The Female of the Species

Chapter 7

Cho went slowly downstairs, after Poppy had hinted very strongly that she should not have her breakfast served on a tray by Lucius' bedside. Sensing that Poppy would be very upset if she ignored this advice, Cho walked down the wide wooden staircase and entered the dining room. When she saw its occupant, she gave a small start, and understood at once why the elf had insisted that Cho should break her fast downstairs and not in her Master's room. Narcissa Malfoy sat at the table, elegantly coiffeured as always, reading a copy of Witch Weekly as she ate a slice of toast. She looked up as Cho walked up to the table, and inclined her blonde head slightly at the younger woman. "How is my husband today?" she asked.

Cho's mind was in a whirl at this query. She did not know what to say, for she wondered how long Narcissa had been back at the castle. Cho knew that if she herself had been away while Lucius lay unconscious, the first thing she would have done on returning was to rush to his side, and see if his condition had improved. Had Mrs Malfoy done the same thing, and seen Cho sleeping in her husband's arms? Knowing that her husband's ex mistress was sleeping under her roof was not the same as actually catching her in bed with him. Cho flushed with embarrassment, and tried to keep her voice even as she informed Narcissa that Lucius had woken the previous day, and had both spoken and eaten. She also told Narcissa about the gap in Lucius' memory regarding what had happened in the dungeon. The lack of surprise on Narcissa's face when she learned that her husband had regained consciousness confirmed Cho's suspicions, and she blushed even more deeply.

"Do have some breakfast, Miss Chang," said Narcissa, gesturing at the generous selection on the sideboard. "You mustn't forget to eat. I'm now going to take a look at Lucius for myself. I trust he is awake?" She gave Cho a look that was impossible to read. Cho nodded wordlessly, and forced herself to walk over to the sideboard so that she need not watch Mrs Malfoy leave the room. When she knew she was alone once more, her legs almost collapsed under her, and she sat down suddenly on the nearest dining chair.

Narcissa entered Lucius' room and looked at the bed, wondering what she would find. Her gaze was met by a steady look from Lucius' eyes, that although sunken, were their usual clear grey. She dismissed Poppy, and sat in the vacant chair at his side, taking one of the long-fingered hands that lay resting on the eiderdown. "Hello, Lucius," she said, with a great effort keeping her voice steady, "How do you feel?"

Her husband appeared to consider for a while before he answered. "Terrible. But it's preferable to the alternative. I understand I've been unconscious for two weeks, and you thought I might die. My head aches and my muscles hurt every time I move. My brain doesn't seem to be working properly, and I feel very weak. Every so often, a stabbing pain hits my whole body." The ghost of a wry smile passed across his lips, and Lucius regarded his wife gravely. "Don't look so worried, my dear," he whispered. "Rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated." He squeezed her hand gently.

Narcissa bent her head, pretending to look for something in the pocket of her robes. She had so far managed to maintain her poise, but this uncharacteristic demonstration of feeling towards her was almost her undoing. Narcissa was so accustomed to the distant relationship she had with Lucius, lubricated by ironic comments on both sides, that she almost burst into tears at the realisation that he recognised how worried she had been. She pulled back her shoulders, and arranged her face into a concerned smile.

"Lucius, Miss Chang tells me you don't remember what attacked you. She did tell you that I found you unconscious in the dungeons?" Narcissa watched Lucius' face carefully. She wanted to see his reaction when she mentioned Cho's name. Was that a flicker in Lucius' eyes? But his voice was steady when he replied that he had been told that was the case.

"Lucius, please think hard," urged Narcissa. "Whatever it is, it's still down there. The house elves are terrified, and won't go down there, no matter what I threaten them with. Lucius, when I found you, you looked as if you were in agony. You know what a person looks like when we've cast the Crucio curse on them? Well, you had the same expression yourself, and now you're demonstrating all the symptoms. Try and remember what happened. Let's try talking through what you did that day. Do you remember why you went into the dungeons in the first place?"

Small lines of concentration appeared between Lucius' brows. He shook his head. "There's something trying to get into my mind, but every time I try to pin it down, it escapes me."

"Lucius, why did you come to the castle? We normally only come here for the regular social functions. I know you come here to hunt sometimes, but I thought the ghillie said the deer numbers were too low this year? Did you come here to meet Miss Chang?" Narcissa stared at Lucius intently.

Malfoy looked at his wife. "I arranged to meet Miss Chang here, yes," he said softly. "My dear, don't pretend to be surprised, you wouldn't have asked if you hadn't already guessed. You have young McGregor, I have Miss Chang." And all the others, Narcissa added silently to herself, Willing to wait in line to have as little of you as you're prepared to give; but she put aside this thought as she replied sharply, "Lucius, why did you end your affair with Miss Chang?"

The languid expression disappeared, and a look of astonishment appeared on Lucius' face. "What did you say?"

"You heard. I fetched Miss Chang to your bedside because you spoke her name constantly when you started to come round. At first, she refused to come because she said you had ended the relationship. She was very clear on the matter, and said that it was your choice not hers, and you told her two weeks ago. I persuaded her to come by telling her how ill you were, and that you had been asking for her. It's obvious that she cares for you. It's also obvious that you care for her too, as her name was the first word you said when you could speak again. Now, it can't be coincidence that there is something very dangerous in our dungeons, and this something attacked you about two weeks ago. Just before that happened, you told Miss Chang you no longer wanted her. You just admitted to me you came here to meet her.

"Lucius, what happened to make you do it? Did the thing in the dungeon attack her too, or try to? But why doesn't she remember it if so? She told me she hadn't been into the dungeons. But her assistant, Mr Forbes - he knows something about our dungeons, but he wouldn't tell me anything. The usual method of getting information didn't work with him, unfortunately."

Lucius replied, "Mr Forbes is very loyal to Cho. I would trust him with her life." He raised an eyebrow at his wife. "Really, Narcissa, I'm surprised at you! You always claim to be able to spot his type across a crowded room. What did you do to him, wear the blue dress? I must say, I always enjoy the view when you're in that gown." Lucius leered slightly.

Narcissa had the grace to blush, but would not be deterred from her main objective. "Lucius, think hard. What is in our dungeons? If it tried to attack Miss Chang, why didn't you tell anyone about it so it could be destroyed? Or, Lucius, are you up to something? Is that thing in the dungeon because you put it there?

"I have another question for you too. Why have you bought so much jade that there may not be enough gold in our vaults to pay for it? Lucius, by Merlin's staff tell me! What on earth have you been up to?"

Lucius Malfoy lay in the most comfortable position he could find, trying to remain as still as possible to avoid the pain caused by the slightest movement. His head felt as though it were filled with cotton wool. Every time he tried to think, he could not concentrate, and found his mind filled with images of Cho Chang in various stages of undress. His wife had been speaking to him, quietly but urgently, trying to get him to remember – what? He had spoken soothing words to her when he saw that she was genuinely concerned about him. He was surprised at the emotion she was displaying: his beautiful Ice Maiden, Queen of the Barbed Remark. Then she mentioned a single word: jade. The mists began to clear, and memories came flooding back.

Jade. He had bought the highest quality Chinese nephrite jade in such quantity that he did not know if his wealth was enough to pay for it. He had bought it for its magic properties. He had bought it for Voldemort.

Voldemort. The Dark Lord. He Who Must Not Be Named. This creature that no longer deserved to be called a man was in the Glen Moy Castle dungeons, his life preserved by a jade sepulchre. This creature had attacked Cho Chang. This creature had attacked his most senior Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, and almost succeeded in killing him.

Lucius looked up at his wife, at her cornflower blue eyes, shining too brightly. What would her reaction be when he told her that the Dark Lord still lived? He saw that she realised he had remembered something. He watched her lean forward, and admired the full breasts hovering above him, outlined perfectly by the tightly laced bodice of her gown. He put out a tentative hand, and cupped one of them, watching Narcissa's face carefully for her reaction. She did not draw back, or sigh in exasperation. He stroked her nipple through the fabric, and felt it harden under his finger. Lucius still watched his wife's face. He knew her so well, he could tell she was undecided: should she permit this intimacy to continue, as her body desired, or should she reprimand him, and insist that he concentrate on answering her urgent questions? He put out his other hand, and stretched it towards his wife. She was too far away for him to reach her face, but his fingers stroked the bare skin of her neck, and slid slowly downwards till they met the neckline of her dress. He traced along its edge until he reached the valley of her cleavage, and slipped his long fingers inside her dress, teasing her warm flesh and deliberately trying to trap them between her breasts. He felt her push her nipple further into his other hand, and she sighed a little.

"Get into bed with me, my dear," purred Lucius. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? Help take my mind off the pain. A little massage does wonders, you know."

Narcissa looked for one moment as if she were about to refuse him, but Lucius pinched her nipple through the dress, and she almost whimpered in response. She hesitated for an instant longer, then suddenly stood up, went over to the door, and closed it firmly. She then approached the bed, and stood over her husband, looking at him from eyes turned midnight blue with lust. Slowly, she unfastened the lacings of her bodice, shrugged elegantly, and allowed her gown to fall to her feet. Her marble white breasts stood proudly free, and Lucius saw her nipples were still tight from his teasing. She was wearing only her apricot silk French cami-knickers and a pair of sheer silken hose held up by apricot satin garters.

Slowly, deliberately, Narcissa removed her underwear, but kept on the hose. She walked around in a circle beside the bed, and Lucius could not take his eyes off her as she proudly displayed herself to him from all angles, so that he could admire her rounded behind, and see the dark gold curls leading to her secret places. She kicked off her shoes, and came to stand over him. Lucius put out a hand and stroked her furry mound, sliding an experimental finger between his wife's thighs. He felt a welcoming dampness, and she quivered in response to his touch. He threw back the bedclothes. "Help me out of these trousers," he said, sliding a hand around to squeeze the now cold skin of Narcissa's buttock. His wife obligingly slid the silk pyjama trousers from underneath her husband, giving him ample opportunity to caress her breasts and inhale the musky perfume she always wore. Once the jacket was also discarded, Narcissa slipped smoothly into bed beside him, sliding her silk-clad legs sensuously across his. She ran a hand slowly up his thigh, and smiled when she felt his warm, erect manhood. She drew her fingers along its length, and teased him gently. Lucius shivered in response, and whispered, "I think you may have to make most of the effort this time, my dear."

Narcissa then straddled Lucius, and guided him slowly into her. He felt the tightness of her welcoming warmth encompass him, and groaned as she moved, creating waves of pleasure in him. He watched her breasts bouncing slightly as she rode him, and relished the feel of her silken legs against his thighs. He concentrated his mind totally on the pleasure of the moment, as every movement she made built up the tension within him. He had forgotten how good she was, but she had not forgotten how to please him. Her movements increased in urgency, and Lucius supported her breasts in his hands, enjoying the sensation of their weight alternately lightening and becoming heavier as she pushed downwards on his shaft. He ran his fingers over both nipples, and gently pinched the tips as they hardened in response. Lucius felt the pressure build within him, and knew he was very near to climaxing, but he could tell from his wife's breathing, and the desperate way she moved when she came down on him, that she was not as near orgasm as he was. For a split second, he contemplated just allowing Narcissa to pleasure him. After all, he was ill, he deserved it. It was her duty as a good wife to look after her husband in all ways, and it was a very long time since she had looked after his needs in this way.

But then he remembered her concern for him, that she had brought his mistress into the castle because she believed it would help him recover, that he had brought a great danger into both their lives without consulting her. He remembered how it had been when they were first lovers, so well matched in all things. Such a little thing would bring his wife as much pleasure as himself. One little finger was all it took.

Lucius placed his middle finger precisely so that on the next downstroke, it teased Narcissa's clitoris. He kept the finger against her body, and caressed her most intimate part, gently at first, then with more urgent movements as her breathing and movements became more frantic. With the consummate skill of long experience, he timed his touch so that when he finally allowed himself to spill into her, she climaxed with a cry, pushing herself hard along his bucking manhood against the knowing finger, and clasping his other hand firmly against her breast. He felt her contract around him, increasing and sustaining his own pleasure. Lucius teased her gently with his fingernail, watching her shudders of ecstasy, feeling as he always did when he made love to a woman: a combination of pride that he was responsible for giving so much physical joy, and envy that women could sustain their peak for so long. Finally, Narcissa opened dark blue eyes, and allowed herself to fall forwards onto Lucius. He felt her breasts make contact with him first, and flatten against his chest as she relaxed. She tucked her head under his chin, and he stroked her blonde hair, freeing the tendrils from around her damp face, now covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Lucius felt himself drifting into unconsciousness, and the last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was his wife languidly playing with his nipple and rubbing her face in the golden hairs on his chest.