Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters, this is merely a work of fanfiction.
A/N: This piece is Fem! Lucius x James. It was a prompt from Kavyanjali. Hope you enjoy friends:)
Lord James Potter strode through the streets of Hogsmeade. He held a very precious package in the breast pocket of his robes. It was the first courtship gift for the witch he had been in love with since he was eleven.
The snow crunched under his dragon hide boots, and the cold air stung his face. It made him feel incredibly alive. He turned the corner onto the mainstreet of Hogsmeade village.
In front of Honeydukes were a group of witches in the midst of some kind of argument. He could see the red hair of Miss Lily Evans, but that was not what caught his attention. It was the cutting tone of Heiress Lucia Malfoy that caused him to turn course and approach the group.
No doubt, his best friends Heir Sirius Black and Heir Remus Greyback would come looking for him when he didn't show up to The Three Broomsticks. He stopped a few paces away from the group, and no one seemed to notice him.
Lucia looked positively incandescent with rage. Her small form trembled and her platinum hair sparked with magic. Her best friend Heiress Narcissa Black held her back gently by one arm. When Lucia spoke, James' flinched. He had never heard her tone so cold.
"Lie again, and I'lll slit your throat. I'm sure your filthy mudblood family won't miss you."
What had she said to deserve this?
Miss Evans was not his favorite person, but the paperwork would be never ending if the Head Girl got killed right in front of him. He went to intervene, and heard his friends fall into step behind him. They were never far behind.
Remus quickly assessed the situation as they had stepped outside the Three Broomsticks when James hadn't shown up. Remus had smelt the aggression and rage pouring off his mate Narcissa from all the way down the street.
"What's this ladies?" Sirius asked, trying to break up the tension. Lucia held her wand in a grip so tight that Sirius wondered if it would snap. Her talent in dueling was legendary. If she killed the Head Girl, there was not one law that would put the pureblood Heiress in Azkaban, but it still wasn't very sporting.
Remus went to stand in front of Narcissa. He wouldn't risk her safety for anything.
Remus' movement seemed to snap Lucia out of her trance. Her piercing grey eyes snapped to James' own. The desperation in her eyes was so deep that it choked him. He put a hand to his chest and took a step back.
Had he left her this lonely?
He had never wanted to do anything but please Lucia, not to cause her pain. He had tried so hard to play everything by the book. He cared little for rules or etiquette. Lucia did, however, so it became important to him as well.
She followed nearly every rule they had learned as children in countless etiquette lessons.
She wore dresses and gloves everyday, her platinum hair was always braided and pinned up immaculately. She was demure, proper, witty, beautiful, and soincredibly powerful. She had won every dueling tournament she entered since her second year.
Everything about her enticed James.
Under all the etiquette and protocol, she was incredibly kind. She would make an excellent mother.
Perhaps she thought no one noticed, but he did. He saw when she offered to braid little girls hair, offered them combs, gloves, or dresses she no longer wore. It didn't matter which house they were from, Lucia just wanted to teach them how to honor Mother Magic.
James saw it all.
He had also seen Lily repeatedly refuse Lucia's offers of help, even when they were first years and Lucia was a second year. For some reason she believed she was better than the Olde Ways. She had no humility, and she would never rise above the status of a mudblood to those who practised the Olde Ways, for it.
He should have suspected it would come to this eventually.
"What happened, Heiress Malfoy?" he asked, ignoring the indignant huffs of Miss Evans at his side. Why Dumblore favored her so much, he would never know. Perhaps the rumors of her being his bastard child were true.
"Miss Evans said," she paused and scrunched up her nose in distaste, "I'd rather not repeat it, Lord Potter."
James took a step away from Lily to stand beside Sirius, who appeared to be watching the entire scene with great amusement. Narcissa was pressing her cheek into Remus' back and soaking up his warmth. She hated confrontation.
"What did you do?" Remus growled at Miss Evans.
His eyes glew aureate, letting James know they were treading in dangerous territory. Remus didn't take well to people upsetting his mate. He was the next Alpha of the Greyback Pack, and he usually had control over when he shifted, but Moony seemed dangerously close to the surface at the moment.
"I told her you asked me out on a date," Lilly said.
James scoffed. What would give her that idea?!
Potter's didn't date. Potter's court. Potter's woo.
Potter's find the one and then lay siege to their heart until they surrender.
"But I didn't, I would never date you. Why would you think that?"
Lily looked like she had been hit with a hex. It wasn't his fault. He had certainly never asked anyone on a date, least of all Lily Evans.
Narcissa appeared to be calming down. Her hands were now wrapped around Remus' abdomen, and the aureate glow in his eye was dimming. Sirius continued to watch the scene with great amusement.
"You did! You asked me to get a drink with you at the Three Broomsticks!" Lily cried, her shrill tones grating on his ears. Lucia looked heartbroken, and it tore at James' heart. He could not let this stand, he had only ever loved Lucia, from the moment he had seen her.
Lucia marshalled every ounce of control she had. Surely James wouldn't debase himself with this mudblood. She had never told him of her love, but she thought it was understood. It wasn't proper for pureblood ladies to declare their love. They waited for a courtship offer to be made, and James was still sixteen, while she was seventeen. She had turned down every courtship offer that her father had brought to her. She would have James, or no one.
"I asked you to the Three Broomsticks to discuss the upcoming Beltane festival!" James spat. "There will also be loads of prefects there, as well as Lucia, who has planned the whole thing since you refused to! I have no interest in you, and never will."
Tears were spilling down Lily's face. She turned and ran the other way, deeper into the village. James couldn't find any sympathy for her. He had never shown her any preference that should have given her false hope.
He thought it was a well known fact that he was in love with Lucia. It was an open secret among the pureblood families. It was just a fact- the sky was blue, grass was green, and Lord James Potter was in love with Heiress Lucia Malfoy. He had been seen following her around like a lost puppy at every society event from the age of eleven.
He was sixteen now, and though he wasn't of age, he had come into his lordship with the unfortunate passing of his parents over the last summer. He couldn't wait any longer, he couldn't be alone any longer, he had to have Lucia.
That's why he had the courtship gift that was now burning a hole in his pocket. Sirius had lost interest in the goings on when the drama ended, and had wandered off to talk to a group of girls a few shops off. Remus was drawing Naricissa away from them, scenting her to make sure she was okay.
Lucia was standing there, staring at James' boot clad feet as she avoided eye contact. They had danced around each other for years. She was so tired of being patient. She just wanted to be with James. He closed the distance between them, and pulled the jewelry box out of his breast pocket.
He wanted to do this in private, but he couldn't make Lucia wait any longer.
He had received the approved courtship from her father Lord Malfoy this morning with a singular addendum written above his signature- "You have my permission, if Lucia loves you." Lucia was Lord Malfoy's greatest treasure, and he refused to condemn his daughter to a loveless bonding.
James opened the box and handed it to Lucia. She finally moved her eyes from his boots, and looked at the box he offered. Laid on a bed of black velvet was the Peverell Bonding Bracelet. A courier goblin had brought it to him from Gringotts. Stunning black opals sparkled in the bright sunlight.
A smile broke out over Lucia's face. It was radiant.
"Your father has given his permission for me to court you, if you love me."
Lucia smiled in a wicked way that he had never seen grace her face before. It looked like sin incarnate.
"Of course I love you."
She leaned forward, and James wrapped his arms around her to steady her in the snow. She kissed him softly as James held her gently, so she could pull away when she wanted.
She released him after a moment with a bright blush on her pale face. James laughed, full and happy. Waiting for Lucia was worth every second of every day.
If Lord Malfoy wouldn't kill him, he would steal her away to bond immediately. As it was, he would be patient. She would have her big bonding, and then he would never let her out of his sight again. He had lots of time to make up for.