It started in the winter before his marriage. The betrothal had been announced many, many years before however the two pure blood families had never socialised overly much while the children were young. He had, of course, encountered the girls while he was at school. The usual taunting and jeering had passed between him and his future wife as it had with everyone. They'd got on alright, believed the same thing and spoken more and more often as they'd grown up. Rodolphus had formed something that might be akin to friendship with his future wife but the idea of marriage was not one his eighteen year old mind really wanted. He wasn't even sure if he really desired her. It was a marriage their families wanted and therefore it was happening. Duty was important after all and he would do his, as she would do hers.
Ideologically, they were a match. They belonged to the same 'club.' Both were pure blooded, both hated those who they deemed to be inferior to them and were more than willing to do something about it. There were regular meetings they both attended which were becoming more intense and they appealed to the baser, violent nature they both seemed to share. Their mutual friends were all involved and generally, they had a good time.
The formal affairs were much less to his tastes, too much dancing and prancing about. Currently, he was leaning against the wall at the Black family manor nursing his third glass of wine. He was by no means drunk but nor was he sober. His future wife was too busy being far more inebriated than he was and so he was left to his own devices. The last thing he wanted to do was dance, there were enough bodies twirling around that dance floor and it was positively dull. He was bored however, not a good situation to be in. His parents would be mortified if he was to leave however and he didn't want to shun his future parents in law either.
So here he was, stuck leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind. He drained the glass in his hand and was about to fetch another one, when a very slender girl walked over. Her bright blue eyes were the highlight of her face, though the rest of that was very fair too. Pale skin, plump lips begging to be kissed and vibrant blonde curls to boot. She was everything her older sister was not, impressionable and foolish, beautiful to a fault. Her walk was flirtatious as she came over and he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Your glass is empty," she said indicating the one in his hand.
"So it is," he said holding it up.
"Well, I happen to have two here and I'm willing to share," she passed a full one to him before taking the other and placing it on a nearby table.
"Kind of you," he said raising an eyebrow. The girl didn't run off or hide away, instead she held his gaze brazenly, as though she was scoping him out for something. He shifted a little and tilted his head to the side. "What?"
"Nothing," she shrugged. Her eyes flicked demurely to the floor then and he thought he caught her blushing. There was a certain colouring on her cheeks that he hadn't seen before. He raised his glass to her then and offered her one of his most wolfish smiles.
"Cheers," he said. A thought struck him then, he was in a position to do a little teasing with the impressionable girl and he was bored after all. She lifted the glass in her hand and knocked it against his lightly.
"Happy Christmas Rodolphus," she said before taking a sip.
"Might not go that far," he replied sipping his wine, "But I do hope yours is merry," he added. The blush on her cheeks deepened and he smiled, "Most becoming, that colour on you," he said.
"Really?" she asked. He nodded.
"Brings out your eyes," he said. It did in a way. The smile he was rewarded with really did light up her face, bringing out a far prettier girl, if that was possible. There was a light in her eyes that he hadn't taken any notice of before and he pondered it while taking another sip of his wine.
The tune everyone was dancing to faded away, leaving the room full of the general hub bub of the party, a low murmuring that filled the room. Some of the guests began to leave, some found more wine. The light dropped a little, giving the room a better atmosphere and he turned his attention back to Narcissa. "Do you dance?" she asked.
"No," he replied. She gave him the look of a crestfallen child then and he looked at her thoughtfully, "Though I might be tempted to make an exception for you," he said.
"Really?" she said again, those beautiful blue eyes widening further.
"You would owe me something in return however," he said seriously. He had no idea what that could be, but he would save it for a later date, having her in his pocket might be fun!
She agreed readily, like he knew she would. "What would you have me do?" she asked. He placed his half empty glass on the table and shrugged.
"I don't know yet," he said, giving her one of his best smiles. The girl flushed bright red and he took her hand then with all the confidence his breeding and position offered him. Her glass safely out of her reach, he led her to the dancefloor and stood the required distance from her. She surprised him by closing the gap a fraction. The music began again and he led the becoming young woman around the floor. The experience didn't do overly much for him but it cemented a connection with this girl and that was one he intended to use for his advantage in the future. If she was foolish enough to let him know she was harbouring a crush, he was damned well going to make use of that. It would make the next part of the school year that much more amusing!
When the song ended, he took a step back, grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to it. She flushed again and he smirked. He was about to say something when he heard his father calling him over, "I have to go," he nodded.
"Thank you," she said. The flush on her cheeks was there again and he smirked as he turned away. Yes, this was going to be very interesting!