his palms in a gesture of placation. "Of course not, I wouldn't dream of thinking it was."
"We're not friends," Draco reminded, in much the same manner as Hermione had done five years ago under the foyer stairs at Hogwarts.
Even so, they continued drinking their mulled wine in what could only be described as a rather companiable silence.
**
Tuesday afternoon
If she'd been the fainting sort, Ginny Weasley thought she might have fainted from shock (for it'd been a mighty shock indeed).
But the idea of swooning in the immediate vicinity of Lucius Malfoy was unthinkable. She didn't want to make whatever he was planning to do any easier.
The fact that they were on the lingerie floor of Harrods Department Store in London no doubt added to the sheer absurdity of it all.
One moment she'd been eyeing a rather sensibly priced sports bra, the next minute he had virtually popped out from behind a mannequin wearing a black silk and lace nightie.
That was to say, the mannequin was wearing the nightie, not Lucius.
And just because Lavender was probably going to ask anyway, Ginny noted that Lucius was wearing beige cotton trousers and a grey fisherman's jumper.
Lucius Malfoy in chinos and a jumper. Good Lord. Now she had really seen it all. She couldn't recall seeing him in anything less than three layers of beautifully matched clothing.
And leather, in one form or another.
So he was alive after all and certainly he looked well enough. Thinner than what she remembered, but then so was Draco. She guessed being on the run tended to do that to you. His silver hair was short now and he was sporting a neatly clipped beard that had darker grey streaks through it.
She forgot how much the bounty on his head was now. Something astronomical, no doubt. She'd be able to set mum and dad up for life with money like that.
Everyone who hadn' t been convinced that both Lucius and Draco were still alive, had been convinced that they were in hiding together. Draco had claimed to have no knowledge of his father's whereabouts after Snape had freed the elder Malfoy from house arrest.
Ginny wasn't sure she believed him, but Harry did and that was usually good enough. Lucius Malfoy's height alone would have made him stand out in a crowd, but as was the case with Draco, Lucius carried himself with an innate sense of entitlement. It must have been a challenge for someone like him to attempt inconspicuousness for a change.
Fugitive or not, he moved like the world owed him a living. The Muggles in his path, women mostly, parted and then they stared.
Ginny felt like slapping the lot of them in the back of the head. Lucius was a foul, extremely dangerous, escaped convicted murderer and he was also the reason Severus Snape was spending the rest of his life in prison.
There was also the whole trying to indirectly dispose of her via Tom Riddle's diary 'thing' in her second year.
One could hardly forget that could they?
"Miss Weasley," he said and if by some miracle she hadn' t already recognized him, his voice would have done the trick. For a moment, she was twelve again, holding a cauldron full of books at Flourish and Blotts. Loathing and acute fear bubbled up inside her.
Her wand was already poised inside her long sleeve. "Come any closer, you murdering bastard and I'll vaporize you."
He had the audacity to look completely unconcerned. "I am not here to harm you."
She had to tilt her head all the way back to be able to look him in the eye. If he was going try something stupid, she' d be damned if it was going to happen while she stared at his shoes.
"You wouldn't survive it if you tried," Ginny promised.
One corner of his mouth lifted, nearly imperceptibly. He regarded her with amusement. "It is good that Severus has you, at least, after everyone else has left him."
Even Muggles could sense the tense confrontation between them. People were staring warily. She walked around him so that she was standing in the aisle-way and not hidden behind merchandise.
"You've got guts coming back to the UK, Malfoy. I assume you're here to see your son?"
Lucius was well aware of the curious stares they were receiving. He gave her a small smile and held out his arm. "Perhaps we should walk?"
Ginny smiled back with acidic sweetness. "Perhaps you should come back with me to the Ministry and turn yourself in?"
He ignored that. "I have something to