Tying up loose ends, he'd told his father. Things were rather slow for the ministry that week and, while the council would have been more than thrilled to use him as a work horse, Lucius had claimed he needed a reprieve. Time to run a few personal errands and the like. Abraxas wasn't exactly pleased, undoubtedly sensing something unspoken in his son's explanation, but let it pass.

Word was quick to reach his ears a number of things, no matter the rules of secrecy. The dark lord had a fierce grip on his followers, yes, and it would have been foolish to openly disobey. But more than a few of the faithful thought it necessary to at least educate Lucius on the events that led up to the 'visit' in France. The meeting with Narcissa he already knew of, intimately in fact, but Paris' punishment came as a shock.

Again, the dark lord's wrath was known. Especially to Lucius. He simply never thought Paris would take loyalty to such an extreme. He both hated and loved her for it. Another wound on his conscience. Another friend in pain because of his own weakness.

Need for a familiar voice, need for a bit of closure on what was sure to be a sore point, were among the reasons that drove Lucius to Paris' home. He'd asked around and it wasn't difficult to find that Paris still stayed with her parents. True, it was tradition for unwed pureblood women but, with Paris, one couldn't count on protocol to determine behavior.

The elves led him upstairs without question (he did have a way with the foul beasts) and Lucius was a tad bit shocked to find a nursery laid out before him. He thought that perhaps the oafish thing was mistaken. But no. There was Paris. And...

"I didn't know your mother was expecting..." He stated though his immediate response was a bit closer to the truth. Paris' tastes for the forbidden were close to his own. A little too close, a voice within him reminded. Memories flashed, a little hazy, across his mind and Lucius Malfoy visibly blanched.

~Lucius Malfoy~