Prologue - Slide Away

Olive coloured eyelids slid over chocolate irises slowly, hiding an anxious expression. Slender fingers drummed an unsteady beat on the firm arm of a green velvet chair, accompanying the only other sound of the ticking of the grandfather clock. Maxine's mind raced, as – more prominently, her heart sunk. She was no fool, and she knew what was coming. She knew he was going to end it tonight. Rumours had been rife for weeks, within certain circles, that Abraxas Malfoy had indeed made and agreed on an arrangement for his son to be married to the youngest daughter of Cygnus Black. But this was not why she could predict what was going to happen. Lately he had become distant... almost sorrowful when around her, a quality which was most unusual. This miserable act on his part caused her to do the opposite, for the past month or so, she had been even more devoted to him than usual, showing him such affection, giving him everything, he was her fiancé after all.

Despite her most ardent efforts, she had woken early that morning to a sharp knock on her door, and to her surprise it wasn't a house-elf - it was her father, in his hand he carried a simple mug of black coffee, but all Maxine could focus on was the grave expression on his face, and expression which told her, without the need for words, to prepare for the worst. Long after her father had retreated downstairs, she stood stock-still behind the door, remaining there long enough for the coffee to turn flat cold in her grasp. After rather animatedly throwing it down the sink in her en-suite bathroom, she moved to sit on her overstuffed bed, the black satin covers pooling around her. He had plagued her dreams the previous night, dreams of a future that would now never be realised. As she bowed her head in dismay, the last glimmer of hope vanished into nothing.

But now here she sat, waiting for him to meet her – eight o'clock as usual. It was now nearing ten o'clock, and she was considering the thought that he may never show, he may never end it properly. Then footsteps sounded behind her.

Maxine didn't turn to greet him, she didn't think he deserved that sort of recognition, she just stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on the darkness lying outside of the bay window.

Minutes may have passed – she couldn't be sure, until all of a sudden the firm hand of Lucius Malfoy clamped down on her shoulder, although his hand was soft, his grip was so strong that she felt if she tried to stand, it would be impossible. It was as if this hand was trying to keep her exactly where she was, keep her as his.

More minutes passed, until his hand left her shoulder, and ran up past her jaw, and into her hair, his ivory skin clashed with the dark chocolate brown of her hair, and as Maxine caught sight of their reflection in the mirror, her body objected and she rose to her feet, her knees shaking slightly, they couldn't pretend this wasn't happening anymore.

'I need you,' she stated, simply.

'You don,'t,' came his underwhelming reply, in an unusually thick voice. As he spoke she turned to look at him, a man who she had been willing to invest her life in, was now becoming nothing to her. 'I don't have a choice, you know. The rumours going around are false, this arrangement has been set in place since I was born, but apparently, no-one thought I should know.'

Maxine could have laughed out loud at his words, did he honestly think it mattered at all to her how this had come about? It was neither here nor there what his father wanted, all that counted was that Lucius thought more highly of public image than he did of her, and that was the crux of it.

At twenty years of age she may not have known all the ins and outs of love, but she did know that she had experienced it with him, and now, she would have to look for it elsewhere. 'You couldn't have said this earlier? Did you have to string me along, and feed me false hope all this time?'

Lucius cleared his throat uncomfortably, 'I didn't intend to give you 'false hope' as you put it, I merely did what I thought best.'

'Listen to yourself,' Maxine laughed bitterly. 'You're too arrogant to even apologize, and you speak about me as if I mean nothing to you.'

There was a silence – pregnant with sadness and regret. 'You know you were my first choice.'

Maxine raised her eyebrows in response, the dim light in the room highlighting her angular face, as she pursed her lips. 'That's not good enough,' she whispered as a reply.

'You must understand that there's nothing I can do about this,' his tone was tinged with anger. 'I have to do what my father says, I am a Malfoy, and in this impossible situation I must do what is... proper.'

At his words Maxine found herself having a premonition of what was to come; their wedding photographs splattered inside the Daily Prophet, them attending functions together arm in arm, as she stood alone, but a shadow of her former self.

She wouldn't allow that to happen. She had to get away from him, away from here, she didn't want anything to with Lucius Malfoy anymore.

Maxine retrieved her cloak from the back of the sitting room door, and slipped it over her shoulders. A confused expression took over his handsome features, but she paid him no attention. She waved her wand in several different directions, summoning her trunks, which were then filled with her masses of belongings – all the while Lucius watched, not understanding her sudden course of action.

'I shouldn't think you'll be seeing me again,' she said, turning to face him. Tears threatened to fall, but she wouldn't let them, she couldn't let him see what he'd done to her – what he was doing to her. This was the final curtain call.

And with that Maxine Divine slid out of the partly opened door, and out of Lucius Malfoy's life.