AN: Okay, before I begin posting these, you all need to know something. My dear, dear coworker Harmony (aka ljp) and I began writing these this summer. We did nineteen Blame Each Other challenges, and they were fun as Hell to wrote. ^_^ So I'm posting them as a series of short stories, at least the ones I wrote. These are also available sporadically on my deadjournal.
Disclaimer: See Artemis. See Artemis owning nothing. See all involved parties happy.
Blame: Lucius/Narcissa together: Lucius' first meeting of Bellatrix (presuming she's either older or younger so she wouldn't know him).
"Please Lucius, come along. It's only Bella's coming-home party. You've never met her, I don't think, and if we're now betrothed…" Narcissa sighed quite audibly. "I want Bella to like you. Her opinion matters more than Andromeda's anyway." The young blond woman's face turned to a scowl that twisted her pretty features.
"Narcissa, darling, I told you-" Whatever Lucius' reply was going to be, he never got to finish it.
"And I told you that this means a lot to me!" She was, Lucius noted, showing a surprising amount of emotion. "You don't have to be there for long, if you don't want to."
'Finally,' he thought, 'an escape route.' His face remained impassive despite his joyous thoughts.
"Yes, darling, I'll be there." Lucius Malfoy then bid good-bye to his betrothed, unsure, for the first time in a long time, of what to expect at the coming meeting of Bellatrix Black.
**********
"Lucius, welcome!" Narcissa's mother embraced the young wizard, who grudgingly hugged her back. "How are your studies going?"
"Very well, ma'am. I feel well prepared for my N.E.W.T.s," came the polite reply. He listened with half an ear to the older woman's babble as he scanned the crowd. He'd never met Bellatrix, the eldest of the sisters, though the middle daughter Andromeda had been a pain in his ass during his first three years of Hogwarts. The oldest had graduated before he'd arrived, and then had left for mainland Europe for the next seven years.
Now she was back, and Lucius had not the slightest idea what she would look like. Which is why he was surprised when, scant minutes after he arrived, Narcissa appeared dragging a dark haired girl who she introduced as "My sister Bella."
Lucius quite honestly gaped at her. She was as different from his Narcissa as night it\s from day. Narcissa had pale hair and equally pale skin while Bellatrix was dark haired with moderately tanned skin. The elder sister also had a piercing gaze that drove right to the heart.
"Are you quite done staring yet?" The scathingly cold voice broke Lucius out of his thoughts. He scrambled slightly to make a smooth recovery.
"My apologies, madam. I was merely admiring your exquisite features in a rather rude manner. Once again, my apologies." His voice was turned to full charm.
Bella's posture relaxed some, though her eyes and tone were still frosty. "I see."
For the first time in ages, Lucius found himself loosing control of the conversation, and it angered him. How dare this woman, even if she was to be his sister-in-law, humiliate him like this in front of his fiancée? Lucius could feel his anger building and despite his misgivings, he let it brush the surface of his personality.
"I hear you have been abroad. How were your travels?" His tone was sharper now, his face beginning to flush a bit.
Bella's eyes were cold, appraising as they studied him for a few moments before answering. "Well. I made some…promising connections while in Easter Europe."
There was something in the was she said it, or the way she looked at him while she said it, that made something click in Lucius' mind. 'Eastern Europe! That means…'
"My dear lady, would you care to take a walk and, perhaps, expand upon the tales of your travels?" Lucius offered an arm to Bella, which she took. Narcissa sensed that her fiancé would be making some important decisions due to her older sister's information and left to play hostess.
~Owari