Fool's Chance

Lucius blinked in surprise at Harry's explanation. How horrible- to have never known your real parents. Lucius had never known his mother, as she had died not long after childbirth. Never knowing what she was like was hard enough, but at least he had his father. Which was not saying much. He swallowed his food, washing it down with pumpkin juice. "I'm sorry Harry." He murmured quietly to him.

"Me too." Lily murmured back. "I'd bet they'd be proud of you though. You seemed to have turned out well." She gave him a slight smile, turning her attention back on the newer members of the club. She nodded politely at them, making a mental note to talk to them all later. Lily talked to anyone, no matter what. That included Lucius, as if Severus liked him, then there had to be some kind of reason. It took him forever to warm up to Lily, but when he did she was pleasantly surprised at his wit and charm.

"Oh, Evans- Severus sends a message to you. That he... appreciates what you did for him earlier and that he hopes you both can study soon. ...Please tell me that 'study' means something far more entertaining than what it pertains to."

"It means 'studying' Malfoy." She said turning pink. "What are you implying?"

He simply arched an eyebrow, which made her turn more pink.

"Ah... well..." She squirmed slightly. "Sometimes we do sneak off to collect ingredients from the forest for potions- But don't tell him I told you!"

"Collecting... ingredients..." Lucius made a face- clearly he'd have to have word with Severus about the fine art of making the first move. "Kids today Harry, what is this world coming to when people are actually studying instead of "studying"."

"It's alright. It's no big deal. I figure I'll have the opportunity to do something big someday to make them proud. It hasn't happened yet but I'm working on it." In the worst, most uncomfortable way possible...

Harry almost scowled at Lucius' idea of anyone, especially Snape, "studying" with his mom made him mad enough to hex folks. "I think I'll refrain from teaching Lily anything. Call me silly, but I have this sorta big brother feeling about her now."

Harry continued the rest of his meal in silence watching Horace faun over the other students. He hoped this wouldn't last too much longer. He was getting sleepy and with a 4am wake up call, sleep couldn't come soon enough.

"Hey!" Lily blushed, but she couldn't help but laugh. This was ridiculous after all. "Guys! Come on. You're embarrassing me!"

"Oh Harry, I suppose you're right- however you'd do well to lighten up. Evans is like the red headed little sister I never had or knew I wanted. ...Yet Severus, I like him too. He has potential. If he snogged you, I'd be torn between nodding in approval or punching him in the face." The expression on his face was one few ever saw- Lucius Malfoy was joking around. "But I'd doubt it would hurt if I did, father says I have the wrists of a woman. I bet that bracelet of yours would look far more womanly on me, Evans."

Lily giggled further and shook her head. "You're a git, Malfoy. But at least you're funny in your own self depreciating way."

"Verily." He drawled and looked at the large clock. "Hrm. Harry- I'd think we'd do well to leave. We have to be up early."

"Aww." Lily frowned a little. "But you must be tired, Harry. Good luck on your first day of classes! I won't see you much, probably not until dinner. Here- take this." She pulled out a small smooth green stone and handed it to him. "I found it on my first day here, and it's given me luck. I hope it gives you luck too."

Harry smiled, taking the stone into his hand closing his fingers around the smooth stone. "Thank you Lily. I'll take good care of it. I promise." He was tempted to hug her but he didn't want to come off as creepy. Feeling considerably better- more than likely thanks to his mother- he slid out of his chair and like Lucius, went around bidding everyone goodnight.

"Goodnight Lucius! Goodnight Harry! Come again now! Don't be a stranger! Lucius, you make sure he comes back you hear?- Oh wait! I almost forgot." Horace waved his wand and a goodie bag filled to the brim with his favorite candies appeared. "Sorry Harry. If I'd have known Lucius was bringing a date, I'd have made another but I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing."

Harry blinked. Date?!? DATE?!? He was no date. Way to kill the mood Horace... Harry smiled, eyes twitching at the corners before he followed Lucius out of the room. He yawned, forgetting all about Horace for the moment as he thought about flying tomorrow morning. Flying on a broom would be the only thing connecting him with his old life as everything else had been erased. Already he was starting to miss it, except when he was around his mom or listening to tales about her from Lucius. Harry was daydreaming, but he managed to following alongside Lucius due to his eyes being unable to keep from staring at the platinum blonde hair that stayed perfectly in place no matter what.

"Goodnight professor! I promise I will. Or will try my best to. Thanks for the candy!" Lucius did enjoy his chocolate after all. He didn't even bat an eye when Horace said Harry was a his date, as he technically was. "Well, that went well, don't you think? I'm glad you came, and I sure Evans is too. She likes you. But Evans likes everyone, including me. Funny world, hm? Chocolate?" He popped a chocolate into his mouth offering some to Harry, all the while enjoying the taste as they walked back to the dungeons.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning. I'm sure you'll be easier to work with than the Mundunguses. They're very confusing, and I don't know which is which, let alone know what both their names are." He rolled his eyes and then frowned, reaching back to touch his hair when he noticed Harry staring at it. "...What? Is there something in my hair?" He ran a hand over it to check it out. He didn't feel anything.

James and Sirius were waiting beneath the invisibility cloak for Lily to come out, but no such luck when Lucius and Harry came out. They both made kisses faces at each other obnoxiously. They decided to follow, catching Lucius's comment about there being something in his hair. They exchanged glances again, and soon enough, a decent sized spider was quickly levitated on top of the blonde Slytherin's head.

Harry blinked. Staring? He had been staring? But then, as if a gift from the wizarding Gods could sense his despair, a big hairy spider landed onto the platinum blonde hair. Harry's eyes went wide, not out of fright but out of sheer- well he didn't quite know. He slowly pulled out his wand. Spider like that? They didn't exist at Hogwarts until Hagid. Therefore he smelled shenanigans. "Lucius...for the love of all things Slytherin, do not touch your head. In fact, just...stay still." Harry pointed his wand right at the spider which was now inching closer to Lucius' face.

"...What?" He hissed out and stood rigid, frozen in place out of fear. In standing still like a statue, he felt eight legs roaming over his head rather lazily. "...A...Ah.... There's... Oh Harry... It feels rather large and... hairy, Harry."

James and Sirius were trying so hard not to laugh, but one of them let out a snicker at the sight of a frozen Malfoy- hopefully Harry had excellent aim. James held out his wand, whispering near silently a spell to tie Harry's shoe laces together.

Lucius let his grey eyes roam upward, watching as the spider started down his forehead. He stopped speaking looking out of the corner of his eye at Harry, swallowing hard and praying that he was a good shot.

The thing about this moment with Harry and Lucius is that Harry was no stranger to shenanigans. Granted he, Ron and Hermione usually had a good reason- life or death- for engaging in a few but he knew better. He dropped his wand for a moment, not necessarily, purposefully, prolonging his agony yet he wasn't in a hurry to get rid of Lucius' discomfort, at least not until he got to the source of this spider. He could have sworn he heard a noise and maybe it was his paranoid, Lord Voldemort syndrome playing with his head, but it was that instinct that kept him alive every year for the last six. He wasn't about to throw it away now. He took a step forward and felt himself losing balance. Before he knew it he was falling face forward towards Lucius. "Waaaaaaaaa!"

Harry lost his balance completely falling on top of Lucius, the spider falling and ending up on the floor. Harry groaned and that's when he felt the spider crawling up his leg. He didn't hate spiders but he definitely didn't like the feeling of eight hairy legs feeling on his. "Waaaa spider!" Harry shook his leg, trembling and wiggling on Lucius trying to get the spider off. He finally managed to kick it off before scrambling to his feet and falling over again. "Alright. That's IT!" he shouted. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Wands flew seemingly out of an invisible wall straight into the air. "Accio wands!" The wands flew right at Harry and he caught them, holding them smugly. Now he knew. An invisibility cloak was in effect and now he knew who the culprits were. Thing is he still loved his dad too much to give them away. He was stumped. No doubt Lucius would want the wands for his own gloating pleasure when the culprits had to come claim said wands tomorrow. Either way it looked like his dad was screwed. He thought long and hard for a moment before handing Lucius the wands. "I think some kids are out of bed- probably hiding around here somewhere behind a wall. I hear this place is full of secrets but I'm too tired to sniff them out. Let's just go to bed and you can get them tomorrow after practice."

This would work out better because he finally realized that if Lucius were to obtain the invisibility cloak then that might royally fuck up his future. It was too risky and he hoped for James' sake, he was done with games for the night. There would be no more saving him.

Lucius's eyes widened as he saw Harry coming flying toward him. Before he knew it he was on the ground, with Harry on top of him- the spider... currently missing in action. He saw stars flash in front of his eyes, blurring out some of his vision. "By Merlin! What is going on?!" He said hollowly- or at least that is what he assumed he sounded like in his own head doing to the pounding behind his ears.

He heard Harry casting a spell, and that's when it dawned on him. They were on the ground, the mysterious boy from Durmstrang was on top of him. How scandalous! He froze, blinking and then swallowing hard. Harry smelled good- wait, he was smelling Harry? ...He couldn't help it, he told himself. They were so close. He stared up at his eyes, taking them in, and just how green they were. They really were like Lily's.

Soon enough Harry was off of him and he could think again. He sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Wands...? Oh. Oh right. Damn kids and their pranks." He said though only half heartedly. Once his vision cleared completely he eyed the wands in Harry's hand. "Oh I know those wands. I'd know them anywhere I've confiscated them so many times for similar pranks I'd recognize them as much as I would my own. Potter! Black! Present yourselves! I know you're both here."

James and Sirius inwardly cursed, making their way back to a little corridor to make it look like thats where they were originally hiding. James stashed the cloak in an inconspicuous location before they both came out, looking sheepish.

"Begging your forgiveness, mum. Spare the soap and the rod for affection?" Sirius asked and put on his best smile while James tried not to gag.

Lucius looked unimpressed. "You've both earned yourselves detention."

"You're cruel, mum." Sirius pouted.

James sighed. "How long this time, Malfoy? A month? A year? Till we turn twenty-three?"

"...Just a night. I'm... feeling merciful." If it wasn't for those two idiots he wouldn't have had that moment he just had with Harry. "Harry, you may give them their wands back."

Harry wasn't sure what was up with Lucius, but even he knew that sneaking out of bed after hours attacking prefects was worth more than a night's detention. Hell Snape had given him weeks for merely hiccuping and disarming a student who was about to hex him first. But he did not questions it. Maybe fortune was still on the side of his two fathers for now.

He handed them back their wands, grinning a little but just as quickly going back to his rather indifferent expression so as to not seem too over joyed by their actions. He was not condoning this type of behavior and yet he was considering who they were targeting. "Lucky guys. You should probably get to bed before your luck runs out," he said to them thinking of his own mischief he'd need to get into in due time.

Harry glanced over at Lucius. "I'm sure we don't need to follow them right? Four am is coming quickly and heads haven't even hit the pillows yet. Oh and sorry about tackling you. Completely accidental," he said pointing to his shoe laces. He waved his wand lacing his shoes properly then looked around for the spider but it was gone. "Guess I did all that falling for nothing. Oh well. Maybe it won't turn out to be a killer."

James and Sirius exchanged looks, and carefully took their wands back. Lucius Malfoy- being merciful? Oh, this was clearly something out of the ordinary for the upperclassman, and it all must have something to do with Harry Vernon. They both muttered a thank you and dashed off down the corridor, nabbing the cloak from it's hiding spot.

-

"I should hope not..." Lucius slowly got up to his feet. "Oh four am, yes- how could I have forgotten- my head is killing me. What an interesting way to end the evening." He looked around for the spider but didn't see it. "So long as it doesn't bite me, I think I'll live with it lurking around." He started walking back to the dungeons, cheeks slightly pink.

"I...I figured they may have hexed you with something too. They're troublemakers, tried, true, and guilty." he made a face. "People champion their actions but they're no reason for that at all. Honestly, attacking upperclassmen. Having people tackle each other to the ground- of all the things." He sighed wistfully, not looking that upset at all. Once they reached the Slytherin common room, Lucius pointed out where the dorms were and where Harry could find his bed. "Well Harry... I'll see you soon. It's been... an interesting day. Goodnight."

-

Once the four marauders were up in bed, James was the first to speak. "Malfoy likes that new kid, Vernon. Did ya see the way his eyes popped out of their sockets when Vernon landed on him? Thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Saved our necks, right Pads?"

"Right." Sirius grumbled. "Don't see what's so special about Vernon for Malfoy to like but to each his scruffy looking lanky limbed own." He muttered thinking back to Harry. Really- Malfoy having a crush on someone like that? It seemed damn well tragic.

"Oh come off it Padfoot. You're too young for Malfoy." Peter tossed a pillow over at Sirius. "I hexed his broom- should go into effect for the big game. ...Maybe if we get those two together, Malfoy'd lighten up, and so would the detentions."

"You three can play match maker all you want- but... We're 12. What do we know about romance- Sirius, those stories in the Playwizard magazines you hide under the mattress don't count." Remus shook his head.

"But... but some of them can happen, Moony!"

Remus just shook his head.

Harry said goodbye to Lucius before making his way to his room. Apparently future Dumbledore thought it best that he had his own room because all four beds were empty. He wasn't going to complain since none of his friends were around, but if he had to stay here for a while then it would eventually get lonely and he hated lonely. His fifth year at Hogwarts was something he would rather not repeat in his sixth year. Those were the loneliest times for him.

As Harry peeled off his clothes, he remembered that the shirt belonged to Lucius. The material was something he had not worn before, not even for the Yule Ball during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This was...something probably unnecessarily lavish he himself had no use for, but even so he would not mess it up out of spite. He wasn't Lucius' biggest fan, but it didn't take him long to realize that young Lucius was hardly death eater material. Seemed like he was a bigger baby than Draco, and that was saying a lot.

As Harry crawled into bed, the thought occurred to him that Lucius blushed earlier. Or maybe it was all in his head but he was sure Lucius turned a light shade of pink when they were walking just now. Harry took off his glasses setting them on the table beside him. It was too late to wonder whether or not Lucius was preying on little kids. Of course it wouldn't surprise him considering the incident with Ginny. Harry closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Lucius woke up the next morning just a hair before 4 am. It gave him enough time to get in a quick shower, freshen up, and head outside for the field. No one else was out this early, and for whatever reason it made him more tired- thinking about how people were in their comfy beds and here he was waiting for Harry in the chilly fall morning.

He leaned against his broom- far from the sleek models on the market that he would one day by the whole Slytherin quidditch team. His father was damned against spoiling Lucius with things like racing brooms, especially considering the heir to the Malfoy name might not be good at this. So he had a normal racing broom just like everyone else.

He yawned and brushed his braid back, having the foresight to keep it braided to prevent it from getting too messy. "Damn father and his damn position- damn Harry for 4 am training time and damn 4 am in.... *yawn* general." Hopefully once they were up in the air, he'd wake up a bit more.

Harry woke up the next morning right around 3:45. He wasn't thrilled at all about getting up and it wasn't even his team playing Quidditch so to say he was in a foul mood was an understatement. However he had to play nice and do this, but unfortunately for Lucius he would not be divulging all of his secrets. Draco would not be beating him in a Quidditch match ever so there was no way he would tell secrets that daddy could pass on. Instead he'd show him the basics then watch as he struggled to beat his dad. It would be amusing to watch.

Harry slipped on one of his red sweaters. He distorted the Gryffindor emblem because he honestly had nothing else warm to wear. A trip to Hogsmead wouldn't come soon enough. Jeans, sneakers and his Firebolt--

Harry paused, facepalming and groaning. There were no Firebolts in this time period and if he showed up with some super speeding broom everyone would ask questions. He doubted wizarding technology was that close to something super considering he didn't get the Firebolt until the middle of his third year. Harry magicked the broom back into his trunk and grumbling loudly he hurried to the Qudditch field, stopping only to grab an old broom out of the broom closet.

He walked out onto the field, face numbing a bit from the cool air. Immediately he cracked a smiled knowing that once he was in the air, it would only be worse. The cool air would cut across his face like daggers but he wouldn't care. Freedom! He felt like he was home again. He hoisted a leg over the broom and kicked off. The broom sputtered then slowly began lifting him into the air. This was not the start he had in mind. He wanted his firebolt. He made a face as he circled the field a few times then touched bak down, finally spotting Lucius who looked like he'd dozed off a bit. "Sorry," he called out. "Didn't see you standing there."

Lucius looked up when he saw Harry zooming around through the air. It was a sight to behold- Harry was an amazing flyer and he wasn't even doing anything worthy of praise- oh yes, this was going to be good.

"Good morning, Harry- and it's fine. You're quite good, I can tell. Hopefully I won't annoy you with my mediocre skills as you are doing me a favor for this." He swung his leg over the broom, an old Nimbus 500, and flew up into the air. He bristled at the cool air rippling across his face, waking up rather quickly. "What would you like to do, Harry? A few warm up flying drills?"

Lucius flushed when they landed. "I never really learned to fly beyond the basics. My father is an excellent flyer, of which he told me every day. I never wanted to try because I knew he'd just remind me of everything I was doing wrong." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Every time he grabbed his broom all he could hear was the voice of Abraxas criticizing every last movement he made. It was fairly intimidating.

"Sit further back? Alright." He nodded and took a deep breath doing as he asked. Harry was going to ride with him? Suddenly all thoughts of Abraxas were gone, replaced with ones of Harry, the marvelous boy from Durmstrang. Once Harry was behind him fully he kicked off the ground and they were up in the air, he felt oddly more at ease- however, his hands gripping the neck of the broom were still shaking. He swallowed a little.

"What next Harry?"

"I don't fancy dying so young, Harry Vernon even though I'd leave a beautiful corpse- so you shouldn't worry. With you here I feel oddly more confident." He said and adjusted himself on the broom, determined to not kill either one of them. He took off, slow at first- these brooms weren't built for speed like the modern brooms of Harry's day- but they were steady- and as was Lucius's flying.

With something to concentrate on other than his father, failing his father, or hitting another tree- oh yes, it was far easier to fly now. His confidence was growing, his fear waning. During the course of his flight he determined that he liked Harry's arms around him. "You fell three hundred feet! Harry, that's incredible! What happened? Rogue bludger? Slick broom? Hex?" He asked as he grew more bold in his flight, picking up speed he had no problem handling.

"You know, this is rather enjoyable with you here- though I'm not certain how you may feel. I don't feel nearly as incapable as I normally do and I haven't hit a single tree! Really Harry, you are a miracle worker. I do need to repay you some how for your help, I'm excellent in potions and that happens to be many students worst subject. If it is one of yours, I'd be happy to lend you a hand in it."

"Right... Well... You know, a lot of us do that to protect ourselves. Slytherins aren't the type to be open about emotion you know. It's hard for us, because so many of us don't have that confidence that Gryffindors usually have so we manufacture something close because so many people automatically assume the worst about us once we're in Slytherin. I suppose that would relate to us walking around with sticks up our own asses. ...I hope you don't think too poorly of me, Harry."

He started to weave in and out of the towers that would be full of people from all the houses, flying close to the ground before pulling up. "Ugh! Skelegrow! Oh Harry that's horrid!" He made a gagging noise. "I've only ever heard stories, you know. It happened to my father once, during a match with Gryffindor. It was him and Charles Potter- equally matched. Legend has it that father and Charles Potter picked up their moves as seekers from watching old news reels of muggle pilots from the Great War. The called my father the Baron of Slytherin, and Potter the Ace. I don't know if that's true or not, but regardless- on that day father did a suicide fall, bringing Potter in with him, both of them racing toward the ground in a game of chicken! However-- neither pulled up and they crashed. Spent days in the hospital regrowing their bones. ...I highly doubt James Potter at age 12 and myself a novice flyer at 16 will be doing any highly technical suicide dives tomorrow." He made a face at the thought.

"Trust me Harry, I'll be concentrating on trying to get the game over as soon as possible. I don't want to prolong anything and let my flaws shine through like a beacon. ...Well, I stand by what I say. I like your company, Harry. You're a decent fellow. You barely know me, yet you're helping me. I appreciate it- even if we don't win tomorrow, I'll still appreciate it." He brought them down for a smooth landing. "There. Well. I didn't kill either one of us, I suppose that counts as a resounding success, hmm?"

"Hate your guts hm? I'm sorry to hear that Harry. I don't know how someone could hate your guys, but sometimes I think my father feels like I'm a curse. M'not good enough for him. But you're right. It's far easier to think of positive things than to think of him. You helped me realize that Harry. I've never flown like that before." He put his broom back as well, gathering his school bag with a yawn.

"Mmph. 4 AM. I'm glad this endeavor is a one time deal. You should take the position for Volwell while he's out. I'd feel better if it was you, especially after hearing all of your stories. You have to be quite the seeker." He said as they made their way back to the great hall.

"You've tried Occlumency...? That's remarkably difficult. Not many witches and wizards can do it." He yawned himself and glanced to Harry, noting the look on his face. "...Don't look so glum. Not everyone is good at everything." He said with a slight smile and added in a joking way "Not even Slytherins." He patted his shoulder before heading to the Slytherin table to get breakfast.

-

James and the rest of the Marauders eyed the Slytherin table carefully. "You know... this could be harder than I thought. What if Vernon's not... you know. I know Malfoy is, what with the hair ribbons in all."

"What if Malfoy's not his type?" Remus added in. "We could drive a wedge between them and that's not good for anyone."

"Malfoy's a pretty git. If you can get past the mouth, you're fine." Sirius added.

"Malfoy's been hanging around with Vernon a lot, so... he must be able to somewhat. This can still work." Peter said confidently. "And the bucking hex I put on his broom should do the trick. ...Er, if not- James you'd better catch him. I don't want to think of what Malfoy's dad would do to us. He's a frightening bloke."

"No problem! If Vernon doesn't catch him, I will." James nodded and looked up to see Lily taking her seat. "Traitor."

"Toe-rag." She said simply and began to eat.

Lucius watched the pieces of mail fly in for other students- he never got anything from his father either. Abraxas Malfoy was not the type of person to ever be openly affectionate or nurturing in the least. Eventually, Lucius in his adult years understood that this was because his father grew up alone. Lucius's grandparents killed each other in a duel brought on by madness, leaving Abraxas to the care of his elderly grandfather- who died not long into his first year at Hogwarts. Therefore, Abraxas saw no point in sending his son anything because he never received anything. Lucius silently made it a point to always send his child something in the mail once in awhile.

"History of magic?" Lucius looked at him for a long time and then laughed. "Oh you poor fool! Binns' reputation precedes itself all the way to Durmstrang for being unprecedentedly booooring I take it! I'm sorry Harry, I really am. I've got Herbology, advanced potions 1, and defense against the dark arts. I demanded to take Herbology, I figure it can only strengthen me in potions." He shrugged.

"My lord Harry- it's a good thing we're in potions together, I'll have to resuscitate you from your boredom induced coma." He poked around at his breakfast idly- not hungry as the butterflies nested in his stomach. He did however drink a bunch- being thirsty from their practice. "...Harry, after school I want to show you something. I think you'll like, seeing as how you're a seeker. Meet me back at the common room first thing."