Tangled Web: DaphneLucius
Word Count: 490
Note: this chapter contains brief sexual moments (non-graphic)
Lucius Malfoy is a shell of the man he had once been. He is troubled and broken, disgraced and all but forgotten.
Daphne knows she ought to stay away and abandon her infatuation, but she can't help it. There's something about Lucius that draws her in. He's older and forbidden, and it's just so thrilling.
And so she sits back, and she waits.
…
Her opportunity comes when she sees the announcement in the Daily Prophet. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are getting divorced.
She really shouldn't do this. It's not the kind of girl she is.
But she doesn't care. This is what she's been waiting for.
…
He looks rough. Dark purple shadows have formed under his eyes, but she doesn't mind them. He is still handsome in his own way.
"Thought you might like some company," she says, holding out the small bouquet of red roses. "From my garden."
Lucius hesitates. She can hardly blame him; he's at least forty now, and she's half his age. But he shrugs and lets her in.
"Someone who would just leave you like that wasn't worth it to begin with," she tells him, Summoning a vase and placing the roses inside.
"The war was hard, but it taught me a valuable lesson." He begins to pluck the petals from the nearest rose. "Never love anything. That's the lesson."
A chill shoots down her spine. "Lucky for me, I'm not looking for love."
That seems to open the floodgates. They embrace, and there's a clear hunger as they kiss. This is what she's wanted for so long, and it's finally hers. No more waiting and wanting. She can finally feel his body against hers, and it is pure bliss.
"We really shouldn't," he whispers, but he presses her against the wall, and grips her hips tightly.
"I know."
He pushes up her skirt. "We should stop."
But they don't, and she fucking loves it.
…
They have to be careful. She has her reputation, and his is ruined. If anyone found out what they are up to…
And so Lucius becomes her dirty little secret, and it only serves to enhance the thrill.
…
"I'm a monster, you know," he says, buttoning his shirt.
Daphne remains in bed, the sheet drawn over her bare chest as she admires him from distance. "You're not."
"I did terrible things."
She knows. At the very least, she suspects. The war had been terrible, and she's well aware that the Malfoys hadn't been exempt to pain. Just because they had been on the wrong side doesn't mean they hadn't experienced loss and devastation.
"I'm not afraid of you."
He collapses on the bed once again, and she strokes his hair. "You really ought to run," he says.
"I'm staying."
And so she does.
It isn't a perfect love story, all caution and hesitation, but it is her story to live, and Lucius is hers to love.