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The Imperfect Art of Sacrifice	By : eyesuhkattspeleeng Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 1212 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I have no rights to make any sort of money off of this. All due credit goes to J.K. Rowling for having imagined and brought the world of Harry Potter to life.

Chapter List
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There are a few things I'd like to share with you before we begin. I'm still in the process of writing this story so therefore I haven't added many warnings but will do so as the story progresses. Also, this story doesn't have a beta. I don't work with them very often because to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit on the flaky side. However, I do have a tendency to read and re-read my work but sometimes I still manage to miss a few things here and there. If you see any mistakes, feel free to let me know and I'll more than likely go back and correct it.

I've decided to post this story exclusively on this website because I'm looking for a mature audience base to develop the story with. There's not an incredible amount of graphic sex or violence so if that's what you're looking for, this probably isn't the story for you, though I hope you'll still choose to read it anyway. Like I said, I'm still writing this story and I'm not going to lie and say that I'm actually going to finish it because I really couldn't tell you the future. However, reviewing is a great source of encouragement, so please take the time after you've finished reading this and review it for me. I'm always extremely grateful for it. If you want to do your good deed for the day and make a complete stranger smile, you could always accomplish that by letting me know what you think. And of course, all feedback is welcome.

--Eyesuhkattspeleeng.

The Imperfect Art of Sacrifice

Perion Graves had the worst habit of muttering to herself, Severus noticed. It was annoying especially when he was trying to finish up last minute studying. He was tired and more than a little agitated but god willing, he’d ace his N.E.W.T’s. He’d accept nothing less than perfection.
It was a little after eleven o’clock and he and Perion were the only ones left in the common room. Apparently she was drilling herself on History of Magic, a subject he found interesting but not interesting enough to continue after O.W.L’s. Why she was taking it still was beyond him.
“Do you mind?” Severus asked a bit gruffly. Her muttering had grated on his last nerve. Perion looked up, confused at first but then her face flushed with embarrassment. “You’re talking to yourself and it’s distracting.”
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I don’t realize I’m doing it. I’ll stop.”
“Thank you.”
Severus didn’t know much about Perion other than the fact that she was a grade A loner who didn’t really talk to anybody. Last term, Narcissa Black, a seventh year, got tired of it. Perion drove her mad. Narcissa said she was pure-blood and had loads of potential and yet wasn’t living up to Narcissa’s expectations for what a respectable Slytherin pure-blood female should be. So she took it upon herself to set Perion up with her cousin, Regulus. It was completely pointless and ever since Narcissa had become engaged, she thought everyone should be dating some one. Thankfully Severus never gave her the chance to set him up with anyone. Not that didn’t Narcissa didn’t try with him but the one time she had tried, he’d made it perfectly clear that he did not want to be set up with anyone and she’d do well to not even try. All the hardship he’d gone through with Lily had taught him a valuable lesson. You can’t trust women. They didn’t listen and Perion was no different because she was muttering to herself again.
“You’re doing it again,” he said with an irritated scowl.
“I’m sorry, I really am,” Perion sounded exasperated. “I’ve been slaving over this essay for two days now. I’ve finished it mostly but there’s something not right about it. It’s driving me mad.”
“Let me see it,” Severus said with a sigh as he held his arm out. Perion handed him the piece of parchment which was over two foot long. He started to read over it but before he could really get started, he noticed that Perion was right over his shoulder, breathing down his neck. “Would you please not do that?”
“Sorry,” she whispered and backed off.
Perion was an exceptionally immaculate person. Her clothes were always tidy, her dull rust colored hair was cut all the same length at chin length which was kept straight with out a hair out of place and she always wore make-up that seemed to always be flawless, unlike her fellow schoolmates whose mascara would run at the end of the day. Severus thought it made her look kind of fake and more than a little anal retentive. Which is why her untidy scrawl on her essay surprised him. It wasn’t unreadable but it just sort of mismatched the rest of her.
Severus read through the essay carefully and could not find a single thing wrong with it. There were no spelling or grammatical errors and the structure was perfect. It was even halfway interesting. Either she had a thesaurus handy or had an extensive vocabulary because she used words that Severus hardly heard any one use before. He turned and looked at Perion with a half smile.
“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Perion said glumly and reached for the essay.
“No, it’s not. That’s the problem. I can’t find anything wrong with it. I don’t know why you’re worrying so much about it.”
“You’re just being nice.”
“Yes, Perion, I’m just being nice. It’s horrible and I think you should just give up and quit Hogwarts.”
“That’s not funny,” Perion said with a frown. “I guess I’m too much of a perfectionist. If you think it’s alright then I suppose it will suffice.”
“I think you’ll get a decent grade. Now could you go to bed? I still need to study and you’re a distraction.”
Perion smiled at him, which sort of caught him off guard. Hardly anyone smiled at him anymore and if they did it was usually jeering. But Perion’s smile was warm and friendly. Before he could stop himself, he smiled back in response. Perion walked away with out saying anything else and Severus found himself watching her walk away, half way hoping she’d come back. But she didn’t and it was just as well.
He was lonely. Evans was mad at him for that incident back in fifth year and his other friends had bowed out and quit school last term. After spending four months at Hogwarts, Avery, Mulciber and every other boy in his year and house had decided that school wasn’t the place for them. And as tempting as it was to just leave like they had, Severus couldn’t bring himself to leave. He’d worked so hard for six years, he wasn’t going to throw it away. But with his friends gone, he was alone. He had the entire dorm to himself now, which he didn’t mind but he still missed his friends.
The next morning, at breakfast, Perion sat across from him, next to Regulus Black, who had his face buried behind a news paper, which was what he normally did during breakfast. Regulus had taken to cutting out clippings from the paper. Severus always found the remains near the fireplace, waiting to be burned.
“I hope you don’t mind me,” Perion said with a slightly embarrassed smile. “I just wanted to thank you for reading over my essay.”
“You’re welcome,” Severus said.
“You usually eat alone so I thought I’d come sit with you. If you want me to leave, I will.”
“No, you’re okay. I don’t mind. Regulus isn’t really much for conversation after the mail arrives.”
“What’s up with him anyway? Why is he always buried behind a paper?”
“I guess current events these days are especially riveting.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Severus noticed something about Perion he hadn’t ever noticed before. Her eyes were an exceptional shade of blue. They had a certain sharpness to them that made everything about her seem so serious, like she didn’t know how to lighten up.
“Can I ask you something?” Severus asked. “I don’t mean to offend but why do you wear so much make up?”
Perion seemed to be taken aback, as though he’d caught her by surprise. “I don’t know. It’s just habit, I guess.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s very becoming. It just seems like you’re trying to hide or something.”
“My mum thinks I look horrid without it,” Perion said, clearly embarrassed. “No one has really ever said anything about it, until now that is.”
“Are you kidding me?” Regulus had put down his news paper and was staring at Perion with an incredulous look on his face. “When we were dating, you took forever to put on make up and you always kept me waiting for at least an hour.”
“You never seemed to care.”
“I did care and I told you several times that you didn’t need to put that shit on your face because you’re pretty with out it. And if you want to know the gods’ honest truth, we men don’t care what you look like when we’re shagging you.”
“That’s disgusting, Regulus.” Perion made a face and then looked at Severus, as though she were expecting him to disagree with Regulus.
“He’s sort of right, as much as I hate to admit it.”
“She can’t help it,” Regulus told him. “Her mum is a complete control freak and not to mention a complete harpy. She tells her daughter stupid shit like men won’t respect her if she doesn’t look her absolute best.”
“She’s not a harpy. She just didn’t like you,” Perion said in a snooty tone.
“Well, the feeling is mutual.”
Severus was half amused but the whole conversation made him sort of curious. No one really said anything when Perion and Regulus went separate ways. In fact, it took Severus a few months to realize that they weren’t together anymore when he noticed Regulus hanging around more with the boys than he did with Perion. That and he didn’t really pay attention because he didn’t exactly care.
“So is that why the two of you broke up?” Severus asked. “Because of her mum?”
“Pretty much,” Regulus said bitterly. “No one will ever be good enough for Sarah Graves’ daughter. No one. And her daughter is stupid enough to listen to her.”
“She doesn’t like your mum,” Perion told him. “They went to school together and were mortal enemies. And for your information, I didn’t chuck you because of her. If you’ll remember, I told you we didn’t click. You didn’t seem all that interested in me.”
“If you insist that’s the reason,” Regulus said and picked up his news paper. “I’ve got better things to worry about.”
“Prat,” Perion muttered.
“I probably shouldn’t have said anything,” Severus said. “I didn’t mean to bring up memories.”
“I’m over it,” Perion said with a shrug. “Even if he isn’t.”
“You’re just like your mum, Perion,” Regulus said from behind the paper. “Being with you is like being with her. I’ll pass on that, thank you.”
“That aside,” Perion said with a threatening glance in Regulus’ direction. “I was wondering if you wanted to go do something next Hogsmeade trip.”
Severus shifted uncomfortably. Sure, she had a pretty smile and sure he was lonely but he wasn’t sure he liked her enough to go do something alone with her, like a date. It was an odd situation. He’d never had anyone ask him to do such a thing. He never thought anyone would want to.
“I’m not sure...” Severus said. “And do you really want to ask me that in front of your ex-boyfriend?”
“The nob head isn’t even listening.”
“Am too,” Regulus said. “And I really don’t care. It’s your own head if you do, Severus. She shags, though, so there’s that.”
“Gee, thanks, Regulus,” Perion said, looking quite disgusted by Regulus’ gall. “Paint me to be easy and sleazy.”
“I didn’t say you were easy. I just said you shag. Eventually.”
“If I say yes, it won’t be because of that,” Severus said, by way of trying to make her feel slightly better.
“So you’ll go?”
“I suppose,” Severus said.
“Great,” Perion said with a bright smile. She looked up at the staff table. “Damn. McGonagall is finishing up. She’s such a cow if you’re even a millisecond late. I’d rather not risk her wrath, so if you gentlemen don’t mind, I’ll take my leave.”
Severus watched as she slung her bag over her shoulder and rushed off to class with in a half run. Severus was quite confused. As he glanced up at McGonagall, he observed a little over half a plate of food left and she was shoveling it in quite slowly. Where Perion got that she was almost finished was beyond him. Did she really watch the Professors in the mornings and set her watch by them? Besides that, Severus had yet to see the formidable Transfiguration Professor give a detention for anything under ten minutes tardy. He looked at Regulus (or rather, the newspaper Regulus was engrossed in).
“Hurt you, did she?” He asked casually albeit a bit snidely. It wasn’t every day that a girl asked him out. A chance to gloat in front of a previous boyfriend was too great for him to resist. The newspaper rustled slightly which Severus took as a shrug.
“Just be careful, that’s all I really have to say.”
“Does she really shag?”
“Yeah, but it will cost you. I’m warning you.”
“Noted,” Severus said. When he looked up at the staff table once more, McGonagall was gone. Perion had been right. What was worse was that Severus had Transfiguration first thing as well. He didn’t say anything else to Regulus, got up, and headed to class, for once thinking about a redhead that wasn’t in Gryffindor.
--
“This is a good as spot as any,” Perion said as she sat down at a table in the Three Broomsticks. It was rather crowded and Severus wasn’t exactly comfortable. It wasn’t that he was ashamed to be seen with Perion. It was really quite the opposite, really. He just felt extremely out of his element. The older students that were there had paired off into opposite genders and a good majority of them were necking. Severus wondered if Perion would expect the same out of him. He hoped not. He wouldn’t know where to begin.
“Do you want something to drink?” Severus asked nervously. He half way hoped she’d decline. He wasn’t sure how much money he had on hand but he knew it wasn’t very much at all. It was the chivalrous thing to do.
“Oh, sure. A gilly water would be nice,” Perion said as she sat down. Severus’ face must’ve visibly fallen. Gillywater wasn’t exactly the cheapest drink on the menu. “Oh, but you don’t have to pay.” She fiddled around in her coin purse and handed him some money.
“Don’t worry about it,” Severus said as he tried to hand the coins back.
“No. no, I insist,” Perion said, pushing his hand away. “This outing was my idea. Let me pay for my drink at least.”
“I can handle it,” Severus said. His tone was a bit sharp and Perion seemed some what taken aback. She took a deep breath, looked down, biting her lip. Her hands were curled over the coins. Then she looked back up and held the coins back up again as she looked him straight in the eye.
“Look, I know you’re not as well off as a lot of people and I know you don’t have much money. I, on the other hand, have plenty. So let me pick up the tab on this one.”
Severus was a bit stunned by her sheer nerve to spout something off like that and to his face, no less. When he thought on it, he supposed his class and his money status were fairly obvious. His robes were obviously second hand, though his mother did her best to mend them up. She didn’t want him to look poor but in the end she usually made them look worse. The patches were obvious and the edges of his sleeves were some what frayed. His mother wasn’t handy when it came to sewing even when she used charms. Severus could hardly complain, however. His father made it clear that he was lucky he got the robes he had to begin with and Severus couldn’t really argue with that logic.
Even so, no one really paid his shabby robes and worn, fading books any mind. Either they didn’t notice or they just really didn’t care enough to bring it up to him. No one in Slytherin had the guts to make fun of him because most of them knew he was quite skilled at hexes and jinxes. A few first years had been unfortunate enough to be his guinea pigs when he wanted to test new hexes. But Perion didn’t show a trace of fear. She didn’t retract or try to rephrase her statement so that it sounded less harsh. Her expression was earnest and the look in her eye was pure stubbornness. What else could Severus do but take the money from her, walk to the bar and order their drinks? After he’d paid and made his way back to their table, Severus couldn’t help but feel some what bamboozled. It was like getting ripped off but in reverse. She had forced him to take money against his will. There had to be some law against that.
“Thank you,” Period said as he sat her glass in front of her. She gave him a sweet and innocent smile, like she knew he was bothered by taking her money.
“I could’ve paid,” Severus said darkly as he nursed his bottle of butterbeer.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind, honestly.”
“It’s not very proper for a woman to buy a man’s drink,” Severus said. He wasn’t quite sure why he was arguing with her about it. What was done was done and there wasn’t really anything he could do about it now except cursing himself for letting himself be bullied by her.
“Don’t go on being so damn gallant,” Period said, looking some what irritated. “Regulus used to always insist on doing what was ‘proper,’ never mind being in the middle of the women’s liberation era. I like doing what’s out of the norm. It makes me feel less like a pretty plaything and more like a self sufficient woman who can do more than just sitting there, gazing blankly at the man and laughing and batting my eyelashes when it’s appropriate.”
“Finished?” Severus asked with an eyebrow cocked up. Perion blushed slightly, realizing she’d been ranting some what loudly and was starting to draw attention to herself. She cleared her throat and shot everyone who was staring a some what scathing look.
“Sorry. I start babbling and I really can’t stop. I’ve been reading a lot of history text and I get so worked up...”
“History text? Are you trying to bore yourself into a coma?”
“It’s not all that bad,” Perion said defensively, but she smiled despite herself. “But I’ve been working extremely hard this term. I need to scrape at least an E on my History of Magic N.E.W.T.”
“Why didn’t you drop it like everyone else did after O.W.L’s?” Severus asked. It was slightly amusing to see some one else besides himself being so driven toward getting good marks but even he didn’t go as far as to attempt to take History of Magic beyond O.W.L level. To do so, one had to be either passionate about the subject or else just simply crazy. Severus had a hard time figuring out which one of those categories Perion fell under.
“Well, it’s sort of complicated, actually,” Perion said. “You see, my father works at the Ministry and so does my mother. I know I can get a job that I really like if I study hard enough and do well enough on the N.E.W.T.”
“What sort of job?”
“I want to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I want to be a prosecutor and eventually get on the Wizengamot.”
“You think it’s as easy as studying and getting good marks in school?” Severus asked. “You have to work hard for years to get that far.”
“Not if you get accepted into the Internship program,” Period said. “I’ve already applied. Now all I have to do is wait until exams are over and graded.”
“I’ve heard about that,” Severus said. “You work for 3 months for no pay for a job that’s not really guaranteed to you. Sounds like a rip-off if you ask me. Not only that but loads of people apply for it and they only select like fifteen people out of thousands who apply.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Perion said. “My mother just so happens to be on the committee who reviews all the applications and selects the interns. I’m a shoo in.”
“That’s cheating. Besides if your mother is on that committee, aren’t you wasting your time by studying so hard?”
“You don’t know my mum, Severus,” Perion said with a small, playful smile. “She’s not easy to please. She wouldn’t give it to me if I didn’t have the marks for it. That’s the key to snagging the position. As long as I get the grades, the rest is cake.”
“I still think it’s a waste,” Severus said as he drained his butterbeer. He wanted another one but didn’t really want to spend his money. If they were to go out a second time, he wanted to buy the drinks. He’d have to save. “Not to mention it sounds excruciatingly boring.”
“Perhaps so,” Perion said with a shrug. “I just want to show my parents I can do it.”
“Expect a lot out of you, do they?”
“No, actually, quite the opposite. They don’t expect much out of me. They think I should just get married, have a family and fuck having a career. It’s Paisley they believe in.”
“Paisley?” Severus asked, a bit puzzled.
“My sister...Paisley Graves? She’s in sixth year.”
Severus could vaguely place a face to the name. “Is she the one everyone wants to shag?”
“That would be her,” Perion said, looking a bit exasperated. “She is a pretty little thing, I’ll give all you boys that much. But you’re all wasting your time.”
“I’m not wasting my time,” Severus said haughtily. “I’m not the least bit interested in her. Everyone else is.”
“Glad to hear it because if you were, you’d be in for a world of hurt. She isn’t into schoolboys. She’s into mature men.”
“Are you serious?” Severus said. He felt mildly pleased to be let in on such a delicious secret and that sort of disgusted him. “Do your parents know?”
“No.” Perion’s mouth had curled into an evil little smile. “But wouldn’t that just break their hearts? Beautiful, precious Paisley fucking wizards twice her age? It would kill them.”
“Does she know that you know?”
Perion sighed and took a sip of her drink. “Yes, she does, actually. I walked in on her last summer. My parents were gone on a holiday to Spain and she snuck one of them in. I went to check on her and there they were. I wanted to puke.”
“I could only imagine,” Severus said and tried to shake the image of the blond Slytherin in bed with some old wrinkled wizard. It was too gruesome yet hilarious. He had to do his best to stifle his laughter.
“She swore me to secrecy. You can’t tell anyone because if word gets out, I won’t have anything to hold over her head. It’s all I’ve got.”
“I didn’t realize you were so conniving.” He smiled conspiratorially. “But I won’t say anything. I like you too much.”
“You do?” Perion asked, looking surprised. “I was under the impression that you didn’t really think much of me at all.”
“Would I have agreed to go out on a date with you if I didn’t?”
“Oh,” Perion said. Her eyebrows were furrowed together in a pained expression. “I didn’t really mean for this to be a date. It was more a way of saying thank you for putting up with me the other night and reading over my essay.”
Severus couldn’t help but feeling more than a little rejected. “I should’ve figured...I completely misconstrued...” He felt dumb, awkward and completely tongue tied. He had the urge to get up and just walk away but embarrassment kept him glued to his seat. He didn’t want any one else to know he was being rejected.
“God, I’m sorry, Severus,” Perion said. She reached out and touched his hand. “It’s not that I don’t like you, because I do, you’re really fun to talk with and you actually know how to contribute to a conversation. I’m just not really looking to get into any sort of relationship this close to end of term. It seems a bit fruitless.”
“It’s fine,” Severus said and pulled his hand away from her.
“I just don’t want to get emotionally invested in some one I might not see after school ends. And would you please look at me?”
Severus did as she asked and what he found was an honestly apologetic girl. He could tell she was being sincere which just made the situation all the more painful. She felt sorry for him. He didn’t like people to pity him.
“Besides you never know. It could happen. Under different circumstances, it would be completely different. But I’m just looking for a friend right now. That’s all I can really afford to be at the moment.”
“I’m not sure I’m friend material.”
“Of course you are. I was enjoying talking to you just a bit ago. You aren’t like a lot of boys up at the school. I like that.”
“Don’t try and flatter me,” Severus said stiffly. Perion suddenly stood. For a moment, he thought he had chased her off, which was fine by him but she didn’t bypass him and leave in a huff toward the exit. Instead she stood in front of him, bent down and pressed her lips into his forehead. It wasn’t by any means a passionate kiss but it wasn’t quite a friendly cheek peck either. She stood back and beamed at him with a smile.
“You’re cute when you blush too. You’ve got that going for you.”
Severus wasn’t sure what to say to that. What he was able to figure from his first and last encounter as a student with Perion Graves was that she was different. He just wished there had been more time.
--
Severus’ predicament had started in July. At first it started out as something of an annoyance but then blossomed into frustration. He’d gone to Lucius Malfoy a few weeks after term had ended and had enough time to recuperate. His father was adamant about him getting a job. Severus knew his father was right. He had finished school and now it was time to enter the real world. It was time to start earning his own so he could get the hell out of that shabby house on Spinner’s End, away from his parents and mostly away from their constant fighting. He was tired of being forced to take a side when ever the really bad rows happened. He liked his parents both equally even though it wasn’t a lot. Most of the time, he sided with his mother but she got irritating after a while and Tobias treated them both with the same amount of disdain which made living there unbearable. He had to do something but the problem was he wasn’t sure what.
Lucius was supposed to be helping him get into the Dark Lord’s inner circle, which wasn’t exactly simple. Severus had to prove himself even with Lucius’ high recommendation. His other friends like Avery were savage enough to gain entry fairly easily but Severus didn’t quite have it in him. He had other positive qualities but the key to showing the Dark Lord he was worthy hadn’t exactly revealed its’ self. He was at a complete and utter loss. Lucius had been so preoccupied with his upcoming wedding in December that he was hardly any use to Severus at all.
It was early August when Lucius wrote Severus and asked him to drop in for a visit to Malfoy Manor. This wasn’t unusual as Lucius invited Severus over at least once a month. But this time Lucius seemed some what excited and announced to Severus that he had something to share with him that would undoubtedly make him happy. Severus was reluctant at first but Lucius’ enthusiasm was somewhat contagious.
“I’ve got the solution to all your problems, Severus,” Lucius said with some what of a calculating smile. “The Dark Lord knows of your talent as I’ve been quite generous with dropping your name. He’s curious about you.”
Severus, although pleased, couldn’t help but feel a little bit terrified by the notion. The greatest Dark Wizard in well over a century was interested in him and his talents. Severus was sure that the way to success was Voldemort. Only when he had the Dark Lord’s support could he freely practice his own brand of magic which he was sure would change the magical world. People would fear him and those who had ridiculed him and lost faith in him would see what greatness he was capable of. They would grovel at his feet, begging for mercy and forgiveness.
“The problem is you’ve really got nothing that gives you an edge,” Lucius said.
“What do you mean an edge?” Severus said with a scowl. “You know what I’m able to do and you know that there’s nothing like it.”
“Yes, I know but the Dark Lord has accomplished more than you can imagine. What you can do is amazing, no doubt about it and he’s impressed by a good portion of it but he has yet to express an interest in meeting with you. You’ve just gotten out of school and you’ve got no job.”
“What about Avery?” Severus asked. “He didn’t even finish school. Surely the Dark Lord values a thirst for knowledge and a drive for finishing what’s been started.”
“He does, Severus but you have to understand. Avery’s father was one of the Dark Lord’s first followers.”
“So that’s it? That’s his edge? Being related to someone?”
“Yes, it is. Which is why you won’t have to work too hard to become something far greater than Avery. Avery will have to spend years and years to become one of the Dark Lord’s more distinct and honored followers. I would wager it would only take a few months before you reached that point. That is if you can get into the inner circle to begin with.”
“I see you have a lot of faith in me,” Severus said flatly.
“Oh but I do. I’ve got a plan. My plan will give you that little extra something that you need to thoroughly impress the Dark Lord. I’m sure of it.”
“Out with it then I suppose,” Severus said. He took a seat in a rather plush chair and waited while Lucius poured himself a scotch. He silently offered to make Severus one but Severus declined, annoyed that Lucius was stretching time for dramatic effect. Ridiculous is what it was.
“I’ve pulled a few strings with my contacts at the Ministry to get you a spot in the internship program at the Ministry.”
“What?” Severus asked. He was completely incapable of hiding his surprise and wonder.“How on earth did you manage to do that? Most people apply months ahead of time!”
“Well it wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that much. It was rather a big favor to ask and I’m in debt to quite a few people in an unconventional way. But I managed. Your N.E.W.T grades were exceptional so they were willing to take you in with a bit of coercing.”
For the first time in a while, Severus thought of Perion and her plans to get into the very same program. She’d worked hard for years and who knew if she got in or not. Severus had sailed through his N.E.W.T courses with out giving a single thought as to what the pay off would be. This seemed extremely unfair in a way. He didn’t have to do anything at all really to get into the program while Perion had slaved away for the very same thing without any guarantee that she’d make the cut.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Don’t you think perhaps they should go ahead and choose some one else who legitimately applied?” Lucius’ pale eyebrows shot to his hairline. The thought of doing something the honest way was far fetched to Lucius. Severus thought perhaps he should try to explain it. “There are plenty of entry level jobs at the Ministry I could do.”
“Like what? The janitorial squad? Listen to me, Severus. If you want to be some one, this is your opportunity. Doing an internship at the Ministry ensures a high ranking position after completing the program. Unless you want to be stuck at some menial job with no hope of promotion, I suggest you take it.”
“Which department would I be working under?” Severus asked. Lucius was right. This was an amazing opportunity. He just wished he had thought of it sooner because he still had some integrity left. It seemed more worth it to have done it the right way.
“I haven’t the slightest. They go over your N.E.W.T scores and they issue an aptitude test with the application. Then they choose the department best suited for you.”
“Lucius, I didn’t apply. I didn’t do an aptitude test,” Severus said. Second thoughts were screaming in his mind. There was still time to turn it down, they told him.
“Not to worry! I took it for you. Everything is taken care of. All you have to do is show up Monday morning for Orientation.”
The look on Lucius’ pale face was too eager for Severus’ liking. He looked like a hopeful puppy that had dug up a rotted old corpse and brought back some of the bones as a gift. The thought was disgusting but the fact that Lucius had done all that work for him was far too great to ignore. Severus didn’t have much of a choice.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent! You won’t be disappointed. This is the greatest opportunity that you’ll ever have. You’d have to be a complete dolt to turn it down.”
Lucius went on to explain how to use the visitor’s entrance at the Ministry and instructed him to go to the security desk in the Atrium where he’d be able to ask for better directions as well as register his wand. Severus thought it seemed some what nonsensical and wondered whether or not the others would be doing all of this or if they’d gotten a set of instructions when they’d gotten their congratulatory letters. He didn’t want to seem like a complete dolt but Lucius seemed sure that this was the way to get in, so Severus accepted it and tried to remember what Lucius told him. Guarentee
After the frank discussion about Severus’ future, Lucius started talking about the wedding once more and since Severus didn’t really know a thing about weddings, much less care, he started to tune it out as he plotted ways to escape. Lucius seemed to have gone on for hours when he finally realized Severus wasn’t really listening and suggested he go home and sleep to better prepare himself for the following week. Severus didn’t point out that he wasn’t really one for sleeping and that it was still six days away and would have plenty of time to rest up because he was grateful for an excuse to leave.
“One more thing, Severus,” Lucius said once he’d walked Severus to the front door. “I know you don’t particularly care about weddings but I was wondering if you might do me the honor and be my best man.”
“Why me?” Severus asked, puzzled by the proposition. “Don’t you have other friends who know more about that sort of thing?”
“Well, I do but I consider you to be one of my closest.” For the second time that day, Severus felt as though he were some how being manipulated into doing something he didn’t really want to do. While he was a far cry from being spineless, there was something about Lucius Malfoy that made it nearly impossible to tell him no. Perhaps it was his wealth and status that made him intimidating. Severus wasn’t sure. “Think about it for a few days and then let me know. I know it’s not until December but you’ll want a few weeks to prepare your speech for the reception.”
It was if it were an inevitability, like Severus really had no say which was probably more than likely the case. Nobody ever told Lucius no.
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The Imperfect Art of Sacrifice