Disclaimer: Characters/world belong to JKR.

Beta'ed by TB4me2000 at Sycophant Hex.

Chapter Four

"Oh, what beautiful flowers," Gwendoline Malfoy said pleasantly.

Just as she stopped to smell one of the buds, her husband yanked her arm abruptly, forcing her to abandon her quest and follow along obediently. With a smile fixed firmly on her face, she gazed about the Lestrange gardens, admiring the plants from a distance.

Lucius followed his parents to the rows of seats erected across the lawn for the wedding. He nodded at a few people he knew from school who were already seated, not noticing his father doing the same to his associates.

Augustus sat with his family towards the back, while the Macnairs were in the second row. Although the Malfoy family had no direct ties with the Blacks as of yet, they found themselves seated next the Macnairs. While this could be a nod to his family's wealth, Lucius rather suspected that Narcissa had a hand in it. It appeared as though he had won their bet after all.

It took nearly thirty minutes for all the guests to arrive and be seated, and Lucius could tell that the wait was grating on his father's nerves. Abraxas had never liked to wait. Gwendoline, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself. As she chatted with Walden's mother about the cut of her robes, Lucius noted that he hadn't seen her so animated in a long time.

Lucius looked towards the front and saw Rodolphus Lestrange talking quietly with his brother. He knew them from Hogwarts, of course, but had never known either one particularly well, as he was several years younger than the brothers. Rabastan had been a good keeper when he was at Hogwarts, Lucius remembered, but he was overshadowed by Rodolphus, who had been Slytherin's quidditch captain and held the school record for the most consecutive goals scored in a single match.

A sudden hush fell over the crowd, signalling the bride's entrance. Everyone stood and Lucius peered through the crowd, catching a glimpse of Bellatrix. She looked quite lovely, he had to admit, dressed in ivory robes and carrying a bouquet of crimson roses and peacock feathers. Even Andromeda, for once looking the part of the elegant and polished pure-blood, managed to catch his eye for a moment. But both sisters paled in comparison to Narcissa.

He couldn't keep his eyes off her as the trio walked down the aisle. She seemed to float across the grass as she followed her sisters, robes trailing behind her.

He tried to concentrate on the service—honestly he did—but Narcissa proved a constant distraction. He felt like he had barely sat down before the couple's final bonding was performed. Narcissa, however, seemed to have no such problem. While Lucius had stared at her for the entire service, she seemed to notice him only at the very end. As she followed them down the aisle, she caught Lucius' eye and smiled before walking on.

As the rest of the guests began to follow the newlyweds across the grounds and back to the Lestrange manor, Lucius held back, waiting for Walden.

"Wonderful service wasn't it?" Walden asked when he'd caught up to Lucius.

"Oh yes, I can feel my heart bursting with emotion at the sight of it all," Lucius replied dryly.

"And weren't the dresses gorgeous? And the flowers," Walden said sarcastically.

Lucius laughed. "Well at least that part's over with. Though now we have to suffer endless conversations retelling the event, as if we weren't watching it ourselves."

Walden shot him a sly look. "From what I saw, you were paying more attention to Narcissa than the service." Lucius frowned, causing Walden to laugh. "You'd better be careful, Lucius, I'm starting to wonder if your infatuation with her holds more truth than you told me."

"Don't be absurd," Lucius scoffed. "Of course it's an act. You know what women are like. They refuse to see things practically."

Walden shook his head and said nothing. The rest of the walk was spent in silence as Lucius pondered what Walden had said.

While it was a good thing that he appeared besotted with Narcissa, he had to keep his head. It wouldn't do for him to become too attached to her. He just needed her so he could please his parents and so she would eventually produce an heir. It was as simple as that. Of course he was attracted to her, her beauty was part of the reason he chose her, but there was no reason to confuse the issue with real feelings, he told himself. And, with a new resolve, Lucius moved to congratulate Bellatrix and Rodolphus.

After agreeing that it had been a beautiful wedding for what had to have been the fiftieth time, Narcissa stole away from her family to 'powder her nose.' Of course, as soon as she had escaped, she was ambushed by her Hogwarts friends. She should have known that she wouldn't get any time alone. They had been sending her owls all summer, asking about her and Lucius Malfoy. She hadn't deigned to respond to their questions, instead claiming to be extremely busy with plans for the wedding. Now, unfortunately, she had no such excuse.

"Well?" Elizabeth Fawcett asked.

"Well what?" Narcissa replied as she checked her reflection.

"We want to know all about you and Lucius—tell us everything!" demanded Emily Frost before Elizabeth could continue.

"There's nothing to tell," Narcissa, her voice patently bored. "We had lunch and that's it."

"Oh," Emily said, disappointed.

Elizabeth, however, regarded her shrewdly, and Narcissa knew that she wasn't going to let it drop as easily as Emily had.

"I'm surprised you managed to resist him, though," Emily babbled. "He's so handsome. I know when we were dating-"

"That's a bit of a leap, isn't it?" Elizabeth said. "From what I recall, you had one trip to Hogsmeade together last year. That's hardly the romance of the century."

Emily stared at Elizabeth blankly. "The romance of the century? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind, Emily. Stop thinking about it, you'll only hurt yourself," Elizabeth replied. She turned to Narcissa and took on a more forceful tone, "I don't know what you think you're doing, getting involved with him. He's been vile to every girl he's been involved with. Didn't you hear what he said to Katy Bishop? He told her that he's rather kiss a dementor than be seen with her again."

"I know, Elizabeth," Narcissa interjected. "You don't have to tell me what he's like. I've seen first hand the damage he's caused."

"Then why are you allowing him to court you? Why have anything to do with him at all?"

"Maybe he's changed," Narcissa replied simply. "Did you ever consider that?"

"Lucius Malfoy change his attitude? That's hardly likely," Elizabeth said. "I think you're being incredibly stupid, Narcissa."

"Well, I didn't ask for your opinion or your approval, so what you say is irrelevant," Narcissa responded coolly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go talk to my sister. Excuse me."

Before Elizabeth could open her mouth to contest her response, Narcissa turned and strode through the bathroom door, letting it close heavily behind her. She purposefully navigated through the halls, her face showing none of the irritation she was feeling. She had expected as much from Elizabeth, who always had an opinion of everything, and had the brains to back them up, unlike Emily who had been lucky to pass her first year, let alone her OWLs. Recently, however, Elizabeth's holier-than-thou attitude had been too much. She seemed to think that just because she was possibly the smartest witch in their year that everyone should do as she said, and Narcissa didn't appreciate being told what to do, particularly by one of her friends.

She slipped back into the ballroom and stood on the periphery. Gazing around the room, Narcissa saw her parents talking with the widower, Mr. Crabbe, whose wife had passed on two years earlier from dragon pox. She watched as her cousins, Sirius and Regulus, chased each other around the other guests until her Aunt Walburga yanked them outside and scolded them. Not that a mere scolding would make much of a difference, she mused; Sirius was always finding ways to make mischief. Narcissa still had a scar on her leg from one of his "gifts" three years ago.

Andromeda stood alone in a corner of the room, clutching desperately to a glass of champagne, her shoulders hunched over as she avoided everyone's eyes. Narcissa watched as she took a large swallow of the bubbling liquid - nearly the whole glass - and felt guilty that she hadn't yet been able to talk to her about whatever was troubling her. There had been so much to do and Andromeda certainly hadn't made it easy to get her alone. Her sister had been avoiding her, which only fuelled Narcissa's desire to find out what was wrong. It wasn't the time or the place though. Narcissa hoped that after the wedding she would be able to have a long talk with her sister before she went back to Hogwarts. As of tomorrow there would only be a week before she went back and there was a lot for her to do still; she hadn't even bought her books for the next year. She decided to make Andromeda a priority, after getting her school books, of course, and then there was Lucius, she couldn't ignore him either…

A hand on her arm startled her from her thoughts. She turned around slowly, not surprised to see Rabastan standing behind her. She smiled. Over the summer they had become friends, not the sort of friend she would share everything with – that responsibility rested solely with Bellatrix – but they got on well enough.

"Andromeda looks like she's enjoying herself," he said dryly. "Look at her, the social butterfly, life of the party."

"Rabastan," she admonished. "That's my sister you're talking about."

"Well, can you blame me? She looks like she's at a funeral, not a wedding. What's the matter with her?"

"I don't know," Narcissa replied, her voice softening as she watched her sister again drink down another glass of champagne. She shook her head, this was the wrong time and definitely the wrong company to be discussing this with. "Let's talk about something else."

"That's fine by me," he replied. "Advise me on what you would like most to talk about."

Narcissa rolled her eyes upwards in mock concentration before turning her gaze back to Rabastan, eyes now reflecting both curiosity and determination. "Do rumours about you and a certain married lady hold any truth?"

"That would be telling, Narcissa, and I swore myself to secrecy," he teased.

"I knew it!" she crowed jubilantly. "Though, I can't believe that you would get involved with Jezebel Smith."

"Is it so hard to believe? Don't you think I'm handsome enough?"

Narcissa ignored his question. "You'd best be careful there, Rabastan, she's on her third husband already. They say that they never did discover the body of the second one."

"Well, then I'm safe," he quipped. "I certainly don't plan on marrying her."

Narcissa laughed at him; Rabastan was the ultimate play-wizard. "No? Has some other young witch caught your eye?"

"Of course not. There's no hurry to get married now that my brother will soon be producing heirs. I plan to stay unattached until I'm too old to take care of myself and need a nimble young witch to cater to my whims."

"Well I hope it goes well for you," Narcissa replied, laughing. The crowds of people started to move into another room. "I think dinner is being served."

"In that case," Rabastan said, offering her his arm, "I would be delighted to escort you."

While Narcissa had little say over the seating plan of the wedding, she had been able to convince her sister to seat her with someone she knew, a particular someone, in fact. She doubted they would be next to each other; Bella would have had difficulties in justifying that, but she hoped that she might be on the same table as Lucius.

Bellatrix and her new husband sat at the high table with both their parents. Bellatrix had been adamant that she be on show with as few people cluttering around her as possible. Her mother had been furious, but Narcissa rather liked the idea. It would give the newlyweds more privacy to talk.

Andromeda was already seated at the second table next to Stewart. Narcissa smiled at her sister in acknowledgement and allowed Rabastan to help her into her own seat. She was grateful that he was seated next to her, guaranteeing some sort of interesting dinner conversation, and began looking around the table at her other dining companions. A cousin of Rodolphus was sitting next to Stewart, with Walden, a female friend of Rodolphus that she had only met once before, and, rounding out the table, Lucius Malfoy.

The table was comprised of people of a similar age, for which Narcissa was immensely relieved, as it meant that she could speak—well, not freely, but more so than if the table had been more mixed. Narcissa looked over to the table next to her own, at which Lucius' parent were seated. She took a few moments to study them both covertly over her glass. While his mother chatted gaily with Walden's mother, Narcissa could see the glances she kept shooting her husband, as though to check that she was not doing anything wrong. She had heard that Gwendoline Malfoy was timid, but this was almost ridiculous. Narcissa hoped that Lucius wouldn't expect her to act that way once they were married. His father, Abraxas Malfoy, was far more reserved. If someone spoke to him, he would reply as briefly as possible. Mr. Malfoy certainly didn't chat. Narcissa desperately hoped that he was simply intimidated by the large crowds and that in private he wasn't so indifferent and cold, otherwise she didn't know how she could possibly stand him.

Lucius turned away from Walden, who was attempting to seduce the witch on his right, and focused instead on Narcissa. He considered it his good fortune that he and Narcissa had been seated next to each other. Though, on later reflection he would realise that she must have had some hand in it.

He was shocked to see her scrutinising his parents. For some reason, her appraisal of them seemed just as important as her judgment of him. He felt naked and exposed as she turned her gaze from his mother to his father. This made him feel more at ease. His father would put forth a good impression. Lucius had never seen him act out of line in company.

The dark haired witch sitting opposite him disrupted his contemplation of Narcissa. Apparently she was Rodolphus' favourite cousin; he heard little else of her inane babble. He hoped that his turning away from her would be a hint that he wasn't interested; however he had no such luck. She continued her monologue until the first course arrived, though this did little to improve things, as she then began to make lewd actions with her spoon. He forced his eyes away from her and down to his plate, lest he give into temptation and hex her.

"Why, Lucius," Narcissa said serenely, "it appears that you already have an admirer. It seems the great Malfoy charm has once again ensnared another helpless witch."

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. A ghost of a smile played on the corners of her mouth. Was she mocking him?

"I must admit that I am baffled as to why our companion is so enthralled by me," he replied after a moment, his tone confidential and bemused. "I haven't even had a chance to Imperio her yet."

Narcissa laughed. "Only you could be so arrogant as to joke about an Unforgivable Curse, Lucius. You are lucky that there are no aurors within hearing distance."

"You underestimate me, Miss Black," Lucius contested. "You do not think that I would check for those who are treacherous before speaking, before I even entered the room? With the current political unease, I fear that everyone in our society would be a fool not to keep one hand on their wand."

Narcissa smiled. "Do you seek to give me advice, Lucius, or are you merely warning me of your magical prowess?"

"Perhaps a little of both," he replied smoothly. "After all, one can hardly expect to get by on good looks alone. There needs to be something else there, whether it be great intelligence, wit, magical ability, or even all three."

"You think a great deal of yourself, don't you?"

"On the contrary, Miss Black. I was referring to you," he replied, holding her gaze with his.

"Thank you," Narcissa replied, her cheeks reddening. She broke his intense gaze after a moment and took a sip of her champagne. The witch opposite took this as a chance to interrupt.

"I can't believe that we have a Mudblood as Minister," she complained loudly. "The wizarding world will be driven into the ground if we allow wizards like him to be in positions of power."

Andromeda snapped her head up and glared at the witch. "Why should a Muggle-born be any less qualified to run the Ministry than a pure-blood? At least he doesn't have any prejudices, which is more than I can say for the so called 'cream of wizarding society'."

Narcissa closed her eyes. Would it have been too much to ask to get through one dinner without her sister launching into one of her infamous tirades on Muggle-borns? Especially considering the company at the wedding.

Andromeda continued, ignorant, or perhaps relishing the attention that she had obtained. Some wizards laughed, others, like her mother, glared. Narcissa bowed her head, mortified.

She was grateful when Rabastan leaned over and murmured to her, "Just wait it out, she'll run out of steam in a moment. There's only so many things you can say in favour of Mudbloods."

Narcissa laughed and whispered back. "Thank you, Rabastan."

Sure enough, Andromeda talked herself to a standstill and dinner resumed as normal, the sounds of chatter and cutlery a welcome distraction after the uncomfortable silence Andromeda's words had created.

"Your sister is still very opinionated when it comes to blood purity," Lucius said after a while. "It seems some things never change."

"I remember her at Hogwarts," Rabastan interrupted. "Even as a first year she was always finding something to argue about. I remember that she contested the idea of a sorting, saying that it caused unnecessary friction between the houses. I've never seen Professor McGonagall look so surprised."

"I wish I could have seen it myself," Lucius said. "No doubt Dumbledore found her delightfully amusing," he added, his voice suddenly harsh. It was well known that Lucius disliked the Headmaster, though his reason for it was a mystery.

"I find it disgusting how he can favour Mudbloods," Lucius continued. "He's a pure-blood himself and yet he holds no pride for his own kind or his ancestors."

"I know of a wizard who promises to change the wizarding world forever," Rabastan said in a low voice. "He promises to bring back the old traditions and purify our world of its muggle stench."

"Such a revolution is long overdue," Lucius agreed. "Our world is not safe as long as Mudbloods are allowed to enter it. How long before they convince the Ministry to expose us all to the Muggles?"

"We will be back in the Dark Ages and all burned at the stake before a year has passed if we are discovered," Narcissa said. "It's ludicrous that the Muggle-borns think their world can intermingle with ours. They won't understand us."

"And ignorance leads to fear, which leads to hate. I agree, Narcissa, they will surely try to kill us. That is why I put so much faith in this wizard. I have only met him once, but his presence is overpowering. And if I am deemed worthy, I would follow him to the end."

"What is his name?" Lucius asked.

"I dare not speak it, it would be disrespectful to my Lord," Rabastan replied. "Suffice to say that very soon, few people will be ignorant to who he is and the wonders he has achieved."

Dancing followed dinner, and Narcissa had been looking forward to it all night. She took a turn with Rabastan, then Walden, and then her father before taking up residence in one of the chairs bordering the dance floor, drink in hand, claiming a desperate need for rest. She had hoped that Lucius would have asked her to dance by now, but he had disappeared sometime during her first dance.

"A woman as beautiful as you should never be alone," an unctuous voice whispered in her ear.

Narcissa turned around sharply to see the cocky grin plastered on the face of Sebastian Merteuil. She pulled back slightly, unnerved by his closeness. "Sebastian, it's a pleasure to see you again," Narcissa forced out. "How are you?"

"All the better for seeing you," he replied. "I must say, Narcissa, you are looking radiant this evening."

"Thank you," she responded tightly.

"I always knew you'd grow into a beautiful woman." His eyes slid down her body distastefully. "It seems I was not wrong."

"Thank you for your compliments, Sebastian," Narcissa replied. She moved as if to leave but he grabbed her hand.

"Narcissa, you cannot be so rude as to leave me without a dance? Have we not been friends for years? Are our father's not friends?"

She took in his rakish smile and the glint in his mud coloured eyes and wished she could run away, but her pure-blood upbringing demanded she bite back her nasty retorts and swallow her disgust.

"Of course I'll dance with you Sebastian," Narcissa murmured demurely. "It would be an honour."

He grinned smugly. "I'm glad you see things my way."

Sebastian led Narcissa to the dance floor, and in keeping with her sudden bad luck, a slow song began. He pulled her close to him, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her in place.

"You don't know how long I've waited to wrap my arms around you. How much I've dreamt about it…" He glanced down, a lascivious smile on his face. "Of course, this isn't exactly as I pictured it, but there's still time."

"I'm not quite sure what you're implying," Narcissa replied frostily.

"I think you do, my dear. You are a very beautiful woman, I'm sure you've been intimate with many men." Her blush revealed the truth. "No? Then I will take great pleasure in opening you, my flower." His voice was smooth and oily.

"How dare you speak to me like that," Narcissa hissed.

"I thought you were intelligent? Was I wrong?" he said quietly. "Surely you must know that you and I are to wed? You belong to me."

"You are mistaken. I would never marry you."

He laughed. "Not even at your father's behest? I think you would."

"He would never make me marry someone who I detest as much as you," she replied cruelly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Sebastian gripped her arms tightly. "Don't think you're getting away that easily. You will be mine. Willingly or not."

His hands were hurting her, causing her eyes to rush with tears, but she willed them not to overflow. "Let go of me, before I call for my father."

He held her tighter still. "I don't think you will. Not even if I dragged you out of this ballroom."

"May I cut in?" said a firm, deep voice.

She turned, expecting to see Rabastan or even Walden. She was shocked to find that it was Lucius Malfoy who stood behind her, towering over Sebastian, whose intensity wilted under Lucius' glare. He immediately became all charm again.

"Of course you may. She is a most charming girl," Sebastian replied. He leaned forward and kissed Narcissa on the cheek, hissing, "We will finish our discussion later, believe me," before walking away.

Narcissa rubbed her arms where he had grabbed them and said, "Thank you, Lucius, for your timely arrival."

"Did he do that?" he asked, staring at the marks on her arms. He made to follow Sebastian, but she held him back.

"No, don't," Narcissa begged. "Just let it go. It didn't hurt, really." He snorted. "Lucius, Please?" Narcissa looked up at him, imploring Lucius to let Sebastian go. Only more trouble could come of his chasing him. Not to say she wouldn't enjoy watching Lucius hex that vile pig within an inch of his life, but she knew Sebastian. He'd run to his father and in turn, her father would find out and be very angry. She held on to Lucius' arm a little tighter.

He sighed. "Very well, but he had better keep his distance from now on."

"Thank you. Shall we…shall we have that dance then?" she asked hesitantly.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied

Narcissa smiled and moved into his arms. He certainly held her a good deal gentler than Sebastian had, she thought, sighing and allowing herself to relax.

Lucius certainly wasn't relaxed, though you wouldn't think it to look at him. He was furious. He himself hadn't always treated women nicely, but he had never done anything like that. And Lucius had never thought that Merteuil would turn violent, though he had evidently underestimated him. If that was the way he wanted to play it, he was more than happy to join in, he thought grimly. It was only because of Narcissa's begging that he hadn't gone after Merteuil and taught him a lesson. Later, he promised himself, later.

"Are you alright?" Narcissa asked him suddenly, both her face and voice reflecting her concern.

He looked down at her, surprised. The girl had just been threatened and she was asking him if he was all right.

"Yes, I am quite well, thank you."

"That's good," she replied. "It's a shame we haven't had a chance to talk properly yet."

"The night is still young. Perhaps you would consent to taking a walk with me on the grounds?" he asked, spinning her in a circle.

She smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

After the song ended, he offered her his arm and led her out to the gardens. It was still light out, despite the hour, and many others had sought relief from the crowded ballroom. Lucius had never been to the Lestrange household before, so he allowed Narcissa to lead the way. She led him away from the house, through the different paths with ease and Lucius remarked on her knowledge of the grounds.

"Yes, Rabastan and I often came outside when the talk of wedding plans became too much," she replied absently.

"I didn't realise you two were so close," he said casually.

She turned to look at him. "I would hope we were close, considering we are family now."

The pair walked down a path lined with elm trees. Eventually Lucius spoke again, "You still have a debt to pay, Miss Black."

"I do?" she questioned.

"Yes. I believe you promised to have dinner with me."

She replied with a smile. "I thought I just did."

Lucius stopped suddenly and turned to face her. "I meant alone," he said firmly.

"That wasn't part of the original deal, I'm afraid."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to determine whether she was serious or simply toying with him. "Narcissa, I thought you, of all people, would honour your word."

"Why? Am I a Gryffindor?" she replied.

Without meaning to, he smiled. "No. You, Narcissa Black, are Slytherin through and through."

"Maybe not, I'm suddenly feeling very generous," she said. "Perhaps I will have dinner with you again."

Lucius took a step towards her. "I do believe you were teasing me," he said. "Do you think that's wise?"

She swallowed. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He stepped forward again so that their torsos were lightly touching. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and he fought the urge to look down. She shivered slightly and he noticed that the sun had begun to dip below the tree line. "Are you cold?" he asked.

She shook her head forcefully. "I'm fine," she said, but her voice wavered.

Lucius smirked. It seemed she was not as indifferent to his charms as he had first thought. This could prove to be very beneficial to him and his plans. Dear Narcissa, he thought to himself, you're playing right into my hands.

"Perhaps we should go inside now," Narcissa said, looking up at his face.

He leaned in closer so that his face was inches from hers. "Why? Things are just getting interesting," he said cockily.

He was caught off guard when she pushed him away firmly. "We really should be going inside now," Narcissa insisted.

Lucius recovered himself. "If that is your wish," he said, and offered her his arm once more.

There was little said as they walked back towards the house. Lucius could see just how late it had gotten, for there was no one else wandering about anymore. The sun was rapidly disappearing, and he hoped that Narcissa knew the way back in the dark.

"Aren't the stars bright tonight?" Narcissa commented, gazing upwards.

Lucius had never seen anything particularly interesting about stars so after a cursory glance upwards he tried to move Narcissa along, but she wouldn't budge.

"Look," she said, pointing. "You can see almost all the constellations. Aren't they beautiful?"

"If you find white spots in the sky beautiful," Lucius replied, sneering.

She smiled at him. "Yes, I remember that you never did like Astronomy. You once said that 'looking up at the sky was quite possibly the biggest waste of time, second only to Muggle Studies.' You got a detention for that."

"I'd forgotten about that. Do you make a habit of remembering every little word that comes out of my mouth?"

"Only when you say something particularly idiotic," she replied.

"Which must be fairly often," said a third voice from behind them.

"Walden," Narcissa exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest and trying to catch her breath. "You scared me."

"Good, I don't feel a party is successful unless I've taken at least one woman's breath away."

Narcissa laughed politely while Lucius glared. He had been hoping to have Narcissa alone for a few more minutes; surely Walden would have understood that. His interruption was most aggravating, but he rather appreciated the way that Narcissa's fingers had entwined themselves around his arm.

"I'm sorry for the interruption," Walden said, reading Lucius' mind, "but I thought it would interest you to know that it is getting rather late and many of the guests have already left. Bellatrix has been asking after you, Narcissa."

"I'd better get back quickly then," she replied. "Is it really that late?"

He nodded. "You should hurry, I'll take Lucius back, I need to talk to him anyway, and we'll only slow you down."

Narcissa inclined her head in farewell and hurried off, slightly put out that she was being sent away so the two could talk. What could they possibly have to discuss that she might not be privy to? Unless they were discussing her, of course, but then why would Walden seek Lucius out especially?

Her mind was spinning in circles as she re-entered the ballroom and sought out her sister through the thinning crowds.