DISCLAIMER: I own nothing~ JKR owns~ :) Oh, and I'm quoting Damian (or Damien? :S I've seen it spelled both ways) Lewis when "only boring people are bored" is said, so that belongs to him.
"Only boring people are bored," Narcissa reminded herself, as she wandered the halls of Malfoy Manor in search of some sort of amusement.
Lucius had been busy lately; working hard for the promotion he'd been anticipating for a while. Draco was away at school; already in his second year. Bella and Rod where off merlin-knows-where, doing merlin-knows-what. Which left the lovely lady of the Manor alone with nothing to keep her busy. Narcissa tried to think of something exciting and new to do. It seemed like she had done everything. She made cake (the muggle way), tended to her garden, called every one of her fellow socialites (of course, they were all too busy with their own lives), and still she was left with a whole afternoon.
Narcissa's flats clicked against the marble floor and stopped in front of a familiar door. She turned to face it and frowned, trying to think of what that room was used for.
"Well, only one way to find out..."
She slowly opened the door, just in case anything might fall on her. A feeling of excitement swelled up in her. Narcissa groped the wall for a light switch, but couldn't find it.
She sighed, "Lumos!"
The elegant wand lit up the room as well as the curious witch's eyes. But to her disappointment, Narcissa found nothing but a room full of boring, brown boxes.
"Ugh! Really! Why can't something exciting ever happen around here?" whined Narcissa.
In her frustration, she kicked and knocked over a small box. Papers exploded in a flurry and floated onto the floor. Narcissa threw her hands up.
"Oh, brilliant! Just brilliant!"
She bent down and began collecting the papers and placing them carelessly back in the box. But suddenly she caught sight of a paper with a picture of her when she was about 16 or 17 paper-clipped to the page. It was a candid shot, because she seemed unaware of the camera. She was proud of her profile though, it was quite beautiful. The picture showed her reading a book and smiling softly to herself as she read.
Underneath that one was another picture of her, but this time from the front. She was casting a spell on a flower and watching it grow and bloom into a beautiful daffodil. She smiled proudly, twirling her wand in hand. And another one hid underneath that photo, this time, of her asleep in the library. She had her arms folded on the table and her head rested sideways to the left.
"Hmm...Lucius must've taken these," Narcissa thought aloud.
She unclipped the photos and set them aside to read the page.
It read:
'I fell in-love with a girl at school,
the one with the two-toned hair.
Everyone knows who she is,
but she doesn't really care.
She's the brightest witch in our year,
not to mention the prettiest too.
Every time I see her face,
it just makes me swoon.
This girl is not like the other ones,
she's classy but spunky as well.
Although she's quiet and doesn't speak a word,
I know she has so much to tell.
I'd love to hear what's on her mind,
if only she'd look my way.
And then I'd pluck up all my courage, and tell her what I have to say:
I'm in-love with you, Narcissa Black.'
It was signed Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.
Narcissa stared at the page for a moment, scanning the words again. Suddenly, she smacked the paper against her face and started laughing hysterically.
"Oh! Oh merlin!" she laughed, "I thought I knew everything about him, but this is-Oh, I can't wait 'til he gets home! My husband's a poet! This is pure gold! What else is there?"
Narcissa excitedly rummaged through the papers in search any more poems or pictures Lucius might've hidden. She spent the rest of the day in that room with the door closed, laughing-sometimes so hard she cried-and lost track of the time.
. . .
"Lovecakes! Guess who just got promoted?~" Lucius said in a sing-songy voice as he hung his coat up.
"You should've seen the look on Parkinson's face! Hahah! Fool thought he would get it, but no, no! Your husband came through!...Lovecakes?"
When 'Lovecakes' didn't respond, he frowned, hands on his hips. Perhaps she was outside, tending to the roses. Lucius looked through the wide open window and saw no sign of his wife. Upstairs in the bedroom, maybe? ...Nope, not there either. He continued to check the usual places, but ended up with the same result.
"Where could this woman be?" he thought aloud.
He realized he should've felt worried, but for some reason, he wasn't. Something told him that she was somewhere in the manor.
"Expecto patronum," he said.
The little ball of light swirled and led the way, eventually stopping in front of the storage room door. Lucius waved his wand and the patronus disappeared.
He gulped. Oh, shit. Thoughts flooded his mind, creating every possible scenario of what could happen once he opened that door. He had hidden very personal items in that room. Bracing himself for whatever he'd find, Lucius opened the door.
All the boxes were as he'd left them, and Narcissa was in the far corner smiling to herself. She was sitting on top of one of the largest boxes with one the size of a shoe box in her lap. In her hand were a couple of pictures.
"Oh, hi, love," said Narcissa, lifting her gaze from the picture to her husband.
She frowned, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Uh, no, nothing, I was just worried about you. I didn't know you were here. Couldn't find you anywhere else. But um, wha-what are you doing here anyway, love?"
"I was just looking at Draco's baby pictures. I miss him so much..." said Narcissa, looking endearingly at the photos of her only child.
Then she stood up and placed the pictures back in the box. She dusted herself off and smoothed her dress.
"Hungry?" she asked him.
Lucius nodded, feeling foolish for jumping to conclusions.
. . .
Narcissa kept smiling during dinner. It made Lucius nervous. Not that he didn't love to see her smile or anything, but he felt different about it this time. It was as if she was mocking him.
"I'm so happy for you, lovecakes!" said Narcissa, "I knew you'd get that promotion. You've been working so hard and I've been bragging to everyone about you."
She took a bite of her food and swallowed before asking, "...Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet. Especially for someone who just got a promotion."
"...Are you hiding something from me, Narcissa?" asked Lucius.
"Whatever do you mean?" Narcissa asked innocently.
"I mean, you've been smiling this whole time and I've no idea why. I kind of feel as if you're subtly poking fun at me," said Lucius, sipping his red wine.
Narcissa gave him a weird look, "Now why would I do that?"
Lucius couldn't answer. And she very well knew it.
"Well? Come on, let's hear it. Pluck up your courage and tell me what you have to say," she said, taking a drink of water to stop herself from laughing.
Lucius almost choked. He knew that line. He'd written that line years ago. In a poem about the time he fell in-love with Narcissa, which even had... -gasp!- The photos!
"I was just looking at Draco's baby pictures. I miss him so much..."
Lucius stared at his wife, "...You weren't looking at Draco's baby photos were you?"
Narcissa set her cutlery down and recited, "'Although she's quiet and doesn't speak a word, I know she has so much to tell.' ...I don't know, Luc, was I?"
Lucius smacked his face with his palm, "You read it!"
Narcissa bursted into a laughing fit, "C-Correction! I read-ahahahaha-I read them!"
"Oh, merlin!" groaned Lucius, "Nooo..."
"I...I can't believe," said Narcissa, wiping her tears, "I can't believe you kept that from me!"
"Yes, well, I had a feeling you'd react like this," said Lucius, dismally.
Narcissa pouted her lips, "Oh, Lucius! I'm not laughing at you!"
"I'm laughing because I think it's adorable! It's so cute!" she said, getting up and embracing him from behind, "Don't be upset. I really adore that side of you."
Lucius chuckled, "Well, what can I say? I was crazy about you and I still am. Now you know everything. What I love about you and why. There's no other secrets, I promise."
"Mhm, I'm glad I discovered that," nodded Narcissa, "And I love you, my handsome poet."
Lucius laughed, then turned his head to look up at her, "So, would you mind telling me, why you love me?"
Narcissa seemed to think for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, "Mm..."
Then she bent down to kiss his forehead, nose and lips.
"I just do."
Alright, well that's that. Sorry about the lame pet name, corny poem and...yeah. I'm still noob, so please let me know what I can improve on. I'd really appreciate it~ :D
