The first time he noticed her was the day of the altercation between Arthur Weasley and himself. It was her eyes that he noticed; eyes that had haunted his dreams. Lucius felt his blood turn to ice at the mere sight of this eleven year old girl. His face was an emotionless mask, but underneath was rage that someone else was walking around with his Rhia's eyes. It was in that split second he decided to give the diary to her. As punishment for her likeness to Rhia.
Two years later, their paths crossed again. This time it was at the Quidditch World Cup. For a brief moment, their eyes locked. Hers were full of anger and rage, while his showed nothing more than mild disdain for her family. He had been the recipient of that look before, when he was at Hogwarts. He knew then that this child was her, and couldn't stop glancing at the youngest Weasley throughout the entire game.
That was when he'd made a vow to make sure no fatal harm would come to this girl. Lucius would intervene, whenever possible, on her behalf. That was his downfall at the Department on Mysteries. He tried to protect the girl, and fulfill his task from the Dark Lord. Not everything works in Lucius Malfoy's favor, though. That was how he was captured and then lost the trust of the Dark Lord. His days and nights in Azkaban were spent reminiscing over her, and when he was freed he went straight to his oldest confidante.
"The fates are taunting me, Severus," Lucius said, sitting on the couch in Severus' parlor.
"Lucius, if they are taunting you, then they are torturing me," he laughed. "I have watched her for the past five years. Her mannerisms, intellect; everything is the same. Especially her bat-bogey hex."
"How can it be her?" Lucius questioned while staring at the flames.
"I do not know, but if it truly is Rhia then we will know this year."
"I would not be so sure of that."
"I would, because Ginny Weasley will be sixteen this year. The same age as Rhiannon when she appeared in our lives," Severus said, downing his fire whiskey.
"You are right," Lucius smirked. "Do watch out for her this year, Severus. I know how the Carrows love to torture children."
"I will do my best, old friend. I'll keep you updated if anything seems to go wrong."
With that, Lucius apparated away, leaving Severus to stare at the photos on his mantle. All of them were of ancestors, except the one in the middle. That was of Lucius' wedding with Rhiannon. He stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, and Severus stood next to them with Lily Evans in the exact same way. Three weeks after the photo had been taken, Rhiannon had disappeared. That was the last time any of them were happy. Severus threw his empty glass into the fireplace and stalked to his room.