Rated M.

Chapter Seven

When she had sent the letter off, using one of the Malfoys' many owls, which she assumed she had permission to use, Virginia found herself stopping to think. She knew that this was not a wise move, and so decided to try to keep busy. However, having exhausted every possible object of interest in her room (of which there were very few), she soon found herself wandering around the empty Manor, looking for something else to keep her mind off the worries that were nagging at her conscience.

The house-elves were all busy cleaning and performing other chores, and the few that didn't tremble in the presence in humans were too busy to stop and chat. Even Mimi and Bron were busy with laundry.

In the end, Virginia found herself in the corridor of Lucius' study. Narcissa had steered her clear of it on their original tour, and so she had only been near the place last night, and then she'd been too preoccupied with Lucius to really notice her surroundings. Keep walking, Virginia, she told herself, knowing that her feline-like sense of curiosity had gotten her in trouble in the past, but something was luring her towards the heavy wooden door. She passed it once, walking to the other end of the corridor. No one was around. None of the Malfoys were due back for hours. The house-elves were busy...

It'll probably be locked, she told herself, walking past the door a second time, willing her legs to keep moving. She wasn't even sure exactly why she wanted to go in there so much. Something was drawing her in, and she couldn't shake her inexplicable curiosity.

Coming to an abrupt halt on her third walk past, she hastily grabbed onto the door handle, half praying that it would be locked so that she could move on. It was not. The door was heavy, but perfectly possible to open, and swung into the office. Virginia stepped in quickly, and shut the door behind her, letting go of the deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

She turned slowly to face the room, which was dark except for where light was pouring through a large window. Directly opposite her was Lucius' grand mahogany desk, and behind it his sturdy leather chair. To her left, the fireplace and dark leather armchairs in which the pair had sat yesterday evening, and to the right of that the side board in which Lucius kept his drinks. The other side of the office was lined with ceiling-high bookcases, stuffed with ancient looking volumes, and the odd display jar, containing items Virginia didn't want to look too closely at.

She moved slowly, making sure she didn't touch anything. Perhaps the most striking thing about the room was its deep scent, musky and slightly spicy. It smelt like Lucius, and Virginia found herself inhaling deeply.

She walked up and down the line of books, skimming the titles. Many of the books appeared to have titles in Latin or Greek, and she could only imagine what sort of dark magic they held, judging by their dark covers.

Coming to Lucius' desk, Virginia's heart missed a beat, and she froze where she was, like a frightened rabbit. She could hear footsteps approaching the door, and the unmistakable, ominous tapping noise of Lucius' cane in time with the steps. She gulped, her heart beating at a terrified pace. Her eyes scanned the room in desperation - the only place to hide would be behind the desk. Her fight or flight instinct failed her, and she chose neither option, choosing instead to throw herself under the large desk, just as the door handle turned, and the lights shot on.

Virginia's heart was in her mouth as she positioned herself under the desk, which thankfully concealed her fully, at least from the other side. She prayed that Lucius wouldn't come round to the chair side, let alone sit down. The chances that he wouldn't kick her as he sat down and discover her were petrifying low. She placed a firm hand over her mouth in an attempt to conceal her heavy breathing, and curled herself into a ball, loathing herself for being so stupid. What was I thinking?!

She could barely breathe as she heard Lucius' steps coming closer, coming right towards his desk. She heard him set something down on the top, presumably papers, and hoped that he would turn and leave, but he kept moving, resting his cane on the side of the desk, inches from where Virginia was hiding.

And then he pulled out his chair. And sat down. It was all Virginia could do not to curse under her breath at her own foolishness and bad luck - he should be out on business! she moaned silently. Curiosity killed the cat...

Lucius' shoes, by some grace of God, hadn't come into contact with the body under his desk, and he now set about shuffling papers, from what Virginia could make out of the sounds. His legs were so close that she could feel his heat radiating from him. Her position was becoming dreadfully uncomfortable, but she didn't dare move, resigning herself to any number of minutes, hours even, under there if only he would leave without discovering her, and she could go back to her room an innocent.

She suddenly thought - if Lucius was back, Draco was probably with him. And if Draco was back, it wouldn't be long before he came looking for her. And if he couldn't find her, she might be declared missing, and-

"I know you're down there, Virginia." Lucius' velvet voice cut sharply into Virginia's panicked thoughts, and she nearly had a heart attack, rising involuntarily and nearly hitting her head on the underside of the desk. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, wishing the earth would swallow her up. How did he know?

Lucius slowly pushed his chair out of the way, and leant down, peering under his desk. Virginia's terrified eyes met his, and he smirked, holding out a mock-gentlemanly hand to help her up. She took it, pure fear, embarrassment, and shame etched across her pretty face. She got to her feet with shaking knees and brushed her dress down, straightening the skirt, as Lucius looked on with vague amusement, his eyes giving nothing away.

In truth, he had known the minute she'd entered his study, and it was the reason he had returned so early. He'd always had protective charms guarding his office, but no one before now had ever dared to go in uninvited - he couldn't fault her for her boldness, even if it was foolish beyond measure.

And, he couldn't deny: he'd hoped that he would catch her before she got out, but the hiding-under-the-desk move - it was almost too good to be true. He refrained from smirking gleefully; now he got to watch the girl squirm before him, at a distinct disadvantage.

"I am so sorry, Sir," Virginia began, her voice soft and timid sounding.

"Are you?" Lucius asked her, his aristocratic leer prominent. "I think you're just sorry you got caught."

Virginia shook her head vehemently, and a lock of hair fell from its up-do, framing one side of her face. "I shouldn't have been in here..."

"No, you shouldn't have been," Lucius cut across her, trying and succeeding to sound furious and intimidating. Virginia squirmed under his gaze. In reality, Lucius was finding it hard to be angry with the girl - she'd clearly done no harm, (other than letting her nosiness get the better of her), and he was enjoying watching her like this, sadistic in his delight at her fearful expression. He continued to interrogate her, part of him interested to see how far he could push her before she'd break down:

"And what were you doing in my office, uninvited?" he asked cruelly, his lip curled in the fear-inducing manner he'd so perfected in his time.

Virginia could barely meet his eye. "I-I was exploring the Manor, Sir," Again with the 'sir', Lucius thought to himself, refraining from outright smirking at her. "I couldn't remember which room this was, and-"

"Liar!" Lucius slammed his fist down on his desk, and Virginia jumped, her cheeks flushing a beautiful shade of red.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, her voice cracking as she said it - this is it, Lucius thought, sadistically happy - she's going to break.

"Why were you really in my study?" Lucius pushed her, standing up so that he was towering over her, and roughly taking a hold of her chin to force her eyes to his.

"I-" Virginia stuttered, but couldn't think of a convincing answer. "I was curious..."

Lucius leered down at her as the first tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. Bizarrely, though half of him was enjoying having her so utterly helpless before him like this, half of him was overcome with the sudden urge to wipe her tear, and reassure her. How does she do this to me?

"Do you think it was polite," he hissed, "To break into my study like that? To lie to me about it only minutes later?"

"No, Sir," Virginia whimpered, thinking it unwise to point out that she hadn't technically broken in if the door was unlocked.

"I should punish you..." Lucius mused, still gripping her chin, an evil spark appearing in his normally cold eyes. Virginia could have sworn her heart stopped beating momentarily.

Lucius would have given anything to throw her down onto his desk and fuck her, hard, into the solid wood, to teach her a lesson. That, he mused with a smirk, or take her over his knee. Instead, he settled for something which proved to be far more intimidating: he spun her around, and swiftly walked her backwards until her back hit the wall behind his desk. Pinning her arms to her sides, he lunged forward, taking her by surprise, and kissed her roughly, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth. It only lasted for a second, two at most, but when he pulled back and released her hands, Virginia couldn't move.

Her heart pounded in her chest so loudly she worried he would hear it. Her wide eyes never strayed from his as her mind frantically tried to process what had just happened. She brought a hand up to her lips, her breath coming in short bursts. Lucius looked on from a meter away. When he stepped forward a second time, he expected the girl to flinch or move away, but she did not. She stood her ground, and when his lips came down to meet hers, he found they were met with a passion, which, though it could hardly be said to equal his own, was certainly not that of a girl who had no feelings towards him. And when she tentatively raised a hand to touch his upper arm, all he could do was push her further into the wall, and try to refrain from pulling her closer towards him.

*.*.*.*.*

Virginia was struggling to look anywhere near composed as she sat, less than an hour later, opposite Draco in a small reception room she hadn't been in before. Luckily, Draco didn't seem to notice - he was far too preoccupied with an invisible mark on the ceiling.

Having made awkward small talk for a couple of minutes, the soon-to-be married couple had run out of things to say to each other. Draco was far too stubborn and moody at the moment to try very hard, and Virginia was relieved to have a few moments to think, even if she was seated in close proximity to the son of the very man who was on her mind.

She thought back to their kiss, still reeling in shock, not only at him having kissed her at all, but shocked too at her reaction. She had enjoyed it. She had felt an unfamiliar tingling in her lower stomach, and craved his touch when he'd pulled back. And even before that, through her fear and her tears, she had, dare she say it, liked the way he exerted his dominance over her. And when he'd said the word "punish"...

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Draco asked stiffly, breaking Virginia's reverie. Her eyes darted to meet his, and she hoped she didn't look as flushed as she still felt.

"I believe so. I still need to try on the dress my mother sent me, but otherwise..."

"Good." Draco replied, his voice strained and distant. After contemplating her for the briefest of seconds, his eyes turned to the window, and he was lost in thought again.

Virginia's thoughts immediately turned back to Lucius. After their second kiss, which had lasted for nearly a minute by her reckoning, although time had felt distorted, Lucius had taken two steps back from her. His eyes were burning as he looked her over, before he took Virginia by surprise (not for the fist time that day), and walked over to the door, holding it open for her.

"Draco is waiting for you in the reception room," he had told her calmly, and if it hadn't been for his lust-filled eyes or slightly disheveled hair, one would have been forgiven for thinking that he had just finished conducting a business meeting, and was showing his guest out.

Virginia simply stared mutely at him for a few seconds, before running her fingers through her hair as best she could to straighten it, and heading to the door.

As he had done on the previous night, Lucius left her little room, and she was forced close to him to get through the narrow space. She had stopped herself from inhaling his deep scent, aware of how closely he was watching her.

When she left the room, she had walked away, only pausing to look over her shoulder right at the end of the corridor. Lucius was leaning against the door frame cockily, his eyes trained on her. He raised an arrogant, aristocratic eyebrow at her, before disappearing back into his study.

*.*.*.*.*

Draco and Virginia spent an increasingly awkward half-hour together, until Narcissa came in with a couple of house-elves, carrying tea-cakes and coffee. Noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room, Narcissa took pity on both her son and Virginia, and sat down to join them, trying her best to spark conversation between them.

To her credit, Virginia did try to engage with Draco, but he wasn't having any of it, and sat solemnly for the most part, while Virginia and Narcissa talked about the trivial matters of the impending wedding. In the end, seeing that their meeting was going no where, Narcissa suggested that Virginia and she go to try on the dress, leaving Draco to his moping.

"I'm sorry about Draco," Narcissa said as she shut the door behind them in Virginia's room. "He's hardly showing you the best of himself. I hope that will come with time..." Virginia nodded reassuringly, although she was not convinced.

"Has your mother been in touch?" Narcissa asked lightly, trying to change the subject, but didn't miss Virginia's grimace at the mention of Antoinette.

"She sent her regards," Virginia replied stiffly, turning to lift her dress from the small trunk her mother had sent it in.

"How kind," Narcissa murmured, coming to help with removing the layers of packaging. When they finally got to the actual dress, Virginia gasped in horror. The dress was utterly hideous. Even Narcissa, an incredibly tactful woman, couldn't restrain a gasp.

The dress, the dress that generations of Antoinette's family had worn for centuries, (or so she claimed), was an off-cream colour, made from too much fabric and trying to flow all the way to the floor and to the wrists of the pouffy sleeves. The silk was covered in a delicate lace which came all the way up to an inch below the neckline, but stopped suddenly at the back, leaving a pure white patch, which gave the impression of having been stained or bleached, but was in fact the effect the designer was aiming for. It was not a sight for sore eyes. Or any eyes, come to that.

"You...have to wear this one?" Narcissa asked finally, fiddling with the fabric between two fingers. The dress smelled like moths.

"My mother insisted..."

Narcissa took a deep breath. "Very well then - we'll make the best of it!" Virginia's eyes met hers in doubt. Narcissa lifted the dress carefully and shook it to rid it of its top coating of dust, and lay it flat on the bed, as Virginia stripped self-consciously to her slip. Narcissa helped her undo the buttons, and Virginia stepped into the dress, leaving Narcissa to tug on the lace ties and do her up.

When she was securely in the dress, Virginia moved over to the mirror, and grimaced at the sight before her. Ironically, considering her mother's harsh words, the dress was too big for her, and hung limply around her, drowning her. The colour made her look a deathly pale, and the lace was so frumpy in parts that she looked as if she had bumps all over her. She turned away from the image quickly, and looked to Narcissa in desperation.

"It's awful."

"It's different." Narcissa replied calmly, and got out her wand, circling Virginia, who looked on the brink of tears. She muttered a few spells, tightening the fabric and pulling the seams closer so that dress took on a more fitted look, and didn't look like it was swallowing the bride. Thinking hard, Narcissa recalled an old charm she hadn't used for many years, and successfully brightened the colour so that it wasn't so dreary. Two spells later, and all though the dress maintained its original 'character', it was definitely passable. Narcissa gently moved Virginia's shoulders so that she could face herself in the mirror again.

"Narcissa..." she murmured in awe, "That's incredible. Thank you!" She had the urge to hug the older woman, who was hovering behind her smiling, but stopped herself as guilt overwhelmed her. How could she hug this woman, whom she'd betrayed? How could she even let her help?

"Thank you," she said again, looking down to the ground in shame. Maybe I really am evil? Virginia wondered. She'd always wondered why she'd been placed in Slytherin House...perhaps the hat had seen this coming before she ever had...

"What's the matter?" Narcissa asked softly, coming to stand between Virginia and the mirror. Virginia merely shook her head and wouldn't meet her concerned gaze. Narcissa sighed. "Shall we take this off you?" she asked gently, and Virginia nodded, the women setting about removing the garment.

Virginia quickly changed back into her former dress, and Narcissa hung the wedding dress up, ready for tomorrow.

"May I have a word, Virginia?" she asked, and Virginia nodded again, moving to sit next to Narcissa on the plump sofa. Does she know? she wondered, paranoia nagging at her thoughts.

"Virginia," Narcissa asked softly, clearing her throat. "I don't mean to pry, or delve into something that isn't my business, but...I shall speak bluntly. Has your mother spoken to you about your wedding night?"

Virginia's eyes darted away in embarrassment, and she flushed, nodding slightly. "What did she say?" Narcissa asked, hating to push the girl but concerned that Antoinette Renwick's advice may have been less than helpful to a young girl.

"She just told me that, em, a good wife should be obedient, and dutiful, and should never contradict or disobey her husband. That my husband is my master, and I must try to please him." Narcissa nodded, but Virginia stopped there.

"And did she speak to you about..." Narcissa searched for the right word: "Marital relations?" Virginia shook her head.

{Please leave me a little review! What do you think will happen at the wedding? Will Narcissa become suspicious soon? What will Virginia do about her feelings for Lucius? Let me know what you think!}