Narcissa had been quite looking forward to her stay with Mrs Malfoy, it was nice to get away from Bellatrix's and her mother's twice hourly disagreements, which was her mother's term for the blazing rows that seemed to erupt every thirty minutes or so during any time that the pair started a civil conversation. Rodolphus was rarely away from Ravensden these days and he and Narcissa had taken to spending time wandering through the gardens every time that voices began to be raised. Rodolphus and Narcissa had grown quite close recently, and he now looked at her with the affection of an older brother, often bringing her sweets back from Diagon Alley, and always glaring at Lucius when he was seen in the company of Violet Parkinson. Narcissa was uncharacteristically grateful at his actions, especially as she had been dreading the upcoming wedding, well more what came after the wedding, Bellatrix would be moving in with Rodolphus at his London flat and she would be the only Black sister left, she would be alone. But now she was feeling less like she was loosing a sister and more like she was gaining a brother.
Said brother was approaching the patio where she and Mrs Malfoy were enjoying a cool glass of pumpkin juice in the hot July weather.
"Good afternoon Mrs Malfoy, Cissa."
"Hello Rodolphus." Narcissa smiled back warmly, wondering what he was doing at Malfoy Manor, as Lucius was currently in town.
"To what do we owe the pleasure Mr Lestrange? Lucius isn't currently home, though we are expecting him back soon, you're welcome to wait."
"Actually, I wanted a word with Narcissa."
Narcissa suddenly knew why he was here and rolled her eyes, she wasn't going to allow this to become a yearly ritual "No, absolutely not."
"Please, I've got no-one else to turn to. And she was so pleased last year."
"I'm not helping you to pick out Bella a birthday present again. You're on your own this year."
Rodolphus sighed, sensing a lost cause, He would have to fend for himself this year, unless perhaps one of Bella's other friends was willing to help him. "What time will Lucius be back?" he enquired, as he needed to speak to Malfoy as well. "I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone while I'm here?"
"Mother and Bella fighting again?" Narcissa hiked up an eyebrow elegantly.
"I decided to leave when things started to get thrown around the room." Narcissa bit back a giggle.
"Lucius should be here in half an hour or so." Belinda informed him with a warm smile.
"You don't mind if I wait?"
Narcissa and Rodolphus had spent the rest of the time waiting for Lucius' arrival strolling through the gardens; Belinda had gone inside to lie down for an hour or so, before dinner, as was her usual custom. When the Malfoy heir finally arrived home he wasn't in a good mood, he positively glowered at Lestrange and barely glanced at Narcissa before sweeping inside, Rodolphus following close at his heels.
The two men spent the rest of the afternoon, and most of the evening locked in Lucius' father's study. What they had been talking about all evening Narcissa didn't know, though she was curious, as she passed the closed door on her way up to bed that night she heard hushed voices.
"It's decided then?"
"Tomorrow night?"
"That is what the Dark Lord has commanded."
A loud crack signalled that Rodolphus had finally gone home for the night. Hearing Lucius approaching the door Narcissa scurried off, being caught eves-dropping by her future husband was certainly not on the to-do list for the evening. She went to bed, worrying about the information she had overheard, she was concerned that Bellatrix would get in with a crowd that was far too rough for her. Mind you it would take a powerful witch or wizard to out-hex Bellatrix Black, which was always a consolation. However the Ministry of Magic had publicly denounced Lord Voldemort two days before, condemning him and his actions. Her father, who had been a member of the Knights of Walpurgis, alongside his brother, in their youth, had assured her that he had no plans of joining the death-eaters as they were now calling themselves, he was far too old, and her uncle felt the same way.
She soon fell deeply asleep, not hearing Lucius apparate out into the warm July night, unaware that her future husband, sister and future brother-in-law were silently creeping towards a dark house. The inhabitants, who were asleep in their beds as the three stole into their house, never woke up.
The next morning it was all over the prophet.
Narcissa read the article with an air of disinterest – she hadn't known the victims, so she started reading a back issue of witches weekly that she had missed. The rest of the day she spent sunbathing on the patio of the Malfoy estate, she relaxed sitting on a sun-lounger, dressed in a thin white cotton skirt, vest and a white sun hat to stop the fair skin on her face from getting burnt. She had been planning to spend the day shopping at Diagon Ally, however with current events being as it were Mrs Malfoy had advised against it.
She didn't see Lucius until dinner that night; she had just come downstairs from getting dressed for dinner when he arrived in the dining room, with Violet Parkinson in tow, who looked irate seeing Narcissa seated at the table sipping a glass of white wine.
"Mother, I would like you to meet Violet Parkinson."
"How do you do?" asked Mrs Malfoy coolly.
Violet faltered for a moment before replying "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Malfoy."
Perhaps Narcissa had spent too long in the sun that day, or perhaps she had eaten too little for her heart suddenly went out to the other girl, as Belinda Malfoy was a force to be reckoned with, "You're looking well Violet" she smiled warmly as the other girl sat down opposite her "Belinda, did you know that Violet is an old school chum of mine?"
"No I didn't" she replied with interest.
"Yes we were at Hogwarts together."
The conversation for the remainder of the rest of the meal was light, cheery and inconsequential; the women of the house pretended that last nights attacks had not occurred, while Lucius had no intention of interrupting their charade. After dinner was finished Narcissa and Mrs Malfoy retired to the study, while Lucius escorted his latest fling round the rose gardens.
"I'm so sorry Narcissa; it was dreadfully rude of Lucius to bring that girl here." Belinda Malfoy seemed quite put out at her son's behaviour; Narcissa on the other hand had stoically decided to ignore the blatant insult that Lucius was throwing at her by inviting Violet round while she was staying at the Manor. She decided to go and owl Bellatrix, as she had left one of her favourite dresses at home and she wanted to wear it in a couple of days, so she made her way to the library to find a quill and some parchment, however when she entered the room she was not alone.
There were two figures in the dark room, the moonlight shining into the room illuminating them slightly. It was Violet and Lucius, they had obviously finished their tour of the grounds and now she was wrapped around him in a tight embrace. She could see his blonde hair glinting in the moonlight, and his strong set jawbone pressed to the other girl's lips. A sudden pang of jealousy ripped through her, she didn't want Lucius to be kissing somebody else like that; she wanted him to be kissing her. However Lucius aside, she wanted to send an owl, and she wasn't going to be distracted from her mission. They hadn't seen her come in, so she could pretend she hadn't seen them.
"Lumos" she flicked her wand slightly and all the candles in the room burst into life. Lucius and Violet jumped apart, to her satisfaction and she slowly said "I'm so sorry; I didn't see the two of you in here. I just came to get some parchment; I'll leave you to it."
Violet, who looked suitably embarrassed interrupted her, "No, I should be going home anyway, mother will be waiting for me. You will say goodnight to your mother for me wont you?" With that she apparated out of the room, leaving Lucius looking a little bewildered.
Narcissa strolled across the room and started looking in one of the desks for the parchment, a smirk set firmly on her face.
"I'm glad you find this so amusing" a voice drawled behind her, almost sending shivers down her spine. "I suppose you want me to apologise for bringing her here?"
"No" Narcissa replied "It's your house; you can do what you like. But your mother does" whether she wanted the apology or not, she would probably end up getting it.
"We have no formal arrangement at the moment Narcissa" he reminded her.
"Oh I'm aware of that Lucius, I'm assuming this works both ways then?"
"As long as you behave in a manner that merits the Malfoy name."
"I'm not a Malfoy yet" she spat.
"You practically are" he insisted, something about his condescending manner was irritating Narcissa now, she hated being dictated to.
"I'm not even close to becoming a Malfoy, especially not in public opinion. My friends are currently expecting me to announce my engagement any day; though it will be a surprise for them when they see whose ring I finally wear."
He regarded her coolly "You should end it with him."
"You should end it with her" she countered.
He was very close now, maybe he was trying to intimidate her, it wasn't working. She could smell him, there was a slightly sooty smell coming from his clothes from where he had travelled by floo earlier, and there was an underlying smell, one that she couldn't quite place like leather and cimmamon.
"You're mine Narcissa" he told her firmly "and I don't want people to think that you belonged to someone else before you belonged to me." With that he brought his lips down upon hers.
From that moment on she was his.
The kiss was extraordinarily gentle, with a building passion behind it. He tasted her deeply, demanding that she respond as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She felt like she could kiss him for the rest of her life. She ran her fingers down his face, and cupped his neck gently as he ran his hands down her back, then caressed her stomach before moving up to rest on the softness of her breast.
He had crossed the line there.
Narcissa Black was no prude, though like a good pureblooded girl she had retained her virginity she had done other intimate things with a man before, she had tried things with various boyfriends before, however Lucius Malfoy was not her boyfriend. He was somebody else's.
She broke away.
He rested his forehead on her shoulder and sighed, almost puzzled by her sudden change in behaviour. She explained "Despite what our future may hold for us, I will not be your bit on the side whilst you dally about with other girls." With that she straightened her robes and disappeared into the darkness of the manor.
Lucius ended things with Violet the next day.