Lucius wasn't as nervous about this dinner as he had been for previous ones. He felt as if he had reached a point with Narcissa where they were more comfortable with each other, certainly it was much easier to write a letter to her now. He glanced down to his desk, smiling as he saw her latest letter and how she'd signed it. Love, Narcissa. Love. He was being pathetic, he knew, but it felt so nice to feel this way and have someone who felt the same way back. It was so new, so alien, but Lucius understood how two people could be together forever now he had her.

Yesterday he had spent the day in his office, meant to be working but instead he had spent all day sending owls back and forth to Narcissa. The Black house was in Hampshire, not far from the Malfoy manor, which was in Wiltshire, so the owl could do the journey from house to house within fifteen minutes. Narcissa was meant to be working also, so her parents were not suspicious of her confining herself to her room, which happened to have a lovely private balcony for an owl to perch on. They didn't write about anything in particular. Lucius had noticed that Narcissa had some of Bellatrix's sarcasm, but never said anything lewd or impolite. She was very proper, Lucius wouldn't ever dream about saying anything about the wedding night to her.

Not that she would probably understand; she was so innocent. He suspected she had no idea how beautiful and sexy she was. Sometimes she did things unconsciously, which made him so hard… He couldn't count the times he had come just from imagining her there with him. She definitely had no idea what she was doing. He couldn't wait for her to understand. He liked being teased by a gorgeous woman normally, but it wasn't the same when she didn't know she was doing it. He just wanted to marry her, so that he could be with her every day and make her fall in love with him.

He had planned tonight carefully. His father had helped him, by writing to her parents and inviting Narcissa for dinner with them both again, not that Abraxas would be there that evening at all. He had made Lucius swear an unbreakable oath that nothing would happen with him and Narcissa during that night. Lucius had no intentions of trying anything on before they were married anyway. He knew trust was delicate and that everything could go wrong if he pushed her too hard too soon.

Lucius realised that it was finally time to go and collect her. He straightened out his robes and disapparated to the Black house. As he walked up the garden, he could see Bellatrix staring out the window at him from her bedroom, high up in the house. He smirked, seeing her look of dislike as she looked down at him. He couldn't help but think about how right she was for the Dark Lord. He knew Voldemort's tastes in women very well and Bellatrix was a combination of everything that turned him on. He liked long dark hair, a beautiful face and a slim body. He didn't like anyone too tall, Lucius thought that was something to do with power, and he liked women who clearly took pride in their appearance. One thing that surprised Lucius was the fact Bellatrix wound him up, back chatted and argued, something Voldemort always hated before. Lucius had seen him kill women that annoyed him, quite a few of them too. Clearly Bellatrix had a lot of power over Voldemort, regardless of whether she meant to or not. Lucius really didn't like that.

The front door opened as he approached and Cygnus was stood there. Lucius stiffened slightly, a bit worried about why Cygnus had come to the door when they had at least five house elves.

"Hello, Cygnus," Lucius said as he approached, nodding his head.

"Lucius," Cygnus responded. He shifted slightly. "There is a slight wardrobe crisis occurring…"

"Ah," said Lucius, but he wasn't quite sure what that meant. "Ladies are very particular."

"Indeed… Perhaps you would like to wait inside?"

Lucius nodded and followed Cygnus into the parlour.

"Busy at the ministry?" Cygnus asked once they were inside.

"As always," Lucius responded softly. "The minister is getting more and more paranoid. He writes to me and speaks to me daily, informing me he is sure that there is a death eater spy in his department."

Cygnus chuckled. "Well, he has got that right."

Lucius smiled. It was quite ironic that the one person the minister trusted the most was actually the spy. "I tell him there is not and that it is natural for him to be worried when the rest of the country is, and that soothes him for a day or two."

"Do you think his time is coming?" Cygnus asked, knowing the minister well enough himself.

"Not soon enough, unfortunately," Lucius responded, shaking his head.

The door opened and Narcissa entered, a cold expression on her face. "Oh, Lucius," she said, slightly surprised to see him. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Quite alright," he said, standing up feeling slightly confused at her coldness.

"We had best depart," she said coldly to her father. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Cygnus replied, watching his daughter carefully.

Lucius followed her from the room, noticing how quickly she was walking. When he had gone through the front door, she slammed it shut behind her and began to make her way down the garden very quickly. At the bottom, she turned to him. "Apparate me away before I go mad," she told him shortly. Lucius did as he was told, and as soon as she saw that they were inside the house, she wrapped her arms around him and sighed.

Lucius relished her embrace. She felt so good in his arms, but he was still worried about her. "What's wrong?" he murmured, stroking her hair gently.

"My mother," Narcissa said, sighing again. "She's a tyrant."

He definitely agreed there. Druella was notoriously difficult to get along with; she was difficult and spiteful and didn't let her girls do anything they shouldn't. Voldemort couldn't stand her either and Lucius was pretty sure Bellatrix didn't get along with her mother any more then Narcissa did, although Narcissa was good enough to allow it.

"What happened?"

"She wouldn't let me out of the house unless my dress touched the floor."

Lucius suddenly understood Cygnus's term of 'wardrobe crisis'.

"Were you going to wear a mini dress for me?" Lucius asked, his mouth going dry as he thought about that.

Narcissa pulled back from him slightly, but she appeared to be trying to hide a smile. "Don't be absurd," she said. "It was knee length. She said she had two hussies for daughters and she didn't need a third."

Lucius couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my darling, you are no hussy."

"I know!" Narcissa raged. "It was below my knee!"

"Very soon you will be able to wear exactly what you want. No one will dictate to my wife."

Narcissa smiled at him. "Not even her husband?" She said it so innocently, Lucius was sure that she was playing with him. Perhaps Bellatrix had been teaching her things after all.

"Perhaps," Lucius responded, smiling back. "If she doesn't mind."

He was a bit surprised when she leant forwards and kissed him but he kissed her back. "Oh… Are we keeping your father waiting?"

"No," Lucius responded, holding her tightly. "He isn't here."

She gasped. "But he invited me!"

"Yes, he made himself scarce as long as I swore an unbreakable oath that I wouldn't try it on with you… As if I would." He pulled back, looking at her. She seemed pleased enough. "At least until we are married." Narcissa blushed slightly so Lucius carried on talking. "I thought it would be a good idea, so we can talk uninterrupted."

"Yes," Narcissa said, with a nod. "Merlin, Lucius, I don't want to leave you for a whole three months," she said suddenly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want you too either," Lucius told her, resting his head on hers. "But time will fly, you'll be so busy and I promise I will come and see you during Hogsmede weekends. And I'll write, I'll write so often you won't be able to write back."

Narcissa laughed, squeezing him tightly.

"And then you'll come back and I will marry you the very next day if I can."

"I don't know what my mother will say about that…"

Lucius smirked, wondering if Voldemort would have her killed for him. Well, for both of them. "Within a week then." He pulled back and took her hand. "Come on, I'm hungry."

"What's for dinner?" Narcissa asked as he led her to the gardens.

"Salmon."

"You have expensive taste, Mr Malfoy," she teased, squeezing his hand.

"It's not my fault, I'm a Malfoy." He smirked as he led her out to the back garden. It was getting dark, which made the hundreds of candles he had placed around the sitting area by the pond shine much brighter. Narcissa gasped when she saw it.

"Who knew a Malfoy could be so romantic?" she said, laughing.

Lucius raised his wand and placed a warming charm around the area so they could sit comfortably outside all night. "There is much mystery for you to discover." He helped her to sit down and then moved around the table to sit himself. Then he raised his wand once more and the food appeared before them. "Have you had a pleasant day?" he inquired, taking a mouthful of his meal.

"Yes, I feel as if I might be able to achieve at least an E grade for my potions exam," Narcissa responded, smiling. Lucius was pleased to see her look happy. "Did you?"

"Dull," Lucius replied. "I sat with the minister for hours whilst he continued to panic about offending the vampires we have in this country."

"I didn't know there were any," Narcissa said, quite surprised. "I thought they lived in Eastern Europe now."

"Most of them do, they have more rights abroad. There is pressure to have them outlawed completely in this country and the minister doesn't know what to think. Usually I wouldn't care but I am not given any choice." Lucius sighed lightly, thinking about how he would probably have the same conversation with him tomorrow as well. "The Dark Lord knows the vampires, he made offers to them but everything is very uncertain still."

"What is your job?" Narcissa asked him, looking quite curious. Lucius realised they hadn't actually spoken about his duties before, and it was important that they did.

"I am senior adviser to the minister," Lucius told her. "It passes from generation to generation, unfortunately."

"And… with the Dark Lord?"

Lucius glanced towards her. She was looking at her plate, her expression blank. He wasn't entirely sure what her opinions on the Dark Lord were, or if she even had any.

"I am a death eater," he said softly. "But I would go as far to say that the Dark Lord is a… Friend, I have known him since I was a child and he is always very good to me." Lucius smiled. "He really likes you."

Narcissa looked up. "Does he?"

"He likes that you drove me crazy for months on end… Found it very funny to see me loose my head over a woman." Lucius smirked as he thought about how mad Narcissa had driven him, and continued to do so, without even realising.

"He certainly makes Bellatrix happy."

"She makes him happy… I've never known him so cheerful."

Narcissa looked up at him and smiled, pleased that they were able to have at least one dinner completely alone before they got married. "He has changed Bellatrix. She's much quieter now, always working."

"She has ambitions," Lucius said shortly.

"Do you?" Narcissa asked him, her voice smooth and calm.

"Of course," Lucius responded with a shrug. "But first and foremost, I want to be a good husband to you."

"I have no doubt you will be," Narcissa replied with a smile that made Lucius's heart skip a beat. He swallowed, looking away from her beauty.

"As I have said, I consider the Dark Lord as a sort of… friend…" He used the word uncertainly as he was not sure it was the right word. He shook his head. "More of a friend than most, at least," he added, looking up to see Narcissa's slightly bemused expression. "He is in the last stages of building up to full blown war. I expect a high place with him when he succeeds."

Narcissa nodded. "I have no doubt you will have earned it," she said, with a small smile. "We must not disregard the fact he is also soon to be my brother in law." Lucius noted she was now smirking, in a fashion he had not seen before. Perhaps she was more like Bellatrix then he realised.

"What is that look for?" he inquired smoothly, arching an eyebrow.

Narcissa smiled coyly back. "Bellatrix may dislike you but she loves me very much. She is very loyal and passionate to those closest to her, you know. She will want to see your position elevated regardless of her distaste for you, if only for me."

Lucius put his knife and fork down, sitting back in his seat. She had a point. She was a cunning Slytherin after all. "And I was told you had no interest in politics."

Narcissa laughed softly. "I don't. I have an interest in you and what makes you happy. I will do anything for you, Lucius."

Their eyes met over the table and Lucius knew he had found his perfect wife. "What do you have an interest in, then?" he asked, watching her put down her cutlery too.

"Family," Narcissa replied, smiling back at him. "I am looking forward to finally tasting freedom, that is important as well. My mother is very…" Narcissa stopped, apparently searching for the correct word.

"I understand," Lucius murmured, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "Walk with me."

Narcissa stood up, taking his hand. Lucius could feel how soft her skin was under his own, it felt delicious. He slowly began to lead her down the path that the candles formed, pleased to see that the stars were shining down on them. It was very romantic.

"My other ambition is to be a good father. A better father than my own," Lucius said after a moment.

"You don't seem to see eye to eye," Narcissa said quietly.

Lucius glanced over at her. "No. My mother died when I was nine. It was difficult… He didn't know what to do. With me, I mean. It wasn't long before I went to Hogwarts but he was never there for me, he only cared about my grades and who I was friends with. I caught him with another woman when I was twelve and it really upset me… That he could so easily move on, to someone else, what seemed like so soon after my mother died… I had to hide it, from everyone. I don't feel like I've ever been myself." It wasn't until he stopped talking that he realised they were no longer walking and Narcissa was squeezing his hand very tightly, looking up at him.

"You can be yourself with me," she murmured, pulling his hand to her lips and kissing it. "We mustn't keep secrets from each other. We must be honest. You can be yourself and tell me anything and I will always be here for you."

Lucius pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "You are perfect, Narcissa," he said, his voice emotional and wavering slightly. "I have no doubt you are going to be my best friend in the world, my wonderful wife who I adore already."

Narcissa squeezed him tightly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"If only I had not been such a fool when we had so much time to be together before," he said, his voice sad now. He really did regret ignoring her at school now, but he had considered it the right thing to do before. He had no idea how she could possibly be at all interested in him, when at first glance they seemed so different.

"We might not have been able to keep our hands from each other," Narcissa said, giggling. "I suppose not, you are two years older than I am and that makes a large difference when one is much younger."

"True," Lucius replied. "But I act much younger and you much older so perhaps it would not have mattered."

Narcissa laughed again, pulling back to look at him. "Thank you for telling me," she said quietly, looking into his grey eyes.

"Thank you for listening." Lucius was smirking back at her. He took her hand and they continued to walk down the garden again. He only felt like he had one concern left now, and that was how she actually felt about the Dark Lord. They previously had not talked about him much; partly because Narcissa didn't know him that well and had only met him a few times, but mostly because they never had chance when they were together. "Has your sister told you much about her relationship with the Dark Lord?" he inquired smoothly.

Narcissa glanced up at him. "Not really. She is obviously in love with him, you should see her whenever she gets a letter from him."

Lucius could imagine that easily. He saw the way they looked at each other; he'd never seen Voldemort look at anyone in that way before and Bellatrix had always been the one to break peoples hearts, not the other way around. "I imagine she is looking forward to her wedding."

"Of course she is. I am to be her bridesmaid." Narcissa paused, tilting her head to one side. "When we were there for dinner last week, we were getting ready and… He came in and wasn't exactly happy with the way she was dressed…"

Lucius did recall a rather low cut scarlet dress Bellatrix had been wearing that night. Normally she didn't dress like that when they were eating with the death eaters, he wasn't entirely sure why that was either.

"She got angry with him and wasn't exactly polite." Narcissa looked up to Lucius again. "She says they haven't… slept together… and I don't know, but surely that is what he wants most from her?"

A vision of the Dark Lord's head in his hands in his office struck Lucius as Narcissa said that. Ultimately, at present, he agreed that was exactly what the Dark Lord wanted from her. "Quite possibly," Lucius agreed. "But he does want a wife and Bellatrix is perfect for him."

Narcissa hummed in half-hearted agreement. "My concern is that he will get what he wants from her and then she will try to argue with him and then… He won't need her anymore…"

"You think things will end badly?" Lucius asked softly, unsurprised that she felt like this.

"For Bellatrix, yes," Narcissa confirmed, looking at the ground. "I don't know him like you do but I imagine he has a temper and will not hesitate to hurt anyone that crosses his path. He is the Dark Lord, after all."

Lucius nodded. "He does have a temper. It's very rare but I believe if anyone can trigger it off, it is Bellatrix." He squeezed Narcissa's hand. "However, I don't see why he would be making all this effort to marry her, rushing his business abroad to be back with her by the time she leaves school and has so far avoided her advances on him… All to please your father, who is not that important to his plan."

Narcissa nodded, plainly agreeing with him.

"Normally when he wants something, he takes it instantly. I think in this circumstance, he really does want to do things properly with her." He smiled at Narcissa. "Does that help?"

She nodded, smiling happily back. "Yes, Lucius. I won't worry so much about it now. He does seem very charming."

"I can confirm that," Lucius said darkly. "He always gets exactly what he wants by being so charming."

Narcissa laughed softly. They reached the river at the bottom of the garden; the candles had now run out and were behind them.

"One thing you should know is that he is very good at penetrating the mind… So good, he cannot help but to hear what one is thinking." He caught sight of her petrified expression. "It's nothing to worry about, he would never do that to you, Bellatrix would kill him. I am just warning you to push this sort of conversation out of your mind when you are around him." He put his arms around her again, seeing how worried she looked. "I promise you have nothing to worry about. He really likes you, he known's how protective Bellatrix is about you and sees you like his little sister now."

Narcissa took a deep breath before smiling up at him. "I know." They stood together for a long while, Lucius couldn't remember ever feeling this happy as he inhaled the sweet smell of her hair. "Shall we have dessert?" She grinned up at him. "I know that it is your favourite."

Lucius pulled away. "I thought you would never ask," he said, smirking back before leading her back up the garden, hoping that this night would never end.

x-x

Narcissa sat crossly down in the great hall, ignoring everyone around her. Her first day back at Hogwarts had made her feel irritated and all she wanted to do was get into bed with a book completely non-related to any of her stupid school work.

She was stabbing her chicken irritably with her fork when Bellatrix and Posey came along and sat next to her. Bellatrix was too busy glaring across the hall at Sirius and his idiotic friends to notice anything, but Posey looked concerned.

"Are you alright, Narcissa?" she asked quietly.

Bellatrix looked at her sister. "Oh bloody hell, what has Malfoy done now?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing," Narcissa retorted. "Lucius is fine. I just got a Potions essay back and it wasn't great."

"Don't stress," Bellatrix said, smirking. "It's only one essay."

"Easy for the top of her year to say," Narcissa snapped back. "When did you last get a D?"

"Never," Bellatrix said, smiling confidently. "But you aren't me, don't compare yourself to me."

Narcissa put down her knife and fork. "I don't," she said. "Not everyone can be as perfect as you."

Just as Bellatrix was rolling her eyes, Narcissa noticed that there was an owl swooping towards them. A letter dropped next to her plate and she realised instantly that it was from Lucius. Seeing Bellatrix and Posey were now discussing something, she hastily stood up and headed to the common room, knowing it would be quiet in there now.

She sat down in the chair Lucius had always sat in whilst he was here. It was very comfortable and she could swear she could smell him on it. She looked down at her letter, smiling as she surveyed his neat handwriting. She opened it and pulled the letter out.

My dear Narcissa,

I hope my letter finds you well and that you are settled back in. I am deeply sorry I was not able to come and say goodbye, however that will not happen again. When you are my wife I will be there every time. I thought your parents would prefer it if I was not there, as we are not yet married.

I wanted you to know that our last evening together was perfect. I am looking forward to many more perfect days and nights with you, Narcissa. I hope you know how affectionate I feel towards you and I hope that my gift proves it to you.

I will have business at Hogwarts next Friday evening. I hope you will do me the honour of meeting me whilst I am there, unfortunately I will have to dine with the other governors first but I thought perhaps we could take a turn of the grounds. I hope this is agreeable.

If there is anything I can do for you, any help with your work, please do not hesitate to ask. I am missing you already.

Love,

Lucius.

Narcissa looked back inside the envelope and noticed a small package in there still. She pulled it out and opened it. Inside it was a pair of tiny emerald drop earrings, exactly the same colour as her engagement ring.

She sat back in the seat, smiling dreamily at the thought of seeing Lucius so very soon. The Hogsmede weekend was a good few weeks away yet and she was desperate to see his handsome smile again.

She decided she was not going to tell Bellatrix about the meeting. Her sister would be insanely jealous by it and Narcissa knew that she was working very hard for her exams.

She picked up the letter and reread it, her heart fluttering happily. Then she decided that a nice hot bath in one of the beautiful prefects bathrooms was exactly what she deserved after the horrible day she had endured.

x-x

There's an update, simply because I have 1500 words of my essay for uni to complete by Friday. It's called procrastinating and I am an expert.

Hope you're enjoying this story, please leave a review and if you haven't read the original fic about Bellatrix and Voldemort then I suggest you do! It is rather long though, probably going to take a few sittings but this story possibly isn't going to make that much sense without it.

Any suggestions are welcome as usual.