A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Your feedback means a lot to me, and it helps me come up with chapters quicker. I really like to know what you're thinking and whether or not you're enjoying it, for what's an author without readers? :D
Disclaimer: The following characters do not belong to me. If they did, I wouldn't be where I am right now. I would be living in the lap of luxury off on my own private island, completely with my very own Lucius. They are the property of the lovely queen J.K. Rowling and the people in charge of the movies.
Lucius awoke the next morning without the exquisite throbbing hangover that quite obviously plagued his friend Rodolphus who lay groaning in his bed, pulling the drapes on his four-poster to hide the bit of green light that was streaming through the windows. The man never seemed to learn. Not only was he bollocks at holding his liquor, but he was equally incapable of brewing a remedy potion nearly potent enough to ease his headache.
"Merlin. Never let me drink like that again," Rodolphus moaned, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his fingertips against his temples.
Lucius couldn't help but laugh at his friend's obvious misfortune. It was something that he found awfully entertaining, and what would life be like without a bit of fun? Sure, he would have to dip into his potion stores if he wanted to see him in any sort of decent shape, but he could do that later. At that particular moment, it was much more fun to watch him writhe. "I'll be sure to keep you sober next time. Malfoys' honor."
The darker haired boy pulled the curtain from his bed just enough so that he could scowl in the blond's direction, although the movement quickly made him regret it. "You? Honorable? Never thought I'd see the day."
Lucius throw his pillow across the room, catching the beater deftly in the face. "I'll have you know that I am quite honorable indeed," he said with a frown. Or at least, he was rather proficient at acting honorable enough to keep a girl interested. Then again, there were plenty of girls who would prefer to see him at his least honorable…
Rodolphus snorted. "Yeah… Narcissa certainly thought so." He hadn't missed the girl's obvious attraction for his friend the night before; the tiniest bit of attention from him seemed to have her blushing to the roots of her hair.
Lucius's lips twisted into a little smile as he thought of the petite blonde, so different from her older sister in every way; blonde while the other was dark haired, innocent while the other had a mean roguish streak… To be honest, she was the reason why he wasn't in the same boat as his friend at the moment. Instead of drinking excessively the previous night, he had been watching her carefully, studying her mannerisms. The way she covered her mouth with her fingers to stifle her giggles in fear of being too loud… the way her little finger jutted out ever so slightly, no matter what it was she was drinking… All of it was infuriatingly adorable.
He leaned back in his bed, his arms folded casually underneath his head, and focused his eyes on a patch of ceiling he deemed interesting enough to concentrate on. For a moment, he appeared to be thinking very hard, a slight furrow forming between his brows in a pensive expression, as if he were trying to deduce an arithmancy problem scrawled in ancient runes.
"How long do you think it'll take for her to let me shag her?"
Rodolphus spluttered and gaped at his friend, looking completely aghast. "You are not shagging my girlfriend's little sister. Do you even know Bellatrix? She'll hex my balls off if she finds out I let you try to worm your way into her knickers without putting up a fight." The older Black sister had a strong attachment to the youngest; she would not be afraid to physically maim anyone who so much as poked her heart with a cotton ball.
The words made the blond frown and he crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. Malfoys did not worm their way into girls' knickers. They acted as charming as bloody possible and flirted their arses off. If that didn't work, they resorted to flattery and bribery. Worming sounded weasel-like and uncouth.
"To be frank, I don't care what Bellatrix will do. She doesn't need to know about anything, so don't you even think about opening up your mouth. All I'm asking for is a little one-off. It's not like I'm going to marry the girl." Lucius wrinkled his nose and pulled himself to a seated position. Honestly. It shouldn't be that difficult to convince a girl to sleep with him. Practically all Slytherin girls – and a few from other houses – had had thoughts along that vein before. It wasn't like he was going to develop any frivolous feelings for the girl or let her reciprocate any; they just had to come to a mutual agreement that shagging would do them both a load of good.
Rodolphus hit the heel of his palm against his forehead, wincing in the process at both the pain the action caused himself and the obvious arrogance that dripped from his friend's voice. "That's the bloody issue…"
Lucius pretended he didn't hear his friend's slight objection and began to rifle through his trunk for a self-inking quill, a dark journal, and the phial of potion he knew the other would be asking for. Not taking his eyes off of the forest green leather-bound book in his hands, he tossed the phial across the room in Rodolphus's direction with the aim of someone rather practiced in the action. He flipped to a clean page and in his neat and angular handwriting scrawled the name Narcissa Black. Beneath the heading of the girl's name, he began to write the few things he knew about her, including her family information and the annoyingly cute habits of hers that he'd noticed during the party. Once that was out of the way, he continued to brainstorm just what it was that he had done the previous night to elicit positive responses from her.
The phial bonked Rodolphus in the head, and he rubbed the spot gingerly as he uncorked the potion with his teeth and swallowed the contents. Shuddering as the feeling of his pain evaporated from him, he leaned forward on his bed and fixed the blond with a rather cross expression. "You're not even listening to me, are you?"
"No," was Lucius's curt response. He didn't pause in his writing for a minute. Being physical with the youngest Black almost seemed to make her feel uncomfortable; she had practically wriggled away from him when he had sat down next to her on the window ledge. He'd had to snake his arm around her waist to keep her close. Acting charming, however, had wondrous effects. A simple kiss on the back of her hand had worked dramatically and produced fantastic results. He tapped his quill absently against his jaw, thinking of other things he had done all the while.
"You are absolutely disgusting," Rodolphus spat, locking his friend with a withering gaze that could have quite literally caused a few plants to wilt or spontaneously combust into flames.
"Thank you," was his response as he, seemingly satisfied with his work, snapped the book closed and tucked it under his pillow. All that was left now was to find the girl and put a few theories into practice. He had to test her carefully to discern what it was that made her swoon, what could possibly help ease her way out of her robes.
"No, I mean it, and not in a good way. Were you just taking notes on the poor bird?" Rodolphus was pulling off his pajamas and shoving his legs into a pair of trousers.
"Oh, come off it. I'm just trying to make a plan. You of all people shouldn't be scolding me for planning," retorted Lucius, also disrobing and dressing in a well-tailored pair of slacks and a dark grey jumper. It being Sunday, they weren't required to dress in their school clothing. However, just because it was Sunday did not mean that he lounged about in frumpy attire.
Rodolphus simply scowled as he followed him out of the dormitories towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He could only hope that the gods were listening to his silent pleas to keep Narcissa safe from Lucius Malfoy.
A piteous groan came from under a lump of emerald green blankets, atop of which sat a dark haired girl too eager for the early hour that it was.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" whined Bellatrix, alternating between kneading her sister's shoulders and tugging ruthlessly at the bedcoverings that the little blonde was clinging to for dear life.
"My head hurts," moaned Narcissa, shutting her eyes even tighter as a sharp pain pulsed through her temples. The older girl simply rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket for a phial filled with a strange viscous potion. She uncorked it and stuffed it in the previously sleeping girl's mouth.
Narcissa practically choked as she swallowed down the foreign liquid, spluttering and kicking and shoving and flailing beneath Bellatrix's weight. "What the bloody hell was that for? You could've warned me before you tried to kill me!" She wiped a bit of the potion that had dribbled down her chin with the back of her hand, skewering her sister with as much ferocity as she could muster that early in the morning.
"That'll teach you to try and drink with the boys," was Bellatrix's prompt reply. Noticing a momentary lapse in the girl's concentration, she ripped the sheets and quilt off of the bed, exposing her to the frigid October morning air.
No longer toasty in her bed, Narcissa practically shrieked as she dove for her trunk to pull out a warm jumper, woolen skirt, and thick stockings. "I absolutely loathe you," she growled as she got dressed. Her sister seemed completely uninterested in her frustration and faked a yawn, watching her get dressed. "This isn't even your dormitory. Don't you belong with the seventh years?" Once again, Bellatrix acted as if her sister's words didn't matter and ignored them accordingly.
"Unnecessary information," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "What is necessary, however, is an explanation for last night."
The blonde froze in the act of pulling her jumper over her head, thankful that the knit fabric in front of her face hid the obvious leak of color from her cheeks. What exactly was Bellatrix getting at? Had she noticed how she was acting around Lucius? Had she noticed that not only had she managed to scrounge up enough courage to talk to him, but she had even forayed into the world of using her feminine wiles to charm a man? No. Impossible. Simply impossible. She had been secretive enough… Well, not secretive in the literal meaning of the word, but discreet in her feelings towards the blond seventh year. Or at least, she had thought she had been. Had she been that obvious?
She straightened her clothing and plopped down on her bed with a groan, burying her face in her hands.
She had.
She must've flushed as dark a magenta as was humanly possible without being confused for someone suffocating at least a million times that night. To be frank, though, she had been practically suffocating, surrounded by the all-powerful – and deliciously sexy – aura of Lucius Malfoy. Although he was only a year her senior, it was no secret that he was a man to be reckoned with and therefore a desirable beau. To think he might have been interested in her and had actually enjoyed spending time with her… How stupid could she be? He was obviously just having himself some post-quidditch victory fun, toying with her to satisfy his whims. What would he ever want with her?
Sensing the blonde's discomfort, Bellatrix placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Before you start driving yourself insane by overthinking things, I'll have you know that you weren't as much of an idiot as you probably think you were."
Narcissa lifted her face tentatively from her hands, eyeing the dark haired girl with a wary expression.
"You were actually rather brilliant." Bellatrix took back her hand and buffed her fingernails against her shirt, examining them as if they were the most interesting things in the world.
Narcissa's eyes glittered with excitement and she hopped to her feet. "Really? You really think so?" You mean, I didn't make a blubbering fool of myself?
"You were kind of cute, in an I'm-trying-to-be-bad-but-I'm-really-not sort of way…"
Narcissa deflated, a slight frown creasing her lips.
Bellatrix tapped the girl beneath her chin. "But he bought every second of it."
She regained her excitement once again and practically beamed. So she hadn't been imagining the slight bit of interest on Lucius's part? She actually stood a chance?
The older girl fidgeted slightly in her place before grabbing her sister's hand and tugging her out of the Slytherin dungeons. "That doesn't mean you should go after him, though. Lucius can be a sodding wanker. I don't want you getting too close to him."
If Lucius so much as even thought of hurting Narcissa, he would be a bloody dead man.
By the time Lucius and Rodolphus had arrived to the Great Hall, the very set of sisters they were looking for – or at least the sister the blond was looking for and her brunette bodyguard, as he saw it – were already seated and cheerfully tucking into their breakfast, not rumpled in the least by the previous night's festivities. Considering how the party had gone the previous night and how the majority of Slytherin house was either not present at breakfast or quite obviously in pain, it certainly was a feat to be managed. Knowing Bellatrix, however, it was no surprise that she probably had a store of hangover remedy potions to rival Lucius's, if only for the fact that on nights when Rodolphus managed to get himself drunk, he also managed to find himself in her bed.
Lucius scanned the backs of the sisters with a calculating eye before strategically sitting down next to Narcissa who sat across from the dark haired girl. Rodolphus seemed to be giving him a dirty look as he took his post next to his girlfriend; he could only begin to imagine the thoughts running through his friend's head when he had that expression on his face, and none of them were decent.
"Good morning," Lucius greeted in his signature drawled intonation. A small smile tugged at his lips as he noticed the girl to his side starting at his presence.
"Good morning," she replied in a sheepishly quiet voice. Perhaps she was going to need a little bit of wheedling to loosen up as she had by his side at the party…
"Morning, it is. The wizengamot's still open for debate on whether or not it's good," snapped Bellatrix, almost too harshly for the early hour that it was. Lucius took it in stride, though, inclining his head slightly towards her in acknowledgement. Rodolphus, on the other hand, had suddenly become extremely interested in the pile of scrambled eggs he was spooning onto his plate, his mouth creased in an obviously satisfied grin.
Lucius would have to remember to include some sort of painful and tedious strategy for the beater to learn during quidditch practice.
Deciding it best to ignore Bellatrix for the time being, he turned his attention completely towards the younger sister as he served himself from the trays of breakfast food. "How are you?" he asked conversationally, hoping to strike up some sort of small talk with the girl. If he could only get her to loosen up a little bit… did he have to take her away from her sister to do so? They had been doing just fine last night by the window without the other two.
That was it. He had to convince her to go somewhere with him if he wanted to tease out the little bit of a saucy and feisty girl he had gotten a peek of at the party.
"I'm doing well, thank you," Narcissa replied, raising a dainty bite of scrambled eggs to her mouth and chewing silently.
Lucius's eyes trailed the fork as it disappeared between her full red lips, the sight of which caused some restless stirrings in the pit of his stomach. He turned back to his breakfast, tearing into it with gusto, as he tried to banish the thoughts of those lips circling around something else. Merlin, it was only morning and the gesture hadn't been sensual in the least. Had it really been that long? He would have to work harder to get her into bed fast, or he'd have to move on to someone else. There was always the option of his right hand… He found himself scowling at a muffin he'd plopped onto his plate as if everything was all its fault.
"And yourself?" chimed Narcissa, traces of a smile glittering in her light blue eyes. Goodness, could she tell? No, he told himself. She was far too innocent and naïve to think about anything like that. He knew that she must have a cunning and sly streak to her – or else she wouldn't have ended up in Slytherin – and had more sense than she let on, but no… He was just getting paranoid for no reason whatsoever. Why was he feeling so nervous?
"Great," he said, fixing her with a steel gaze that did not betray any of the miniscule internal battle he had been having. With that, she turned back to her breakfast, a faint pink flush tinting her otherwise pale complexion. Perfect. That was much more like it.
"May I ask if you have any plans for this afternoon?" he inquired, still not taking his eyes off of her, not even when Bellatrix snorted audibly and Rodolphus bit his knuckle to stifle a guffaw.
Narcissa shot an irked expression at her sister's noticeable outburst. When she replied to him, there was a glimmer of the more confident and flirtatious girl he had been lucky enough to get a peek of before. "You may," she said. "As of yet, I have none."
Bellatrix's expression, which had been one that blatantly stated that she thought Lucius to be an idiot and found the situation to be humorous, shifted to one of incredulity at her sister's response. Although she knew the girl to be attracted to the blond, she hadn't exactly expected her to allow him into her life with open arms, especially after her warning when they had left the Slytherin dungeons.
Lucius's grin grew practically tenfold. In his head, a tiny group of cheerleaders had just erupted into raucous applause. Point for me. "Would you like to go for a walk with me around the grounds?"
Narcissa's tiny shy smile was the only answer he needed.
Lucius had been correct in thinking that Narcissa would open up to him if she weren't with her sister. Once they had finished up with breakfast, they had made their way out to the grounds and were now circling the lake in companionable silence. Already she seemed much more at ease as she even allowed herself tiny giggles that grew into comfortable laughs when he told her something that she found amusing.
"But enough about that… I'm sure you probably get enough quidditch stories from Rodolphus," said Lucius.
Narcissa's usually serene features creased slightly as she wrinkled her nose. He knew that, since her sister and his friend were a couple and most likely going to be married, she spent quite a bit of time around him and his brother Rabastan. To be frank, he was almost surprised that he didn't see her walking around on the arm of the younger Lestrange. Perhaps the amount of time she was forced to be around the two of them had turned her off completely from that family. If that were the case, things were shaping up to be much better for him indeed. It would be much easier to get a girl who had no romantic feelings for anyone else in between his sheets.
"Sometimes, I wonder if quidditch is all he knows," she said, although her voice was not accusatory or negative in the least; although she, on the most part, disliked Rodolphus, she respected him as one did their potential future brother-in-law.
Lucius nodded sagely, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "He loves it, that's for sure, but who doesn't? Flying… it gives you a sense of power that very few things can rival."
Narcissa speared Lucius with an inquisitive look. "Power. Funny thing, coming from a Malfoy. I thought you lot had quite enough of that as it is."
Lucius appeared slightly taken aback and it took a moment for him to recover. He placed a hand against his chest in mock offense. "Miss Black; you wound me."
She shook her head and shoved his arm lightly. "Oh, please , Lucius. It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to know that you and your pureblooded family have a bit of influence"
He found himself quite pleased with the reaction he had managed to pull from her; his arm tingled rather pleasantly where her hand had connected with it. "As does yours… much like a pureblood family should." As soon of the words were out of his mouth, he regretted it. He had strong political beliefs that were no secret. Many of those in Slytherin house agreed with him, but some found the philosophy of blood purity to be outdated. He hoped that Narcissa wasn't one of those people. If he had said something that turned her off from him, he could say hello to his right hand.
Narcissa was silent for a moment, her hands linked behind her back as they walked along the lake. Her face seemed pensive, as if hundreds of thoughts were racing behind her eyes on tiny little brooms, in search of the elusive snitch of words to perfectly voice her opinion. "Purebloods should hold the power in our political system. It only makes sense. Muggleborns, halfbloods… They don't know enough about our traditions to truly take part in our world. If they were to be given any sort of influence…" She shook her head. "It just wouldn't work. They would pollute our world."
Once she had finished speaking, Lucius released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and smiled a genuine smile. "I am very glad you agree."
The hours that passed by felt like minutes. Lucius had taken Narcissa through the grounds to the boathouse by the like, to tiny secret gardens where he often spent his studying time, and to the quidditch pitch where he even managed to convince her to join him in a quick fly. Once they had landed on the sand, she swiftly told him that she simply did not fly and would not be doing so ever again, despite the fact that her voice certainly betrayed that she had enjoyed herself immensely.
All in all, the day had been a success. Lucius had learned that she – quite thankfully – stood on the same political platform as he and actually enjoyed her studies. She seemed somewhat like a Ravenclaw in that regard, or perhaps like the younger Slytherin, Severus Snape. She had a penchant for potions, arithmancy, and ancient runes since all of those subjects were the most mentally exhaustive and filled her with an unrivaled sense of accomplishment when she managed to do something perfectly in her classes. Surprisingly, she also enjoyed defense against the dark arts, although her reason for doing so was Slytherin to its very core. She defended herself by saying that she found the dark arts to be very interesting and rather enjoyed dueling when given the chance; what better way to be a better witch than know the spells and techniques her opponents would be using to protect themselves from her? He found that fact oddly endearing.
The girl was full of surprises. Just when he thought he understood her, she said something to throw him completely off kilter. When he thought he had managed to make her comfortable, she clammed up. When he thought wooing her had become a lost cause, she became playful and coy. In short, he almost felt as if spending extended amounts of time with her would cause him emotional whiplash. It was going to be very difficult to get what he wanted from her.
By the time the two of them had returned to the castle, they had missed lunch by a long time and the great hall was already being cleared of dinner. Lucius felt oddly guilty that he had taken up so much of her day, but pretended not to show it. She had agreed to join him on a walk. It wasn't his fault that the walk had lasted longer than expected.
A quiet rumbling sound came from her stomach. Her hands pressed against her abdomen, she looked positively aghast that such an improper and unladylike sound had come from her.
Lucius simply laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hungry?" he teased, a single blond eyebrow raised in challenge.
"Quite," she admitted sheepishly, her cheeks tinged pink.
"Come with me; the house elves – disgusting little creatures, really – in the kitchens would be more than happy to fix up something for us."
Narcissa nodded and followed after him down the corridors towards the kitchens. "Can't we get in trouble for doing this?" she asked.
"Only if we get caught," he responded.
Thankfully, no one intercepted them on their little mission for food and they soon found themselves in the kitchens surrounded by bustling house elves. One particularly irritating-looking creature hurried over to them, tugging on its bat-like ears. "Good evening, Mister Malfoy," it greeted, bowing low enough that its long and pointed nose scraped the ground.
"Hello, Tumbly," he responded. "Would you mind fetching something for us to eat?"
The house elf, having just straightened up, bowed lowly once again before disappearing into the kitchens with a "yes sir, right away, sir." It returned almost as quickly as it had disappeared with a box of sandwiches and desserts and a bottle of pumpkin juice.
Lucius nodded once curtly before striding out of the kitchens without a single thank you. Narcissa, although used to house elves and not fond of them in the least either, waved in thanks to the elf before disappearing with the blond. Tumbly practically keeled over backwards at the gesture before hurrying about to its duties.
Huddled around the fire in the Slytherin common room, Lucius watched as Narcissa dipped a spoon into a small cup of chocolate mousse and lifted it to her mouth to take a bite. Her lips closed around the piece of silverware and her eyelids fluttered close in appreciation of the treat. She even allowed herself a quiet moan of pleasure, which quite unfortunately rekindled the embers that had been sparked in the pit of his stomach over breakfast. Her pink tongue darted momentarily from her mouth to lick a small patch of chocolate from her lip.
"The house elves have really outdone themselves this time," she said, digging in once again.
Lucius cleared his throat and turned his gaze back on the flickering flames in the grate of the fireplace. "Quite," he muttered, his voice somewhat rough.
Narcissa finished up the last of her dessert and placed the remains in the box. The house elves would return sometime in the night to clean up after them. Getting to her feet, she smoothed imaginary creases from her skirt and tugged nervously on the sleeve of her jumper. Following her lead, Lucius also stood.
She shifted her feet and absently tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "I really enjoyed spending time with you today," she murmured, finally lifting her eyes to meet his cool grey gaze.
"The pleasure was all mine, Miss Black," Lucius replied, his eyes lighting up with delight. Perhaps his plan was working… It wouldn't be long before he could squirrel her away to his room and do all sorts of devilish deeds to her. "I do hope you'll agree to meeting with me again sometime," he said.
Narcissa nodded, a wide grin stretching her mouth into an adorable expression of glee. "I would like that very much."
Lucius had just been about to reach for her hand to place a kiss on it as he had the night before, but was surprised when he was met with something else entirely.
"Goodnight," Narcissa said. She stood up on her toes and brushed her lips softly against his cheek. With that, she hurried up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, giggling and waving goodbye.
Lucius's eyes grew in shock and he stood still in his place, completely at a loss as to what to do. His hand drifted idly to his face, his fingers tracing the place where the imprint of her lips still burned. His heart gave a small uncharacteristic lurch; although tiny, it was enough to frighten him. What was this girl doing to him? He had enjoyed spending time with her, yes, that much was true… But she was only another name in his book. She wasn't supposed to mean anything more. She wouldn't mean anything more. He shook himself before disappearing into the boys' dormitory.
Although his mind was telling him to keep all emotion out of this, Lucius wasn't sure if his heart was going to listen.
A/N: Whoop! Chapter 2's up and done! Thanks so much for reading! :D