding the other.

Ron frets about his owl the whole day, readily believing that the aggressive owl he dubbed as “that fluffball menace of a beast” belonged to Lucius Malfoy.

However, more unbelievable are the rumours that the three owls had spent the whole day in McGonagall’s office, their beaks firmly pressed against the wall.

ooOoo

Lucius finds himself sitting in Minerva’s office at the end of the school day, trying not to feel like a recalcitrant student despite the tea and biscuits in front of him. He spies Artemis in the corner, resting on perch, determinedly not looking in Lucius’s direction. However, the other two owls are already gone. All day, he’d heard all day of the rumours of owls being in detention with the Transfiguration professor or the ridiculous ones where she’d chased them around the classroom in her animagus and eaten the little one.

After receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, he bought Artemis for Draco as a gift. Lucius had picked the owl himself, presenting it to his son with great pride. The owl had been relatively docile back then, but Artemis had decided he didn’t like Draco within days. Draco had not helped when he’d used his new wand to perform a spell above his skill. Draco had wanted to change the owl’s feather to green; though he’d not succeeded in that endeavour, the only thing he’d accomplished was irritating Artemis to the point where the owl wouldn’t let anyone but Lucius near him. Lucius had managed to tame the owl. Still, Lucius had become somewhat fond of Artemis, proud that he’d been able to tame him, to an extent.

Artemis never went anywhere near Draco and barely tolerated Narcissa and Severus. They had all been surprised at how docile the usually aggressive owl was with Holly, who never saw how angry the owl could get until today.

Even Lucius had been surprised by the possessiveness of the black feathered owl and his reaction to the midget owl.

“How has your first week of teaching been, Lucius?” Minerva asks perfunctorily as she pours both of them a cup of tea. To his surprise, she makes it how he likes it. One sugar with a slice of lemon.

Accepting the tea with a nod of gratitude, Lucius smiles.

“I’ve enjoyed it more than I thought I would,” he admits. “Though it is still early. This week has been mainly about introductory course aims. Given the spotty education the students have had in Defence so far, the majority are quite behind. Some seem to possess a natural talent but have, unfortunately, not had someone there to guide them.”

Minerva nods and takes a sip of her own tea; two sugars and plenty of milk.

“Any issues?”

Lucius thinks carefully before he answers.

“No one has been acting out,” he says slowly. “They’ve been unsure what to make of me, but overall, they seem pleased I’ll continue going down a practical route. Some have voiced their concerns that there will be more emphasis on theory than actual wand work.”

Minerva sighs, seeming to understand completely.

“That is understandable,” she voices with a rueful shake of her head. “In the last decade, Albus has been practically desperate to find someone competent to fill the position. It’s become a little bit of a joke between the staff, never mind the children.”

Lucius holds his tongue. He is aware, having heard from Severus over the last few years, of the betting pool led by Minerva and Pomona. He idly wonders what odds he’s on and what predictions they’d made for him. He finds it ironic that Minerva, who has no great fondness for the art of Divination, made money from predicting the misfortunes her fellow teachers would suffer.

“They’ve enjoyed the practicum of Defence in the last two years, first under Remus and the second under –” she heaves another sigh as she reluctantly admits, “Fake Moody. Barty Crouch Jr certainly made an impression.”

For a Death Eater, Lucius adds silently, his eyes flickering unconsciously to his left arm.

“I’m sure the students are pleased that they won’t be losing on the practical aspect of learning Defence,” Minerva continues smoothly, despite seeing the gesture.

“There is a concern I need to raise,” Lucius voices into the silence that descends.

Minerva arches a brow in question.

“The Weasley children,” he begins cautiously. Knowing that his and Arthur Weasley’s animosity is well-known within the Pureblood society, he doesn’t want to be seen as the teacher who is biased against the Weasley children. Potter is close to the Weasleys, and Lucius doesn’t want to lose a valuable ally so soon because of the Weasleys, no matter what Lucius’s feelings are towards the Weasley patriarch.

Minerva silently waits for him to continue.

“None of the Weasley has attended their classes so far,” he tells her. As their Head of House and Deputy Headmistress, Lucius is within his right to bring this to her attention.

Minerva places her cup of tea carefully back on her desk. They regard each other carefully. Lucius realises at that moment that she already knows the Weasleys haven’t stepped foot in his classroom all week.

“Will you be issuing detentions?” Minerva enquires mildly at last.

“Should I be?”

“I received permission from Arthur and Molly Weasley this morning to allow their children to drop Defence Against the Dark Arts from their schedules, replacing it with  Independent studies. They shall have a tutor in the meantime.”

“I see,” Lucius says slowly. He narrows his eyes at the cat animagus. “It is only the first week of classes. Is it not premature of them to decide that I am not a suitable teacher?”

He believes it to be unbelievably petty of the Weasley children to boycott his classes based on his animosity with their father.

“They explained to me their reasoning,” Minerva says coolly. “With their parent’s permission, I agreed to allow them to remove Defence from their lessons, with the proviso that they are assessed on a monthly basis. If I find they are slacking or their tutor isn’t doing his job correctly, I shall ensure they attend your classes again.”

Lucius feels his spine stiffening in response.

“Who will be tutoring them?” he asks when the silence drags.

“That is not your concern,” Minerva tells him negligently.

Lucius nods jerkily.

“As the issue wasn’t brought to my attention until a few days ago, for the sake of fairness, Fred and George Weasley have earned their detentions as they had not attended your class without permission, should you wish to issue it. However, for the younger two, detention will not be necessary.”

Lucius clears his throat and answers, realising she is expecting a response.

“No, Professor,” he lapses into formality. “I shall not be issuing detention for their truancy. I shall leave it up to you to decide whether any punishment will be necessary.”

He doesn’t miss the way her shoulders relax at his pronouncement. However, she still observes him. He makes the quick decision not to make a big issue of this. Though he was prepared to put aside his rivalry with their father, the children have, in fact, made it easier for him by absenting themselves from his classroom. Lucius is willing to play nice with the Weasley children for Potter’s sake and now he doesn’t have to pretend. He makes an effort to relax his muscles. As long as Potter is still in his class, all is not lost. He and Potter have agreed on private lessons on duelling as part of their agreement. That is enough for him. Once he is fully settled in and gets to know his students, he can perhaps revive a version of the Slug club- though with a much better name, he adds with a mental grimace.

“It is unfortunate that they cannot put aside their personal feelings for the sake of their education,” Lucius comments smoothly, “however, should they change their minds, my classroom will be open to them. Also, should you need assistance assessing their skills at the end of the monthly, you need not hesitate to ask.”

There’s a curious twist of Minerva’s lips and an almost derisive look flashing through her eyes that Lucius doesn’t quite understand the source of. He knows Minerva and the Weasleys are part of Dumbledore’s Order, so the Transfiguration professor is firmly on the Weasleys’ side. She might be useful and complicit in helping Lucius stand against Severus when it comes to Holly (and Potter)- but at the end of it all, Minerva McGonagall is not someone who will understand Lucius’s goals, or agree with his methods in achieving them.

Lucius doesn’t stay for much longer after that. Artemis leaves through the open window in Minerva’s office around the same time. Strolling to his own quarters, Lucius finds himself in deep thought. His plan for handling the Weasleys had been to treat them professionally as only his students. Truth be told, he had been looking forward to meeting the Weasley twins. Severus had reluctantly admitted that though they were not the best, or most serious, of students, they had an intuitive grasp of Potions and certain magics. They were genius in their creativity, but Severus believed they wasted their potential with pranks and jokes. Since Severus spent much of his time as a student taking the brunt of the gags from the self-professed Marauders, Lucius knows his friend finds all forms of such pranks distasteful.

By the time he reaches his office, he decides it is indeed good news that he doesn’t have the Weasley children in his classes any longer. He has nothing against them personally, but they clearly can’t put aside their own feelings and learn from him. Additionally, it’s best not to have their disruptive influences in his classroom, potentially undermining him constantly.

He sits in his office, revising his lesson plans for the next hour or so to account for the gaps in the older students’ education, concentrating mainly on those due to sit their OWLs and NEWTs this year. The first-year students are the easiest as they’ll be starting from the beginning, so Lucius can build a good foundation for them.

With Dumbledore’s experience with DADA teachers over the last few decades, the Headmaster wisely doesn’t sign on a Defence teacher for more than a year. Lucius technically needs to survive the entire year with no mishaps, though he is aware to successfully break the curse, he needs to teach for at least two years. He aims to be the one to accomplish that. However, he has been away from Narcissa for over three weeks, and he’s desperately missing her.

He will not, however, begrudge his wife for her reconciliation with her sister Andromeda. Narcissa rarely brought up her sisters, and Lucius might like to be in control of situations around him, but he’s never felt the need to dictate to his wife, who she could and could not speak to. Not if he wants to remain married.

After revising his lesson plans, Lucius checks the time and realises that he still has a few hours before Holly and Draco are due for dinner.

Heaving a deep breath, he releases it slowly. He needs to go to the dungeons and speak to Severus- the idiot.

Half an hour later, Lucius finds himself knocking imperiously on the Potions Master’s door. Schooling his face into a stoic mask, Lucius raises his chin and keeps his back straight. He’s here for Holly and Severus. He needs to keep his own issues with Severus separate.

The door slowly creeps open as Severus reveals himself. Lucius takes in Severus’s condition neutrally. The other wizards looks to have barely slept the last few days. Looking paler than ever, his lank hair even more limp than usual, Severus looks like he’s been ill.

Miserable sod looks like he’s not even been eating, Lucius thinks irritatedly. He tells himself he doesn’t care. Severus is an adult. He can take care of himself.

Lucius spies the look of relief and the almost smile as Severus realises who is on the other side of the door. Severus’s eyes drop to waist level, the disappointment palpable when he realises that Holly is not with Lucius.

“May I enter?” Lucius enquires coldly.

ooOoo

Severus doesn’t expect Lucius to be on the other side of the door. The last few days have been lonely, though he has been visited by a handful of other professors to enquire after him. Albus visits every morning after breakfast, sits with him for half an hour and tells him of Holly’s progress with her work.

As happy as he is that Lucius has finally come to visit, he’s just as disappointed that Holly’s not with him. When days passed with no visit from Lucius, Severus fell further and further into a pit of despair. He’d even broken down and told Albus this morning what he’d said to Lucius, begging the Headmaster to allow him to visit his friend to repair their relationship.

Albus had expressed his disappointment, told Severus he sympathised, but adamantly refused to lift the wards to allow him to leave his rooms.

No matter the blond’s stoic face to the rest of the world, Severus knows he hurt Lucius with his words.

So, Severus had resigned to waiting for Lucius to visit him, believing the happy event wouldn’t happen until the end of the two-week suspension. Severus spent a miserable few days remembering every occasion his brother was there for him, desperately hoping he hadn’t screwed up his relationship with Lucius as irrevocably as he had with Lily.

He hides a flinch at Lucius’s cold voice.

“Of course,” he nods, stepping aside for the blond to enter.

Lucius steps inside his room, far enough only for Severus to close the door behind him and pauses, looking expectantly at the dark-haired wizard instead of heading towards the living area and making himself comfortable as usual.

Severus almost rolls his eyes at the tactic. Lucius is definitely going to make him work for his apology.

“Tea?” Severus offers, hoping to keep it civilised.

Lucius nods equably and follows as Severus leads the way to the kitchen area.

“Take a seat,” Severus offers stiltedly before moving off to the counter to get the tea set.

With his back turned, Severus hears the other wizard gently pull a chair back and settle himself into it. He can feel Lucius’s eyes on his back the whole time. Setting the water to boil in the kettle with his wand, he opens a cupboard, reaches for two mugs and places them on the trays he’s pulled out already.  

He lets the silence lengthen, trying to gather his thoughts on the best approach. Lucius does mean a lot to Severus. No matter what Severus had said at the time, Lucius is family, as are Narcissa and Draco. They’ve forced Severus to travel with them for holidays. Lucius knows when to push and when to back away. The blond never asked anything of Severus that the Potions Master never wanted to do. At times they pushed each other, fought and argued, but always made up.

And this time, making up with the blond is more important than usual. Lucius holds a lot of sway with his daughter, and if Severus wants Holly returned to his quarters before his suspension is over, he needs to make things right between them. Narcissa is quickest at placating Lucius, but Severus doesn’t have the right equipment to do that, even if he is inclined in such a way.

Five minutes later, having brought the tea set over, Severus sits opposite his friend.

“How is Holly?” he asks as he prepares Lucius’s tea. Severus doesn’t like lemon with his tea, only keeping them in stock for Lucius.

“Thriving,” Lucius tells him with glittering eyes.

Severus understands the silent message. His daughter hasn’t asked for him. Hasn’t missed him. Nor had Lucius tried to placate her due to Severus’s thoughtless comment.

Lucius takes his cup of tea but doesn’t move to drink it, though he watches as Severus prepares a cup for himself. No sugar but plenty of milk.

“I shouldn’t have said – what I did,” Severus opens the conversation, stumbling over his words. “It wasn’t true. I didn’t mean it.”

Lucius stares at him, waiting for more. Yet, Severus struggles to form the next words, unused to admitting fault.

“I ap- apologise,” Severus says as earnestly as he is able, heart pounding as he looks at Lucius.

An unreadable look flashes in Lucius’s eyes, and Severus waits, holding his breath for a response.

His heart sinks when Lucius doesn’t acknowledge his words, and Severus realises he has hurt Lucius much more than he thought.

“Jasmine used to go through Holly’s belongings,” Lucius eventually speaks, carefully watching the Potions Master idling stirring his tea. “Potter told me she liked to break Holly’s things when she couldn’t find anything worth selling.”

Severus grits his teeth, unsure where to direct his anger. At yet more news of how close Potter is to his daughter or at Jasmine for treating his daughter in such a way. Or even himself for, as Lucius said, getting caught. He also realises what Lucius is doing by mentioning Potter.

The other wizard must have had his talk with Potter. One of the main reasons he came to Hogwarts to teach was to get close to the Boy Who Lived. And now he’s showing Severus he will no longer hold back about Potter and Holly’s relationship, especially knowing how much it irritates Severus. Severus has no choice but to listen to it.

“I understand,” Severus replies slowly.

From the slight twist of Lucius’s lips, Severus can see that the blond also understands.

Silence descends once more as Severus rapidly thinks of what to say next.

Clearing his throat, Severus decides to ask, “How have your classes been?”

There’s a pause, taut and full of tensions Severus doesn’t know the source of before Lucius answers.

“I’ve had no issues so far.”

Severus might have commented about giving it more time if there had not been so much tension between them. He has never hidden how much he dislikes teaching.

“Holly likes flying,” Lucius imparts carelessly.

“She’s scared of heights,” Severus replies back instantly. “How did-”

“She lied,” Lucius smirks at the Potions Master. “She only wanted to learn with Potter.”

Severus finds himself clenching his hands around his cup of tea. Abruptly, without any words, he stands up and leaves the table, heading for the privacy of his bedroom. Lucius’s knowing eyes are on him until he slams his bedroom door shut, spelling it without thinking with a Silencing Charm.

It physically hurts to know his daughter spent all summer lying to him. Regulus knew everything. Lucius did as well, which undoubtedly meant that Narcissa had, also. There’s very little Lucius doesn’t share with his wife. He and Draco had been firmly left out of the loop. Holly’s sudden change in attitude after the Boggart incident; had it all been another lie?

He’s suspected this since the beginning of his suspension, yet to be confronted with it is something else. He’s angry with Lucius for his part in the whole deceit, but he knows Lucius’s nature. Lucius will always twist things to his own advantage, so he would have acted like he was on Holly’s side, even against Severus, to gain the child’s favour.

And it worked beautifully for the Malfoy patriarch.

He has Holly so very firmly on his side.

Severus had never envied Lucius for anything. Not his money, his looks, his charm. Nothing.

Not until he saw how easily Lucius connected with his child.

Now, he can feel tendrils of envy and jealousy crawl up his spine and settle in his heart.

Hasn’t he been trying? Hasn’t he done the right thing?

All he wants to do is connect with his daughter. To make up for those missed years. To see her look at him with the same smile she bestows on everyone else. She’d begun to connect with him. She’d smiled at him. She’d hugged him. She’d held his hand and pulled him to the Great Hall.

Had everything been a lie?

Had it all been for Potter’s sake?

By the time Severus feels calm enough to come out of his bedroom, his bedframe is kindling, his walls will need repainting to hide all scorch marks, and he shall definitely be sleeping on the sofa until he can request a new mattress.

ooOoo

“Hold still,” Lucius admonishes lightly, interrupting the child as she regales with all she’s spent doing during the day.

Holly stops squirming and sighs as she falls silent.

It’s become a ritual for them now.

Holly will shower and prepare for the day ahead in the morning. Lucius will dry her hair with a quick spell. At some point during the day, usually at breakfast, an owl fight took precedence today; Holly will insist that Potter style her hair for her; usually, this involves a braid.

Every evening, Holly will change into her pyjamas and get ready for bed. Lucius, who doesn’t usually wear pyjamas, had to temporarily transfigure a pair of bottoms (preferring to sleep topless) whilst Holly has been staying in his spare room. So, he sits behind Holly on her bed, painstakingly unbraiding her hair and brushing it through several times.

Surprisingly, he finds the actions soothing. And Holly seems to enjoy the ritual, also.

The silence doesn’t last long.

“And guess what?”

“What?” Lucius prompts at the cue, though he knows it’s not needed.

“Harry said we can do our gymnastics properly now. Tomorrow. He said he’s almost caught up with all his homework, and he’s going to try and finish it tonight. He’s probably still working on it now. But tomorrow after breakfast, he said we can do some gymnastics, and then he’s got to be on the pitch for eleven, for Quidditch trials. They need a new Keeper. I’ve already seen the room, and it’s fantastic. It’s almost like a real gymnastics studio.”

Lucius smiles gently as she prattles on. Once classes are over, Holly and Potter spend as much time together as possible. They take dinner together in the Hall before heading to either the Gryffindor Common Room, the Gym (as Holly calls it) or the Quidditch pitch.

They’d not spent that much time in the Gym, barely half an hour, according to Holly, as Potter has to keep up with a lot of homework. Lucius can well believe it. OWL year is horrible for homework. Lucius abhorred completing his homework. He’s happy to be on the other side of it, however.

To allow Potter and Holly more time together, Lucius also extended Holly’s curfew by an hour. Expecting the child back in his quarters for eight thirty pm and in bed half an hour later. Neither complains about the restriction, and Potter diligently walks his sister to Lucius’s rooms every night. On top of all of what Holly’s just mentioned, Potter also has to complete his prefect duties.

Lucius doesn’t believe that Potter will be able to maintain his time spent with Holly as much as he has now. Once classes, Quidditch, Prefect duties and his budding relationship with Luna Lovegood truly take off, not to mention his and Potter’s planned duelling lessons, Holly and Potter will barely spend any time together.

From what Holly’s mentioned so far, Potter’s been neglecting his relationship with Miss Lovegood, barely being able to spend much time with her. Lucius wonders how long that relationship will last.

“Harry asked if you want to come and watch us -ow!” she complains, her words cut off as she rubs her sore head.

“Sorry, love,” Lucius hastily apologises, gently rubbing her head where he pulled too hard to untangle the last of her braid.

She gives him a last dirty look before turning around and presents her hair to him once again.

He reaches for the hairbrush to gently smooth her long hair.

“What did Potter ask?” Lucius prompts.

In a slightly aggrieved tone, still a little mad at having her hair pulled, she answers, “Harry said to bring you Gym after breakfast. I told him you were interested in some of the things a gymnast can do and how you’ve been learning to do push up and situps and stuff. Harry said I should bring you to the room if you want to see the setup, and we can show you how to use some of the equipment.”

Then with a giggle, her previous ire forgotten, turning around to face him, she excitedly continues, “I can show you the stuff I can do on the balance beam, and Harry has a pummel horse and the parallel bars.”

Lucius smiles at her enthusiasm.

“So? Will you join us?”

“After breakfast?” he prevaricates.

Nod.

“With you and Potter?”

Nod, nod.

“Tomorrow?”

She smiles excitedly with another nod.

“Of course, I shall join you.”

She beams at him and throws herself at his chest.

He strokes her head a few times, loving the feel of her small arms around him.

Reluctantly, he lets go, knowing he must break the good mood.

“There’s something I need to speak to you about,” he tells her sombrely.

Picking up on his seriousness, her smile falls from her face as she studies him intently. First, she scowls and then looks resigned.

“You want to talk to me about the Professor, right? You’re going to make me go back to him,” she accurately guesses. She takes the hairbrush from him, running it roughly through her hair with a pout.

“Yes, darling,” he confirms, taking the brush back from her and gently smoothing it out once more.

She sighs, the tension seeping from her.

“Harry told me you wouldn’t be mad at him forever.”

Puzzled, he asks her to explain.

“Harry told me to be careful with you. On that first day when he walked me here. He said you were in a bad mood, and if you tried to hurt me, I should run straight back to him.”

Lucius casts his memory back to earlier in the week. Potter had dropped Holly outside his office; it was the same day Severus had hurt him with his cruel, thoughtless words. He’d hid it from Draco and Holly and hadn’t mentioned what Severus had said.

Draco had been too wrapped up in Potter, Holly and himself to truly notice Lucius’s demeanour, which he’d ensured hadn’t been obvious. He never let on to Draco if he was in a bad mood, especially regarding Severus. The boy adores his godfather.

Yet, Potter had been astute enough to notice.

Potter even asked him if he’d had a bad day. Then he’d bent down to whisper something to Holly, apparently to be wary of Lucius.

“Why would Potter think I’m mad at your father?” Lucius asks, trying to understand.

“Harry didn’t think you were mad at the Professor,” Holly explains patiently. “Harry guessed you were in a bad mood, and I guessed it was because of him.”

“And why would you think that?” he questions, fascinated at how easily they both seem to communicate with each other and tell the other everything.

Almost everything, he silently amends, thinking of Eileen.

Holly shrugs.

“You didn’t try to talk to me about going back that day in Uncle Albus’s office. Why are you mad at him?”

Lucius smiles gently, ignoring the curiosity displayed in her piercing eyes on him. Placing the brush on the side table, Lucius reaches for her, kissing her gently on top of her head. He won’t tell her what Severus said to hurt him. He won’t be like Jasmine, turning Holly against her father by piling on more hurt words. She sighs against his chest, seeming to understand that she won’t get an answer.

“Do I have to go back?” Her arms circle him once more.

Lucius lifts her up as he stands from her bed. Turning around, he reaches to pull back the duvet and gently lays her down, tucking the covers carefully around her.

“He’s very sorry, Holly,” Lucius explains quietly. “I explained to him how much it hurt you when you found him with your things. He’s had a lot of time to think, and he’s hurting too. He wants to talk to you. You should talk to him too.”

“I’ll think about it,” she tells him grudgingly.

Lucius can already see her speaking to Potter about it before she agrees. He hopes Potter encourages her to go back to the dungeons.

Despite his feelings towards his idiot foster brother, it hadn’t made Lucius feel any good when Severus rushed out upon realising the extent of Holly’s manipulations.

Summary-

Minerva: The Weasley children won’t be returning to your classroom.

Lucius: WTF – why the hell not? Don’t they know what they’re missing? I’m going to be a brill teacher.

Minerva: *shrugs* Meh – their choice.

Lucius: *crosses arms and pouts* Well, I didn’t want them in my class anyway...

---

Severus: Oh, Lucius. I missed you. You are my brother. I was so wrong. Please don’t leave me...

Lucius: * now pouting for a different reason and refuses to let go*

Severus: *annoyed* You’re going to hold this over my head forever, aren’t you?

Lucius: *examining his manicure* ...maybe...

Severus: *facepalm*

Lucius: Also, Holly manipulated the hell out of you. Shame on you, Severus.

Severus: *violently upending table* Godammit!!