Please let me know how you are liking this! I finally think I know where I want to take this story and am excited! I love these two!
Lucius and Aria put their clothes hastily back on and exited the classroom, holding hands, almost holding on to each other to confirm to themselves that they were back in reality. The hallways were empty as mostly everyone was still in the Great Hall celebrating. Although neither of them was nearly as brightly glowing as they had been during their dancing and during their physically spiritual love making, their hair still faintly glowed and shimmered in the candlelight. Their eyes were still dilated as the essences of their love still flowed throughout their bodies.
As Lucius led Aria down the empty hallways towards the main entrance so they could apparate once they were outside on the main grounds, his mind couldn't stop racing. Never in his life had he had any of this type of ancient and carnal power and emotion. He had done many things in his life, and he had always been into experimenting and trying new things during sex, but never anything like this. It thrilled him and made his mind race. It must have something to do with their connection and the prophecy of their love. Why had the taste of her blood not disgusted him? It was in fact, quite the opposite, as it had lured him in to want more and more. Her taste was inhuman…if anything it wasn't even a taste at all, it was simply a feeling deep in his bones and soul.
The glowing of their hair and skin without the use of the Lumos Interius spell was also interesting and alarming to him too. It was as if their love was now manifesting outwardly all on its own and was growing more and more powerful. Lucius suspected it might have to do with the importance of the date in terms of what it meant for witches and wizards; Samhain was a significant date for magical folk, just like any of the other Pagan days in the year.
Lucius thought back to their conversation about investigating in the Department of Mysteries back at the Ministry. Although it would be difficult to gain access, he knew they had to go there. Their connection and bond was something that was anciently powerful and magical and its truth must be discovered. He thought his whole life had been leading up to the moment he would take his rightful spot by the Dark Lord's side many years ago, but now he realized this was what his life's purpose was. The woman next to him.
Lucius had been thinking the whole time he led them out of the castle and he just barely realized that they were outside. Some of the attendees of the Ball were outside as well enjoying the night air and the decorations scattered around the grounds. A few of them were staring intently at Aria and Lucius, as their hair dully shined in the moonlight and their eyes were dark orbs of intensity; they must have been a sight to behold. Lucius was too high on the magic of the night's moments to care if it caused gossip and he turned back towards Aria and looked down into her eyes. She was staring up at him with her dilated eyes, full of wonder, and he knew she was still on another plane of existence in her heart and mind. Grabbing her tightly around the waist, not caring if others saw, he apparated them back to Malfoy Manor.
As they arrived in the grand foyer of the Manor Lucius leaned in to kiss Aria, who happily accepted his kiss as she reached up and folded her fingers around his neck and brought him closer into her.
As they pulled away Aria finally spoke. She hadn't said anything since they had been in the classroom back at Hogwarts after their intense coupling.
"I think I may need to lay down, my body is still tingling and buzzing all over. I feel strange but in a good way…I want to just lay down and close my eyes and embrace the feeling…" she said huskily as she looked up at him with wide eyes which burned with the magical life force of their connection.
"Then I shall join you," he said with a contented smile.
All of a sudden though, Lucius cocked his head as he heard a noise coming from down the hallway in the direction of the drawing room. Lucius rarely used that room anymore, as it only reminded him of his dark past, but he definitely heard noises coming from that direction.
Aria's eyes grew wider as she followed the direction of his gaze with her head. She had definitely heard a noise too…voices actually.
"Did you hear that too?" he said as he looked back at her. She nodded her head silently.
In one swift motion Lucius took out his wand from the head of his cane and pointed it ahead of him as he grabbed Aria's hand with his free hand and led her down the hallway towards the voices coming from the drawing room. Lucius really wished his eyes would go back to normal instead of their current dilated state, as he still felt buzzed and giddy from the high he was on from earlier. He needed to be sober now, if he needed to defend them, he had to be ready.
Aria clutched onto Lucius' hand so tightly her nails were digging into his flesh, but neither of them noticed as they approached the door. It was a woman's voice and a man's voice, talking in whispers. Through the crack in the door, there was a faint glowing and flickering as the intruders had clearly lit candles around the room.
Lucius' mind raced as his sole focus was protecting Aria at the moment, but deep in the corner of his mind he knew who the intruder was. No one else could get into the Manor, as it was greatly protected by charms and defensive spells. It could be only one person. As he kicked open the door with a bang, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Draco…" he practically growled as he looked at his son sitting down in one of the chairs at the large wooden table. His head then turned slightly to the left to stare with a piercing gaze at the woman standing next to Draco. "Narcissa…." He practically hissed out. "Why are you in my home…at this hour? Get out!"
Draco looked at his father with a smug and disgusted sneer and then his cold gaze fell upon Aria. Aria was still clutching to Lucius' hand, but her wide eyes were still wild with the high from the night and the power and magic that she felt radiating through her.
Draco turned his head up towards his mother, who was looking at Aria with a smug look that equally matched her sons. "See what I told you Mother, of course she is with him. They are always together now…it's pathetic…and a disgrace to our family home."
Aria, who was by now used to Draco's verbal abuse of her, could only stare at the icy blond woman standing proud and arrogant next to her son. Her hair was probably once a more vibrant yellow-blond but was now streaked through with darker grey, almost black, streaks in the front. She had a pinched quality to her face, that almost reminded her of a bird or rat with piercing ice blue eyes. Perhaps she had once been beautiful, but the years and her apparent internal hatred had not been kind to her once attractive features.
Aria couldn't help but feel an instant surge in her power and her connection with Lucius in that moment, almost as if her body was primed to jump out and protect him from any physical or even verbal assault that was thrown their way.
"Your home? This isn't your home. This is my home. You two gave up your claims on this place the moment you decided your pride was more important than our family. You haven't treated me as family for years. The only family I have now and will ever need is Aria!" Lucius screamed at them.
Draco got up from his chair, but his mother stopped him as she put a hand on his shoulder to sit him back down. She slowly made her way over to Aria and Lucius, her hips swaying, almost as if she was trying to seduce Lucius back over to her side, but Aria knew she would only spew venom at them.
"What do you want?" Aria boldly said. Usually she would have never uttered a word, as this was completely and clearly Malfoy business, but she couldn't help the buzzing power that was flowing through her. Her hair still glowed and the protective feeling she had for Lucius was growing stronger and stronger with each passing second.
Narcissa was now practically right in front of them. Her eyes flicked to Lucius, back to Aria, her eyes raking down Aria taking in her faintly glowing hair, her dilated and wild eyes, down to the stunning emerald necklace which was still around Aria's neck.
"So, you are the trollop Draco was telling me about…who are you then? A young girl desperate for an older man's money…? What gives you the right to wear such a necklace?" Narcissa spat. "What spell have you put on Lucius? You have clearly cursed him, look at both of your eyes, your hair… you two aren't in your right mind! What have you done?" Narcissa screamed as she reached out her hands as if to grab Aria by the neck and rip the necklace violently from her or possibly even throttle her.
Lucius instantly raised his wand, pointing it directly at Narcissa's chest, challenging her to go any further.
"Don't you dare speak to her!" he spat back. "She wears the necklace you were never worthy enough to wear. My mother's necklace, a necklace of purity and of my undying love."
Narcissa's features flinched at Lucius' denouncement. She was clearly hurt at the thought that he had never thought her worthy of wearing such a necklace or earning his love like the young girl at his side clearly had.
"Purity?!" shouted Draco from where he sat at the table still. "That half-breed is anything but pure!"
Narcissa flicked her eyes back to Aria with malintent. "Half-breed?! Now I definitely know you put a curse on my husband, he would never be with something as vile as you!" Narcissa made an advance towards Aria as if to try and strike her again.
"You dare come any closer Narcissa and I swear I will do you harm!" Lucius said with such a fierce intensity that it actually greatly aroused Aria as she took in his protectiveness. His hair was glowing a bit more brightly the more and more he got angry.
"I am not your husband!" Lucius shouted. "Our marriage was never about love, never about connection. You can't even begin to dream or wish to know what I have with Aria." He brought Aria in closer to his body by taking his hand that was still clutching to hers and putting it around her waist instead. His other hand still raised and pointing his wand at the angry witch.
Aria responded in her own way by glaring proudly at Narcissa and then to Draco and deliberately putting her arms around Lucius' torso, as if to mirror his protectiveness and dedication.
Aria spoke again, just as boldly as before. "Why are you here. What do you want?"
Narcissa raised her mouth in a smirk in the most horrendous of ways, as if she was about to reveal her plan for world domination. She seemed to revel in whatever news she had to share, and Aria felt a bundle of anxiety begin to form in the pit of her stomach.
"Well you see little witch, Draco had informed me about the goings on from your last meeting here in the Manor. It seems you and my Lucius were involved in an incident with a wizard who was in your Ambassador Program. Isn't that correct?" her voice was like ice and honey and it made Aria's skin tingle with rage.
Aria's face flushed red with anger. "That is none of your concern…" Aria replied with malice. "Or yours," she said as she then looked over to a smirking Draco.
"Well you see, it rather is my concern. Actually, it's the concern of the whole Wizarding community here. We can't have someone running around putting memory charms on innocent wizards left and right," she said as her eyes flicked once more over to Lucius.
Lucius was breathing heavy, a mixture of rage and betrayal.
"That man was not innocent…" Lucius said almost in a whisper. His voice was so cold and enraged.
He took his eyes off of Narcissa and looked over to his son sitting at the table. A look of betrayal clearly written on his face.
"So, this is what it has come to is it Draco?" Lucius said flatly. "Revenge? Revenge for the man I was in the past and what I allowed you to go through? You would rather see me rot in Azkaban, than let me live my life happy and in love and refuse to see how I have grown as a person?"
Draco looked at his father briefly, a look of regret and tenderness in his eyes, but then his eyes grew cold once more and he looked down at the large wooden table, refusing to respond back to his father.
"You ruined this family Lucius," Narcissa said, cutting through the air with her bitterness. "Now we have a chance to put you in Azkaban where you belong, where you should have been this whole time…"
Aria still clung to Lucius, but somehow managed to hold him tighter. A single, hot tear fell down her face as she took in how much of a betrayal this was for Lucius. Never could she imagine a family turning upon itself as she was now witnessing.
"You are acting as if what happened to our family was my fault and my fault alone…" said Lucius, his voice husky with emotion. "You played an equal part Narcissa. We could have done so much better for our son, but both of us were too corrupted by the power of The Dark Lord. I've tried to change and be a better man…what have you done? You are just as hateful and corrupt as ever."
Narcissa glared her eyes at Lucius and raised her chin as if in defiance. "We came here to warn you to prepare yourself Lucius. By the time Monday morning comes, I am sure the Ministry will have all of the evidence they need, and you will be taken away from your so-called happy life. We came here so you could prepare yourself."
Lucius smirked and sarcastically laughed out loud into the room at the ridiculousness of it all. "You came here to help me prepare myself? No no no my dear…. you came here to put your betrayal of me out on display. You want me to know that it was you two that did this to me," he said as he looked over at his ex-wife and his son. Draco's eyes glanced back down to the wooden table in shame. "You came here to specifically ruin my life. You saw and heard how happy I finally was, and you aim to ruin that…" Lucius said as he then looked down at Aria, his heart breaking into a million pieces knowing that he would soon be taken away from her. She saw his eyes begin to water with tears of anger, tears of heart break and tears of loss. He had finally had the taste of the life he had always wanted and now it was going to all disappear.
More angry tears fell down her face at seeing her soul mate in so much pain. Her gaze turned on Narcissa and she felt so much hate towards this woman, and towards her horrible son seated at the table, she wanted nothing more than for them to leave immediately. She wanted what little time she had left with Lucius to be just them alone together. She needed to be with him and only him.
"Get out…" Aria said darkly, her voice going so low-pitched, she had never heard herself sound like that before.
"How dare you tell me to get out, bitch…" Narcissa spat at Aria. She then moved so fast Lucius didn't even have time to raise his wand back up again before he saw her grab Aria's arm hard, as if meaning to rip her off of Lucius, who she was still holding tightly around the waist. All of a sudden, Narcissa let out a wail of pain and clutched her hand to her chest which had just grabbed Aria.
"Her skin! Her skin burned me!" she shrieked as she looked at her hand which was now bubbling with blisters from the burn. "Bitch!"
Aria looked down at her arm where Narcissa had just grabbed her and saw that her skin was now glowing brightly as it had done before when she made love to Lucius. She breathed hard and fast, half confused from what just happened, half-filled to the brim with power. She felt a power and a loyalty so strong it was stunning her, and she looked up at Lucius who was staring at her in wonder and adoration.
Draco had rushed over to his mother and was uttering soothing words to her as he held his mother around her shoulders to support her.
"What are you?! What kind of creature are you?" Narcissa screamed into the room. "You'll pay for this. Just you wait and see. Monday morning, your grip and power over Lucius will be over. You'll be parted forever. You will never see him or control him again!"
Aria let go of Lucius and strode over to where Draco supported the woman. Her hair and skin were bright, and her eyes were practically black with rage. Narcissa flinched with fear and tightened her grip on her son. With a sudden pop, they apparated away leaving Aria and Lucius alone in the room at last.
Aria immediately fell to the floor and started sobbing. All of the emotion she had been holding in flooded out of her at once. She felt Lucius immediately there at her side and he quickly wrapped his strong arms around her and held her. He buried his face into her neck and cried silent tears of his own at the realization that he only had 24 hours left of freedom with his love.
He knew that the Ministry for years had been looking for any reason to put him in Azkaban. He had been one of the few Death Eaters who had escaped the fate of Azkaban, whether it was his monetary influence, or some had seen him as truly a changed man; he had been lucky. Now with his fate in the hands of his vengeful ex-wife and son, his happiness would be destroyed. A happiness he never thought he would have until he met Aria, the love of his life, his soulmate.
The clock struck midnight and chimed through the grand home. As they both cried and held each other on the floor of the drawing room, their dilated pupils finally returned to normal, the green and grey of their eyes appeared again, wet with tears. The glowing that had so intensified on their skin and hair every time their emotions became intense finally disappeared altogether, not even a faint glow was left.
"Lucius…I can't live without you…I can't!" she cried into his chest as he held her. "Please don't go. Don't leave me."
"I won't have a choice my love. I will pay for my actions; the Ministry will make sure of that…" he said as a tear ran down his cheek as he felt his heart breaking again and again.
"But you did it to defend me! Surely if I tell them that, they will change their minds."
"No, you mustn't get involved. Promise me Aria. I don't want you to have to relive what happened to you in front of the whole Ministry. Will you promise me?" he said intensely as he looked into her now wide green eyes.
She didn't say anything back but grabbed the sides of his face with her hands and kissed him. She immediately opened his mouth with her tongue and reveled in his taste and his essence, as if it was the last time she would ever taste him; because soon it would be.
As she pulled away from the kiss, she felt Lucius look down at his hands as he removed his ring he always wore on his middle finger. It was in the shape of a snake that wrapped around itself and had one brilliant green emerald for an eye and engraved on the inside was the initials, LM.
"Here," he said, as he took her hand and put the ring on her index finger. "I wish I could offer you so much more, but this ring is a promise…a promise that I will always love you, until my dying day. Wear it and know that. Promise me you will make it into the Department of Mysteries and find out about us, about our love and the power it holds."
Aria nodded her head and sobbed as he raised her finger up to his lips and kissed her where the ring was, as if blessing her.
They stayed there crying and kissing until the early break of dawn began to show. Both of them were so drained and exhausted and as they finally made their way up to Lucius' bedroom, both of them left their fine dress and robes in a pile on the floor, not even caring to put them away. The one thing Aria removed that she made sure to place back safely was his mother's necklace she still wore. The two exhausted and naked soul mates fell into bed, entwined their limbs and bodies and held on tight before a dark sleep overtook them both, knowing they only had 24 hours left before the end.