DISCLAIMER: The stuff isn't mine, k?  It's all created and/or inspired by the one and only J.K. Rowling.  I'm just a fan with a couple minutes of spare time every now and then.

A/N: I'm really new to the Harry Potter universe, so please keep that in mind as you read.  My stuff probably won't be too accurate… I've tried to read the books and stuff, but between school and all the other stuff in my crazy life, it's hard to find the time, not to mention the issue of availability – HP books are not easy to come by around these parts!  (I'm working on it, though.  Be patient.  ^_^)  I had an idea and thought it would work, so I decided to try this out.  I would appreciate help with this project, so if you can offer any ideas, suggestions, or resources (ex. websites with HP info), I would love you forever!  Thanks! 

Oh, and I promised my flamers that I would put up this WARNING section, so here it is: Readers, please be aware of Mary Sue-ness and twisting of the Malfoys and attitudes toward them beyond all conceivable belief.  (I promise that the Mary Sue character has substance, though…)  This is little more than a half-assed fairy tale, but if you like half-assed fairy tales and can stand Mary Sues and hard-to-swallow portrayals of most of the characters, then you'll probably be able to enjoy this story.  A more believable HP story is swimming around in my mind, but for now, try to settle with Oliver Wood as a violin player and Voldemort as a gazelle.

SUMMARY: Without warning, Lucius Malfoy's entire life is torn apart when Voldemort decides to place his trust elsewhere.  Lucius turns to the Ministry of Magic, but they are unable to help him.  He has only one choice – Hogwarts.  There, old enemies become allies, and he has several run-ins with a sharp-witted professor who isn't afraid to stand up to him.  As the stakes are driven higher, old walls are torn down, and if they can survive, our friends will never be the same.

GENRE: A little bit of everything.

RATING: PG-13 for occasional violence, language, and some adult themes (and the massacre of poor little house-elves…).  Rating is mostly to be on the safe side.

~~ Trust Me ~~

a Harry Potter fan fic written by a new, but devoted addict

~~ Chapter One: Betrayed ~~

After nearly two weeks of business-related trips all over northwestern Europe, Lucius Malfoy was finally returning home.  He was looking forward to being able to remain at Malfoy Manor for a few days until duty called again.  Lucius was the type of man who quickly grew weary of travel and would much rather remain at home, studying spell books or his true passion, reading classic literature.  His plan for tonight was to let everyone at the manor know he was back, then lock himself in the library with a leather-bound copy of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles.  He couldn't think of a better way to pass the time, and if he remained undisturbed, his night would be perfect.  Lucius was a man who liked his privacy.

            Lucius stepped out of the taxicab and strode up to the front gate of Malfoy Manor.  His fingers found the keypad and entered the seven-digit code that opened the gate.  To his dismay, nothing happened.  He stared at the keypad in disbelief.  He was sure he entered the code correctly… must have been traveling too long, he thought.  He made a mental note to request shorter business trips.  Being away from home slowed his thinking.

            He entered the code again, making sure to put it in exactly right: 7-4-1-3-6-2-6.  He waited for the gate to open.  It remained closed.

            He was starting to get frustrated.  The servants knew better than to change the code without asking him for permission.  Had Narcissa changed it?  That didn't seem likely.  Narcissa rarely left the grounds, and he doubted she even knew the code.  There was no reason.  This wasn't making any sense at all.

            Lucius entered the code for a third time.  The gate did not budge.  "Damn this gate," he mumbled, and reached for his wand.  He pointed it at the gate and said some magic words.  The gate was ripped from the brick wall it was attached to and tossed to the ground several feet away.  Destroying the gate was probably a bad idea, but he was in a foul mood.  Nothing was sacred when he felt like this.

Once the obstacle of the stubborn gate was out of the way, he proceeded to cross the grounds over to the entrance to the enormous, ancient house his family had lived in for centuries.  He reached the front door and stopped, expecting one of the house-elves to open it.  No one came.  This peculiar chain of events was most annoying to him.  First the gate wouldn't open, and now the front door wouldn't open.  What next?

The door was much easier to open than the gate; all it required was a simple placing of the hand on the large, ornately carved handle and pulling it open.  No magic involved.  He stepped inside.  The house, normally illuminated by candles and sunlight pouring in from outside, was completely dark.  This struck him as very unusual indeed.

With a wave of his wand, Lucius was able to pull back the shades that covered a large window at the end of the entrance hall, shedding some light into the room.  "Hello?" he called, hoping someone would answer.  His voice echoed through the large house with no response of any kind.

Now he was angry.  Lucius was never in a good mood after traveling, and this was making it worse by the second.  "Narcissa!" he yelled, walking through the house.  Hopefully the woman who was his wife could explain what was going on.  He hoped the house-elves weren't on strike again.

As he walked down the hall, he spotted a door slightly ajar out of the corner of his eye.  It wasn't much, but it was a start.  Maybe he could find some clues in this room, which he identified as the sleeping chambers for their many house-elves.  Lucius pulled the door open all the way – and gasped.

The room was littered with the bodies of at least two dozen house-elves.  Some were hanging off furniture, some were scattered on the floor, and a few were even attached to the ceiling, but regardless of where they were, all had one thing in common: they were all dead.  Lucius ran into the room and knelt down next to the first elf he reached.  The small creature's eyes were closed, and dried blood stained its cloak.  Lucius could see where the blood came from – four long gashes along its chest.  He ran his fingers over the wound, trying to guess how old it was.  This one had been dead for about a day and a half.  The others were probably killed at the same time.

Just then, Lucius had a thought.  If these elves were dead, what about the rest of his household?  He turned away from the sight of the slain elves and left the room, running as fast as he could to Narcissa's chambers.

Lucius tore open the door to his wife's bedroom.  His eyes darted around the room, frantically looking for some sign that she was alive.  He found none.  Finally, his gaze fell upon her bed, and there she was.

Dread filled his heart as he walked over to the bed.  Narcissa was lying on the bed, face down, drowning in a pool of her own blood.  Lucius turned her over, and immediately identified the cause of death – four long gashes that ran from her forehead to her stomach.  He couldn't understand why this happened.  Everything was fine when he left.  He leaves Malfoy Manor for two weeks, and what happens?  Everyone gets slaughtered, that's what.

Next to Narcissa's body, Lucius spied a piece of parchment rolled up and sealed with wax.  He picked it up, broke the seal, and unrolled the scroll.  The words were written in dried blood.  "You are no longer capable of that which has been entrusted to you," it read.  "Let this serve as a warning that none who challenge my power and authority will go unpunished.  This goes triple for you."

Lucius's eyes flamed, and crumpled the paper in his fist.  "Voldemort."

"I'm sorry, my friend.  I cannot help you."

Lucius Malfoy could barely believe his ears.  "What do you mean, you can't help me?"

"This incident does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic," Cornelius Fudge responded as the two wizards walked the halls of the Ministry of Magic.  "We cannot interfere with acts that are not directed toward the organization."

Lucius didn't take no for an answer.  "Suppose I made a donation to the Ministry, say, half a million Galleons?  Would that be enough to ensure protection for myself and my son?"

Fudge shook his head.  "Lucius, I told you, I cannot help you," he said.  "This is not a situation I have control over."

"A million, then."

"My suggestion would be to keep your Galleons and hire yourself and Draco bodyguards."

"That's what the elves were supposed to be," Lucius spat, "and fifty of them weren't even enough to protect Narcissa."

"I'm sorry for your loss, old friend, but I gave you my answer."

Loss… could her death really be described as a "loss"?  To Draco maybe, but in truth, he barely knew his wife.  He married her because he needed an heir, and since she was a pureblood from Slytherin House, the one all Malfoys attended at Hogwarts, she was the ideal candidate.  Draco was conceived on their wedding night, and after that, they never made love again.  He was financially secure, and in exchange for an heir, he provided her with a life in the lap of luxury.  They lived entirely separate lives, and that was what they wanted, perfectly content to live as strangers under the same roof.  How could he lose something he never had in the first place?

"What course of action do you recommend?" Lucius asked.

Fudge shrugged.  "Does Draco know yet?"

"No.  I plan to travel to Hogwarts tomorrow and inform him of the situation."

"Hogwarts can do more to protect you than we can.  Draco is under their jurisdiction.  They may take you in as well until this threat has passed."

Hogwarts?  Go to Dumbledore for help?  The very thought disgusted him.  "I would rather face Voldemort myself than go to them," he said with disdain in his voice.

"I know," Fudge replied, "but what about Draco?  He's your only heir, Lucius.  Can you bear to lose him?"

Fudge's words echoed through Lucius's mind.  "Can you bear to lose him?"  As much as he hated to admit it, Fudge was right.  If he wanted to keep his son safe, Hogwarts was his first, last, and only choice.  "Very well," he said with a sigh.  "I will leave at once."

Fudge nodded.  "Good luck."