-November 14 1991-
Lucius was having the time of his life. When his Lord suggested he run for Minister, he could barely contain his excitement. When he'd returned home to his dear wife, Narcissa had expressed her support and showed the proper enthusiasm that Lucius was looking for. Together they created their campaign and gained the support of the public. It was a grueling and time draining task, but Lucius enjoyed every second of it.
He always knew he was made to be something more. His Lord choosing him to be the Minister proved it.
As Lucius walked into the New Ministry, he felt like he was on top of the world. People greeted him as he walked, his head poised in the air with dignity. When Lucius stepped into his office, he was greeted by several care packages, all addressed to 'The Next Minister'. Lucius smirked at the sight and sat down and relaxed into his chair, feeling peaceful.
"You finally did it," Lucius whispered to himself, a smug smirk plastered on his face. "Minister of Magic."
The door suddenly opened, and Lucius contained his surprise with a scathing scowl. Standing at the threshold was some wizard that had been interning for the New Ministry. He let out a short squeak when he saw Lucius's hardened expression. "Er... Mr---"
"Lord." Lucius said with a deeper scowl.
"Right, sorry, er, Lord Malfoy," the wizard stumbled. "Um... Y-Your wife is here to see you... she said it's urgent---"
"Where is she?" Lucius said, biting back a rude response in favor of getting the bumbling fool out of here faster.
"Right! She is a-at the front---"
The door was pushed open wider to reveal an irate Narcissa. "I refuse to wait at the front of the building," Narcissa said firmly, shooting a glare at the wizard. The wizard let out a stuttered, garbled response, but by then, Lucius wasn't paying attention. He was too focused on the guarded expression on his wife's face that hid her rage.
"Hello, dear wife," Lucius says, standing up to greet her. The wizard slips out of the room silently, and Narcissa closes the door and puts up several silencing wards. "Dearest?"
"It appears that someone has stepped up to run against you," Narcissa said, a brief lapse in her mask showed her righteous fury. "Would you care to see who it is?"
Lucius walked over to where Narcissa stood, her back straight and in her hands, a folder with some parchment. Lucius looked over her shoulder to see a campaign poster and Lucius felt the wonderful feeling he had earlier, disappear. He looked at the parchment for a long time before he looked back at his wife.
He opened his mouth to speak when his wife cut him off.
"I'm not telling the Dark Lord." she said firmly.
Lucius sighed, his eyes darting towards the smiling figure on the poster. "I was afraid you'd say that."
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When Lucius requested a meeting with him, Voldemort expected it to be about how easy it was to gain favor with the public, or perhaps he was more expecting of Lucius to be pompous in his success and called his Lord here to brag in a subtle fashion.
He wasn't expecting this.
"Lucius, Narcissa, welcome," Voldemort said, nodding at them. He gestured for them to sit and they did, the pair sitting down in the comfortable love seat opposite to Voldemort's armchair. "Lucius, tell me, how is running for Minister?"
Lucius shifted, and a glimpse of an emotion flew across his face, but it was gone far too quickly for Voldemort to distinguish it. "It is... going quite well, My Lord," Lucius said carefully. Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "I have quickly gained favor amongst the masses, and I was expecting it to be a simple election..."
"And what changed?" Voldemort asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.
"I... I have an opponent." Lucius said stiffly.
"An opponent?" Voldemort asked. "Well I suspect so, after all, it is a vote. You can't win by default, Lucius. Tell me, what is the problem? Are you unable to win against an opponent?"
"No, My Lord, having an opponent is not a problem..." Lucius said. Voldemort found himself growing tired of the round-about way the conversation was going.
"Speak clearly, Lucius." Voldemort said firmly. Lucius nodded.
"Of course, My Lord," he said. "The opponent itself is the problem. It is who I am running against that I believe you will find a problem with."
"And who might that be?" Voldemort asked, leaning against his chair. Lucius held firmly at his mask and Voldemort fought back an amused grin at the sight. What could shake the proud Lord so much? Lucius stood then and approached Voldemort's chair, holding a folder. Voldemort took the folder and opened it, and all at once, his amused grin slid off his face. "I see."
Voldemort's gaze bore holes in the parchment, and Voldemort contemplated setting it on fire, but ultimately decided against it. The grandfatherly smile and twinkly eyes seemed to stare back accusingly at him, and Voldemort tore his gaze away lest he blow up everything in his vicinity.
"My Lord?" Lucius asked when Voldemort had been silent for too long.
Voldemort tossed the folder to the side. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," Voldemort said stiffly. "Bit it changes nothing. Lucius---" Voldemort's voice dropped to a dangerous tint as he leveled Lucius with a deep glare. "---if you lose to Albus Dumbledore your life is forfeit."
Lucius stared at Voldemort for a long second before he blinked and nodded. "I understand, My Lord."
Voldemort nodded and leaned back against his chair once more, the tense atmosphere from before lingering for a few more seconds before it disappeared when Little One toddled into the room. Voldemort smiled at his child as he entered the tense room, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere. He smiled brightly when he caught sight of Lucius and Narcissa and hurriedly reached into his bag to pull out a handful of daisies and tulips respectively, before he handed them to the pair.
When Little One turned to greet Voldemort, his rage had all but dissipated, shoved back into the far corners of his mind to deal with later. Voldemort bent down to lift Little One into his lap and he buried his face in Little One's curls for a few seconds before he pressed a kiss to the crown of his head and pulled back.
"You are dismissed, Lucius, Narcissa," Voldemort said. "Remember what I said. I expect your success and nothing less."
"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said, standing with a bow. He nodded at Little One who waved back at him. Narcissa cooed at Little One for a few seconds before she too, bowed and took her leave.
In the silence that followed, Little One entertained himself by playing with the fingers that were wrapped around his abdomen in a protective gesture. Voldemort took calming breaths, forcing himself to remain indifferent as thoughts of that manipulative old goat gaining the position of Minister... It could ruin everything!
Voldemort breathed in deeply once more before he tightened his grip on his child and called his elf. The elf popped into the room, startling Little One. Voldemort gently carded his hand through Little One's ink black hair as he spoke. "Notify Sirius Black and Remus Lupin that I require their presence immediately."
The elf bowed and popped out of existence. Voldemort sat in his chair for several minutes, content to hold his child in the comfortable silence, before the pair arrived. Their arrival was marked with the door opening and a surprised gasp leaving their lips at the sight of Little One sitting in his lap.
Ah yes, they haven't seen Little One since their disastrous meeting all those weeks ago. They eyed Little One with greedy eyes, and Voldemort bristled at the longing in their eyes. Voldemort fought back the urge to rip them to shreds, it would be counterproductive to his plans. (Besides, Voldemort knew that he held all the power, and the pair had no ability to sway Little One away from him.)
Voldemort raised his eyebrow at the long silence that continued after their arrival. It only took a few seconds for Black to realize what Voldemort was waiting for. Voldemort smirked at the suppressed pride that shone in the man's eyes as he bowed, his partner following suit.
"My Lord," Black said through grit teeth. "You requested us?"
"I am aware that I did," Voldemort said. "Tell me, what do you know of Dumbledore's plans?"
"He... he hasn't called an Order Meeting in several weeks," Lupin said with a frown. "I wasn't made aware of any plans."
Voldemort hissed. "Then what use are you to me?" he snapped. "Dumbledore is running for Minister, and I need information."
"You would like us to gather information on Dumbledore's campaign?" Lupin asked. Voldemort glared at him, his crimson eyes shining with fury, and Voldemort smirked internally when the werewolf flinched.
"I expect you to gather information on Dumbledore's campaign," Voldemort corrected. "That is what you signed up for the second you agreed to be my spies. You don't get to argue your assignments. Are we clear?"
"Yes, My Lord," Black said gruffly. "We will find the information as soon as possible."
Voldemort nodded. "See that you do." Voldemort snapped. "Dismissed."
They bowed once more before they stood, sending one last longing look towards Little One before they turned around to leave. Voldemort waited until they were at the door to call out.
"Oh, and, Black, Lupin?" he called. They froze before they turned around to face him. Voldemort smirked cruelly at them. "Your attempts at defiance are amusing, but I remind you that I am your Lord now, and if you want your side of the bargain, you will treat me with respect. Is that understood?"
The pair stood stiffly at the door as they nodded. "I... apologize for my disrespect... My Lord." Lupin said, his hands clenched at his side. Voldemort smirked.
"It is forgiven," Voldemort said. "But I won't always be so lenient. Now get out of my sight." and then, because he could, Voldemort said to Little One, "Say 'bye-bye', Little One."
Their faces contorted in a beautiful mix of rage and longing before they erased all expressions from their faces while Little One held up his hand and wiggled his fingers in a soft wave before he whispered out, near silently, "Bye-bye." at the couple.
Black sucked in a sharp breath before he waved back at the toddler Inferius. "B-Bye-bye, Har---Little One."
Voldemort's cruel smirk remained painted on his face until the couple left the room, devastation hidden in their eyes. With the door closed, Voldemort allowed himself to completely relax, spinning Little One around so that he could hug his child tightly.
Dumbledore running for Minister could prove disastrous to his plans. If he succeeds in his campaign, and tries to write new laws and enforce ideals counterproductive to Voldemort's reign, Voldemort may have to step in. Voldemort, despite stepping out of the public's eyes, still held all the power in Magical Britain, however the last thing he needed was to cause another war because he kicked out the first democratically elected Minister since the New Ministry was founded.
"Papa sad?" Little One whispered, a hand coming up to pat at Voldemort's cheek.
Voldemort smiled. "Don't worry, precious, Papa's just stressed out."
Little One let out a soft 'Oh' of understanding before he cuddled up to his chest, his face resting in the crook of Voldemort's shoulder, and his curly hair tickling his cheek. "It will be okay, Papa," Little One said softly. "Don't be sad."
Voldemort smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to his son's temple. "Alright, dear heart," he said. "I won't be sad."
And he wouldn't be. Voldemort wouldn't be sad, because this was a golden opportunity that had just dropped into his life. So instead of raging, instead of sulking, instead of brooding and instead of... being sad...
Voldemort began to plan.