LANDSLIDE, james potter [2]

Chapter Thirty-Five

There was an eerie air surrounding Malfoy manor. There was a distance between its inhabitants, as usual, but there was something else this time. Because when Lucius Malfoy looked at his wife, it was almost like he felt pity for her. 

Nothing particularly horrible had happened in a long time, so there was nothing that could explain the change. That's why Lyra was worried. Ever since she had noticed the new way he looked at her, she had been on edge and making sure the Order knew of her suspicions that he was planning something. 

Because it had to be something coming. He hadn't pitied her in years and so it wouldn't make sense for her to suddenly have a change of heart. Lyra wasn't always sure if he had a heart. She mostly just imagined a big, black hole where the heart was supposed to be. 

Whether he had earned that cruel depiction of him or not, she wasn't sure. But she had a feeling that whatever he was planning, whatever caused him to have pity for her, might make him earn it no matter what. 

Lyra had finished writing a letter in her study when Lucius suddenly walked in. He was wearing dark robes and she was quite sure that a Death Eater mask wouldn't look out of place with his outfit. She swallowed a lump in her throat at the sight. 

"I'm leaving," he told her shortly. His chin was held high, but something in his betrayed him. Either he was showing pity or he was simply scared. She knew him well enough to notice. "I have some business to take care of."

"What kind of business?" the blonde woman asked warily. Her gaze was cold and calculating, studying him and every single one of his ticks, trying to get something, anything, out of him. 

"That's none of your concern." He seemed to quickly realize that he had betrayed some sort of emotion to his wife and straightened up, turning cold. But only for a moment, as he softened at her looking slightly scared. It was barely there, only a slight line on her forehead but he noticed. He always did. "Everything will be alright, Lyra."

Lyra took a moment before saying anything else. Lucius barely betrayed emotions if he didn't want to. And fright was rarely one of them. There was something about this mission that scared him. And, by the looks of it, should scare her. "And if it won't be?"

"If not..." Lucius hesitated, not sure what to say. He had obviously thought about it but hadn't come to any definite conclusion. "I just need you to watch your back. Yours and Draco's. That's what's most important."

"Don't go," she said quickly, surprising even herself. If whatever he was going to do was so bad that he was worried she'd have to protect herself and Draco on her own then she'd rather he stayed. "Please."

The blond man looked at his wife for a moment, obviously conflicted. The last time she had asked him to stay in a way like this was Halloween night in 1981. He hoped it wouldn't end in the same type of heartache and trouble. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I don't have a choice."

He turned his head away, refusing to look at her for another moment. He turned his back next, refusing to hesitate as he closed the door. She could hear him apparate away, even with a door separating them. 

Lyra took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do. She looked at the owl sitting by the windowsill and quickly realized that there was only one way for her to help now as she had no idea where Lucius was going. Dumbledore would know. Snape would have told him.

She started writing letters. At least ten. One to every member of the Order of the Phoenix that she could recall at the moment. Her head was so cluttered with worry that she was sure she had forgotten many. 

She sent them as quickly as she could, using all the owls her and Lucius had bought for this very occasion. Then she waited. She should have distracted herself with anything else because she knew it wasn't healthy. But she couldn't find it within her.