They kept their love to themselves. No one besides them had to know. They both preferred it that way, smiles and laughter in public, kisses and warm hands in the night. They made the night their own cottage of escape. A place that would always be there, a place to rest. They met at midnight almost every night, talked about everything, kissed and touched. During the day, they were friends and nothing else.

The year passed by, and no one really knew about their relationship, and they liked to keep it a secret. They didn't know where they were going with it, but when Lucius left Hogwarts Narcissa realised they were going to be together forever. Her seventh year was the hardest of them all, and she knew it was because of his absence. She felt empty. She walked around and smiled, chuckled and did her homework. But she was only half there. The rest of her was with Lucius. She wondered what he was doing, if he had met another woman, someone older and more mature, someone who would spread her legs for him. Narcissa hadn't done that.

She wasn't ready just yet. They had spent the summer together, sleeping close to each other, she had felt his breath on her hair as she fell asleep, felt his lips against hers a thousand times. Sometimes, she let his hand find its way to her breasts, and sometimes his fingers stroke her inner thighs. But every time he tried to, in a very gentlemanly way, reach for something else, her body got tense and she had to ask him not to. His warm hands left her immediately and found something else to grab instead, whereas she tried to keep on kissing him as if nothing had happened. He didn't seem to mind, but she felt guilty anyway. She felt like she held him back.

Narcissa was worried for Lucius, but not a lot. Even though he was working for the Dark Lord, a very dangerous mission, she was convinced he knew what he was doing. He was so talented. He could perform extraordinary magic, magic Narcissa could only dream of. He surprised her every day, every hour and every second. There was some odd type of dark light over him. He was glowing in such a special way. She felt like if she was around him, she would get some of that glow transferred onto her.

When she finally reached the end of her last year at Hogwarts, he was waiting for her at platform 9 and three quarters. He surprised her with a train ticket to France, her parents had not only approved of their trip but also of Lucius Malfoy as an official suitor of their daughter. The train moved faster than muggle-ones, so the trip only took a few hours. When they reached Paris, he surprised her with another train ticket. This one led to Istanbul. They spent only one night in the most romantic city on earth, or that was at least that was what it was called.

"Why Istanbul, why not stay in Paris?" She asked him, as he took off his shirt, picking up a cigar from his pocket. He sat down next to her on the balcony and she couldn't keep her eyes of his body. Slim but muscular, tall and handsome.

"I love the Arabic culture, especially blended with western. Istanbul is ideal for that description. I was thinking about Jerusalem first, but decided not to. The muggles don't understand the value of that city; they're ruining it with war. There's no place on earth which contains as much historical magic!"

He seemed a bit upset as the smoke from his cigar left his system through his nose.

"I'm sure Istanbul has a lot of historical spots as well? Weren't the Ottoman Empire the most talented in the defence against the dark arts for centuries?"

She stole his cigar; put it between her lips as she watched the beautiful view. It was a hot pre-summer day, and even though she in general hated heat, she couldn't help but feeling pleased by the climate. The Eifel-Tower was right in front of them, but she didn't even give it a glaze, it was a muggle creation and she couldn't see why they adored a metal tower so much. Paris didn't have a lot of magic. The city was a bore, really. But when she sat next to Lucius, she thought that it was the most wonderful place on earth, because he was there. He lit up the surroundings.

"They were. But then, the dark magic eventually conquered. Like always." His lips curled into a sneer. "Istanbul will be great"

His words were final and there was nothing more to be said about the subject. Narcissa breathed out the smoke, kept the cigar. She needed it more than he did. Lucius drank what remained of his wine and got onto his feet, walking his way inside and leaving Narcissa alone at the balcony.

The beautiful view at once turned dull. She didn't like Paris much. She stood up, stub out the cigar. Most people reused cigars, but neither Lucius nor Narcissa did. They had the money to buy new ones, so why would they ever recycle one? People who did that disgusted Narcissa. If you can't afford buying two, don't buy it at all.

The further they travelled the hotter it became, and when they finally reached Istanbul, Narcissa wasn't able to wear anything but a white tank top and a pair of black shorts. Her milky skin had turned into a soft brown colour, but her cheeks, nose and forehead were burnt from the sun. She wore her hair up in a high ponytail, trying to minimize the sweat pearls on her neck. Her eyes shone bright blue in contrast to her sun-touched skin. She didn't feel very beautiful, because she was sweating all the time, and she couldn't wear fancy robes. But Lucius didn't seem to mind her appearance. He actually seemed to be rather fond of it. That made Narcissa feel a bit more comfortable.

Lucius on the other hand, looked more gorgeous than ever. His pale skin hadn't been burnt in the sun; it had only taken the golden glow of the sun and transferred it onto itself. His hair was simply tied back, his light blue shirt was half-open and he had rolled up his sleeves. The heat didn't seem to get to him in the same way as it got to Narcissa.

They did everything possible in Istanbul. They visited old monuments of now dead wizards, they went to street markets and bought cashmere clothing. The people were friendly and filled with knowledge. Turkey had one of the greatest institutes of magic in the whole world. And there were no Mudbloods to be seen. The muggle Ottomans had lost a big war in the beginning of the century, and it had put the country's Wizarding network in a bad position. Dark forces took the opportunity and the power.

Istanbul was ideal, and if Narcissa could choose another place to live in (except for Britain), this would be it. She loved it. The city didn't even have segregation! They didn't need, because no one informed the Mudbloods of their so-called "powers". Killing Mudbloods wasn't necessary here.

On their second week in the capitol of Turkey, they visited the Tokapi Palace, a place with worth for both muggles and wizards. They had walked around for hours, observing and admiring the museum, when he surprised her. He got down on his knees the moment when she least expected it. In the eyes of muggles and wizards, he asked for her hand in marriage.

Narcissa didn't hesitate to say yes. That very night, she lost her virginity. She didn't feel like she had lost something, though. It was an odd description, to "lose your virginity", she felt more like she had gained an experience.

Lucius warm body pushed against hers, into her, over and over. Tiny growls escaped his mouth, and she buried her face on his chest, breathing in his cologne. He was far more experienced than her, she knew it and could tell by the way he moved; how he without hesitation moved his hips and thrust himself into her. Everyone had told her that it would hurt, but it didn't. It didn't at all, and neither was it as exciting as she had been tricked into thinking. It felt good, but wasn't magical. He was, though. She loved him deeply, and could never think about doing this with anyone else. Her legs were parted, wrapped around his hips, her hands on his back. She loved being this close to him.

"I'm so sorry"

His whisper reached her ear as Lucius' body tensed, and she felt how something filled her most sacred place. He moaned slightly, and she bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do. She felt his heavy breathing against her throat as he kissed it slowly, his long hair tickling her décolletage.

Eventually he pulled himself out of her, still under a heavy silence. Lucius' fingers found her cheek as he looked her in the eye, kissed her again with those oh-so-soft lips of his. She couldn't help but creek her mouth. He belonged to her. A slight gasp left her lips as she felt his hand find its way to the place between her thighs, starting to slowly stroke her there.

"What are you-" She murmured with a confused look on her face. The tingling was far from unpleasant.

"Just trust me" He interrupted as his fingers moved faster, moving in circles, pinching and caressing her down there. All of a sudden she felt the tingling sensation increase, her body tensed even more and a rather loud groan escaped from her lips. Narcissa had never felt such a feeling before, felt how her vision almost turned black.

When she after a few minutes dared to open her eyes and he had removed his fingers, she met his gaze. She had never seen him so proud of himself, and Lucius Malfoy was the most proud man she knew.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, Narcissa with his seed still running from the place between her legs.


They lived a happy life as engaged for two months. They travelled from Istanbul to Budapest, from Budapest to Warsaw. There was no tomorrow. Eventually, Narcissa started to feel like something was wrong.

They didn't talk about Britain, or their life there. They explored foreign countries and cities, Narcissa tried to learn Polish, whilst Lucius bragged about his knowledge in the Hungarian language. But underneath their smiles and laughter, there was a sadness over the couple. They had escaped from their reality.

"When are we going home?" Narcissa sometimes asked.

He always gave her the same answer. We'll talk about that later. They never did.

Narcissa couldn't sleep if she didn't have his arms surrounding her body, giving her warmth and security. Lucius had trouble sleeping, he seemed to be haunted by memories she didn't know of. He woke up in the middle of the night, got out of bed and smoked a cigar. He said it calmed his nerves. It always woke her up when he did.

It was October and they were in Ukraine. Narcissa didn't like it there, neither did Lucius. They had decided to go to Sweden the following day, but when night came, Narcissa woke by a howl.

She sat up straight in bed, looking around for where the shriek had come from. The love of her life stood at the side of the bed, his face wrinkled in pain. His right hand held over his left forearm, where Narcissa spotted the Dark Mark, now swollen and red.

"Narcissa, I'm so sorry I-"

"Lucius, what's happening?" She gasped, trying to calm him with her soft hands against his cheeks.

"I need to go. I have to go."

"What are you talking about? Of course you don't!"

"Narcissa, I… He's calling on me. He needs me"

She wrinkled her eyebrows, unable to understand. Shaking her head, she kissed his forehead. He was shaking with pain, and it hurt her so much. In hope of calming his agony, she reached for her wand.

"Tell me what I can do, Lucius, I'll fix this"

"No! You can't, don't you understand? I have to go!"

His words were no longer soft, but harsh and demanding. With surprising violence, he broke free from her embrace, now put on his robes whilst moaning over the aching.

"No! Lucius, please, don't go, I'll help you make the pain stop"

Narcissa was terrified of the dark. Sleeping alone at a hotel in Ukraine would be unbearable.

"You are such a child! You don't understand anything, do you? You're just a silly little girl; I was stupid to believe-"

Her eyes, swiftly filled with tears, met his, and he fell quite. This wasn't the Lucius she knew. He would never say something like that. Suddenly, he reminded her of the boy she had met down in the dungeons, the one that had pushed her against the wall, hands around her throat. Suddenly, he seemed to be the angry teenager whom had lost his mother, once again.

He dressed in quiet, and she watched him, but when he stood by the door ready to leave, she couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Please don't leave me" She said, holding her breath for a few seconds. Now completely desperate she dared to utter the words she had been holding back for weeks: "Lucius, I'm pregnant"

He turned around; the harshness in his eyes completely gone. They looked at each other for a long time, before he spoke;

"Go back to bed, Narcissa. I will be back when you wake up"

The slam of the door felt like a fist in her face.

And when she woke, the bed wasn't empty, but joining her was not her fiancé, but sheets filled with blood, running from the sacred place between her legs. Narcissa was left alone.