"You." Lucius half rose from his chair, shock flashing across his face, then he forced himself back down, gripping his cane even tighter. "You can remove it? You can remove this damned seal?"
"Yes. I studied it and found a way," Severus said evenly. "I will not erase the mark itself, but I can remove the negative parts, the full submission, the pain, all of it. What do you think?"
"What do you want in return?" Lucius asked at once.
"Nothing special. Teach me Legilimency and Occlumency. That should not be hard for you. And find someone willing to sell me a dragon's heart and blood, and a phoenix's heart and blood. Can you do that?"
"Why do you need them?" Lucius asked, thrown off.
"For a potion. So what?"
"Hmm. first I need proof you can do it."
"Fine. Hold out your hand."
"Here?" Lucius glanced around, then toward the table behind him where a group of wizards sat, then toward a young witch in a pink waitress uniform.
"It is a matter of seconds," Severus said, waving it off.
The tables were small, so it was easy for him to catch Lucius's hand. He pointed his wand at the mark and sent an invisible pulse of magic into it.
For Severus, removing a slave seal was not difficult. He had spent the last five years of his previous life inside the darkest organization in his world, the Magistrate, gathering information and preparing revenge. He had studied true Dark Magic there, not to mention something as simple as a binding seal. He could summon demons, work necromancy, and he carried curses no one in this world could remove. He rarely used that knowledge in practice, aside from curses, but it had lodged deep in his mind. The seal on Lucius was different from the ones he knew, yet the principle was the same, so Severus could dig into it without fear of whoever had placed it noticing.
"What are you.!" Lucius snapped, yanking his hand away. He was about to explode at the sheer lack of warning, but then he froze, sensing the change.
"I removed the part that forces you to obey and the part that causes pain," Severus said calmly. "I did not erase the mark itself, and your master can still reach you through it. When he tries to hurt you, you will feel warmth. The stronger the warmth, the better you will have to pretend it hurts. Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?"
He tilted his head, trying not to laugh at Lucius's expression.
"How. how do you know this?"
"Let us say I found a description of a slave seal in an encrypted book from a closed section written by Salazar himself, then tested it on a Death Eater," Severus said lightly. "You know my love of books."
Lucius believed him, though not completely. Who better than he to know whose descendant his master was? His father was practically the Dark Lord's right hand, and the Malfoys were among the richest families in the wizarding world. Finding information about one wizard would not be difficult.
I have to tell Father. no. I cannot. He is truly loyal to the Dark Lord. He might not touch me, but Snape. he would turn him in to curry favor. Then. I will use him myself.
Lucius served Voldemort, but he was never fully loyal, and he was always ready to jump ship if the ship started sinking. Even while serving, he looked for profit: ties to the Black family, connections across the Sacred Twenty-Eight, favors banked with foreign wizards, and quiet debts that could be called in at the right moment. The Malfoys handled money and influence like an art form, and Lucius often attended meetings, smoothed quarrels, arranged deliveries of potions and Dark artifacts, and made sure nothing ever traced back to his family. He waited for one thing only: complete control of the family. Then he would finally be able to decide for himself which side was worth backing, and which side deserved to burn.
"Fine," Lucius said aloud. "I will look for information on those ingredients, but I cannot promise it will be quick. You understand. As for the books, I will send them with a house-elf."
"Excellent. I will be waiting for good news."
"But I have one more condition. You remove the negative component of the mark from a few more people."
"No problem." Severus grinned. "Then I have one condition too. I get the ingredients for free."
Lucius's expression did not even twitch.
"For your kind, even a hundred sets like that will not break the bank," Severus added.
"Of course. That is not a problem."
"And tell me the general situation between the two sides," Severus said. "Nothing confidential, just enough that I know when to keep my head down."
After talking for a while longer, both of them rose from the table.
"And one more thing," Severus said.
"Hm?"
Severus's eyes narrowed.
"There is no point trying to take my knowledge by force. The book is destroyed, and I made a vow of silence. If I break it, I die. So let us use each other quietly and peacefully."
Lucius's expression did not change, but Severus still caught a brief glimmer in his eyes.
"Do not talk nonsense. We are friends."
"I am glad to hear it," Severus said with a faint smile. "Let us keep being friends."
//===================//