Lucius Malfoy was twelve years old now- surely that was old enough to stop running away from all of his problems? That's what his father would tell him. But really, why stop running when it always tended to work so well? It wasn't as if he would hide forever, just long enough.

Long enough for that wretched Evan Rosier to feel guilty for spilling a potion all over his Transfiguration essay! That had taken him hours to write! And Evan wouldn't even apologize!

But he wasn't sulking- oh no, Malfoys didn't sulk. No, he was brooding. This was completely and entirely different than sulking!

Lucius settled himself down on a rock by the edge of the stream, already feeling the peaceful atmosphere working its magic. This little clearing in the Forbidden Forest was his favorite place to come when he was upset- away from all the prying eyes and obnoxious voices back up at the school of witchcraft and wizardry. He'd always found something enjoyably serene about the winding little creek through the grassy meadow, peppered with flowers that always seemed to be in bloom.

Not that anyone else could know! He would be absolutely mortified if anyone found out that this fairytale field was where he came when he was upset- just imagine how they would laugh! Especially the horrible Evan Rosier…But no one would find him here; no one would ever wander so far out in the supposedly dangerous wood.

Taking a deep, relaxed breath, Lucius gazed idly about at all the wildlife the forest had to offer. A unicorn mother and her baby were grazing at the far edge of the clearing, an owl swooped overhead, and a curious kneazle sniffed at a quivering blue shrub. The shrub promptly swallowed the cat-like creature whole.

And the sounds too, were very relaxing. The birds chirping, the water rushing softly, the quiet crunching of twigs that signaled human approach… Lucius sat upright suddenly. Human? No other human was meant to find this place!

"Hello?" He called out, far more angry than frightened by the stranger's advance. There was a tiny, nearby gasp. He turned to see a girl staring at him with large blue eyes. She seemed familiar, though he did try to avoid first year students.

"I-I didn't know anyone else was here." The child sniffed miserably. She was crying, Lucius realized. But still, he refused to take pity on her- she was the one who interrupted him in his hiding place!

But there was something ridiculously charming about the girl, intruder on not. Her blonde curls had been sprinkled with leaves upon her journey to the meadow, the tip of her pert little nose was bright pink, and her left cheek was smeared with dirt.

She turned to leave, stifling a small sob.

"Wait!" Lucius would never, ever understand what inspired him to call out to her. But he did, and she paused.

"Yes?" She inquired glumly.

"You- You don't have to go." What? What on earth was wrong with him? Surely he hadn't just invited her to join him?

But whatever he had done didn't matter in the least, because her sad little face broke out into the biggest smile he had ever seen. And suddenly, he was glad he had told her to stay.

She crossed the field tentatively, and sat on the rock beside him. "I'm Narcissa Black," She introduced softly.

"Lucius Malfoy," He returned, still watching the fat tears slide off her eyelashes. "Tell me why you're crying."

"Evan- Evan Rosier said my curls looked silly." She replied, gesturing to her golden mop. "So I told him his freckles looked like dragon pox, and then he hexed me!" She tugged up her sleeve to reveal a nasty welt from a stinging hex.

Lucius stared at her for a full minute. "I think Evan Rosier is mad. And a klutz. I say when we go back to the castle, you and I tell him that!" He paused, drawing in a deep breath and pushed out on a rush, "And I think your curls are very nice."

Again, a dazzling grin settled itself upon her lips. "Really?"

He nodded bravely. Then, the startling little girl did another unusual (and frankly shocking!) thing. She flung her arms around him.

Lucius's first though was that he ought to be repulsed- girls were icky! A perfectly healthy boy was liable to catch very dangerous diseases from them! But… this girl didn't seem quite so bad. He- he was starting to rather like Narcissa Black.

Narcissa pulled back slowly, blushing slightly. "You're really very kind," She informed him. Lucius scowled. Malfoys were not kind- Malfoys were cunning, arrogant, sometimes cruel- but not kind!

He turned away from her snidely, not noticing how her face fell.

"I- I should probably be going now. It was nice to meet you." She sighed, the cheerless tone returning to her voice. Lucius gave no reply as she slid from the rock and trudged from the meadow, back into the woods.

Well, finally! Now he could get back to enjoying his peace and quiet. But somehow, now that she was gone, the sunshine didn't seem so bright. And the birds not as chipper. Where had all the woodland creatures gone? Suddenly, the surroundings didn't seem anywhere near as nice.

"Narcissa!" He called, springing up from the rock. "Narcissa wait!"

)i(

It took Lucius years to figure it out. But after he'd caught up to Narcissa that day and taken her hand, he never went back to that clearing in the forest again. Not alone, at least. After that day, whenever he was upset, he didn't run off into the forest to sulk- pardon, brood. He went to find his friend- eventually his lover, then fiancé, and finally wife- Narcissa. It was much more productive, he decided years later while describing with relish the near capture and violent death of Evan Rosier, for his favorite place to be at the side of the only person he'd ever managed to love.