Title: To Overcome
Pairing: Harry Potter x Lucius Malfoy, mentions of Draco Malfoy x Blaise Zabini, and some mentions of Narcissa Malfoy x Lucius Malfoy
Rated: M for various sexual themes
Summary: Lucius Malfoy finds himself at a crossroads a year after the war. He doesn't know who or what he is anymore, and unwanted attention from Harry Potter makes finding himself all the more difficult.
Disc: Not my men
Notes: A good chunk of this story is already written. It's gigantic so I thought it'd be best to carve it up into chapters.

(*) Chapter 8 (*)

Harry wanted him here, so there he was- looking as foul as he could at the thought of Harry going off on his first auror mission. What if they hadn't given Harry enough instruction? What if Harry didn't think fast enough? They never had a consistent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, after all. He cast a sideways glance at Ron and Hermione as they came in. The girl stood beside him, watching Ron head over to where Harry stood.

Lucius ground his teeth as he stood there with the Granger girl as their respective partners were given their instructions on their trip. Being told yesterday about this wasn't nearly enough time to ready an appropriate expression of reluctant compliance, nor was it enough time for him to prepare to let Harry go without worrying. He had to remind himself constantly that Harry was an eighteen year old boy. Of course Harry wouldn't think to tell him sooner. Lucius crossed his arms over his chest, scowling slightly. "Gringotts is a perfectly acceptable place to work." He muttered to Hermione. "Harry listens to you. You should tell him."

Hermione shook her head. "No, not about this. Ron's there- and when Ron's with Harry, my rational opinions usually get pushed aside." She made a face, which Lucius quickly mirrored. "I was hoping you would do the same with Harry for Ron, but if you couldn't convince Harry to change his mind… I didn't mind at first, we've done dangerous things for nearly all of our lives. But… not apart. I'm worried they won't last out there."

"…There's no amount of money you'll take to go with them, is there?"

"No. This is what they want. We'll have to accept it, chance of stupidity and reckless endangerment included."

Lucius fidgeted slightly as he watched Harry raise his hand to take the oath of an auror. "What about a sizable donation to that ridiculous house elf welfare charity you run?"

Hermione faltered just slightly. For a moment she said nothing, as if seriously contemplating it. Finally, she shot Lucius a look. "No."

"Damn."

Hermione shook her head and turned to watch the ceremony with Lucius. When they were done, the newly minted aurors were allowed to say their goodbyes to any who had come to see them off. Ron was on her in an instant, and Harry walked over to Lucius, looking proud.

"Harry Potter, auror, at your service." He grinned to Lucius. The older man did not return the gesture. "Oh, come on Lucius- I'm not going to be returned to you in a matchstick box. It's a simple mission."

"Gringotts." Lucius said in nearly a whine, as a last ditch effort to sway him. He remembered himself and fixed a scowl on his face. "You'd best not, I'm all out of glue."

Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around Lucius's waist. The older man returned the gesture and put his arms around his shoulders. "Please don't worry." He murmured to him. "I'll be back soon. And then we'll pick up where we left off. Me chasing after your goods, you denying me- me sneaking in to catch a peek, you threatening me with wards. It'll be old hat, Lucius- I promise."

"I know." He murmured and slowly released Harry from his grip.

"Now, don't worry. Take the time to get to know some of my friends. I want us to have a full relationship and that means getting along with our inner circles. … Trying to get along with Draco might be harder than this mission, but I promise I'll give it my best shot when I get back. …Can I get a good luck kiss before I have to go? …After all, Ron and Hermione are starting to out lap us over there." Harry gestured with his shoulder to the young couple- Ron looked like he was mauling her- Hermione however, was being a good sport.

"I… well, of course, Harry." Lucius leaned over and kissed the younger man fully on the lips for what he intended to be a brief good bye kiss. Harry had other intentions, and instantly deepened the kiss. Lucius's hands went to his shoulders and clutched on to him. Since when did Potter's kisses make him go weak? He chalked it up to the emotion of the moment, and when they parted, Harry was beaming.

"The return kiss will be even better."

Lucius just nodded mutely, as Harry reached out and took his hand.

"Don't be a turtle. Have fun at the art gala. You know I'll be thinking of you."

"Goodbye, Harry- good luck." Lucius rasped out as he felt Harry's fingers slide through his own. He watched the young man go with pursed lips. Ron soon joined him, leaving Lucius and Hermione behind. He glanced to her and cleared his throat. "Your hair's a mess."

"That's Ron for you." She mused and started straightening her hair. "Mr. Malfoy… Harry mentioned how important the ministry art gala is to you. I'm no Harry, but would you want to go with me? There's no reason for us both to go alone."

Lucius looked surprised. Apparently, one of Harry's best friends was extending the olive branch to him. He'd be a fool not to take it, especially since he wanted to continue seeing Harry and after hearing his younger love say they should get along with each other's friends. "Thank you, Miss Granger, I would be honored. I didn't fancy going alone, and Draco's going with Blaise. I'll meet you at the ministry then, at seven sharp."

(*)

The very next day, Lucius was on his way through Diagon Alley to buy a few new tubes of paint. He felt people staring at him, in heavier ways than normal. He frowned a bit, and adjusted his cloak, as if to get the sensation off of him. One particularly sharp wolf whistle directed at his person made his eyes snap open. He wrinkled his nose, wondering what the hell that was all about. He was wearing nothing remotely sexual.

When he passed by Florish & Blotts, he instantly knew. He stared at the big glass window advertising a special, limited edition re-release of his Playwitch magazine. He backed up a bit, reading the advertisement painted on the glass.

IN LIGHT OF THE BOY WHO CONQUERED'S NEW RELATIONSHIP THE NAUGHTY!MAGE MAGAZINE COMPANY HAS RE-RELEASED THE LEGENDARY PLAYWITCH MAGAZINE FEATURING EX-DEATH EATER LUCIUS MALFOY! GET YOUR COPY TODAY BEFORE THEY'RE GONE! *must be legal age to purchase.

All of his youthful indiscretions decided to come flooding back to him as he watched his younger self stripping out of his Head Boy uniform on the cover- the picture then gave him a cheeky expression that he immediately denied he was capable of ever making again. Another wolf whistle brought him back to earth as he whipped around to see the freckled face of a Weasley boy. "Oh no. I don't know which one of Arthur's many sons you are, but spare me whatever indecency you'd like to level upon my person."

"It's George! And don't worry, I won't. Can you autograph this though? I picked it up for Harry so he wouldn't miss out while he's away."

Lucius felt his face grow hot. "Absolutely not! You are not giving that… that… thing to him. I'll never hear the end of it!"

"Well, that's the point- other than serving as good wanking material."

Lucius opened his mouth to say something else when a group of wizards approached them both. They all seemed to have a copy of his magazine, which made him pale slightly. His posture instantly went on the defensive. His fingers twitched, but there was a distinct numbers advantage with the other men. If George decided to help should this get messy, it would have been six on two.

"Well well- l have to say, Harry's got some good taste." One of them smirked.

"I don't know about that, this magazine's a bit old. Do old death eaters still look that good under all those robes? What do you say, Lucius- going to let us see? I think it would be a public service after all you've done."

"Right, we should make sure he's up to standards for Potter."

Lucius said nothing and looked mortified- taking a step away from them. He did not trust his own tongue to say something bitter that would have made situations worse. His fingers were very close to the holster where he now kept his wand, ready to reach for it should he need to. In his mind, he was praying for that not to happen. The press would have a field day at his expense- even though he was trying to protect himself. George thankfully seemed to notice his discomfort at their leering and took a step forward.

"Hey—that's enough." He frowned at them. "Leave im' alone."

"Really, Weasley? You of all people are going to stick up for a death eater?" The man who incited the incident stepped forward, bumping chests with the younger man.

"I'm sticking up for Harry's boyfriend." George said simply. "And I think you've said enough." He reached back and grabbed Lucius's arm. "Come on, Mr. Malfoy- let's go."

Lucius couldn't agree more. He turned on his heels sharply, ignoring the hoots and hollers from the group of men behind them. It went better than he originally thought- no hexes were fired, and no real damage was done to him other than increased humiliation. He shielded his face with the flat part of his hand, knowing well that his burning face was giving away how humiliated he was. After a block of walking, they were in the safety of George's joke shop.

"Can I get you something?" George asked as he made his way inside.

Lucius looked around at all the bright, colorful objects that sang, dance, told jokes- and even released odd odors. He batted at a flying dinosaur that seemed happy to hover around his head. "Ah…" He looked behind him at the door, longing for an exit away from the madness- but not one into a world that desired to harass him. "I…" If he left, he wouldn't be showing a proper level of commitment toward meeting and getting along with Harry's friends. Stuck didn't even begin to cover what he was. "Tea would be lovely."

"Right this way then!" George motioned for Lucius to come to the back. "We're in the middle of breeding pygmy puffs, so there's a bunch of them back here- just watch where you step."

Lucius suppressed a noise of disgust, and took a seat on an offered crate. "You could use some actual furniture here."

"Oh, I have an office, but right now it's filled with extendable ears."

"…I see." He folded his hands neatly in his lap. There were brightly colored pink and purple balls of fluff squeaking around his leather boots, laying on them or just alongside them. "Is this normal?"

"Sure thing!" George said as he fussed around with a tea pot. "They don't move too much. They're just saying hello. …So… tell me." His eyes flickered over to the Playwitch magazine. "Is this a Malfoy thing to do, pose in magazines- or was it a fluke thing?"

Lucius took in a deep sigh, graciously taking the offered cup of tea. "I... It was a youthful indiscretion. A moment of teenage rebellion that I thought was such a good idea at the time."

"So was Ron's pygmy puff tattoo." George snickered and sat down on a crate beside Lucius. It turned to straight out laughter at the wide-eyed man. "You're not the only one who did something stupid when they were a whelp. But hell, this really takes the cake." He took the magazine down from where he tossed it, holding it up for Lucius to see.

"I'm aware of that, George Weasley." Lucius said cooly. "…Put that away."

George sat the magazine back down. "I think you're thinking about this in the wrong way. You need to be more positive about this whole thing. You could turn this around to your favor, because I'm pretty sure this was done to humiliate you. Do it again! Do a new one, and donate the profits toward rebuilding Hogwarts."

"I will do no such thing! I can't pose for that trash again!" Lucius looked indignant. "I'm not a rebellious teenager any more, I'm an adult- attempting to rebuild his reputation-"

"Which is all the more reason to take a scandal and make it a positive thing." George grinned. "Come on, Lucius! At least think about it. Would you at least be a good sport and personalize this for Harry?"

Lucius finished up his cup of tea and looked at George- with his missing ear and big goofy grin. He was happy, moving on from the darkness that was all of their lives last year. He didn't hold any malice toward Lucius at all. He sighed softly and removed a quill from his cloak in order to scrawl a message across the front.

George flipped it around to read. "H: All my love… L. Very nice!"

"It was the least I could do."

(*) The Ministry Art Gala (*)

The art gala was finally upon him, and to say that there were no butterflies in his stomach was to tell a blatant lie. Draco was already there with Blaise, but he insisted on being fashionably late- what with being an artist and having a piece in the show, arriving on time would be passé.

"Far be it for a Malfoy to be on time." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not surprised."

"It's called being fashionably late, and I assure you it's essential." He offered his arm to Hermione, leading her up the steps to the ministry. Inside, it was packed to say the least. House elves walked around, offering flutes of expensive campaign which his date instantly scowled at. "The ministry elves are not mistreated." Lucius said with an amused look on his face. He took a glass from the tray, sipping out of it.

"I don't care, it's still wrong." She muttered, casting her eyes to the crowd. "Wow- this place is packed! I didn't think it would be this busy."

"People are trying to get back to normal." Lucius said with a shrug of a shoulder. "They're trying to move on- I suppose the art gala is a way to do that." The two of them began to walk around, looking at the different paintings- some were from professional artists, some were famous paintings- and the others were from Lucius's class. "This one is by the bald man who always wears plaid robes." Lucius gestured to the pastoral landscape. "He sits in front of me."

Hermione nodded and raised an eyebrow at his explanation. "It's nice but… does this mysterious bald artist have a name?"

"Most certainly. I just don't know it." He missed her rolling her eyes as they moved on to the next painting. Lucius's appraisals of his classmates were interesting, but not unkind. He only remembered one name that of Draco's old classmate Millicent, as she spilled gel medium on him once. A story he greatly exaggerated to Hermione in an attempt to get pity for his ruined robe and draw ire toward Millicent- old habits die hard.

"Mr. Malfoy, where's yours? I think we've seen everyone else's but yours."

Lucius faltered slightly at the thought. What would Hermione think if she saw it? Would she tell Harry? He frowned a bit, reminding himself that Harry was his original date, so he would find out anyway. "Ah, of course. Saving the best for last you see…" He took her arm and directed her over to his painting, standing in mild discomfort as he waited for her to figure it out.

Hermione's eyes went wide for a moment as she took in the sight of the seductive, powerful figure shrouded in darkness. The eyes stood out, staring right back at her defiantly. "…That's supposed to be Harry, isn't it?"

"Yes. …But don't say it so loudly."He hissed to her. "It's… it's a surprise of sorts."

Before Hermione could question why it was a surprise, Draco and Blaise made their ways over.

"Father! …And Granger." Draco gushed and gestured to his work. "I simply adore what you've painted. It's so sexual and raw. I didn't know you could… ah… paint like that. I think I'm going to purchase it! I have the perfect spot in my study where I'd like it to hang."

Hermione had to feign taking a sip out of her glass in order to avoid cracking a telling smile.

"Ah—Are you sure that's wise? It might be too inappropriate for a study, Draco." Lucius said in a mildly strained voice. He glanced to his date who was taking quite a long drink.

"Yeah Draco. It's not that raw or sexual, but it's still inappropriate." Blaise muttered. He gave Lucius a look, upset at the painter for creating something that attractive, and at himself for being jealous of a painting. "We can find something that won't be as inappropriate."

Lucius cleared his throat. "Thank you for the interest in my painting, Draco- oh, it appears that my date needs her drink refreshed. Miss Granger?" He offered her his arm.

Wordlessly, as she did not trust any syllable to come forth that wouldn't cause her to giggle, she took his arm. The pair walked off further into the gala, to enjoy the rest of the evening.

(*)

Lucius and Hermione were sitting on the back stairs of the ministry, splitting a bottle of wine they nicked from the table when no one was looking. He reached over with the bottle and refilled their glasses. "Quite an interesting night." He drawled out. "Civility reigned supreme, I'd say."

"Not a single thing was thrown at your person." Hermione added as she took a drink.

"No, not at all! Nor did they chase me out with pitchforks, or question me about that bloody Playwitch magazine. It has been a very choice evening." It was almost like the ones he used to have before the second war. The nostalgia pricked at his heart, which made him rub at the front of his robes a bit. "Thank you for being my date."

"I had a lovely time, Mr. Malfoy. And besides, I was missing Ron. I wanted to do something to keep my mind off of it. What about you, how've you been fairing?"

"About as well as you can imagine." Lucius mumbled sarcastically and sipped out of his glass. "Thankfully luck is on my side. There have been many distractions this past week thanks to youthful indiscretions coming back to haunt me."

"Oh yes, I saw the sign at Florish & Blotts. And the one you signed for Harry that George has."

Lucius sighed heavily, rolling his shoulders as if to shrug off the mistake he made as he looked down at the wine glass."You know, my father was so angry with me for that. He went and had every copy destroyed, and punched the photographer in the face so this wouldn't happen. I thought he was being cruel and unappreciative of my celebration of adulthood. But as I grow older, I now see that he wasn't being cruel at all. He was trying to stop this mess from happening. So much of what we think our parents do that is awful really isn't. It just takes time to realize it."

"…Your father punched a photographer in the face?"

"Yes. I had to bail him out of jail." Lucius said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "At the time I was mortified, now it's amusing."

Before Hermione could appropriately respond, the back door opened. Both of them turned to look upward at Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Minister! Come join our private party." Lucius drawled out as he held up the bottle. "We have this wine, which really isn't very good, but it is doing the trick."

"No thank you."

The words were solemn and deep. Hermione looked up at him and frowned. She reached over and put a hand on Lucius's arm.

"Oh come now, I don't bite. Not anymore. I assure you I'm harmless, if not a bit spirited. I've forgotten how good the taste of wine can be. Maybe when Harry returns, we will go on a wine tasting tour." He held up the glass of wine, grinning at it before setting it down in favor of analyzing the label with some scrutiny before glancing up to Kingsley again.

Kingsley took a deep breath as he looked at them both. Lucius's naked optimism and slightly intoxicated look coupled with Hermione's prepared grim expression unnerved him slightly. "I'm afraid I'm coming to you both with some bad news. It's about Harry."

Everything seemed to slow down as Kingsley uttered those words. He wavered unsteadily, and was thankful to be sitting down. The words repeated in his mind as he took in the expression on the minister's face. Weakness gripped him as the bottle slid from Lucius's hand, from his fingers and out of his hand completely before shattering on the stone steps they were sitting on.

TO BE CONCLUDED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!