Lucius sat in his study reading over a few missives. He'd been awaiting the arrival of Antonin Dolohov. An owl had arrived the night before informing Lucius that Dolohov would be arriving by floo at eight tonight. Lucius had sent Hermione to bed, telling her that under no circumstances was she to come down. She'd kissed him sweetly and went to bed without another question.
Lucius knew if she needed him, he'd feel it, so he wasn't worried.
The fire roared to life with green flames. Lucius looked up from his missive and placed it on the desk as Dolohov, a man he had once called a friend, stepped through the fire and into his study.
"Late as usual, Dolohov," Lucius chided as he stood to greet the pale faced, dark haired wizard.
"I apologize for my lateness. My assignment took much longer than expected," Dolohov explained.
Lucius nodded his head in understanding, truly not wanting to know what his assignment consisted of, but he had a feeling that Dolohov would regale him nonetheless. "You see the Dark Lord sent me to find the Weasley family."
"I see. And?" Lucius asked. During the meeting in the Forbidden Forest with Potter and Dumbledore, Lucius had seen most of the Weasley family, and knew they were hiding along with much of what was left of the Order.
"We caught the eldest Weasley, as well as the Weasley girl." Dolohov boasted indifferently.
"I'm sure the Dark Lord was satisfied by this?" Lucius pressed.
"He would have had the girl been unharmed, but she put up a hell of a fight." He reminisced. "I ended up having to hit her with my spell to subdue the pair of them and stop the fight." he explained his menacing look toward the door made Lucius cringe inwardly, "Needless to say," Dolohov said as he turned his attention back to Lucius, "They were both injured in the process."
Disgust filled him because he, at one time, behaved and spoke the same as this filthy excuse for a human. Now he worried for his mate and her friends. Though he wasn't sure how close Hemione was to the girl Weasley.
Lucius had been so deep in thought that he'd almost missed Dolohov asked. "So, how's having the Mudblood for a slave?" The man had asked it so casually that it made Lucius' skin crawl.
Caught off guard, Lucius cleared his throat and answered, "She can be difficult at times, but for the most part she follows orders well. It took time, but she does well on her knees, if you understand my meaning. Fire whiskey?" Lucius asked, hating the words that he spoke but also knew they were necessary. He watched Dolohov's face, hoping he'd done a good enough job convincing him he'd broken Hermione.
Dolohov grinned and nodded. Lucius opened his whiskey cabinet and pulled out a bottle of his finest fire whiskey along with two glasses and poured a generous amount in both. Lucius handed a glass to Dolohov and took a long swig.
For hours he listened as Dolohov excitedly told him stories of the assignments the Dark Lord had sent him on and all the crude and violent things Dolohov had done over the last six months. Lucius did his best to seem attentive and interested, though he wanted the man to leave his home.
Lucius had poured the last of the fire whiskey into Dolohov's glass when a sudden pang hit him. The sound of glass hitting the floor rang through the otherwise silent Manor. Something was wrong. His heartbeat quickened. How was he to check on her without arousing suspicion? Both men's attention was now focused on the door.
"I wonder what that was. I'll be right back." Lucius stood his face still cold and indifferent. His heart knew something was wrong with his witch, and he needed to check on her. He walked out of the room and headed to her room.
"Mipsy," he said sharply.
The small elf appeared a short distance behind him. She stumbled to keep up with his long strides. "Master calls Mipsy?"
"Dolohov is in my study. I would like you to keep him there. Don't let him leave the confines of the study," he ordered.
The small elf finally stopped trying to keep up with him and bowed, disapparating away to tend to his guest, as she usually did when he had to step away.
Lucius ran up the stairs to their bedroom to check on Hermione. When he arrived, she was not asleep on her side of the bed where he had expected to find her. Panic filled him as he walked around the bed and found her on the floor, sobbing. Shattered glass and water surrounded his beloved. He fell to his knees beside her. "Hermione? Are you alright?" He asked her softly.
"I think so," she answered in a trembling voice as she looked up at him, her eyes still full of tears.
He noticed a deep gash on her forehead. "Darling what happened?" he asked with concern in his tone as he picked her up from the floor, walked away from the glass, and set her on her feet. He braced her with one arm and used the other to brush the glass out of her hair and off her clothes. He then lifted her back up bridal style and placed her gently on the bed.
"I had a nightmare. I guess I threw myself out of bed and knocked my water to the floor," she answered softly.
"Yes, I can see that. You must've also hit your head on the table," he said as he stood and crossed the room to the bathroom. He opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled out a salve that would help her heal quickly and eliminate any pain she'd experience. He grabbed a washcloth and wet it at the sink. He returned to her and sat softly on the bed. "Let me see," he said as he brought the cloth to her head and started to clean the wound. She hissed in pain as he did, but he said nothing. She was entitled to her reaction. He placed the cloth on the bedside table and put some of the salve in a thick layer over the wound. "There that should help."
"Thank you, Lucius." she said as she smiled at him before curling back beneath the covers. "See you in a bit?"
He nodded in response to her question. He was ready to be in bed with his witch, but first he needed to deal with Dolohov. Lucius turned and headed back downstairs in the direction of his study.
As she arrived in her master's study, Mipsy noticed that her master's guest bore the Dark Mark like he did. She kept quiet as she crept through the large room toward the whiskey cabinet. She pulled a bottle out and began to fill his glass. Distracted by a sound, Mipsy accidentally spilled some on Dolohov's hand.
"Oi! Watch it elf!" Dolohov shouted at her.
Mipsy trembled as she quickly placed the bottle on the desk and pulled a rag from her ratty old dress and tried to wipe his hand dry. He snatched it quickly from her and slapped her halfway across the room.
"So sorry, Sir. Master will be back shortly," she assured him as she started to clean the desk free of the spilled whiskey.
Mipsy saw the man glaring at her. "So, elf," he hissed. "What's it like for you? Forced to work with the Mudblood?"
The question sparked anger in Mipsy. Her master hadn't been himself since the filthy Mudblood had showed up. She hated her and wanted nothing more than to see her gone. "First she takes our work, then she takes our master," she blurted out.
Dolohov's face screwed up, another question on his lips. Mipsy realized her mistake. She had failed her master. She had told this man that her master, a pureblood, was treating a Mudblood well. Mipsy rushed to the fireplace. "I..." she sobbed as she stuck a hand deep into flames for only a moment before she was snatched off the floor and held eye level to Dolohov, his wand pressed deep into her throat.
"What do you mean, she stole your master?" he ground out through gritted teeth.
The tiny elf's wide teary eyes stared at him as she struggled with herself not to elaborate on the subject. The tip of his wand heated up burning into her flesh. Mipsy yelped loudly before she squeaked out, "They has gotten close. She no longer works. Master even dressed her up and took her out." Mipsy explained and continued to struggle in the strong wizard's hand.
Dolohov sneered as the door to the study opened. "I'm sorry f-" Lucius began as his eyes fell upon his guest and his house elf. His face grew dark. "Is there a reason you are manhandling my elf?"
Dolohov lowered the elf to the floor. "She spilled whiskey on me. I was just reprimanding her."
Lucius set his jaw as Mipsy hid behind his leg. "I think we should call it a night. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."
Dolohov's face was set in an unreadable expression. He nodded and crossed the room to the fireplace. He pulled his pouch of floo powder out and shouted his destination. "See you soon old friend," he sneered as he stepped into the green flames and was gone.
Lucius turned to his cowering elf. "What the devil happened?"
"Mipsy spilled whiskey on Masters friend," Mipsy responded shakily.
He growled in frustration and strode out of the room leaving a seething Mipsy to clean his study and settle the house down for the night. Mipsy went to the fire and held her hands in the flames until they were burned almost to the bone. She didn't allow herself to yelp in pain but took the punishment willingly. She had failed her master, but if it got rid of the mudblood, it was worth it.