A/N: A lunch between the Blacks and the Malfoys turns sour. Lucissa. some Abraxas/Bella.

Submission for:

The Stratified Agate Competition: Level III - write about your pairing either getting along with or not getting along with each other's families


Lucius threw himself onto the couch beside an amused Narcissa as he watched his father and Cygnus Black arguing as Druella twittered between the immature men, trying to calm them down so their small family get-together could go back to order.

It had started with Bellatrix' obnoxious advances on the older Malfoy across the table as they had a quiet lunch. She had been quietly excused by her mother when Abraxas began to return her lewd statements and covetous stares. However, when Abraxas also excused himself from the table a few moments later, Lucius was almost unsuprised to find the two of them in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs.

That little incident now sparked this argument. Bellatrix was locked away in her room to "think about her actions", while Cygnus was warning Abraxas away from his eldest married daughter. Abraxas, not one to back down from a fight, defended himself ardently, making a nasty remark about Bellatrix' husband keeping a tighter leash on her and his absence at the lunch.

Lucius personally doubted that if Lestrange had been at the lunch, he could have stopped the afternoon's events from transpiring. He was a worm under Bellatrix' boot and she had no master, while Abraxas was a very ambitious man who always got what, or in this case who, he wanted.

"Why did we think this would be a good idea?" Lucius asked as Druella finally gave up and walked out of the room, leaving the two men to continue arguing.

"Because we like to think that there's still some good in our family," Narcissa said as she took Lucius' hand in hers.