Squib On The Run (sequel to Squib In The basement)

20. End Of A Reign

For once, Lucius was speechless, and he stared at Cassiopeia with an open mouth.
"My own house-elf, betrayed me" Lucius said slowly, when he regained the ability to talk.
"Well, you can't really blame him. You didn't exactly treat him very well" pointed out Cassiopeia.
"But house-elves are bound by magic to serve their pure-blood family. It is impossible for them to spill their family's secrets" replied Lucius.
"There are always loopholes that house-elves can exploit if they really want to. And Dobby really wanted to protect Harry from you. He even tried to get him expelled, just so he wouldn't be at Hogwarts and in danger of being harmed by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets".

Cassiopeia turned from Lucius to look at Narcissa.
"I wasn't just making up baseless accusations against Lucius because I don't like him. I've had proof all along that Lucius opened the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry told me that an elf named Dobby came to him, I knew that Lucius had to have been the one responsible for opening the Chamber. Dobby had overheard Lucius's plans, and had gone to Harry, hoping that the boy could stop Lucius. That's why I came here and began raiding your library. I wanted real proof that Lucius was behind the bad things happening at Hogwarts, because I knew that Dobby's first hand account of what happened wouldn't be enough to convince the Ministry of Lucius's guilt" explained Cassiopeia.

Lucius advanced on Cassiopeia, "I bet you think you are so clever for figuring it out. Well congratulations, you were right. I may not be the Heir of Slytherin, but I am responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets. I gave the Weasley girl a diary belonging to the dark lord, which I knew would open the Chamber of Secrets, once she reached Hogwarts. I didn't know how, but the Dark Lord had assured me of the diary's power, when he gave it to me, and he was right. The diary started to do everything I wanted it to. It began to cleanse the school of Mudbloods, without me having to be directly involved".
"So like you to not want to get your own hands dirty, you coward" spat Cassiopeia.

"Call me as many names as you like, because it won't change anything. You cannot prove that I had anything to do with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. I am smarter than you. I made sure that nothing could be traced back to me. Potter and Dumbledore know that it was me, but even they admitted that they can't prove anything, which is why I was allowed to walk free. There is no evidence that can tie me to anything relating to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. So, there is nothing you can do to get me sent to Azkaban. All of your scheming and sneaking around, has led to nothing. You failed" admitted Lucius.

"No Malfoy, you're the one who failed. You failed to have the monster in the Chamber kill all the Muggle-borns. All it did was petrify them, and very soon the Mandrake draft will be finished, and they will all be restored. You also failed to have Dumbledore removed from Hogwarts. He is back and stronger than ever" announced Cassiopeia.
"But you can't prove that I'm guilty of opening the Chamber, without evidence. And since you don't have any, I am going to be able to walk free. So, you did fail" Lucius said smugly.

"Getting evidence wasn't the most important thing to me. I just wanted to get enough proof to convince you to admit the truth to me and Narcissa. Besides, even if I had evidence, what were you expecting me to do with it? Walk up to the Ministry, and tell Fudge that his bestie is a death eater who's been attacking students all year. Don't forget that I'm wanted for murder, so I can't be seen anywhere near the Ministry" reminded Cassiopeia.
"I just thought that you would get your little friend Potter to go to the Ministry on your behalf" replied Lucius.

"The Ministry are just as likely to believe him as they are me. He's a 12 year old boy, making accusations against his enemy's dad. No one is going to believe a word he says, even with Dumbledore backing him" sighed Cassiopeia.
"What are you going to do then, now that you know I was responsible for opening the Chamber? How are you going to get your own personal revenge on me?" Questioned Lucius.
"Who says I need revenge?" Asked Cassiopeia.
"Come off it. You hate me, and are always looking for ways to get one over on me".

"I am. But in this situation, you have already gotten your comeuppance. Not only have you lost your seat in the board of governors. But you ended up getting your arse handed to you by a 12 year old, who tricked you into giving up your own house-elf. That is going to haunt you for the rest of your life. You also failed to get Dumbledore thrown out of the school, which makes you look pretty stupid. So, I'd say that you're now a laughing stock at Hogwarts, and I'm loving every minute of your humiliation" grinned Cassiopeia.

"You really are incredibly insufferable" growled Lucius.
Cassiopeia just smiled back at him, "The reign of Malfoy has come to an end. You are no longer in charge of running Hogwarts behind the scenes, and that brings me great joy... And to top it all off, your wife has just found out that you've been lying to her all year. You promised her that you didn't know who opened the Chamber of Secrets. But all this time you were the one responsible. So, I expect she has some choice words to give to you, once I'm gone".

Lucius's eyes widened as he turned from Cassiopeia to look back at Narcissa, who was standing with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
"Darling, I'm sorry I-" started Lucius.
"Save it. I'm not in the mood to hear more lies" interupted Narcissa.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, I was just trying to protect you, which is why I kept it from you" admitted Lucius.
"I defended you to Cass on numerous occasions, and she was right about you the whole time... You can sleep in the spare room tonight, as I do not want to see your stupid lying face any time soon".

Narcissa turned and marched out of the room, leaving Lucius and Cassiopeia alone.
"Ouch. So, all in all, your day has not gone all that well" mocked Cassiopeia.
"Shut your mouth, or I'll make you" warned Lucius.
"You don't scare me anymore, Malfoy. So, I am going to summon my house-elf and head home. Good luck appeasing Narcissa, and getting back into her good books before Draco comes home for the summer" smiled Cassiopeia, before strolling out of the room triumphantly.