He smiled, and his fingers slipped up her arm to twine briefly into her hair. "I said 'more friendly,' my dear. I won't let you put words in my mouth." He had never put very much stock in friends, anyhow. "It hasn't been made explicit, mind. But Severus has been mentioned in connection with it." And while Lucius had no illusions about where the man's loyalties ultimately lay, he was hardly as bad as some of the others. He looked down at her, watching her face closely. It would be nice to be able to give her something to be glad about, for once.