Author's Note: This story begins during the Second year at Hogwarts, during the Chamber of Secrets and will continue as time goes on. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic and along with my friend, ElfFlame, we are writing a series of four stories, which begins with ElfFlame's story- True Revenge. All four of these stories are interrelated and for the best understanding of the characters as we see them, they should be read in conjunction to each other. As always, I own none of this wonderful world that JK Rowling has created.
Author's Note: At this point in time I would just like to say that in telling events of this story from Lucius Malfoy's point of view, I am merely showing his frame of mind. I do not in any way condone or promote the things he does.
Spoiler Warning: This story contains spoilers, both minor and major from all five Harry Potter books.
Tavington Rose: Well, I'm afraid this is the last official chapter. There is a short epilogue, but this is where I've ended it. I hope you enjoy it!
Arsinoe3: This chapter should help tie up all those loose ends with Lucius and Adriana. I hope you like it!
Wicked Lee: I had such a time decided what Renata's first word should be. But being raised by Snape helped me make the choice I did. I think this chapter will show that the dark days are finally at an end for Adriana and Lucius. I hope you enjoy it!
Goodbye and Hello
Note: This is the final chapter of De Die In Diem: From Day to Day. The next chapter is a short epilogue that I hope will end the story on a good note. I'll save all my final thanks and shout outs till then.
When Lucius woke the next morning, he saw Adriana, asleep in a chair next to his bed. Standing up quietly so he wouldn't wake her, Lucius, left the room. After going to the bathroom, he left the house, walked up to the olive tree, and sat down, watching his breath in the cold morning air. He stayed there for hours, feeling the cold air and the freezing ground spread throughout every limb of his body. He liked that numb feeling and waited for it to reach his brain.
Adriana woke up, saw Lucius was gone, and panicked. Running around the house, and out to the porch, she was relieved to see him sitting under the tree. She let him sit there, under the tree, while she made breakfast. After it was done, she put some eggs and bacon on a plate, poured a glass of juice, grabbed a fork and napkin and walked out to the tree. "Lucius, I made you some food. You need to eat," Adriana said, holding the plate out to him.
Lucius looked blankly at the plate of food as he took it from her. Sitting down next to him, she said, "I'll just stay here till you're done eating, that way I can take the plate inside, or if you want, we can go back to the house together when you've finished." Lucius said nothing, but pushed the eggs around on the plate. Taking a small bite, he chewed for a minute before swallowing. It took Lucius an hour to finish eating, and he never said a word the entire time.
"Let's go inside, you look like you're pretty cold," Adriana suggested, taking hold of his hand, and gently trying to pull him up.
Lucius ripped his hand out of hers, and snarled, "I don't want to! Leave me alone!"
"Fine, you don't have to come inside, but I'm getting you a coat, and you will wear it. I'm not going to have you freeze to death out here and have to chisel you off the grass!" Adriana walked away from Lucius, and went to get him a coat.
Lucius allowed Adriana to put the coat over his shoulders. She left him alone, but checked on him every hour. At lunch Adriana insisted he come inside to eat. "Your hands are freezing, you won't be able to hold a fork!" Lucius stood up slowly. He walked stiffly down the hill, for the cold air had made his bad foot sore.
Lucius sat at the table with a sandwich and bowl of soup in front of him. "You can't go back outside until you've cleaned your plate," Adriana said, pointing to his food. When he'd finished eating, Lucius stood up and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch, turned on the telly, and spent the rest of the day watching whatever happened to be on.
This continued for the rest of the week, until Adriana was fed up. Walking into the living room and turning off the telly one morning, she spoke firmly to Lucius. "That's it! Get up! Now!" When Lucius continued to lay on the couch, she walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him off the couch, and he slid onto the floor. "Stand up! Get your coat, and follow me!"
Lucius followed Adriana outside and into the barn. She found a hoe, a rake, and a shovel, handed them to Lucius, and walked outside again. He followed her down the long and winding path to the wheat field. The far end of the field had lain fallow for several seasons, and it was time to prepare it for the growing season next year. There were stones filling the soil that had to be removed. Adriana also wanted a section of the trees cut down and the stumps removed. Adriana explained, "You'll get up with the sun, and work until dusk. You'll eat breakfast and dinner at the house, and I'll bring you lunch and snacks during the day. You'll work on this until you've finished," Adriana said firmly and walked away from him, leaving a bewildered Lucius standing in the middle of the field.
Lucius looked around the field. It seemed to him to go on forever. How could he do this? Sighing, he walked to one end of the field and began looking for stones. Each time he'd find one, he bent down, picked it up, walked to the edge of the field, and dropped it off. After a couple hours like that, his back was in excruciating pain, and he found a new system of searching on his hands and knees was a little less painful. Even though it was almost December, Lucius wasn't very cold, even though it was so freezing out it hurt to draw a deep breath.
Adriana returned after another hour with a plate of sandwiches, a thermos of coffee, and a pail of water with a ladle in it. She set that on the edge of the field, so he could keep well hydrated. After he'd eaten the entire plate of food and finished the coffee, Adriana left him to his work again. The first time Lucius tasted the water, he was surprised at the spicy bite to it that warmed him up from the inside. Looking into the bucket, he saw pieces of what he later found out was ginger, floating in it.
Lucius went about this work without thinking. He found the repetitive movement comforting and saw it was a good way to soothe his frazzled nerves. He found he went the entire day without worrying about the Dark Lord, or thinking about how his whole life had been a lie.
He went the rest of the week on automatic pilot like that. He'd return in the evening after a day of hard labour, and take a shower to clean and warm himself up. Adriana prepared filling dishes for him. Stews, chili, steak, really hearty food that Lucius found himself craving after such hard work. After eating, he'd be so tired the only thing left to do was to fall into bed and sleep.
During his one day off on Sunday, Lucius was allowed to lie on the couch and watch the telly, with no objections from Adriana. Adriana tried to give Lucius his space, and stayed in the kitchen most of the day.
It took Lucius the next three weeks to clear the field of all the stones that seemed to have grown in it while it hadn't been used. When Adriana was satisfied with his work, she gave him an axe and showed him the area of trees to be cleared. There were about 15 trees she wanted cut down.
Cutting trees down was even more exhausting work than clearing stones had been, for it took much more energy and used many more muscles. Adriana had trouble preparing enough food for him, for he had developed a voracious appetite. He'd never had to do much physical work in his life before, and was using these muscles for the first time. Adriana noticed over the next few weeks how he was beginning to fill out his clothes better. He'd definitely gained weight, and he was looking much stronger.
It was on one of these days that Lucius began to start thinking about his life again. Everything he'd based his life on had been a lie. Janos had taught him to hate Muggles and the Muggle-born, and Lucius had embraced it without thinking. Voldemort had gotten Janos to kill his mother to draw Lucius to his side. And he'd fallen for it. He'd run to him like an upset child needing comfort, and he'd provided it for him. He'd come to admire, emulate, serve, and worship the man who'd done this to his family. He'd become just like the father he'd hated his entire life. He saw how much he had treated Narcissa the very same way Janos had treated Rowena. But the worst thing Lucius thought, was that he'd passed all of this onto his own son. He'd taught him to hate and sneer at the world around him. He was sure Draco had missed out on some wonderful experiences because of what he had instilled in him. Lucius was filled with shame, humiliation, hate, remorse, pain, and anger.
Taking his axe and walking up to the nearest tree, Lucius attacked it with a strength he'd never known before. With each stroke, he saw Voldemort, and Janos. After the tree had fallen over, Lucius continued to hack away at it. An hour passed and Lucius exhausted himself with this. With one last burst of energy, he turned his face to the sky, and screamed out his anger, before collapsing to the ground, and resting for a while.
Adriana came with food, saw the mess he'd created, and how tired he was, but said nothing. He wolfed down everything she'd brought in a few minutes without saying a word. After he'd regained his strength, Lucius set back to work with a new resolve.
At the end of the day, snow began to fall as Lucius walked back to the house. Stopping in the middle of the farm, he looked around and saw the utter beauty of the property. It was still and silent. The only sound he heard was that of the flakes hitting the frozen ground. Looking towards the house, he saw the back porch light on, guiding him back home again.
After a long hot shower, Lucius walked into the kitchen and gave Adriana a hug before sitting down to eat. Adriana was shocked. He hadn't shown any signs of affection towards her since before their fight. Adriana was shocked again when Lucius asked her how her day had been. He never spoke during meals. He hadn't really talked much at all since the fight. Adriana thought he'd clearly turned a corner in his depression.
They spent a quiet but pleasant Christmas together. One of the trees Lucius had cut down had become their Christmas tree. Lucius hadn't been able to buy Adriana any presents, and wondered what to get for her. As they were setting out all the decorations, Adriana talked about the Nativity scene she'd had years ago that had been lost at some point in time. Lucius didn't know what a Nativity scene was and Adriana explained to him what it was. That gave him an idea. Now that it was too snowy out to work on the trees, Lucius was supposed to be working in the barn. Instead of working on his assignment, he took pieces of the trees he'd cut down and attempted to carve things out of them for her. He spent hours in the barn working on them. By Christmas Eve Day, he'd completed the Nativity scene for Adriana. He'd built a little barn, placed straw on the bottom, and placed the pieces he'd painted around just the way Adriana had told him about.
After she'd gone to sleep, Lucius crept outside, and carefully brought his gift inside, and set it under the tree. He placed a blanket over it to surprise her in the morning.
Adriana was terribly sad over missing Renata's first Christmas. She imagined Sev was probably showering her with gifts. She'd sent her gifts up to the school a few days before, so he could open them for her on Christmas.
Adriana was surprised to find a gift from Lucius under the tree on Christmas Day. He'd never been away from the property since she'd brought him back. As Lucius lifted the blanket off his gift, Adriana gasped. He must have spent hours making this for her. His carvings weren't exactly perfect, but put all together, they were a wonderful Impressionist version of a Nativity Scene. Adriana looked at Lucius with tears of happiness in her eyes. She grabbed his hands, which were now rough and covered with calluses, and kissed him.
Lucius opened his gifts from Adriana. She'd gotten him a pair of gloves with the fingers cut off to help him working outside in the cold weather. She also gave him a pair of heavy work boots to keep his feet warm.
The greatest gift though, didn't come from a store. Adriana was looking nervous for some reason, and Lucius asked her if everything was ok. Adriana nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "I've been trying to think of the best time to tell you something about me. You've always wondered how I became so powerful, and I never told you. I couldn't before, before, well, you know. But now you're back, to stay, and it's safe for you to know." Adriana told him her life story, just as she had told Sev. She also stressed to Lucius the idea that she had spent much of her life depressed over her immortality. She'd never wanted it. She'd hated it and wanted more than anything to be a normal mortal. She told Lucius if a cure were ever found, she'd take it in a heartbeat.
When she'd finally finished, Lucius was dumbfounded. She'd lived through such sadness, such tragedy. She'd dealt with depression and disappointment too. It took him a while to be able to speak again, but he took her in his arms and held her while she cried. They spent the rest of the day holding onto one another.
The next week passed quickly, with Lucius back working on the trees, and Adriana feeding him. On New Year's Eve, they spent another pleasant evening together. Since neither of them would be attending the Masque, they dressed in their best clothes and danced together in the living room. While they kissed and swayed back and forth gently, both felt they were ready to take this to the next level.
As one, they walked into Adriana's bedroom. They took their time, for they were both very nervous. Adriana remembered the first time they'd ever made love, exactly four years ago. It was much like that first time, except that they were more shy and awkward than they had been that night. Lucius was very gentle with Adriana, as though afraid he might break her. They spent the rest of the night, sleeping in one another's arms.
Lucius went back to work and finally finished cutting down the trees a few days after New Year's. Now the task of removing the tree stumps remained for Lucius to do. Adriana told him this would require the horse to do it properly. It was the most difficult work he'd done so far. The first stump took three days to remove completely. He'd never been more exhausted at the end of the day when he was finished.
A couple of weeks later, Adriana had to return to Hogwarts for some reason, and Lucius was given the day off and left alone for the first time in months. Adriana went up to the school to celebrate Renata's first birthday. She, Sev, Alastor, Poppy, Nili, and Albus all met in Albus' office. Renata sat in a highchair. She wore a green party dress with matching green shoes. She had green and silver barrettes holding little tufts of silver-blonde hair, and a green and silver cone-shaped party hat on her head. The group of adults stood around Renata and sang "Happy Birthday" to her, while Renata looked up at them in confusion. Nili had baked a chocolate cake with green and silver frosting, that had been set in front of Renata. Renata dug her tiny hands into it, pulling out handfuls of cake and eating it with a smile on her face. She had green icing smeared all over her face and arms, and cake crumbs in her hair, and Sev didn't look forward to cleaning her up afterwards. The adults stood around Renata and laughed at how messy she was.
Severus and Adriana opened up the baby's presents and showed them off to the crowd. Renata received books, toys, clothes, and money from everybody. As the party wound down, Adriana helped take everything back to Sev's room. The students were at dinner, so nobody noticed them. Severus was very quiet as he put all of Renata's gifts around his room. As Adriana held her daughter, he turned around, looked at them, and asked quietly, "I suppose you'll be taking her back home again soon."
Adriana looked up to see the sad expression on Sev's face. "I haven't told Lucius yet, but he's getting better. I'll tell him soon."
Severus nodded his head and quickly turned back around. "I'll...I'll miss her. I still expect her to come visit me."
"Of course! All the time! It'll be like she was still here!" Adriana said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"When should I start packing her things?" Severus asked, picking up Sly the Rinbear and tracing his fingers over its face.
"I'll probably come and get her in a couple of weeks," Adriana said.
Adriana hugged and kissed both Severus and daughter before leaving to see how Lucius' first day alone had been.
Lucius had spent the day reading and watching the telly. What he didn't tell Adriana was that he'd also spent the time worrying about her and what she was doing with Snape. Perhaps a farewell love-making session? Images of them sleeping together nearly drove Lucius mad. But when she'd returned and kissed him, all those thoughts dissipated.
Lucius got up the next morning, ready for another day clearing stumps. The next couple of weeks passed quickly. Lucius cleared 3 more stumps.
One evening after Lucius had taken a shower, and eaten dinner, he watched Adriana as she washed the dishes. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Walking up to Adriana, he kissed her, then grabbed a towel, and helped dry the dishes.
Lucius approached Adriana in the bedroom that night. As she was pulling her nightgown on, he grabbed at it and gently lifted it off her body. Adriana smiled and started to unbutton Lucius' shirt and take his clothes off. They embraced, Lucius leaning down to kiss Adriana. After several minutes, he picked Adriana up and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently. He ran his fingers and lips up and down her body. Adriana grabbed his shoulders and pulled him over, so she was on top of him. She kissed his body, pressing her tongue against his skin, and letting her fingers wander below his waist. Lucius gasped as she traced her fingertips along his Prince Albert. Moving her hand, she straddled his hips and gently moved until he was comfortably inside of her. Lucius was still sitting up, and buried his head in her breasts as she moved over him. After a while, Adriana threw her head back and began to moan. Lucius moved one hand down her body, and began stroking his fingers against her. Adriana gasped and moved her hips faster. After another minute, Adriana cried out as she came. Out of breath, Adriana collapsed on top of him. Lucius gently turned over, so he was on top of her again. Driving himself inside of her, he thrust for a couple of minutes before climaxing. Both he and Adriana were exhausted and out of breath.
Adriana held Lucius in her arms. One of his hands caressed her breasts, while the other caressed her stomach. After a couple minutes of silence, Lucius said quietly, "You know, I had these dreams while I was away...," His voice trailed off.
"Oh?" Adriana asked, smiling. "Were they steamy? Were they about me?"
"Well I had a couple of those, yes, but no, these were unlike any dream I've ever had. There was this little girl, and she looked just like Draco. I think she might have been my daughter. It made me wish she was real...," Lucius explained. He had spoken this in barely more than a whisper, yet Adriana could hear the wistfulness in his voice.
Adriana was speechless. How had he dreamed about Renata? After about a minute, she realized she'd stopped breathing, and gasped, which startled Lucius.
"What's the matter, love?" He asked, gazing up at Adriana.
"Nothing," Adriana replied, smiling down at Lucius. Lucius kissed Adriana's stomach, and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, she could hear his steady breathing as he had fallen asleep. After a while, Adriana slipped away from Lucius, and walked into the living room. Finding a piece of paper at the writing desk, she wrote a letter to Sev telling him she'd be coming the next day to get Renata. Summoning Hitchcock to her side, she sent him off with the note, and went back to the bedroom. It took a long time before Adriana finally fell asleep.
The next day, after a late breakfast, she told Lucius she needed to go up to the school, and he could take the day off of work if he wanted to.
When Adriana arrived at the school and walked to Albus' office, she found Sev, Renata, and the trunk. Albus had decided to leave them alone, to say their farewells in privacy. Severus clung tightly to Renata, who smiled at him, and said, "Pothun!" Taking her aside, he sat Renata on his lap, and whispered, "Renata, it's time for you to go home now. It's safe now, and your parents are waiting for you. I love you very much, you know that, don't you?" Renata looked into his eyes, smiled, and clapped her hands. Severus clenched his jaw, he would not lose his composure. He leaned down and gave Renata a big hug and kiss, before picking her up and placing her in Adriana's arms. Severus walked to the other side of the room, facing the wall. Folding his arms, he spoke with a thick voice, "She loves it when you read potion instructions to her. That always puts her to sleep. She loves macaroni and cheese, that's her favourite food. And she hates cooked carrots. If you give her any, she'll throw them across the room. I put all the clothes I bought her in her trunk, she seems to like them..."
Adriana had tears in her eyes, watching Sev try to stay calm. "I cannot thank you enough for what you've done Sev. You helped me through so much--you'll never know how much. I owe you more than I could ever repay. Now, I want you to come over and visit all the time, once a week, at least. I'll make sure Lucius behaves himself, or I'll make him sit out on the porch when you're there. And Renata will come visit you too. We need you in our lives, Sev. You're a very important part of who I am, and who my daughter is. And I don't want to hear about you staying in your room all the time anymore. I want you to get out there, in the world. I promised you a long time ago to find a girl for you, and I'll try to keep that promise. Maybe I'll write to Narcissa," Adriana said, smiling through her tears. Sev laughed quietly at that. Adriana walked up to Severus, put her hand on his back, and waited as he turned around. She put her free arm around his shoulder, and pulled him down to kiss him. "We have to go now. I love you, you do know that, don't you?"
Severus nodded his head, unable to speak. Adriana turned around and walked out the door, the trunk magically lifting from the ground and following behind her. The tears finally fell from his eyes as Sev whispered after them, "I love you too."
It took a while for Adriana to return home. She had to calm herself down first, and figure out where to put the trunk and the baby until she found Lucius. She left the trunk out on the porch and called out to Lucius from the door to see where he was. There was no answer, so Adriana assumed he was outside. She brought her daughter inside the house for the first time in nine months.
Just as Adriana was wondering how to present Renata to Lucius, Lucius walked inside the house, and up to them. Lucius froze where he was, and stared, open-mouthed at Renata. His breathing became rapid, and Adriana was afraid he might pass out. "Lucius, why don't you sit down," Adriana said quickly as she gently led him to a chair at the kitchen table. "Lucius, I have something very important to tell you. And you must understand I didn't hide it from you because I didn't want you to know, I wanted you to be stronger before you found out. Before you left...I...was pregnant. And...and...Lucius, you have a daughter," Adriana said carefully, looking at Lucius the entire time to see his reaction.
Lucius looked at his daughter. It was the same girl he had dreamed of so long ago. Slowly reaching out to Renata, he gently touched her with his hand to see if she was real. Adriana put her in his arms, and Lucius hugged Renata fiercely. "Her name is Renata. It's Latin. It means 'reborn,'" Adriana said quietly.
Renata remained calm and allowed the father that she'd never met before to hold her. Looking into his face, gray eyes met gray eyes, and Renata spoke to her father for the first time, "Pothun!" was the greeting that Lucius would remember for the rest of his life.
Lucius smiled and hugged his daughter more tightly. His throat constricted and his eyes started burning as the tears slowly started to fall from them.
Lucius wept. He had not cried since the day he'd found his mother lying on the bedroom floor. Lucius cried for his beloved mother, he cried for the life he could have had if he'd chosen a different path. He cried for the life he'd had. He cried for the many lives he'd ruined, including those of his wife and son. He cried for the woman who stood before him and the lengths she'd gone to to save him. He cried for how much he loved her. He cried for the child in his arms whose life he'd missed up to this point. Slowly, the tears became less bitter as he thought of the life he would have now, with Adriana and Renata. His daughter's name meant "reborn", and Lucius felt himself being reborn as a new man with a new life as he held her, rocking her gently.
Author's Note: At this point in time I would just like to say that in telling events of this story from Lucius Malfoy's point of view, I am merely showing his frame of mind. I do not in any way condone or promote the things he does.
Spoiler Warning: This story contains spoilers, both minor and major from all five Harry Potter books.
Tavington Rose: Well, I'm afraid this is the last official chapter. There is a short epilogue, but this is where I've ended it. I hope you enjoy it!
Arsinoe3: This chapter should help tie up all those loose ends with Lucius and Adriana. I hope you like it!
Wicked Lee: I had such a time decided what Renata's first word should be. But being raised by Snape helped me make the choice I did. I think this chapter will show that the dark days are finally at an end for Adriana and Lucius. I hope you enjoy it!
Goodbye and Hello
Note: This is the final chapter of De Die In Diem: From Day to Day. The next chapter is a short epilogue that I hope will end the story on a good note. I'll save all my final thanks and shout outs till then.
When Lucius woke the next morning, he saw Adriana, asleep in a chair next to his bed. Standing up quietly so he wouldn't wake her, Lucius, left the room. After going to the bathroom, he left the house, walked up to the olive tree, and sat down, watching his breath in the cold morning air. He stayed there for hours, feeling the cold air and the freezing ground spread throughout every limb of his body. He liked that numb feeling and waited for it to reach his brain.
Adriana woke up, saw Lucius was gone, and panicked. Running around the house, and out to the porch, she was relieved to see him sitting under the tree. She let him sit there, under the tree, while she made breakfast. After it was done, she put some eggs and bacon on a plate, poured a glass of juice, grabbed a fork and napkin and walked out to the tree. "Lucius, I made you some food. You need to eat," Adriana said, holding the plate out to him.
Lucius looked blankly at the plate of food as he took it from her. Sitting down next to him, she said, "I'll just stay here till you're done eating, that way I can take the plate inside, or if you want, we can go back to the house together when you've finished." Lucius said nothing, but pushed the eggs around on the plate. Taking a small bite, he chewed for a minute before swallowing. It took Lucius an hour to finish eating, and he never said a word the entire time.
"Let's go inside, you look like you're pretty cold," Adriana suggested, taking hold of his hand, and gently trying to pull him up.
Lucius ripped his hand out of hers, and snarled, "I don't want to! Leave me alone!"
"Fine, you don't have to come inside, but I'm getting you a coat, and you will wear it. I'm not going to have you freeze to death out here and have to chisel you off the grass!" Adriana walked away from Lucius, and went to get him a coat.
Lucius allowed Adriana to put the coat over his shoulders. She left him alone, but checked on him every hour. At lunch Adriana insisted he come inside to eat. "Your hands are freezing, you won't be able to hold a fork!" Lucius stood up slowly. He walked stiffly down the hill, for the cold air had made his bad foot sore.
Lucius sat at the table with a sandwich and bowl of soup in front of him. "You can't go back outside until you've cleaned your plate," Adriana said, pointing to his food. When he'd finished eating, Lucius stood up and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch, turned on the telly, and spent the rest of the day watching whatever happened to be on.
This continued for the rest of the week, until Adriana was fed up. Walking into the living room and turning off the telly one morning, she spoke firmly to Lucius. "That's it! Get up! Now!" When Lucius continued to lay on the couch, she walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him off the couch, and he slid onto the floor. "Stand up! Get your coat, and follow me!"
Lucius followed Adriana outside and into the barn. She found a hoe, a rake, and a shovel, handed them to Lucius, and walked outside again. He followed her down the long and winding path to the wheat field. The far end of the field had lain fallow for several seasons, and it was time to prepare it for the growing season next year. There were stones filling the soil that had to be removed. Adriana also wanted a section of the trees cut down and the stumps removed. Adriana explained, "You'll get up with the sun, and work until dusk. You'll eat breakfast and dinner at the house, and I'll bring you lunch and snacks during the day. You'll work on this until you've finished," Adriana said firmly and walked away from him, leaving a bewildered Lucius standing in the middle of the field.
Lucius looked around the field. It seemed to him to go on forever. How could he do this? Sighing, he walked to one end of the field and began looking for stones. Each time he'd find one, he bent down, picked it up, walked to the edge of the field, and dropped it off. After a couple hours like that, his back was in excruciating pain, and he found a new system of searching on his hands and knees was a little less painful. Even though it was almost December, Lucius wasn't very cold, even though it was so freezing out it hurt to draw a deep breath.
Adriana returned after another hour with a plate of sandwiches, a thermos of coffee, and a pail of water with a ladle in it. She set that on the edge of the field, so he could keep well hydrated. After he'd eaten the entire plate of food and finished the coffee, Adriana left him to his work again. The first time Lucius tasted the water, he was surprised at the spicy bite to it that warmed him up from the inside. Looking into the bucket, he saw pieces of what he later found out was ginger, floating in it.
Lucius went about this work without thinking. He found the repetitive movement comforting and saw it was a good way to soothe his frazzled nerves. He found he went the entire day without worrying about the Dark Lord, or thinking about how his whole life had been a lie.
He went the rest of the week on automatic pilot like that. He'd return in the evening after a day of hard labour, and take a shower to clean and warm himself up. Adriana prepared filling dishes for him. Stews, chili, steak, really hearty food that Lucius found himself craving after such hard work. After eating, he'd be so tired the only thing left to do was to fall into bed and sleep.
During his one day off on Sunday, Lucius was allowed to lie on the couch and watch the telly, with no objections from Adriana. Adriana tried to give Lucius his space, and stayed in the kitchen most of the day.
It took Lucius the next three weeks to clear the field of all the stones that seemed to have grown in it while it hadn't been used. When Adriana was satisfied with his work, she gave him an axe and showed him the area of trees to be cleared. There were about 15 trees she wanted cut down.
Cutting trees down was even more exhausting work than clearing stones had been, for it took much more energy and used many more muscles. Adriana had trouble preparing enough food for him, for he had developed a voracious appetite. He'd never had to do much physical work in his life before, and was using these muscles for the first time. Adriana noticed over the next few weeks how he was beginning to fill out his clothes better. He'd definitely gained weight, and he was looking much stronger.
It was on one of these days that Lucius began to start thinking about his life again. Everything he'd based his life on had been a lie. Janos had taught him to hate Muggles and the Muggle-born, and Lucius had embraced it without thinking. Voldemort had gotten Janos to kill his mother to draw Lucius to his side. And he'd fallen for it. He'd run to him like an upset child needing comfort, and he'd provided it for him. He'd come to admire, emulate, serve, and worship the man who'd done this to his family. He'd become just like the father he'd hated his entire life. He saw how much he had treated Narcissa the very same way Janos had treated Rowena. But the worst thing Lucius thought, was that he'd passed all of this onto his own son. He'd taught him to hate and sneer at the world around him. He was sure Draco had missed out on some wonderful experiences because of what he had instilled in him. Lucius was filled with shame, humiliation, hate, remorse, pain, and anger.
Taking his axe and walking up to the nearest tree, Lucius attacked it with a strength he'd never known before. With each stroke, he saw Voldemort, and Janos. After the tree had fallen over, Lucius continued to hack away at it. An hour passed and Lucius exhausted himself with this. With one last burst of energy, he turned his face to the sky, and screamed out his anger, before collapsing to the ground, and resting for a while.
Adriana came with food, saw the mess he'd created, and how tired he was, but said nothing. He wolfed down everything she'd brought in a few minutes without saying a word. After he'd regained his strength, Lucius set back to work with a new resolve.
At the end of the day, snow began to fall as Lucius walked back to the house. Stopping in the middle of the farm, he looked around and saw the utter beauty of the property. It was still and silent. The only sound he heard was that of the flakes hitting the frozen ground. Looking towards the house, he saw the back porch light on, guiding him back home again.
After a long hot shower, Lucius walked into the kitchen and gave Adriana a hug before sitting down to eat. Adriana was shocked. He hadn't shown any signs of affection towards her since before their fight. Adriana was shocked again when Lucius asked her how her day had been. He never spoke during meals. He hadn't really talked much at all since the fight. Adriana thought he'd clearly turned a corner in his depression.
They spent a quiet but pleasant Christmas together. One of the trees Lucius had cut down had become their Christmas tree. Lucius hadn't been able to buy Adriana any presents, and wondered what to get for her. As they were setting out all the decorations, Adriana talked about the Nativity scene she'd had years ago that had been lost at some point in time. Lucius didn't know what a Nativity scene was and Adriana explained to him what it was. That gave him an idea. Now that it was too snowy out to work on the trees, Lucius was supposed to be working in the barn. Instead of working on his assignment, he took pieces of the trees he'd cut down and attempted to carve things out of them for her. He spent hours in the barn working on them. By Christmas Eve Day, he'd completed the Nativity scene for Adriana. He'd built a little barn, placed straw on the bottom, and placed the pieces he'd painted around just the way Adriana had told him about.
After she'd gone to sleep, Lucius crept outside, and carefully brought his gift inside, and set it under the tree. He placed a blanket over it to surprise her in the morning.
Adriana was terribly sad over missing Renata's first Christmas. She imagined Sev was probably showering her with gifts. She'd sent her gifts up to the school a few days before, so he could open them for her on Christmas.
Adriana was surprised to find a gift from Lucius under the tree on Christmas Day. He'd never been away from the property since she'd brought him back. As Lucius lifted the blanket off his gift, Adriana gasped. He must have spent hours making this for her. His carvings weren't exactly perfect, but put all together, they were a wonderful Impressionist version of a Nativity Scene. Adriana looked at Lucius with tears of happiness in her eyes. She grabbed his hands, which were now rough and covered with calluses, and kissed him.
Lucius opened his gifts from Adriana. She'd gotten him a pair of gloves with the fingers cut off to help him working outside in the cold weather. She also gave him a pair of heavy work boots to keep his feet warm.
The greatest gift though, didn't come from a store. Adriana was looking nervous for some reason, and Lucius asked her if everything was ok. Adriana nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "I've been trying to think of the best time to tell you something about me. You've always wondered how I became so powerful, and I never told you. I couldn't before, before, well, you know. But now you're back, to stay, and it's safe for you to know." Adriana told him her life story, just as she had told Sev. She also stressed to Lucius the idea that she had spent much of her life depressed over her immortality. She'd never wanted it. She'd hated it and wanted more than anything to be a normal mortal. She told Lucius if a cure were ever found, she'd take it in a heartbeat.
When she'd finally finished, Lucius was dumbfounded. She'd lived through such sadness, such tragedy. She'd dealt with depression and disappointment too. It took him a while to be able to speak again, but he took her in his arms and held her while she cried. They spent the rest of the day holding onto one another.
The next week passed quickly, with Lucius back working on the trees, and Adriana feeding him. On New Year's Eve, they spent another pleasant evening together. Since neither of them would be attending the Masque, they dressed in their best clothes and danced together in the living room. While they kissed and swayed back and forth gently, both felt they were ready to take this to the next level.
As one, they walked into Adriana's bedroom. They took their time, for they were both very nervous. Adriana remembered the first time they'd ever made love, exactly four years ago. It was much like that first time, except that they were more shy and awkward than they had been that night. Lucius was very gentle with Adriana, as though afraid he might break her. They spent the rest of the night, sleeping in one another's arms.
Lucius went back to work and finally finished cutting down the trees a few days after New Year's. Now the task of removing the tree stumps remained for Lucius to do. Adriana told him this would require the horse to do it properly. It was the most difficult work he'd done so far. The first stump took three days to remove completely. He'd never been more exhausted at the end of the day when he was finished.
A couple of weeks later, Adriana had to return to Hogwarts for some reason, and Lucius was given the day off and left alone for the first time in months. Adriana went up to the school to celebrate Renata's first birthday. She, Sev, Alastor, Poppy, Nili, and Albus all met in Albus' office. Renata sat in a highchair. She wore a green party dress with matching green shoes. She had green and silver barrettes holding little tufts of silver-blonde hair, and a green and silver cone-shaped party hat on her head. The group of adults stood around Renata and sang "Happy Birthday" to her, while Renata looked up at them in confusion. Nili had baked a chocolate cake with green and silver frosting, that had been set in front of Renata. Renata dug her tiny hands into it, pulling out handfuls of cake and eating it with a smile on her face. She had green icing smeared all over her face and arms, and cake crumbs in her hair, and Sev didn't look forward to cleaning her up afterwards. The adults stood around Renata and laughed at how messy she was.
Severus and Adriana opened up the baby's presents and showed them off to the crowd. Renata received books, toys, clothes, and money from everybody. As the party wound down, Adriana helped take everything back to Sev's room. The students were at dinner, so nobody noticed them. Severus was very quiet as he put all of Renata's gifts around his room. As Adriana held her daughter, he turned around, looked at them, and asked quietly, "I suppose you'll be taking her back home again soon."
Adriana looked up to see the sad expression on Sev's face. "I haven't told Lucius yet, but he's getting better. I'll tell him soon."
Severus nodded his head and quickly turned back around. "I'll...I'll miss her. I still expect her to come visit me."
"Of course! All the time! It'll be like she was still here!" Adriana said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"When should I start packing her things?" Severus asked, picking up Sly the Rinbear and tracing his fingers over its face.
"I'll probably come and get her in a couple of weeks," Adriana said.
Adriana hugged and kissed both Severus and daughter before leaving to see how Lucius' first day alone had been.
Lucius had spent the day reading and watching the telly. What he didn't tell Adriana was that he'd also spent the time worrying about her and what she was doing with Snape. Perhaps a farewell love-making session? Images of them sleeping together nearly drove Lucius mad. But when she'd returned and kissed him, all those thoughts dissipated.
Lucius got up the next morning, ready for another day clearing stumps. The next couple of weeks passed quickly. Lucius cleared 3 more stumps.
One evening after Lucius had taken a shower, and eaten dinner, he watched Adriana as she washed the dishes. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Walking up to Adriana, he kissed her, then grabbed a towel, and helped dry the dishes.
Lucius approached Adriana in the bedroom that night. As she was pulling her nightgown on, he grabbed at it and gently lifted it off her body. Adriana smiled and started to unbutton Lucius' shirt and take his clothes off. They embraced, Lucius leaning down to kiss Adriana. After several minutes, he picked Adriana up and carried her to the bed, laying her down gently. He ran his fingers and lips up and down her body. Adriana grabbed his shoulders and pulled him over, so she was on top of him. She kissed his body, pressing her tongue against his skin, and letting her fingers wander below his waist. Lucius gasped as she traced her fingertips along his Prince Albert. Moving her hand, she straddled his hips and gently moved until he was comfortably inside of her. Lucius was still sitting up, and buried his head in her breasts as she moved over him. After a while, Adriana threw her head back and began to moan. Lucius moved one hand down her body, and began stroking his fingers against her. Adriana gasped and moved her hips faster. After another minute, Adriana cried out as she came. Out of breath, Adriana collapsed on top of him. Lucius gently turned over, so he was on top of her again. Driving himself inside of her, he thrust for a couple of minutes before climaxing. Both he and Adriana were exhausted and out of breath.
Adriana held Lucius in her arms. One of his hands caressed her breasts, while the other caressed her stomach. After a couple minutes of silence, Lucius said quietly, "You know, I had these dreams while I was away...," His voice trailed off.
"Oh?" Adriana asked, smiling. "Were they steamy? Were they about me?"
"Well I had a couple of those, yes, but no, these were unlike any dream I've ever had. There was this little girl, and she looked just like Draco. I think she might have been my daughter. It made me wish she was real...," Lucius explained. He had spoken this in barely more than a whisper, yet Adriana could hear the wistfulness in his voice.
Adriana was speechless. How had he dreamed about Renata? After about a minute, she realized she'd stopped breathing, and gasped, which startled Lucius.
"What's the matter, love?" He asked, gazing up at Adriana.
"Nothing," Adriana replied, smiling down at Lucius. Lucius kissed Adriana's stomach, and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, she could hear his steady breathing as he had fallen asleep. After a while, Adriana slipped away from Lucius, and walked into the living room. Finding a piece of paper at the writing desk, she wrote a letter to Sev telling him she'd be coming the next day to get Renata. Summoning Hitchcock to her side, she sent him off with the note, and went back to the bedroom. It took a long time before Adriana finally fell asleep.
The next day, after a late breakfast, she told Lucius she needed to go up to the school, and he could take the day off of work if he wanted to.
When Adriana arrived at the school and walked to Albus' office, she found Sev, Renata, and the trunk. Albus had decided to leave them alone, to say their farewells in privacy. Severus clung tightly to Renata, who smiled at him, and said, "Pothun!" Taking her aside, he sat Renata on his lap, and whispered, "Renata, it's time for you to go home now. It's safe now, and your parents are waiting for you. I love you very much, you know that, don't you?" Renata looked into his eyes, smiled, and clapped her hands. Severus clenched his jaw, he would not lose his composure. He leaned down and gave Renata a big hug and kiss, before picking her up and placing her in Adriana's arms. Severus walked to the other side of the room, facing the wall. Folding his arms, he spoke with a thick voice, "She loves it when you read potion instructions to her. That always puts her to sleep. She loves macaroni and cheese, that's her favourite food. And she hates cooked carrots. If you give her any, she'll throw them across the room. I put all the clothes I bought her in her trunk, she seems to like them..."
Adriana had tears in her eyes, watching Sev try to stay calm. "I cannot thank you enough for what you've done Sev. You helped me through so much--you'll never know how much. I owe you more than I could ever repay. Now, I want you to come over and visit all the time, once a week, at least. I'll make sure Lucius behaves himself, or I'll make him sit out on the porch when you're there. And Renata will come visit you too. We need you in our lives, Sev. You're a very important part of who I am, and who my daughter is. And I don't want to hear about you staying in your room all the time anymore. I want you to get out there, in the world. I promised you a long time ago to find a girl for you, and I'll try to keep that promise. Maybe I'll write to Narcissa," Adriana said, smiling through her tears. Sev laughed quietly at that. Adriana walked up to Severus, put her hand on his back, and waited as he turned around. She put her free arm around his shoulder, and pulled him down to kiss him. "We have to go now. I love you, you do know that, don't you?"
Severus nodded his head, unable to speak. Adriana turned around and walked out the door, the trunk magically lifting from the ground and following behind her. The tears finally fell from his eyes as Sev whispered after them, "I love you too."
It took a while for Adriana to return home. She had to calm herself down first, and figure out where to put the trunk and the baby until she found Lucius. She left the trunk out on the porch and called out to Lucius from the door to see where he was. There was no answer, so Adriana assumed he was outside. She brought her daughter inside the house for the first time in nine months.
Just as Adriana was wondering how to present Renata to Lucius, Lucius walked inside the house, and up to them. Lucius froze where he was, and stared, open-mouthed at Renata. His breathing became rapid, and Adriana was afraid he might pass out. "Lucius, why don't you sit down," Adriana said quickly as she gently led him to a chair at the kitchen table. "Lucius, I have something very important to tell you. And you must understand I didn't hide it from you because I didn't want you to know, I wanted you to be stronger before you found out. Before you left...I...was pregnant. And...and...Lucius, you have a daughter," Adriana said carefully, looking at Lucius the entire time to see his reaction.
Lucius looked at his daughter. It was the same girl he had dreamed of so long ago. Slowly reaching out to Renata, he gently touched her with his hand to see if she was real. Adriana put her in his arms, and Lucius hugged Renata fiercely. "Her name is Renata. It's Latin. It means 'reborn,'" Adriana said quietly.
Renata remained calm and allowed the father that she'd never met before to hold her. Looking into his face, gray eyes met gray eyes, and Renata spoke to her father for the first time, "Pothun!" was the greeting that Lucius would remember for the rest of his life.
Lucius smiled and hugged his daughter more tightly. His throat constricted and his eyes started burning as the tears slowly started to fall from them.
Lucius wept. He had not cried since the day he'd found his mother lying on the bedroom floor. Lucius cried for his beloved mother, he cried for the life he could have had if he'd chosen a different path. He cried for the life he'd had. He cried for the many lives he'd ruined, including those of his wife and son. He cried for the woman who stood before him and the lengths she'd gone to to save him. He cried for how much he loved her. He cried for the child in his arms whose life he'd missed up to this point. Slowly, the tears became less bitter as he thought of the life he would have now, with Adriana and Renata. His daughter's name meant "reborn", and Lucius felt himself being reborn as a new man with a new life as he held her, rocking her gently.