Author's Note: This story takes place after the events of another story of mine, "Maintaining Arrangements."
"Hello, Lucius," Druella Black greeted the blond-haired boy at the front doors of Black Manor. "You must be here to see Narcissa. I remember you Flooing us this morning."
"Yes, ma'am," Lucius replied politely.
"Oh, Narcissa will be so happy to see you. She is always going on about how wonderful you are. Oh, where are my manners? Come in. Come in. Welcome."
Druella was practically beaming. It was no secret in the Pureblood circles that she was happy that the young Malfoy heir had taken such a shine to her youngest daughter. Especially after all the disappointment and heartache that her middle daughter had caused her and the rest of the family. That daughter, of course, was no longer mentioned by Druella.
Lucius followed Druella into the manor. "Narcissa!" she yelled. "Narcissa, come down here! Lucius is here to see you!"
It did not take long for Narcissa to make her grand appearance, entering the room with all the elegance and grace of a proper Pureblood lady. The smile on the teenage girl's face, however, wasn't exactly proper as it made Narcissa not look like a sophisticated lady.
Druella, however, allowed her daughter to slide just this one time. At the moment, Druella was still very glad that Abraxas Malfoy had not decided to get his son out of his arranged marriage to Narcissa after the incident with The-One-Who-Will-No-Longer-Be-Named.
"Lucius," Narcissa greeted, sounding more like an adult than the child that she was.
"Narcissa," Lucius returned, sounding (if possible) even more mature.
"I'll leave you two children alone now," Druella smiled.
Lucius and Narcissa did not relax their straight, rigid postures until Druella had left the room.
"Let's go to the study," Narcissa suggested. "I want to show you something."
Lucius took Narcissa's offered hand and allowed himself to be led to the study. Once there, he immediately began to walk towards the wall with all the books. Purely out of instinct. He and Narcissa always came to this room to read. They both especially loved philosophy books, which had led to many wonderful, insightful conversations between them.
Lucius, though, quickly noticed that Narcissa had not followed him. Instead, she was standing beside the piano in the middle of the room.
"Narcissa, which book did you want to show me?" he asked.
"Actually, Lucius," Narcissa replied, "I don't want to read anything today. At least not yet."
"Then what are we doing in this room?" asked a puzzled Lucius. The study was for reading and educational discussion, after all. Those were the only things that he ever done in the study at Malfoy Manor, and so far it had been no different at Black Manor.
Narcissa nodded at the piano. Lucius frowned slightly. True, the piano had always been there, but they had never before bothered with it.
"I've been practicing," Narcissa explained, "and I really want to play you something."
Lucius frowned even more.
"What's wrong, Lucius?" Narcissa asked. "I'm not that bad. I'm pretty good actually. At least that is what my mother has told me, and you how hard it is to please her."
"But what about our studies?" Lucius pressed.
"This is a part of our studies," Narcissa said, looking confused. "Surely you've played a piano before."
Lucius shook his head, now looking just as confused as Narcissa. "We don't have a piano at Malfoy Manor," he explained. "Father has never considered music to be a part of a proper Pureblood education. Come over here, Narcissa. I need to work on my languages, and you're a wonderful study partner."
"Aren't you already fluent in French, German, Italian, Latin, Mermish, Gobbledegook, and Merlin knows what other languages?" Narcissa frowned. "I'm not even fluent in that many languages, and my parents do not have any problems with that. How much more practice do you honestly need?"
"My father thinks differently," Lucius snapped. He immediately regretted his harsh tone towards Narcissa. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just that my father will be very angry with me if I start slacking in my studies. It's important to him that I don't ruin the Malfoy name by appearing to be uneducated. I can't be seen as common."
"I grew up with sisters, not brothers," Narcissa responded, "and I don't really know what exactly Sirius or Reggie are taught at home. I didn't realize that a male Pureblood's education was so different from that of a female Pureblood. I'm sorry."
"You mean all female Purebloods have to learn how to play the piano?"
Narcissa nodded her head.
"Even Bellatrix?" Lucius asked in amusement.
"Mother tried with Bella," Narcissa giggled, "but let's just say that it didn't go very well. Bella now hates the piano with a burning passion."
Lucius smirked at that statement.
"You Pureblood men really have it lucky," Narcissa continued. "I bet you never had to learn how to pour tea."
Lucius now looked completely shocked. "Why would you need to know how to pour tea?" he asked. "Aren't House Elves supposed to do that?"
"Exactly," Narcissa replied. "I've never understood it either. But according to Mother, a proper Pureblood lady should know how to be the perfect hostess, and that includes knowing how to pour tea."
Lucius just shook his head in wonder.
"It's not all bad," Narcissa smiled. "I actually quite like playing the piano. It always relaxes me and makes me feel better whenever I'm having a bad day."
Narcissa looked so at peace as she spoke that Lucius couldn't help but smile. The piano was now starting to sound wonderful and something worth studying after all.
"But if you don't want to listen to me play," Narcissa continued, "that's fine with me. I probably could use some work on my languages anyways."
"Oh, surely that can wait for a few minutes," Lucius responded. "I want to hear you play something."
Narcissa smiled as she sat down on the bench in front of the piano. She motioned for Lucius to join her, and he quickly but elegantly sat down beside her. He looked at her eagerly, looking for a moment like the child he still was.
Narcissa closed her eyes as she placed her fingers on the keys and began to play.
Lucius could not help but admire how graceful Narcissa's fingers were as they touched the keys. And the sound that she was causing to come out of the piano. It was the most beautiful sound that Lucius had ever heard. He couldn't help but grin and feel a bit at peace himself as Narcissa continued to play. If all music sounded as wonderful and as majestic as this, than he wanted to hear more of it.
The languages really could wait for a while.
Author's Note: I'm sorry that I wasn't very good at describing the actual piano playing. I personally have no musical talent whatsoever, so I really don't know how to describe the playing of a piano. I just know that, in the right hands, it can truly make a beautiful sound. I just wanted to show some appreciation for something that I admire, even if I have no talent for it myself.
Additional Author's Note: The reference to Lucius being fluent in Mermish and Gobbledegook is a little dedication to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In that book, Barty Crouch is mentioned to be fluent in those two languages, along with many other languages.