Thank You

"Find Severus. Bring him to me."

~ SS19

Thank You:

He should have known that he would return here - in their twenty years of friendship, this had always been his favourite place, and it was just like him to return to somewhere familiar when he was troubled. The figure was sat, crosslegged, on the river bank, staring out at something across the water. His expression was calm and although his face was pale, he seemed perfectly in control - perhaps he was in a trance - he was going to interrupt, but the other spoke first, "He sent me to find you, did he not?"

"Yes, Severus, he did. I do not know why he did not just summon you - but he asked me to find you." Lucius Malfoy murmured softly, moving closer to Severus, "Why are you here? Why are you not fighting?"

"Because I am not a fighter. I'm a spy. What do you expect me to do - walk into battle when there are hundreds of students and teachers who wish to see me dead? I do not think so. It is over now, anyway." Severus Snape responded, turning to face Lucius properly, "And why are you not fighting?"

"I was with our Lord." Lucius Malfoy's face was haunted, tortured, perhaps even tormented. "I should go - to find Draco. His mother is worrying about him." There was an unsaid sentence there. Severus stood, "I did not see him earlier when I was expelled from the school. I have been here since. He is an intelligent child, Lucius - he may yet survive." His eyes were dark, "That cannot be said for others."

"Why the melancholy, Severus? Surely you must see - our Lord will be triumphant, now - he will kill Potter, and then we will finally have the glory we have so desperately sought." Lucius held out a hand, "Is that not what you want?"

Severus turned away, "There will have to be sacrifices. Our Lord cannot win - not at the moment - for a simple reason. He will seek to rectify it - indeed, I believe he has already realised, which is why he has sent you to me."

Lucius narrowed his eyes, "And why are you stopping the Dark Lord from triumphing? You have been his spy - you have helped to bring down the other side - you killed Albus Dumbledore - without you, he would not be in such a strong and secure position. How could you be stopping him?"

Severus turned and stared at him. Lucius Malfoy. Draco Malfoy's father. Severus' best friend, a man who had been in his life since his childhood, since before even the Dark Lord had made his mark, and had stayed with him ever since. He still remembers Lucius the boy, allowing Severus to sit at the table with him as Severus did his homework - he still remembers Severus the teenager, coming to Severus' defence when James Potter threatened him for the umpteenth time - he still remembers Lucius the heir, marrying Narcissa Black, looking particular fine in his black and white dress robes - and he sees Lucius the man, torn by war and decisions that were his in the start but had cost him more than anything he could possibly imagine or recoup. And then he remembered the reason why he had done this - the reason why he had sacrificed his life - it was to save the son of his best friend.

Perhaps that did not make him so different from the Marauders, after all. "Lucius - there is something you must understand - and it is not your fault - it is an oversight, on his Lord's part, and one that can be corrected easily." He paused, "I have to die."

Lucius almost flinched, "Die? Why?" His voice had hitched, just slightly, "You cannot - our Lord needs you - "

"And it must be at his hand, and his hand alone. Do you not see, Lucius? When I pushed your son out of the way and raised my wand to kill Albus Dumbledore, do you know what I became?" There were many things - a murderer, scum of the earth, the Order's most wanted man - so many things - and yet one above all. "I became the Master of the Elder Wand, Lucius. The Wand cannot belong to the Dark Lord until he has mastered me."

Lucius froze. "He has to kill you."

Severus exhaled slowly, "Which is why he has sent you to find me. Which is why he has asked me to go to him. When I do, I will not leave his presence again."

Lucius shook his head, "There must be another way - can he not simply best you in a duel?"

"For the power to surrender totally, he has to triumph on all planes - he has to kill me - before the Wand will choose to change its allegiance. It is no matter - it is surely an honour to die for the Dark Lord." His voice was not quite as definite as he had hoped.

"You could run." Lucius whispered. "You could flee."

"I could." Severus replied with a nod, "I could have done that the night I killed Albus Dumbledore. So that begs the question - why am I still here? Why have I not run or fled?"

"You always have been devoted to the Dark Lord, Severus. But would you die for him?" Lucius murmured, "We all say that we will - but you will have to walk to your death - could you do that?"

A pause. "Yes. Without it, he cannot win."

Lucius watched him for a long moment, "So - this is goodbye then? Is that why he sent me to you?"

"Perhaps. But it is most certainly goodbye. I hope you survive the war, Lucius. Find Draco and Narcissa and live out the new world and please don't be so foolish again." The smallest of smirks. "You have always been a very good friend to me, Lucius, and I thank you for that. Without you, I would have been much less."

"You rose above us all, Severus - not due to me, but because you were everything he wanted - if anyone deserves to see the end of this war, it is you. I wish - I wish - " He trailed off and turned away, "You or Draco. I am glad I did not have to make that choice…"

"But you did, Lucius. You did when you begged Narcissa to save Draco - you did when you asked her to go to me and ask for my help - you knew then that I would be unable to refuse - not her - but you. You made your choice then. I do not fault you - you could not have chosen me over your son, I would never have allowed it - he is my godson, after all."

Lucius turned away abruptly, "This is my fault - I was foolish enough to drag Draco in - and now - I will lose both my son and my best friend. Just when I thought I could stand to lose no more."

Severus examined his figure - the blonde hair and the shoulders that were slumped with defeat - "We are at war, Lucius. I am glad that it will be at the hands of the Dark Lord, rather than one of the Order or even one of our own side, determined to bring me down. I would ask you not to think any further on it - this was the way it was going to be - and it was not your fault. The Dark Lord always planned to use someone at Hogwarts - he always planned it to be Draco with me as a reserve - and he simply used you and your mistake in the Department of Mysteries to motivate both you and Narcissa. It is his fault - and he has overlooked something important - but I should have seen it. I should have advised him otherwise."

Lucius looked to his best friend, and there was something unfamiliar in his eyes, "I will miss you."

Severus half smiled, "Thank you. It is a shame we have drifted so far, these past years."

"You will always be my closest friend, Severus - I'll never forget the times we spent at Hogwarts - you taught me more than I thought a half-blood Prince could ever do."

Severus smirked at his childhood nickname, "Ah, my Slytherin Prince - we were certainly superior to all others there." He stopped, "I suppose I ought to go. He will be wondering where I am."

Lucius reached out a hand and gripped Severus' arm, "Thank you. I never said it. Thank you for saving my son's life."

Severus pressed his own hand to Lucius', and for the shortest of seconds their fingers interlinked, "It was my pleasure." Then he let go, drew back his left sleeve and pressed his fingers to the Mark. Lucius watched him Disapparate in the black mist and swallowed the uncomfortable lump that had risen in his chest, "Thank you."

I am presently working on a Lucius and Severus friendship story to replace Perfectly Imperfect, which some of you may remember from last year - it's in the preliminary stages (i.e. I thought about it in bed last night) but it won't be published until I have at least finished some of my current projects such as Too Deep and Letters from a Dead Man. Just a heads up, though! I like these two - Lucius and Severus - the two Slytherin Princes... ~ SS19