Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

If This Is How You Treat Your Heroes...	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Lucius Views: 96986 -:- Recommendations : 12 -:- Currently Reading : 15
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no form of profit off this story

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter 16

Beta'd by the most wonderful, amazing and stupendous Tenchi. Woman, you are the best and love you for all you do for me!

Holed up in a corner of the library by himself, Draco was actually hiding. Right now, he was avoiding those from his own house, something he rarely did, so he had time to think. Glancing at that morning's copy of the Seer, he shook his head, not sure what to believe. Some of the things that were said in the paper were bouncing around in his head, as was the conversation with his father. Now, well, he didn't know how to react. Rather than speculate on how true some of it was the way some others were, he was focused on what was said as his father made it clear they were true, that he had been there when the interview was given. Shutting his eyes, lowering his head, he didn't know what to think. Some things, like his first encounter with Potter, now made sense. Making fun of Weasley's clothes when Potter had been in hand-me-downs hadn't been the right foot to get off on. Not to mention a lot of the shite that had gone since then. Now he was feeling sick.
Rubbing his eyes, not sure what to do, he tried to sort through the mess from that day's paper and the one from the day before, wondering how bad it was going to get from here on out. It also raised questions of just what was really going on here and how it was going to affect him in the future. If things were as his father said, and Potter was being helped by his family, he was going to have to deal with him. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that, honestly. There was so much crap there, from both ends, that he didn't know how he would manage. From the sound of it, he was going to have to figure it out.
Hearing someone pass close, he looked up, wary, then relaxed when he saw one of the Ravenclaw seventh years pass by, nose buried in a book. Slumping in his chair, he gave a soft sigh, shaking his head. This was a right mess. Part of the problem here was that he didn't have enough information on just what was going on to determine anything. He didn't have a way of getting it either, from the sound of it. Most of it would have to wait until he got home on break. Then he was sure that everyone would fill him in. Though, honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know some of it and how he would handle what he did learn. It was bound to be big and something that would blindside him, at least that's what he thought from some of what he could figure out from the talk with his father.
Hearing some voices a couple aisles away, he focused on that unconsciously. That was normal and the way he came up with some of the information he did. Head coming up, paying attention, his brow furrowed slightly at what he heard. Identifying the voices as one of the Patil twins and that idiot Brown, his gut clenched at what he was hearing. They were talking about something McGonagall told their house that morning; that Aurors would be at the school the following day to talk to all the students about some of the incidents mentioned. Oh, he didn't like that, not at all! Some of what he knew and had been involved in, like that damned squad, were things that could get him in a great deal of trouble!
Fishing around on the table in front of him, he grabbed a quill and parchment then quickly penned a letter to his father. Because this was outgoing, he could talk fairly freely about some things and his father would get it. Right now, he needed advice, that's for damned sure.
Finishing up, he grabbed his things and made his way to the owlery. Though he didn't have an owl of his own, he knew who had the fastest and planned to use that one. This would be in his father's hands in a few hours and, hopefully, he would get something back to him quickly so that he knew how to protect himself from some of what might be coming!

Rubbing a trembling hand over his face, Fudge shifted around uncomfortably in his chair. This was bad! If what was going on in Britain right now wasn't bad enough, this—oh, it was a nightmare! Looking at the French Liaison, Arnaud Leferve, who was pacing in front of his desk, furious, pelting all of them standing there with a blistering verbal attack, he didn't know what to say or do. One glance around at the others standing in his office made him want to cringe. Rufus and Amelia were looking furious and were sending glances in his direction that he didn't like. Other department heads were looking like they flat out wanted to hide. Lucius Malfoy was there as the liaison for the economic development part of the Ministry and was shooting him glares he didn't like either, telling him the man was irate at what he was hearing. This was bad, very bad. If the mess going on wasn't enough of a nightmare, this was about to make it worse.
Finishing what he had to say, Arnaud stopped and stood in front of the Minister's desk, face a mottled shade of red, ire easily readable. Quickly, he passed out copies of the proposed economic sanctions Minster Jacques was going to introduce to the parliament the following morning. Sneering, he said, “As it's become readily apparent to us in France that the British Ministry is inept and worthless, we are going to do whatever is in our power to protect Mr. Potter and reveal just how badly run this government is. You are fumbling so badly that the memories of sexual assaults on an underage boy are being allowed to be passed around to those that have no reason in the world to see them! This is appalling! The French DMLE sent you those memories in good faith in accordance with a treaty between our countries, one that expressly states that such things will be protected from prying eyes to the best of your ability. You can't even do that! That makes France look as inept as you! We will not stand for this! No, our Minister is going to take steps to ensure our citizens know we take this seriously and will do all within our power to protect those in our country from your fumbling. This is madness!” Stopping, breathing heavily, he looked around then added, tone icy, “Mr. Potter will probably be granted the citizenship he asked for in the session tomorrow. You will then be dealing with the outrage of France over the mess because a French citizen is involved. Our Minister gave him his word he would be protected and that those memories wouldn't be out there for just anyone to see. I don't think I need to tell you how outraged our Minister is at being made to look inept.”
“Now, Mr. Leferve,” Fudge sputtered, trying to soothe him, “we'll handle this from our end. There is no need to take extreme measures. I will personally see that those that had no reason to copy or view those memories are properly dealt with. After all, the British take what is going on very seriously. I will personally tend to this. Minister Jacques has my assurance on that!”
“Assurances from the man who just two days ago gave the Prophet a statement that Mr. Potter wasn't to be believed? The same one that has been slandering the young man for almost two years now and is using his powers, not to mention the press, to take after a teenage boy? I don't think Minister Jacques is going to take comfort in that. I think he will see it as just another of your foibles, Minister Fudge. Something to make you sound good and bolster your reputation. No, that is not good enough!” Arnaud told him bluntly. “Our Minister watched those memories, he knows what's contained in them. The outrage he is feeling can't be expressed with mere words. However, he can ensure Britain feels the sting over its governments refusal to do its job. That he fully plans to do.” Stopping, head held high, he said, “Minister Jacques expects a full apology for this debacle and one to also be delivered to Mr. Potter. It won't undo the damage or stop what is coming, but it will be a step in the right direction. I would suggest that you not only pen such a thing and send it to both, but do so publicly in a paper that isn't the Prophet. I would also suggest that someone that isn't a complete blundering fool step in here and put a stop to this, then do something about those that had no right to copy or view those memories! If something, somewhere isn't done, you can expect less cooperation from France than you are currently getting on a great many other matters.” Stopping, he then produced an official parchment from the Minster, “As I'm here, I was asked to deliver this, personally. Just so you know, Sirius Black was granted asylum in France this morning and will probably be given citizenship as well.” Dropping the official notice, he looking around then hissed, “Good day,” before sweeping out.
Looking at the now shut door, Fudge shook his head then asked, not looking at any of the people in the room, “Now what do we do?”
“I would suggest you start penning an apology,” Madam Bones told him in a cold voice. “He has every right to be upset, as does the French Minister. This was a failure on our end, in a big way. I take responsibility for those under me and will be penning one myself. Rufus and I will find out how these people got their hands on the memories then prosecute.” She was feeling sick at what she had just heard, and outraged it had happened in a department she oversaw. No, it would be stopped and there would be charges leveled, not to mention people losing their jobs over this. Then there was the Black debacle. If France granted him asylum as well, this was going to look bad to everyone and point to the fact that the man was probably innocent. Another huge failure they didn't need right now. No, this wasn't good.
Not liking that, Fudge looked down at his desk, shaking his head. Without looking up, he asked Lucius, “How badly would those sanctions hurt us?”
“It won't be a crippling blow, obviously, but it's going to sting, badly,” Lucius told him in a hard, even voice, glaring as he did. Though he was blindsided by what just happened, and what France planned to do, he was grinning internally. Tom would love this and it would only help them. He may suffer some minor financial losses, personally, but he was diversified enough that he would be fine. “Already there are economic problems, as you're well aware. This won't aid those at all. However, I can easily say that having sanctions leveled at us from France over something of this nature won't help our reputation in the least. We can, of course, appeal them to the International Confederation and they will probably be lifted. The damage by the time they do that will already be done. Foreign investors will be leery of dealing with us now and wondering if they should. After all, if we can't handle a situation like this without a huge blow up, they are going to be curious if they will be protected or if something similar will happen to them. We won't even go into the damage to the tourism trade over this. Of everything, that's going to take the worst blow. If those sanctions go into effect, France is going to limit access here to its populace. As they are so close, that will do a great deal of damage. Not to mention our own people going there. No, that won't be good.”
Sighing heavily, Fudge said, “Is there any way to protest or stop them from doing it? Some kind of diplomacy to get them to back off before the Minster takes it to parliament?”
“We can file a formal protest with them,” Romulus Redwick, the head of the foreign relations department, said. “I don't fancy our chances with that, though. As angry as they are, it's not going to work. In this case, they hold all the cards. They have given asylum to not only Mr. Potter but Lord Black and are protecting them. The fact that those two had to go to France to get help because our government was not only not doing the right thing, but persecuting them is not going to help anything. Then there is the fact that you, yourself, have taken after Mr. Potter in the press. I doubt anything we try will work to stop it. However, I'll send someone to France today to see if they can't get a feel for something that might stave this off. At least we can get an idea of what they want from us while trying to prove on our end that we will handle the situation.”
“Do that,” Fudge said firmly with a nod. Leaning back, he rubbed his eyes then sighed. “Everyone needs to get to work on this. Madam Bones and Rufus, handle the leaks and lock them down then prosecute. Do what you have to do. Everyone else, do what you can.” Stopping, he looked at Lucius and said, “Lucius, stay for a moment, if you would.”
Watching everyone else file out, Lucius glared at Fudge, waiting. He knew this was coming at some point, but hadn't fully formulated how to work with it yet. As it was, he wanted to hex the man into something unrecognizable. However, he stayed his hand and waited.
Looking at Lucius, Fudge said, “I need some advice on how to handle this whole situation. Nothing we're doing is working and the ramifications are not pretty, as you've just seen. Is there anything you can see that will help?”
“No. You've made your bed and it's now time to lie in it,” Lucius told him coldly, eyes flashing in a dangerous way. “I've been warning you for the past two years to back off Mr. Potter and to stop what you're doing. You've ignored me. You forget, Minister Fudge, that I have a son in that school. I'm well aware what's been going on there and that, though you didn't have personal knowledge of some of it, Dolores Umbridge was there at your orders being told to do what she wanted. Now the chickens have returned to the roost. I'm on the Board of Governors. We were briefed as to just what happened there. Though your hand was not directly in it, it was on the back of the person's who was. It's you the public and others will be coming for because she answered to you. The day this hit the papers, the Prophet printed a statement from you saying not to believe the young man. There is nothing anyone can do to help you, Minister Fudge. I am definitely not willing to stand by you and have muck slung in my direction by people that would perceive that as being in line with you. No, you will get no help from me.” And, damn, didn't that feel good when it came out! Standing there, Lucius smirked, lifting his chin. Tone of disdain firmly in place, he said, “The only thing I can see that will aid the situation is your resignation. Now, I have other matters to attend to as this will cause an even bigger nightmare than before. Good day, Mr. Minister.” With that, Lucius swept out, closing the door, hard, behind him.
Looking at the closed door, Fudge pulled out a hanky and wiped his now sweaty brow. Oh, that was bad. Lucius—the man leaving him was about as bad of a sign as there could be. Now that meant he had to find someone else that might be able to help do damage control. Shaking his head, he sent for Percy. Maybe, just maybe, between the two of them they could come up with something.

Pacing in her office, Amelia told Rufus, who was looking as angry as she was, “This has to end! No more! First the original madness, now our own department is looking just as bad as Fudge! I will not stand for this!” Stopping, she looked at Rufus then said, “Get five of your highest ranking, most trusted Aurors and bring them here. We are going to set them onto investigating this part. There will be prosecutions over this, I guarantee it. Then I'm going to the Oversight office and have them come in and investigate the leaks and see what needs done to shore this up. While they work, we'll worry about the other matters dropped onto us. Dumbledore alone is going to take the bulk of my time as it's so involved! You handle the rest the best you can. I need to deal with Fudge, but that will take a backseat to this mess. If news of these sanctions hit, he may not be in office long anyway. That can only help and make the job easier.”
Reading through the list of who viewed or copied the memories, Rufus nodded. Tone distracted, he said, “I'll handle it. The only good thing I see here is there aren't many. That will make it easier. However, I'm taking Moody. He knows better. And the man is going to feel my wrath over it as well.”
“Good! With all his years as an Auror, the fact that he is on that list is infuriating. I want these people made an example of. I do not like feeling like I can't do my job right. No, this will end. I don't care what you and I have to do.” Amelia told him firmly after sitting down.
“There are a couple retired Aurors I would like to call back. They are out more for health reasons than anything else. They can come in and aid in a way we need.” Rufus told her, sitting the list aside.
“Whatever you need. Just so they are trustworthy. We don't need to be blindsided once more,” she told the man.
“I'll ensure it,” Rufus said, standing. Nodding to her, he then left to tend to what was needed.

Staring down at her desk, Amelia shook her head then scowled. Oh, it was time to really bear down and make some people pay for what they had done! And she fully planned to do that.

Watching Padfoot, Harry was actually really laughing for the first time since the night he left the castle. Wrapped in a warm coat with warming charms on him, he was standing on the Quidditch pitch at his house in the falling snow with Remus and Sirius. Padfoot was chasing a charmed ball all over the place, barking his head off, obviously having fun. Right now, Narcissa and the others were sorting through his mail. He had given her a list of those he would accept mail from, but didn't want to read them right now. There was also a list of those he wouldn't. The rest they were going to burn, especially since some of them could be dangerous or contain things they shouldn't. At this point, he just didn't want to deal with any of it or see what was there, so they had come outside. The big dog obviously needed some exercise so they came over here.
Laughing harder as Padfoot dropped the ball then bounced around it in circles, barking at it, before the ball took off once more with the dog right after it, he shook his head.
Grinning, Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “Alright, I admit it, Lucius did good with him. He's great!”
“He is,” Harry chuckled. “I like him.”
Standing by Harry, hands tucked in his coat, Remus watched the dog, smiling softly. Looking at the young man, he asked, “Are you doing alright, Harry? We haven’t had much time alone to talk since arriving.”
Looking at the ground, Harry sighed and shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess. I hate this, obviously, and didn't want it to come to something like it, but I accept it. It was the best out we had for me, so I took it. It's just—tough right now. That's the only way I can describe it. More the situation and what happened than anything else. I like the fact that I'm out and I won't be pulled into all kinds of crap anymore, but the reason for it is bad.”
“Understandable,” Remus said with a nod. “I just wish—well, we had done more. I mean—well, I mean I'm sorry. We should have stepped in sooner.”
“There was nothing you or Sirius could have done.” Harry told him, looking in his direction. “Dumbledore was going to make sure of that. He's got something, somewhere cooked up for this and wants it to go according to plan. Nothing anyone tried was going to derail that. There were plenty that could have done something, but didn't. Them—I'm not real happy with them right now, honestly. Nor with many others either. You two, though—we're good. There was nothing you could do because Dumbledore held the cards.”
Looking down at the ground, Sirius sighed and shook his head, “I know that realistically, but it doesn't mean there isn't some guilt there. I think, as this plays out, we're going to find out just what is going on. There is something big here, though I don't know what, that's going to come out. It's going to be interesting to find out what it is. I agree though, he's cooking up something and we won't like it.” Stopping, he shook his head, “I'm sorry as well. Like Remus, I think there is something I should have done.”
“You both were in a place you couldn't, I understand that. You did what you could with what you were working with. That's fine with me. I had others that were watching my back for me,” Harry told him softly. “Between all of you, I was good until Umbridge and Fudge over the last couple years. Well, there is the other but I didn't remember that,” Harry sighed, shaking his head.
Slipping an arm around Harry's waist and pulling him close, Sirius said, “Yeah, Lucius had your back, didn't he? You did good there. That was a bit blindsiding, I admit it, but it was the right thing. The same with Tom and Cissy. At least you had someone that could do more than we could.” Stopping, he chuckled, “The image of you and Lucius as a couple is still slightly mind warping, to be honest.”
“You'll get used to it,” Harry said with a bit of a grin. “He's--” stopping, he wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. Looking down, he thought it over then said, quietly, “He's not what everyone thinks he is. He's great actually. Spoils me rotten and takes good care of me.” Then, softly, he added, “I adore him. He treats me wonderfully and makes me feel like the most special person in the world.”
“As long as it works, you'll hear nothing from us,” Remus told the young man, smiling. “And, with what we've seen so far of you and him, I agree with Tom; he's so wrapped around your little finger he can barely breathe!”
“He is,” Sirius grinned, shaking his head. Ruffling Harry's tousled hair, he joked, “You worked some kind of strange magic there, Harry. You're going to have to teach me what it is. Gonna have to try that on the French birds to see what I can get. With me being free, the female population of France needs to be on the lookout!”
Laughing, Harry said, “Never thought of that and they do! No magic, just—we were friends and it evolved. Nothing more than that.”
“And those are some of the best relationships in the world,” Remus schooled softly, smiling more. “They have a better chance of succeeding than any other.”
Nodding, Harry said nothing, just smiled.
“Narcissa brought over some books so you can learn French. I think, with you living here, it's a good idea. I know some, but this will be better,” Remus told him, changing the subject.
“I do too and they will be interesting words. You just can't use them in mixed company is all,” Sirius grinned.
Grinning himself, Harry shook his head. “Yeah, learning French is a good idea. I can use translating spells until I do, but I need to.”
“We all do,” Remus told him softly. “We're here for the foreseeable future, so I think it is something that we need to do.”
Crouching down as the dog bounded back over to them with the ball in his mouth, Harry took it away and petted Padfoot. After a couple minutes, he tossed the ball again and watched the dog take off after it with a happy bark then stood up. Leaning against Sirius, he sighed softly. Though the circumstances weren't the best and what he was dealing with was horrible, he thought, maybe, that this was the start of something great. After all, he had people around him now that cared about him and wouldn't defer to Dumbledore. That was a major improvement. It was just going to take time.
While watching Padfoot chase the ball around, he began to ask about how his studies would be different and what was needed with that. Though it was starting to snow more heavily and the wind was picking up, he liked it out here and wanted to stay a while.
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If This Is How You Treat Your Heroes...