A/N: Written for amortentiaaffair's Red Hot Hatred challenge on the HPFC forums. It was a blast to write up and I hope you all enjoy!

"Did you hear?" Narcissa asked, dropping down onto the empty spot on the couch next to Lucius. She didn't say anything else, instead waiting for the prefect to put the book he was reading down and give her the attention she so rightly deserved from him.

Unfortunately, he did no such thing. A quick glance up from his book, steel-blue eyes taking in the younger girls almost rumpled appearance, and then he was back to reading. Narcissa was a gossip-monger and that was something that the blond had no need for.

"I said did you hear?" Narcissa repeated, raising her voice just slightly. She doesn't like it when she's ignored. Especially not when it's Lucius ignoring her. When she still didn't get a response, she reached over and tugged the large book out of the boys hand.

It's a lengthy volume on Potions Brewing. She'd never read it herself, preferring Charms to the delicate art of Potions, but recognized it instantly as one of the books that Abraxus Malfoy sent his son for his birthday; homework he expected finished by the time Summer rolled around, not true gifts. "Put your book down for a bit Lucius! I'm trying to tell you something important!"

"What? What could be so important, Narcissa, that you're interrupting one of my only chances to read this week?" Between classes, Professor Slughorn's weekly parties, and his duties as a prefect, he didn't have much time for his reading. And his father would be horribly displeased if he went home in a few months without having finished the books. "And do be careful with that, please."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You need to relax, Lucy." Narcissa rolled her eyes but sat the book down on the table in front of the couch anyway. "Now, tell me! Did you hear?"

Lucius let out a sigh, relenting and giving the younger girl next to him his full attention. "Did I hear what, Narcissa? And I have told you not to call me that, haven't I?"

Narcissa gave him an impish grin, one entirely befitting her loose and bedraggled appearance, and let out a high-pitched laugh. "But it's so much easier to say than 'Lucius'!"

The elder Slytherin just shook his head again. After so many years of being friends with the girl, in school and out of school, he knew that no matter what he said 'Lucius' would never leave Narcissa's mouth voluntarily. Besides, the sooner he let her tell him what ever tidbit of information she'd managed to get a hold of, the sooner he would be left to himself again.

"The Potter boy made the team! He's the first third-year Chaser Gryffindor's had since Slughorn was in school. Pretty interesting, huh?" The way both her eyebrows raise tell him that she thinks it's more then just 'interesting'.

"And why," Lucius drawled. "do you think that is of interest to me?"

Narcissa just gives him that annoying little smile of hers, the one where it's clear that she knows something that's not being said, and laughs again. "Trust me, Lucy, it is."

~X~

The dinner after the first Quidditch match that James took part in was hectic.

It was always loud right after a match but today was even worse. The Gryffindor table was in full form, their voices ringing throughout the entire hall and drowning out all other conversations. Laughter and shouts and over-used puns about Quidditch were all that anyone could really focus on.

And it was giving Lucius a headache.

Noise was never something that he'd dealt with well. It meant that there was too much going on and not enough control over the area. Too much fun, as his father would word it, and not enough discipline. And, on top of the sheer volume of the banter, it was on a topic that Lucius loathed to discuss more than anything.

James Potter. Gryffindor's Golden Boy. An ace in the air and a jack on the ground, or so everyone was saying.

Because that was all that James needed. More recognition from the rest of the school. As though being adored by everyone for his looks and his charms and his excellent grades in just about everything wasn't enough. No, he needed to be known for more.

Lucius thought it was ridiculous. The Gryffindor would never be able to balance it all. Balance the Slug Club Parties and Quidditch practice and keep up on his schoolwork. He just wasn't the type that could do it. Wasn't the sort that could handle juggling it all without snapping. Maybe if he got help, which everyone knew those damned boys he hung out with gave him, but certainly not on his own.

James wasn't capable of it.

And no one else noticed. Or maybe they just didn't care? Maybe they didn't care that James was really a pompous, cruel buffoon? That must have been it, because they certainly couldn't not see when the Potter boy hexed another student. They couldn't not see when he mocked the younger students and laughed when they failed in their classes.

No, he was still the Golden Boy.

Perfect fuckin' Potter.

~X~

"You know, he's got a game today." Narcissa mentions it casually, speaking inbetween bites of eggs and putting more bacon on her plate. A few chairs down her sister, Bellatrix, was eating in the same manner. Their mother would have a fit if she knew that was how either of her daughters behaved while they were at school.

But Hogwarts was the only place that she could behave that way. The only place she could act like a child and not be scolded for it. And, as her sixteenth birthday was next year, this would be her last chance to act this way. To act free before she was forced to settle down and marry what ever man her father chose for her.

It was because she knew that would eventually be her fate that she was determined to make every day until then count.

Across from her, Lucius looks up from his own plate of eggs and frowned. "So?"

Narcissa couldn't help but giggle then. Lucius hadn't even had to ask who she was talking about this time, as he had with the last two Quidditch matches that James had taken place in. "So, are you going to watch him this time?"

Lucius didn't give her a response before he slid his plate away from him, scooped up the bag at his feet, and left the Great Hall.

~X~

"That's it!" Narcissa flung open the door to the Slytherin boys dormitory as she shouted. Several groggy eyed boys glanced in her direction but, as this as a fairly common occurence, none of them bothered to get on her over it. Not that it would do them any good. She only left when she felt like leaving.

Lucius sighed, rolled his eyes, and kept right on making his bed. It was far too early to put up with what ever random scheme had popped into her mind. Breakfast wasn't even going to be served for another hour!

Crossing the room in a few large strides, the Black girl dropped herself onto the sheets that Lucius had just smoothed out. "Pay attention, Lucy, this is important."

"Narcissa!" The blond scolded. "Please, get off of there."

The Slytherin girl only rolled her eyes. "No. Now listen up, Lucy. I've been thinking about your little problem and I've decided that I can't just let you keep going the way you have been. That means that you can't just hide away in the library all day while he's out flying! You have to come down and watch him fly!"

~X~

It was the match of the year. Even Lucius, who was not the biggest fan of Quidditch, could tell that. One player would block a quaffle or score a goal and the crowd went wild on both sides.

Slytherins versus Gryffindors.

Red and gold versus green and silver.

The students flying were nothing more than blurs of color. The cheers and jeers were so constant, so loud, that the words were little more than a constant buzzing in his ears. A buzz that was giving him a headache and making the already difficult to watch match just that much harder on Lucius.

But he sat through it all.

When Gryffindor won, taking not just the match but also the Quidditch Cup, the crowd went wild. Not a single 'boo' could be heard over the noise of the Gryffindor team cheering. And Lucius gave a few soft, slow claps before standing and making his way out of the stands.

~X~

"Hey, Malfoy!" James called out, giving a short wave as he crossed through the mass of students trying to push their way out of the Great Hall.

Dinner had ended only a few moments ago and, in his usual attempt at avoiding all the elbow-rubbing and jostling that came with leaving right away, Lucius was still sitting at his house's table. One of the Potions books that his father had given for his birthday was spread out in front of him, though he was only half-heartedly reading over the pages.

Looking away from the book as the Gryffindor boy walked over to him, Lucius arched an eyebrow. "Do you need something, Potter?"

"Yeah. That's why I came over here." The black haired boy gave a cheeky grin. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his robes, slouching ever so slightly, the air of someone completely confident in what they were about to say just exuding off of him.

Lucius waited for a few moments but James didn't explain the reason he'd come over. Evidently, it wasn't just Narcissa that insisted they be asked before they explained anything. "I am not going to ask you what you needed so, if it is important, I suggest you just tell me."

The grin on James face got wider. Cheekier. Both arms were placed on his hips and, when he spoke, it was with the air of someone who knew the answer to his question before it was asked. "So, Lucius, want to go out with me now?"

For a moment, the Slytherin faltered. Both eyebrows raised and he found himself staring at James in a manner completely unacceptable; surprised and amused and even a little annoyed, because that was no way to ask anyone out. And then he picked up book, stood up, and walked away with just the smallest shakes of his head.

But he was smiling, even if James couldn't see it.