SHORTFIC: Remuneration [Ron/Lucius, PG]
Jul. 18th, 2004 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kennahijja°
Well, I set out to write a drabble, and failed miserably, as always, with 700+ words. And since my 'real' Ron/Lucius project isn't going anywhere, I thought I'll try a short, slight take on the 'pairing'... preslash at most, and unbetaed so far (if you feel like ripping it apart, I'd be more than grateful).
Remuneration
by Hijja (kennahijja@yahoo.com)
"Now, Lucius, you don’t want to insist on compensation for your… act of generosity,” says Albus Dumbledore, eyes hard and distinctly untwinkling for once.
Walked in on the Death Eaters attacking the Burrow and saved Mum, Bill and Fleur and the babies, Malfoy did. They'd have ended up like the Longbottoms if not for him. Worse than Hermione. And he got to off his last Death Eater comrades, so no one's left to testify against him, Ron thinks.
Bastard.
"Apologies, Albus, Arthur,” Malfoy drawls, "but saving the heir of a Wizarding House entitles me.” Lips curl around the word ‘House’ and change its meaning to ‘rabble’.
Bastard!
"Since there is no Weasley fortune, I'll be generous and settle for service." Malfoy looks as if it's a vaguely distasteful prospect. "Not your only girl, obviously, but I think you have a few sons removed from the immediate succession, Arthur…”
"I’d never surrender *any* of my children, you-"
"Well, Arthur, you see, Lucius is well within his rights here…”
Fudge, hovering next to Malfoy like a giant frog, lime-green and pulsing with officiousness.
"Ancient wizarding law…” *croak* "Traditions of the magical community…” *croak*
Arch-bastard!
"We’ll appeal these rulings before the Wizengamot, Cornelius!” Dumbledore, saying ‘sorry, can’t help you here’ - as always.
Malfoy looks at Ron directly, for the first time. Eyes paler even than the ferret’s. A male White Widow. Ron shivers, and doesn’t look away.
"I assume it'll be your youngest, then?" Malfoy says.
Who else? The twins won't be separated, and Percy'd laugh into their faces and walk away.
"I won't-"
Ron takes a step forward, and his father falls silent.
"Yes," he says, dead-calm, as if he's already stopped being a Weasley. Maybe in time his hair will wash out too.
Behind him, Harry crackles with rage.
"Never!"
They've silently raged at each other ever since that stray curse cut down Hermione in the final battle, while Harry was preoccupied with his destiny, and Ron with watching Harry's back.
"Are you offering yourself, Potter?"
Oh yes, Malfoy, you'd love that, wouldn't you?
"No," Ron says, casting "Silencium!" backwards which chokes Harry in mid-snarl. "He doesn't."
He takes another step, and then gloved fingers fist in the hair at his neck, pulling him cruelly towards the enemy side. Perhaps he shouldn't have let his hair grow out, like Bill. Who's still in Healing Coma at St Mungo's, and would rather be dead than see his little brother bartered off like this. The gesture isn't purely for Ron's benefit - the bastard wants to show Dad and Dumbledore and Harry just how powerless they are.
Ron's face burns. For a second he thinks Malfoy will force him to his knees for all to see, but he just pulls him close until their mouths are only an inch apart and Ron can almost feel the sharp white teeth of the spider in his neck, draining him to a dry husk.
"Perhaps I will make you a gift to my son. I'm sure he'd enjoy it."
At least the ferret's not here today, to witness this!
"Whatever." Ron's mouth curves down, purposefully imitative. "But you won't get at Harry. Does that sting?"
The grip tightens until every trapped hair feels like a tiny needle piercing his scalp.
"I 'get' at your Harry by taking you," the spider whispers, and Ron smiles because Harry will be so very angry with him, more perhaps than he is now, for letting Hermione die.
"But not enough," Ron whispers back, the ambivalence burning sweetly on his tongue because Malfoy can't possibly understand.
"Or perhaps I should keep you and tame you myself..." Malfoy ponders, his breath tickling Ron's lips until he near-squirms. They must look repulsively intimate to their audience. "They say you're quite the little strategist - perhaps I'd enjoy to watch you play for your life."
And Ron just clings to his smile and murmurs, "Yeah, well, why don't you?", because he may be scared but he's not afraid, because Lucius Malfoy still needs Fudge's protection and won't get away with everything, while Ron Weasley has nothing left to lose.
He'll have a battle of his own, to take his mind of Harry and Hermione, and if Malfoy breaks him, what matter? He's never been worth all that much, after all.
~ finis ~
Well, I set out to write a drabble, and failed miserably, as always, with 700+ words. And since my 'real' Ron/Lucius project isn't going anywhere, I thought I'll try a short, slight take on the 'pairing'... preslash at most, and unbetaed so far (if you feel like ripping it apart, I'd be more than grateful).
Remuneration
by Hijja (kennahijja@yahoo.com)
"Now, Lucius, you don’t want to insist on compensation for your… act of generosity,” says Albus Dumbledore, eyes hard and distinctly untwinkling for once.
Walked in on the Death Eaters attacking the Burrow and saved Mum, Bill and Fleur and the babies, Malfoy did. They'd have ended up like the Longbottoms if not for him. Worse than Hermione. And he got to off his last Death Eater comrades, so no one's left to testify against him, Ron thinks.
Bastard.
"Apologies, Albus, Arthur,” Malfoy drawls, "but saving the heir of a Wizarding House entitles me.” Lips curl around the word ‘House’ and change its meaning to ‘rabble’.
Bastard!
"Since there is no Weasley fortune, I'll be generous and settle for service." Malfoy looks as if it's a vaguely distasteful prospect. "Not your only girl, obviously, but I think you have a few sons removed from the immediate succession, Arthur…”
"I’d never surrender *any* of my children, you-"
"Well, Arthur, you see, Lucius is well within his rights here…”
Fudge, hovering next to Malfoy like a giant frog, lime-green and pulsing with officiousness.
"Ancient wizarding law…” *croak* "Traditions of the magical community…” *croak*
Arch-bastard!
"We’ll appeal these rulings before the Wizengamot, Cornelius!” Dumbledore, saying ‘sorry, can’t help you here’ - as always.
Malfoy looks at Ron directly, for the first time. Eyes paler even than the ferret’s. A male White Widow. Ron shivers, and doesn’t look away.
"I assume it'll be your youngest, then?" Malfoy says.
Who else? The twins won't be separated, and Percy'd laugh into their faces and walk away.
"I won't-"
Ron takes a step forward, and his father falls silent.
"Yes," he says, dead-calm, as if he's already stopped being a Weasley. Maybe in time his hair will wash out too.
Behind him, Harry crackles with rage.
"Never!"
They've silently raged at each other ever since that stray curse cut down Hermione in the final battle, while Harry was preoccupied with his destiny, and Ron with watching Harry's back.
"Are you offering yourself, Potter?"
Oh yes, Malfoy, you'd love that, wouldn't you?
"No," Ron says, casting "Silencium!" backwards which chokes Harry in mid-snarl. "He doesn't."
He takes another step, and then gloved fingers fist in the hair at his neck, pulling him cruelly towards the enemy side. Perhaps he shouldn't have let his hair grow out, like Bill. Who's still in Healing Coma at St Mungo's, and would rather be dead than see his little brother bartered off like this. The gesture isn't purely for Ron's benefit - the bastard wants to show Dad and Dumbledore and Harry just how powerless they are.
Ron's face burns. For a second he thinks Malfoy will force him to his knees for all to see, but he just pulls him close until their mouths are only an inch apart and Ron can almost feel the sharp white teeth of the spider in his neck, draining him to a dry husk.
"Perhaps I will make you a gift to my son. I'm sure he'd enjoy it."
At least the ferret's not here today, to witness this!
"Whatever." Ron's mouth curves down, purposefully imitative. "But you won't get at Harry. Does that sting?"
The grip tightens until every trapped hair feels like a tiny needle piercing his scalp.
"I 'get' at your Harry by taking you," the spider whispers, and Ron smiles because Harry will be so very angry with him, more perhaps than he is now, for letting Hermione die.
"But not enough," Ron whispers back, the ambivalence burning sweetly on his tongue because Malfoy can't possibly understand.
"Or perhaps I should keep you and tame you myself..." Malfoy ponders, his breath tickling Ron's lips until he near-squirms. They must look repulsively intimate to their audience. "They say you're quite the little strategist - perhaps I'd enjoy to watch you play for your life."
And Ron just clings to his smile and murmurs, "Yeah, well, why don't you?", because he may be scared but he's not afraid, because Lucius Malfoy still needs Fudge's protection and won't get away with everything, while Ron Weasley has nothing left to lose.
He'll have a battle of his own, to take his mind of Harry and Hermione, and if Malfoy breaks him, what matter? He's never been worth all that much, after all.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-18 04:19 pm (UTC)Maybe I'm not the best choice about catching grammatical mistakes, as I'm not a native English speaker as well, but I think that the 'take his mind of Harry and Hermione' in the last sentence should be 'take his mind off Harry and Hermione'. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-07-20 05:25 am (UTC)You're right, of course - 'off', most definitely.
And I'm so glad I got you to enjoy Lucius (because I do, immensely, *grin*).
no subject
Date: 2004-07-18 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-20 05:30 am (UTC)That means *so* much, coming from you! (and of course it was that brilliant Harry/Sirius/Voldemort drabble of yours that inspired me to try the form again... should just give it up and face up to the fact that I can't do it :))
no subject
Date: 2004-07-21 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-24 07:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-24 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-18 07:27 pm (UTC)(really good, I'm still wibbling)
no subject
Date: 2004-07-20 05:32 am (UTC)Ron is just such fun to write! Should indulge it more often...
no subject
Date: 2004-07-19 03:55 am (UTC)Short drabbles are overrated! Write what comes naturally. Dashed if I could get so much meaning into so few words. This has both brevity and depth.
Beta notes: not quite sure 'bartered off' is appropriate; Ron is the payment of a debt, rather than a means of purchasing a good ('remuneration' can be the payment of a wage, but it can also be a one-off payment for services rendered, as the title suggests). And it's 'Silencio', not 'Silencium' – see the fight in the Department of Mysteries in OotP (ch 35, 'Beyond the Veil').
no subject
Date: 2004-07-20 05:40 am (UTC)You do??? I'd never have guessed!!! ;)
And you're dead right about the drabble issue, of course! (which *you*, on the other hand, do brilliantly)
Thanks muchly for the beta comments! And for the general comments too!