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25 Days of December

Chapter Seven- Silver
Pairing: Lucius/Narcissa

8th December 1978

Narcissa had been married to Lucius for two months. And still, this was awkward.

They sat at the table, opposite each other, waiting for their house elf, Dobby, to finish placing the dishes on the table. The only sound was Dobby's nervous breathing and the soft clink of the silver dishes being placed on the table.

Narcissa glanced around. Almost all the ornaments in the room were silver. She could see her reflection in the shiny silver plate in front of her, like a mirror. She admired her blonde hair pinned elegantly with a few carefully curled strands framing her face. The hairstyle was a result of about an hour in front of the mirror that morning. After all, she didn't have much else to do. She was almost always alone, and whenever Lucius wasn't at work, he was usually in his study.

This was a large house for one person.

"Hurry up!" Lucius suddenly snapped at Dobby, Narcissa jumped a little at the sudden loud sound. Dobby began to apologize profusely before scurrying out of the room. So they began to eat. Neither of them spoke, they just ate their food with the gleaming silverware. As they ate, Narcissa watched Lucius and Lucius kept his eyes on his food.

Before they got married, he had being charming and kind to her, but the second the wedding ring had touched her finger, he had turned into this. Narcissa had hid and cried in the kitchens about a week after they got married when she saw what she'd done. She knew that it was an arranged marriage, and at first that bothered her. But then she met Lucius and he swept her of her feet. But obviously it was a scheme to get her to marry him. This was the real Lucius Malfoy.

Narcissa hated the awkward silences of dinner, surrounded by the silver ornaments and dishes and plates. She could hardly bare to think what Christmas Dinner would be like- so much more extravagant a meal than this one. But meals were the only time where she could look at Lucius, without him staring back. She hated the loneliness of her life with Lucius, but somehow, she was still in love with him. Somehow, staring at him over dinner, the rest just seemed to fade away. If he wasn't speaking, or eyeing her suspiciously, he looked like the Lucius that Narcissa met a year and a half ago.

Then he'd finish his meal and look up and stare at Narcissa expectantly until she finished hers too. And he'd be back to normal, and Narcissa would remember that she was only good for one thing: providing Lucius with an heir.

~-8-~

That evening, Narcissa wandered to the music room. She didn't know why they had a music room; neither of them played an instrument. But at least that meant Narcissa had a room that Lucius was guaranteed to stay out of.

She wandered over to the silver-framed mirror hanging on one wall and sighed at her reflection… Why was there so much silver in this house? As if Narcissa needed anymore reflective surfaces around her. She already knew how stupid she'd been by falling for Lucius; she didn't need to see the result everywhere she went.

Careful not to break it, she levitated the mirror off of the wall and turned it around so that her reflection was gone. Then, she sighed sadly and sat at the piano, pressing random keys down and trying to make a tune.

~-8-~

Lucius was sitting in his study, in front of the fireplace, his eyes closed, listening to the quiet sounds of the house. He could just make out the sound of Narcissa down the hall, wandering about.

Narcissa often wandered around the house, and usually always ended up in the music room, where she would be silent for hours on end, until she wandered to their bedroom and drifted to sleep.

Lucius didn't talk to Narcissa very much anymore. He'd done what was necessary to please his parents until they were married, then he left her to her own devices. It was probably what she wanted. Arranged marriages were frequent in pureblood families, but normally after the couple had met and formed an attraction to one another before the parents went ahead and planned the wedding.

He was sure she'd been acting with motives similar to his before the wedding. She'd secluded herself ever since the ring was put on her finger. For some reason, this saddened Lucius. He wanted Narcissa to be happy, even if the only way he could provide that happiness was by making her parents happy.

He knew Narcissa scrutinized him at meals. He often wondered what she was thinking about. He watched her too. She always went to sleep before him, so he'd watch her sleep before he slid into bed beside her. He didn't watch for long. He couldn't.

He sighed. He refused to call what he felt for his wife 'love'. Because it wasn't that. He didn't believe in 'love'. But it was true that he cared for Narcissa more than he cared for the rest of his family. As he contemplated this, he heard an unfamiliar sound.

The rather pitiful sound of piano keys being pushed down randomly. Lucius frowned, and found himself getting up and moving towards the music room to see what on earth Narcissa was doing.

She was facing away from the door, and Lucius glanced around the room. He noticed that all the silver ornaments in the room had been moved, to one corner of the room, including a large mirror, which was turned around, so that the reflective surface was facing the wall. Lucius frowned and turned his attention to Narcissa. She continued to 'play' the piano, her delicate fingers shaking slightly as she did so.

As quietly as he could, Lucius moved as close as he could without being noticed. But Narcissa had keen ears. She gasped and turned around, jerking her hands away from the piano keys. Lucius's eyes widened as he saw the tears that were visible on her cheeks.

"Lucius." Narcissa said in shock, wiping the tears away hurriedly. Lucius opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, just staring at Narcissa in silence. Narcissa pursed her lips worriedly "Is something wrong?" She asked politely, standing up and smoothing her skirt.

"No." Lucius said quietly. Something seemed to soften in Narcissa's eyes. Lucius glanced at the silver in the corner. "Why have you moved the mirror?" He asked. Narcissa's eyes widened almost fearfully. For some reason, that bothered Lucius.

"I- I don't know." Narcissa said a touch frantically. Lucius twitched his lips slightly; it was the closest he got to a smile.

"Are you ashamed of your reflection, Narcissa?" He asked. Narcissa's mouth opened in shock.

"I-I- no! I just- I thought…" She trailed off, her cheeks turning a pale pink.

"You shouldn't be." Lucius said quietly, his eyes turning solemn. "You have a very pretty face." He said. Narcissa looked somewhat hopeful and smiled slightly.

"Thank you." She whispered. Lucius's lips twitched slightly again and stepped forward to press his lips briefly to her forehead before sweeping out of the room.

~-8-~

Narcissa watched Lucius leave in slight shock. She touched the spot on her forehead where he'd kissed her and smiled again. Her heart was beating unusually fast. She glanced at the mirror and hung it back on the wall. She glanced with newfound fondness at the silver frame, and saw her reflection, which looked decidedly more cheerful than before.

Narcissa would never think a word against silver again.

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A.N- Well this one was kind of odd. It just sort of… came out. :) I love it when stories turn out like that. I hope you enjoyed it.

Next Pairing is a little odd, but I thought it would be interesting to write about… Merope Gaunt/Tom Riddle Sr.

Remember to review!

Toff.x