It's been exactly 6 months since an update on this :( I am sorry about that, here's the next chapter and hopefully I will get more written and posted a lot sooner.
Lucius walked into the Ministry Ballroom looking resplendent in navy blue robes with silver accents. The robes were in the Malfoy House colours and worked well to favour his looks, he moved around the room with purpose, looking to find several people that he needed to speak with that evening. He noticed Narcissa had already arrived with Marcus, but they appeared to have separated, Narcissa having moved to join a group of the Matriarchs. Gliding up alongside Marcus he greeted him pleasantly, despite what many would believe they got on really well with each other, they both wished for Narcissa to be happy and knew that they both made her happy in different ways and that it would be unwise for them not to get along.
"She is plotting something." Marcus told him, "I am not sure if either you or I are the target or if it is someone else, but I thought I should warn you."
Lucius chuckled, "You have nothing to fear, I am aware of her target, unless she is up to something else as well as what I am aware of we are safe for the evening."
Marcus looked sideways at him, "You are plotting together again, aren't you? I pity whoever you are targeting."
Lucius just smiled at him, neither confirming nor denying anything. "We aren't doing anything that wouldn't have happened anyway, we are just altering the timetable a little, and making things happen sooner than they would naturally."
Marcus turned to stare at his fiancé who appeared to be in deep discussion with the other Matriarchs. "I know when not to get involved, it's safer for all of us if I just pretend to be ignorant of it all."
"That's probably for the best." Lucius agreed before taking his leave of the man and making his way further into the ballroom.
As this was just a charity ball put on by the Ministry rather than a formal Pureblood ball there was no announcer for entry to the ballroom, people just wandered in when they arrived, so if you were looking for someone in particular you had to keep an eye out for them yourself. Lucius had decided that he was going to take a rather laidback approach to approaching Harry at this ball. He had thought of being more forthright and seeking him out, but he decided not to cause any ripples with the Weaslette himself, but to watch Narcissa work her magic.
That wasn't to say he would ignore Harry if he sought him out, but he wouldn't search him out to speak with. He did intend to track who he was speaking with and how he was progressing with the things that he was teaching him. If Harry noticed his avid attention on him during the ball he would inform him that he was using the ball to assess the level to which he had been taking his lessons on board.
Joining a group of the other Lords he slid effortlessly into the conversation about a bill on restricting the power of the Lord of the family over individuals. It wasn't a very popular bill as it went against many of the wizarding traditions that had been passed down for years. It had been put forth by one of the lighter families, the young Lord Abbott if Lucius was correct in thinking, a young man who had only come into his title recently with his grandfathers' death. It had been speculated that the bill was his attempt to spite his dead grandfather who had directed his life in the way he thought appropriate for the heir to the family, despite the young heirs own very different thoughts about what he wanted to do with his life. The bill wouldn't pass, there were enough older Lords still on the Wizengamot that would block the bill, those of Lucius' generation could go either way, depending on whether or not the path they were on as a result of their own Lord was favourable. The younger generation, well other than Abbott the only other young Lords sitting on the Wizengamot at the moment were Longbottom, who while Light sided had been raised traditional, and Potter-Black who was beginning to see the benefit to all the traditions of the Wizarding World.
The conversation changed slightly, turning in the direction of the younger Lords when Lord Potter-Black arrived with the youngest Weasley on his arm. Weasley had dressed in a red dress that clashed horribly with her hair and that Lucius would guess had been her mother's at one stage. Harry on the other hand was dressed in what was clearly a new outfit, and not from Madam Malkin's either, he had obviously taking Lucius' recommendation and visited Twillfit and Tatting to have an outfit more appropriate to his station made for this ball. Whoever was responsible for creating his robes had worked well creating an amalgamation of the house colours of Potter and Black. They had blended the purple and black colours of the Black house with the silver and red of the Potter's without the outfit looking like something out of Dumbledore's wardrobe. The outfit was mainly silver and purple with little accents in black and red, the small bits of red the part of his outfit that Weasley must have tried to match.
Many commented on the arrival, and Lucius could tell that Harry was aware of the words flying around the room commenting on their arrival and their outfit choices, the compliments about Harry's outfit and the questions the youngest Weasley's was creating. Lucius could guess the questions running through people's minds had they gotten engaged without announcing it or was Weasley hoping that she could force a proposal by using public opinion or was she just unaware of her faux pas. Wearing colours not her own to a public ball was something that just wasn't done, as an accent maybe, but not as the main colour of the outfit, she should have been dressed in a brown or bronze as they were the Weasley colours.
Lucius did his best not to smile at the comments floating around the ballroom, knowing that they were just another strike against the youngest Weasley. He did wonder what Harry thought about her attire, he knew he had taught the younger man the significance of the family colours, and if he hadn't then his tailor certainly would have. Knowing that Narcissa had something planned he looked around for her, only to find her already making her way towards Harry. He watched as she curtsied to him before speaking, he was too far away to hear what she was saying, but he soon realised that her plans or at least one of them did include him and Marcus for that matter if the look she had given both of them said anything.