Duty Calls (Lucius)

[Deleted]

“What do you mean you let the Horntail out of your sight? Are you crazy?”

Emile snapped to one of the other Dragonologists as they stood by a near by cage. His temper was on the rise again, but right now he was attempting to keep cool. However, the situation at hand wasn’t helping much. Today had been a long one and Emile couldn’t wait to get out of here. Okay, so he was having a bit of a rough day but doesn’t everyone. Swearing to himself under his breath, Emile turned towards the cage and looked over the creature that was currently curled up inside of it.

A very large female Hungarian Horntail was curled up in the back of the cage, her whole body nearly taking up all the room inside. Emile was glad the creature was now back in it’s rightful place, however the damage it had caused was going to cost the sanctuary none the less. He had been sent here early this morning on a mission to control the situation, which up to an hour ago had been out of control. The sanctuary was a small one up in Scotland and so was away from where Emile normally worked. Normally he worked away in France, his home country but had been sent here at the last minute.

”Listen I have to leave now. But for goodness sake, keep an eye on that creature. I’m sure you are very aware that their fangs are venomous. If he was to escape again, we could have a very bad situation on our hands.”

Emile explained simply and to the point, as he shook his head, turned his back and walked away. His eyes inspected the damage around him briefly, before instead turning to the next task of the day. You see, when Emile wasn’t working as a Dragonologist, he was doing other things. Today, that came in the form of one of the things he hated. Why? Because if Emile had it his way it wouldn’t be this way. That being he wouldn’t be on his side during these times. Emile hated being a Death Eater, because everything he saw to do with it was wrong. So, why hadn’t he walked away? Well, that as a more personal issue.

Walking over to a clear area, he soon disappeared with a small pop, only to reappear a few moments later. Emile was soon met with a large iron gate, which he made his way slowly over too. Gripping the cold, metal bars he glanced up to his destination and instantly felt a shiver go down his spine. The familiar sight of Malfoy Manner greeted him, a place that Emile liked to avoid as much as he could. But tonight, he knew he couldn’t avoid it. Why? Because he had a few small things to report back. Yes, it wasn’t something he enjoyed but it was that or death. Well, that was what it felt like sometimes.

Opening the gate, he quickly made his way up the pathway and towards the manor. His robes catching the wind slightly as he did so, a few holes evident in them. Clearly showing singe marks and with what his line of work was. Perhaps he should have given some sort f pre-warning? That might have been a bit more of a sensible idea. Oh well. Too late, he was here now.

[Deleted]

WC: 510

Of all people that you would not expect to like the outdoors, even though they were his grounds, Lucius Malfoy rather liked being outside, though truly just within the grounds of Malfoy Manor. His life was semi in shambles right now with him trying to fix the relationship with his wife, the woman he loved more than life itself, as well as trying to lift his situation with the Death Eaters. So he stood on a terrace that faced the gate to his home and stared off into the distance, mind racing as he considered all that his life had been going through.

He hated the cold, especially since after Azkaban he was cold even in the warmest room, but there was something refreshing and cleansing about the feel of the winter wind whipping against his face. It was as if it could strip away all his failures and insecurities, something that he desperately wished would actually happen. Like the wind on his face, any actual fixing of his life would be likely painful and torturous, though he was used to that any more. He breathed in the cold winter air before exhaling deeply through his mouth in a frustrated sigh. There were many times that he wished things could just return to normal, though he was starting to wonder what exactly was normal.

His eyes focused suddenly on a figure apparating in front of his home and opening his gate. Under normal circumstances, he would have been furious that someone was entering without his permission but now he was just resigned that his home was not truly his own anymore and he watched with bored interest as Emile Mulciber gave walking down the path from his gate to his home. He raised one eyebrow and when he got close enough that they could talk without shouting to each other, Lucius asked, "Mulciber, what brings you to my home?" He didn’t think there was a meeting for the Death Eaters which meant he had likely been summoned by the Dark Lord. Lucius glanced behind him at his house briefly before turning back to Emile. "Come inside so neither of us gets sick from the cold." He then turned his heel and opened his door, shrugging his cloak off and letting one of his House Elves take it from him and hang it up, closing the door once Mulciber was inside.

Yet Lucius finally notices the marks on the Dragonologist's robes and he raised his eyebrow again. "Have a run-in with something dangerous and feisty, Mulciber?" His tone wasn’t entirely mocking, like it might have been before Azkaban. Now, his voice tended to mostly tired sounding with slight twinges of other emotions, if any could come through at all. He was getting tired of being tired all the time. He generally didn’t sleep well or for very long and often looked a bit like a wreck, though recently he had at least been keeping decent care of himself. Granted, nothing could make the dark circles under his eyes go away fully.

[Deleted]

Emile too wasn’t the biggest fan of the cold. He just dealt with it though; it wasn’t like he could change the seasons. Ignoring the chill that came over him, he made his way further along the path. That was until a voice stopped him in his tracks, upon realising who was speaking though Emile mentally rolled his eyes to himself. Perfect. Well it was the man’s house after all. Also, he hated when he was referred to by his surname and not his first name. Honestly? Emile hated being part of this and even being here. Keeping the news in the back of his mind right now, Emile came to a stop and glanced upwards. Soon enough after a quick look around, he caught sight of Lucius.

”Don’t call me by my surname Lucius. Anyway, I have come to deliver some news to The Dark Lord.”

Emile replied slightly sharply, he crossed his arms over his chest as another cold chill went down his spine. The young Death Eater took a moment to look over the man before him, Lucius wasn’t all that bad. Upon realising he was staring, Emile looked away and around him. Nodding as he heard the man’s words, going inside sounded like a great idea. The closer he got to the house, the more he privately wanted to turn and run away. Emile hated this, hated what he had become and what become of his life. Sighing deeply, he made his way towards the door and entered the familiar Headquarters. He watched as the House Elves took Lucius’s cloak, before Emile glanced back up to the man again.

Upon hearing the tone and the question, Emile looked down to his robes briefly. Oh right. Well, this was a bit awkward. When it came to his job and this sort of thing, Emile kept it well and truly separate from each other. Lucius wasn’t mocking him and so Emile felt a bit better about that. Making a mental note to keep his grudge against a certain someone, he kept his arms crossed as he shut the door with a light nudge of his shoulder, then turned fully back to Lucius. When his eyes caught the dark circles under Lucius’s eyes however, Emile felt a slight feeling of sorrow come over him. The man looked like he could use a few days of sleep, let alone hours.

”You could say that. Newborn Dragons have the tendency to breathe fire at targets. I work as a Dragonologist.”

Emile explained simply as he grabbed the sleeve of his robe, then gestured to the hole that was in one of them. Lowering his arm, he thought over his next set of words carefully. After all he was in a place where his words could be overheard, but this place also gave Emile the creeps. Kicking off his shoes, he stood there with his eyes flicking around the room briefly.

”How have you been Lucius? You look like you could use a good bed.”

The Death Eater asked in a rather blunt tone, as he watched a House Elf come and remove his shoes. Emile raised his eyebrow slightly, before looking away again. Well, he was here now. Might as well get on with the rest of it, well after having a word with Malfoy anyway.


(Sorry this took forever. Been busy moving. <3)

[Deleted]

Lucius raised his brow at the sharp words to not call Mulciber by his surname and he smirked, "Would you prefer 'Emmy' then? Join me in people calling you by a girl's name?" He snorted as he considered being called 'Lucy to be the most embarrassing, stupidest thing ever. He gave a sharp intake of breath at hearing that Emile was here to deliver news to the Dark Lord. "So it's not a social call, then?" The question was unnecessary but he asked it nonetheless. His eyebrow went up again at seeing that Emile was staring at him, the corners of his lips twitching into what was for him an amused smile. He wasn’t actually concerned for Mulciber's health but he didn’t want to be out in the cold anymore. Not that being inside would make him less cold but it would help somewhat. Lucius saw the sadness in Emile's eyes and nearly scowled. He did not want anyone's pity, not even his wife's and especially not from a Death Eater he barely knew. But he could tell that the concern genuine, not that that mattered to him. But Mulciber answered his question about the state of his robes, with Lucius shaking his head at hearing it was caused by a baby dragon. He bit back a response about how he would have had the thing killed. "So you get paid for fire-breathing dragons to destroy your wardrobe. Is there at least a damsel in distress for you to rescue?" The other man kicked off his shoes and a House Elf came and put them away. He was startled by the question about himself but he frowned. "I know. It is hard to sleep when you don't know if you'll sleep through the night or be woken up by horrible nightmare courtesy of the Dementors and Azkaban." He glanced slyly at Emile. Perhaps he could gain some information about his brother. "And how is your brother, Emile?"

TAG | 327 | NOTES