The unpopping of Lucius Malfoy ((closed RP: Snape & Narcissa))

[pure_tradition]

((Unpopping Lucius after the proper procedures. =) He doesn't remember his previous time at HH Hogwarts, and will be a very canon characterization. Closed because Lucius is in no state for socializing with strangers.))

It was past midnight, and a butter-sodden man was sitting hunched outside the popcorn room, eyes open, but unmoving and seemingly

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[methleigh]

Severus hurried along in the wake of the urgent elf. As soon as Narcissa had arrived at this strange and new Hogwarts he had requested to be notified the moment they came upon someone like Lucius. Or Draco. Or Abraxas for that matter. Malfoys, with family resemblance and that white hair of alabaster dreams. Oh, maybe the dreams had warped, but where one had entered the world, perhaps another would follow.

Now he hurried, his wand at the ready for a reassuring Turgeo. Even coming from Azkaban, the man would need to have his pride restored. Severus also bore a basket of potions. Merlin knew how deep the scars of the Dementors had sunk into the man's soul, rotting his perceptions. Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction featured prominently, along with Calming Draught, Bruise Pate, Murtlap Essence, Blood-Replenishing Potion, and Dittany. The basket also contained an instant perfect cup of tea, a slab of chocolate and a flask of scotch

[pure_tradition]

Lucius turned from the plaque as he sensed the figure approaching along the dim hall, the black robes which resolved themselves not into a dementor, but the familiar form of Severus Snape. There were few sights that could have been as reassuring at that moment as the sight of Snape standing there, looking perfectly alive and healthy (insofar as Snape ever looked healthy). Whenever his thoughts at Azkaban had drifted to those he was close to, they had been twisted, turned to his greatest fears. But, there appeared to be nothing wrong with this Snape, no contortions of what appeared to be a simple reality. Not that this was an easy reality to accept, not when Draco's name and a 'Gryffindor' label were glaring at him from the plaque, but, he found the spark of sudden hope the sight had kindled wasn't snuffed as quickly as it should have been at Azkaban. But where else but Azkaban would he find his son in Gryffindor? Unexpected release would be a fool's hope

((timeskip, w/ Snape's permission))

[not_so_stellar]

Ever the soul of tact (with fellow Slytherin adults, anyhow), Severus had brought the newly arrived and undoubtedly traumatized Lucius Malfoy back to the Snapely abode, then silently left that gentleman to the care of his wife. It was like Severus to allow the Malfoys their space -- and, it need not be doubted, their dignity. There might be precious little dignity left under the circumstances, and they would need solitude to recompose something like a public face

Re: ((timeskip, w/ Snape's permission))

[pure_tradition]

Severus had of course done his best to assist Lucius, and his administration of the proper Wizarding cures for dementor exposure had indeed done wonders for his immediate nerves. Lucius was no longer expecting to find himself back in Azkaban at any moment, which was an improvement. The scotch had possibly helped even more than the chocolate once the immediate effects of prolonged dementor influence were somewhat soothed, as perfect sobriety was not a state to face this strange new Hogwarts in. Not that Lucius was at all drunk, but after a year in Azkaban, a simple shot of scotch was a small world of comfort.

But nothing could have been so comforting at that moment as the sight of Narcissa, alive and well. Although Severus had told Lucius that Narcissa was there, and he had been aware that he was being taken to her, he couldn't fully believe it until he laid eyes on her, heard her voice, felt her touch. He was not sure that everything was all right, not when Draco was apparently a Gryffindor at this strangely corrupted Hogwarts, but

[not_so_stellar]

Draco was more important than any other responsibility or attachment. Narcissa placed her son even before her husband, and her husband before anything else. Narcissa felt sure that Lucius, too, would want to know of Draco's well-being first, and everything else could wait.

"I knew this, about Gryffindor, but it's all nonsense. It doesn't matter in the slightest what they call him. No one can touch him." Narcissa was positive of that much. For her sanity's sake, she'd made the unconscious choice to interpret Severus' explanations of popcorn in the most selective and benign light. "Draco is safe, closed away in 'popcorn'. It's a sorcery we never learned, and Severus assures me it has nothing to do with the Dark Lord nor his enemies. It's as though our darling boy were packed away in cotton wool, where nothing can get at him."

[pure_tradition]

Lucius in fact expected Narcissa to place Draco as her highest priority- it was the proper way of things. Their son was the future of the Malfoy family, in which Lucius centered many of his hopes for the future. A future which was becoming dubious at best- he was beginning to wonder if in fact the Dark Lord's approach was the best of plans. The overall ground gained was not, to his knowledge, on par with the difficulty it was creating for his family, or for himself. Azkaban had provided plenty of time for reflecting on this.

He listened carefully to Narcissa's explanation- this 'popcorn' was a magic he was unfamilar with, but he could sense that Narcissa felt confidence in it being a sort of ward for their son. And her judgement on the matter meant a great deal to him- he knew that if she were to have any doubts at all of Draco's safety, they would have been voiced. "When I saw our son's name on that plaque, I thought it just another mockery conjured by the dementors. I don't understand this nonsense that is Hogwarts but not our