Chapter 28
Word had rapidly spread about Nichol and Lucius' engagement, and Nichol felt as though she was in a whirl of activity. The ball was in a few weeks and she had still not heard back from Hogwarts. Annoyed at this she decided she would go and visit the school.
When she arrived some of the teachers were already there and she got quite a few nervous looks as she walked down the corridor towards the headmaster's office. At the entrance to the stairs she spoke the password 'cola cubes!' the staircase opened up and she was able to climb up to Dumbledore's office. She was about to knock on the door when a voice called out 'come in Miss Reynard…'
Once inside she closed the office door and went over to the headmaster's desk and took the seat being offered to her.
'How nice to see you Nichol, I trust you have had a good summer?' he old man asked calmly.
'I have, yes, it has certainly been an enlightening time…' she replied challengingly.
'So it is true, Mr Malfoy has 'enlightened' you of your past?'
'Yes, he has, it is a shame that I had to hear it from him. I trusted you Albus, you and Severus, and you both betrayed that.'
'I am sorry you feel that way, we did not feel that the time was right to break such news to you.'
'So you would have waiting until when exactly? I am already so far behind in using my powers, how much longer would you have made me wait? There are first year pupils here at Hogwarts with more experience of their powers than me!'
'I do understand your frustration.'
'I have not yet heard from you about the upcoming school year … do I take it that by referring to me as Miss Reynard, you no longer wish me to teach here?'
'I had thought that you would not wish to return due to your current circumstances.'
'Like what?' she asked defiantly
'Well you no longer need to work; you have enough money and property to not need this job.'
'I like this job; I do not just work here simply because I need to.'
'There are also your personal circumstances to take into consideration…'
'By personal circumstances I presume you mean my upcoming marriage?'
'Yes, I am afraid that I do…'
'And what pray is the problem with my marrying and still teaching here?'
'It is not your marriage that is the issue here, it is to whom you are marrying' he answered flatly.
'Lucius?' she replied.
'Yes, Lucius Malfoy – I am not sure that it would be prudent of me to employ the wife of Mr Malfoy at Hogwarts.'
'Professor Dumbledore, have I not always carried out my job without problem or complaint?' she asked.
'Yes that is true.'
'So why should my marriage to Lucius reflect upon my job here? Unless you have real complaints I can see no reason for me not to return to my post, do you?' she challenged.
'There is also the problem of Mr Malfoy allowing his wife to work.'
'I assure you Headmaster, there will be no problems from Lucius with regard to my working, and it appears that you do not know my fiancé nearly as much as you think.'
'I am sorry to Nichol, but I fear that you will some day come to find that it is you that does not know Lucius as well as you believe.'
With that Nichol excused herself and left the office, she considered the matter settled and would be returning to her post at Hogwarts in the next week.
Back at High Tor Lucius was awaiting her return; he had not expected the meeting to go so well and could not bear the idea of having her come back from Hogwarts upset, he just could not stand snivelling females – and he really could not face having to break bad news to Voldemort.
When she did return he was relieved to see that she was happy, she informed him that she would be returning to Hogwarts the following week.
Lucius arranged for the house to be packed up and their things moved back to Malfoy Manor, he also sent an owl to Voldemort to let him know that everything was set and Nichol would be resuming her post at Hogwarts.
Nichol was happy to be back at Hogwarts, she had not realised how much she had missed the old place. During her first classes of that week she had all of the obligatory questions from the children; was she really a witch? Was it weird not being a muggle anymore? But the questions that intrigued her students most of all; was she really going to be married to Lucius Malfoy? Was she really going to be Draco's step mum?
After her first couple weeks the other professors seemed calmer, they had been avoiding her, or if they spoke they could not look her in the eye, but now things were settling down more.
At the end of the second week Nichol and Lucius celebrated their engagement with a lavish party thrown at Malfoy Manor. The Witches and Wizards who were there felt privileged to be there, but many who were not invited had a strange attitude about the whole thing. Nichol assumed that some of them found her background and Lucius' earlier marriage to be an issue … she could not have been more wrong.
One indicator that something was not right should have been that none of her fellow professors at Hogwarts attended, except for Severus, who acted weirdly the entire night, skulking in the background and giving Nichol and Lucius strange looks.
Lucius had been very attentive all night; he had barely left her side, save for when he had left her in the company of Tom for a while. Nichol was surprised and flattered by his attention. That night he complimented her on how she had looked and told her that she had been a huge hit with all of his friends.
For Lucius however the night had been seen through very different eyes, he had barely left her side in order to ensure that no-one said the wrong thing to her, the only time he managed to slip away was when Voldemort had appeared to speak with her.
That night he was exhausted but his adrenaline was pumping from having all of the Dark Lord's followers in his home for this party, he had been on guard in case of a Ministry raid. Once their guests had left and Lucius had Nichol alone in their room he was like a caged animal stalking his prey – Nichol had assumed that he was feeling this heat for her because of the party and her outfit and had enjoyed the way that Lucius had removed her clothing before throwing her on the bed and fucking her roughly.
The following week Nichol returned to the normality of life at Hogwarts, with the whirl of classes and school events, and apart from feeling extremely tired and a little off colour, time was passing uneventfully for Nichol.