"What if she says no?" Lucius asked, shifting nervously as he stared into the mirror. "She always said she wanted a career, and that being just a housewife was too dull." Snape looked exasperated.
"For the last time, Malfoy, she isn't going to say no. She loves you. Stop acting like an idiot. She'll be a housewife and a career woman."
Lucius adjusted his cloak and sighed. "Fine. I'm ready. Let's go do this."
Snape smirked. "Sounds like you're having seconds thoughts."
"No, I'm just scared beyond all reason."
Lucius was abnormally pale with fear, and Snape patted him on the back. "Eily loves you. I don't think I can say it enough times. She wants to marry you, pal."
And indeed, she did. She was more embarrassed than she'd ever been in her life as he got down on one knee at the Christmas party, in front of her family, his family, and a few of their closest friends. She hadn't burst into tears (much to Snape's disappointment), but she hadn't been able to speak, either.
It wasn't until the next day she told Lucius she found a job she wanted to have. At first he'd told her not to take it, but that statement had hurt her far more than he'd expected, so he told her he'd support her decision.
She became an actress in Muggle London. It hadn't surprised him much that she wanted to study the Muggles; she'd always been curious about the Muggles. Coming from a pureblood family hadn't helped, because she wanted to understand why her parents insisted the Muggles were so awful.
She had always insisted on waiting until they were married, but two months before the wedding she surrendered herself to his embrace. "We're practically married," she pointed out.
He had been in absolute horror when, the a month later, he caught her going out to dinner at a very fancy Muggle restaurant with one of the actors. Had she achieved her goal in sleeping with him?
She seemed to be overflowing with joy and was laughing giddily through the dinner, but she denied having any relationship with the Muggle when Lucius asked her about it.
"I don't think we should get married," Lucius said coldly, standing her doorstep. The Muggle had left quickly when he saw Lucius.
"What?" Eily asked in surprise. "Lucius, I'm not lying to you. Brad and I work together, we went to dinner-"
He stormed off in anger, determined not to speak to her for a few weeks, but not ready to really call off the wedding. Unfortunately, by the time he was ready to try to work out the issue with her, she had eloped with the Muggle and he'd moved into her house.
Lucius had turned to his old girlfriend, Narcissa, for comfort, and not long after they, too, had married.