CHAPTER 38 - A Marvelous Masquerade
Sirius was pacing the length of the Gryffindor common room, uncharacteristically nervous.
"Merlin's arse Pads, would you knock it off?" James griped from his seat, his stylish dress robes already creasing from crossing his arms. "At least you're going with the girl you want to bring! What about poor Moony? What about me! I can't believe Evans said no to me! Who is she going with anyway?"
"Thomas Lancaster, I believe," Peter spoke up from where he had been idling in the opposite chair from James. He was going stag, proclaiming that he'd rather not get involved with all the drama that his other mates were dealing with. "And what happened to your date Prongs?"
James waved a hand in the air, batting away Peter's question. "Told her I'd go pick her up from Hufflepuff soon, but I wanted to see Evans before I left."
Sirius finally halted in place to spin dramatically and point a finger at his friends. "Would you all shut your gobs!" he cried out. "Can't you see that I'm losing my mind over here!? You all are failing your duties as mates by not reassuring me!"
"What, do you want me to tell you that Waterbrooke isn't likely contemplating jumping out of a window just to get out of going to the biggest event of the year on your ar- OW! DAMN IT PADS!" James rubbed the arm that Sirius had just punched, irritation clearly written on both of their faces.
"Why'd you have to go and say that? Now I'm panicking even more!"
"Not my fault your new bird thinks the worst of you due to your own self-made reputation!"
"Hey, guys?"
"Oh up yours, James!"
"AHEM."
Sirius blinked. That wasn't Peter's voice. He spun back around to spy Evans on the stairs, looking completely unimpressed.
"Are you two idiots finished?" she asked archly.
"E-Evans!" James squeaked, his eyes as big as galleons. "You, you look amazing!"
Sirius had to admit (upsettingly) that James wasn't wrong. Lily was currently turning heads all around the room in a black, slinky number that fell to the floor in a river of onyx silk. Her wild mane was curled and pinned to the side, creating the look of a waterfall of fire coming down over her shoulder.
Sirius would give her a seven out of ten.
"Where's Sarah?" Sirius demanded nervously, "Is she still getting ready? Is everything okay? Does she need any help? I'm a helpful sort, I could help!"
"You could help by not saying a word, Sirius."
His eyes ripped from a suddenly smug-looking Evans to peer into the shadows at the top of the girl's staircase.
"Waterlily?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming; hold your horses."
Sirius felt his mouth drop open a little more with every step that she descended. Inch by inch his eyes were greeted first by a sheet of white silk, followed by navy blue and delicately embroidered scenes of nature. The sleeves of her tunic were square and wide, covering all but her fingers. There were two stripes of lighter blue separated by a splash of maroon near her wrists, and he noted in the back of his head that the overall scheme matched her lauded Ilvermorny colors.
He'd never seen an outfit like hers before and had nothing to compare it to except some half-remembered pictures of old Oriental garments. As her face finally appeared in the light, Sirius was able to take her in fully. The effect of her dress along with her simple makeup and low hair bun made his girl seem worlds above and beyond him and for a moment, he lost his breath.
"Waterbrooke?!" James strangled out from behind him. "Holy hotspice, you clean up good!"
"Glad to know I meet your approval," she said with a smirk, before falling into a nervous silence under Sirius' still unmoving gaze.
"...It's horrible, isn't it? It's too much." She looked ready to bolt, and Sirius shook himself out of his stupor to race towards her, stopping inches away. This close he noticed that she was now chin-to eye level with him (instead of only coming to his chest). It was a little jarring but he could definitely get used to this as well.
He must have looked like an idiot as his hands fluttered uselessly in the air, but he honestly had no idea where to put them. He felt lying even a finger on her would be like dirtying a masterpiece.
"I..I, wow, I uh, you look-". Damn it tongue, now is not the time to be tripping all over yourself!
Evans cut in, shouldering him aside to grasp his girlfriend by the arm in a friendly embrace.
"I think he likes it," she whispered into the other girl's ear. Sirius could only nod up and down dumbly.
His girlfriend (his girlfriend, he couldn't get enough of saying that!) looked away, huffing. "Alright alright, so it's not so bad. If you've got your mask, can we go now?" Her bluster couldn't hide the pleased tilt to her lips, and Sirius finally smiled. She was still the same Sarah, despite all the fancy clothes and powders.
He held out a hand to her, bowing low to the ground. "I'd be more than honored, Miss Waterbrooke."
His heart sang when she hesitantly placed her hand in his.
The evening's festivities were already in full swing by the time that Lucius made his way to the Great Hall with Narcissa wrapped around his arm.
She looked as stunning as she always did, her burnished hair in waves and her lovely body clad in silver and green, Lucius could approve of the blatant House loyalty if nothing else.
They were being accompanied by Severus and his 'date', Montagnard. It appeared the transfer student had the good sense to appear on the arm of one of her own housemates this time. Her attire had him raising an eyebrow despite himself; Narcissa had said that she'd taken care of the girl's misfortunate lack of apparel, but Lucius hadn't expected her to look as good as she did.
The dress, clearly Narcissa's handiwork, was both conservative and fashionable, a perfect representation of pure-blooded class and breeding.
Swaths of cranberry fabric covered her to the floor; though her shoulders and upper arms were covered by a cape of iridescent blue, enchanted by the finest tailors in Diagon Alley to shimmer like a starry night in midsummer. Though the color pallet was Ilvermornian in nature, the cape was attached with an ornate, silver snake brooch nesting above the valley of the girl's breasts, and he approved heartily of its inclusion.
No more lions for her.
His group was arriving fashionably late, as was only appropriate. The soaring tones of a full orchestra drifted through the air as they arrived at the looming double doors; the music tonight had been chosen specially in accordance with the traditions of the Harvest Festival; traditions he could only hope would never be sullied by the mud-blooded filth that were, even now, clamouring for more allowance from their betters for representation.
As if they had a culture worth representing to begin with.
When the doors swung open for them Lucius took a moment to bask in the attention on himself as curious eyes by the dozen turned to stare at their entrance. Here, right here and now, was what was due to him as his birthright. Power and recognition, respect and fear. It would only grow as he became older and eventually succeeded the Malfoy family as its Head, but for now this would suffice.
Now, if only he had the correct token on his arm…
His eyes scanned the room closely as he descended with Narcissa into the room proper, looking for those unique Eastern features that he'd come to covet. No matter how intensely he scanned though, he couldn't find her.
Blast, where is that girl?
It didn't help that this year's theme was a masquerade, so everyone, including himself and his party, had masks that were attached to their faces via simple sticking charms. Lucius of course had chosen a emerald boa motif with family heirloom gemstones embedded, while Narcissa had taken the mask of a resplendent white peacock in a nod towards the Malfoy family's favored pets. Snape and Montagnard had agreed to coordinate their masks with a looming grassland hawk for the surly boy, and a striking gold Thunderbird for the lady.
While not a huge factor, it did make identification more difficult than it would have been.
"Oh Lucius, the decorations this year are so lovely, wouldn't you agree?" Narcissa was staring with wide-eyed wonder at the ceiling above them. The standard enchantment had been replaced with a scene of suspended twilight; the skies lit with flaming red, deep indigo, and pale cerulean. Appropriate for the occasion, and he was quite sure the view would darken to starlight as the night went on.
"Of course, Narcissa," he replied absently, still lost in his observations. "Perhaps we should find our table? I sent Crabbe and Goyle ahead to reserve a spot just for the four of us."
Hopefully the idiots hadn't managed to bungle that one simple job, but it was honestly a toss-up sometimes with those two.
"That sounds lovely, Lucius! Come on Jenelle, let's go!" Narcissa led them all towards a table in the far corner, away from the common rabble. Luckily his two minions proved themselves somewhat capable of responsibility and were waiting patiently where he'd told them to the day before.
As they approached Crabbe jumped up, smacking Goyle in the arm to gain attention. They were wearing complimentary masks of lesser rattlesnake patterns, indicating their family's fealty towards his own.
Loyal, incumbent idiots.
"Lucius! Got your table right here, have a seat! Narcissa, looking lovely as always. Err, Montagnard, Snape."
Lucius rolled his eyes at the brown-nosing but let it slide, pulling out a chair for his date. She sat down primly, her aura filled with excitement as the atmosphere suffused throughout her.
"Oh Lucius, we must dance soon. I heard that Professor Flitwick will be leading a quadrille, we haven't danced the quadrille since the gala your family held last summer!"
"Umm, what's a quadrille?" Lucius and Narcissa both turned to peer at Montagnard, who shrank slightly under the combined weight of their stares.
"Don't tell me you were never schooled in even the most basic arts of dance?" Lucius couldn't keep the derisive incredulity out of his voice.
Surely, American or not, a lady of her blood would have been taught such necessary things?
"Well, I mean, I can do a pretty mean two-step. And a waltz! Kinda..."
Narcissa looked appropriately flummoxed. "But, but what about the cotillion, the long scarf, the- the tango!"
"Oh hey, I know that last one!"
Lucius was too well-mannered to smack his head down into the table in front of him, but it was a close call.
"Oh, oh well, don't worry darling," Narcissa rushed to reassure her new friend. "In about an hour or so the music will be switching to more modern fair, the style right now is mostly for the high-classes to showcase their talents."
"Why does that sound like you're calling everyone else talentless?"
Lucius cut in with a factual tone. "Because it is an undeniable truth, Montagnard."
"Lucius!" Narcissa hissed. "He doesn't mean it exactly like that Jenelle, it's just that these sorts of things used to only be for the pure-blood community as a way of establishing potential marriage contracts. The half-bloods and, those below, simply let the tradition fade, but the true people of the magical community know it's important to keep the tradition alive."
Montagnard had a particular look on her face. It somewhat matched the sullen glower of her date.
Ah yes, poor Severus. For all his talents he still has a long way to go to make up for his mother marrying a wastrel of a muggle.
The music switched numbers, an accordion coming in with sharp, distinct throbbing. Narcissa immediately squealed, tugging at his arm. "Oh Lucius, the tango! Let's go!"
He sighed but obeyed, it wouldn't do to alienate his date within the first few minutes of arriving. "Of course, Narcissa. I assume that you will not be joining us, Montagnard? Severus?"
The lank-haired man grimaced. "Don't even joke, Malfoy."
"Yeah, I'm with Sev on this one. Go on Cissy, I'll cheer from the sidelines!"
"Oh alright, but you must join later!" With that, Narcissa and Lucius were off, moving swiftly to a lesser-crowded area of the dance floor. Polished cedar had been laid out after dinner, providing an excellent grounding for the slightly demanding dance.
He quickly dipped Narcissa once they had enough space, indicating the start of their routine. The tango was a bit too, excitable of a dance from the more straight-laced Lucius to really enjoy, but it was one of Narcissa's favorites; "The passion of it all!", she had admitted with a blush.
Magic preserve me from the whims of fluttering females.
Nevertheless, to be less than excellent at anything was below the standards of a Malfoy, so he performed with aplomb. His footwork was flawless, his timing impeccable. Against the backdrop of a sultry violin soaring over the rest of the ensemble, he and his date cut quite the impressive figure.
As was expected.
When the song ended there was a round of polite applause. He paid it no mind until, out on the fringes of his hearing he caught a voice saying, "That's what pureblood wizards and witches learn in Britain? I may as well just pack up and head home, save myself the embarrassment."
He spun on his heel to face the direction the voice had come from, only to find a vision both enchanting and infuriating.
There, standing halfway across the dancefloor, was the girl he'd been looking for ever since he'd stepped through the doors of the Great Hall.
And my, doesn't she just look stunning.
Her exotic heritage was on full display in a set of dress robes that seemed to radiate class and a demure air. An odd choice for his usually outgoing little Thunderbird, but to him it served to hint at the mature lady that she would one day become, and he highly approved of the choice.
The top half of her face was covered in a bone-white, porcelain mask stylized with highlights in blue to resemble what he believed to be a fox. All in all, she made for a captivating sight.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of reactions he could incite as soon as he got his hands on her; he did so enjoy their banters. There was one thing that irked him though, and that would be the blood-traitor that seemed to be her escort for the evening.
Black.
He had heard the rumors of course, had seen the evidence with his own two eyes. Though there may have been no official announcement it was obvious that there was something going on between the two. Black had been presumptuously forward with the girl lately, and although she put on a longsuffering mien she still allowed his pawing, rather than rebuking him as she usually did.
Lucius was not sure if they were seeing each other or not, but he would be damned if he lost his little Thunderbird to Sirius Black of all people.
"Lucius, what's wrong?" Narcissa's voice snapped him out of his temporary stupor; he turned to meet her questioning gaze with a polite smile.
"Nothing my dear," he consoled, stepping slightly away from his date as the source of his interest made her way towards the two of them. "I do believe I have someone to see though."