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Chapter Five: The Meeting

Blaise gave me another hug good-bye as I walked out the entrance gate of Hogwarts.

"It's gonna be so lonely inside this dreary old castle without you, but have a good time! And be careful." she says, saying the last three words quietly so only I can hear.

"Trying to lay some guilt upon me? And I will." I reply, walking up to Draco and Lucius. Finally, Christmas Break has arrived and I am getting out of this juvenile facility, if only for a little time at least. Blaise waves good-bye to us all and Draco and I merely nod good-bye. I am only a little bit surprised that Draco does not wave back, but I somewhat expected him to be more formal around his father.

"Are you two ready?" Lucius asks us. We both nod once and Lucius takes out the PortKey and activates it. We each touch the medallion, apparently it is a relic of the Malfoy line, and I feel the customary tug at my naval that comes with travelling by PortKey.

Ahh, Malfoy Manor, at last.

"Welcome, Lady Gwynesine, to our humble abode." says Lucius. Humble, indeed. He snaps his fingers and three House-Elves appear, two of which take our bags and the other takes our cloaks.

"May I have the honour of escorting you to your quarters, m'lady?" asks Lucius holding out his arm. I gracefully take it and begin walking upstairs to the rooms where I shall be staying.

"Draco, go and greet your mother. She is waiting to receive you in the parlor." Lucius says to Draco over his shoulder.

"Yes, Father." he says and walks into another room of this vast house. We are walking down the hallway in silence, but I get the feeling that he wishes to ask me something.

"You wish to ask me something, Lucius?" I ask, not looking at the older Malfoy.

"Yes, indeed I do, my lady. But I do not wish to seem too presumptious."

"We will not know if you do not ask."

"Well, then I shall ask. Pardon me, my lady, but who is your betrothed?"

I immediately stop. He doesn't know? He doesn't know? Oh no, this cannot be good. This cannot be good at all. I turn to look at him.

"I apologize profusely my lady. I did not mean to offend you. Please, forgive me impudence." he says.

"No, no, no. It is not that. I merely assumed you knew."

"No, my lady, I did not. You're father never informed me."

Is it just me, or did Lucius look a little miffed when he said that my father never informed him.

"Well then we are equal on that account."

"What do you mean, my lady?"

"My father was murdered before he had the chance to tell me. Now the only one who knows is my betrothed."

Lucius remains silent and appears to be contemplating something.

"Is there something on your mind, Lucius?"

"There is - another - my lady, whom I believe knows who your betrothed is…" he says, trailing off.

"Well? Who is it? I wish to meet him at once." I say as we continue walking toward my rooms.

"I shall be meeting him tonight. I shall - consult - with him then, whether he wishes to meet you or not."

"I care not whether he wishes to meet me or doesn't. I wish to meet him and find out who my betrothed is. And I shall. I shall attend this meeting with you tonight," I say and walk into my rooms, "that will be all." and I close the door on his face. I must prepare for this meeting.

*******************

I look in the mirror and smile.

"You look absolutely stunning, m'lady. They will be bowing at your feet." says the mirror. I do not thank it. Why should I? It is only a mirror. I put the hood of my robe up and walk downstairs to the parlor, where I see Lucius saying to his wife that he'll be back by morning. He stands up and notices me. I see that he swallows and looks determined. Fool.

"You are not going to this meeting tonight."

See? He is being a complete fool.

"And who are you to presume to tell me what I shall and shall not do." I say, going full 'LGM' as Blaise puts it.

"It is too dangerous for a lady." My eyes flash angrily.

"Too dangerous, you say? Too dangerous for a lady? If I may remind you, Lucius Malfoy, it was I who killed the Aurors who took the life of my father. Not you. It was I that received a far more intense training than you at dueling. It was I that practiced dueling against my father. Did you? No, you did not. Wyndi Gaiameel Syn. That is my 'name'. Re-arrange those letters and do you know what you get?" I pause, "I am Lady Gwynesine. Do not presume to tell me what to do. Do it again, and I shall be forced to show you what it means to be a Lady."

For a long time, I don't think Lucius will say a word. Then he says the stupidest thing I have ever seen someone do, other than kill my father.

"I won't let you."

Only Fools go where Angels fear to tread.

"Crucio."

Lucius screams out in agony and Narcissa makes to go to him.

"No." I say, and she slowly sits back down. I release him from the curse.

"Do you understand now, Lucius, what it means for me to be a Lady?"

"Yes." he says, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"Good. Let's go." I turn around to see Draco standing at the door, his face completely blank. I walk towards him and stop.

"I do not mean to offend you, but I do not like your father. You are my friend, so you needn't worry about me reacting to your actions like this." I say quietly, so only he can hear. I continue walking and Lucius gets up, albeit slowly, and follows me to the front lobby.

"Let's go." I say and grab his left arm. He hisses in pain. That's what happens when you grab someone tightly after casting the - wait….his left fore-arm….it feels so warm…

The next thing I know we have apparated and I'm standing between Lucius and a tree. I let go of his arm.

"Lead the way." I say. My hood is up in such a way that my face cannot be seen, and it dark, so the border of a black rose with a single thorn with a droplet of blood coming from it cannot be seen either. If this man I have come to see knows who my betrothed is, then he will recognize this robe. Lucius silently puts on a mask I hadn't noticed was in his hand and puts his hood up. He walks quickly, yet quietly, towards a circle in front of us. I follow him silently, taking care not to draw too much attention to myself. He stops at the inner circle, so I stand half a foot behind him and to his right.

Suddenly, everyone just dropped to their knees and bowed with, to my eyes, no apparent reason.

Of course, I had yet to look at who was standing in the centre of circle.

Red eyes narrow at me.

Dear Merlin above, I just landed myself in the middle of one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eater meetings.

Perfect.

"And who, pray tell, are you who so rudely attends one of my meetings…without being invited." he says. His voice is a very high tenor. Higher then most men's voices, but it still sounds like a tenor to me. I step into the fire light, where I can be seen more easily.

He widens his eyes back to their normal size and smiles when he sees my fully. Voldemort smiling? I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose it depends entirely upon why he is smiling.

"Lady Gwynesine," he says, walking toward me, "I finally get to meet you."

"It is an honour my lord." I reply, giving the smalles of curtsies. When in doubt, be formal. He took my hand and led me to the centre of the circle.

"My loyal Death Eaters," he announces, "I have the honour, of introducing to you Lady Gwynesine, my betrothed!"

**********

N/N: *grins evily* Mwahahahaha! That has to be the best cliffie I've ever written. *wipes imaginary tear from face* I'm just - just so durn proud of meself!!! N-E-wayz, onward to the thank yous!

seri: ta for thinking my fic is cool! Unfortunately, I cannot say what's up with Draco. He's very, um *coughs lightly* secretive. Yeah, that's it. Secretve. *whistles and twiddles thumbs*

Darth Flirt: hee! My regular! Ta for being there through the whole thing so far!

Serendipity: Thank ye! I can't wait to get started on the joint fic!