"Honestly Lucia, I can't understand why, out of all your dresses, you chose this one." Genevieve huffed.
"I don't suppose you want me looking like a slag when I visit, do you?" Lucia snapped.
"Well no but-"she was cut off.
"Then my wardrobe is obsolete."
Lucia was dressed in a drab brown dress that made her hair look especially lack-luster and thick. Her skin looked extremely pale and her eyes seemed sunken in. These aspects caused a most drawn appearance which is what Lucia was aiming for. She wanted the Malfoy's to find every fault in her.
"You look hideous."
"I'd rather look hideous than resemble a 20 pence whore." Lucia was starting get particularly irritated by her mothers fussing. "It's not like they really matter anyway."
"Oh but they do matter, they matter so much." Genevieve was practically ripping apart Lucia's closet, looking for the perfect dress. "Isn't this one acceptable." She held up a frothy blue dress.
"That's a dress from your brother Sigmund's wedding. A bridesmaids dress no less. I am most certainly not going to wear that blue cotton ball from hell."
Genevieve laughed "No, I suppose not." She started rifling again, finally finding a demure but attractive dress.
It looked like it was pulled straight out of the fifties, made of green silk with a high, straight neckline. The bodice was fitted but not revealing, puckering at the waist until it blossomed into a gently pleated skirt.
"Mother, isn't this just a little formal." Lucia was almost disappointed at how pretty it was.
"Nonsense, nothing is too formal for the Malfoy's." Genevieve plucked a pair of red flats from the shoe rack and shoved both items into Lucia's arms. "Now change and I will do your makeup."
"Honestly, I sometimes forget who the child is." Lucia muttered before closing her bedroom door.
It fit perfectly like all her clothes were charmed to. The red heels looked dauntingly playful and she no longer looked so pale and dull.
"I'm dressed mother." Lucia called down the hall, hoping she wouldn't hear. It was after all a very large house. But no such luck.
Genevieve came prancing down the hall in her pink dress and blue heels with a bag that presumably held all the makeup it could.
"You always looked so lovely in green; it brings out the red in your hair you know." Genevieve forced Lucia to sit down in front of her vanity. She pulled the contents of the bag out, one at a time, like precious jewels.
After a painful hour of plastering on makeup, Lucia finally convinced her mother that less is most definitely more, and thus she only had on a small amount of eye shadow and eyeliner.
"You look lovely." Genevieve held onto her daughter shoulders and leaned forward towards the mirror.
"I look like a 300 pound whore." Lucia received a slap on the arm.
"We're leaving in five minutes so gather your wits and be charming." Genevieve was obviously quite on end about this visit. To be honest so was Lucia.
She was not looking forward to a visit with the family that so willingly gave up their dignity for some inflated pure-blood bias. Not to mention the fact that Lucius gave her more than just the creeps.
Lucia headed down the stairs to the fireplace where they would apparate to the Malfoy Manor. The hallway was extremely long and when she reached the staircase five minutes had long passed. When she reached the sitting room where the large fireplace was held it had been nearly ten and her mother was pacing like a cat.
"We are unacceptably late already. Do you insist on ruining my chances?" Genevieve wailed, pulling her daughter into the fireplace.
"Your chances at what mother? Fucking Lucius? God damnit, why can't you keep your knickers on?" Lucia yelled, finally reaching her short tempers end.
"Do not speak to me like that. I am your mother!" Genevieve was near slapping Lucia.
"Then act like it." Lucia said calmly, before grabbing floo powder and throwing it into the fire before yelling "Malfoy Manor!"
Lucia hated flooing, it always made her feel dizzy and confused. Making matters worse there was a flurry of house elves and people around her, Blonde, beautiful people with nice clothes.
Her mother was only a moment behind her. The angry expression wiped clean off her flawless face.
"Hello Narcissa darling, how I've missed you." Genevieve swooned. "Draco, haven't you gotten older, what a handsome man." She then turned to Lucius and gave a lustrous smile "And Lucius of course. How are you?" She held out a heavily manicured hand and thrust her chest forward.
He kissed her fingertips in a suave manner that is reminiscent of James Bond. "Charmed I'm sure."
Lucia had finally recovered from the traveling and she looked up from her red flats to face the family that would host her final day away from Hogwarts.
"This must be your lovely daughter Lucia." Narcissa grabbed onto Lucia's hand and pulled it into both of hers. "I must say she is quite the image of her mother."
"Not that I have a father to be compared to." Lucia snapped.
"Well, little Lucia grew up this summer. I barely recognize you when you're not hiding in a corner." Lucius grabbed her chin and shook it like an aunt would. But not aunt peony of course.
"I barely recognized you without your mask." Lucia muttered.
"Draco, honey, could you please escort Lucia to the sitting room." Narcissa gestured towards Lucia, giving her husband a sharp glare.
Draco grasped Lucia's arm a little harsher than needed, but led her with enough respect that it satisfied Lucia for the moment.
"So, how has your summer been?" Draco asked awkwardly.
"Cut the crap Malfoy. You're not polite. Stop acting like it." Lucia laughed pityingly.
"Fine I will Sometimes, just fine." He shoved her into the sitting room and followed behind her, slamming the door. "My father wants me to charm you into marrying me."
"My mother wants to fuck your father."
"It would seem that we are at ends then."
"It would seem so."
"What shall we do then?"
"I would prefer nothing."
"As would I."
Silence echoed in the room. The tea was stagnant on the table, untouched by the two stubborn teenagers. They looked straight into each others eyes, almost challenging the other to look away. Suddenly their parents burst in, bubbling with conversation and delight.
"Why Lucia please get comfortable. Sit down, here love." Narcissa pushed her towards a silver plush chair.
"I'm quite comfortable standing thank you." Lucia was on the defense now. She felt attacked on all sides and she would not submit.
"What nonsense. Do sit darling." Genevieve pulled her daughter into the couch next to Draco.
"It's such a pleasure to have such a beautiful woman like you for company Miss. Sometimes." Draco's words curled over Lucia like snakes. His vile mouth shaped them with such ease it was disgustingly beautiful.
Everything about him had this horribly gorgeous aura. Like rusted chandeliers or a broken wine glass. He made Lucia secretly swoon in delight, but she would never admit that, not even to herself.
"You forget there are two Miss. Sometimes in this room." Genevieve flirted from a loveseat across from Draco. "Though I am certain you were referring to Lucia, since I am no beauty."
Lucius who was quiet up until this moment let out a cough and said "Why Genevieve, I must disagree. You are quite the beauty in my eyes."
Lucia almost gagged. She had hoped her earlier outburst would discourage such flightless behavior but there was no effect.
Narcissa simply sipped her tea and smiled at Lucia and Draco.
They spoke of economics and politics, both of which Lucia found quite interesting and Draco found boring as hell.
While Lucia listened intently to her mother discussing the magical economic crisis in America and how it was affecting Britain, Draco took quite an interest in Lucia's leg.
At first it was only a casual brush resulting in a light shove, but soon grabbing ensued and silence fell upon the room after Draco received a resounding slap.
"I'm sorry I'm not a broom Draco, but if you wish for something to grab onto you may look no further than your own lap!" Lucia stomped out of the room leaving a stunned mother behind her.
"I-I must apologize… for my daughter's behavior." Genevieve stuttered. "I never taught her how to behave around men."
"Draco, follow her before she gets lost." Lucius spat from the silver armchair.
"Yes father." He replied obediently before exiting the room.
Lucia was indeed lost. It didn't take much since the entire house had to be about the size of Hogwarts. She was enraptured in a particularly strange staircase that whenever she took a step it brought her back to the bottom when Draco found her.
"That leads to fathers study, you best not go there."
"You best not tell me what to do." She spit on his shoes and walked away from the staircase down a hall that had moving walls.
The walls were quite curious; they looked like fabric that was taught around human bodies. They reached out for her and their mouths arched open as if they were calling.
Draco grabbed her arm before she could get more than two feet down the hall.
"And that leads to an even worse place." The seriousness in his tone was frightening. His grey eyes were glossy as if stuck in a memory and his grip on her arm was hard. Lucia was not going to disobey. She walked back towards the stairs and stopped.
"Where should I go then." Lucia turned back to him. "Where am I safe?"
"In this house: nowhere." That was not the answer she wanted to hear, and from what she knew of Draco it was the truth.
"Take me back then, back to my mother." Lucia was done fighting, but she had yet to concede to their plans.
"As you wish."
"Don't be romantic, just take me back."
They entered the tea room where everyone was sitting, frozen, like dolls.
"Mother, I'm afraid I forgot to pack everything. I need to go home." Lucia lied. She had in fact packed much more than she needed.
"Of course love, if you would excuse us. We will meet you at the station tomorrow at nine." Genevieve smiled.
Lucia and her mother were escorted to the fireplace, where they left with bitter goodbyes.
"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow Draco." Lucia grumbled.
"The pleasure is mine." He kissed her hand.
"It most certainly is."
When they arrived at home Lucia went to her room with little to no interaction with her mother. This whole day would be forgotten until that sod of reminder plundered his way into her life tomorrow.
For now, she would enjoy her bed and books. She loved those two things most of all.
At the Malfoy household there was a very different situation at hand.
"How dare you touch her?" Lucius yelled at his son.
"I thought she would like it! I had no idea she is such a prude!" He replied, just as angry.
"You let her disrespect you like that. She is a woman!"
"I know!" Draco sat down on his bed, his head in his hands. "But damn she's a hot one."
"It doesn't matter if she's hot. She is our key to survive in the wizarding world." Narcissa finally spoke, kneeling in front of her son.
"You just blew our chances. You're such a worthless boy."
"I can fix this! I can! By the end of the year she will be begging for our family name." Draco yelled, finally getting his own place in this discussion.
"I don't suppose you and Pansy are on speaking terms yet. No I suppose not." Lucius contemplated.
"You don't believe me, but I will get her. There is no question about that."
"Fine son, I hope you will succeed because if you don't have her in your arms by the holidays there will be consequences."
With that they left him in his room with so many thoughts in his head.
It wasn't as if he wanted to get married, he most certainly did not, but there was something disconcerting about having Lucia reject him. He'd been rejected before, his reputation was more often than not a turn off but the rejection never handicapped his confidence until now.
Lucia was strong, stronger than his mother and Pansy and any other Slytherin whore he'd encountered in the past. She was content in being a respectable woman with powerful opinions and he was actually somewhat impressed by her strong morale. But never the less she disgraced him in front of his father and he had already had enough of that. Lucia was to be his.
She wasn't an unfortunate find either. She had silky, thick hair of dark brown, but today it looked slightly red in the light. Her pale skin glowed and her petite frame was ample in at least one pleasing department. Her eyes were nothing to complain about either. They were a deep hazel with specks of green and blue. She was no Fleur but her Scottish beauty was apparent. How she gained a name like Lucia could only be attributed to her extravagant mother.
Draco had encountered an onslaught of hardships since the war ended. Ranging from complete abandonment by friends and family to a short term in Azkaban. He was no stranger to the pains of life, but he was to keeping a relationship.
Lucia was obviously a tough girl to catch, possibly even harder to keep. She was no blonde bimbo with tits for brains and Draco liked that, but it also scared him. She wouldn't fall for his witty one liners, she had better remarks to throw back. He couldn't charm her with his words, they moved right through her. And he surely could not touch her for fear his appendages would be in danger.
So instead of worrying about their future, both Lucia and Draco fell asleep trying to forget about what happened that day. The words of their parents rang through their heads like doorbells and wind chimes and they slapped them away. Instead they though of a much more pleasant subject, each other. And thus they fell asleep with the others face in their minds eye.