Narcissa and Lucius had had the perfect engagement.
There was nothing about it that hadn't been just so. Their families had all been delighted, though obviously not surprised and it had been pronounced by the rest of the wizarding world as a very eligible match, for him as well as for her.
.
.
.
Their engagement party had been the social event of the season and everybody who was anybody had attended. The press interest had been astronomical when the engagement had first been announced, however it very quickly died down due to the fact that people were much more interested in who was being killed than who was getting married. More and more deaths were reported in the papers everyday. But that was the way of the world. Death always captured more attention than life.
Narcissa flopped onto the sofa and sighed. It had been a very long day. After a moment or two Belinda Malfoy flowed into the room and daintily perched on the chair opposite.
"You should get some rest. You want to look your best for the big day."
"I can't. I'm going to Dempsey's tonight with Bellatrix and Daddy, for a family dinner."
Belinda stood up, and kissed her cheek. "Don't be too late. I'll be back in the morning to help you dress."
When the older woman had gone Narcissa dropped her head in her hands and cried.
For the past three days Belinda Malfoy had been helping her prepare Ravensden for the wedding. There had been an awful lot to do and there was no way Narcissa could have done it alone. But having Belinda bustling about and fussing all over her had torn old wounds, had awoken old pangings.
Lucius hadn't planned on seeing his fiancée until the wedding, however he had been bored that afternoon, so he decided to drop by Ravensden and see how the preparations were going, and possibly enjoy himself by winding up his mother. It had been a constant source of amusement for him for the last couple of weeks and with the wedding tomorrow his opportunities were now slim.
His heart stopped when he saw her weeping on the battered old sofa that Narcissa had insisted on keeping, even thought the family could more than afford a new one, it had been her mother's favourite. The first thought that came to his mind was that she was going to call off the wedding, he couldn't imagine anything that could have happened to get her in this state, unless it was Bellatrix. Scenarios raced through his head at a blur, each one progressively worse than the next. He could barely make out the words but eventually he spoke.
"Narcissa? What's wrong?"
She looked up through tear stained lashes, surprised to be disturbed. Her eyes were red and puffy and he nose was beginning to run. Lucius had never seen her look this dishevelled, even on the day of her mother's funeral she had maintained her composure.
"I… I miss my mother" she sobbed brokenly.
He didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could say, it was impossible to make this right.
Mrs Black should have been here, not his mother. Narcissa should have had her own mother fussing about her hair and helping her pick out her dress, not some replacement, for whom Narcissa felt a mere shadow of the affection that she had had for her own mother.
He just wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, and eventually she quietened, then stopped completely.
"I'm sorry" she almost stammered, wiping her eyes with her sleeve."
"Don't be." Lucius insisted, almost frightening her with his intensity. "I'm so sorry that your mother was taken from you." Narcissa met his gaze now, looking up sharply at her future husband "But I promise you, that I will find those responsible. And I will make them pay."
Narcissa's face was unreadable, and the coldness of her answer surprised him.
"Good."
The next day dawned bright and clear, which was unsurprising, due to the amount of time and energy put into warding off the rain clouds which had threatened yesterday. Bellatrix had come to help her get ready, Lucius had insisted that his mother stayed at the manor to help him prepare, but it was suspected that this was to give Narcissa some peace, rather than due to any real needs of his own.
.
.
.
She was nervous now.
.
.
.
But more importantly she was ready. Bellatrix had come to help her dress that morning, much to Narcissa's surprise. Her blonde hair had been curled and pinned up elegantly by a witch who's wand skills would have astounded the more financially challenged. Her make-up was soft and dewy and she knew she looked perfect.
.
.
.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw her walking down the isle.
.
.
.
Her gown was entrancing. Soft and floaty and hugging her in all the right places, a deep v just hinting at the cleavage that laid beneath it. The dress was matched by a pair of beaded slippers which gently peeked out from under the hem. The final touch being a pair of long white gloves. She looked perfect, and after all she should – it was her wedding day.
Then she was standing by his side, and her father was placing her hand in his. She belonged to him now. From this day forward she would no longer be a Black, and she knew this.
Narcissa turned and smiled at her father, who was happy to have played his part and to return to his seat.
"By the earth and the grass beneath me" Lucius said to her gently and Narcissa repeated his words. This wedding ritual had been used by the pureblood families since the dawn of time, and required no official like muggle weddings, the couple just made their vows in public and signed their declaration of marriage later at the ministry.
"By the earth and the grass beneath me."
"By the moon and the sun above me"
"By the wind and the air around me"
"I Lucius, with this ring"
"I Narcissa, with this ring"
"Take thee in troth to be mine till death takes us" as he spoke he slipped a simple gold band onto her finger next to the solitaire that had adorned her hand for the last eighteen months.
"My heart, my soul: To you everything I bestow."
The ceremony was sealed with a kiss. It was more for show than anything else, Lucius was a private man and didn't really hold with public displays of affection. But Narcissa knew that it didn't necessarily mean that he didn't feel it.
.
.
.
Like the wedding itself the reception was nothing short of perfection. Wine and champagne flowed like rivers, the food was exquisite and Narcissa barely had time to eat a bite. After they had greeted all the guests inside the manor they had to go and pose outside for the photographers. It was a part of life for them both, since childhood, at any important event the press must be greeted at that point.
After about five minutes of flashbulbs popping Narcissa's cheeks were aching from smiling, and she stopped to answer a few questions. She nodded to a curly haired witch who was clasping a lime green handbag.
"Rita Skeeter, Witches Weekly." The woman quickly introduced herself "Mrs Malfoy, how does it feel to have snapped up the most eligible bachelor in the country?"
"We couldn't be happier, right dear?" Narcissa smiled to the photographers who were once again taking pictures.
"Yes, of course" Lucius agreed hastily, before ending the session "I would like to thank you all for coming, however my wife and I have guests waiting and I believe they are getting impatient for a slice of wedding cake."
The press all laughed politely as Lucius whisked his new wife back into the house, where the rest of the day went by in a blur, but eventually the cake had been cut, all the guests had eaten and drank their fill and the night was nearly over.
.
.
.
"Shall we retire then Mrs Malfoy?" her husband asked her, as a slow waltz drew to an end.
"If you like" Narcissa agreed.
"Well then Ladies and Gentleman" Lucius addressed the guests "I think it is time my wife and I depart." There were a few catcalls and whoops from the back, mostly from Rodolphus, who was being elbowed by Bellatrix. Lucius ignored them and continued "I hope to see you all when we return from our honeymoon. Goodnight."
With that he escorted Narcissa to the fireplace and she followed him to Grosnevor Square, where the Malfoy townhouse was situated, and within moments they were standing in the entrance hall.
"Welcome home Mrs Malfoy" he murmured, bending to kiss her lips tenderly.
Narcissa was no stranger to the Malfoy Townhouse, she had visited it many times before, though she was not as familiar with it as she was Malfoy Manor, as she had never visited without a chaperone, and she had never seen the private rooms.
"So Lucius, are you going to give me the tour then?"
"What do you mean the tour? You've seen the house before."
"Not upstairs I haven't." she hinted strongly and Lucius caught up quickly, raising an eyebrow at his new wife.
Narcissa was a virgin, but no unmarried pureblooded witch worth her salt wasn't. Even Bella, despite her wild ways still claimed that she had waited till her wedding night, though Narcissa was sure that she and Rodolphus had gone at it a few weeks before the actual wedding.
However Narcissa wasn't entirely innocent, on the few occasions that she and Lucius had been alone in the house, they had taken complete advantage of the privacy, to a certain extent. Lucius was too much of a gentleman to deflower his bride before the wedding. However now, all bets were off. Narcissa was feeling excited, and more than a little nervous.
"Well I will show you to your room then" he demurred silkily, as he moved behind her and kissed her neck slowly. Narcissa felt tremors run down her arms and the hairs stand on end as she followed him up the stairs.
She entered her room and Lucius left her to go to his. The room was large and painted in the palest of blues, with silver trimmings, with an enormous four poster bed in the centre with blue bedding and silver curtains. There were three doors leading off the main bedroom, not including the one that Narcissa had just walked in. One would be her bathroom, one would be her dressing room and the last would lead to Lucius' room, though she didn't know which one was which.
There was a small dressing table laden with a few of her things standing in the corner, and on the opposite wall to the bed there was a large fireplace, from which Bellatrix was emerging.
"Hey Cissy, you haven't been waiting too long have you?"
"No I just got here"
Prior to the wedding it had been decided that Bellatrix should pop over and help Narcissa out of her dress, it had taken the house-elf an hour to button her into it, and it would take nearly as long for Bellatrix to help her out of it. Her elder sister stood behind her and started to unbutton her dress, chatting as she did so.
"Where's Lucius then?"
"I should imagine that he's in his room"
"Probably waiting for you"
"Probably" Narcissa agreed absently.
"Nervous?"
"A little, not too bad though."
"You didn't listen to Aunt Walburga did you? Because I think what she knows about sex wouldn't fill the Quibbler."
Narcissa sighed, a smile on her face. "No I didn't listen to Aunt Walburga, because her girls talk is more traumatic than you could possibly imagine."
"I bet" Bella smiled.
"Put it this way, she didn't do Uncle Orion any favours."
Bella chuckled as she undid the last few buttons. "What do you want me to do with the dress?" she asked as Narcissa ducked behind a screen to change.
"Can you just hang it in the dressing room?"
"Which one's the dressing room?"
"I'm not sure, leave it on the bed. I'll deal with it later" Narcissa replied, emerging now wearing a silk robe.
"Well I'll leave you both to it – Have fun!" she called as she jumped back through the fireplace leaving Narcissa alone.
.
.
She decided to go find her husband.
The first door led to her dressing room, which was full of wardrobes, too many just to hold all her current clothes. She resisted the temptation to look inside the wardrobe as she didn't want Lucius to think that she'd sooner explore than go to him.
The second door led to the bathroom, which was decorated in a similar fashion to her bedroom. It contained a modest sized tub, large enough to fit four or five people. She retreated back into the bedroom. Only one door left. She inhaled deeply and opened the door.
Lucius was standing on the other side, dressed in only a pair of black pair of pyjama pants. She opened her mouth to speak, but as she did so his crossed the room in two strides and kissed her hungrily.
He caught her by surprise and swept her breath away, but she soon started to respond with equal ferocity. His hands were travelling all over her now, moving from her face, her breasts and her arse, feeling them roughly.
She was starting to feel hot now, and some relief came as he stripped away her robe to reveal a short white silk negligee underneath. Her hands now began to wander as he began to lead her towards the bed. She was feeling strangely powerful at the moment and she was enjoying the effect that she was having on her husband.
Feeling bold she felt the lean strength of his abdomen, then ran her hands down to rest on his hips as he lay her back on the bed. She and Lucius had been intimate before, but it had always been rushed, she'd never really had time to explore the hard contours of his body, which were so different to the softness of her own curves. She heard him groan into her mouth as she ran her hand along the length of him, which only spurred him to a new frenzy.
He crawled on top of her and he was soon pulling off her nightgown hastily, she felt slightly nervous as he unveiled her flesh and as if he sensed her apprehension he kissed her tenderly, smiling at her broadly as he drew back to take a breath.
She began to tug down his pants, and suddenly he stilled.
Lucius realised with a whirl that he was about to take his wife's virginity, and that he was probably not going about it in the most gentleman-like fashion. He looked down to where she was laying beneath her.
"Narcissa…" he began, but she cut him off.
"I'm ready Lucius" she told him boldly.
"You are so beautiful" he told her in awe "and sexy and everything a man could want in a wife."
She knew it would hurt, she had been told by plenty of people; the absence of her mother had triggered various female relatives to take her place and inform Narcissa of her marital duties. However when he entered her it felt slightly uncomfortable at first but then once he had established a rhythm it was indescribable. They came together, a tangle of limbs and sweat both groaning each other's names.
And eventually Mr and Mrs Malfoy drifted off into sleep, Narcissa encircled in Lucius' arms.