Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine... neither is anything else linked to the Harry Potter series. Please don't kill me for being a fan! ;)
Note: Hey! New chapter for you all and this one is loooooong! I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your encouragement and lovely comments on the story so far. I know I don't get the chance to reply to all of you and I don't thank you enough for everything you say but I do read every single review and each one makes my day that little bit better. I especially want to thank ScOut4It who not only comments on every chapter but analyses each one in great detail and gives me some great ideas to work from. I love you all so very much and I want you to know that you really do help inspire me to keep writing. Enjoy this chapter and keep letting me know what you think.
Love always
~ Shadow of a Black Rose xxx
Warning: Yes it does get very steamy in this chapter so I hope you're ready for this relationship to get a little less innocent. As always, if you don't like femmeslash etc don't read it, I wouldn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable.
~.~.~.~.~.~
"Please, please no more. Please Miss Weasley, I'm sorry. I promise ya, I won't say nuffing to Mr Malfoy. Jus' please leave me be." Tom was cowering in the middle of the room with a cut lip and an almost black bruise forming around his eye. His wand lay shattered at my feet and my eyes were fixed on him, fiercely surveying the damage I'd managed to do to the pathetic excuse for a man who thought he could blackmail Narcissa and I. The bar was empty. The French witches had left long ago and the shabby old wizard, who had been woken by the harsh thud of my fist connecting with the bar tender's face, had staggered away to find a quieter place to sleep off that hideous hangover of his.
"You have got to be kidding," I hissed stooping down next to him and grabbing him roughly by the front of his shirt "why on earth should I believe a word you say. You have the audacity to threaten us and then you beg for forgiveness because a seventeen year old girl hit you a couple of times! You disgust me" I pushed him back and lifted myself from the floor a little clumsily, still glaring down at him. I didn't know what had come over me. Normally I wouldn't dream of using physical violence to solve a problem, but just the way he had leered at Narcissa as though he were better than her had made me want to rip him limb from limb.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Narcissa sat on a table with one leg crossed over the other and a smirk painted on every inch of her face. Clearly she was enjoying the aggressive side of me; although I wasn't sure I liked it as much as she did.
"P...please Miss W...Weasley, you gotta believe me." Tom stuttered, I hadn't thought I was that scary but apparently I wasn't myself at that moment. "I'll do anyfing you want me to as proof. I'll take the unbreak'ble vow if ya wants me to."
"You're not worth the wasted magic, but just keep in mind; if you say anything I will hunt you down and finish what I've started. Understood?" He nodded his head dangerously fast and began to edge back towards the bar, banging into tables and chairs as he went.
"You know darling," I heard Narcissa purr from just over my right shoulder "I think we need to get home as quickly as possible to... well, to finish what we started before we were so rudely interrupted." She grasped my hips and spun me around so that we were once more face to face with our noses just touching and our hands tangling themselves together.
~.~.~.~.~.~
We had only been in Malfoy Manor for a few moments when Narcissa once again lost all inhibitions and pulled me into a deep and passionate kiss. Her tongue roamed around my mouth enthusiastically, as though she would never get the chance to kiss me again, and she stroked my lower back gently with the tips of her fingers.
"Shouldn't we move out of the entrance hall?" I asked as her lips left mine and began to trail down my neck "Lucius could come back at any minute." My breathing was heavy and I could feel my chest heaving against hers.
"Let him." She growled in a low and husky voice; it was the most erotic thing I had ever heard and it caused my stomach to flip over and over more times than I could possibly count. I had to admit; it gave me even more of a rush knowing that her husband could walk in at any moment and catch us draped over each other as we were – the risk made it more exciting. It made me want her even more.
Cold fingers slid under the woollen fabric of my jumper and t-shirt and Narcissa gently clawed at the skin of my back. She was once again kissing a path down my neck and across my shoulders, occasionally biting at the soft flesh. Her hands seemed to be everywhere, on every inch of my body, gently caressing it with careful adoration.
"Narcissa," I whispered, laying a hand on her cheek and guiding her eyes to meet mine, "I love you."
"I know you do darling." She gently began to back me up to the wall until I was pressed up against it with my arms pinned over my head and Narcissa playfully biting my lip. She lifted me up and wrapped my legs around her waist, sliding her hands down my body until she reached the bottom of my jumper. Slowly, I felt her peel the garment from my body and watched as she discarded it on the other side of the hall. "Go to the second floor, first room on your right." It took a moment for me to understand what she was saying. It wasn't until she placed me back down on the floor that it made any sense to me. "I'll be there in a minute."
~.~.~.~.~.~
Draco Malfoy was hiding away in his bedroom, having not left the room for the past few months. He was splayed out across his bed, arms carelessly spread out at either side of him and his eyes fixed on the ceiling. This was what his days had begun to consist of – just laying there letting time tick by while he continuously re-lived the last few years of his life in his mind, as though he were watching a muggle television programme on repeat. He still couldn't forgive himself for everything he had done. He hated himself. Of course, he hadn't really wanted to do any of it but he wanted his father to be proud of him - that was all he'd ever wanted. Looking back on everything that had happened, however, he had started to understand that it was a waste of time searching for such feelings in a man so cold. Was it even possible for his father to feel anything other than hate or smugness? Somehow, Draco seriously doubted it. But then he considered his mother; hadn't his father always loved her? He remembered as a child how daddy would always bring mummy presents – flowers, jewellery, expensive and extravagant clothes; but was that really all there was to love? He also remembered how he would lie awake in his bed at night and hear his parents screaming at one another. In fact, more than once, he had witnessed his mother thrown to the floor when his father could no longer outwit her – she always had been the more intelligent one in their relationship. No, his father couldn't possibly love his mother; he would never harm her if he did, Draco was sure of it.
Draco then began to wonder about his mother and whether she had ever loved his father. Well, that was an easy answer – no. She had made no secret of how much she despised the man she had been forced to marry. There had been numerous nights when she had snuck into Draco's bedroom and woke him up so that she didn't feel so alone in the large and empty manor house. She had told Draco how he was the only thing that kept her sane around Lucius Malfoy and how she needed him to stay with her forever or she would surely be forced to go to extreme measures in order to remove Lucius from her life. She had lied though. It was clear to Draco that his mother no longer needed him to keep her sane – she had found someone else to do that. He knew why his mother liked the Weasley girl; he had heard the fights his parents had had about her recently. That girl was the reason his mother no longer needed him. He hated her for it. Draco had always believed that the one thing that would always remain consistent in his life was his mother. He had always thought that she would need him no matter what, but apparently he was wrong.
A soft knock on the door broke the silence of the room and Draco's thoughts melted back into nothingness. He sat up and stared at the door in confusion. No one had come to see him in such a long time that he had almost forgotten how to handle such a situation. Another knock resonated through the air and Draco realised what he was supposed to do.
"Come in." His voice was horse from the lack of exercise it had been given since he shut himself up in his room. Gently the door swung open and Narcissa slipped into her son's room, her heels clicking slightly louder than normal on the wooden floor.
"Draco, i need you to do something for me." He didn't answer. His mind was clouded from the shock of seeing his mother after such a long time; but what worried him more was that she didn't look like herself. Obviously her face was the same but there was something behind her eyes that had changed. She no longer seemed sad or lonely. There was a fire burning behind the crystal blue pools that hadn't been there the last time the pair had come face to face. But why was that a bad thing? Surely he should have been pleased that his mother was happy – if that's what you're thinking then I'm afraid you are very much mistaken. You see, Draco knew what was going to happen between Narcissa and Ginny Weasley long before the pair even knew it themselves. Even from the first time the two women had met he had seen the lustful glances, he had heard the longing sighs and the words whispered when his mother thought no one was listening. He had even sensed Ginny's desperation to be around his mother as much as was physically possible. He hated it. And he hated that now his worst fears had become a reality. It was clear that they had finally figured out what he had known all along and now it was going to ruin everything in his life even further. "Draco?"
"Y...yes mother, what is it you need me to do?"
"Listen darling, I need you to go and find your father. I need you to make sure he stays out of the house for a few hours. Can you do that for me sweetheart?" He clenched his teeth fiercely. It had only been a matter of time until this happened, until he was used to keep their 'relationship' a secret from his father.
"She's here again isn't she." He hissed. Narcissa frowned, trying to act as though she had no idea what he was talking about. She was still blissfully unaware that he knew everything.
"I don't know what you mean darling. I just..."
"Don't lie to me mother! Ginny Weasley. She's here again isn't she! What, are you two giving up on keeping it a secret now? Just thought you'd have a quick fuck in father's house and to hell with the fact that you're married and well over twice her age!" Narcissa was frozen to the spot, her mouth hanging open in an almost comical gasp that never fully formed. She blinked a few times before recovering her cool demeanour, but the question still played in her mind.
"How did... I mean, how do you know about that?"
"Simple, I'm observant and you're not as discrete as you seem to think you are." Draco inclined his head to the knitted jumper that was clutched in his mother's hands. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and planted his feet firmly on the floor, staring directly into Narcissa's eyes. "I won't let you continue this mother. It will tear this family apart for good; we already have enough to deal with, as you well know, without you going off with some blood traitor filth."
"Don't call her that!" She hissed. "Draco this has never been a family. This is two people who were forced together and had a child because it was their duty. You know I love you more than life itself but if you force me to choose between my own happiness and yours, I will choose my own. I have given up too much for the sake of others and I am through being miserable." She was absolutely fuming. Draco had never seen his mother loose her composure before and it frightened him. He was genuinely scared for his own safety. His whole life he had thought it was his father that he ought to fear but now, faced with the anger of his mother, it was clear he had been wrong. "Please darling," she whispered, still a little angry but with a softer tone to her voice "please try to understand why I need this."
"You said you only needed me. You told me I was the one who kept you sane." His voice seemed to have become distant, as though he had just woken from a deep sleep and was trying to have a conversation without being fully aware of what he was saying. Narcissa sighed.
"Of course I still need you my love, but Ginny gives me something that you never could." Draco's eyes wandered to the floor, he knew there was nothing more he could say to change her mind. "Please Draco. Please do this for me."
"You've never been happy with him have you?"
"No. But I'm happy now."
"O... okay then – I'll keep him away" with that he slumped out of the room, simply accepting that he couldn't change her mind. What he would tell his father he didn't know, but he'd come up with something; he always had been a good liar.
~.~.~.~.~.~
I sat alone in Narcissa's room for a long time before she came back; well, I assumed it was her room at least. It was much brighter and less daunting than the rest of the manor seemed to be. An enormous Victorian four poster bed with ornate patterns of flowers carved on almost every surface and charmed to glow in pastel colours was pushed up against the furthest wall, directly opposite the door. It was furnished with beautiful white silk sheets, and lace curtains that seemed to alternate colours depending on the mood within the room surrounded it. To the left of the bed two doors were stood just ajar, revealing the inside of the biggest wardrobe I had ever seen, with walls lined with beautiful, elegant dresses that had clearly been designed by Narcissa herself as each one was totally unique to anything I had ever seen in a shop. Everything in the room seemed to follow a pattern of colour and light – everything that was absent from the rest of the manor.
When Narcissa entered I was sat in a plush pink armchair by the large set of windows to the right of the bed, watching a small figure below leaving the manor at a rather hurried pace. At first I had thought I was seeing things, given that Narcissa had told me how withdrawn Draco had become – hiding away in his room for days on end, but as I watched the blonde head bob away down the garden path it was clear that today the Malfoy boy had decided to go out. I turned my head to the door at the sound of Narcissa's heels clicking on the wooden floor to find her looking paler than usual as she tottered towards the bed and sat heavily down on it.
"Is everything alright?" It was a stupid question really; of course everything wasn't alright – any idiot could see that. Why did I lose all sense and logic when it came to her?
"Draco knows." She murmured. Her eyes were staring blankly ahead of her and she was absent-mindedly playing with a loose thread on my jumper that was still clutched in her tiny hands. "He knows about us. I don't know how he found out. We were so careful until today... unless... you don't think that bar tender would have..."
"Of course not, I told him what would happen if he said a word to anyone. He wouldn't dare go against that." I took a deep breath, fear filling every inch of my body. If Draco knew then what would happen to us? Was that why he had been in such a rush? Was he going to tell his father everything? Once Lucius had proof of what had been going on there was nothing to stop him from harming us both in any way he could. I didn't believe for a minute that he was totally against physically assaulting a woman – especially one who had become so close to his wife. I was shaking all over. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to get so close to Narcissa. Maybe I should have kept my love for her a secret. But even in my terror I didn't believe that would have made the situation any better. I would still have been hurt, only it would have been emotional rather than physical. "Is he going to tell your husband?" Each word was laced with worry despite my attempts to act as though everything was okay.
"No, I managed to talk him out of it. He wanted to; but no, I changed his mind."
"So where was he going just now?"
"To keep Lucius out of the way." I could tell she was still concerned about the secret being out. I hadn't expected such a drastic attitude change from the woman who, only an hour ago, was practically undressing me in the middle of a pub. Slowly, I lifted myself from my seat and walked over to the bed. I hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up until we were looking directly into each other's eyes.
"Everything's going to be okay." I didn't fully believe it myself, but I knew she needed some sort of reassurance. From the small smile the tinted her features I assumed it must have worked – although she may have simply been humouring me. I sat down next to her and gently and slid my jumper from her grasp; throwing it to one side and allowing it to drop to the floor like an apple from a tree.
"How do you know that?" She whispered, having moved close enough that our thighs were pressed together. "You have no reason to trust that my son will do as he said he would."
"He's your son Narcissa, and because of that I trust that he will stay true to his word. I'm sure you brought him up to do as he promises he will."
Within a moment she had pushed me back on the bed and straddled my waist, planting a line of kisses from my cheek to the nape of my neck. She tugged at the bottom of my t-shirt and within moments it had joined my jumper on the floor. Her kisses trailed further down my body, over my breasts and down to my stomach where she spent a great deal of time licking and nipping at the flesh, extracting slight whimpers from my slackened lips. It felt as though I was losing all control of myself; I could no longer suppress the noises that leaked from my own throat as she engulfed my entire consciousness. When I finally managed to scrape back come sense of awareness I realised that Narcissa's dress and my jeans had joined the increasingly large pile of clothing at the side of the bed and she was eagerly tugging at the waistband of my underwear. I obediently lifted my hips and allowed her to slide the scrap of material down my long pale legs and throw it to the pile of clothing. She slid down between my legs and at once began to lick and suck the sensitive flesh like a hungry animal that had just been granted its first meal in months.
"Cissa" I whispered, barely able to catch my breath as I arched my back and clung to her hair that seemed to have been freed from the confines of its bun at some point during the past few minutes.
"Hmm" her response sent a wave of vibrations through my body causing me to gasp in pure ecstasy and bite my lip to silence the scream that threatened to escape into the large, empty and echoing manor. I could feel her smirking, clearly pleased with my reactions but the pause didn't last long; before I knew what was going on two of her fingers were inside me gently rocking in and out as Narcissa's lips claimed mine once more. I could taste myself on her, sweet and slightly tangy. She swallowed each moan, gasp and panting breath that escaped my mouth, kissing each one away with the greatest ease until everything around me went black, then gold and finally I awoke to the soft haze of the pastel room and the feel of that beautiful woman's warm breath tickling my neck.
"Well, that certainly was something." I giggled. I looked down at her curled up in my arms. She was more beautiful than ever. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as they looked up into mine and a smile graced her lips that told me she was truly happy – a smile I very rarely saw when we were in the presence of others. Her pale skin, although not un-blemished, was still more radiant than I could ever have imagined. Her usually pristine golden curls were knotted here and there rolling over her shoulders and down her back like a river running through a forest. Her curves were highlighted by the sunlight shining in through the window and it seemed to make her glow, an ethereal light that almost had me convinced that she truly was an angel sent to me by whatever higher power controlled this little world.
"Agreed." Narcissa's head was gently tucked into the curve of my neck and her legs were entangled with my own. "You certainly are something Ginny. I don't know why but you do something to me that I can't explain. It's like I don't have to pretend around you; you have no idea how strange that is for someone who has been playing a part that is not her own for her entire life." Her fingers gently traced the line of my hip bone as she spoke leaving tiny red marks as her nail slid along the skin.
"Surely you haven't been a totally different person for your entire life." I muttered planting a kiss on the top of her head. "I mean, a small part of you must play a part in the decisions you make and the way you are, otherwise you wouldn't be able to cope with the life you've been leading." She sighed and pulled the bed sheets up around us.
"It's not as simple as that darling."
"Narcissa..."
"Yes?" I wanted to ask her something – something that had been bothering me for a while. The only problem was I had no idea how to say it without making it sound as though I was prying into her personal business; or worse, it could sound like I was jealous and I definitely didn't want her to think that.
"I..."
'Best to just come out and say it' I thought to myself 'you'll never be able to do it if you don't do it right now.'
"You and Lucius, do you still... you know..." Urgh, I sounded like some pathetic jealous school girl. Then again, I suppose I was one. Narcissa was looking up at me smirking for a long while, then, with a little snort, she burst out laughing. "What!" Why was she laughing? I was being totally serious and she was laughing at me! I couldn't help but sound indignant at the cheek of it. It was no laughing matter. If they were still sharing a bed then I wanted to know about it.
"Oh Ginny," she gasped through her continuing giggles "can you really imagine Lucius Malfoy even setting a foot in this room?" She had a point. I couldn't imagine him anywhere that wasn't dark and depressing. "No darling, Lucius and I haven't shared a bed since our wedding night. The only link there is between us is that damned piece of paper that says I practically belong to him." She wrapped her arms tighter around my waist and placed a kiss on my cheek "But what does a silly bit of paper mean really." Was she saying what I thought she was saying? Was she really telling me that she was mine? She planted another gentle kiss on my lips then, resting her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before we had both drifted off into a peaceful sleep each dreaming of the other in total bliss.
