Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 103926 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off this dance in the realm of strangeness and smut

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Chapter 15

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. You're the best, woman, and thank you!

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Standing aside, Lucius was watching Crabbe and Wormtail being tortured by a very angry Dark Lord. From what he was gathering, the two of them had failed to come up with any kind of information at all on Potter when, in the morning, the Prophet was going to run a small blurb buried deep in its pages about Potter's broken wand being found. Finally, after all this time, they were going to mention that foul play might be suspected. It's that little bit of information that set the Dark Lord off. Conversations he was overhearing since turning up told him that the Dark Lord was furious that, first, he didn't hear about this information before the paper got wind of it and, second, if foul play was involved that one of his followers was probably the one that was behind it. As with so much anymore, it had sent him into a frothing rage that bespoke of pain in the future for many of his followers, be they guilty or not.

Keeping an eye on things as the room filled, Lucius' brow furrowed under his mask. It appeared that this was going to be a full meeting with every Death Eater out there summoned. If he was reading it right, Severus would be as well. Since school wasn't in session right now, he wouldn't have an excuse not to show. Severus, he was certain, was the only one allowed an excuse during the term because of the information he was able to pass along to the Dark Lord. However, as the term hadn't started, he wouldn't have that. Which meant he had to show or face extreme torture. With Potter in the house, he wasn't sure what his old friend would do if summoned. Nor was Lucius certain if Potter could be trusted to be left alone there. It wasn't something either of them had considered up to this point since full meetings were very rare. If information was needed or had to be ferreted out, the Dark Lord tended to summon everyone individually and question them that way, not in a full meeting where everyone could get a good glimpse at what he was doing. No, he was far too paranoid for that now.

Standing there, watching, keeping quiet as normal, he observed as more people trickled in and Nott came under the Dark Lord's scrutiny then be Crucio'd for failing at something or other. Looking at the masks of those that came in, he was trying to recognize who was where to see if Severus was among them. So far, though, he hadn't seen the man. And, if he was calculating it correctly, almost everyone was here other than a couple of them that normally took longer. Figuring that Severus hadn't been summoned if he wasn't there by now, Lucius started to relax slightly and began to pay attention to what was being said. By this point, the topic was well known; Potter. Though he wasn't hearing anything he didn't already know by this point, he still paid attention.

Finally, as the Dark Lord was starting to pace in front of his 'throne' with Nagini wrapped around his shoulders, hissing madly at Goyle, a couple more people trickled in. Eyes widening, Lucius saw Severus was one of them. Heart hammering in his chest, he didn't know what to think. Did he leave Potter alone? He was certain he had, of course. Honestly, there was nothing they could do with the boy if they were both gone except lock him in a room somewhere. That wouldn't aid the whole 'trust' issue at all if they had to do it. Stiff, he shut his eyes and hoped like hell that the boy was still there when he they got back nor had he done anything in the way of contacting someone for help. If that happened, he and Severus were in a world of shite, from not only the Dark Lord but the Ministry as well as the Order. One they might be able to work with, but all three? There was no chance.

Though trying to appear that he wasn't, he kept glancing in Severus' direction to see if the man couldn't give him some kind of clue as to what happened. Finally, their eyes met and Severus just gave a small shrug. That told Lucius that Potter was alone at the house. Oh hell, this wasn't good. However, he didn't have much time to ponder that because the Dark Lord hissed out his name, meaning he had to deal with the madman and hope like hell he wasn't going to be on the receiving end of a great deal of pain.

It was after dark, pressing well beyond supper time, when Lucius was finally able to Apparate home. Though the meeting had stretched out for hours, thankfully, he hadn't been on the receiving end of any pain. Plenty of others had suffered, of course, but he hadn't. Nor had Severus from what he had seen. The two of them, plus several others, were too valuable at getting information to go through that most times and would deliver so they never gave the madman a reason to do it. What the Dark Lord wanted from them was to find information. To that end, he was going to the Ministry the following day to see what he could find. Of course, he was going to give the Dark Lord what he came up with, but it was also assist them as well. On top of that, he was going to see what he could find out from a few contacts he had at the Prophet. That way he could get a leaning as to what everyone was thinking.

Looking down as his robes, he wrinkled his nose. The bottoms of them were splattered in blood. Of course it wasn't his, but that didn't mean he wanted it on him either. No, he was going to have to change. Just as he was heading out of the foyer, he realized the whole house was dead quiet. He could hear the house elves puttering softly, but that was all, nothing else. Freezing, his heart began to hammer harder. Though Potter was alone, he was sure that he would make some kind of noise. This wasn't good. Shaking his head, he hurried towards the stairs. The plan now was to get changed then find the boy, if he was still here. If not, to see if he could trace him or find the best way to protect himself and Severus.

Moving up the stairs at top speed, he was striding down the hall to his room, unbuttoning his robes as he did, panic starting to creep in, when he passed Potter's door. Hearing a familiar hissing conversation, he stopped. Taking a step in the door, he felt relief flood him when he saw Potter sitting there on the balcony at a table with Kaliya perched on a stool by him. It looked as though he was putting together one of the puzzles they had bought and talking quietly to the snake. The young man appeared to be in his pajamas, sitting there on the chair, crosslegged, not paying much attention to anything but the puzzle and talking to his companion. He doubted the boy had gone anywhere as relaxed as he appeared to be. Though it would remain to be seen if he had contacted anyone while they were away. Stepping into the room, he approached the doors to the balcony then cleared his throat. When Potter looked at him, he nodded, “All is well, Harry?”

Glancing down at the bottoms of Lucius' robes, Harry's eyes widened when he saw the blood then he asked, “Are you alright?”

Walking out onto the balcony, Lucius pulled a chair over by the young man and seated himself, sitting his mask on the table between the two of them but ensuring that it wasn’t on the puzzle. Waving a dismissive hand, he said, “It's not mine, thankfully. Someone was in a bad mood tonight.” That's all he said about the matter, not wanting to give details he was certain Harry didn't want to hear.

Nodding, Harry was relieved, “Good. No, all's fine on this end.” Leaning back in his chair, he picked up the mug of hot cocoa that had been sitting there and took a sip.

“You're still here,” Lucius said, softly, looking at the young man. No, he knew he shouldn't have blurted it out in such a way, but he was too relieved not to.

“I told Severus I would be,” Harry told him with a shrug. Holding up the mug, he asked, “Want some? The elves brought me out a whole carafe of it.”

Though hot cocoa usually wasn't his thing and some wine would steady his nerves better, Lucius nodded. “I believe that sounds good right now.”

Instantly, as though the elves heard them, another beaker appeared and Harry poured Lucius a cup from the ceramic container it was in then handed it over. Leaning back, sipping his own, Harry sighed contentedly. “Severus alright?” He finally asked, wondering about that since the snarky man hadn't shown up yet.

Sipping at the drink, Lucius then nodded and told him, “He's fine. The two of us remained unscathed. I do believe he should be back shortly.” Settling into his chair, trying to relax, he asked, “So, what did you do while we were gone?” It was an attempt to start a conversation, of course, but he also wanted to know to ensure that the boy hadn't contacted anyone.

“Nothing much, really,” Harry shrugged. “Kaliya and I stayed outside for quite a while. I was working on the puzzle and he was enjoying the fresh air, not to mention the grass.” Stopping, he gave a little bit of a sheepish grin then added, “I have to confess that you lost one of your peacocks to him.”

Arching a brow, Lucius looked at him and asked, “Oh? How so?”

“Well, one of the males apparently thought he could take Kaliya on and tried. It wasn't much of a battle, really. I did learn that Kaliya can shoot his venom like a spitting cobra, though! That was interesting to watch and impressive since he got some real distance with it,” Harry chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Tell him his birds are stupid,” Kaliya huffed. “I'm not about to let one of those puffed-up popinjays challenge me or risk getting hurt because they are ignorant!”

After hearing the translation of what the snake said, Lucius chuckled, a smirk on his face, “I assumed that something like this would come. It probably won't be the last confrontation either. As Kaliya said; they are stupid. Nor do I take issue with him for doing so. He was defending himself and I would expect no less of him.”

“Yeah, the bird must have gotten his feathers ruffled at Kaliya being there and just thought he could win then came charging. He didn't last long,” Harry told him, looking in his direction.

“They will eventually learn I am not to be messed with,” Kaliya interjected, rising up slightly, tongue flicking.

After hearing the translation, Lucius nodded, “They will. I will lose a few more before they do, though. I shan't say a word about it,” he said with a dismissive wave.

“We were wondering, since you mentioned there was one,” Harry said looking at Kaliya then back at Lucius, “where the swimming pool is. We thought taking a swim would be nice. Since I had no clue where it was and didn't want to wander around too much, we didn't. We did the next best thing, though; took a bath. As big as the tub is, it was like a swimming pool!” Harry grinned at that.

“Remind me tomorrow so I can show you where it and the Quidditch pitch are. You can visit those any time you like,” Lucius told him. “I take no issue with you wandering the grounds, Harry. Enjoy yourself.”

“That bathtub was alright and we stayed in there for at least an hour,” Harry admitted, chuckling. “Kaliya liked it, especially after one of the elves charmed a rubber duck so he could chase it around.”

“That was good. Yes, I did enjoy it. Hones the hunting skills, you know,” Kaliya told him.

“Admit it, it was fun,” Harry told the snake, grinning again.

“Well, yes, it was a most enjoyable pastime. I haven't had a chance to partake in a good chase in a long while. It was even better that the prey wasn't live and I had no chance of getting hurt,” Kaliya answered shamelessly.

After hearing the translation, Lucius smirked again, shaking his head, “At least the two of you enjoyed yourselves. After that?”

“Not much, really,” Harry shrugged. “The elves moved the puzzle out here for me and we've parked ourselves since then. I even ate supper out here. It's nice, there's a good breeze and it's comfortable. We've mostly been talking. Kaliya wanted to hear the whole history of...” Stopping, Harry frowned, trying to think how to say it since he knew saying the real name caused Lucius pain. Thinking of something, he continued, “Lord Lunatic. He's heard us talking about it and just wanted to understand.”

Amused by the name, Lucius nodded, “A good talk can make the time fly. And, yes, I can understand how he would be lost as to what we're talking about.” Glancing back in the room, he saw Hedwig's perch empty. “Your owl's out hunting?”

“Yeah, as soon as dark hits, she likes to go out,” Harry shrugged. Grinning a little, he said, lowering his voice, “I didn't call for help or rescue, Lucius. Nothing like that. If I wanted to be gone, I would have vanished the day we went into town. You both gave me ample opportunity to do that, like in the pet store.”

Looking at the young man, Lucius thought back to the trip in town. At first, he thought it was just one of those things someone said but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. Harry had plenty of times he could have wandered off. Hell, he hadn't even been paying attention to the young man in the pet store so he could have walked out and just vanished. Nodding slowly, Lucius said, “You're right. I'm sure you understand our nervousness on the topic, though.”

“It'll take time,” Harry shrugged. “I understand that.”

“If I may-- why didn't you?” On that topic, Lucius was curious. If it had been him, he would have been long gone.

“You've kept your word to me so far, so I see no reason not to let it continue.” Harry told him honestly. “Everything you've said so far, you've kept your word on. If you keep yours, I’m going to keep mine.”

Taking that in, Lucius nodded again. It was a step in the right direction. “We will keep doing so, Harry, I promise.”

“I figured,” Harry told him as he took a sip of his cocoa. Setting the mug down, his eyes lit on the mask and he couldn't pull them away. Though he had seen them before, it hadn't been up close so he was fascinated in a horrified way.

Glancing down at what seemed to be drawing the young man's attention, Lucius sighed when he saw the mask. Really, once he saw Potter was still here, he should have changed and put it up. With the history that was there, it probably wasn't something Harry wanted to see. Quietly, he said, hoping to stave off some kinds of 'bad' feelings about it, “You can examine it, if you wish. It's nothing more than a mask.” Perhaps, if Harry picked it up, it would help to excise some demons when it came to such matters.

Without thinking, Harry reached out and picked it up, holding it so he could take a closer look. Turning it over in his hands, he examined it then laid it down, shaking his head. “The things are still creepy.”

“Yes, they are,” Lucius conceded softly. “They are meant to inspire fear and do so. However, they are nothing more than a mask.”

Putting it down, Harry shoved it away and sighed. Not wanting to stay on that topic, as it tended to bring up bad memories, especially about the cemetery the year before, he changed topics, “Since you're here, Kaliya had some questions about the whole bond and Horcrux issue. Some of it I just don't understand so I told him I would ask you and Severus when you got home.”

Though it was a concept that was still hard to wrap his mind around, the bit with how intelligent the snake was and the questions he asked, Lucius nodded. “Let me go get changed and have the elves bring my dinner then I'll answer the best I can. Acceptable?” When he saw the young man nod, he got up and went to his room.

About forty-five minutes later, Severus finally appeared in the entryway. Unlike Lucius, his first thought was on Potter and what was going on with the boy. Summoning one of the house elves, he asked about Potter and Lucius.

Bowing to the man in black, the elf squeaked, “Master Lucius and Mr. Harry is up on Mr. Harry's balcony.”

Nodding, pleased that Potter was there, he then asked, “Did Potter leave at all when we were gone or send a message?”

Shaking his head, bat-like ears flapping slightly, the elf replied, “No, Mr. Severus. Mr. Harry didn't do nothing like that. Mr. Harry spent his time with his snakey.”

Relieved, Severus then told the elf to ready his supper and to take it to the balcony. Walking upstairs, he planned to change before joining the two.

Stepping into Potter's room after changing, he made his way out onto the balcony then seated himself by Lucius. Eyebrow arched, he looked at how Kaliya was wrapped around the elder Malfoy and seemingly examining his Dark Mark. “Do I want to know what's going on?”

Smirking, Lucius explained, “Kaliya is trying to get a feel for the bond from the Dark Mark and how it's similar to what's in Harry's scar. He can, apparently, sense it.”

“Understood,” Severus nodded, looking at the snake. Though it seemed odd, if the snake could sense something they couldn't, it might be an assist in some way. Looking at Harry, he asked, after taking a beaker of hot cocoa the young man offered, “Did you feel anything from either tonight? Anything at all?”

“No, nothing,” Harry said, startled slightly since he hadn't even thought about that all night. “I didn't feel it from either thing.”

“Good!” Severus said, nodding. “As angry as he was tonight, if you were going to feel something, you would have. That means the potions are working.” Looking at Lucius, he told him, “I'll brew up a batch for you tomorrow and you're done.”

“Very good,” Lucius nodded, pleased. “I'll go to the Ministry, of course, and the Prophet tomorrow, more for our information than the Dark Lords, but after that I'll vanish. It'll be a few days before he tries to summon me again. I won't answer this time.” Looking at Harry, he smirked, “It appears both of us will now be prisoners. So, tomorrow make up a list of anything you may want and I'll pick it up while out. There won't be any more forays into town unless Severus does so.”

“I don't need anything,” Harry told him distractedly, watching as Kaliya slithered back over into his lap. When the snakes head popped up into his face, a little higher than eye level, then the tongue was flicking out as though it were tasting his scar, he said, chuckling softly, “You know, that's a bit unnerving! Warn a guy before you do it.”

“Ah, sorry, Harry. I'm just trying to get a feel for something here, nothing more. No harm intended,” the snake said, distractedly.

Reaching out and stroking two fingers under the serpents chin, he told him, “I didn't figure you meant any harm, just not used to it yet.”

Lowering down and curling up in Harry's lap, the tip of what would be referred to as his tail twitching, Kaliya said, “Yes, I tend to forget such things when intent upon something. My apologies. However, can you ask Severus and Lucius a question for me? The piece of the being embedded in your scar-- if they can get it out of you, can they destroy it?”

Looking at the two men, he translated that then waited for an answer.

As the snake had been asking questions about the bond and the Horcrux, Lucius said, “Well, yes, if we had a way to remove it, we know how to destroy it. Basilisk venom or fiendfyre would do so nicely. The latter would be probably used as both Severus and I can wield such a thing, controlling it long enough to do the job needed. We just don't have a way to get it out or destroy it from within without harming Harry in the process.”

Taking that in, the snake thought it over then asked, “If what I know of magic when it comes to Wizards is correct, you can easily transfer things around or out of one vessel and into another container of sorts, yes?”

Translating that, Harry then answered, “Well, yes, I suppose. I think it depends on what it is though.”

Looking at Lucius, Severus then looked at the snake, brow furrowed. He knew enough about the species to understand that they were supposedly smart. Along with that, he knew they were very magical unto themselves in a way other creatures weren't. Being in temples in large groups, something most snakes didn't do, it was a legend that they passed much information on from one generation to the next. With what Harry said about Kaliya, and how he talked, Severus assumed there might be some knowledge about some topics he would have they might not as he had already proven that he was intelligent, very much so. Quietly, he answered, “We can, yes. It depends on what it is, obviously. Some things are easier than others.”

“Now, if that's the case, and if what I heard about Wizard Healers is correct when it comes to how they can do surgical procedures, wouldn't it be possible to transfer that bit from Harry's scar out by something like a process like a surgical means and transplant it in an object then destroy it?” The snake asked, lifting his upper body up so he could look at the two other men. “Now, keep in mind my knowledge of such things is rudimentary at best and what I may have learned on such topics was interrupted when I was taken away from my temple before I could be taught the wisdom all my elders had.”

Eyebrows going up, Lucius looked at Severus then back at the snake before glancing at Harry. “Transferring it out-- I-- We didn't even think of that.”

“No, we didn't,” Severus said, straightening up, trying to think. Drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair, the Potions Master said, tone distracted, “I'm sure there has to be some text out there that talks about transferring a Horcrux into another object in case it's in danger of being discovered. Nor do I think we even considered going in that direction.”

“We didn't,” Lucius said. “All we were looking at was destroying it.”

“Would there even be anything on it?” Harry asked. “I mean, I don't see a book out there called The Care and Maintenance of Your Horcruxes.”

Giving a snort at the name Harry imparted, Severus shook his head then said, tone distracted, “No, no such thing. I don't even think there is a book unto itself on Horcruxes.”

“However, there are plenty on Necromancy and a Horcrux falls in that,” Lucius said, nodding, looking at Severus. “We were looking at Dark Arts books, not Necromancy. It's a piece of a soul meant to revive you and keep you alive if you die. It would fall under that umbrella.”

“It would,” Severus nodded. “However, unless you have a library on such things, we'll be hard pressed to get one. Those books, even in stores that specialize in the darker aspects of magic, are hard to get one's hands on. Even among those that don't lift a brow at most would on such a topic then remember the being that bought them.”

“I believe we had some in the library both here and at Malfoy Manor. It's a limited selection, of course, but there are some. I would bet Grimmauld Place has some as well. Perhaps you could look there?”

“Yes, I will,” Severus said with a firm nod. “I was going to peruse the library on the topic anyway, I'll add this subject to the list as well.”

Looking back at the snake, Lucius said, “Kaliya, thank you. That was most helpful. Pick what you want to eat tonight as a treat.”

Thinking it over intently, the snake said, “Well, as I'm not all that hungry, something small, mayhaps? Perhaps something in the pork family that's extra fatty? It will help me gain weight and add some energy. Not a large portion mind, as I ate only yesterday.”

“Pork it is,” Lucius nodded with a smile after Harry translated. Reaching out, he stroked the snakes head.

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Shades of Grey