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

Comments

((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

[not_so_stellar]

The very mention of dementors blanched her already pale face, and made her squeeze her husband's hands a bit tighter, as much to reassure herself of his reality as to reassure him of hers. "It's simply strange, that's all. If Severus can navigate it, we certainly can." Severus, after all, was a half-breed. (Never mind that Narcissa herself had been all but hiding out in Severus' rooms ever since her own unpopcorning, and that she relied on him to do the actual dirty work of interfacing with the school

[pure_tradition]

For the time, Lucius was content to accept Narcissa's explanation that the magic affecting this Hogwarts that wasn't their Hogwarts was 'simply strange'. His unexpected displacement combined with everything else was enough to attempt to understand already, and the nature of the wierd magic at play could wait until another day. It would take Lucius some time to realize that he wasn't likely to go to sleep and wake up back in Azkaban, even if he was beginning to accept his surroundings real. No hallucination could replicate his wife's touch in such a way, a touch he'd been longing for all his long months in prison, and, couldn't even think about while under the dementor's influence, lest the thoughts be twisted into his fears.

The news that Gellert Grindelwald had recently been at Hogwarts was both remarkable and somewhat unsettling, as, Lucius' admiration for the man was unquestionable. But to the best of his knowledge, Grindelwald was still firmly imprisoned, and his infamy in the wizarding world was such that if he had escaped, it

[not_so_stellar]

Even a faint smile, even a reassurance grounded less in certainty than in caution, were to Narcissa a benediction -- no, an absolution. She had believed herself genuinely remiss in failing to confront the disorder of this present Hogwarts. It was the duty of the pureblood class to set an example by action; she should have shown her face, and demonstrated proper deportment, and made it clear to the rabble that wizarding Britain still had its backbone, whatever foolishness Dumbledore might have allowed

[pure_tradition]

Lucius would agree that it would indeed be their duty to attempt to set an example for whatever strange corruption had befallen Hogwarts, but in light of its oddness, he never for a moment thought that Narcissa had failed in her lack of confronting it. Although it was possible that Gellert Grindelwald was present, the only sure family ally that Narcissa had spoken of was Snape. Once Lucius became more settled in, and realized that a return to Azkaban was not immanent, it was certain that he would desire to confront and sort out the situation afflicting the school. But until then, it was time to be grateful for those things that he did have, a quiet moment with his wife he thought he'd never share again

[not_so_stellar]

"The house elves have maintained the manor, and I have directed that some personal effects be removed -- very discreetly; I did not wish to return there myself." Which said a good deal about Narcissa's assessment of her family's standing in the Dark Lord's favor during Lucius' imprisonment. She loved and cherished Malfoy Manor, her dear husband's ancestral home and her son's birthright, a place whose custodianship she felt to be a grave personal responsibility. That she not only avoided the place but feared to be seen there -- who could have foreseen she would ever have cause

[pure_tradition]

Lucius nodded sadly, but appreciatively- he too realized that returning to the manor might prove incredibly unwise, and unfortunately, not due to the Ministry. They'd have dug through it as soon as they could after his arrest, and, he was already certain that his wife would have dealt with most of their questionable possessions before this could occur. No, it was the Dark Lord who was the danger, and he knew it as well as his wife did. "I would not have wished you to return there yourself, not when you are here, and safe." Or so he hoped- there was no proof that the strange magic effecting Hogwarts was any sort of real security against the Dark Lord, but, if Narcissa had discovered any sign of his interest, he was sure that she would have mentioned it.

When the house-elf drew his serpent-headed cane from the closet, Lucius felt a renewed surge of hope and relief. He still had his wife, his wand, and, his son, even if the latter was apparently in an enchanted state. It was a safe enchanted state. There remained a chance that

[not_so_stellar]

She had thought she was hiding; only now she knew she had really been waiting, all these months, now that he was here and she realized he was what she'd been waiting for.

A very significant measure of her distress, all through Draco's disturbing sixth year at Hogwarts, could be traced to this source: without Lucius to light her path and lend her strength, Narcissa never could feel completely sure of the course she took. She might have spent that year muffled in the safe silence of the Manor, were it not for her son's plight. Severus' help had been something of a comfort, but for heaven's sake, she had needed to force the man to an Unbreakable Vow to have any real measure of peace. One could never be completely certain of Snape's loyalties, no matter what assurances of faith Narcissa flung in the face of Bellatrix's disbelief.

Lucius' apology -- I am sorry that you had to, it all should have gone very differently -- she knew for what it was. Of course everything should have gone differently. Of course Lucius was not at fault

[pure_tradition]

Lucius would have insisted that there was a distinct difference between hiding, and, taking the necessary time to understand one's position and situation before taking the necessary action. The former he'd never have even thought to accuse Narcissa of, and, he intended to do his fair share of the latter as well. At least, he intended to when he'd had time to properly readjust to his surroundings- he was still not ready to strike out and investigate this new Hogwarts, now while the chill of Azkaban still lingered in his bones. He was drained both mentally and physically, and the only truly appealing concepts were the company of his wife, and sleep. Ideally dreamless sleep. There was no sound slumber at Azkaban.

It was the contrast between Azkaban and an atmosphere not permeated by the influence of the dementors that likely served to calm Lucius somewhat. If it were not for the soul-rending variety of horror present at Azkaban, the horror of a different Hogwarts would have set in much more quickly. Established places like Hogwarts didn