Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Samson

I loved you first

But it was not long before Lucius regained what he had lost.

In fact, he might even say that he had gained so much more.

Emerging from the fireplace, he was greeted with the smell of a delightful lunch and the sound of music from the kitchen radio. He loved it when he came home from his weekly meetings with Psyche Healer to find Aurelia was home. Walking through the living room and into the kitchen where he found the woman in question dancing to the music as she popped a cake in the oven, he wrapped his arms around her, taking a deep breath of the vanilla essence she still wore.

Even now she smelt the same as always. She smelt like home.

"How did it go?"

"He insists that I am harbouring some repressed animosity from my childhood which I then deflect negatively onto my surroundings without taking into consideration my actual feelings," Lucius drawled. "A complete waste of money if you ask me."

"It's doing you worlds of good," Aurelia countered, turning around so that she could look at him. "I haven't seen you this happy in... ever Lucius. The happy Pureblood look suits you so much more than the haughty one you used to sport."

"Maybe it's due to the fact I have things to be happy about rather than because I'm talking to some quack for an hour every day. I hope you realise that I'm never going to get those hours back."

Rolling her eyes, Aurelia went back to finishing off the lunch as Lucius made himself useful and helped set the table.

Some days it still felt strange to him to live in a home without a house elf, to help with small tasks such as setting the table, putting his laundry in a hamper rather than leaving it crumpled at the bottom of the bed, and taking out the rubbish whenever Aurelia nagged him to. He had moved out of the Malfoy Manor awhile ago, a little over a year now. At first it had been for health reasons, and now he had taken up permanent residence at Hillsborough Cottage, Aurelia's home, which was very little like a cottage in terms of size but had the homely feel of one. Wood lined the floors and walls had a yellow wash that he had curled his lips at distastefully during his first week there. Random knickknacks could be discovered on shelves, in corners, on tabletops that he was close to telling Aurelia to stop buying them for her family no doubt gave her enough.

Draco had taken up residence in the Wiltshire Manor. Lucius wondered what womanly touch Astoria had given her new home, and how Scorpius was doing. He had not seen either his son or grandson in what felt like forever.

"Will Nathaniel be joining us for lunch?" Lucius asked, as he went to set a third seat.

As if on queue, the young man came bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen. He looked so much like Gabriel as he continued to shoot upwards, and his features chiselled into the strong features his brother had sported, and with the same protectiveness over his mother. But apart from that he was little like his late brother. Sometimes Lucius wondered how a Slytherin father and a Hufflepuff mother had managed to produce the over-active sprite with the curly hair that bounced around with him, and the bright grey eyes that shone with nothing else but mischief behind glasses that broke on regular basis.

"Hey!" he greeted, as he saw Lucius was back. "What's up, old man?"

"Nathan!"

"Mum, for the last time, I'm not calling him Dad," Nathaniel sighed, helping himself to the cookie jar. He threw a grin in Lucius direction. "Isn't that right old man?"

Lucius returned a smirk. "If your mother hadn't kindly asked me not to, I can assure you I would have hexed you into oblivion by now."

"See? Old man and I get on like a house on fire." The young boy ducked out of the way of the spatula that flew towards his head and headed towards the door. "Laters y'all! I'm off to corrupt young Theodore Tonks."

"But what about lunch?" Aurelia shouted as her son disappeared. "I want you back by sunset!"

"But Mum! We're going for a kick-about with the local boys! Then we might stop by the Burrow!"

"Sunset!"

"I'll Floo if necessary!"

"Nathan!" There was the sound of the shutting front door. "I swear, that boy..."

"Is wonderful," Lucius finished, wrapping his arms around her again. "Our son is wonderful."

Aurelia smiled up at him. "You're going to let him get away with murder aren't you?"

"And you don't?"

"I'm making up for lost time."

"You're doing a great job so far."

Lucius thought he was too, considering that it was a pretty big bombshell to discover that the youngest son of the love of his life was in fact also his biological son, conceived during one night of passion, fifteen years ago. He also took time every now and then to congratulate himself on having such virile sperm that it only took two attempts to produce such fine sons.

It hadn't been the heartfelt reunion that Lucius would have liked to imagine with Gabriel, where father and son would have embraced each other, lost years made up in that one moment. Instead, upon being introduced to Lucius, Nathaniel blinked at him through his glasses and dubbed him 'Old Man'. Granted, upon arriving he had been sporting a fuzzy beard and had seen much better years, but even with his improving state, the name had stuck, despite (or perhaps, because of) his mother's attempts to try and get him to address his father properly.

"I agree. I took him cross-Channel flying last week and he absolutely loved it."

"What part of do not encourage him do you not understand? I don't want him getting into all of that. It's bad enough half my family's in law enforcement, he's already battered his brain enough with Quidditch and he's been talking of following in Gabe's footsteps! Just stop-"

"Just stop worrying so much," Lucius soothed, pulling her closer, nuzzling her neck. This was not an unusual outburst. As Nathaniel slowly grew up, his ambitions and vigour for life following, Aurelia's panic at losing another son grew with it. "A bit of fresh air never hurt anyone."

"You're just as bad as he is."

"Or maybe I'm worse," he growled, lowering his arms to her hips and pulling her back onto him. "What do you say we make some more sons?"

"Lucius Malfoy, have you no shame!" Aurelia exclaimed in mock horror.

"And Mrs. Malfoy, do you not know it is your duty to bear me children?"

"Hmm, say that again."

"It is your duty to bear me children."

Turning around, Aurelia slapped him playfully. "Lucius!"

Pulling her close, his grin identical to his sons, he rested his head against her forehead. "Mrs. Malfoy."

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

"Not as long as I've wanted to be able to say it."

Theirs had been a winter wedding, bucking the trend of wizarding summer weddings, and it had taken place deep in the French Alps, where the French Malfoy counterpart owned what seemed to be the entirety of the village nestled deep within the snow, with chalets for the guests and a grand mansion perfect for the ceremony. It had been wonderful, magical in every sense of the word, the wedding both had always dreamed of but could have never imagined would have been anything like it was, surrounded by family and friends.

It would have been perfect was it not for Draco's refusal to acknowledge their union. He had refused to attend the wedding, and refused to let Lucius see his grandson, even though Astoria would sometimes send updates as to how they all were, always politely apologising for her husband's stubbornness.

Much to Nathaniel's dismay, he had to therefore bear the brunt of his parent's love. He pulled a face as he bounded back in to retrieve the Beater's gloves he had left at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, really, guys, you have a room! Upstairs! Use it!"

Aurelia pulled away from her husband's embrace to shout at her son.

"Sunset!"

"I'll Floo!"

"Maybe we should eat some lunch and save the begetting of children for later?" Aurelia said, manoeuvring out of her Lucius' arms and returning to setting the lunch on the table.

Lucius pouted. "You can be such a spoilsports."

"Yes, you are most definitely my son's father."

Sitting down to lunch, conversation jumped all over the place as it usually did with them, from the weather, which was currently full mid-summer heat with August well underway, to Aurelia's promotion at the Ministry to Head Secretary to the Minister of Magic. That of course sparked talk, with her Kingsley being her brother, but Lucius reassured her that she deserved to put her years as the Dragon Lady to better use.

"How are the lesson plans coming along?"

"Not terrible, what with Severus' old lesson plans to hand," Lucius answered. "It's not the position I would have personally chosen, but it beats unemployment."

"And you get to spend more time with Nathan."

"I will be deducting fifty points every time he calls me Old Man."

"You're just looking for an easy way to let Slytherin win the House Cup."

"Well, I am their new Head of House."

"Please don't corrupt the children."

"I don't hear you telling Nathaniel not to corrupt Theodore."

"I tell him all the time!"

"That doesn't mean I hear it."

"Oh, you are incorrigible."

A flick of the pea was all it took to ignite a full on food war that would leave the kitchen in a mess, and end with the two lovebirds, still in the honeymoon period of their marriage lying in bed, occasionally removing some mash that had remained imbedded in their hair. Lucius loved to run his hands through her hair now she finally let it grow past her ears, the curls framing her face as it had done so long ago. She was his lioness.

"When was the first time you fell in love with me?"

"Fifth year, when Black started dating you and I realised that I wanted to be her," she replied, resting her head on his chest, wiping away a random spot of gravy. "There you were, this platinum Adonis and I couldn't tear my eyes away. It hurt when I realised that unlike most of your House, you might actually have a heart."

"When did you realise this?"

"When I watched you mentor Severus Snape. Poor dear was always getting trampled on, but you looked out for him, even when you didn't have to. You showed kindness even though I'm certain it would have benefited you more not to."

"Lesson plans, my dear, lesson plans," he reminded her lightly. "God rest his soul. He was a great man."

"What about you?"

"First year. The minute I saw you walk up to that hat, and you were so irritated it touched your head, I knew you were the woman for me. You have no idea the extent of my disappointment when you were Sorted into Hufflepuff."

"Are you serious?"

He nodded.

"I loved you first, Aurelia. I loved you first."

FIN

A/N: So ends the journey of Lucius and Aurelia, his true first love. I hope you've enjoyed this song-ficlet. I've really enjoyed writing it. Reviews as always, are extremely welcomed, and any thoughts on me making it into a longer fic, with all the details not mentioned filled in, and extending into the Next Generation, with the adventures of Nathan Shacklebolt-Malfoy and Theodore Tonks.