It had been easy to write to her connections in Paris and have exquisitely designed dress robes sent to Narcissa before the ball. The mask had been harder, of course, because they had to spell it to form to her face and make it match the dress robes perfectly.

Narcissa bent close to the mirror, dabbing silver eye shadow around her dark blue eyes, a spell carefully set so nothing could fall on her dress. Madame Monpierre's Mascara (guaranteed to make lashes twice as thick and long!) came next, followed by a touch-up of her pale silver lipstick before she was ready to set the mask on her face.

Before she left her room, she inspected herself haughtily in the mirror. Her dress robes, a pale silver affair lined with silk lace and clear jewels, clung to her upper body in the shape of her tight corset, then flowed in soft waves to the floor. She admired her profile with a small smirk, and then straightened her shoulders and headed for the Great Hall.

The hallways were dimly lit, with shadows flitting on the ceiling. Eerily lit jack-o-lanterns floated at every corner, scrutinizing the passersby with flickering eyes. Narcissa breezed past all of the gaudy decoration she had designed with barely a glance while she passed a group of second-years inspecting the bats with awed expressions.

All of the tables in the Great Hall had been pushed to the side to make room for the dancing. Narcissa looked around at all of the students, who were drinking pumpkin juice and snacking while they waited for the music to begin. The spell Dumbledore had set over the Great Hall made it so anyone wearing a mask was completely unidentifiable to everyone else, maintaining the anonymity of the event.

Narcissa leaned coolly against the wall, eyes only half-opened as she inspected the group's clothes. There were pirates, Inferi, princesses, an assortment of monsters, and even a few fake witches (Narcissa made a mental note to keep as far away from whatever idiot mudbloods had worn those.) Narcissa was pleased that not a single person looked as good as she did.

Suddenly, the candles all dimmed slightly and an orchestra struck up. It was a lively tune, composed by a famous wizard named Mozart, but the majority of the student body looked bored. Narcissa sniffed—she wasn't sure how Muggles conducted balls, but all the ones she had attended were like this.

There was a flurry of low muttering. A boy near Narcissa said, "What kind of music is this? This is supposed to be a dance."

Narcissa scowled and pushed herself off the wall, stalking towards the unknowing boy.

"Excuse me," a voice said. She pulled short of attacking the idiot and turned to the speaker. It was a tall boy, wearing a crisp black set of dress robes. "I was wondering if you would like to dance."

Narcissa paused—the trouble with this masked ball was that she wasn't sure who she was associating with. Then she nodded and allowed him to lead her to the center of the dance floor.

They began to dance, the steps having been engraved in Narcissa's memory since she could stand. Her partner was equally knowledgeable, leaving Narcissa to assume he was pureblooded.

"I was wondering," he said as they glided around the nearly empty dance floor. "What are you supposed to be?"

Narcissa's lip quirked. "An ice queen," she admitted. "And you?"

The tall blonde gave a dark grin. "Lucifer," he said. Narcissa had a brief flash of recognition before the spell over the hall stopped her from discovering the identity of her dance partner. "Either way," Lucifer continued, "you look gorgeous."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows under her lacy mask. "You look rather dashing yourself," she said.

Lucifer spun her around at the end of the song and bowed. "Will you save the last dance?" he asked smoothly.

"Of course," Narcissa replied. Looking around, she was glad to note that watching the two purebloods dance had inspired the others to try as well, though few were performing the dance correctly. In fact, she saw as got herself some pumpkin juice, she saw four boys dance a fast-paced Latin dance during a slow waltz.

To her amusement and slight disgust, she saw what she assumed were two professors (for one had long silver hair and the other had slightly graying) doing the tango together.

A boy in a monster costume approached her tentatively as she watched the students. "Um, would you like to dance?" he asked quietly.

Narcissa took a small sip of pumpkin juice. "I don't make a habit of dancing of werewolves," she said icily.

"You really are an ice queen," he said bitterly, turning away.

"That's the idea," she said dryly. "Now scat." Narcissa watched him scurry back his shoulder. "Mudblood," Narcissa muttered, taking another sip o f her pumpkin juice. Her dark blue eyes scanned the students for Lucifer, wondering if he was still dancing.

"Looking for someone?" someone breathed in her ear. Narcissa turned and saw Lucifer standing beside her.

"No," she replied easily. "I thought you asked me for the last dance?"

"I got bored. No one else here can dance—or so look so beautiful. Besides, I didn't say we couldn't dance before the last dance." He held out his black gloved hand.

Narcissa paused. "You know, any more than two dances together would be quite improper."

"No one here can recognize you—can't you break a rule or two sometimes? You can't let Pureblood Protocol and your mother's quotes rule your life forever."

Narcissa's brow furrowed under her mask. "You know who I am," she accused, eyes narrowed. Who was he? "How?"

He tapped his slender black mask. "I found a spell to counteract the disguising spell over the Great Hall."

"Clever," Narcissa said. "Even if it does defy the entire point of having a masked ball."

Lucifer shrugged. "Now about that dance…"

Narcissa extended her hand to set it gently in his and was led onto the floor again. "You're a pureblood, right?" Narcissa asked as they began dancing to the upbeat song.

"And if I say no?" he asked.

Narcissa took a half step back, but Lucifer pulled her slightly closer before spinning her out. "If it makes you feel better," he said, smirking, "I am pureblooded."

"Good," Narcissa huffed, annoyed at her own gullibility.

"I knew who you were, remember?" he asked as they danced. "Would anyone really be stupid enough to ask you if they were not worthy?"

"Worthy?" Narcissa repeated. "No one's really worthy. They're just more worthy than others."

"Ah," Lucifer said, smirking.

The song ended, then moved into a slow waltz. "Thank you for the dance," Narcissa said, trying to step back.

"Oh no," Lucifer said. "I just got you out here."

Narcissa looked around quickly at all the swaying couples. "But it's a waltz!"

"I'm well aware of dance," Lucifer said, pulling her closer and leading the dance.

"This is so improper," she hissed.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "I'm the only one who knows who you are, Cissy, and I won't tell anyone."

Narcissa forced herself to relax and she followed the three-step pattern with the mysterious pureblood. "You'd better not," she warned.

"And face your wrath? Not likely," Lucifer said. His gray eyes smoldered and the space between them lessened. "Have I mentioned how good you look?"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes and pulled back to her original position. "Once or twice," she said. "But I'm not returning the compliment again."

"I didn't expect you to," the boy said, spinning her around. Narcissa did not dance with anyone else the rest of the night, enjoying Lucifer's wit and refined dancing skills. Their conversations remained ambiguous, but Narcissa felt a connection with the dark figure.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Dumbledore said, jumping up to the teacher's dais. The music silenced and the students looked up at the Headmaster, who had taken his mask off to allow people to identify him. "Now, I know that all of you have had a great night. And that you have no clue who you've been boogying with. Who knows? You may have made a friend from a different House!" A disturbed murmur ran through the crowd and Narcissa scowled. She rather hoped not.

"So, to top off the night, I'd like you all to remove your masks when I count to three! Now, ready? One…two…three!"

Narcissa removed her mask and waited for her dancing partner to do the same. As Lucifer slowly lifted his mask, Narcissa squeezed her eyes shut. With the magic of her own mask down, all of the clues became horrifyingly obvious. "You can open your eyes, Narcissa," Lucifer said, chuckling.

Narcissa peeked open an eyes, and then closed it back instantly. "Hello Lucius," she muttered.

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