Lucius/Percy Chan

[icarus]

Little Boy Blue
by Icarus


Percy's eyes hurt and his throat was hoarse from sobbing. Hot, sticky tears ran down his cheeks as he dodged left and right around tall robed legs that ignored him in Diagon Alley. He peered about for his mum. His brothers. Anyone.

They had left him.

Maybe he should have stayed at the ice cream place; but he had waited and waited, watched people order ice cream, eat it and leave, the bell jingling, jingling, all afternoon.

First Percy was surprised when he stepped out of the bathroom and found them all gone. Then he crossed his arms in annoyance when they took a long time to come back. Finally he panicked - maybe they weren't coming! - and went to look for them.

Now nobody even noticed him, and he didn't recognise any of the shops. He couldn't stop the raking, choking sound that made his stomach shake.

He felt the heat of the tall presence pause behind him. A voice said:

"Stop that at once."

Percy turned and stared slowly up a tower of black robes, up to a pale blond face; he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a smudged fist. And sobbed louder in a stuttering breath, though he bit his lip and tried to smother it. The stranger glared down at him.

"Enough. What is your name?"

Percy hiccuped, but couldn't get enough air to force the words out.

The glare narrowed. "Name, boy, name. Do you make intelligible sounds, or is this all that you know?"

Irritation flashed through Percy. Everyone told him he was smart. He took a shaky breath, and managed, "I'm P- Percy."

"Hmm," the stranger nearly growled. "Good. Now that you can speak, you can also stop that noise." Then he turned to leave. Percy saw that they were in front of a little restaurant, and in front of it there was a table with a tablecloth and all sorts of writing things were spread on it. The man moved towards that table.

"I'm lost," Percy pleaded and clutched at the retreating robe. It was soft. The man gave him a look that made Percy drop it immediately, but he kept talking.

"My m-mum, she left, we were having ice cream and they're… g-gone…" Percy's sobbing renewed at full wail at the reminder of his hopeless plight. "I c-can't," he snuffled, "find them!"

"Did you look where you left them?" the man said with some asperity. It really annoyed Percy this time.

"I'm lost!" he said, face burning with embarrassment and irritation at the stupid man. How can you find something when you've lost it? If you lost it, that means you don't know where it is!

The man looked about. There were several bystanders eyeing the scene now.

He heaved a sigh and made a motion with his wand that packed up his writing supplies. Then he seized Percy by the upper arm. "Let me guess. You wandered off from where you were supposed to be."

"We had ice cream and they didn't come back," Percy said defensively, blinking up at him. Then he decided to explain. "I went to the bathroom and -"

"And you didn't stay there and wait? Oh, you foolish child. You have only yourself to blame." He began walking, dragging Percy slightly behind him. "Fortescue's is not ten blocks from here." He paused briefly, and glanced down at Percy, as if he vaguely hoped that would be direction enough. Then resolutely kept walking. The crowd parted in front of him. Percy kept up with his long strides with a slight skip every few steps. "I can only hope my own son displays more sense once he's your age."

Percy looked up at the tall blond man with a mixture of fear and hope. As they crossed the street at a brisk pace, the man finally released his arm. Percy rubbed where it had started to hurt, and skipped two steps to catch up.

The cobblestones of Diagon Alley were slippery and wet with rain, and shone burnished gold from the last rays of the sun. Percy had been lost all afternoon. The man guided him with occasional touches to his upper back. Left. Right. There was no sea of legs now. Everyone got out of their way, quickly.

Percy felt so warm and protected by the man's presence, his cool confidence, that as they stepped into Fortescue's - the man's hand on his shoulder pressed him forward - it was a surprise to not find his family there, waiting. The ice cream shop was bright white, and quite empty.

The sniffles threatened again. What if they never came back for him? Had they forgotten him completely? A glare down at Percy silenced those thoughts, as if his rescuer had heard them.

Mr Fortescue leapt up with alacrity from his chair behind the counter.

"Mr Malfoy," he bobbed. Percy had sort of guessed that the man beside him was someone important, the way everyone got out of their way. This proved it. "Is there anything I can get you today?"

Mr Malfoy looked enquiringly at Percy. But Percy had had enough ice cream, enough for the rest of his life in fact. He shook his head. Mr Malfoy's hand rested on his shoulder.

"One hot chocolate then." Mr Malfoy ran his hands through Percy's hair, and toyed with the ends. "And would you happen to know to whom this child belongs?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. He's one of the Weasley boys, sir. Middle child, or one of them anyway. Peter, I believe." Percy winced. It annoyed him when people got his name wrong, but Mr Fortescue just talked over his head. "He's been waiting here all afternoon, or most of it."

"Has he now." Malfoy's glance down at Percy was slightly more approving. Percy's chin lifted. Of course he had waited.

"Yes, sir," Mr Fortescue chortled. He swallowed his laugh when it wasn't returned. Mr Malfoy was too important to laugh with shopkeepers who couldn't even remember someone's name. Percy stood a little closer. The soft robe warmly brushing against his side, and Mr Malfoy gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Nothing to worry about, sir. Molly Weasley's always losing one or another of them. She'll turn up eventually -- in a panic." He poured the hot chocolate and it steamed under the flick of his wand. He looked up warily at Mr Malfoy. "I, er, simply assumed she'd found him when he disappeared." His voice was slightly defensive.

Mr Fortescue was in trouble now, Percy thought haughtily. It was a good thing he didn't forget Mr Malfoy's name.

"Regretfully, it seems he has reappeared; underfoot." Mr Malfoy tapped his lip with a forefinger, gazing down at Percy thoughtfully. His hand slid from Percy's shoulder as he picked up his chocolate with a sigh. "Well then. I shall wait."

Mr Fortescue stared at Mr Malfoy with an odd, unreadable expression, as if he wasn't used to seeing him rescue little lost boys. But Mr Malfoy ignored the stare and guided Percy with a hand on the small of his back to a table, and then folded gracefully into a chair. He set the cup of chocolate down in front of Percy.

Oh. It was for him.

Percy squirmed as he sipped obediently, although he wasn't at all thirsty. But he tried to be on his best behaviour as he was watched by those steady, appraising grey eyes. There was a slight smile on his face. Percy forced himself to stop kicking the rung of the chair.

Percy was willing to bet Mr Malfoy never lost his son. He didn't look like he lost anything, ever.

Percy shifted in his chair, and fervently hoped that his mum would be so embarrassed that someone important had found him that she would never forget him again. He felt faintly guilty at his wish that he would glare at her, too, when she finally showed up.

'M-Mr Malfoy,' she'd stammer, 'I never dreamed that someone as important as you would find Percy. I shan't ever leave him behind again.'

'See to it that you don't,' Mr Malfoy would answer, with a private smile at Percy. Percy would smile back. 'Or I shall take him away with me to my castle.'

"Do you need to pee?"

The question startled Percy out of his pleasant reverie. It was such an incongruous word to hear in that soft, elegant voice.

No. No, he didn't.

Or at least he hadn't until Mr Malfoy had mentioned it. But suddenly he did, very badly, as if the question itself were magic.

Mr Malfoy gently took his hand; his glove was off, but his skin was very smooth.

In the bathroom he knelt down and delicately pulled down Percy's zipper for him; then slipped his hand into his pants and pulled Percy out. His warm breath gusted in Percy's ear. Percy blinked once in surprise. He was plenty old enough to do this himself actually, but he concentrated on peeing and not getting any on Mr Malfoy by mistake.

Mr Malfoy tucked it back in for him with a little pat.

Probably his son was pretty little, Percy decided, gazing up at him.

Mr Malfoy gently touched his cheek with a slow tender caress, looking at him intently as if he were the most important person in the world. Mr Malfoy slid his arm around Percy's shoulder, and turned Percy to face him, grey eyes intent.

He smiled and Percy's heart thumped. He likes me. Me. Just me. Percy fairly glowed and that smile deepened. He took me home when I was crying, and he likes me.

His other hand crinkled something in his pocket and Mr Malfoy pulled out a metal bracelet with all sorts of designs on it. He placed it in Percy's sticky hands. It felt warm from the heat of Mr Malfoy's body, but Percy sort of shivered. A hot kind of shiver though, like being nervous.

His voice was very soft when he said in Percy's ear, "If you are ever lost again, come find me." If he had added, 'and I shall take you away to my castle,' Percy would not have been surprised. "My name is Lucius Malfoy."

"Say it now, so that you won't forget."

"I'll remember it," Percy said confidently.

But Lucius Malfoy gave him a Look, so Percy added, "Lucius Malfoy."

The band shimmered softly at the name. The glimmer traced along the designs. Wow.

As Percy scuffed out of the bathroom with Mr Malfoy's hand warm and tingly on his back, he turned the bracelet over and over in his hands. It was definitely magic. He glanced up at Mr Malfoy - Lucius Malfoy - and beamed, and didn't care how long his family took to find him. If he were lucky, maybe they would be so late he could go home with him instead.


End part one.

Comments

Re: I love you. Please marry me.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

My darling, I was up until 3am, so I'm only mildly coherent. But I love your reviews, and this is - of course - written for you. Like a surprising number of my more erotic fics (Steam, anyone?).

I'll trade you more chan, for another chapter of 'If Thine Enemy.' Please? Pretty please? That's where I learned the delicious possibilities of Lucius Malfoy.

Oh. And, uh, Percy is nine (almost ten he'd say) in this story. He's a little tall for his age and looks twelve to the casual observer.

*evil grin*

Icarus