Author's note: Enjoy!
Dedication: For Aya!
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights
Content Warnings: NA
With Perfect Honesty
When I was younger I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it
And my momma swore
That she would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist
-The Only Exception, Paramore
At first there were the butterflies in Narcissa's stomach, but she had been warned about those. Bellatrix had made sure of it, after what had happened with Andromeda—not that she had mentioned their sister by name. She had not said it out loud since she had been burned off the family tree, of course, like the good daughter that she was, but Narcissa could read Andromeda's name between the lines as Bellatrix gave her the talk.
"Boys are fun," Bellatrix said. "Girls can be fun too. I will not lie to you, Narcissa. This is true. But fun only lasts so long; the Black name is what?"
"Toujours pure," Narcissa said softly.
"Exactly. It is eternal. And it can and will carry you far if you wear it well. The family name has taken enough damage as it has now. Your father does not have the resources to repair another scandal and your mother cannot take another heartbreak," Bellatrix said. "If mother and father do not arrange a union for you, remember that, Narcissa. Remember that if you do get the freedom to choose in this world, you need to make better choices than… than others, who do not carry our bloodline, might."
"I understand," Narcissa said. She was fifteen. She had been a child when Andromeda had run away, she had not even gotten her first wand yet. But she understood just how devastating it had been whenever she saw her father send damage payments for Andromeda's broken marriage contract to her former fiancé or walked by the scorch mark on the family tree where her sister's name had once stood.
So when the butterflies did come—and they came quickly, with Lucius Malfoy and his timeless handsomeness and easy grace, his charm and way of remembering her tastes and indulging them—she knew that she had to put a stop to it.
And so she did, when things escalated as they walked on Malfoy Manor's beautiful grounds, having left the ballroom where his parents and anybody who was anybody in the Wizarding World were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. It was perfectly proper, of course; many other pairs were walking the grounds and exploring the gardens that Mrs. Malfoy tended to so beautifully. The path they had chosen was visible from the ballroom, given its beautiful windowed walls, and it was well-lit by glowing toadstools and well-placed lanterns in which petite fairies danced and lounged. She was wearing a dark blue dress that she knew would highlight the shine of her hair and the cool undertones of her skin that she had spent far too long picking for the occasion, knowing that he would be there though she tucked away that thought like one might shift a carpet to hide a stain.
They were enjoying the night air and admiring how clear the constellations were, including Draco which was just above them, when Lucius Malfoy offered his arm to her.
Narcissa hesitated even if her fingers were itching for it. Bellatrix's words came back to her all at once. The sounds and screams and roars and sobs and arguments that she had caught snatches, only snatches of, on the day that Andromeda had run away came back to her.
"Mr Malfoy…" she said quite seriously.
"Oh no," he said with that easy smile of his. "You have become so serious all of a sudden, Miss Black. Should I prepare myself for a lecture or a punishment?"
"Mr Malfoy," she said, beginning again so that his charm would not throw her off. "You should know that I take matters of the heart quite seriously. I have enjoyed the time we have spent together and I would be lying if I did not admit that your letters were, when they arrived, the highlight of my day—sometimes my week, to be perfectly honest."
"Which we should be with each other," Lucius supplied.
"Quite," she said, determined not to lose her composure. This was worse than trying to sit up straight when Regulus was sitting across the dinner table from her, making faces or rolling up his eyes. "And that is precisely why I should inform you that unless you are quite serious about the time we spent together and the eventuality of a proper courtship, I would prefer to abstain from going through the motions of… well, of something that does not exist."
"I see," he said. "Well, I would be lying if I claimed to take matters of the heart as seriously as you, and I think we have established that we should best be honest with one another. But I do take you seriously, Miss Black. I do. I can offer you my arm again if you wish or I can wait until I have spoken with your parents about a proper courtship and offer it to you some other day."
The butterflies came back and this time, Narcissa let them soar.
"Well… if you do, I would quite like to take it," Narcissa said. So Lucius smiled and offered her his arm again, and Narcissa took it. And she never let go.
WC: 913
