Hand That Binds

12

"The MLE caught Rita Skeeter last night trying to take a Portkey out of the country.

And, Andy is in Vienna."

Elphias Doge nodded, and leaned back into the loveseat in his solar, King's large head on what little bit of lap the older man had.

"I have word that twelve men and five women have been remanded to Azkaban for ten years each, I suppose Skeeter will be up to trial next," Doge grumbled, closing his eyes. "I would have liked to have sat in on that..."

Lucius frowned. Doge had taken ill not long after Andy had confessed that day in early February, it was the penultimate day of the month. The older man warned Lucius that once a wizard passes one hundred and ten, death starts to edge nearer. Lucius was certain Doge was well past one hundred and ten, past one hundred and twenty...

"Gumboil and Potter have been working overtime. I really believe we can petition the MLE to give them a vacation after the tribunal," Lucius laughed mirthlessly, and lifted his snifter of brandy to sip.

It was cool in the solar, snow had accumulated on the roof, and there was a wicked wind. Still, it was pleasant in the room, surrounded by the greenery. Lucius had Conjured his own armchair to sit across from Doge to fill him in on what the older man had missed. Doge had concluded the Committee's findings through Longbottom, and then, all the names, connections, and the conspiracies were out in the open. The anger was reverberating through the Isles.

As for Lucius, he had sat in on every meeting he could. Nott had been with him, but Longbottom had missed several due to matters at Hogwarts. All in all, however, things were peaceful. No more attacks, no more demonstrations, no retaliations.

It made Lucius uneasy.

"Is Lady Malfoy well? I've not had a letter or..." Doge wheezed.

The older man looked greener than usual. He had insisted that he was on the mend, and his condition was recurring, a lingering effect of the illness from his youth. Still, there was magic roiling off the man, and the only other, Dumbledore, made Lucius feel so small.

"In Vienna. Well enough. I'm hoping to join her tomorrow, now that the trials here are done for now...until Skeeter. The rest is up to the ICW."

Doge nodded, his jowls quivering. "Mafalda continues to surprise me. She was something of an apprentice to me when she was just out of Hogwarts. Very timid girl, but very...insightful."

Lucius took another sip, and then rested the base of the snifter on the side of his boot, his left ankle atop his right knee.

"I suppose you will be passing your seat to your son?"

Lucius smirked. "If he'll take it."

Doge's eyes cracked open and his mouth set. "It is his duty."

Lucius scoffed. "I think that is why he stayed away so long...in spite of duty, Lord Doge."

Doge wheezed a chuckle. "He should do it in spite of you then. Albus tells me that he is very bright..."

He arched an eyebrow. "What else did Albus have to say about Draco?"

Doge smiled. "Bright, resourceful, controlled, much potential, and great empathy. Your grandson...he'll be starting in a few years at Hogwarts?"

Lucius nodded. "Granger says that Draco might consider it...the seat, the governorship, now that he and Astoria wish to settle back in Britain. I'm not sure what she said or did, but I know I would never have been able to convince him of anything."

Doge sighed. "I was never a father, but I had a difficult father. We clashed many times. As you can imagine, I was a disappointment. The Doge line ends with me. In the end, however, my father realized that he was thinking only of his happiness, not mine, and he did everything he could to remedy that. My happiness was his happiness, and he died knowing that I had made a mark with the family name, one that will never be besmirched.