Hikaru M: Hi guys, I know it's not InuYasha, but I couldn't help myself :S. This has been in my mind since I was stuffing myself full with fabulous HP fanart from Makani (deviantart, check her out) which started my Lucius obsession. I'm trying out a different style for this one so please forgive me if it's really boring to you. It's supposed to be disjointed (refer to later chapters) because I can't be bothered to write a whole story with a real plot. How poor of me :(
Disclaimer: At no point in time did I make any profit off the writing of this fiction. None of the characters present, as rendered in the Harry Potter series owned by J.K. Rowling, belong to me. I do however, claim ownership of the original characters (no duh lol).
Part i
It had been a day long awaited; the sky was cloudless and pristine as if to be a clear indicator of the future of the young couple to be wed on that day. Most had been skeptical when it had been announced in the Daily Prophet and the gossip that had been generated since was unbearable. Some had even gone as far to put bets on who would turn up to the ceremony, no doubt the most anticipated and decorated wedding for generations to come. After all, how often was it that a Weasley and a Malfoy pledged eternal devotion to one another, two clans that had hated each other for as long as anyone could remember?
"I can't believe that we're actually here for this…we've come a long way." Narcissa sounded quietly beside him. Her tone wasn't the scornful one he had been expecting, but one filled with unspoken gratitude and wonder. Lucius nodded imperceptibly, head straight watching the proceedings with his dark mercury coloured eyes. It wouldn't be long before his son's arrival, and it would hardly be longer before the ceremony was underway. Scorpius didn't want to be wed without his father there.
They alone sat in the notably under populated side of the church waiting for their son's arrival. No other member of the Malfoy family thought it wise to attend; though they lived in the post-Voldemort days they thought it offended their pure-blood sensibilities to watch as the last reproducing heir of such a magnificent and extra-ordinary line wed himself to a piece of Weasley trash. Having met the girl himself, he figured it was an event worth showing up to. His mind on thoughts of the past, he could hardly refuse to be present. Scorpius could not even begin to comprehend how magnanimous an affair like this was.
No sooner had he thought this had the groom come up to him, clearly disturbed by the lack of Malfoys in attendance. His eyes, a soft grey almost brown in colour, rested on his grandparents, elegantly dressed in all the finery that Malfoy money could afford. Lucius' ponytail was as long as ever, luminous no longer with the white blonde hair that crowned his own head but with an ever increasing number of silvery hairs that held a soft gilded sheen to them. Beside him sat Narcissa, her own long lustrous blonde hair unchanged, still clinging to its golden sheen. They were both straight-backed with their heads straight, clearly unaffected by the hearty chatter that abounded on the other side. It was heart wrenching for him to see them sitting alone like that.
"Where's dad? He said that this would the one event he would be early to…he was supposed to be here ages ago. Now I've got Rose's family harping at me every time they see me, asking if I've got cold feet. He knows how important this is to me…he wouldn't dare…"
"Never question your father." Narcissa answered, more harshly than she intended to, "He will be here as he promised. We may have dropped a little in the social rankings but the Malfoy word still stands with honour. Never let it be said, by you or any one else, that a Malfoy's word is not binding."
Lucius turned slightly to look at her. As usual, her expression was flawlessly blank, but he could see beneath it was a tiny sign of ire, either at Scorpius' questioning of her only son, or at her only son's tardiness. He sympathised with her, the years as they dragged on with slow cruelty had not seen fit to be kind to her, putting her in positions that no woman, wife or mother should ever have to be in. Yet her arranged attachment to him had put her through more heartache and deceit than was necessary.
Shaking the thought loose, he turned his attentions to Scorpius. He was an honest looking fellow, no doubt Rose's influence, but still held the polished air of a true Slytherin. He did not wear the customary scornful expression of the Malfoy men before him; it took so many years for someone to break the mould, or stigma rather, laid down by one pure blood fanatic so many generations ago. Lucius came close to doing that once, but instead of being bold like Scorpius he resigned to a pre-determined fate, a prescribed lifestyle and wife. That was a long time ago and those were times that he would rather not think about.
"Draco has been several things in his lifetime, but a disappointment he has never been. There's no need to worry, he will be here."
Scorpius frowned, but understanding the words spoken to him he nodded. He laid his hand on each shoulder and with a slight smile and a curt nod, he was off to placate the Weasley brood and associates. Watching him go, Narcissa laid a hand on Lucius', water gathering slightly in her deeply emotive brown eyes. Instinctively he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze, reassuring her with only his gestures. They had learnt together a long time ago that words were of little use in moments like those.
"If you try hard enough, I'm sure that you'll see a bit of yourself in him."
Lucius only smiled and squeezed her hand tighter. He was on the verge of saying that he would be lucky if he could compare himself to Scorpius when a female voice piped up behind them.
"My Narcissa! After being married to the man for so long, I would've thought you know his personal traits by heart. For one Lucius always had a bit of a surly and unapproachable disposition…"
Both turned to see who it was that had rudely interrupted their private conversation, and upon seeing who it was, Narcissa blanched from the shock that was carefully carved onto her face.
"Andromeda?"
The woman nodded. Behind her stood a tall man who was clearly annoyed to be there, his hair changing colour from a violently purple colour to a sickly green. Looking at him, Lucius was immediately reminded of the werewolf, Remus, though he highly doubted that Remus had ever looked anywhere near as impetuous as this young man. The sleeves of his dress robes were rolled defiantly upwards, revealing the creamy flesh of his arm and his hair was slicked upwards into an odd looking hairstyle. Having never seen it before, he figured it to be muggle in origin.
"Why so surprised to see me? You didn't honestly think I'd miss my great-nephew's wedding did you?"
"Never," Narcissa gasped out, "I just…perhaps you would feel more…comfortable on the Weasley side."
Andromeda smiled sadly at her younger sister and husband while the man behind her snorted indignantly and mumbled something about Narcissa being right. Lucius arched a fine blonde eyebrow at him and the man scowled back, clearly unimpressed.
"Once a Black, always a Black. No need to let all these years of estrangement ruin a perfectly good wedding, is there Cissy?"
Clearly grateful, Narcissa shook her head dumbly, more tears gathering in her eyes as her hair became slightly dishevelled. It would've been a perfect moment had the young man not seen the need to add his two Sickles.
"Oi, why the bloody hell am I here then? Their lot disowned mum before she was even born…she wasn't a Black so neither am I. I've got no reason to be sat over here with them." he said loudly.
Andromeda frowned at him and he scowled back; Narcissa was simply appalled at his words. Lucius, for his part had no reaction. His words, all laced with spite and anger, were true so he felt no need to be outraged by the younger man's rant. He knew though, that deep in Narcissa's heart she had always regretted having to ostracise Andromeda, the sister that she had truly loved, under Bellatrix's duress. It hurt her to know that her beloved sister abandoned her, and indeed the rest of the Black family save for Sirius, for a muggleborn. It was at that point that she came to dislike them, muttering curses for Ted Tonks and his kind in her sleep; it was a wound that still had yet to heal.
"Teddy!" Andromeda whispered harshly, not noticing Narcissa's slight flinch at the name, "This is your family and…"
Lucius zoned out of the ensuing argument, his mind bringing back a memory from his Hogwarts years. It was not long after he entered his sixth year and he was making his way to the kitchens when he caught Andromeda, a fellow sixth year Slytherin, in a rather compromising position with one Ted Tonks, then a seventh year Gryffindor. They had been kissing it seemed; whatever they were doing was of little importance to him. She was, at one point, betrothed to him – arranged by their parents naturally- but it was broken off in Narcissa's favour as they thought the two a better match.
"My, my, my, Andromeda. I would've never thought you the type for this kind of…clandestine rendezvous; with a Gryffindor no less? What would dearest mummy Black say if she found out?"
His silky voice cut the heart of the silence, making the couple jump apart with fright. Andromeda's dark eyes scanned the corridor until they landed on his white blonde head. He smirked across at her as she shooed away Ted, the muggleborn hightailing it into the castle's darkness. Getting up from the partially hidden alcove she smoothed the wrinkles out of her clothes and strode across to where Lucius stood.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Really? It's not like you can stop me anyways Dromeda." he said, the smugness seeping into his voice. She merely smiled at the threat, a malignant twinkle settling in her eyes.
"If you even think about telling my mother, I'll tell Cissy about you. Word around the castle is that I'm not the only one who likes to…dabble in Gryffindor every once and a while."
There was silence. Andromeda was hardly the type to use such information as a bargaining chip, but he knew that he was levelling a serious threat against her and her reaction was typically Slytherin. He schooled his facial expression to ensure that he didn't confirm what she said.
"Where would you hear a thing like that? It's absolute rubbish."
"You're not as good at covering your tracks as you think you are."
"Been listening to the rumour mongers too much I see…"
"I've seen it with my own two eyes Lucius. Don't think you can hide behind the fact that she's part Veela. It isn't that strong in her despite what McNair says, and the way you looked at her…"
"You have no idea what you're talking about Andromeda," he hissed angrily; she obviously knew more than he wished she did, "it's just an infatuation."
"It's not any infatuation," she whispered, the insinuation hanging heavy between them, "that's a dangerous…very dangerous infatuation. Do we have a deal then?"
He frowned but nodded in agreement. Unsure of which was potentially more devastating, he knew for sure that they were in the same boat. They were both in over their heads when it came to certain Gryffindors that were definitely below their pedigree but it mattered little to them. And as history showed, Andromeda eventually divulged her secret to her family, fleeing with Tonks and taking his secret with her. He no longer had leverage on her but it had been such a long time since what she knew had relevance. So much had happened since then.
"Nice to see you, Aunt Andromeda. It's been a while."
Draco's voice cut through Lucius' reverie. There stood his only son and his wife, her eyes skimming over the many ornate chairs on their side. Sadness hung in her eyes; it was no doubt an embarrassment to her to find only her husband's parents seated in their section. None of her own family had made it. Lucius watched her keenly as she smiled despite the obvious hurt; Scorpius was her pride and joy especially since the miscarriage of her second child. His marriage, a highly publicised and extravagant event, was perhaps the single most important event in her life since her own and it was one that she wanted to share with her family. As they seated themselves in the first row next to the aisle, it became evident that their families held no interest in public redemption. That or they were already dead.
As he thought, the wedding began promptly after Draco's arrival and ran without interruption. Perfect silence reigned in the church as the nay-sayers no doubt came to see if he were really going to go through with it; as they kissed for the first time as a married couple, he felt a sharp squeeze on his hand and returned the gesture. Seated behind his son, he spent the entire ceremony clasping his wife's hand while she held her sister's hand with the right. Pride surged in him as the newly weds were presented to the crowded church; much to everyone's surprise he was the first to rise and applaud, still an impressive figure despite his 75 years of age. Next was Narcissa, pausing to dab the occasional tear from her eyes until soon all 5 of the church's right half stood in applause, the others soon following.
Scorpius and Rose, arms locked, beamed at the crowd, waving as they led the way to the reception. They apparated first, then the family members and well-wishers, to an archway of white gold with silver and gold flowers crawling lazily about, with a pathway leading up to a large tent all ornately decorated in the same colours.
Rose gasped audibly, a pretty blush staining her face as she spun around, tears of appreciation and joy glistening in her eyes. She flung herself at Lucius, the momentum almost taking him to the ground. Embarrassed, he patted her back before Scorpius came to pry her off him and carry her to the reception area. Scorpius shot him a slight smirk before taking Rose by the hand and leading her up the path and into the tent.
"Thank you so much for all of this Lucius." Molly gushed on her granddaughter's behalf, eyes greedily drinking in every expensive detail. She knew she had made the right choice when she let Lucius plan and pay for the wedding; not only was it beyond her expectations, but she felt it was his own way of paying back for all the wrongs done. He was a long way and coming, but she felt good that she had helped him in his penitence.
He merely nodded in acknowledgement and, arm in arm with Narcissa, began the walk down to the tent that he had undoubtedly walked over thousands of times in inspection. Everyone seemed to be in awe of them for despite the years they spent as feared and hated people, they still walked with a regal gait over everything that threatened the celebratory mood of the wedding. They were determined to make right after all of the humbling things that they had been through.
The Malfoy clan spent the majority of the reception talking amongst themselves, watching the others and laughing along with the ends of jokes that drifted in their direction. Occasionally Scorpius or Rose would bring someone to talk to them but it always ended in an awkward silence or a disparaging comment depending on who it was. Aunt Muriel proved to be the worst of all the guests, who had tonnes to say on Lucius' days as a Death Eater or Draco's hand in Dumbledore's death and how it would only be a matter of time before Scorpius showed his true colours. Thankfully, she had to leave early as a woman of her age couldn't stay out long while talking about the Malfoy's habits of buying people to win favours.
"Who invited that old piece of dragon hide?" asked an annoyed Draco as he took a generous sip of his fire whiskey. Andromeda shrugged.
"She was at Remus and Nymphadora's wedding as well I think. I'm not really sure who she's related to." she said as she took a sip of champagne.
It was at this point, a woman approached them. She looked to be about Narcissa's age, though she didn't seem to age quite as gracefully. Her hair was long and wavy, black in colour with streaks of dark grey highlighting it. Save for the deep laugh lines on either side of her mouth, her face was practically devoid of wrinkles. Her skin was a hair's breadth away from being white and her slanted eyes were a clear, vivid blue like sapphire; when Draco saw her, he spluttered into his drink.
Lucius felt his heart stop beating for a moment. Despite her age, she didn't look much different from her Hogwarts days. She had grown back out her hair, her face had slimmed down – he could clearly see her high cheek bones – and her eyes held a vaguely haunted look but otherwise, she was very much the same. Eye's flickering down at the long pallid fingers, he noticed that she didn't wear any rings.
"Aunt Delilah," Iris, Draco's wife, said, clearly startled by the woman's presence, "I thought you weren't coming. If you didn't come it would've been quite alright…I know how you get about weddings."
The last statement was a hurried whisper, almost conspiratorial in nature. The woman, her aunt, laughed it off with a dismissive wave of her hand. Draco who had been trying to down the remnants of his fire whiskey when Iris began talking, was clearly choking on his drink as the frayed ends in his mind snapped together with eye watering clarity. When he managed to swallow his drink, he looked from his wife to the woman before him; indeed, the resemblance was remarkable, making him wonder why he had never bothered to ask before. Whereas her hair was wavy, Iris' was sleek and lank, tumbling in a barrage of straight dark brown hair down to the small of her back. And despite Iris' heart shaped face, complete with the same high cheek bones, in comparison to the other woman's oval shaped face; the attractive slant to her eyes was familiar.
"This is your aunt Delilah?"