Chapter Forty-Five

"Checkmate."

"No… No, not yet! What if I go… Here!"

"Still checkmate. You just moved closer to my queen."

"…Here?"

"Do you not see that pawn?"

"Well, what if-"

"You lost Narcissa," Lucius said brusquely, leaning back into his chair. "Again. That makes what, eighty-two?"

"No." She said, slightly hurt. "Only nineteen." Lucius grinned and pulled her around the board into his arms.

"Shall we make it an even twenty?" She hit him playfully. "How about I let you win one? Although I'll have to cheat quite badly, I'm afraid. It's not easy to lose against someone who's so bad, even her pieces are laughing at her… Look." Sure enough, the tiny figures were giggling rather nastily behind their hands.

"Oh, shut up," She told them all.

"Maybe you should just read your book." He began to reach for a novel on the table beside the couch, but then he paused. "You can read, right?" She glared at him.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I really don't know why I put up with you, Malfoy."

"It's because you can't resist my natural charm and charisma, brilliant mind, sharp sense of humour,-"

"You're right, that is pretty funny."

"-And you know you want me." Lucius finished triumphantly. Narcissa burst into laughter.

She had enjoyed the Christmas holidays at the Malfoy Manor, but was glad to be back at school with all her friends again. Although she did rather miss the privacy.

"Get a room, you two," Severus said without looking up, as has Lucius begun to kiss her neck.

"Gladly." Lucius pulled Narcissa off the couch and led her out of the common room. They were on the second floor when they passed Bellatrix, oddly alone.

"Ah, look, the darling wittle wovebirds have flown off together to find a wittle nest so they can-"

"I'd appreciate if you'd not finish that sentence, Bella." She shrugged.

"Fair enough." She sauntered down the corridor, but turned back at the end. "McGonagall is coming, by the way." No sooner had she spoken, said teacher appeared at the opposite end of the hall.

"Damn." Lucius whispered. He grabbed Narcissa's waist, and, seeing no other escape, pulled her into a broom closet.

"We can just wait until-"

"Ouch!" Narcissa collided with a body- a body that was most certainly not Lucius. There was a shriek, muffled grunts and whispers, and finally,

"Lumos." Lucius was intelligent enough to remember magic.

Narcissa gasped. "Ari?"

Lucius stared in shock. "Britt?" The seventh-year Slytherin Quidditch captain was scrambling to get his shirt back on, and Ari, having already re-buttoned hers, was smoothing her skirt.

"Um, uh, h-hello Cissy. Lucius." Ari couldn't quite meet their eyes.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?" Lucius demanded loudly. Narcissa shook her head and pointed to the door. They all fell silent, until soft clicking told them McGonagall had passed. Ari swore softly.

"Um, Britt, we should probably go." She mumbled, not looking up. Lucius gave the older boy a curious look as they exited, but Britt wouldn't meet his eyes. Once they were gone, he spoke.

"Interesting, isn't it? I mean, I knew she was obsessed with him for a while, but I never expected-" He stopped. It couldn't possibly be… But it was so obvious, really. Ari's going to surprise you. She had been right. Jahzara had known. She really was a Seer. What else had she predicted?

.oO () Oo.

"All right, everyone, we're going to crush Gryffindor today. They're Seeker is good; there's no denying Potter's got talent. You're going to have to watch him closely, Lucius. Mesom and I will be ready with any bludgers we get to him, so watch for that too. This is the biggest game yet, and we're going to win, or die trying. I swear, if we lose, I'm getting an entirely new team-"

"Shut up Britt! We've heard it all before." Lucius called irritably as he pulled on his Quidditch robes. While normally this kind of disrespect would cause a fight in the Slytherin changing room, Britt hadn't spoken to Lucius since he had caught him in the broom cupboard with Ari. Apparently, Britt was ashamed of his rendezvous with the younger student, and Lucius hadn't seen them so much as look at one another since.

They filed out onto the field to the deafening roar of the school. After the captains shook hands, they mounted their brooms, and the game began.

It was intense from the kickoff. After the first couple of minutes, an icy hail battered the players in a sudden storm. The cold didn't bother Lucius, but visibility was practically nonexistent. Potter was having trouble too; being smaller than Lucius, he was constantly blown off course. No one could really tell who was winning. It was, in a word, madness.

"Britt! Britt!" Lucius bellowed at the figure on the broom three feet away. He could barely hear himself over the roar of the wind.

"What!?" Britt shouted back.

"Are… We… Winning!?"

"I don't know! Just get the bloody snitch!" Lucius rolled his eyes and flew off. There was no way he was going to find… A flash of scarlet, and Potter shot by, arm outstretched…

"No!" Lucius was beside him instantly, pulling up so they were neck and neck. He could see the tiny glittering ball now. He urged his broom forward, but so did James… Just a little further, Potter couldn't possibly… But Potter was inching forward… No!

Lucius then did something incredibly stupid. He didn't think of the consequences. He launched himself from the broom, knocking James' hand aside. He felt a moment of triumph, and then…

Damn it.

Lucius woke to an awful stabbing in his leg, a dull throbbing in his left wrist, and a steady ache in the fingers of his right hand. His eyes fluttered open.

"Oh Lucius, you idiot, are you alright? You stupid, stupid… Does it hurt much?" Narcissa knelt by his bed, eyes enormous and shining. "You are a brainless dolt. You could have died!" Lucius blinked.

"Thank you. What happened?"

"You broke your leg in eight places, and fractured your wrist. But I don't think that's the main problem. You jumped off your broom for a stupid game!" She cried.

"Quidditch is not a stupid game! Did we win?" Lucius asked eagerly.

"Look at your hand." He did. Sure enough, his fingers were clenched around the tiny gold ball. "You were holding it so tightly they couldn't get it from you." It dawned on Lucius this was probably why his hand was so cramped.

"Right." He released it. He looked up at Narcissa and realized she'd been crying. "Narcissa,"
"I was s-so scared! I thought you had died! For a stupid s-sport! I can't believe you j-jumped! You-you're-" She started sobbing, rather hysterically.

"Narcissa! Calm down!" He demanded, alarmed. She continued to bawl. "Dammit, shut up or get out!" His outburst shocked her into silence. "Thank you. Now," He said coldly, "I'm fine. I don't want you in here, crying your eyes out, especially when I'm barely hurt. You really need to handle this better." Perhaps he was being slightly harsh, but if, in the future, he happened acquire life-threatening injuries and needed her assistance, he had to teach her to stay calm. "Understand?" She nodded, then,

"You're not suicidal, are you?" He rolled his eyes.

"Just go."

.oO () Oo.

A week later, Narcissa was disrupted in the middle of a particularly nasty potions essay by a commotion in the far corner of the common room. A group of five of six students had gathered; Lucius, Severus, and Bellatrix among them. It was nearly one in the morning, and everyone else was asleep. They were pulling cloaks on, and obviously preparing to go out. Narcissa peered back curiously. Rodolphus Lestrange was with them as well, and Evan Rosier. Evan stepped out of the shadows, and his bright amber eyes, which were frequently the topic of girlish gossip in every year, snapped to her immediately. She heard him turn and say to Lucius, in what he clearly thought was a quiet voice,

"Your little blonde thing is still awake. Go put her to bed, and if you're up there with her for more then five minutes, we're coming to get you." Rosier sniggered nastily. Lucius made a reply too quiet for her to overhear, but it drew appreciative laughs from the rest of the group. She bent her head studiously over her parchment, pretending not to notice when Lucius crossed the room.

"Up rather late tonight, aren't we Cissy?" Lucius murmured quietly in her ear.

"I have an essay to write. Your little blonde thing does not want to go to bed." She said stubbornly. She could practically hear Lucius roll his eyes.

"Ignore Rosier. But fine, just swear you won't be up when we get back."

"I will do no such thing."

"What if I promised that when you woke up in the morning, the essay would be finished?" Narcissa hesitated. The idea was so very tempting… "And you'd get an O on it." She stood abruptly.

"Good night Lucius." But she heard him say as she ascended the stairs to her dormitory,

"Severus, you've got a paper to write."

The next morning, Narcissa came down to a strangely subdued common room. Most of the students seemed gathered around the five she'd seen last night, talking in hushed voices. Narcissa sat down beside Lucius in her normal seat (actually, she was practically sitting on his lap, due to the over crowding of their sofa) and turned to him curiously.

"What's going on?" Lucius held up a piece of parchment.

"Your essay, nineteen inches, completed." He purposely ignored the question. "Your welcome." Narcissa scoffed.

"I'll thank Severus, if you don't mind," As soon as she said it, she realized that Severus was not surrounded the way Lucius, Bellatrix, Evan and Rodolphus were; in fact, he was alone, poring over his books as usual. He really wasn't sociable enough for his own good, she thought. "And again, what's all the fuss about?"

"I'm starved. Care for breakfast?"

"No!"

"So what I hear," Ari was whispering, late that night, "is that that thingy they've all joined-" (Here let it be mentioned that Adrienne Xannon was the only person every to refer to the terrible, murderous Death Eater group as 'that thingy')"-has decided to chose leaders or what ever… I mean, I know they've got one already, but like, CEO's or something, I dunno. But anyway, I hear they've gotten tattooed, or marked, on their left arms. Lucius, Bella, Evan, Severus, and Rodolphus. Has he shown you?" Ari asked eagerly.

"Well, no…" Narcissa said glumly. "Lucius hasn't even mentioned it. He's been avoiding the topic all day." Ari narrowed her eyes, and then brightened considerably.

"I've got it! I know how you can get it out of him! Or at least see it…"

Later that evening, Narcissa, feeling incredibly bad, crept up behind Lucius as he sat reading, and rested her chin on his head.

"Want to go for a walk?" Lucius looked up, vaguely surprised, but nodded and stood anyway.

"I suppose I don't really need to read about troll rebellions. I can guess the ending." They walked up to their tower together, and talked about nothing much in particular. Narcissa fought hard not to let her nervousness show. He was going to see through the plan right away… She waited until the sun was sitting low on the horizon, and they had lapsed into a comfortable silence before leaning over, tentatively, to kiss him.

Lucius, again, was mildly surprised. She rarely initiated their kisses, but, in all honesty, as a fifteen year old boy whose thoughts were only on one thing seventy percent of the time, he didn't really mind. Narcissa pulled her self up to her knees and, feeling terrible, pushed him gently onto his back.

Not wanting to think about it, Lucius allowed himself to fall into the rhythm of the kiss. He didn't notice her hand, the one that wasn't on his shoulder, sliding down to his wrist.

Carefully, as Lucius pressed back against her, Narcissa curled her fingers around the hem of his sleeve. Then, in one forceful movement, she swung her leg over so she was straddling him, yanked up his sleeve, and turned his arm so the horrible, vivid tattoo was facing upwards. Her breath caught in her throat.

It was a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. It was disgusting and vile in her opinion, and she couldn't believe he would choose to scar his perfect white skin in such a way.

It took Lucius a moment to comprehend that Narcissa was no longer kissing him, and even longer to figure out why. When he finally did, he swore and jerked his arm away, easily pushing her small form off of him.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing?" But he could already see how he'd been tricked. Sneaky wench. Damned clever, though.

"I-I had to know! I need to see it for myself! Why, Lucius? It's horrid." Narcissa wrapped her arms around knees, as though trying to protect herself from it. Lucius glared.

"You want to see it Narcissa? There," He pulled up his sleeve again, fist clenched, baring his forearm viciously. She winced. Of course he was going to be angry, but… "And you know what?" He continued. "I don't regret it. I'm never going to regret it. You may hate it, but you'll have to accept it if you want to stay with me." Lucius spun on his heel and stormed back inside. Narcissa stared after him for a long time, before she sank to her knees and began to sob.

He wouldn't speak to her, and that was his worst kind of angry. He didn't shoot her hateful glares, of say hurtful things; he simply ceased to acknowledge her existence. Talking didn't help, nor crying. By the third day of his chilling disregard, Narcissa had devised a plan to make him notice her, though would probably just help to make him more upset.

"Hello, Michael," She chirped brightly, sliding into the seat beside him, pretending not to notice Lucius glaring holes in the back of her head.

"Bonjour, Narcissa." Just as she had hoped. She told him, in French, how she had seen his brother over the holidays, and thank you for the letter, and continued on with light small talk. No thing more intimate than discussing the weather. The trick was, she spoke in seductive whisper that was very out of place on her tongue, leaned in when she spoke, and smiled charmingly. But she knew she couldn't keep up the act for long. To speed up the process, she reached up innocently, pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and shook it back. The effect was instantaneous. She heard Lucius' chair scrape the floor, and then felt his hand on her shoulder, pulling her up. She could barely contain her huge grin, not noticing or hearing the hurt and confused Michael she left as she was led out of the common room.

Lucius took Narcissa a fair distance from any disruption, to an empty corridor. Once there, he spun to face her, and ran his hands possessively through her thick, silky locks several times before pushing her back against the wall, and pinning her there with his body.

"Whore," He accused, before bending to kiss her deeply.

He hated himself, he really did. He hated his mother, his father, his sister, Michael, Bellatrix, Ari, all blood traitors, Muggles, mudbloods, and himself. He was an idiot. Why? What was wrong with him? Lucius frowned, turning over uncomfortably in his bed. She was frustrating, absolutely infuriating when one came down to it… Why the hell couldn't he stay away? He had fully planned on be furious with her for a week, at least. He could stay angry at everyone else, why not her? But just the sight of her with that Wilkes boy made him murderous. What he wouldn't give to strangle the git…

You're too attached, Lucius. Get out now, before it's too late. But he knew it already was.

.oO () Oo.

(A/N: Hm… I'm having minor writers block… Ah, well. To all my lovely reviewers:

Paddikins: I try to keep him in character, so, like in this chapter, he'll lose his temper with her, but at the same time, he's crazy about her despite what he'd like to think. It all gets a little confusing.

Michelle Yang: Well, for most of the Harry Potter books, I wanted to shoot Draco, so I decided Lucius should be able to do everything Draco would like to do. That way, Draco'd have a reason for being so awful. Thanks for the review!
Theloveablechelsea: Oh yes, everyone loves sarcastic and sardonic Lucius. Thanks so much for reviewing despite the slow process; don't you hate it when computers do that?

Luciu's Fan: I would love it so much if you could correct my French; just tell me the chapter and what to change it to! Thanks so much.

ElfLuver13: Is that the problem? I was sad when I checked my email and thought I had no reviews! But I hope it's up now…

BexBlack: Well, little Aldie doesn't help, but children require warm and fuzzy, and that's not really Lucius's thing. He thinks they're loud and useless. And about upping the rating… I'd really like to try to keep it at T, but you never know.

LadySyren: I've heard little siblings are irritating, but wouldn't personally know. And yes, but it just goes to show you how jealous Lucius really is buy burning Michael's letter.

Skye: I really have no idea if villains chill. So sorry.

Narcy: Well, Michael isn't really that bad of a person, and, compared to Lucius, he's really quite a darling, but he's stuck in that character spot that everyone loves to hate. So feel free to do so.