Not your usual Veela mate [Chapters 39-69]

Mayhem At Hogwarts - It Begins [60]

Wednesday, Sep. 18
"

Lucius, what news do you bring?" Lord Voldemort asked, looking down at the proud aristocrat kneeling before his throne.
"Harry Potter was placed under the Cruciatus Curse earlier today, my Lord," Lucius answered, doing his best to keep his face impassive.
"Who dare do such a ting?" Voldemort hissed, becoming rigid with anger. He hated it when his people became created on their own time. They were meant to do his bidding, not to think for themselves!
"Pansy Parkinson, my Lord."
Voldemort paused; at least it hadn't been one of his followers. Still, the girl was the daughter of one of his men, and considering how eager she had been to receive his mark… "What is that old fool Dumbledore doing? Has he expelled the girl yet, or is there some way to salvage the situation?" If the girl had been carted off to Azkaban she was of no further use to him.
"Dumbledore has done nothing, Master, claiming that it was not her fault," Lucius reported dutifully, waiting tensely for Riddle's reaction.
For a second time that night, the Dark Lord paused. Dumbledore was standing up for one of the Slytherins? Against Harry Potter? What in the world was happening at Hogwarts, and why hadn't he been informed sooner? "Tell me what happened," Lord Voldemort ordered, getting up from his throne like chair and began to pace as he listened to Malfoy's report.
"Earlier today Pansy Parkinson was pranked along with Ronald Weasley. The pranker used the Face-Switch Potion, my Lord, causing the bodies of Parkinson and Weasley to change places. Understandably, neither of them was happy about it. For some reason Pansy Parkinson put the blame on Harry Potter, and she used the Unforgivable on him to teach him a lesson. Dumbledore managed to get his staff to agree to not punish the girl due to the 'nature' of the potion," Lucius said, suppressing a snarl of anger at Dumbledore. The blond had in no way or shape forgiven the Headmaster, and Lucius had a feeling it would be a cold day in hell before he did.
Voldemort frowned. "What nature of the potion?" he asked, feeling slightly perplexed. He knew of the potion, of course, had even used it a time or two when he was attending Hogwarts, but he had never heard of anyone suffering from side effects.
"According to Dumbledore, the Parkinson girl was unable to help herself since she was affected by not only her own temper, but that of Weasley as well."
"What utter nonsense! And the teachers actually believed him?" Voldemort asked, not believing his ears.
"Yes, my Lord. Up to date, only Severus and I have spoken up on Harry's behalf. The rest of the professors are only too happy to allow the matter to be forgotten," Lucius said with a sneer. He hadn't forgiven McGonagall for her callous way to handle the situation either.
Voldemort slowly paced around his chamber, pondering the things he had been told. "What are your thoughts, Lucius?" he eventually asked.
"I know that Narcissa promised Draco to the Parkinson girl while they both were mere toddlers. I was never happy with her choice of wife for my son. Apart from the fact that I found it highly unlikely that the Veela in Draco would ever pick her for a Mate, I have been increasingly unhappy with the girl's manners and attitude. She does not possess a refined bone in her body. She is spoilt and wilful and her only ambition in life is becoming Mrs. Malfoy," Lucius said, making a face of disgust as he remembered the few times he'd been forced to spend time with her. He had always felt a large amount of pity for Draco who had to spend most of the year in the same place as that leech.
"Would she be a loyal follower to me?" Riddle asked, getting to the point he was interested in.
"I doubt it, my Lord. She has been a leader of sort in Slytherin due to her closeness to Draco, but she has done absolutely nothing to promote interest in you and your cause. All she ever talks about are the parties she is going to host as Mrs. Malfoy, spending more time talking about her clothes and jewelleries than developing strategies to sway those not fully loyal to you."
"Hmm, from what her father has told me, she is burning to join my ranks," Voldemort said musingly, not happy with what he was hearing. Settling back in his chair, the Dark Lord regarded the man who had become on of his most trusted followers.
When Abraxas had informed him of the unfortunate attachment his son had formed with Severus Snape, Voldemort hadn't thought much of it. Both boys were destined to join him, and he didn't really care about who they married, as long as it was a Pureblood who could give birth to new soldiers for his growing army.
So when the current Head of Malfoy had asked for permission to follow through with his plans to marry of his oldest son to Narcissa Black, Voldemort had given it instantly. The Black's was a Dark family, all but for that nuisance Sirius that is. Bellatrix was already madly devoted to him, and Riddle had expected the same level of devotion from her sister.
However, Narcissa Black had turned out to be a disappointment. She had been shallow and vain, with little love over for anyone but herself. She had supported her husband in his work for the Dark Lord, but she had not proven herself the way her sister had done.
Yes, Lord Voldemort might currently be a tad disappointed in the witch, but Bellatrix was one of his most devoted followers, not even Lucius came close to her. Then again, these days she was slightly insane due to her stay in Azkaban, but that was beside the point.
The point was that Voldemort had hoped to tighten his hold on young Lucius through his wife. Both he and Severus had been wilful boys, and Riddle had not felt secure in their devotion to him at the time they were sixteen. Sadly, Narcissa had turned out to be a failure to him, and Voldemort couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had allowed the true bond to flourish between Malfoy and Snape. Would they have turned away from him? Or would they have been his strongest supporters? With Lucius intelligence and with Severus' Potions, the three of them could have been unstoppable. As it were…
As it were, Lucius had been tied closely to Narcissa, who had been more interested in showing herself and her husband off in the polite circles rather than planning raids and plotting the downfall of Albus Dumbledore.
And Severus… Severus had proven as skilled as his mother had promised, but due to his closeness to Dumbledore Voldemort had been unable to utilise him fully as well. Was it really worth allowing the history to repeat itself? Could he afford to make the same mistake twice?
"What does Harry Potter say of all this?" Voldemort asked, reaching out to pet his loyal familiar. Could Severus have helped him find a way to gain his body back sooner if he could have been reached that fateful night so long ago?
"Harry is not happy, my Lord," Lucius replied, biting back a snort at that understatement. Forcing himself to relax, the Veela did not wish to have his muscles cramp up due to being forced to kneel before the monster he had once served. He was not about to show weakness by hobbling when he left his 'master's' presence. That he was constantly tensing, waiting for the Crucio that never came, didn't exactly improve his situation.
"Is he prepared to finally break off from under the old meddlers thumb?" Voldemort asked eagerly, focusing fully on Lucius once more.
"Yes, my Lord. Harry is furious at the Headmaster for not taking the proper actions, especially since Pansy has tried to cause trouble between Draco and him before. Harry even went so far as to confront McGonagall, but she is so blinded by Dumbledore that she sent him away with a few inane words. I can assure you, Master, that Harry Potter is not Dumbledore's Golden Boy any longer."
"Good, good. That pleases me greatly. How soon do you think it is before you can bring him before me? Surely there is no need for waiting until Christmas if he is that discontent with the status quoe?" Voldemort asked with a gleeful cackle.
Lucius mentally cursed angrily. This was precisely the situation they had feared when Lucius went to report to the Dark Lord. However, considering the happenings at Hogwarts, they did not dare not making this report.
"I do not know, my Lord," Lucius said, bracing himself for a round of Cruciatus. "I do know, however, that Harry is firmly on Draco's side, and although they haven't fully bonded yet, he is committed to bonding with my son."
"Excellent, you shall both be richly awarded for this. To think that I have a pair of Veelas to thank for luring Harry Potter to my side," Voldemort said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Normally, I would mark the two of them before allowing them to bond. Abraxas performed a thorough research, finding that the Veela bond would interfere with my bond, making the bonded pair less loyal to me. It was one of the reasons why I allowed him to bond you to Narcissa," Riddle said almost as an afterthought, casting Lucius a brief glance.
"However, I must say that I am disappointed in Narcissa. She has made some powerful connections inside the Ministry, but not once has she encouraged her paramours to come to me. On the contrary, all her demands of favours have benefited herself, never me or my cause."
Voldemort drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair, staring into space as he thought deeply. "Yes, I shall allow your son to bond with Harry Potter. Once the bond has been established, and Potter is pregnant, only then will I bond the two of them to me. It will be a great experiment to see where their loyalty will lie. If nothing else, it shall make it easier for me to kill off Potter. Pregnant and defenceless, he will be no match for my superior skill and strength," Voldemort said braggingly with a smug smirk on his face.
"Lucius, you have until Halloween. I expect Potter to be bonded with Draco by then, and the brat better be pregnant by Christmas, is that understood?"
"Yes, my Lord. It shall be as you wish," Lucius intoned, bowing his head in submission.
"As for the Parkinson girl… I need to think of something nasty. I will not have the children of my followers go after Potter. He is mine. He has always been mine!" Voldemort all but snarled. "Go. Inform your son of his duties, and tell Potter that I will avenge the pain he has experienced today."
"You are too kind, my Lord," Lucius said regally as he slowly climbed to his feet. He was eager to leave, but he didn't want his 'master' to know just how willing he was to go. He did not have a death wish, after all.
"Oh, and Lucius, make sure to tell Severus that I am most displeased with his lack of progress. He has had days, and yet no words have reached me on his success on getting his hands on the Black Truth. If Potter managed to find a way to brew that thing, then surely Severus will have little problem? He better have a positive report, and soon, or I will find another use of his body," Voldemort snarled angrily.
Lucius paled, but he bowed and mumbled an affirmative.
Finally able to leave the Dark Lord's current lair, Lucius Apparated away, his heart clenching with fear for his mate. Friday couldn't come soon enough.