Author's Note: This takes place sometime during Lucius's and Narcissa's early Hogwarts years. Andromeda has not yet been disowned.
Narcissa was glad that it was finally the weekend. Of course, she and Lucius could be studying right now, but both had decided that they deserved at least a short break, just as long as they returned to their studies before they went to bed.
Besides, their parents weren't around to see that instead of studying like good Pureblood children, they were doing nothing but simply enjoying being outside.
Narcissa glanced over at Lucius. There was a slight smile of happiness on his face. It was so slight, however, that if Narcissa had not known Lucius as well as she did, she probably would not have noticed it.
But Lucius was definitely happy, and that made Narcissa happy as well. It wasn't often that Narcissa got to see Lucius being happy.
Narcissa had not been happy often as a child either, but she did have several happy memories of spending time with her two sisters. While it was true that Bellatrix's idea of fun was often cruel and sadistic, Andromeda had always been able to make up for that by playing with Narcissa in a much kinder, gentler fashion.
Narcissa truly treasured all the times she had been able to spend with Andromeda.
Lucius, however, didn't have a brother or a sister to have any fun with. All he had was his father, and there was no way that someone like Abraxas Malfoy would ever tolerate his son just walking around outside and not doing anything productive.
Narcissa thought about what her parents would think if they knew she was being so lazy. Her father probably wouldn't care that much as he left most of the child raising to his wife.
Druella Black, on the other hand, would care a lot. She was always lecturing her daughters on the importance of them always being nothing but proper Pureblood ladies.
But Bellatrix had always been high-strung, and Andromeda often seemed to be annoyed with her mother. So, after a while, Druella would end the lectures for the day and release her daughters to do whatever they pleased, just as long as they never did anything to publicly disgrace the family.
The three Black sisters were always careful to never let their mother see them in dirty clothes. No matter how rebellious Bellatrix and Andromeda liked to be, even they realized that there were some lectures they would never be able to escape from. So, it was best to avoid being in Druella's sights whenever they wanted to have some fun.
And it wasn't as if they got that dirtied. They weren't common, after all. Getting too dirty was something only a filthy Muggle or Mudblood would do, and Narcissa didn't ever want her mother to view her in the same way that she viewed "the inferior."
The three Black sisters had their moments of fun, but their fun was always "dignified" and "proper." Well, at least it was with Andromeda and Narcissa. Bellatrix could care less for playing with dolls, having tea parties, or combing her youngest sister's hair.
Since Narcissa liked to have some peace in her life, she had no problem with Bellatrix doing her own thing while she and Andromeda spent time together.
Narcissa once again glanced over at Lucius. She thought about all the times that he came over to Black Manor to visit her. His first destination was always the study, and in the study he always went directly for the books.
Lucius often stressed to Narcissa that his father would be very upset with him if he wasn't well-educated. Abraxas Malfoy would not tolerate "an inferior" being more educated or knowledgeable than his Pureblood son.
And Narcissa could not help but notice that Lucius always seemed happier when he was outside compared to when he was forced to be inside.
It wasn't as if Lucius didn't like reading and studying, because he most definitely did. But as far as Narcissa was concerned, Lucius deserved to have some moments of freedom as well.
Narcissa knew that she definitely enjoyed the times she was out of her mother's sight and could just be a child. And Narcissa totally believed in being a proper lady, she really did.
She just liked to have a little break from time to time.
"This is nice," Lucius said suddenly.
"Yes, it is," Narcissa agreed as she looked around.
It was definitely a beautiful day. The sun was out, but it wasn't too warm. In fact, it felt perfect. It was the perfect type of day for just being outside and doing nothing.
Narcissa then heard the sound of Lucius taking a deep breath.
She looked over at him. His eyes were closed, and there was a peaceful expression on his face. It fitted him nicely.
Narcissa had always considered Lucius to be handsome, but he definitely was even more handsome when his face wasn't its usual coldness and hardness.
It truly was a shame that Lucius wasn't able to be happy and peaceful like this more often.
Lucius opened his eyes. He then looked over at Narcissa and smiled brightly at her.
There was nothing slight about his smile anymore.
Narcissa smiled back, just as widely.
"We need to do this more often," Lucius then said.
"Yes, we do," Narcissa agreed.