A/N: *Insert "it's been 84 years" gif*
Thank you raven_maiden for beta'ing.
The Hogwarts Express gleamed under the morning sun and bellowed its five-minute warning, jarring a group of Muggle parents seeing off their spawn. Lucius Malfoy glared at the giggling herd of Muggles as they ushered themselves safely away from the platform's edge, as if the magic train would spit fire at them. He rolled his eyes and turned his gaze back to the brick wall as another harried group of late-comers ran through with their luggage.
"Good morning, Lucius," a smooth voice said from behind him.
He turned. "Good morning, Miss Black."
She laughed, twisting her auburn hair around a finger. "I've told you to call me Andromeda. Besides," she said with a grin, "we are to be brother and sister soon."
Lucius swallowed. Yes, Merlin forbid he forget.
"Are you waiting for Greg? He's already on the train."
"No, my… my father was supposed to…" He shook his head, and turned a smile on her. "I'll give him two more minutes."
Andromeda's eyes glowed in that strange way they often did when they shared a cauldron or partnered in Charms. "Alright. Well, if you'd like to share a car with me and Caroline… I think Evan will be there too, so…"
She trailed off and spun away from him quickly, just as she had when she'd given out her Valentines last February.
"Oh!" She whipped back around. "My sister is a first year. I can't wait for you to meet her. You'll be kind to her, won't you?"
"Of course," Lucius said. "All the girls of the House of Black are my favorites."
Andromeda blushed before waving awkwardly and hurrying away. And Lucius almost wondered if it was unfair of him to tease — but she was just such an easy prey.
He'd asked his father why he had to be betrothed at thirteen. Wouldn't it have made more sense to secure the arrangement when Bellatrix was about to finish her Hogwarts years, and he was fifteen — closer to coming of age.
"Best to tie you to her before the other boys begin courting her," Abraxas had said. "If they ever court her," he'd muttered under his breath. He'd looked up with a frown, as if remembering his son was there. "Cygnus is a smart man. He knows that with three daughters, he doesn't have many options. I presented him with the best one."
Lucius had almost opened his mouth to ask whether it was the best option for him. Bellatrix Black was not only as charming as a feral cat, but also much crueler. But to remind his father that Andromeda was an option as well… a much more tolerable one… his father would not have appreciated such a suggestion. His father was to be obeyed, not critiqued. He always had his reasons.
Even though his timeliness left much to be admired. Lucius sighed and checked the large clock on the platform. If he didn't head for the train now, he'd be in danger of running for it.
And Malfoys never run.
He heaved his trunk into the fourth car, allowing Goyle to lift it into the overhead and stealing his seat along the way. Goyle pressed in close to Harper, much to his dismay, and Lucius cemented his place amongst the ranks by steadfastly ignoring the lot of them in favor of reading his level-three texts.
The lines for the carriages felt longer than last year's. He didn't much like waiting in lines. He skipped ahead of several people and made a beeline for Stuart Craggy, Slytherin Quidditch Captain.
"Craggy," Lucius called. The older, stockier boy turned around, straightening up when he realized who was addressing him. "I plan to try out for Bletchley's position this year. I look forward to joining the team."
Craggy lifted a thick eyebrow. "Uh, right. But Bletchley hasn't graduated. He's a seventh year."
Lucius turned to Bletchley, who stood just to Craggy's left, and gave him a smooth once over. "Oh, I'm aware. I still plan to take his position."
The small crowd around them laughed and jeered at Bletchley, who looked as though he'd like to wring his neck. Lucius tilted his head in goodbye and smirked as he joined his friends at the front of the line. He took the next carriage, jumping in with Goyle. He'd barely sat when a black shadow darted up the step.
Bellatrix Black turned her piercing eyes on Goyle. "Out," she hissed. "I want a moment with my fiancé."
Goyle gaped at her before lumbering out of the carriage. Lucius watched in terror as Bellatrix shut the carriage door and plopped down across from him. The carriage pulled away.
"So. Lucius Malfoy. My intended." Her voice was deep yet grating, like too-sweet chocolate. She stretched her arms out over the back of the carriage seat and crossed her legs at the knee like a common harlot. "What do you have to offer me besides wealth and status?"
Lucius stared at her. He'd never heard his mother talk to his father this way. "Pardon?"
She cackled, and the sound carried over the invisible creatures' hooves.
"I mean to say, what kind of person are you, Lucius Malfoy? Will you be fun and adventurous, taking pleasure in seeing the world and trying new things? Or will you be a bore like your friend Goyle? Perhaps take an interest in the secretary, like I've heard his father does?"
Lucius stared at her, his lips struggling to articulate. "I'm… sure I don't know." Her eyes gleamed at him, and before she could strike again like the viper she was proving to be, he said, "You seem to be someone who enjoys to laugh, particularly at others' expense, so I think we'll have quite a lot of fun. Boring? I've never had a boring day in my life." He winked at her, with all the confidence a thirteen-year-old boy could possess while facing down a fifteen-year-old girl. "And secretaries are for commoners. I wouldn't disgrace my family, and I'll expect you not to, either."
A smile, catlike — whiskers twitching and tail flicking — blossomed on her dark lips. And he could see why Rodolphus had offered his cloak to her during a rainy day in the courtyard.
Lucius examined her features. Her eyes weren't quite as black as pitch as he'd thought. Her hair could perhaps be seen as "romantic" instead of "wild and unruly." With her square jar, smooth skin, and curved mouth, he supposed Bellatrix Black might be something to look at.
"I'm only having one heir," she said simply. "You better hope it's a boy because I won't have a second child."
He blinked at her, his future quickly being etched into stone before his eyes. "Alright. That's… um." He'd grown up quite alone with only the house-elves for company. He hadn't truly imagined having a large family, but he knew how lonely the Manor was. "That's fine, I suppose."
"And I expect to have a nanny." She tossed her thick locks over her shoulder and stared at the castle as it grew nearer. "I can't imagine being a mother. I'll squeeze one out because it's my duty. But I don't see myself loving it."
A thousand cold rocks dropped into Lucius's stomach, filling his lungs. He pressed his lips together and said nothing. The carriage pulled to a stop. Bellatrix stood fluidly, but before she could open the latch, Lucius jumped up and held the door open for her.
She turned to him with glittering eyes. "I won't have you acting gallant around me, Lucius Malfoy." She took the door from him and stepped close — their heights matched perfectly. "The day I need you to open doors for me is the day I'll do the honorable thing and make you a widower."
Smirking, she jumped down from the carriage with a mighty thump! Lucius swallowed and descended the step evenly, pushing his long hair away from his face. Bellatrix looped an arm through his and dragged him with her towards the castle.
There were whispers as they passed. Anyone who hadn't heard of their engagement surely knew now, and he realized that was exactly what she intended. When they reached the Great Hall, Bellatrix tugged him toward her friends at the Slytherin table. He'd never sat with the older students before, and he felt himself grin. He was introduced with a girlish giggle as "my fiancé, Lucius Malfoy" to every fifth year at the table before she tugged him down to sit beside her at the center of them all. He met two Slytherin prefects and the Slytherin Beaters. Andromeda and Evan Rosier dropped into two seats across the table from them, and she looked down at her pumpkin juice when Bellatrix said to Evan, "I'm betrothed, didn't you know?"
By the time McGonagall threw open the doors and led a pack of petrified children into the Great Hall, Lucius had settled in quite nicely. He turned to watch the young ones file in, their mouths open in wonderment, and to his shock, found an older student walking with them. Perhaps someone's older sister had been called in to look after their quivering, future-Hufflepuff sibling.
She towered over the first years, walking with a trained elegance and poise that rivaled Lucius's mother and her friends. She was clearly pure-blood — and raised in high society. There was something familiar in her face. He considered for a moment if she might even be half-Veela with the way her blonde hair flowed down her back. Even from this distance, he could see her eyes were sky-blue as they looked up at the tall ceilings, as if seeing them for the first time.
Was she possibly transferring from Beauxbatons? Was that even allowed?
He watched her turn toward the Slytherin table, searching until her eyes landed on him. His heart thumped against his ribs as she smiled brightly, giving a soft wave.
His fingers twitched. He wanted to wave back—
"Merlin. Bloody tall, isn't she? You have to put her next to the rest of her lot to see it."
Lucius jerked out of whatever spell he'd fallen under, turning to find Bellatrix looking through heavy, amused eyelids at the girl. Andromeda was grinning at her, waving enthusiastically. Staring down into his goblet as the Sorting Hat began to sing, he forced his eyes away, a growing knot of dread in his stomach.
"Black, Narcissa!"
He dragged a hand through his hair and watched under drawn lids as the youngest Black sister was sorted into Slytherin. The smile burst from the girl's lips as Bellatrix clapped and hollered in joy.
Her teeth were perfect. Straight and opal.
Lucius kept his gaze on the Sorting Hat as the girl — Narcissa — raced over to the Slytherin table and squeezed in next to Andromeda. Directly across from Lucius.
"I did it!" she said breathlessly. "I can't wait to write to father!"
Even her voice was like music against his ears.
"Of course you did. No sister of mine will be a Hufflepuff." Bella raised her goblet in a toast.
Narcissa smiled brightly.
Lucius swallowed.
"Cissa." Bella looped her arm through his. "This is Lucius Malfoy. My intended."
And then her eyes landed on him, and Lucius felt the storm clouds in the enchanted ceiling shudder. She blinked quickly, and her lips parted.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said softly.
She tucked a lock of platinum hair behind her ear, and he watched her fingers dance through the strands.
"Miss Black." He nodded to her in greeting.
"He calls all of us 'Miss Black,'" Andromeda said in a mock whisper, knocking her shoulder. "I tell him not to, but—"
"Lucius, darling," Bellatrix interrupted, as if Andromeda was no more than a fly in her teacup. "We must find a pure-blood husband for Narcissa. She is to be the most perfect wife. I can already see it — hosting tea and garden parties, managing a household. She's so like our mother in that way."
Narcissa batted her lashes at her sister, the praise rooting deep within her as a blush blossomed on her cheeks. As if that was all she wanted in the world. To be the perfect partner to a pure-blooded lord.
Lucius's ribs felt tight. He sipped his pumpkin juice while Bellatrix prattled and Andromeda stared into her lap.
"—truly, dear. And look at her. Isn't she stunning? We'll have her courted and engaged in no time, to be sure."
Lucius's eyes flicked to Andromeda. She had turned to watch the sorting.
Bellatrix leaned into his ear and said in a low hum, "They all say she's the prettiest of the three of us."
He turned to Bellatrix, seeing her eyes glint with something dangerous. Andromeda's attention was back on him again.
He arched a brow at Bellatrix. "Not at all. You and your sister are far prettier." He sneered at the younger girl. "She's quite a hideous excuse for a Black sister."
The blush drained from her cheeks. Her lips paled as she pressed them together. And the blue eyes that had matched the sky on a perfect summer day turned to ice.
Bellatrix's laugh rang louder than the cheers of the Gryffindor table as they accepted a first year. She squeezed Lucius's arm. "Oh he's vicious, isn't he?! I just know we'll have such fun together."
Cold, wet lips brushed his cheekbone. He jumped, eyes tearing away from Narcissa, to find Bellatrix staring at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. She reached for his hand and wound her fingers between his like snakes.
He could see her younger sister's features in her now. The same aristocratic jaw, curved lips, large set eyes. A slightly broader nose. Yes, perhaps Bellatrix Black was beautiful after all.
His stomach churned. He pulled away from her, resisting the urge to wipe the skin of his cheek, and found Andromeda's steely gaze. Gone was the glow. He watched as she dipped to whisper in Narcissa's ear.
"Don't take it to heart, Cissy," Bellatrix said, as if lecturing a small child. "He and I are just playing a little game."
Bellatrix turned to chat with the other fifth years, her elbow locking his arm to her side. Andromeda pressed her lips together and avoided Lucius's eye.
And Narcissa stared him down coldly, as if she'd tear him to shreds as soon as he turned his back.
His blood sang in his veins with the pleasure of having even an ounce of her attention.
.
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