Disclaimer: I do not own Shakespeare's works or 10 Things I Hate About You. Please don't sue me, blah blah blah.
Chapter One:
Lucius stepped backwards to the great doors leading into the foyer. He couldn't believe just how big this castle was! As a new transfer student from Durmstrang, he readily admitted that Hogwarts was far finer. Nodding his head appraisingly, he gazed curiously around, wondering just how many secrets he had yet to uncover. In his visual pursuit for more of the magnificent architecture, he accidentally bumped into something.
Hurriedly, Lucius turned around and immediately straightened once he saw that a kindly looking old man was beaming at him with a somewhat disconcerting smile.
"Hello Mr. Malfoy. I trust you are enjoying Hogwarts so far?"
Lucius blinked twice before dipping his head in a nod. Just who was this strange man?
Before his question was answered, a witch came rushing towards them. "Headmaster! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" The woman spoke in gasps, attempting to catch her breath. She spared a glance at Lucius. "Young man, why aren't you in class?" Her eyes widened when she noticed his apparel. "Why are you not dressed in the accurate school attire?"
The old man stepped in. "Minerva, really. If you continue to interrogate our students like so, I am sure they will all be frightened away. This is Mr. Malfoy. He has just transferred from Durmstrang. I have not yet sorted him and there hasn't been any time for him to change into school attire. Kindly cease scolding him as of yet." Resuming that disconcerting smile once more, he turned to face Lucius. "Mr. Malfoy, I am Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this fine school. On behalf of everyone here, I welcome you to Hogwarts."
Lucius gave a quick half-bow hesitantly; secretly thanking his stars he had not uttered any impropriety in front of the Headmaster. Before he knew it, he was dragged by the witch by the arm towards a series of twists and turns that confused him beyond belief. It seemed that classes were still in session for the corridors were empty and his footsteps echoed gloomily into the silence.
After being shoved roughly into a cluttered room, the witch disappeared. Lucius was left to his own devices temporarily. Just as he was about to explore the room, the witch returned with a hideous looking hat. She beckoned for Lucius to sit upon a nearby stool. As he did so, she leaned over to prop the disgusting article on his head. Lucius immediately objected, but his objection was ignored.
He sat there quite disgruntled, wondering about his father's decision to transfer him to Hogwarts. If there were such strange practices in Hogwarts, maybe he should have just stayed at his previous school. His thoughts were interrupted by another voice. "Ah, not paying too much attention, I see."
Lucius jumped. He whipped his head around, but there was only the witch who was not showing too much interest at all. "No, no. You're not going insane. I'm the Sorting Hat. I'm to sort you into your house." The hat seemed to be talking to him. Lucius swallowed and swiveled his eyes from side to side.
"Not too happy to have your mind examined by me? Well, I guess I can't blame you. You might feel violated of sorts. Hmm… let me see, let me see. Which house to place you in, my dear young fellow? I suppose it better be SLYTHERIN!" At this, the hat rose to a roar and the witch swept forwards to wipe the hat off Lucius' head. He continued to sit on the stool, not quite sure what had happened.
After that, all seemed like a haze. All he could remember was more corridors and a series of actions which led him to be garbed in the correct school uniform (now emblazoned with a green symbol of a snake). Then, he was hustled into another cluttered room filled with trinkets and empty sweet boxes. In the middle of the garbage sat a fat little man. He was sucking his chubby fingers. Lucius wrinkled his nose in distaste. If this was a professor, he really wouldn't be able to respect any of them.
The witch that had been with him through his sorting called out in a brisk tone, "Horace! Horace, for Merlin's sake, stop chewing your sweets for a minute and listen!" The fat man reluctantly pushed aside a semi-full box and leaned towards the witch. "What is it now, Minerva?"
'Minerva' sighed. "Horace, this is Lucius Malfoy, a new transfer student from Durmstrang. He was just sorted into Slytherin. Seeing as you're the Head of that particular house, I thought maybe you would like to uphold your responsibilities and get him settled in?" The fat man was now eyeing Lucius with a lot more interest than he had previously. "A Malfoy, eh? Well, that's really quite lovely…"
"HORACE!" barked the witch. The fat man snapped his gaze back to the witch. "Oh yes, yes. Minerva. I'll get him settled in. Don't worry about a thing." The witch closed her eyes for a few seconds before pivoting and sliding out the room smoothly. The fat man smiled at Lucius. "Well, Lucius, was it? I'm Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin house. I hope you like Hogwarts so far?" Lucius bit back his reply of "No, you disgust me too much" and instead forced himself to nod politely.
Just then, the bell rang and what sounded like a stampede of cattle rampaged outside the room. A little bewildered, Lucius stepped further away from the quivering door. Slughorn stood up, the floorboards creaking slightly underneath his weight. The door of the room opened abruptly and a young, pale, oily looking boy stumbled inside. Slughorn grinned (a sight most unpleasant).
"Severus! Just the man I need!"
The oily boy frowned and stared at Lucius. Lucius stared back. A Malfoy never lost to anything. Slughorn's booming voice jolted them back from their mental battle. "Severus, this is Lucius Malfoy, a new transfer from Durmstrang. Would you kindly take him and, er, familiarize him with Hogwarts? Give him the password to the Common Room. I believe he's in the same dorm as you."
Severus glared at Slughorn for a moment before replying, "Yes, Professor" in an oily voice that matched his hair. He sniffed and turned to leave. Lucius assumed this was his cue to follow and trailed behind Severus stiffly. The stampede had subsided somewhat and the corridors were now only holding trickles of students swarming their way towards their next class. Lucius could only suppose that Severus was excused to his next class due to having to show him around.
Without paying attention, Lucius suddenly found himself nearly running into a large hole leading into what seemed like an extremely large lounge. Severus was impatiently waiting on the other side. "Well, are you coming or not?"
Lucius quickly strode through. Behind him, something automatically snapped shut. "This is the common room for Slytherin" drawled Severus. "The dorms are this way. Please follow me." Without a backwards look, Severus mounted some stairs looming towards the left. Lucius followed once again.
The dorms were not much larger than those at Durmstrang. Lucius noted his luggage was placed at the head of a neatly made bed. There were three other beds, but only two seemed to be lived in. If Severus occupied one bed, then who was his other roommate? Lucius felt too lazy to ask and instead sat down on the bed his luggage was at.
"Look, are you planning on festering here all day or do you want to see some more of the castle. I have lots of work to do and if you no longer require my service I think I would rather like to leave now." Severus spoke towards the door, not bothering to even look at Lucius.
Lucius felt a twinge of annoyance. How dare he speak to a Malfoy like that? As much as he would have preferred abandoning the presence of the surly boy, there wasn't much else he could have done. Exploring the castle (even if it was with Severus) seemed like the best option. He stood up and motioned towards the door. Severus ignored him, but barged out.
After a long afternoon of introducing himself to his new home for the term and thoroughly memorizing the different blocks and buildings, Lucius realised there wasn't anything particular about Hogwarts at all. A little disappointed, he slumped onto the grass beside the lake and raised his head to the sky. Beside him, Severus also sank to the green. Then, the bell rang once more and the same stampede seemed to occur inside. Students began spilling out from the doors, their chatter shattering Lucius' peace. He opened his eyes in irritation.
In the sunshine, he did not know what had hit him, but a cloud of silver gold flashed his vision. He leaned forwards. There was a blonde goddess laughing in the afternoon weather, her glittering hair blinding him and her laughter twinkling in his ears. Without helping it, Lucius smiled. It was mesmerizing to watch her. She was so beautiful.
"You can't have her."
Lucius turned his head back towards a yawning Severus. "Why not? What do you know about her?"
Severus gave a bitter smile. "Every guy in the school lusts after her. Well, the straight ones anyway. Her name is Narcissa Black. A fourth-year." Lucius pondered her last name. Black… It was a name worth recognizing. Her blood was pure enough and her family wealthy enough for him. He smirked. They were a match made in heaven. Then, he remembered what Severus had said. "Why can't I have her?"
"Do you really wish to know?"
"What do you think?"
"Your answer is approaching."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you mentally incapable or something? Why do you ask so many bloody questions?"
Lucius gritted his teeth. If Severus didn't watch out, he might be involved in a nasty accident. At this moment, he noticed a sulky looking girl joining his goddess. Instantly, Lucius was struck by the contrast between the two girls. If Narcissa was light, then the other was darkness. "Severus, do you mean that sullen girl beside her?"
Severus gave him a look. "That 'sullen girl' is Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix."
Lucius froze. That was her sister? Well, certainly the two girls were different, but how would Bellatrix be a problem? He voiced this query aloud. Severus sat up. "Well, their father has refused the allowance of his two younger daughters to enter a relationship until the eldest has found a boyfriend."
"Two younger daughters?"
Severus motioned towards the girl sitting on the other side of Narcissa. "That one, Andromeda. She's the middle daughter. I don't really hear about her a lot. Her two sisters are more famous. She's only recognized because of her last name."
Andromeda was a plain and dull looking girl. Well, she was pretty in her own right, but compared to Narcissa's unfazing beauty and Bellatix's dark danger, she was too ordinary. Anyone could have easily missed that brown-haired girl loitering at the edge of the conversation. Lucius twisted back towards Severus for the umpteenth time. "That's strange, they don't look anything alike." The eldest was dark-haired with heavily lidded eyes and a protective layer of clothing closeting her in what seemed like a burlap sack. The middle child was a mousy witch fiddling nervously and keeping her secrets to herself. The youngest was a blonde beam of glory, waiting to be claimed.
"Why aren't the youngest two allowed to date before the eldest?"
Lucius glanced at Severus. He yawned again before answering. "Well, nobody knows for sure, but something happened. Believe it or not, but Bellatrix was quite the social butterfly in her prime. After the holidays, she came back quiet and secretive and rebellious. Basically, she covered herself up with ugly layers of uniform and acquired an awful temper. No one dares approach her. She'll blow off any moment. Some poor unfortunate bloke asked to borrow a quill during class and she cast so many hexes on him he's probably still residing at St. Mungo's."
Narcissa had flung herself onto her back, her trail of golden tresses illuminating a shadow behind her head. True to Severus' word, every guy gazed longingly at her horizontal form. Andromeda shied away but Bellatrix blatantly ignored the attention. Before long, there was a scuffle among a small group of students. A young wizard pushed his way roughly through the crowd, not caring about whether or not he tread on any fingers. Immediately, the people in his way scrambled out of it. He overlooked all motion and unceremoniously plonked himself down on a bare patch on the grass.
Lucius felt curious towards this character. He nudged a dozing Severus. "Hey, Severus…" Severus recoiled. "Please, desist from touching me. And stop saying my name. You make everything sound unintelligent." If Lucius were in a worse mood, he would probably have half-strangled him for his impoliteness. But lucky for Severus, Lucius had just met the girl of his dreams.
"Fine, I won't touch you. But can you tell me who that is? Over there?"
Severus shielded his eyes against the sun. "That one that just pushed his way over there? Oh, you'll have no wish to tamper with him. He's probably the only guy in the school scarier than Bellatrix. That's Rodolphus Lestrange. He's weird, that one is. I don't think he's really attended much of class at all. It's a real surprise how he manages to stay at Hogwarts, what with all the trouble he's caused."
Lucius thought carefully. Lestrange. Another noble last name.
The bell rang again, inspiring the students meandering around the lake to spring into action. This meant that Narcissa stood up, shaking her cascade of hair and brushing down her uniform. Lucius felt his eyes drawn once more to the girl. "Forget it, Malfoy. You'll never get to date her. She can't go out until good old Bellatrix attaches herself to a respectable pureblood male and no one's crazy enough to pursue her."
Watching Narcissa sway back towards the castle with her two sisters, Lucius felt the overpowering desire to possess this girl which no one else could have. Thinking back on Severus' many words, his eyes strayed towards another figure splayed out on the bare patch of grass.
A Malfoy never lost to anything.
AN: So, there's the first chapter. Although the first chapter is all in Lucius' POV, I swear it's a Roddy/Bella fic. Well, maybe there will be a bit of Lucius/Narcissa because I love both pairings equally. I apologise if it's moving a bit slowly for you. Reviews make me happy (no matter if they're good or bad). Please let me know what you think. I would be glad to revise any suggestions. Thanks!