FICLET: Unfortunate Truth (Lucius/Amos)
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rarepair_shortsTitle: Unfortunate Truth
Character Pairing: Lucius/Amos
Prompt: ink blots
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1077
Summary: Lucius pursed his lips and tapped the top of his silver cane. "I heard," he said, his eyes downcast, "about your son."
Author's Notes: Fic Thirteen of Table Three. And so the epic tale finally comes to a close.
Link to Prompt Table: http://briony-tallis.livejournal.com/57921.html
Amos opened the door, fully expecting to find a Ministry representative behind it, armed with false sorrow and empty promises. Or else a naïve neighbor, with a helpless gesture of sympathy and understanding. Who Amos absolutely did not expect was Lucius Malfoy. "Merlin," Amos gasped, pushing Lucius aside as he darted outside, desperate to conceal his visitor from his wife. "What in the name of magic are you doing here, Malfoy?"
Lucius pursed his lips and tapped the top of his silver cane. "I heard," he said, his eyes downcast, "about your son."
Such rage as Amos had never felt flared up within him, and before he knew himself he had pressed the tip of his wand to Lucius's throat. "Don't you dare speak of my son," Amos hissed.
Lucius did not move; he hardly blinked. He simply lifted his eyes to Amos and delicately raised an eyebrow. "I came to say that I was sorry. If I am not welcome, by all means, turn me away, Amos." He stared, ignoring the wand at his throat, as arrogant and proud as he had ever been. And, for the first time, it wasn't attractive.
Amos felt his veins pulsing with anger and sorrow, emotions white-hot and pure, so radically different from the grey fog he'd been living in for most of his life, so different from whatever happiness and pain had come before. "Malfoy doubletalk," he spat, pushing harder at Lucius's neck, his nerves straining with the effort not to cast a spell. "What are you really sorry for, Lucius? Did you watch as he did it? Did you laugh as You-Know-Who murdered my child?"
Lucius frowned and broke the moment, catching Amos's wand in his hand and thrusting it downward, away from his body. The movement brought him closer, and their eyes locked, bodies nearly touching, heat sizzling between them. Lucius glared, his eyes glittering in that old magical way. "I was there," he said, his voice pained and quiet in its ferocity. "But I did not laugh, Amos. I could never laugh at death."
Amos swallowed hard and pulled away from Lucius, from the heat. He took a deep breath and reluctantly pocketed his wand. His glare matched Lucius's. "And yet you were there," he said. "Why were you there?"
Lucius stared at him blankly. "You know why."
"I ought to have known," Amos replied, tearing his eyes away as he began to pace on the porch. "That boy, the Ravenclaw in the forest, was my warning. All those years, and yes, Lucius, I remember. I sat in the woods and watched you torture an innocent, and never did I guess that it would come back to me, after all this time. And now," and it started again, the crying, he'd been crying every other moment since it happened, since the body came out of the maze, "now it's not just some stranger from another house, it's my house, it's my boy. It's my Cedric, and you stand here and tell me you're sorry? What kind of a monster are you?"
Lucius touched his shoulder then, and he looked so sad and pitying, it was disgusting, how could a Malfoy be so beautiful, and such a good liar? But Amos was crying so hard that it was hard to be sane, hard to remember that he had left Lucius a long time before, and so he allowed Lucius to touch him, to hold him, as Amos cried hard into Lucius Malfoy's silken robes, the robes of a man who had witnessed Cedric's murder. But it didn't matter; it had always been so easy to separate Lucius the monster from Lucius the man.
"I never wanted any of this," Lucius said, weakly, nearly silent. "I was simply in the wrong family at the wrong time." He laughed ruefully. "Pathetic, what you have reduced me to, Amos. I missed you every day, you know."
"When he called, you went to him," Amos said in response, pulling away again, and hastily drying his tears with his sleeve. "You Apparated to his side."
Lucius hesitated, and nodded curtly. "I am bound to him now," he said. "The ink on my arm commands me."
Amos grabbed Lucius by the wrist and yanked the offending arm out, so that the mark would be revealed to both of them. It was darker than Amos had ever seen it, as a fresh burn into the flesh. He nearly expected to smell charred skin. "And what do you see, when you look at this ink blot?" Amos asked, shaking Lucius's arm in his anger. "Do you see the snake and the skull? Because all I see is the corpse of my son."
"I see it was a mistake to come here," Lucius said, yanking his arm back and arranging himself in the proper Malfoy pose, all straight-backed and looking down his nose at his lessers. "After all, our relationship has always meant nothing to you. I had allowed my own feelings to erase that unfortunate truth."
Amos swallowed his tears again and opened his door, shaking his head. "The only unfortunate truth," he said, "is your refusal to leave them for me."
Lucius narrowed his eyes and tapped his cane angrily upon the porch. "You left me for her," he said bitterly. "Where else was I to go?"
"So we left one another, then," Amos said, stepping over the threshold and into the house, where Georgiana was surely waiting for him to return. "Let it remain that way." He slammed the door behind him.
"Who was it?" Georgiana asked, coming over in her mourning gown, with the thin black veil obscuring her face.
"It was nobody," Amos replied, crying again, as he collapsed against his wife. It was better this way, he thought; it had always been better this way. Merlin, he missed Cedric; his son, with his easy smile, had always made him feel so much better.
"Oh, Amos," Georgiana sighed, holding her husband tightly to her chest. "Everything is going to be all right."
Out on the porch, Lucius hesitated, reaching for the door, before he swallowed his emotions and turned away, walking down the steps and out to the road, where he could Apparate back to his manor. It was better this way, he thought. He had allowed his feelings to war with his desire for power, and it had only ruined the lot of them. It was better this way.
Character Pairing: Lucius/Amos
Prompt: ink blots
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1077
Summary: Lucius pursed his lips and tapped the top of his silver cane. "I heard," he said, his eyes downcast, "about your son."
Author's Notes: Fic Thirteen of Table Three. And so the epic tale finally comes to a close.
Link to Prompt Table: http://briony-tallis.livejournal.com/57921.html
Amos opened the door, fully expecting to find a Ministry representative behind it, armed with false sorrow and empty promises. Or else a naïve neighbor, with a helpless gesture of sympathy and understanding. Who Amos absolutely did not expect was Lucius Malfoy. "Merlin," Amos gasped, pushing Lucius aside as he darted outside, desperate to conceal his visitor from his wife. "What in the name of magic are you doing here, Malfoy?"
Lucius pursed his lips and tapped the top of his silver cane. "I heard," he said, his eyes downcast, "about your son."
Such rage as Amos had never felt flared up within him, and before he knew himself he had pressed the tip of his wand to Lucius's throat. "Don't you dare speak of my son," Amos hissed.
Lucius did not move; he hardly blinked. He simply lifted his eyes to Amos and delicately raised an eyebrow. "I came to say that I was sorry. If I am not welcome, by all means, turn me away, Amos." He stared, ignoring the wand at his throat, as arrogant and proud as he had ever been. And, for the first time, it wasn't attractive.
Amos felt his veins pulsing with anger and sorrow, emotions white-hot and pure, so radically different from the grey fog he'd been living in for most of his life, so different from whatever happiness and pain had come before. "Malfoy doubletalk," he spat, pushing harder at Lucius's neck, his nerves straining with the effort not to cast a spell. "What are you really sorry for, Lucius? Did you watch as he did it? Did you laugh as You-Know-Who murdered my child?"
Lucius frowned and broke the moment, catching Amos's wand in his hand and thrusting it downward, away from his body. The movement brought him closer, and their eyes locked, bodies nearly touching, heat sizzling between them. Lucius glared, his eyes glittering in that old magical way. "I was there," he said, his voice pained and quiet in its ferocity. "But I did not laugh, Amos. I could never laugh at death."
Amos swallowed hard and pulled away from Lucius, from the heat. He took a deep breath and reluctantly pocketed his wand. His glare matched Lucius's. "And yet you were there," he said. "Why were you there?"
Lucius stared at him blankly. "You know why."
"I ought to have known," Amos replied, tearing his eyes away as he began to pace on the porch. "That boy, the Ravenclaw in the forest, was my warning. All those years, and yes, Lucius, I remember. I sat in the woods and watched you torture an innocent, and never did I guess that it would come back to me, after all this time. And now," and it started again, the crying, he'd been crying every other moment since it happened, since the body came out of the maze, "now it's not just some stranger from another house, it's my house, it's my boy. It's my Cedric, and you stand here and tell me you're sorry? What kind of a monster are you?"
Lucius touched his shoulder then, and he looked so sad and pitying, it was disgusting, how could a Malfoy be so beautiful, and such a good liar? But Amos was crying so hard that it was hard to be sane, hard to remember that he had left Lucius a long time before, and so he allowed Lucius to touch him, to hold him, as Amos cried hard into Lucius Malfoy's silken robes, the robes of a man who had witnessed Cedric's murder. But it didn't matter; it had always been so easy to separate Lucius the monster from Lucius the man.
"I never wanted any of this," Lucius said, weakly, nearly silent. "I was simply in the wrong family at the wrong time." He laughed ruefully. "Pathetic, what you have reduced me to, Amos. I missed you every day, you know."
"When he called, you went to him," Amos said in response, pulling away again, and hastily drying his tears with his sleeve. "You Apparated to his side."
Lucius hesitated, and nodded curtly. "I am bound to him now," he said. "The ink on my arm commands me."
Amos grabbed Lucius by the wrist and yanked the offending arm out, so that the mark would be revealed to both of them. It was darker than Amos had ever seen it, as a fresh burn into the flesh. He nearly expected to smell charred skin. "And what do you see, when you look at this ink blot?" Amos asked, shaking Lucius's arm in his anger. "Do you see the snake and the skull? Because all I see is the corpse of my son."
"I see it was a mistake to come here," Lucius said, yanking his arm back and arranging himself in the proper Malfoy pose, all straight-backed and looking down his nose at his lessers. "After all, our relationship has always meant nothing to you. I had allowed my own feelings to erase that unfortunate truth."
Amos swallowed his tears again and opened his door, shaking his head. "The only unfortunate truth," he said, "is your refusal to leave them for me."
Lucius narrowed his eyes and tapped his cane angrily upon the porch. "You left me for her," he said bitterly. "Where else was I to go?"
"So we left one another, then," Amos said, stepping over the threshold and into the house, where Georgiana was surely waiting for him to return. "Let it remain that way." He slammed the door behind him.
"Who was it?" Georgiana asked, coming over in her mourning gown, with the thin black veil obscuring her face.
"It was nobody," Amos replied, crying again, as he collapsed against his wife. It was better this way, he thought; it had always been better this way. Merlin, he missed Cedric; his son, with his easy smile, had always made him feel so much better.
"Oh, Amos," Georgiana sighed, holding her husband tightly to her chest. "Everything is going to be all right."
Out on the porch, Lucius hesitated, reaching for the door, before he swallowed his emotions and turned away, walking down the steps and out to the road, where he could Apparate back to his manor. It was better this way, he thought. He had allowed his feelings to war with his desire for power, and it had only ruined the lot of them. It was better this way.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-21 10:29 pm (UTC)I'm going to miss them!
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Date: 2011-03-22 03:05 am (UTC)And, you know, I wrote two different versions of this same scene, and the other one might have included some Cedric/Draco....and so you might see that posted in my journal eventually. *whistles innocently*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-14 06:42 am (UTC)Um. Anyway. Great work with these! XD
no subject
Date: 2012-01-14 05:56 pm (UTC)Haha, Lucius's valentine is definitely one of my favorite parts, it felt so good to get away from the angst a little bit, add some balance. Anyway, thank you so much for reading these!!