Lucius. I'm assuming you interrupted my rest for something important. Your Floo allowance for the week extends to an hour, I suggest you be quick about it and tell me what it is you want."
There had been a time when such a scathing remark would have earned Snape a sneer from Lucius that might have withered the petals off a daisy. But those days were past. Past but not forgotten, apparently, judging from the ill concealed hatred sparking in Lucius' eyes.
Lucius Malfoy, in his present form, was an angry hurricane contained within an airtight, iron box. The wizard that had once inspired such fear and awe was slowly, surely diminishing. Fate and consequence had seen him stripped of his wand, and his will. And without both, Lucius had been reduced to merely a name.
Snape might have found Lucius's fate amusing, deserved even, but their histories were too closely entwined for him to assume a position of moral superiority.
Particularly if some histories left permanent marks.
Lucius' handsome head had rose slightly, and he seemed to struggle with whatever it was he was about to say next. Snape was immediately intrigued. The elder Malfoy was rarely unsure, even when he was obviously wrong. It was part of what made him such a potent personality. Not everyone was capable of such steadfast, albeit misplaced conviction.
And only Lucius could make glaring wrongness look so good.
"Draco," said Lucius, simply.
"I see," Snape intoned, his voice deceivingly languorous. "I'm afraid you' re going to have to be more specific."
Lucius responded by raising his hand and touched one long finger to his ear. The message was clear. This was a conversation meant for Snape's ears only. The request ought to have been impossible to grant, considering that Lucius ' s Floo communications were monitored. Regardless, there were ways to guarantee privacy. It would require a report to Dumbledore in the morning, but that was one of the perks of being a double agent- the professional liberties.
Snape brought his wand forth and cast the required incantation.
"Did he tell you he came to see me over the weekend?" Lucius continued, sounding more purposeful now.
Snape nodded, looking resigned. "Your son only informed me of his trip home upon his return. The brat's absence had caused some concern among several of his housemates, who had come banging down my door, convinced that your son had gotten drunk during his graduation celebrations and fallen into a yet undiscovered castle bolthole."
"I forget how tall he is now."
Lucius actually sounded wistful, which was also not something one witnessed very regularly. Snape knew Lucius well enough to know what the ever-so-slight slur in his voice meant. Definitely an evening for the Pensieve, Snape mused. He pinched his brow.
"I' d appreciate it if you said what you have to say and be done with it. I' m not in the habit of conversing with convicted, inebriated Death Eaters at ungodly hours of the day. Not good for the reputation, you realise."
Lucius eyes sparked cold fire. "You're a bastard."
Faced with Lucius' intense displeasure, Snape was ashamed to feel a sharp stab of pleasurable recognition. His expression remained cool, however. "Takes one to know one."
"We have a situation which might require your assistance," Lucius curtly informed, sounding annoyed now. "Draco is in trouble."
Snape snorted. "When is the bothersome fruit of your loins not in trouble?" He took a sip from his cup as he sank into a cracked leather armchair. The chair had once belonged to Dumbledore and was about eighty years past its prime.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "The kind of trouble only Emmanuel Borgin can assist with, you great, overbearing git."
This garnered Snape's complete and deadly attention. He set his mug down sharply and stood up. The look on his face would have had his first year students cowering behind their cauldrons.
"Lucius, what in Merlin's name have you done?"
Lucius look affronted. "It's not what I've done."
"Then what has my cursed godson got himself into that he requires Borgin's questionable assistance?"
For some reason, the question prompted an amused look from Lucius. "Hermione Granger, apparently..."
Snape blinked. "Come again?"
"They're married! The pair of them undertook Fida Mia over the weekend. Draco brought the girl home to inform me of the news. Suffice to say I might have handled the situation better." Lucius sighed. He studied the worn carpet in front of Snape's fireplace.
Lucius was correct. They did have a minor catastrophe on their hands. "The little fools" Snape seethed. "Of all the idiotic notions!"
He mentally summoned the strength not to