Chapter Twenty-Eight
It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. It wasn't right that she put up with him, everything he did to her. She was angry with him for now, but she wouldn't be for long. She never was. He hurt her again and again, but she always forgave him, always went crawling back for more. And yet she wouldn't so much as glance at him. Someone who would love her. She was an angel. So perfect, flawless. The angel with a devil over her shoulder, controlling her life. Even the people she called friends tried, in ways, to control her. The dark boy who could read minds. The wild girl whose dispositions hit opposing extremes in seconds. She was perfect, and surrounded herself with imperfections. Why? He didn't know. But he did know this:. He loved her. He would always love her. And one today, she would be his, no matter what it took. Someday, she would be his. But for now, he could only watch.
…
I didn't know that Narcissa was spending the week this summer! Lucius set down the Daily Prophet frowning, a line of the letter to Bellatrix coming back to him. "…Caliva and I spoke recently, and she told me that she and Abraxas would love to have Cissa visit for a week this summer…" Lucius doubted his father had any interest in Narcissa, but it was just the sort of plot his mother would come up with. In all honesty, the thought disgusted him. Considering her recent behaviour, Lucius really had no interest in seeing her. No sooner had he thought this, Narcissa walked into the common room. She didn't see him, sitting in the same seat by the fire that he always sat in; instead she passed right by, set her bag on a table, and stared to write what appeared to be a school essay. Unsure if she was ignoring him or unaware of his presence, Lucius continued reading, listening to the scratch of her quill. But it became clear within moments that Narcissa thought herself to be alone: She began humming. Softly at first, then slightly louder, and finally, she began singing. Not loud singing at all; Lucius could barely hear even though she was only ten feet behind him. But it was loud enough. He didn't recognise the song she was singing, but it sounded almost like some sort of a lullaby. Lucius turned and rested his elbows on the back of his chair. Narcissa's back was facing him.
"Do you always sing while you do home work?" She gasped and spun, her arm knocking over the bottle of ink, which spilled all over her robes.
"Lucius!" Her face flushed. "I-I thought you were suspended!" She stammered, tugging at her robes, trying to keep the ink from her touching her skin. Lucius smirked as he slid from his seat.
"No such luck, princess. For either of us." He crossed the room and leaned against the table beside her. "Quite a mess you've made there." Narcissa frowned, and took a healthy step away from him.
"I should change." She said coldly. Lucius reached into his pocket.
"There's no need for that," He told her as he drew his wand. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled backwards. She had obviously not forgotten their last encounter. Lucius frowned suddenly. Yes, their last meeting, when he had gotten so angry with her… So why wasn't he angry now? He had no problem with holding grudges; in fact, he rarely didn't. And just minutes ago, he'd been thinking of how irritating she was getting… How had only her presence made him forget that? He shook his head. This was absurd.
Narcissa was still eyeing his wand suspiciously, and creeping back towards the girl's dormitory. As if it would offer any protection, should he really try to hurt her. He rolled his eyes.
"Stop being ridiculous Narcissa, I'm not going to bloody attack you!" He grabbed her arm to keep her still, and placed the tip of his wand in the center of her chest. She winced slightly, her whole body tense. Lucius gave an exasperated sigh and began to move his wand slowly downwards, toward her navel. When she realized he really wasn't going to hex her, she opened her eyes, and saw all the ink on her clothes gravitating to his wand and vanishing. When he was finished, he returned his wand to his pocket.
"You know, some times I think you forget you're a witch." She scowled.
"Thank you, Lucius." She brushed past him and headed to her dormitory. Lucius sneered.
"You won't have much fun this summer with that kind of attitude, Cissy." He said mockingly. She stopped and turned.
"What do you mean?" But Lucius didn't answer.
…
Bellatrix lay in the hospital wing, staring vacantly at the ceiling. A passer-by might guess that her mind was blank as well, perhaps from drugs of pain. But her mind wasn't empty, not totally. The same phrase kept spinning around in her head, trying to find shape or meaning: IhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehim!
"Bellatrix?" She knew that voice. Soft, hopeful and kind. She didn't answer. "Bella? D-darling?" It was too much.
"Piss off Lestrange!" She rasped. He seemed not to understand her.
"Oh good, you're awake. I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Bellatrix closed her eyes.
"As a matter of fact you are." She hissed through gritted teeth. She could almost hear the hurt in his voice.
"Please don't say that, Bella. I-I just got the news. I-I had no idea, I mean, I thought-"
"Just say what you've come to say and leave." She interrupted. Seconds later, she wished she hadn't.
"I love you, Bellatrix!" He blurted loudly. She winced, willing people to stop staring.
"Lestrange-" She cautioned, but he paid her warning no heed. He crouched beside her, and took his hand in his.
"I love you Bella," He repeated. "And I'm not ashamed to admit it! In fact, I want the whole world to know it! I LOVE BELLATRIX BLACK!" He shouted. She wanted to die. He straitened up, and grinned down at her. "I wouldn't be happier if I married the queen!" Rodolphus announced. "Not to say that you're not a queen in your own right, my dear." Bellatrix pressed a hand to her mouth. She was going to be sick.
"Just… Get… OUT!" As his hunched, defeated back disappeared, only on thought ran through her head:
IhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehim!
…
Narcissa fell backwards on to her bed with a sigh. She didn't know what to do. She wished she could talk to someone. Anyone.
Right on cue, Ari skipped into the room.
"Cissy! Hey! What are you doing up here! Everyone else is out by the lake, but then I realized that you weren't there, so I came to find you, but I honestly didn't expect you to be skulking around up here! I just wanted a shower." She stopped. "What's wrong?" Narcissa wrapped her arms around her head,
"What do you think?" She replied shortly. Ari scowled.
"Lucius isn't it? What's that no-good son of a bitch up to now?" Narcissa rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows."
"Really Ari? I'm not quite sure. Yesterday he attacked my sister and threatened me, and today he acts like nothing happened! And Ari, the worst part is, I keep trying and trying, but I can't make myself hate him! I know it's awful, but I just can't." She said miserably. Ari's brow creased with concentration.
"Wellll… Maybe he's bipolar!" Narcissa shook her head.
"Doubt it."
"Insane?"
"Possibly."
"What if he forgot about the fight? Maybe he's senile."
"You're forgetting he's fourteen."
"Oh, right. Short-term memory loss?"
"Unlikely. He doesn't forget much else."
"An idiot?"
"Too smart."
"Confused?"
"Listening to your conversation."
The two girls looked up in surprise to see Lucius leaning against the doorframe, not offended, but amused. Narcissa turned a shade of crimson, but Ari jumped up.
"Get out! Out! NOW!" He chuckled softly as she approached him, but didn't move.
"Make me, Xannon." He challenged. "Make me." She had every intention of doing so. With a bravery Narcissa admired, she marched up to Lucius, balled her hand into a fist, and punched him squarely in the face.
Or at least, she would have, had Lucius not moved out of her way at the last moment. Instead, her fist collided with the stone wall behind him.
"Ouch!" She cried, clutching her injured hand to her chest. Lucius sneered.
"Next time, you may want to-" But she didn't hear what she wanted to do next time. A glass figurine came hurtling out of no where, and shattered on the side of Lucius's skull. He stepped quickly to the side; too quickly. His foot missed the step, and Narcissa, who had throw the figure watched in alarm as he disappeared down the steps.
"Oh no! What did I do?" But Ari was laughing.
"Nice throw Cissy!" Narcissa barely heard her as she rushed down the stairs.
Don't be dead, please don't be dead! I didn't mean to- please be okay! She thought fervently as she flew down the steps. But when she got to the ground, she froze. She'd never reacted well in emergencies, and Lucius look awful. He was unconscious, the whole left side of his face covered with blood, and a large, nasty welt had formed on the right side of his head. She knelt beside him, saw, to her horror, a jagged piece of glass protruded from his cheek, surrounded by smaller shards of glass.
"Nonononono…" She breathed, as she carefully removed the largest fragment, flinch as she did so. Lucius twitched, but didn't wake up. Fingers trembling, she removed the rest of the glass, and gently wiped the blood away with her sleeve. The cuts were still bleeding, and she dimly remembered hearing to elevate a bleeding area above the heart. Knowing that trying to move him would do more damage than good, she peeled off her robe, bunched it into the rough form of a pillow, placed it on her lap, rested Lucius's head on it. At some point, she realized she was crying. She brushed the tears away with her sleeve, while staring helplessly at Lucius.
"I'm so sorry Lucius…" She whispered, stroking his hair. He looked so… vulnerable. His mask gone, he looked so peaceful, yet weak at the same time. It wasn't something she was used to; it was actually a bit unnerving. She didn't want him to leave him, but she though she really ought to get ice for lump on his head. Her eyes scanned the common room, but it was empty, and Ari was still in the dormitory. Undoubtedly taking her shower.
"Mmm…" Lucius groaned softly, his head turning in her lap. Narcissa gasped and leapt up, forgetting completely the laws of gravity. His head fell back on to the floor. Hard. Narcissa's hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh Lucius! I'm so sorry!" She wailed. "I'm horrible, I know, ohh…" She knelt beside him again, reaching tentatively towards him. He lifted his head, blinking, trying to clear his vision.
"What-?" He touched the bump on his head, then the cuts on his cheek. Then, his fingers lightly slid over the cuts, and they vanished. Lucius pressed his palm against the swollen knot on his head, and when he removed it, it was gone. He propped himself up on his elbows, and turned to Narcissa as if noticing her for the first time. She was sobbing now, with relief this time, relief that he was going to be okay. He sat up, still looking slightly dazed, but he pulled her over to him anyway.
"Stop crying." He murmured.
"I'm so-so sorry!" She cried against his shoulder. "I really didn't mean to!" Lucius stroked her hair.
"Shh. Stop it." He commanded. His voice was firm, in control- yes, he was perfectly fine. When she had reduced to sniffles, he pulled her back and said, dead-serious:
"Did you just throw a glass at me?" There was something about the way he said it, the deadpan expression, but a playful sparkle in his eyes, which made the statement quite funny.
Hilarious, actually.
Narcissa was still laughing when Ari appeared at the landing. Ignoring Narcissa's hysterics, she turned to Lucius.
"Why aren't you dead?" She snapped. Lucius stopped smiling instantly.
"Why don't you go to-"
"Why don't you two ever stop arguing!?"
(A/N: I know, and über short chapter, but it served two purposes: One, our Cissy has a stalker! Gasp! And two, the next chapter is going to be summer, and Narcissa's week with the Malfoys. Fun fun fun! So this is a mini, in between little chaplette!
Vexy5260: Was that enough of an explosion? Lol! But of course, she's guilty afterwards, because that's how Cissy is.
Phantomdaughter: I'm glad you love the story… And yes, the idea is that it's an arranged marriage and Lucius HAS to spend time with her… But what if he stopped being so much of a jerk? If maybe they… Nvm…
Jenny: Oh no, don't feel bad for Narcissa… Yet.
Whisper-in-the-rain: Happy Birthday! And how's that for a quick update?
