A/N: As is the case with pretty much all fanfiction, I do not own the characters or the world.
Hellooo ! I am thrilled to be here publishing my very first fic after spending some ten years lurking and reading all that I could get my hands on. I would love a good bit of feedback if you have the time, and any critiques would be welcome.
By the way, this story is meant to be read along with a loop of "Leta's Theme-solo piano" or "Leta's Flashback" in the background, though it isn't ultimately necessary. There are 1-hour Youtube videos for each one, or they're on Spotify. Thank you and enjoy!
"Come here, Narcissa. I want you to take a walk with me."
"But it's half past one in the morning, Lucius. Where could we walk without being caught out of bed?"
"I have my ways, and it's a secret. Will you join me?"
She smirked at him, and he grinned lazily at her, beckoning to follow. Together, they left the already deserted common room and quietly set off out of the dungeons.
The frigid winter storm aided the two Slytherins in navigating the halls under the cover of the howling wind rattling the windows and pounding against the castle walls, their meandering accented by short bursts of jogging to avoid wanderers. Every so often, Lucius daringly took hold of Narcissa's hand and pulled her flat against a tapestry when another prefect or student snuck past. Once, a few second-year Gryffindor boys including young Sirius Black tried to dart past, and Lucius cut them off, taking great pleasure in subtracting some fifty points, to their shock and disgust.
The two of them ploughed on, up numerous staircases and down the many corridors. After the third or fourth time ducking away from a professor on night duty, Narcissa kept her fingers laced around his own.
"You never told me where we were going," she said, with a slight air of impatience as they rounded yet another hallway and kept on.
"And why would I need a destination when I'm only out for a stroll during a snowstorm?" Lucius began to rub soft circles around the other Slytherin's hand. It could have been the wind outside, but it sounded like she almost sighed. His pulse quickened, and he struggled to maintain a good saunter.
"No, I suppose not. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Because you're a restless, silly girl," he teased, leaning into her a bit, "I will say that we do have someplace to be. I would like to show you something. Something that I have never shared with anybody else before."
They stopped in front of a blank wall, and Lucius let go of Narcissa.
"We're here."
He began to pace, slowly.
I need a private place to be with her. Somewhere comfortable, where we will not be disturbed by anyone except the weather. I need someplace to tell her how I feel.
"But it's just a blank… wall…"
As she spoke, a large wooden door with wrought-iron decoration began to emerge and knit itself together into an intricate pattern. Lucius quit pacing and circled back to stand beside her, coaxing her up until they were at the entrance.
"They call it the Room of Requirement," he said to her as he turned the handle to extend into a wide open venue. She gasped, surveying the scene with wide eyes.
The room was quite impressive, this time. On the furthest wall, there was a huge fireplace with smoldering flames. There were numerous different places to sit down, with two high-backed armchairs on the right and a small rounded table on the left, looking out a brilliantly stained glass window with a massive depiction of a green horned dragon. A multi-tiered chandelier hung low in the middle of the ceiling, and there was a soft looking tapestry rug below that.
The prize item in the expansive space though, was a grand piano to the left of the mantle, propped open and ready for someone to play. This was where Narcissa drifted to first, glancing back at him inquisitively.
"Rumor has it," Lucius began, " that Helga Hufflepuff herself created this room specifically for any student or teacher to access it, should they need somewhere to go for privacy or multipurpose area."
"And how does one gain entry?" She asked, running her fingers along the edge of the black piano body, traveling the length of it while he continued his discussion.
"All you need to do is pace three times, and state your need," murmured the Slytherin. He meandered over to where she looped, brushing her fingertips before trailing his hand up along her shoulder blades.
"And why," she drawled, staring him down as he overtook her to stand in front of the ivory keys, "is this in here?"
"Because of you, Narcissa."
He pulled out the bench and sat in front of the instrument, lifting the cover and drawing his wand.
"Sometimes," he said, staring down at his hands, feeling unsure of himself, "when I am stressed or frustrated, I come up here to ease my troubles through music. My mother and father made me learn to play, to shape me into a smarter man. They would make me perform during parties they hosted, carting me around to all the places where the richest aristocrats lived."
Lucius eyed her posture as she leaned against the right side of the piano, regarding him thoughtfully. The light of the fire caught her silhouetted body within her school robes and twisted his stomach into knots. She had never looked so beautiful, he mused, as she silently encouraged him to continue.
"I hated to play at first, but over time, it became my coping mechanism. Any time I needed an excuse to escape life for awhile, I would hole up in the parlour and just let my fingers work.
"There were of course times when I would be forced to play it, and I resented that I had to, so during my fourth year, I discovered a way to fake it. Would you like to see?"
Narcissa grinned.
"Am I about to be serenaded by the young Mister Malfoy, himself?"
"If that is what you wish my dear, then that is what I shall do."
He raised his wand.
"Sequi me," he pointed above his right ear, and dragged a glowing silver strand from his head to the piano, "ad ludere."
Slowly, Lucius's finger found a few notes, closing his eyes as he moved along to the lilting, sorrowful rhythm, emphasizing each phrase with a slight tilting motion.
After a few bars, he lifted his hands, allowing the keys to continue playing the piece. Narcissa gazed on, transfixed by the magic. He rose and held his hand out to her.
"How did you do that?" she inquired, still staring at the piano playing all by itself, absentmindedly accepting his hand.
"A spell from an old book in the library," he stated simply, "follow me, play on."
He bowed low, an offer.
She placed her palm in his and they waltzed their way to the center of the room, neither one missing a step in the routine. Every twirl and shift brought them closer together, and Lucius knew that his racing heart was not going unnoticed by this girl-no, woman. He was madly in love, and yearned to tell her so.
"Narcissa," he smoothly spun her outwards and held on as she drifted away, then back in again, "there's something I have been wanting to tell you for a long time, now."
They glided around the room as if they were two leaves caught in a breeze, dancing to the tender upswings of the song, spinning, swaying, tilting, dipping.
"I have been chasing after you for a long time now, Miss Black," he breathed in between movements, "and I think it's high time you know just how deeply in love I am with you."
Narcissa never took her eyes away from his own, and during a move that drew them chest to chest, she reached up to place a delicate kiss on the side of Lucius's neck that threatened to undo him.
"I crave you Narcissa, in all the ways I could possibly need you."
They danced slowly and effortlessly, like they had rehearsed all these moves hundreds of times.
"I crave your body, mind, and soul, my darling. You're whip smart, fiercer than any woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing, and I have truly never met anyone as beautiful as you are now. I want it all for myself."
Narcissa spun back into his chest and this time, as she leaned in to kiss his neck again, she allowed him to slowly take off her school robe, revealing a simple grey wool dress, flaring out at her hips and falling to her mid-calf. It was impossibly soft, and Lucius couldn't help taking his time pulling the black robe sleeves off of her thin arms, caressing it down to the floor, where they left it behind to continue circling the room.
"When I am around you, everybody else vanishes and only we remain. You make me feel more alive than I thought I could ever be, and I would be the luckiest man in the world to have the privilege of courting you."
"Lucius," the young woman whispered, allowing his hand to draw swirls up and down her back as they danced, "I thought you'd never ask."
The music softened, and he wrapped a strong arm around her small waist, dipping her low in front of the fire right above the rug.
"My dearest Narcissa," he murmured in her ear, "I love you with every bone in my body, from this world to the next."
Slowly, tenderly, their lips met. Lucius kept his hand on the small of her back, as he gently eased them both onto the rug underneath. He planted feather light kisses along both jawlines, and as his final kiss reached her earlobe, she gasped and arched into his chest, whispering his name. She grasped his robe and began tugging it off, tossing it to the side as she pulled him back to her mouth by his green and silver necktie.
He moved his leg over to straddle her, then hesitated, hovering over her and leaning against her bent legs for support.
"Is this okay?"
She must know by now that his desire for her yearned to be displayed. Her sight traveled agonizingly slow down his still fully clothed body to his groin and sure enough, she lingered there, biting her lip. Was that anxiety or anticipation?
"I have never been with a man before."
He brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She closed her eyes at his every touch, sighing occasionally.
"Do not be afraid, love. I will not do anything you don't want me to. We have eternity for this, after all."
"That is an eternity I am eager to begin with you."
She took hold of either side of his hips and brought him down to rest just below her belly. Her dress had been hitched up just above the knee, and Lucius couldn't help noticing her lack of stockings. Naughty girl. A pillow appeared, and he put it up under her head, as she rose up to meet his lips again, kissing deeper this time. Perhaps she wanted to hurry him along.
He fought to regain control over his breathing, but it was almost too much for him, feeling a familiar twitch beneath his navel. After a brief glance for her permission, he started rocking them both, keeping a measured pace along with the music that played on for him. For them.
He pushed down a little harder and Narcissa sucked in a breath. He stopped for a moment, thinking he did something wrong, and she leaned up to him.
"Do that again, Lucius," she purred into his ear, and he gasped as she restarted their pace, this time reaching below his belt to finish untucking his wrinkled shirt, lifting it off and discarding it with his robe.
He was already so close, but clamped down on his thirst for a little longer, instead taking his hands and firmly rubbing the outside of her thigh, hitching the dress all the way to the base of her hips, where his hands explored the curve of her backside. He gripped it and raised her back, allowing the fabric to slide up to the middle of her spine. He let out an involuntary groan as he surveyed the emerald green lace underwear.
His pants were far too tight now, and the throbbing became more urgent with each new striking revelation.
"Bella told me where to buy some. How was I to know I'd be on display tonight?"
He hissed and finished taking off the dress, revealing a matching black brassiere.
"Narcissa," he moaned, "You are magnificent, and I am positively unraveling at the sight of you."
She kissed him silent again, and traced her fingers down his bare chest with agonizing gentleness. Narcissa took hold of Lucius's belt, swiftly unbuckling it and unzipping the fly, releasing a great deal of pressure. Unceremoniously, he kicked the pants away as he lifted her body to his, swaying in time to the soft piano.
Wrapping around her, he unclasped the bra, allowing her to set that aside. There remained only the bottommost layers now, and he became feverish with need, wishing to ravish her from the tips of her breasts, to the apex of her thighs. Her scent was a drug he couldn't get enough of.
"More," she pleaded, raking the small of his back with her nails.
He didn't need telling twice.
Together, they abandoned the remaining fabric. The full skin to skin effect drove them both wild with desire, and as their movements sped up, the friction became unbearable.
"I want all of you, love," Lucius breathed, carefully kneeling down lower against her leg to not break contact, and kissed the spot between her breasts. He cupped his hand between her legs and slipped a single finger inside, making unhurried circles around the crest of her most sensitive spot.
Narcissa arched her back, and clawed harder, drawing in ragged breaths.
"Lucius, please."
He couldn't take it anymore.
Drawing on his last shred of self control, he lifted her ever so slightly off the ground and braced himself at her entrance. He nearly fell apart at the smoothness alone, but held on as he slid inside, the movement excruciatingly slow.
Inside to the hilt, he waited just a moment longer before pulling out, then repeated the motions with all the speed of the quietly falling snow.
The two young Slytherins couldn't be stalled any longer, as he rocked with her until she fell into the tender clutches of oblivion, calling his name out all the way there when he tipped over the edge soon after.
Lucius didn't know how he ever survived this long without knowing true happiness, as they lied on the ground in front of the fire, now only low embers.
"I love you Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa sighed, pulling the blanket the Room of Requirement procured over them.
"And I love you, Narcissa Black. I will love you until the last star in the sky goes dark."
He pulled her deeper into his arms, quickly falling asleep to the sounds of the fire crackling and wind whispering outside. The piano never stopped playing its low, beautiful tune.