The Morning After the Storm

Him

Light filtered through the thin muslin curtains that shrouded the tall windows of the bedroom. Lucius stretched with a yawn and opened his eyes as he noticed a familiar sweetish smell. "Damn you," he whispered and shook the body of his wife who was stretched out beside him. She showed no reaction and he brought his face close to hers only to feel the smell increase to sickening intensity.

His lips twitched in disgust and disappointment. She had secretly taken that sleeping draught again after he had dozed off last night, and the stink of belladonna and other opiates shrouded her like a cloying cloud of forgetfulness. She would be lost to the world for the better part of the day. Narcissa's reliance on the potion struck Lucius, who valued a clear head above everything else, as abusive, but they had fought about it without avail. She kept buying the stuff, hiding it, and taking it.

He felt a brief twinge of guilt as he saw the bruises he had given her the evening before. The shapes of his fingers were outlined in purple against the pale creamy skin of her upper arms. Then he dismissed the feeling with an effort of will. He knew only too well that if he hadn't told her about the victim of the raid last night, if he hadn't stayed out for so long, if he hadn't taken her quite so hard, she probably wouldn't have drunk the stuff. The wizard was still not sure whether the drug habit was his wife's impassive way of paying him back for perceived transgressions or whether she was really that weak. He knew, however, that he hated having to think about her as a liability instead of as a partner.

He knew that ultimately he had himself to blame. Whenever had anyone heard of a Malfoy settling for second best? Yet for once in his life that was what he had done. Now he was paying the price for his own weakness. He tore the sheets off him, called for a house elf to prepare his bath and left the bedroom, slamming the door in frustration.

A little while later in the large cavernous dining hall Lucius found himself sitting alone at the elaborately laid out breakfast table. "Where's my son?" he snarled at a house elf who poured his tea. "M-m-master, t-t-the young master is still abed," stammered the elf. Lucius brought his face close to his servant's so the creature staggered back in fright, almost stepping off the table with his heavy load of the teapot. "Well – then wake him!" he hissed.

He watched the elf scramble from the room and with an exasperated sigh opened the newspaper that his owl had brought. Last night's raid had not made the headlines. Of course all the investigators would have to go on was a half muggle, half wizarding family that had simply vanished without a trace. It might take weeks before anyone cared to follow up on the disappearances. The Dark Lord would be pleased with his and Avery's performance.

A quick footfall made him look up from the paper. Draco stalked into the room slamming the door behind him and scowled as he sat down at the long table. "Morning," he growled. Lucius carefully folded the Daily Prophet, his eyes never leaving his son who now leaned halfway across the table to pull the toast rack over to him. It was a deliberate lapse in good manners and as such an obvious gesture of defiance.

"Excuse me, Draco!?" The older wizard's voice was icy as he accepted the challenge. "What?!" protested the boy in mock outrage. "You will address me properly and give me the time of day, not that muggle-mumble you just tried. If you wish to eat, you will ask me politely to pass food to you, or you will instruct a house elf to do so. I will not have a Malfoy behave like a pig around me, no matter how barbaric the table manners at school may have become under your current, spineless headmaster. Do you understand me?!"

Lucius had his son's full attention now, and the grey eyes of his opposite had narrowed in resentment and fear. "However, before we get even started, you will apologize to me for being late for breakfast. – Now!" Draco bit his lips. "I'm sorry father, I'm late." Then he recovered somewhat. "Mother isn't here, either." Lucius slammed his fist on the white damasked tablecloth making the crockery jump and rattle. Draco flinched.

"We have had a discussion about talking back, have we not? Your behavior is simply inexcusable. Your mother has her own reasons for being late this morning. However, regardless, I have told you that while you are here for the summer you will join me at breakfast at 8:30 every morning, unless I send you an elf to tell you otherwise. You know that you have a full program of work every day. You have sessions with your private tutor to make up for your deplorable lack of progress in runes and transfiguration and to properly learn the Dark Arts in the morning and you have quiddich training in the afternoons. This leaves you no time for lazing away your time in bed!"

The older wizard leaned back, his voice dropping to a quiet, threatening hiss. "Now, you will leave the room, you will come back and close the door quietly behind yourself. You will respectfully wish me a good morning, sit down again and have a house elf wait on you. Then I might forget your ridiculous lapse of judgment just then. If you insist on behaving like an uneducated mudblood around me, be assured, I will treat you like one." Draco glared briefly at his father, then lowered his eyes and slunk from the room like a kicked dog.

Lucius Malfoy spent the better part of the morning and the afternoon in his study taking care of his extensive business ventures. Letters needed to be written on Ministry matters, and at around noon a young male Veela flooed in from Russia to report on the latest fur trade figures. The Malfoys had a large branch office that took care of several legal and as many illegal business ventures in St. Petersburg, and Lucius had not been pleased to see the reports on his latest profit margins. Particularly poaching for jarvey furs in Siberia had not gone well during the last season.

Veela, both male and female, were proud, temperamental and powerful, and when his assistant had finally left with full instructions, the wizard felt exhausted. It was about time for tea. He briefly contemplated ordering the elves to lay out a meal, but knew that Narcissa would still be incapacitated by her potion and that Draco would hopefully be still holed up with his tutors. Eventually he settled on having one of his servants bring him a tray of food to his study.

He continued reading documents as he ate absentmindedly, paying no attention to the exquisite taste of the food that the elves had prepared for him, and finally pushed the tray out of his way. He folded up the documents and leaned back in his chair when suddenly his eyes fell on a slim maroon volume on one of the side tables. It seemed the house elves had removed the book from his undoubtedly blood-stained coat when they had taken it to be cleaned and put it here.

Lucius got up and palmed the small leather-bound book. He yawned, ordered a cognac from the elf that had scuttled in to take away the tray and settled into his reading chair by the window. After this day's labors he had deserved a little distraction. One of the entries in the diary had read 1975. In 1975 there had still been hope. It had been a dizzying, wonderful, exciting year until that fateful day in October when all his dreams had shattered.

Her

Beauxbatons, April 12th 1975

Keeping a diary seems more trouble than I thought. Now it's been over three months since I've looked at it, and so much has happened. Well, let's see if I can get caught up. I guess the biggest surprise for everyone has been Bella's bold move. She's eloped with Rodolphus Lestrange! They returned home after the secret handfasting, and I am sure that father would have hexed the groom to the dark side of the moon if mother hadn't intervened. As she pointed out, while the Lestranges are not very rich they are from a good bloodline.

Bella has been a dear and visited with Rodolphus at school the other week, to introduce me properly to my new brother-in-law, she joked. He seems nicer than I thought at Yule. At least he talks to me like I'm a grown up person.

Bella was in a good mood. She says she's met great and influential people and that her life will now take a turn for the better. She was also joking that I'd probably have to marry me someone with money now, seeing that she had missed out on that. – Rodolphus started mock-wrestling her at that point, and I was a bit embarrassed when they ended up snogging like crazy. It's weird to think of my fave sister as married now. Still she's right, though. Andy is such a drip, she can't be relied on getting anything right. It's Bella and I that are a team, and we'll always be, no matter what.

I guess from what Bella told me our parents were both afraid of the strange mark that she and Rodolphus now have on their arms. They showed it to me and it looks really odd, a skull with a serpent, a bit like a tattoo, but it seems more like burnt than inked in.

I first thought that maybe it was some extreme love-pact thing, but there seems to be more to it. Both became very secretive when I asked about it. Bella just said: "Any wizard with common sense will know better now than to cross us. We have very powerful friends. Little sister, I'm telling you, you will see more of this mark very soon. Perhaps, one of these days I'll tell you everything. Perhaps you'll even bear it yourself."

Honestly, I don't know about that. It looks ugly. It also looks like getting it would hurt quite a bit. But I trust Bella to be looking out for me.

Black Manor, June 2nd 1975

Summer holidays are finally here, I did okay on my NEWTs, we had a bunch of enjoyable parties including my seventeenth birthday party, and I'm back at home. And today I just had the most incredible encounter ever. Dear diary, I have met the man I am going to marry. I just know it! I was in the salon looking over some dress robes fabrics with mother when one of the house-elves showed in this young man. I swear, I thought I was going to faint on the spot. I don't even know if I can describe him and do him justice.

He is slim and tall and has the most amazing white-blond hair that he wears open. In most guys that would probably look ridiculous, but he just pulls it off, looking half dangerous, half drop-dead gorgeous. His face has this really proud and aristocratic expression and his mouth is just begging to be kissed. But most amazing are those pale grey eyes of his. So he walked in behind our elf dressed in black and green velvet, head held high as if he owned the place. I think I must have looked like a total loon, because he started talking to mother and it took me a few minutes before I even got caught on.

It appears he is the only son of Octavian Malfoy, and his father had sent him over to talk about some Malfoy business concern with father. He is supposed to learn about his family's trade and take over eventually. But part of that I got from mother later, because I just listened to the tone of his voice without taking in the words. When he talks it just gives me goose-bumps. Gods, the voice is just amazing, a bit gravelly, yet smooth as silk, and he speaks every word as if he was caressing it with his tongue before he decides on using it.

Anyway, I think I came round enough when mother introduced me to not make a complete fool of myself, and was able to string two sentences together without stuttering or blushing too much, praise be to Isis! Lucius – that's his name – seemed nice enough, and I just wish I had worn something more elegant and had done something to my hair. I could have made a better impression. Instead I had on Andy's ugly cast-off violet robes and my hair up in a boring bun. I could kick myself!

Well, next time he comes round I'll be prepared! I'll owl Bella and ask her for advice. I think mother knows I am having quite a crush, because she was teasing me about it a bit, but she seems pleased about it rather than otherwise. Still, she said something that is really making me worried.

She told me that in the good families the daughters should be married off by age, so with Bella taken it would be Andy's turn next. I would need to wait my proper turn. Well, I hope my stupid sister makes up her mind fast and gets hitched, because I know who I'm going to go after! Lucius… Just writing the name gives me shivers…