Lucius x Reader (Temptation)

Chapter 5: Memories

  After eating a lovely dinner of roast pork and roast duck, you top it off with some lovely pudding. You take one mouthful and your eyes go wide. "Mmm... This is the best pudding I've ever eaten! Mm!" You moan, momentarily forgetting your manners. Lucius gives you a strained look, and you think your poor table manners are starting to grate on his nerves.
  Politely swallowing your roast duck, you ask Lucius again,"Mr Malfoy, sir, when will you be ready to report back to work? Its alright if you can't, but can you tell me roughly how long of a leave will you be taking?" Lucius looks up from his meal.
"I'm not sure how long I need. Perhaps you can inform your Head that I can't be back anytime soon." Lucius says. A worm of worry wriggles in the base of your stomach. You really needed to give your boss an answer, and what Lucius was telling you wasn't going to make your boss happy.
  Lucius asks in a soft voice,"How's the meal? I hope it is satisfactory. Not like anything below that level would dare to be served in my house but, I would like to hear your opinion nonetheless." You grin and say, "This food is delicious! Please give my compliments to the chef! And as I said earlier, this pudding is one of the best that I have ever eaten! Who cooked it?" Lucius smiles at you, a genuine smile, not those smiles that he reserved for the public. "I did. It's a recipe that Severus taught me in my youth. If only he were here now..." The smile on Lucius' face vanished instantly with the mention of Severus. Draco hastily shot in and helped to explain things to you.
  "My father never really did love Mother that much. He saw Mother as his absolute best friend. He was actually in love with Severus Snape. During the war, as you know, Severus died at the hands of the Dark Lord. That was what it took to make Father defect to the Light Side. He was devasted by his loss, but it was a loss suffered in war, and he never time to mourn." You look in shock at the information that Draco has just given you. Lucius Malfoy, whom everyone thought was on good terms with his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, was actually gay and in love with Severus Snape, the most unlikeable man in Hogwarts. You need a moment to process this.
Lucius abruptly said, "Miss [y/n], if we have finished discussing my love life, we can get back to talking about my work. I have reached a decision." "Mr Malfoy, sir, if you need some time, its all right! I understand you've had some big losses, and I will try to talk to my boss about it. If you need a listening ear, I can he-" "Enough. I shall be coming back to work." Lucius said coldly, and stood up. He grabbed his cane next to him and took out his wand. You had a flashback to when you were younger and you grabbed your wand and pointed it at Mr Malfoy. You scream and topple out of your chair. Scuttling against the wooden floor, you hit your back against a wall. You can hear the screams, the pain, the torture that the Death Eaters did unto your family, the torture that this man did, and oh dear Merlin, he's going to do it to you too-
"Miss [y/n], are you alright?" A voice interrupted your train of thought. Lucius was kneeling in front of you, concern showing in his eyes. Still grabbing your wand, you try to keep eye contact with him. This is the man who murdered your parents, this is the man who murdered your friends, this is the man who tortured you-
  "Its the memories, isn't it?" Lucius said softly. He gently holds your chin and makes you face him. "I know how it feels. The war may be over, but you're still haunted by the ghost of it. You're safe. I won't hurt you." You shiver as he forces your wand hand down. You force yourself to take in deep breaths and calm yourself down. "Thank you, Mr Malfoy. I'm sorry for acting in such an immature manner." You hold the wall for balance as you stand up. You push all thoughts of pain out of your mind. "I should be leaving now. Thank you again for the meal." You say as you make your way to the door. Lucius walks toward you and plants a small kiss on your hand. Your face flushes red. "Draco, show her out." He says as he walks back to his seat. Draco shows you to the door and you ask curiously, "Why did your father greet me like that? Does he kiss the hand of every woman he sees?" Part of you felt stupid for asking, but you didn't understand why Mr Malfoy was acting so formally. "My father is old fashioned, and he did that to show you that there are no hard feelings. He isn't one to express his emotions in words, so he did it through that small gesture. See you at work tomorrow then, [y/n]." You wave goodbye to Draco as you apparate home.
  When you get home, you take a shower. Under the hot water, you think about the activities of the day. Why did you feel so bothered by Lucius' actions? It was just a small peck on the hand as a show of courtesy. You splash some hot water into your face. No, you are not thinking too much about this. He's married, and way older than you. Trying to force yourself to think about other things, you think of the anxiety attack you got today. You had never gotten an attack so badly in the past few years. I can't let that happen again, you think to yourself. Finishing your shower, you go off to bed.