Sunday Morning
Lucius t his friend's stare, noting to himself that the look was colder than usual, and he also saw signs of acute fatigue haunting the man's features, "Good morning Severus, I trust you are well?" he asked politely.
"I'm fine Lucius, just very busy. The old cat is making a lot of changes around the school," Severus replied.
"Indeed, Draco told in his letter. He even said you gave him a detention," he voiced.
"He was being disrespectful and rude, behaviour unfitting of a boy of his rank and station," Severus countered. "He was also rash enough to challenge in public, aning I could not overlook the offense even had I wanted to. He had to be punished," He nodded to this in understanding. "He also throws your na around like it's going out of fashion. For every minor offense, he says, 'Wait until my father hears about this,' or cos to expecting to act on his behalf... it grows tireso cleaning up Draco's many sses. Frankly, he's the laughingstock of Slytherin. It's only your considerable reputation and power and my interference that keeps him safe when my back is turned."
He considered his friend's words carefully, "You are right; his behaviour is simply unacceptable for soone of his status, I'll speak to him this sumr about his conduct. I bla his mother, she spoils and pampers him far too much," he replied.
"It's in a mother's very nature to spoil and pamper their children," Severus wisely observed, which he just nodded to in agreent.
"So what can I do for you? I'm awfully busy and don't have much ti to spare Lucius," Severus stated.
"How is the ongoing auror investigation going? Do you have any idea how Potter was killed? Do the aurors? Several of our friends are concerned about their own children's safety," Lucius probed, really just wanting to know if any hint of his own involvent had been discovered.
Severus considered the question for a good minute before providing him with an answer. "The aurors know how Potter was murdered, the goblets were switched due to the Valentine's Day celebrations, unfortunately, this ant that there were no detection charms on the replacent goblets or plates, allowing poison to be slipped into their cups. Two of the house elves responsible for the goblets were later found dead. They currently suspect Peter, but they don't know how he managed to infiltrate the school. They are currently questioning the dwarves that were wandering around the school, as well as Professor Lockhart, since it was his order to swap the cups. I believe, he'll be used as a scapegoat in the end," he rely nodded again in understanding.
"So the security breaches have been sealed then?" he asked, wanting to make the conversation seem as legitimate as possible, in case he was ever questioned about it later on."Yes, Lucius, they have, so you can tell our friends that their children are safe," Severus voiced.
"Indeed, they will be comforted to know that their children are safe... Any idea why young Longbottom lived when Heir Potter was killed?" He asked, fishing for more information.
"Neville was simply closer to the hospital wing. He received far quicker treatnt, while Potter was much further away, outside in the greenhouses during herbology," Severus answered plainly.
"So just luck then," he noted.
"Indeed. Luck seems to be one thing the Boy-Who-Lived seems to have no end of," the potion master replied.
"Well, I'll let you get back to your work. Co by the manor soti if you get a chance, we can talk properly over a drink," he offered, before breaking the floo connection.
...
( 12 Grimmauld Place - Sunday )
His lips curled in wicked amusent as he read his very own obituary in theSundaymorning edition of the Prophet; of how the beloved and rising magical prodigy, Harry Jas Potter, had been brutally poisoned before his ti within Hogwarts' unbreakable walls two days earlier. He had to admit, Rita had excelled wonderfully in her task, the article was truly heart wrenching, the public sure to respond with predictable outrage at the cri.
The skilled reporter even carefully showed the world just how easily more students could have been killed, if any other student had drunk from either his goblet or Neville's for instance. Highlighting the threat to their own children and their possible deaths as well, was a stroke of genius. Even if they didn't particularly care about his death, they most certainly cared about their own children dying.
Naturally, the vultures were already stirring, circling around him and his 'dead house,' like it was a rich, aty corpse just right for the taking, undefended, baking and festering in the brutal sun. Several of them had already discreetly made enquires to his account manager.
Thankfully he had had the foresight to inform his account manager of the plot beforehand, so Bloodmoon was well prepared to stall them with ti consuming procedures and social protocol. He couldn't wait for the greedy vultures to get close, to think that they were just about to get their hands on his prized house and titles, just for him to stir, like an angry tiger waking from a long nap, its sharpened claws ready to slash and tear at the first bird that tried to take a bite at his still breathing corpse. He would exact his own pound of flesh from them.
A shiver of excitent and bloodlust ran down his spine at the delicious thought, before his mind turned back to the interesting and highly informative spell book he was reading. The book contained a study on familiars bonds and how said bonds developed, ford, and evolved over the passage of ti.
He dutifully noted down the key facts as he read. After all, there was a deadly and ancient basilisk lurking beneath the school and he was a parselmouth, a snake speaker, a wizard whose magic could command and control such a deadly creature. In addition, he also had Slytherin blood in his veins, however diluted it might be, aning in many ways the Basilisk was rightfully an inheritance, of sorts, one that fell to him now.
Then there was the selfish fact that he'd rather be the one controlling such a dangerous, but extrely rare creature, rather than allowing another misguided fool to. He could see it already, soone like Neville taking control of the creature. But fortunately for him, the boy seed to have a fear of snakes, or at least a strong dislike for anything remotely snake related. Thankfully, he didn't have that problem, and to him, snakes were a logical choice for a guardian since he could simply talk to them, even if he couldn't gain the full allegiance of a basilisk.
He was actually in the process of locating soone who could get him a hydra, or hydra eggs as a backup plan, he didn't really care which as both had benefits and drawbacks.
A mature hydra could be of imdiate use to him and could be put towards guarding many of his interests. It could also be used to harvest from it so rather rare and high value potion ingredients to help defray the high maintenance and carrying costs of such a large magical creature. However using an adult hydra would make it far more difficult to gain its loyalty, especially after being in the wild so long and knowing freedom.
The opposite was true for a hatchling. He could easily gain its loyalty just by being its 'mother/father figure' from birth, leading to a much deeper bond. Unfortunately that would take a great deal of ti, and a one foot snake doesn't really make much of a guardian. It's not even all that scary, just a cute snake really, at least until it grows a couple of extra heads, and could breath clouds of toxic poisons.
...
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