Narcissa lets out an angry breath. She didn't know what had gotten into him tonight. He had been so excited for this ball for weeks now, even if he played it cool. She knew he had been looking forward to it. And all this complaint about the dress… He had been the one to pick it out! She wore it exactly as he had ordered it, she didn't know why he was so upset now. He was infuriating tonight.
She can hear the door open behind her and she sighs. "I'm not ready to talk yet, Lucius. I'm still angry."
"Good thing it's not Lucius, then," comes an unfamiliar voice.
Narcissa turns around to see a tall, dark-haired boy. He looked vaguely familiar and she was sure he was Slytherin. Sixth, maybe seventh year. "Oh, I'm sorry. Thought you were someone else," she mutters. "I'll let you have your space." She moves to the door and is surprised when he blocks it.
"What if I don't want space?" the boy asks. "That's a beautiful dress, Narcissa."
Narcissa raises an eyebrow at him. On default, her expression goes cold and she gives him a chilling look. "Do I know you?"
"No," the boy says, "but that's an easy problem to rectify."
"Well, I'm afraid I'm otherwise engaged for the evening," Narcissa says coldly. "Step aside. I'd like to go back in."
"I like the privacy that we have out here." He takes a step forward but Narcissa refuses to let herself be cowed.
"I'm not interested," she says, gathering her skirts and pushing past the boy to get to the door. The boy reaches out and grabs her arm stopping her. "How dare you touch me," Narcissa seethes, attempting to yank her arm back but he holds tight, bruising her forearm.
"So prissy," the boy laughs, pulling her back away from the door. "You are a little princess, aren't you?"
"Let me go this instant before I take offense in what you've done."
"Awh, little Cissy. I just want to get to know you better. It's clear your boyfriend isn't treating you right or else you wouldn't be out here in the cold all alone." He takes a long look over her body and Narcissa feels a chill run through her.
"Lucius will be back any minute," Narcissa says threateningly. Her arm was starting to throb from his tight grip. She wished suddenly that she had brought her wand with her to the dance, but there had been nowhere to store it in the thin dress. "I'd hate to have him see how you're behaving right now."
"Well, then, we should go somewhere more private. Come on a walk with me, Cissy." He yanks her towards the stairwell but Narcissa pulls back.
"You must be psychotic if you think I'm going anywhere with you. Let go of me this very second before I scream." Narcissa pulls her arm again, wincing in pain at how tightly he's holding her.
He pulls her close and wraps his other arm around her, leaning into her ear. Narcissa tenses. She feels sick feeling him touch her body. She squirms, wondering the best way to get away from this boy. "Awh, little Cissy," he hisses. "There's no need to make a scene. I just want to get to know you better."
Narcissa pulls against him sharply, attempting to drive her elbow into his stomach. "Don't you fucking touch me!" she screams, scratching at him as she pulls away. "Lucius! Luci-"
The boy wraps a hand around her mouth stifling her scream. He punches her in the stomach, causing her to double over, but he hoists her back up, holding her against him. He reaches into his cloak, pulling out his wand and pressing it against her throat. "Try that again," he hisses into her ear. "Try that again, you fucking bitch. I dare you."
Narcissa bites his hand, squirming against him. This only causes him to hold tighter, digging his wand against her throat. He drags her towards the stairs although she fights him every step. Once he makes it down the stairs with her, he shoves her against the castle wall, holding his wand against her threateningly. Narcissa pants, trying to catch her breath. "What do you think you're doing?" she demands, trying to fix the straps of her dress that have started to slip down her shoulders. "Do you even understand what an enormous mistake you are making?" The boy growls at her, moving in close, his hands going to her dress but she shoves him away. "Lucius Malfoy will murder you for this. Do you understand? For even touching me. If you value your life, you'll leave immediately. If you fucking even look at me again, I will make sure he kills you, do you understand?"
"Oh, Cissa, Cissa," the boy says, shaking his head. "I think you've got this all wrong. I'm just trying to introduce myself. Make new friends. You don't need to be such a frigid bitch. Especially not with how you look tonight. You look like you need someone to keep you warm. And since your little boyfriend isn't here, I can step in."
Narcissa sneers at him, recoiling. "You're disgusting," she says, spitting at him.
The boy wipes the spit from his face, growling at her. "I'd suggest you play nice," he threatens, grabbing her chin, clenching it tightly and causing Narcissa's jaw to throb. She grabs at him but he digs his wand back into her throat, choking her slightly. "I'm not above hexing you." He presses his lips against her, kissing her forcefully. Narcissa digs her fingernails into his wrists, biting his tongue as he forces it into her mouth.
The boy cusses, pulling away slightly and growling at her. "You stupid bitch," he says. "You just don't learn, do you?" He raises his fist, pounding it down against her face. Narcissa cries out in pain, her eye throbbing from his blow. He comes in again, taking advantage of her pain and kissing her again. His hands roam her body, pulling at her dress and she shivers at the cold sinking into her skin.
Narcissa struggles against him, but he keeps her pressed against the wall. "Lucius!" she calls out again desperately. "Lucius, please!" She closes her eyes tightly, her body hurting. She continues to try and push him off of her, but his hands were everywhere. One moment they were running up her waist, feeling her chest, and the next they were pulling the straps of her dress. "Don't fucking touch me," she pleads, her voice losing it's ferocity. Where was Lucius? Why wasn't he here? Why hadn't he come back? Narcissa is ashamed to feel tears rolling down her face. The boy didn't care to see how distraught she was, pushing her roughly against the wall and pulling up her dress. "Don't touch me," she says with a sob, her voice coming out barely louder than a whisper. "Lucius, where are you?"
"Get your goddamn hands off of her," Lucius's voice comes from the stairwell as if answering her plea. She opens her eyes to look at him, letting out a relieved sob. He strides towards them, a permeating rage simmering off of him. She reaches to him, her body still throbbing with the pain of being handled by this boy.
The boy freezes, one hand still holding his wand against Narcissa's throat and the other holding Narcissa's dress.
"I said, get your bloody hands off of her!" he screams, casting a spell at the boy and throwing him to the ground. Narcissa sinks into the snow now that she doesn't have the boy holding her up. She felt exhausted. Drained. Pathetic. She collapses completely into the snow, sobbing, unable and unwilling to watch Lucius deal with the boy. She just cries into the snow, her dress still half off her body.
"She doesn't belong to you!" Lucius screams, nearly jumping onto the boy, fists flying. "You think you can touch her? She's not yours! You bloody cretin. I'll kill you for this. I'll kill you for thinking you're worthy of her." He beats the boy and as Narcissa looks over, she can see blood spilling into the snow.
"Lucius…" she whispers, her voice hardly above a breath. It's enough to make him pause. "Lucius…" she says again, unsure of what she's trying to tell him, but just needing him. He freezes where he is and then gets up, going to her and taking her in his arms. The second that Lucius was off of him, the boy scampers up, grabbing his wand and running off. Lucius growls in his direction but Narcissa places a hand on his cheek, directing his focus back to her.
He sighs, looking down at her. He leans in and carefully puts the straps of her dress back onto her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
Narcissa breaks into another bout of sobs, burying herself against his chest. "I called for you," she sobs. "I kept calling for you, but you weren't there, and I…"
"I'm sorry," he says softly, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry, my darling. I should have come sooner. If I had had any suspicion…"
"You were right," she says, her tears soaking his shirt. "You were right before, Lucius. I was so angry, but you were right. I'm sorry. We should have left. I'm so sorry."
"Hush, my dear. It's not your fault. August Rookwood is a bloody bastard. I will kill him for this."
"Is that who he was?" Narcissa asks, wiping her face. "I didn't even know his name. I didn't even… He wouldn't let me go… I was so afraid you wouldn't come back, wouldn't hear me."
Lucius strokes her hair, his eyes dark as he processes her words.
Narcissa buries her head against him. "I'm sorry," she pleads with him, clinging to his suit jacket. "I'm so sorry, Lucius. Sorry that I didn't listen to you. Sorry that I got mad."
"Let's just go back to my room," Lucius says, taking her arms and helping her up out of the snow. "We need to clean you up."
Narcissa nods, feeling herself completely shut down. She couldn't feel a thing. Not Lucius's arm around her, guiding her towards a more private door back into the castle. Not the chill of snow that soaked into her skin and dress. Not the throb of the bruise forming around her eye. Narcissa couldn't feel a thing.
"I'm sorry, Lucius," she whispers again, although she isn't certain that he can even hear her. She could feel the guilt growing in her stomach. That was the only feeling that permeated Narcissa's body. If she had only listened to Lucius, only had kept him close rather than push him away. It was her fault. She knew it. It was her fault.