Betrayal

It was always about the sex, more than anything. About Lucius Malfoy's lean body pressed against his own, cocks nudging against each other, fingers deftly touching and probing and playing. It was about sweat slicked bodies coming together on a rickety bed in a room that wasn't half good enough to hold a Malfoy but was far better than a werewolf in their society deserved.

From the moment Lucius had approached him that day in the Hog's Head, had sat down beside him, whisky in hand, he'd been the golden sun that eclipsed the star that was Sirius. Sirius had rejected him, had chosen half of James over all of Remus and it hurt, it still hurt even a year after leaving Hogwarts. It hurt worse than taking the Dark Mark had hurt.

The Mark throbbed on his forearm, it always hurt lately, as their Lord had been so very active, and Remus, like all His followers was subject to summons at any time. But the pain was as nothing compared to the gut ripping, bone churning agony of the werewolf transformation. Remus was tough, and unafraid. That was why the Dark Lord seemed to favour him.

As to why Remus had taken the Mark and pledged his fealty to He Who Must Not Be Named, that was no mystery. He would have followed Lucius into hell itself. Lucius listened when no one else cared, buttressed him against Sirius' rejection and the surprising sense of loss he'd experienced when he left Hogwarts. Lucius gave him hope and purpose and when they were alone, it was as if only he, Remus, existed, and all that glory and beauty was for him alone.

Of course, the promises the Dark Lord made about improvements in the lot of werewolves were important as well. The end of the tyranny of the petty bureaucrats and third rate functionaries who incompetently administered their world was a worthy goal, but to Remus it was all just icing on the golden cake.

So on the night of the end, Halloween, 1981, he waited for Lucius on the familiar bed, knowing that the next day would bring the death of two of his oldest friends and the destruction of their son and the utter ruin of Sirius Black. Lucius and the Dark Lord had plotted it well, and their plan would not fail.

Remus pushed aside thoughts of Harry's warm body cradled in his arms, of James' proud face as he told Remus he was to be a father, apologised for not being able to name him godfather as well as Sirius, silly Ministry werewolf rules, you know, Moony. He closed his mind to the memories of Sirius as he'd been at school, beautiful and fascinating, becoming an animagus for his friend.

Sirius had betrayed him, and James and Lily…well, they would never give Harry up to the Dark Lord, which of would have been the sensible course, so there really was no choice. And Remus had played his part well, maintaining his friendship with Sirius, nudging him towards turning over responsibility for the Fidelius charm to Peter.

Remus had known that if he'd suggested that he be Secret Keeper, Sirius would have been suspicious, but nobody suspected Peter, and Peter was now in the perfect position to deliver the Potters. At least it would be quick. Their Master had promised that to him.

The door opened and Lucius was there, smiling down at him with hair as fine as beaten gold. "Remus," he breathed in a voice as rich as clotted cream, "I missed you."

It had been over a week since they had come together – the Dark Lord was insistent on secrecy as he moved his plans to their conclusion, so his followers had been discreet in their meetings of late.

Before Remus could answer, he found himself caught up in Lucius arms, mouth seeking his own hungrily, then trailing kisses along his jawline, down his throat. His body ached with need, it was more than lust, more than love even. Every inch of him cried out with a need to be possessed by Lucius Malfoy, to belong to him like one of his hounds or horses.

His clothes were in a pile beside the bed and Remus lay supine as Lucius' mouth trailed fire down his chest, swirling around his nipples, biting lightly. Remus groaned and in response Lucius began to suckle gently, and it was like sparks from a wand energising his whole body. His prick was so hard, needed to be touched and he arched up, but Lucius pulled back and his organ hit empty air.

"Tease," he gasped, and in desperation moved to touch himself, but Lucius caught his wrists in one strong hand and pinned them up above his head, ravaging Remus' body with his mouth. Then finally, when Remus thought he would die from the frustration of it, Lucius' other hand closed on his prick, stroking it with agonising indolence, root to tip, then releasing only to repeat the process.

He tried to thrust into Lucius' hand, overwhelmed by a wanton need to increase the pace, but Lucius stilled him, releasing his wrists to stroke his whole body. "Shh, it's all right Remus, let go, let me please you." Like he'd still a frightened animal, his hands moved over Remus' body in encouragement and love, and Remus, who had the sovereignty of his body wrested from him monthly, found himself relinquishing control and allowing Lucius to awaken him.

Who would have thought so much pleasure could come from the soles of the feet, from the space behind the knees and the small of his back? It was as though his cock had swollen and encompassed every square inch of him, and when Lucius' mouth finally closed upon his prick, swallowing him down to the balls, he was already coming, and he tangled his fingers in the golden hair and let Malfoy milk out his seed to the last drop.

Lucius withdrew, and Remus turned over onto his belly, knowing his partner preferred to take him from the rear, but Lucius had left the bed and was putting back on the robe which he had discarded on entering.

"Lucius? What's wrong?"

"There isn't time for more. I must attend the Dark Lord before…the end." Remus was grateful that Lucius seldom mentioned James and Lily by name. It made this bearable. "Pettigrew will gain in favour through his actions tonight, and I must be there to remind our Lord who truly deserves to be at his right hand."

Remus started to pull on his trousers. "Should I come with you?"

Lucius smiled again, and there was something odd and distant in his eyes. "No, no. Stay here, wait for me. When it's done, I'll come back." He put one elegant hand on the doorknob, then stopped. "Remus, Black may come here, looking for you, after it's done."

Remus hadn't considered that. "I'll be fine." And he would. He'd learned duplicity at an early age, been cautioned from the day he'd been bitten to trust no one, to reveal nothing, and he could fool Sirius. "They'll send him to Azkaban after, won't they?"

"Yes, I expect so." Lucius sounded cautiously neutral. "Does it bother you?"

Remus closed his eyes, imagining Sirius' dark beauty and lively mind a banquet for Dementors. "Yes."

"Then when our Lord comes to power, I will ask him to have Black killed – quickly and mercifully, would that make you happy?"

The door was open now, and the darkness of the night spilled into the room. There were sounds of Halloween gatherings drifting in from the street and somewhere, Lily was putting Harry down to bed whilst James read The Prophet and Sirius waited at his flat, confident of their safety and Peter was kneeling before the Dark Lord. Events were inexorably in motion now.

"Yes, Lucius, that would make me happy." And he watched as his lover slipped into the night, a swirl of robes and cloak, the mask of a Death Eater hidden in the inside pocket.

Remus sat through the night, waiting, watching out his window as the night slipped away and dawn was breaking before he finally abandoned his solitary post and went out into the street. The world seemed hushed, and the sounds he'd heard in the night had been odd, rushed voices and shouts of what seemed to be joy.

As the sun rose, people started emerging from flats and shops, and the buzz of conversation swirled incomprehensibly around him. Finally, he stopped two older wizards who were beaming with delight. "What's happened?"

"What's happened, he asks?" said one to the other. "Can you believe it, Danny, the bloke doesn't know! You Know Who, he's gone!"

For the first time, Remus realised that the Dark Mark no longer burned in his arm. "Gone? How?"

"Little Harry Potter, poor lad." The other wizard, Danny, shook his head ruefully. "'E Wot Mustn't Be Named tried to do 'im in, but the spell must 'ave backfired. You Know 'OO got 'is parents, though, poor thing."

Remus hurried away from the celebrating wizards. James and Lily dead, Harry alive, the Dark Lord vanquished. It didn't seem possible. He knew there was only one place he could go for answers, as much as it pained him. Remus turned down a dark alley and Apparated for Hogsmeade, intent on finding Albus Dumbledore.


The day, a day of celebration and holiday throughout the wizarding world, finally drew to a close, and Remus, mind churning with what Dumbledore had said, frantic to see Lucius and know what was happening with his fellow Death Eaters, retreated to his flat, knowing that waiting was his only course of action. It was going on midnight when he heard the scrape of a key in the lock.

Lucius stood swaying in the doorframe, pale as paper. He looked utterly done in. "It's over, Remus."

"I've heard. I've been to see Dumbledore. Sirius-" he didn't know what to say about Sirius. Dumbledore firmly believed he had murdered Peter and those Muggles.

"Yes, I know. Convenient that he flew off the handle like that," Lucius came to sit on the bed and Remus leaned into him.

"Sirius was never one to think before acting, always jumped to conclusions." That had been the start of it all, Sirius jumping to conclusions about Snape and sending him to the Shack. It seemed as though that had happened in another lifetime.

"I'm grateful to my cousin's rash impulses, it means fewer loose ends for us to clean up. No witnesses." Lucius seemed distant.

"But what if he talks, there's the trial, and Veritaserum. In a case this important-"

Lucius cut him off, and stood abruptly, pacing over to the window to gaze out into the night. "No trial. I've had a few words with those in authority. Yes, Black may try to talk, but he's already in Azkaban, anything he says will be discounted as the ravings of a madman desperate to save himself. You heard he laughed when they came to take him?"

Yes, Remus had heard, his mind was full of the picture of Sirius standing on the ruined street, hair wild around him, laughing...laughing. "Yes, I heard. I suppose even if he does say they switched, everyone will think Peter was the only traitor. I should be relieved, but this is...unexpected."

Lucius laughed mirthlessly, and Remus was reminded that Lucius and Sirius were kin through more than just marriage. "What about the Potter brat? Could you get access to him? He vanquished our Lord, so clearly there's potential there."

"I tried to get Dumbledore to give him to me, but with my condition, under the current regime, Lucius, you know how it is. The boy's gone to his Muggle relatives." Remus remembered Petunia Dursley, so contemptuous of her sister and her adopted world. Harry would suffer. Well, so had he.

"A pity. If he could be brought up with a proper appreciation for the Dark Arts...though I'd not want to raise up a rival to my Draco." A strange look of triumph flashed across Lucius' face. "With the Dark Lord gone, our forces are in disarray, there's real opportunity here, Lupin, for those with the wit to see it."

Lupin? It had been Remus the night before, Remus through all the nights and days and they had come together since he'd betrayed his friends. "What happens now?"

"We go on. Malfoys have always gone on. When Grindelwald fell, we continued. When the Troll Rebellions were put down, my family went on. When Salazar Slytherin crumbled into dust and his dynasty fell, we remained." His eyes glowed. "Like cats, we land on our feet."

The night was very silent. The parties and celebrations had faded, exhausted and happy wizards and witches had sought beds, and Remus wanted nothing more than to rest in Lucius' arms, but this distance that had started as a tiny crack was widening into a huge valley. "You land on your feet. You move on, Lucius, but what about me? It sounds like I'm being left behind here."

"I don't know what you mean." And looking at Lucius' inocuous expression, the same one Remus had seen him use when he was lying to the other Death Eaters, his heart sank.

"Lucius, please. Without our Lord and the promises he made, I've got nothing - nor rights, no place in our world, no future." He forced the trembling from his voice. He was strong, he'd been a werewolf almost all his life, he would not beg. "He's gone now, and my future is in ruins."

Lucius had not taken off his cloak, had made no move to touch him or comfort him. It was as it had been that first day when it had been all suspicion and fear between them. "Everyone's future is in ruins, Lupin. It's up to you to rebuild it."

Up to me, Remus thought. "What about us, then?"

"Without our Lord, there is no us." And without another word, he left, leaving the door standing open to the night.

Remus got up, dazed, and shut the door. 'Mustn't let in the night,' his mother used to say when he was a child, pulling his windows shut, 'evil things come in with the darkness.'

Well, he'd let in the night, though it had been clothed in the raiment of the brightest day, and now James and Lily and Peter were dead and Sirius was as good as, and he'd sold his dearest friends for a mess of pottage. Betrayer and betrayed, he sank to his knees beside the bed where Malfoy's sinful lying tongue had given him such pleasure, and howled like the beast he was.