Chapter Twenty Seven: Sweater

They walked in silence all the way back to Narcissa's room, where the elegant woman sat with her arms crossed, her finger irritably tapping on her arm. Sadly, Hermione and Ginny did not accomplish their intended purpose by diminishing Narcissa's irritation with Regan. Surprisingly, though, she didn't say a word. She simply got up to fetch Regan's clean clothes. Atop the pile that she had brought back was something that did not belong to Regan.

"What is this?" She asked as she picked up the garment and let it easily unfold in her hands.

"It's from Molly; a goodbye present." Narcissa told her with an even tone. It was a sweater almost identical to every other sweater that other people were wearing around the compound. Burgundy with a large yellow 'R' stitched on the front, Regan wasn't quite sure how to react. She couldn't remember the last gift that she had been given...why would they do something so nice for her? In a way, she supposed, this must be their way of telling her that she had been accepted into the group.

"Why did she make something for me?" Regan asked. Ginny gently smiled as they snapped her full suitcase shut.

"It's a present, she just wanted to…do you not normally get presents?" Regan shrugged her shoulders.

"Lucius sometimes gives me things, but it's all just for show…it's not like he cares."

"Believe me, if he didn't care you would have been dismissed months ago." Narcissa assured her. "And just be prepared…after a couple of months, he will bring in another woman into his life and they will have an affair." The room became uncomfortably silent as Regan let the information sink in.

"How long did it take before he brought somebody else in with you?" Regan asked. Narcissa sighed, taking a moment to think.

"It took a little while…probably two months after Draco had been born, when he realized that I had more important things to worry about then whether or not his dick was happy." Regan snorted, cracking a smirk. That only made Narcissa smile, pleased with the fact that she had gotten such a genuine response from Regan. "Come on, Astoria will be eager to see you." Narcissa said as she handed Regan her suitcase. Right before she took it, Regan quickly pulled on the sweater that Molly had made for her over her long sleeved shirt. It was too big for her, but it felt like she had been wrapped up in a warm hug. She smiled slightly before accepting her bag and following after the three women, each in much better spirits then they had been when they arrived.

When they entered into the main room, it seemed that almost everybody had come to say goodbye to Regan, something that she felt was rather overwhelming. On a table next to Ron sat her porkey that would take her back to Paris, a book about dragons. Everybody could appreciate the irony that it held.

"We're really glad that you could come," Ron told her before pulling her into a hug. Regan tried to return the favor, but found it awkward. She didn't hug; she wasn't a hugging person.

"I'll try to communicate through Astoria whenever I can." She answered. She was hugged and waved to by almost everybody there until she finally came to Charlie. Before he could even move, she had wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat gently pulsating against her ear and she closed her eyes. She hated to admit it, but he made her so absolutely calm, and it was really astounding and quite difficult for Regan to fully grasp. Quietly, she committed his beating heart and overwhelming scent to memory and swore to herself that whenever she was with Lucius, her mind would be on Charlie. They didn't kiss, both felt that it would make everybody feel awkward, but Charlie had a hard time letting her go.

"I'll write," she promised quietly before gently kissing his cheek. Charlie wordlessly nodded, giving her hand one final squeeze before he allowed himself to let go. Without being told, Regan picked up the book about dragons and she felt wind rush around her body. She shut her eyes, shivering slightly as she waited for it to be over. She didn't have to wait long and she opened her eyes to see that she was standing in the same Parisian hotel room that she had left only days earlier. Wrapped packages were strewn about the room; clearly Astoria went on an absolute shopping spree. It would give Lucius a good show when they got back.

"How was your week?" Astoria eagerly asked as she jumped up from the bed and tightly embraced Regan. "That's a charming sweater. My God Regan, look at you! You've got such a healthy glow in your cheeks! You must have had a good visit." Astoria pulled back with a smile on her face. The fact that she had greatly missed Regan was no lost on her.

"Did you have a good time with Luna?" Regan asked as she set down her suitcase. Astoria shrugged her shoulders.

"It was all right…we bought you a ton of stuff, I hope that you like it."

"It really doesn't matter, does it?" Regan asked as she set her suitcase down and flopped on the neatly made bed.

"I suppose not…do you look good in turquoise?" She asked. Regan furrowed her brow together, picking her head up slightly.

"I don't know…?"

"Well let's pretend that you do, we bought you a lot of it…and the shoes we bought, you're going to hate me, but I couldn't resist, especially since you have such tiny feet." Regan grimaced, letting her head plop back down on the thick comforter. "I'm sorry…I know that you're not really into fashion or anything frivolous like that…"

"I don't find it too frivolous…if it's something that you like, then I see nothing wrong with it." Astoria couldn't contain the smile on her face. Regan smirked at the joy radiating from her future daughter-in-law. Then she mentally shuddered at the thought, pushing it away.

"Should we get you dressed? They'll be delivering our porkey soon and then we'll be driven straight to the Manor." Regan nodded, sitting up and watching as Astoria fluttered around and picked out an outfit for her. She chose a navy blue jersey dress with long poet sleeves and a plunging V-neckline. She paired it with a pair of black heeled booties that had gold spikes on the heels. She then pulled Regan's hair into what she called a sock bun to show off the gold and turquoise earrings that delicately hung from Regan's ears. Finally, she gave Regan her giant engagement ring, which instantly made the young woman cringe. It was so heavy; she had forgotten how gaudy the damn thing was. She shrugged on the gray tweed coat that Astoria gave her, earning a nod of approval.

"You look like a fancy Parisian hipster." Astoria told her as if it were some kind of compliment. Regan could only nod, avoiding all mirrors as she helped Astoria gather up the packages and send them back home. Once the room had been cleared of all the luggage, Astoria brought out the porkey that had been delivered while Regan had been getting dressed. It was another goblet, but this time it was tall with large shimmering emeralds. Astoria went first and left Regan in the room alone. She stood there for a moment, silently wondering how long she could stay here before she was missed. She decided that she only had a few seconds so she straightened her jacket out before she picked up the second porkey. The wind rushed around her and she was once again in the dim room lit only by the pale green lights. Astoria was waiting for her with Mr. Wickersham and it was like Regan had never left.

"Welcome back, Ms. Westwood. Did you enjoy your stay in Paris?" Wickersham asked with a greasy smile. Regan quickly nodded, stepping past him with Astoria at her side. They walked through the Ministry, flanked by their bodyguards and receiving an almost identical reaction as they had days earlier. People stopped and stared, making Regan just want to shrink away. She had forgotten what it was like to be a normal person.

It only made her miss Canada.

They walked outside and were glad to see that there was a car already waiting for them. As soon as they climbed inside the car, Astoria rolled up the partition to make sure that they had privacy.

"Lucius hasn't written at all, but Draco says that he's been very busy with work." Regan slowly nodded, staring down at her bare knees with her lips tightly pursed together.

"I'll take care of that." Regan said, letting out a heavy sigh and mentally convincing herself that this was for the greater good.

"He's going to take a lot of convincing…I'm sorry that it's you that has to do this." Regan quickly shook her head.

"I wouldn't want anybody else to do this…if anybody's going to suffer, I'll volunteer." Astoria leaned back in her seat, tightly gripping her sleek handbag.

"This would be easier if I hated you," she said with a wistful smile.

"But it is pleasant to hear that you don't hate me." Regan told her with a small shrug. Astoria smirked.

"Narcissa told you what he likes?"

"Walks alone, hand holding, and he likes to…dominate." Astoria quickly nodded.

"In every aspect, so the more submissive you are the better." Astoria told her as they rounded the corner nad the Manor came into view. "He has to believe you; you can't let him think for a second that this is an act."

"I understand," Regan quickly told her. "I want this to work just as much as everybody else does." She mentally prepped herself as they pulled into the driveway and they saw Draco holding Scorpio with Lucius patiently waiting for them. She felt positively sick to her stomach, but there was no way that she could back out now. She was totally committed and would continue to resist against Lucius until the day she died, even if that day was tomorrow.

When the car stopped, Astoria quickly emerged and happily scooped up Scorpio up in her arms, gently kissing his forehead as the small boy cooed with enthusiasm. Lucius opened the car door for Regan, leaning over slightly to catch a good glimpse at the young woman.

"Welcome back," he said in a low tone. Regan leaned forward slightly, her bright hair catching in the dull light.

"Good to be back." She muttered, meeting his piercing gaze. "May I speak with you in private?" She asked, delicately raising an eyebrow. Lucius seemed a little surprised by her request, but he nodded and helped her from the car. Without a word, they went around the side of the house and began slowly making their way through the tall hedge maze and only stopped when they came to a secluded spot almost devoid of all noise.

"All of the plans have been completed and all of the guests have accepted the invitations…does this make you happy?" He asked almost hesitantly. Regan nodded, forcing a smile.

"Yes, I'm really looking forward to it." Regan stopped, shrinking down slightly. She averted her gaze and thought of lying next to Charlie to make her blush. "Lucius…I wanted to apologize for how I've been behaving. Astoria and I spoke at lengths and I finally realized just how much you care about me...and how much I care about you. I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner and I'm sorry about how I've treated you. I was wrong and I shouldn't have been so foolish."

When Regan looked back up to meet his gaze, all she saw was pure shock written boldly across his face. But Regan was thankful for the strange look that she got; it meant that he believed her.

"Do you really mean it?" He asked, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. Regan nodded, reaching out to grasp his hand.

"I do mean it…I can't wait to be your wife."

Lucius couldn't contain himself. This was what he had wanted to hear since he had first laid eyes on Regan and the fact that it was finally happening was nothing short of amazing. He pulled her close and aggressively kissed her, nearly losing his mind when she leaned into him and tightly grasped his robes in her small, pale hands. Internally, Regan was squirming and itching to just push him away. She forced herself to think of Charlie, but it did little to improve her current situation.

"There's a lot that I need to take care of before the wedding," Lucius told her when he finally pulled away. "I've decided to take you to Vienna for the honeymoon, what do you think? I've got business that I need to attend to, and then I can spend my evenings with you. What do you think?" Regan bit her lower lip, shyly glancing away. "This displeases you?" Regan innocently shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought that the point of a honeymoon was to spend all of our time together…alone…what's the point if you're going to be working every day?" Regan hated the way that she sounded, but she was pleased to see that this was proving to be easier than she had originally anticipated.

"Oh my dear, I can assure you that you will have plenty of time to have me to yourself." He purred with a small smirk. "But I cannot neglect all the work that I have. My attentions are needed in Austria to ensure that the takeover in North America goes smoothly. Darling, you know that I cannot neglect my duties." Regan pouted, inwardly hating herself for her fake reaction.

"But we hardly know each other…I was really hoping to spend some time with you outside of the bedroom." Lucius sighed, taking the situation into consideration. Regan had finally fallen into his grasp; he couldn't let her slip away so quickly.

"Well…I suppose we could go somewhere closer and spend the whole time together…would you prefer that?" Regan quickly nodded, plastering a bright smile onto her face.

"That would be wonderful!" She exclaimed, standing up on her tiptoes and pressing a firm kiss to his cheek. Lucius grabbed her chin, forcing a kiss against her lips and making her blush slightly.

"Don't worry, I'll make all of the arrangements. You just take care of yourself and I will see you on the wedding day." Regan nodded, getting one final kiss from Lucius before he strode away back towards the house. Regan sighed as soon as he was out of sight, rolling her eyes and slowly making her way back to the front entrance of the Manor. She saw that Draco and Astoria were still in the front entrance, offering her a welcoming smile as the servants carried their packages upstairs to be put away.

"I should get an award," Regan muttered. Draco actually chuckled as they all walked up the stairs towards the large family room.

"I'll buy you a giant trophy when this is over."

...

A/N: So I randomly started a short story this week...not sure how that's gonna turn out, but I'm really enjoying it so far and if you'd like, I'll keep you posted :)

Queer King Stephen: Good to see you again! And I'm glad that you're enjoying this story :)

Dragoon Dave: You're so needy...