Narcissa had always practiced sitting and eating like a proper lady, as her mother would never accept her daughters acting in any way as if they were common and inferior.

But on this particular night, Narcissa put in even more of an extra effort to both sit and eat like a proper lady because her parents had invited the Malfoys over for dinner.

And Narcissa was determined that Lucius would never have any reason to be ashamed or disappointed in her, even if he did indeed end up ignoring her most of the time.

Narcissa would never give anyone a reason to say that she didn't know and accept the responsibilities that came from being a Pureblood woman.

Narcissa sat and ate quietly as she listened to Abraxas Malfoy brag to her parents about his son.

"Lucius is especially talented in Potions," Abraxas was currently saying, "and he is very interested in philosophy."

Narcissa had to keep herself from bouncing up and down in her chair in excitement. She also was very interested in philosophy, even though her parents had never encouraged her interest in it.

She then glanced over at Lucius, expecting to see him beaming and looking smug. That was how Bellatrix always reacted to praise.

To Narcissa's surprise, however, Lucius didn't seem at all impressed by his father's bragging. In fact, Lucius looked like he wished he was somewhere else. He also looked slightly uncomfortable, as if he wasn't use to receiving any praise.

Narcissa felt a strange feeling in her stomach. She rarely received any praise either. The only time her parents really seemed to notice her was when they were extremely frustrated with her sisters' rebellious behaviors and attitudes. Narcissa was always the "good girl" whenever Bellatrix and Andromeda weren't being good.

"That is good to hear," Cygnus said to Abraxas. "It is important that our children begin their education before Hogwarts. It truly is shameful whenever a Mudblood performs better than a Pureblood."

"That's because those Purebloods have no pride in themselves," Abraxas spoke with clear disgust in his voice. "It wasn't that way when I was a boy, and it most definitely won't be that way with Lucius. No, Lucius values his education. And more now than ever, it is essential that our children value their education. Hogwarts is not the same under that fool Dumbledore. Philosophy is not even offered."

"It truly is a shame that traditional education is of no importance to Dumbledore," Cygnus remarked with clear scorn in his voice.

"And he wonders why so many Purebloods are against him," Abraxas sneered. "For all his talk of treating everyone equally, he shows more respect towards Mudbloods than he shows towards us Purebloods. He dares to treat us as if we are the ones who are nothing, and sadly many Purebloods are starting to forget their superiority because of people like Dumbledore. Too many Purebloods are becoming Muggle sympathizers, and too many Purebloods are no longer teaching their children what is proper."

Cygnus curled his lower lip in disgust.

"But Lucius won't ever be that way," Abraxas then said, turning to look at his son. "He is proud of his heritage and of his blood."

"It would be treacherous of me not to take advantage of all the opportunities that have been granted to me because of my name," Lucius said. "The Malfoys have long been a respected, noble family, and I intend to keep it that way, especially since I will one day be aligned with your family, Mr. Black. I can only hope that I am able to do your daughter justice."

Cygnus smiled approvingly at Lucius.

"And it is my hope that Narcissa will do you justice," Cygnus then said.

Lucius glanced over at Narcissa for the first time that night.

Narcissa blushed slightly, as she had not been expecting to receive any attention from Lucius. But she quickly recovered herself, and she gave Lucius a polite nod of her head.

"You need not worry, Mr. Black," Lucius spoke, turning his head to look back at Cygnus. "You and Mrs. Black have done a wonderful job with raising your daughter to be a proper Pureblood lady. Her etiquette is truly impressive."

Druella beamed at Lucius's words.

Lucius glanced over at her and gave her a charming smile, which caused her to blush slightly.

And Narcissa found herself smiling for the first time that night. She knew that Lucius was probably only speaking those words for the sake of appearances, but she still appreciated hearing them.

"I knew that I was making a good match for my son when I chose your youngest daughter to one day be his wife," Abraxas spoke to Cygnus. "And Lucius will do her proud as well. Did you know that Lucius is also fluent in several languages?"

Lucius rolled his eyes, even though he was careful to make sure that no one noticed.

"I have tried to do the same with my daughters," Cygnus responded to Abraxas. "They are all fluent in French. And Andromeda is also fluent in-"

Cygnus paused and looked over at his middle daughter for assistance.

"Italian," Andromeda spoke. "I am also fluent in Italian."

"I'm fluent in German," Narcissa spoke up, "and I'm currently trying to learn Russian."

Everyone looked at Narcissa in surprise. They were not used to hearing her say anything unless she was directly addressed.

Narcissa was surprised by her sudden boldness as well.

She looked over at Lucius. She thought that she saw a slight smile on his face, but it was also possible that he was bored. It really was hard to tell. Lucius was so unreadable.

"Lucius is fluent in Russian," Abraxas bragged.

"Then maybe he could help me with learning it, Mr. Malfoy," Narcissa replied. "I am always eager to better myself, and I know that it would please and honour Lucius to have a wife that is not foolish."

Out of the corner of her eye, Narcissa noticed that Lucius was definitely smiling at her. It wasn't a huge smile, but it was the most genuine reaction that she had gotten out of him so far.

Lucius opened his mouth to reply to Narcissa, but then he noticed that his father was frowning at him.

"My father is much too generous in his assessment of me," Lucius said smoothly. "I am skilled in Russian, but I still have lots to learn. I am not yet ready to teach it to anyone. I hope you aren't too disappointed, Miss Black."

"No, of course not, Mr. Malfoy," Narcissa replied. "I understand."

"But perhaps I could teach it to you as soon as I become more skilled," Lucius said.

"That would be lovely," Narcissa responded brightly.

Abraxas glared angrily at his son. Lucius just smirked at him.

And Narcissa smiled a genuine smile. Perhaps there was hope yet that she could be at least somewhat happy with Lucius in their eventual future together.