Chapter 69: Honored Guest

Unknown Location, Wizarding World...

Wet and groggy is how Lucius Malfoy found himself after the little incident outside his office. The handsome albino blond wizard had not been particularly thrilled by having his luxurious blond locks dripping from what he could only describe as unclean water. His gray eyes had been red and watery after some of the foul liquid seeped into them. His white silk shirt had been drenched and the whole placed reeked of rot and dirt.

To say that the handsome grey eyed blond was uncomfortable had been an understatement. With his chest rising and falling from forced breath, Lucius took in a quick peek at his surroundings.

It was the most grotesque looking shack he had ever laid eyes upon.

"Hello Lucius." said one of his apparent captors.

The handsome blond smiled pleasantly despite his circumstances.

"Well...hello." he replied in a casual tone. "I must say it's been a while since I've found myself all tied up...then again with grandchildren it's quite a chore to bring out the old whips and chains."

"Still, every bit the insolent pig you always were." said the gruff tone of Thelonious.

"Ah Thelonious, still every bit the Neanderthal you have always been." said Lucius in a bored tone. "I do hope I haven't broken my bottle of wine...it took me three weeks to track down a decent bottle."

"Poor Malfoy." said Bart Jr. "So sad that you won't be making your fancy little dinner party."

"Barty." said Lucius as if he had been an old friend. "Hanging out with these old goats I'm surprised at you...clearly the hope that your father placed in you was misjudged completely."

Bart Jr. glared at him intensely.

"You will NOT speak of my father!" he growled. "Unworthy peasant."

Lucius sighed apparently bored of the conversation already.

"You three have only a few precious hours before your very violent and gruesome deaths and this is how you choose to spend them?" he asked.

Thelonious glared at him with all the hatred one could muster.

"The only one who's going to have a violent and gruesome death is you Malfoy." he said in a gruff tone. "For what you and that insolent half-breed did to The Dark Lord...you deserve nothing less..."

Lucius simply smiled warmly.

"I take that back." he said. "You all only have a couple of minutes."

All three of the death eaters laughed.

"He's all tied up and still making threats." said McNair with a smirk.

"I'm shaking in my boots." added Bart Jr.

"Get over yourself Malfoy." said Thelonious. "You were never real death eater material...it was only by some fluke that you managed to fool The Dark Lord but never me...I knew what you were the minute you walked into the first meeting...just another wayward pretty boy...it's a wonder they didn't place you in Gryffindor with all your showboating."

Lucius sighed once more.

"Now you have five minutes." he said still in a bored tone.

Again the three death eaters laughed.

"Can you believe this guy?" asked Bart Jr. "What nerve!"

Suddenly Bart Jr. found himself sailing cross the room.

Lucius still had the same bored expression on his face.

"What the hell?" asked McNair looking around.

He suddenly found himself plastered to a wall via a body bind.

"What the hell is happening?" he asked frantically struggling to free himself.

Lucius simply smirked as he watched the events unfold.

Thelonious focused his attention on the senior Malfoy.

"How are you doing this?" he asked.

"Oh come now Thelonious." said Lucius with that same smirk. "Don't tell me you've lost your backbone?"

The brute of a wizard glared at Lucius with malice in his eyes.

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Malfoy Manor, Wizarding World...

Hermione had not been in the best of moods when Draco lugged both her and Austin through the floo and back to his parents Manor. She tried to repeatedly gouge the poor junior Malfoy's eyes out. She had not understood why Draco had been acting under Severus' orders, but whatever it had been seemed to be a very big deal if he saw fit to bring Austin along.

"What's going on Draco?" asked Hermione narrowing her eyes at him.

"Take it easy Hermione." said Draco as if he had been unaffected by her earlier antics.

"Why are we here and where is Severus?" asked Hermione already thinking about adding to the list of the many times she punched Draco Malfoy in the face.

"Calm down Hermione." said Draco trying his hand at diplomacy. "Uncle went to find my father...we think he was kidnapped by the newly escaped death eaters we've been hearing about on the news."

The bushy haired witch had been stunned.

"I-I'm sorry." she said suddenly feeling bad about wanting to cause the junior Malfoy physical harm with his father missing.

"D-Don't worry about." said Draco. "Uncle Severus will find him...and they'll both be back here before we know it."

Hermione nodded unsure if it was more to reassure herself about Severus or Draco about Lucius. She had been a little relieved when Draco flashed a weak smile her way.

She sighed realizing that Severus must believe Lucius to be in real danger if he was taking precautions like this.

"Come on Granger." said Draco. "Mother's made tea...I'm sure you could use a cup."

Hermione followed the young albino blond into toward the sitting room. Where ever Severus was she hoped that he was safe and that he and Lucius would get back to Malfoy Manor soon.

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Unknown Location, Wizarding World...

Without warning Thelonious found himself being cast across the room by a powerful gust of magic. Lucius Malfoy's restraints were released and he got to his feet. He had been a little disoriented from the spell that had knocked him out cold to begin with but like a true Slytherin, he didn't let it show.

"You took your sweet time." he grumbled. "Do you have any idea of how much this shirt costs?"

Severus Snape appeared from the shadows with a stoic expression on his pale face.

"About as much as your wine I take it." he replied.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at him.

"You know this could have all been over in five minutes." he said annoyed.

"True but seeing you squirm has always been one of my favorite pass times."

"Sod off Severus." said Lucius still very much annoyed.

The incensed Albino blond raised the wand Snape had tossed him and started casting hexes at the various bound death eaters. Their screams of pain had been all that could be heard in addition to his delighted laughter.

"It seems your plan worked." said Snape in a bored tone of his own.

"Yes, how fortunate for us we are dealing with a rather predictable lot." said Lucius glaring at the other death eaters.

"Indeed." replied Snape.

"Pay attention boys...this is why we were considered The Dark Lord's elite and you were mere foot soldiers." taunted Lucius.

He kicked the downed Thelonious with the heel of his boot.

Snape sighed bored out of his mind with the scene before him.

"If you wanted to take the lead Lucius all you had to do was ask." he said.

Lucius had been in the middle of stomping Thelonious with his high priced boots. He never forgot the taunting the death eater often displayed when he had been sent to Azkaban and fell out of the dark lord's favor. Narcissa told him once that the bastard had tried to attack her while they had all been staying in his house. She was only safe in large part due to her deranged sister and Severus.

The handsome blond wizard had become so enraged that he promptly murdered Thelonious with a series of brutal spells. Snape said nothing as he watched Lucius get some much needed closure. He turned his own attention to McNair. The images of the bastard hurting Hermione came flooding back and he too felt his rage intensify his magic.

Before Snape could cast the spell to end McNair's feeble existence, Lucius had already beaten him to it. When it came to Bart jr. Lucius had showed some leniency. He simply bound the boy and made his way out of the shack without a word. Snape followed him equally without a word. The Potions Professor recalled what life had been like for Narcissa Malfoy with that brute Thelonious running a muck in her house. It was one of the few times that he had been glad that Bellatrix was her older sister.

Had she not been there. Things could have gone from bad to worse for the Malfoy family.

"Home." said Severus meeting Lucius' gray eyes.

"Home." he replied almost tone-less. "By the way Severus, did you bring my wine?"

Snape rolled his eyes and pulled the bottle from his coat pocket. Lucius' eyes lit up at the sight of it.

"Can't have dinner without the wine." he said. "It took me months to track this beauty down."

Snape ignored him as best he could.

The two men apparated away not giving what occurred there a second thought.