June 1, 1977
"You look beautiful, Jade" Looking away from the mirror, Jade glanced over to her doorway to see her Aunt Crystal standing in the entryway wearing a lovely blue evening gown, her hair was styled perfectly so that it fell down her face in artful curls. Her smile though cheerful didn't reach her eyes, which stared at Jade like cold blue ice cubes.
"Although I would have picked a different color, it's a party not a funeral" her voice was like a whiplash as she stared disdainfully at her before turning around and heading downstairs. Turning back to the mirror, Jade didn't see what was wrong with the black dress she had picked out for this dreadful day. It was low-cut, but not enough to make it look sleazy. It wasn't even long enough to be considered a funeral dress since it stopped mid-thigh. Pushing her long black hair out of her face, she stared into her reflections topaz eyes and couldn't help the sigh that escaped.
"Here goes nothing" She told herself before spinning away from her mirror and walked out of her room, down the stairs and was about to walk into the living room towards the fireplace but stopped beside a painting of her mother. The painter had really captured her mother's sparkling blue eyes and honey blonde hair with red highlights, her mother seemed radiant in the white gown she was wearing, her full lips tilted in what Jade always assumed to be a mysterious smile. On the opposite side of the wall, hung a portrait of her father. Where her mother could be considered light her father was the opposite, his hair was black with light brown eyes, and instead of smiling he was frowning. The dark black suit he was wearing seemed to be in contrast to her mother's outfit. Laying a hand on her father's portrait she stared sadly at both of the portraits. She had never discovered what had caused her mother to commit suicide when she was six, but she knew that it had caused her father to leave her with his sister and disappear for the past eleven years. Sighing sadly, at having lost both her parents, she walked into the living room to see her Aunt staring in the mirror, as she smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress.
"There you are, hurry up we're going to be late for the Malfoy's party and we don't need your future family to be angry at you before you've met them." Snapped her Aunt as she circled around Jade like she was some sort of prey she was thinking about taking down. "Do not screw this up Jade, it took a lot of convincing to set this engagement up, and thankfully that Narcissus Black screwed up." For once her Aunts smile was real as she stopped in front of Jade; as she pulled out her wand and used it to curl her long hair into ringlets. "There much better then that boring hairstyle, and thank goodness your so much thinner than you used to be" she sneered at her, as she went into her familiar rant. "Men don't like pudgy women, unless their pregnant" Sighing, Jade just nodded her head at the same rant she'd heard for the past eleven years.
"Now in you go and here" Her Aunt thrust some floo powder into her hand before turning around and looking in the mirror.
"Malfoy Manor" she said loud and clear, traveling by floo powder always felt like she was being stretched thin before being plopped down into the Malfoy's receiving room.
"Ah, there you are dear. Don't you look lovely? Come stand beside me while we wait for your Aunt, before I introduce you to my son and the other guests." An older woman said as she helped Jade dust off some soot before stepping out of the fire place to stand beside her. Looking up, at the woman Jade immediately assumed that the woman before her was Mrs. Malfoy. Rayna Malfoy was an elegant woman with her white-blonde hair hanging straight along her shoulders with blue-grey eyes lined elegantly with kohl. Her light blue gown showed off her delicate figure that Jade was sure her Aunt was envious of.
"Now dear tell me about yourself, after all this is the first time we've met and I'd like to make sure that you can make my only son happy" her voice was light as she turned to look at her, her eyes roaming over her in curiosity, before turning around and greeting another guest who stepped out of the fireplace.
"Well Mrs. Malfoy, I'm seventeen and will be attending my last year at Hogwarts. In my spare time I like to read" a frown crossed Mrs. Malfoy's face for a minute but it disappeared as her Aunt appeared in a different evening gown. This one was a dark red and clung rather indecently to her figure making her appear, in her opinion, like a large red apple. Covering her mouth to hide her smile, she looked away as her Aunt stepped out of the fireplace,
"Rayna, how are you? You're looking stunning in that dress, and wouldn't you say my niece does too? Her voice came out sweet and cheerful as she hugged Mrs. Malfoy before stepping and heading to the door that Jade assumed led to the party.
"Well, that should be all the guests, follow me Jade" Looking at Mrs. Malfoy she watched as she smoothed her dress for invisible wrinkles before she linked their arms together and led her into a large dining room, where several people glanced over at them as they passed by, before going back to their conversations.
"Orion, Walburga Black, I'd like to introduce you to my son's fiancé Jade Shardae" her voice was crisp as they wandered up to a couple who were sitting down at a small wooden table that sat four.
"Rayna she's pretty…but our niece would have suited Lucius much more than some random girl-child you picked off the street. She's six years younger then Lucius, I highly assure you she would not be able to fulfill all of his…needs" whined the woman named Walburga, as she stood up and took Mrs. Malfoy's free hand in hers.
"Lucius needs a mature woman not some snot nosed brat" Looking closely into her wine colored eyes, Jade straightened her back in indignation. 'How dare this woman insult me' she growled in her head as she looked Mrs. Black up and down and tried to remember all the rumors her Aunt had told her about Mrs. Black's niece. Smirking Jade placed her left hand on her hip as she remembered why Mrs. Malfoy had broken off the engagement.
"From what I hear about your niece Mrs. Black, I wouldn't call her, what was it again…ah a mature woman. After all, what type of woman sleeps around with other men that aren't her fiancé? Better yet what type of woman is stupid enough to sleep with another man in her house, where her fiancé always comes by to see her?" she asked nicely as she tilted her head to the side and looked between the Blacks questioningly. She almost jumped at the sound of laughter that came from Mr. Black; all three of them stared at him in surprise.
"She has a mouth on her, also knows how to standup for herself, not many young women will do that" Mr. Black stood up a small smile on his lips as he pulled his wife behind him so that she had to let go of Mrs. Malfoy's hand. He stepped forward so that the two of them were inches apart; he took her chin in his hand and pulled her face even closer to him so that she was staring into his dark grey eyes.
"Delicate features with very unusual eyes the color of gold" his hand slid from her chin to her cheek, which then slid into her hair so that his hand was caressing a strand of her hair between his fingers, his grey eyes seemed to take on a glint as they stared into her eyes. "And beautiful black hair as soft as silk, I must say Rayna if Lucius doesn't want her, then she'd make a lovely addition to our family" Sliding his hand slowly across her face he stepped back as his wife grabbed his arm.
"Orion, you can't be serious! We don't even know her lineage" his wife gasped as she dug her nails into his arm in outrage, he merely smiled affectionately at her as he patted her hand reassuringly.
"Her lineage must be unquestionable if Rayna is allowing her to marry her only son and besides Walburga, I'm sure Lucius will not be able to say no to such a young and beautiful bride" he told her. "So no need to worry my dear, we will just have to find somebody else for our dear Regulus" his voice was soothing as he nodded to Rayna and pulled his wife along behind him with her muttering low under her breath.
"Well that went better than I imagined" Turning to look at Mrs. Malfoy, Jade saw that she was smiling down at her with a hint of something in her eyes before she turned away and started leading her around the room.
"Now here's a little advice, we unfortunately had to allow Narcissus and her sister Bellatrix to come since they were already invited before the…incident. So stay away from the two of them unless my husband or I are with you" her voice was low as she pulled Jade around the room with her, until they stopped in front of a table where her Aunt and three men sat together.
"Abraxas, Lucius there you are and Regulus, don't you look handsome in your dress robes" Mrs. Malfoy walked over to the man sitting on the left, before moving to the younger man who looked to be a miniature replica of his mother. The only difference between the two was that his cheekbones were more angular and masculine and his eyes had a hint of more grey than blue. Mrs. Malfoy patted his shoulder before moving on to the boy who stood up to hug her. His black hair hung to his shoulders and dark brown eyes glanced in her direction as he sat back down.
"Lucius this is Jade and Mr. Black wanted me to tell you that if you didn't want her he'd be willing to marry her to Regulus here." A hint of a smile crossed Mr. Malfoy's face as he stood up and pulled out a chair for his wife before turning around and taking her hand and helping her into the seat he had occupied.
"Orion always did like to make a contest of everything" Mr. Malfoy spoke as he settled down beside Mrs. Malfoy and handed her a glass of wine. "So Jade, I hear that you are not in Slytherin House, so what House are you in? Your Aunt here has been much closed mouth about it" His blue eyes raked over her before looking into her eyes.
"I'm in RavenClaw Mr. Malfoy." She told him, as she straightened in her chair and glanced around the table, reaching for the wine goblet in front of her she was about to pick it up when her Aunt grabbed it from her fingers and thrust a glass of water in her hand.
"Ah the RavenClaw house, where those of the smart of mind go. Anyways, Lucius why don't you show Jade around the house before dinner is served." Mrs. Malfoy told him as she stood up and held her hand out to her husband and pulled him onto the dance floor where there were several other couples dancing.
"Yes Lucius, why don't you show her around, after all this is where she will be staying for the remainder of the summer" Aunt Crystal said as she stood up and held her hand out to Regulus. "Come young Black let's see if you know how to dance." Raising her hand to her mouth to stop the laugh at the horrified expression Regulus shot to Lucius before her Aunt pulled him up from his chair and dragged him onto the dance floor. Turning to look at Lucius she could see a small smile along his full lips.
"I'm sorry about my Aunt" she told him as he stood up and held his hand out to her. She stared at it for a few seconds before reaching her hand out to his and taking it. His hand was warm against hers as she followed him out of the dining room and down the hall.
"It's fine, I've sort of gotten used to it since she visits almost everyday. Although, it must be hell to actually live with her." he told her as they walked into another room, this one painted green with silver trimming and black furniture.
"Yes it is, ever since my father left, she's the only family that I have." She told him as he sat down one of the leather chairs and slouched in it.
"I'm sorry to here that…I hate these types of parties." he told her as he motioned for her to sit down opposite him, shrugging she sat down, crossing her legs she slid her hands along her dress to ensure that it didn't bunch up.
"I've never been to one of these parties and they seem boring." Closing her eyes she played with the hem of her dress and tried to relax, after all this man was going to be her future husband if her Aunt had her way. She heard him sigh just as she felt her body start to loosen up.
"Well well, what do we have here Cissy?" Snapping her eyes open at the husky tone of voice she jerked her head to the door to see two women who were like total opposites. The woman leaning against the door frame was pretty in her own way with her midnight black hair and hooded brown eyes. If it had been her voice that had spoken she was sure that she had led more men astray. While the other woman beside her was tall with white-blonde hair and light brown eyes, she was pretty in her dark red strapless evening gown, but it seemed like she was trying to hard with her hair tied up in a intricate knot, and wearing such bright red eye shadow and lipstick.
"I don't remember asking you two to join us" drawled Lucius in a bored tone of voice and shot a bored look towards the taller of the two. "You should know that whores aren't welcome here, Narcissa" he smiled mockingly as the blonde walked towards him and only stopped until she was standing between his knees, bending over she laid a perfectly manicured hand on his cheek.
"Now Lucius there's no reason to be so angry over one little mistake" the blonde said huskily as she placed her other hand on his chest. "Why'd you cut your hair, you know that I liked it long…" her voice trailed off as he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him, standing up he stared coldly as she almost tripped in her five inch heels, but her sister caught her and helped her stand straight.
"Get lost Bellatrix, Narcissa, I'm not in the mood to play with the two of you" he growled as he walked over to Jade and pulled her to her feet, so that she was standing by his side. "As you can see I have a new fiancé, to play with." Jade watched in shock as Lucius placed both hands on either side of her face and pulled her closer to him so that their bodies were touching and kissed her. At first it was just a gentle touch of their lips before he turned it into something hot by running his tongue across her lips and causing her body to heat up, his hands had slipped from her face to roam across her body. He pulled away first his eyes bright, turning his attention back to the two women he smiled at them.
"You can't be serious Lucius? You're going to marry this child over my beautiful sister?" hissed Bellatrix; she sent a glare at Jade before turning her attention back to Lucius.
"Well she must be more than a child to provoke a jealous reaction, wouldn't you agree Narcissa?" his voice came out amused as Narcissa glared at him; she spun around on her heels and stalked out of the room. Bellatrix stared at them for another minute before turning around and ran to keep up with her younger sister.
"I'm sorry about that, but thank you for not slapping me" he whispered as he placed his head on her shoulder and sighed, his right arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer until their bodies were practically touching.
"Looks like the two of you are hitting it off and did I just see my cousins running from the room" came a low pitched voice.
"Please tell me I'm not going to have to hear Bella ranting all night, Lucius?" another voice followed the first one in almost a rumbled growl. Lucius straightened up, but kept his arm around her waist as he turned to glance at the two people.
"Regulus, Rodolphus, what brings the two of you here?" he asked as he turned around and sat back down in the chair he had unoccupied before and pulled her onto his lap.
"Rodolphus wanted to meet your new bride and I figured instead of showing her around the mansion like your mother suggested you'd be here." Said Regulus as he walked to the chair, Jade had sat in before. Looking to the other, she saw that the other man looked to be about Lucius's age, with mid-length black hair and dark chocolate colored eyes, while his skin was a light brown.
"She's a pretty young thing, no wonder Narcissa stormed out of here" came Rodolphus's growling voice as he conjured up another chair beside Lucius's and plopped down.
"I am right here you know and I'm not deaf" She told the two of them and made a move to get up, but Lucius's grip tightened around her waist and she gave up, she settled back down in his lap. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she sighed as she remembered a certain boy back at Hogwarts who could make her skin heat up with just a look. Of course most of their relationship was mostly sexual, until the last remaining months before summer. Pushing Lucius's hand off of her waist she stood up and fixed her dress.
"Something the matter?" Asked Lucius as all three of them stared at her, smiling she shook her head.
"Just hungry" she told them, walking out the room she stopped half-way down the hall as brown eyes tinged with yellow around the irises appeared in her mind. His hair was pitch black with dark blue highlights that came out when he was in the sun, shaking her head at the image she tried to banish it from her mind. Placing a hand against her forehead, she ran a hand through her hair before stepping into the large dining room that was lit by hundreds of candles. Walking through the now overly crowded room, she walked to the table where she remembered Lucius's family was sitting. Seeing them she placed a smile on her face when she spotted the Blacks sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.
"Ah, there you are, where's Lucius?" asked Mrs. Malfoy as Jade sat down next to her Aunt who paid no attention to her.
"He should be coming, he was talking with Regulus and Rodolphus when I left" she told her as strawberries, grapes, and cut bananas appeared on her plate.
"Oh…and what do you think of our son?" asked Mr. Black as he turned his attention from her Aunt Crystal to look at her. Picking up her fork, she speared a strawberry and took a bite, looking up from her plate she could see Mr. Black staring at her intensely as he waited for her answer.
"I'm not sure, I don't know him well enough but he seems nice" she told him as she took another bite of the strawberries, just as Lucius and Regulus appeared, she spotted Rodolphus across the room with his arm around Bellatrix's chair.
"Just nice? My son is handsome and smart." snapped Mrs. Black as she glared at her, before she could reply to her remark; Mrs. Black turned her attention to Regulus as he sat down next to her.
"Well Walburga, she's marring Lucius not Regulus so enough" He shot his wife a glare, before turning his attention to Mr. Malfoy. Jade watched as the two men started whispering to each other. The rest of the dinner passed in silence at their table except for her Aunts occasional remarks. Just as the dinner was coming to a close, Jade watched with interest when Narcissa and Bellatrix came to wish their Aunt and Uncle goodnight. She watched as Mrs. Malfoy glared daggers at Narcissa when she walked over to Lucius and kissed him on the cheek, leaving her bright red lipstick on his face, he wiped it away as fast as he could when she left.
"Well everyone, thank you so much for attending the Engagement Party for our son Lucius and his fiancée Jade Shardae. I hope you all had a wonderful evening" announced Mrs. Malfoy at the end of the evening and moved throughout the many guests that were heading to the receiving room to leave through their fireplace, while Mr. Malfoy said goodbye to those who were leaving through the front door to apparate home. Sitting at the table she watched in boredom at the preceding's since Lucius had disappeared with Regulus.
"Come Jade, I'll show you which room you will be staying in" Jade jumped at the sound of Mrs. Malfoy's voice as she had let her mind wander to what she was going to tell her lover, when she saw him when school started again.
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy" standing up she followed Mrs. Malfoy out of the living room and into a different hallway then the one Lucius had led her through earlier. To her amazement the hallway led to a large staircase that Mrs. Malfoy started to walk up. Pictures of Lucius, Mr. Malfoy and other family members hung along both sides of the stairs. Mrs. Malfoy led the way into another hall and opened the third door onto the right and walked in. Following her into the room, she gasped as she noticed that everything in the room was the colors of her House. The walls were painted blue while everything else was either painted silver or white.
"You're allowed to change or add anything else to this room as long as you stay here. Welcome to the family Jade." Mrs. Malfoy told her as she gently touched her cheek before leaving her alone in the spacious bedroom that was at least twice the size of her room back home. Kicking off her shoes she walked to the bed and jumped onto it happily.
"I could get used to this" she told herself before rolling off of the bed and walked over to the closet to see that it was filled up with some of her cloths and some she had never seen before. 'I may not be in love with him, but maybe I could try' she thought to herself as she changed into a pair of shorts and tank top before climbing back onto the bed. As she drifted off to sleep images of her lover filled her mind before sleep overcame her.
