A/N: I want to thank my few reviewers, followers, and favoriters who have given this story a chance so far. I really appreciate it!

~o0o~

"Gin, he's twenty years older than you. Twenty years!" Lacey sighed as she set down her third glass of firewhiskey that was now half empty. As part of the terms of agreement with Narcissa…and the two former Maurader's, Lacey was allowed to have pub night back. And she took no time in cashing in her first one.

Ginny blushed. It was almost midnight and the Three Broomsticks was slowly emptying. Both girls were sufficiently plastered and getting strange looks from the other tables at their loud laughter.

"So, I can't very well help it Lace, have you seen him? Have you?" Ginny insisted as if her best friend had never seen the man before and Lacey rolled her eyes.

"Yes, he's dishy. I get it. The whole world gets it. What I don't understand is why you would keep this a secret from me, your best friend in the entire bloody world, for five months. Are you sure this has nothing to do with Harry?"

"I swear it doesn't. I don't even want Harry to find out. This isn't some twisted way to make him jealous…I really really fancy Sirius. I don't know why…I guess Harry and I had always hung out at Grimmauld and after it stopped hurting so bad, I went back. Sirius was always there for me. We'd talk, he'd take me out for a pint, we'd make fun of Hermione and Remus, and then one night something just clicked. I know it isn't really a best-case scenario, but you really can't plan these things."

The way Ginny went on about her boyfriend made Lacey soften. She was really happy for the girl sitting across from her. In fact, the whole day had softened Lacey quite a bit, but it had also made her a bit jealous. She longed for the type of bond Sirius and Ginny and Narcissa and Remus possessed. But, she was 30,000 galleons richer, and she could hardly argue with that. She could live without a bloke.

"Gin I support you. I'm just worried about the eventuality of your mother finding out. Or Harry…"

"No one is going to find out, especially with you helping now. I love my family but I can make my own decisions, and everyone that needs to know, finally does. End of story," Ginny said. They finished their drinks and Lacey covered the tab before they walked out of the pub. The crisp night air was sobering and Ginny looked sheepish as she turned to look up at her best friend, "I am sorry for ambushing you today. I just know how much you need a change and Narcissa can make that happen. I will be there with you through this whole thing, alright?"

"Alright," Lacey sighed, placing her hands on Ginny's shoulders to steady her, "You okay to apparate home?"

Ginny took a deep breath, "Yeah. See you tomorrow. And not a word to my brothers, understood?"

~o0o~

As she left her apartment and turned left towards the Weasley brothers' shop the next morning, a terrible feeling gnawed at her insides when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing last night.

She truly hadn't expected to stay that long at Grimmauld, nor to be propositioned to seduce Lucius Malfoy…and she certaintly hadn't anticipated accepting any such proposition. But Lacey had, and had subsequently forgotten all about how Oliver Wood was supposed to come over that night. As her path took her around the back of the shop like second-nature, she realized that there had been no letter from him, nothing to indicate that he had tried to reach her.

He had probably forgot himself. But with much less of a reason too.

Probably off with some slag of a fan, Lacey thought to herself and tried to put on something resembling a smile as she greeted Fred and George and some of the other morning workers.

"Rough night?" George asked, hopping over the counter with ease and following Lacey as she went to set her bag down.

"You look like shite," Fred seconded, suddenly appearing besides her. Lacey groaned. Even the pepper-up potion she had taken was not enough to combat nosy Weasley twins in the early morning hours.

"Or like you have been thoroughly shagged," George winked at his twin, "So which is it Lace?"

"Your sister and I got pissed last night," Lacey said conversationally, trying to make it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Little Gin, haven't seen that sprite in a while now have we Forge?"

"Not in months now Gred…"

"Boys, please," Lacey brushed them both off. She just wasn't in the mood. She had a big night ahead of her and the less she spoke to them, the less chance there was of letting anything slip. She walked out onto the sales floor to straighten up a display of Pygmy Puffs before the store opened.

"Something is going on that you aren't telling us…" Fred followed her, saying it in a sing-song voice. George lingered by the counter once again, eyeing his brother to cool it and leave her alone. He knew well enough that when Lacey was in a foul mood, she was not one to be messed with. Fred often couldn't see the signs, being too damned smitten with the brunette to care.

"Really, I swear, just tired," Lacey looked at the lanky red head in front of her, smiling up at him. She always had liked that the twins were taller than she was, since most of her friends weren't. It made her feel a little more girlish and a little less Amazonian. Fred gave an unconvinced hum before sauntering off, leaving Lacey be.

When her shift ended at around two, Lacey said a quick goodbye to her friends and employers and walked down Diagon Alley to the apparition point. The cobblestoned street was filled with students and families, all in town and off of school for the Easter holiday. She was glad she wasn't still at work, but at this moment it seemed the less traumatic option compared to what she had to face now. This afternoon was when she had to start fulfilling the promise she had entered into.

The door was open at Grimmauld place when she tried it, but it was a much different scenario than the one she had entered in the day before. True, Lacey was a bit early, but Narcissa was nowhere to be found, and the only people she came across were Hermione and Ginny. The girls were sitting at the long, well-loved wooden table in the kitchen and taking animatedly, although Ginny's expression was rather tight.

"Hey," Hermione said quickly, barely acknowledging Lacey as she walked into the room, and turned back to her conversation with Ginny.

"Charlie and I are going to Budapest tomorrow, for the holiday. He's so romantic. And Merlin, he's so adventurous in bed. Nothing like Remus was…" Hermione went on, louder than necessary. Ginny widened her eyes in horror and Lacey took this as her cue to leave. She left the kitchen quickly, crossing the hallway to the library for solace.

She wasn't the only one who had been looking for a quieter space. Remus was sitting on a green velveteen armchair by the fireplace, a book open, but ignored, on his lap.

"So…you can hear her?" Lacey started the conversation based on the look on his face.

"Werewolf thing," he grimaced, "But I guess it is my fault that she's trying to make me jealous. I broke her heart with no explanation. Honestly, I thought Hermione and I were going to make it for the long haul. But sometimes, things can change so suddenly. And they aren't always tied up neatly."

Lacey sat down on the couch, a few meters away from him. Now that she was entrenched in it, she could see that the whole situation was much more complicated than it initially appeared to be. Although Lacey wasn't overly fond of Hermione, she knew she would be bragging loudly about any conquest within earshot of her ex if she could help it. In fact, she had done it before. She felt bad for the girl, and clearly, so did Remus.

"She'll find someone else. Maybe she has with Charlie, I don't know. But she's young and I always felt I weighed her down in our relationship. Too much baggage…" he sighed.

"We all have baggage from the war, Remus," Lacey offered, "And besides, Hermione's nice but you and Mrs. Malfoy…Merlin I never thought I'd say this, but you seem right together."

"Thank you Lacey, but the problem is, she'll never be Mrs. Lupin," he said, more to himself than anything. It was hard for everyone to see Remus like this. His moodiness had waned lately, but she could understand why it was back in full force this afternoon.

"But I'm going to fix that," Lacey reminded him, wanting to cheer him up. His eyes snapped to hers and he gave her a grateful smile. Before he could manifest his thanks into words, the floo lit up and Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace, brushing off her beautiful emerald green shift dress in annoyance.

"Sorry it took so long, Lucius has been monitoring our floo so I had to take the one at the Leaky," she explained. Lacey watched them quietly for a moment. The way they looked at each other was arresting, and they seemed untouchable in their own little world.

"Hermione's here," Remus said quietly and the happiness in Narcissa's eyes instantly shattered. Her look went cold and she pursed her perfectly red lips. If Lacey wasn't mistaken, it was jealousy etched all over the fine lines on her face.

"Wonderful," she said. Yes, that confirmed it. Remus noticed it as well and his uncomfortable look at Lacey made his lover's eyes follow his.

"Lacey! Darling, perfect!" she clapped her hands together lightly, "Where is my cousin?"

"Upstairs, most likely hiding…"

POP.

"I can feel when another Black is in the house, you know…" Sirius smiled, walking over to Narcissa from where he had just apparated and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was amazing to Lacey how things could change. During the war, she had heard Sirius explain vehemently to anyone who would listen how disappointed he was that Narcissa was family. But now that terrible times were behind them, it was nice to see them reconnected. It was just another example of how people could change, and that they were often judged too soon.

"'Mornin' Sirius," Lacey greeted him brightly. He turned to her and gave her a charming smile that would have made anyone else go weak in the knees. Lacey could see why Ginny was smitten.

"Big day today," he winked at her, "Let's go upstairs and talk? Is the swot still here?"

"Unfortunately. Don't tell me you haven't heard her going on loudly in your kitchen about what a joy it is to sleep with Ginny's brother?" Remus looked at his best friend, whose face changed to one of disgust. Narcissa's hand clutched tighter around her handbag, making her already pale knuckles nearly translucent.

"Well then. Guess Ginny will not be joining us, that's alright…" Sirius shrugged. He took his wand out of the back pocket of his trousers and moved a crimson armchair and a black ottoman to form a semi-circle with the couch Lacey was sitting on and Remus' chair. He put up some silencing spells and a ward on the door before taking a seat on the ottoman. Narcissa followed his lead and sat primly down on the chair, crossing her ankles and opening her handbag.

"Luckily my house elf Mipsy is loyal," Narcissa sighed, fanning out a thick stack of papers on the small, low table in between all of them, "Copies of Lucius' schedule for the next two months. Every appointment at the Ministry, every lunch date, every errand planned to the minute. My husband is nothing if not exact."

Lacey looked over them. The pages of the date book were nearly filled to the brim in Lucius' thick, slanted, and decidedly masculine handwriting, "But he's mostly at the Ministry. I can't just be wandering around in there as a guest day in and out. It will look suspicious…"

"Glad you brought that up, love," Sirius had a worrying twinkle in his eye and Narcissa looked at him in confusion. It was clear that whatever he was up to, she did not know about.

"I just so happened to run into Ron today. Apparently the lovely old bitty that was his secretary retired. He's looking for a new one. His office isn't terribly busy, so it would only be a few days a week. I pretended to mull it over for a moment and then suggested you. He loved the idea!"

"That's a bit close for comfort isn't it Padfoot?" Remus wondered, and Lacey smiled at the use of their nicknames, "Putting her in the Auror office with Harry and Ron while she sneaks about to find Lucius Malfoy? A man they both hate to the core?"

Narcissa sniffed, clearly in agreement.

"Look, it's the best we can do without having Lacey quit her job with the Twins. That would look even more suspicious. There is no other way we can get her into the Ministry on a daily basis…" Sirius argued.

"You know, you can all stop talking about me as if I'm not here. I chose to do this, so I should get a say. I want to. I'll take the job at the Ministry," Lacey interrupted, slightly annoyed.

"Good, I'll let Ron know. He'll probably want an interview, but you'll be in, I promise," Sirius nodded.

"Very well. Now, about tonight…" Narcissa re-directed the conversation, pointing one of her crimson nails to the space on his date book for this evening. In large letters were the words 'Ministry Ball'.

"I don't have an invite," Lacey said naively.

"Don't be silly, you are my date. I practically get begged to go for no apparent reason," Sirius laughed. Lacey looked tentatively around at the three in front of her.

"Lacey, it's okay. Ginny knows. It's not as if she can go with Sirius. She's going to be there with a friend from the Cannons. Narcissa and Lucius will be together, and I…er…well I'm staying home," Remus tried to quell the girls' fears. At the last bit, she saw Narcissa visibly sadden. She couldn't blame him for not wanting to go, even though he surely would have an invite for all the work he did regarding werewolf rights, but watching his lover on her husband's arm would be torture.

"Alright," Lacey cleared her throat, feeling decidedly out of her depth, "I…"

"Boys, I think it's time for you two to go out for a drink. The conversation is about to not suit your tastes…" Narcissa said as gently as she could. As men do when faced with such a threat, Remus and Sirius hastened for the floo. When the two women were alone, Narcissa turned an appraising eye on Lacey.

"Now, there are a few things you need to know about Lucius. The first is that he likes a challenge, which won't be a problem,"Narcissa began, eyeing Lacey's body language as she crossed her arms, "The second is that he likes his ego stroked…"

"Stop. Non-negotiable. I can't compliment a man I don't respect," Lacey said fiercely. She had always though him more of a coward than anything and when her entire life she had been taught to be brave, she didn't know what there would be to say nice about him.

"Learn to," Narcissa said harshly, "If you can't tell a simple lie, then I don't know how this is going to work."

"Yeah, of course, sorry," Lacey said quickly, after all, this woman was about to pay her way out of her shite apartment.

"And the third is…he likes his women dressed well…" Narcissa finished.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry, but this is who I am. If I want to go around in jumpers and ratty trainers, then I can," Lacey declared hotly.

"Please don't call me that. Don't you think I am just as embarrassed and disappointed that even though he has changed so much, he's still rather superficial? You are a lovely girl, and the only reason I walk around looking like I do is because it has been ingrained in me since birth. I don't care what you wear anywhere else, but around him, you have to change," Narcissa pleaded back with the younger woman in front of her. Lacey looked down at her bright orange jumper from the shop.

"I don't want to change who I am for anyone."

"Don't think of it as a change, think of it as a part you are playing. Compartmentalize him in one spot in your mind. That's what I do. I promise you, it will be easier than you think. Make a new persona for that girl. And when you are away from him, turn back into this sweet, dear girl. A girl I cannot thank enough for helping me," she smiled at Lacey and placed a gentle hand over hers.

"Narcissa," Lacey ventured, "I don't have a thing in my closet that Lucius will approve of."

The blonde smiled wider now, "I figured as much. I gave Ginny some money and the two of you are going shopping tomorrow. No exceptions. But I did take care of your dress for tonight…"

~o0o~

Two hours later, and with a lot of petty fights between Narcissa and Lacey, involving many swear words that made Narcissa blush; the woman had wrangled Lacey into a dress and done her hair and makeup.

"Is she done already? We have to go!" Ginny shouted from the first floor of Grimmauld up to the room Narcissa had commandeered for her makeover. She was standing in a gorgeous navy dress that was a glistening column on her lithe body. Her hair was slightly curled and brushed over one shoulder. Sirius couldn't take his eyes off of his girlfriend, but looked equally dashing in a full black suit. Remus was lingering close by, still in his house clothes and looking rather glum.

"Damn! Hold on!" came Lacey's irritated voice from upstairs. A moment later the door opened and Narcissa came down the staircase first, looking flawless in a pale blue dress that skimmed the floor. Her hair was upswept and she had large diamonds in her ears.

"I present to you all, Lacey Delaney," she smiled, looking up to the landing where Lacey was now standing. Ginny made a rather obnoxious cat-call. Her sweet but tough essence was still there, but she did look different. Her pretty chocolate locks that were normally haphazardly strewn around her face were straightened and falling in a long curtain down her back. Her face was perfected with a little bit of makeup, nothing overdone, and the curves of her body were practically poured into a luxurious black dress. The neckline cut low and there was a generous slit up the side, but otherwise the dress was unadorned. Lacey clutched onto the banister as she teetered slightly on the heels that made her nearly 5'11'', but made it safely to the first floor.

"You clean up nicely," Sirius complimented her and Lacey nodded in thanks, still slightly in pain from having her face prodded in all manners, and nervous for what lie ahead.

"I need to go, Lucius is going to be furious with me, I'll see you soon," she said to Lacey, Ginny, and Sirius before kissing Remus less-than chastely and heading for the floo.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked.

"I don't ever think one is ready to walk into a snake's den, do you?" she sighed, took the arm Sirius offered her, and soon the three were off to the Ministry Ball.

A/N: Next chapter we finally see Lucius I promise! Reviews will help that time come a bit faster! Tell me what you guys think!