A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the love and support you have been showing me, and thank you kindly for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter, as you get to see a little more behind Lucius and see some of his thoughts. Also, Happy Birthday to the gorgeous Jason Isaacs, this chapter is dedicated to him.
And be sure to check out mine and VenusInHerHair's Lucius/OC community! And check out her stories as well!
~o0o~
"Fred? What are you doing here?"
Lucius watched from the shadows of the alley, partially obscured by the wall at the bottom of the staircase leading up to Lacey's apartment. He hadn't waited very long to follow her, only a few minutes, and was just as shocked as she seemed to be that she wasn't alone. He retreated so that his body was completely in the darkness and chose instead to only listen.
"As I said, I think we should talk, can we go inside?"
Anger suddenly flared inside Lucius' body that the Weasley could be so presumptuous as to invite himself inside. It sparked even more anger when he heard the squeaky door open and Lacey, his Lacey (although he wasn't quite sure when she had taken that new title) had let him in. This gave Lucius the opportunity to cast a disillusionment charm over himself without being heard and he waited until the cool trickle of the spell's effects passed over his body before climbing the steps. When he found himself on the landing, he was able to look through one of the few window's Lacey's apartment had, and felt rather smug that the first thing she had decided to do upon entering the apartment was put the new poppies in a vase. He then watched her walk back over to the Weasley and they both sat down on the couch. He couldn't discern too much of the conversation, though it seemed rather trivial. The interlude, however, did give Lucius time to watch her.
He noticed the way she kept tucking her hair over her ear nervously, and how she sat very far away on her small, shabby couch, from Fred Weasley. He also found that he was rather happy about this small action on her part and briefly thought about how this little affair had affected him so quickly. With Pansy, it had almost taken a year for her to break him. It was what attracted him to her in the first place, that she was the aggressor. He had another mistress at the time, Annie, but she was so submissive he found her boring outside of the bedroom. Their conversations consisted of next to nothing, and the main reason it took Lucius so long to cave to Pansy's attractions was because of his son. Once he crossed the line he had fallen for her quickly, even surprised himself that the once rather plain, pug-nosed girl that had tagged behind his son in their early years at Hogwarts had turned into a dark, mysterious seductress that stole his heart.
After the discovery made by Draco, the fallout was so profound and came so rapidly that he hadn't even had time to say goodbye to her. To this day, he still wasn't sure if it was a game. He knew his feelings were real but Pansy had always been somewhat guarded, and sometimes fake. All in all, she had been his greatest mistake. Lucius Malfoy had opened himself to a real attempt at love outside of his wife, and had almost lost everything.
As he watched Lacey break her first smile for the blushing red-head inside her apartment, he wondered if he was setting himself up to repeat the past. She did seem to be hiding something. Most of his life consisted of working for the Dark Lord and torturing people into telling their secrets and information. He had grown accustomed to the looks in people's eyes signaling that they were lying. Lacey sometimes had that look, but there was something else about her that pushed Lucius forward in his pursuit of her.
There was a sweet sincerity to her when she thought no one was looking. He liked that she was tough, but he could tell she was just as vulnerable as anyone else. Lacey Delaney was a paradox, and yet didn't appear to be a lethal one.
When she had just walked out of his study, claiming that what was going on between them was 'just sex', it was a bruise to Lucius' admittedly large ego. Under other circumstances, he wouldn't have cared much, but he felt inexplicably drawn towards the brunette inside, laughing with Fred Weasey. She was different in a way that he couldn't quite place his finger on, and he needed to let her know.
If she had meant nothing, he wouldn't have risked running into his wife as he snuck out of the manor to apparate to Diagon Alley in the middle of the night. If she was just another shag, Lucius knew he wouldn't be hiding outside her apartment and spying on her. He was doing things he never thought he would do for someone he wasn't betrothed to, and yet, there he was.
Inside of the small apartment above the Apothecary, Lacey was much more distressed than she outwardly appeared to be.
"Something is really different about you Lacey, look at you, you are dressing differently, and you are acting like…" Fred started, but paused when he saw the furious look in her eyes. He hadn't wanted to upset her, and had tried to tip-toe around what he had wanted to say to the girl he had fallen in love with, but he couldn't anymore.
"Acting like what?" Lacey prompted him, raising one eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chests, very aware of the fact that she had left her lingerie in Lucius' study.
"Like…well, like you are bloody better than us! This is not the Lacey I have ever known, even since you were little! The Lacey I know doesn't wear dresses…she doesn't lie, she doesn't sneak off to meet someone mysteriously dressed like a Knockturn Alley tart!" Fred's face went red as he said all of this, and he felt punched in the gut from the look on her face, but it needed to be said.
"I am growing up Fred! I am not just Ginny's best friend anymore, I am a grown woman and I can wear and do whatever I want!" Lacey argued back, although feeling slightly guilty. She knew she had changed drastically in the last few weeks, enough so for anyone to question it, but part of her was starting to revel in it.
"Who are you seeing? Who is making you do this?" Fred asked, pained.
"That is none of your business and no one is making me do anything! I make my own damn decisions. You aren't my fucking father," Lacey yelled at him, getting up from the couch and storming into her bedroom. Fred groaned before getting up and following her. He found her back towards him as she sat on the edge of the bed in her tiny room.
"Lace, come on. I didn't mean to start a fight with you. I've just been worried about you. And nervous, and although I wanted to ask those things-that is not truly what I came here to say…" his voice was softer now and he moved to sit next to Lacey, his thighs right next to hers. He took her small hand that was resting on her knee and held it.
One small, tiny part of Lacey wanted to just confess to Fred how in over her head she was with Lucius, to stop keeping the secret. He had been like a brother to her over her whole life, and she looked up to him.
Fred leaned down slightly, dropping his head, and tilted her chin up with his fingers before kissing her softly. It took Lacey's breath away, more out of surprise than anything, before she gently pulled away.
"You are beautiful Lacey and I really like you…" he said, the nervousness blatant in his voice and Lacey's heart broke. There had been a time, about a year ago, when she was so smitten with Fred that she would have given anything to hear those words, even though she was seeing Oliver. But now was different and she honestly had no idea he felt anything more than familial affection towards her.
"I really don't know what to say," Lacey said bluntly, looking down into her lap instead of at Fred.
"That might just be a first, we should document it!" he was all laughter, but he couldn't see the panic in her eyes as she kept them averted.
"I don't know what to say because this isn't the right time for this Fred, I really should sleep and maybe we can talk about this later," she said, stalling. She knew her romantic life was a mess. She had wanted Oliver, but he hadn't wanted her enough and she had spent years back and forth with him. Now she was tasked with seducing an older man that the Weasley's had a long-standing feud with and was starting to fall for him. And currently, she was sitting next to a man she had once pictured herself with, who she was sure she could live a happy comfortable life with. After all, Molly would be more than happy to officially make her a Weasley. In short, things were a mess and it was giving Lacey a panic attack.
"How is this not the right time…we just…" she knew he was going to say 'kissed' and kissed they had. The only reason Lacey could give him for not wanting to reciprocate would mean telling him about her secret deal, and even then she wasn't completely sure of her feelings.
"Cuz it isn't!" she looked up at him finally with serious fear in her eyes, her voice rising in pitch just a little too much to make them both uncomfortable, "You mean the world to me, but there are some things I need to figure out because I don't want to hurt you."
"Well I am going to figure this out, because the Lacey I know wouldn't have to think about it, she would just jump right in," Fred was in clear denial, mostly because he had spent a large amount of time in the recent months wondering about that exact moment. Lacey had always been so fun and spontaneous, and now she looked worried, tired, and different.
"There is nothing wrong Fred, I promise you," she felt guilty as she ran her hands through her hair and they got awkwardly caught in her tangles. She knew she had ruined a moment that could have been the start of something new, and she was currently placing the blame on the infuriating, blonde, elder Malfoy.
"There is. I want my Lacey back, and I'm going to figure this out."
Fred kissed her on the temple before getting up and leaving the room. He cast a furious glance at the poppies, knowing full well they had to be a clue about her mysterious behavior, but found no card or sign of a sender, before leaving her apartment.
Lucius had to press himself against the side railing on the landing to keep from being barreled into. Fred paused, clearly sensing something, and looked straight through Lucius before walking down the stairs in a huff, crediting the tingling sense of magic to Lacey's wards.
Lucius reached for the doorknob as soon as Fred was out of sight, but was repelled instantly, and figured Lacey had hastily replaced her wards. He slipped out his wand and began to work quickly to undo them. It took no more than a half a minute before Lucius was inside, ending his disillusionment charm, and listening to sounds of things being thrown in Lacey's room.
He figured the girl would come out eventually and he moved around the apartment, taking it in. He looked at the small, worn couch and two basic chairs in the living area, noting she lacked a fireplace. He moved towards one of the shelves on a bookcase against the wall and looked at the pictures there. He saw quite a few of her and Ginny: some in their Harpies uniforms, one with them on the beach together, and a few of them with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley as well. He also noticed a picture of Lacey and a taller boy, with the same color brown as her hair. They both wore wide smiles. He knew he would appear silly to anyone watching, just casually perusing her pictures, taking in snippets of a life he knew very little about, but he hardly cared. He was so caught up in examining her collection of books that he didn't hear her small gasp when she entered the room.
"How the hell did you get in here?" was what finally caused him to turn, and he was pleased to hear that there was more surprise than regret in her voice. She looked almost the opposite of how she did in his study and was wearing a very short pair of cotton black shorts that showed off most of her legs and a simple white shirt. Her long hair was up in a ponytail and her face was washed and clean.
"You look…" he couldn't bring himself to finish as she looked at him with confusion.
"I don't always look glamorous, sorry to disappoint…"
"You look nothing short of stunning Lacey," he finally managed. It was a different sort of stunning, but it made his heart pound in his chest regardless, "and as to how I got in…well, I must say, for a girl who I personally remember casting a very effective cure at McNair during the last battle, your wards are truly pathetic."
She blushed, "No one ever comes to visit really, and no one really knows I live her…but how did you remember that? You said you didn't know me other than Ginny's friend."
"The Manor is not without a pensieve, Lacey, and when I can't sleep I sometimes sort through old memories. I've found that I have seen you quite a few times in the past. I guess it is mostly because whenever I was around or near Hogwarts, I tried to keep an eye out for Ginevra and you were always by her side. Guilt is a funny thing," he sighed and sat down on her less than comfortable couch and it showed on his face, "and I always tried to make sure she was alright. As much as I still have certain feelings towards the Weasley's, she didn't deserve what I had a hand in putting her through."
"Oh…" she was rather taken aback as she sat down on the same couch, which put them rather close to each other.
"And while we are on the subject of Weasley's…why was one of them in your apartment?"
"You were spying on me!" she gasped, "How dare you! You followed me back here to see what I was doing?"
"I followed you back here because I didn't want to be away from you. And he was here. So yes, I watched. Although, you both did go in your bedroom for a while and I couldn't see a thing," his velvet voice was slightly jealous and trying to goad her into telling him what happened.
"If you really were spying, I assume you saw him leave here in a rather angry state then," she said sharply, trying to confine herself to the corner of the couch and put as much space as she could between them. She was secretly thrilled that he had followed her, but disturbed that something she wanted kept private no longer was.
"Yes, but what made him so angry Lacey?"
"He kissed me and I told him that now wasn't the right time for anything like that in my life."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? You know why!" she was on the verge of tears, looking at the man who was slowly ruining her for anyone else. She didn't even think of Oliver anymore, and certainly not sexually. Only the one man she shouldn't care for was on her mind. She had to leave him in less than a month's time, and he consumed her thoughts.
"I am no mind-reader Lacey," his voice was gentler at seeing the distress in her eyes, but he wasn't going to stop before he got the answer he wanted, the answer he desperately hoped for.
"You are so fucking infuriating!" she shot up from the couch, pushing some fly-away hairs out of her face and moving quickly to the kitchen sink to pour herself a glass of water. Lucius let her be for a moment, before slowly getting up and moving behind her. His body didn't touch hers, but he placed his arms next to hers on the counter, effectively trapping her there and his body reacted instantly when he heard her breath quicken.
"And why is that, my dear?"
"Because you are driving me mad. Bloody mad," she whispered. She didn't know how much longer she could take with him behind her and not touching her, or how much longer she could feel his breath on her neck and not do anything about it.
"And you think you aren't doing the same to me? Why do you think I came here? I don't chase women, Lacey, they chase me…"
"Oh Merlin you are so disgustingly egotistical!" she tried to maneuver herself so that her back was no longer towards him, but his strong body didn't move. She ducked through the space in his arms and he simply re-adjusted his stance so that he had her pinned against the counter, this time their pairs of icy blue eyes locked.
"You enjoy it," he nearly purred and she was once again holding onto the very last shreds of her resolve.
"What is this between us?"
"Are you finally going to admit to seeing it?" he cracked a half-smile and she licked her lips and nodded, "Then what is going on between us is that you are mine. I want you Lacey and I don't want anyone, especially a Weasley, with his hands on you, do you understand that?"
It took a moment for it to really sink into Lacey, and even though belonging to him was something so anti-Gryffindor, something her adoptive family in the Weasley's would hate so much, and something she never pictured in her life, it filled her body with happiness.
"Yes," she answered.
"Then say it. Say you belong to me…" his eyes never faltered in their cool, slightly dangerous look, but inside he wasn't sure if she would really go through with it.
Lacey knew she was at a crossroads. She knew that she would be letting down her best friend and all of her other friends and family with a few simple words. She was betraying her deal with Narcissa by actually falling for him, and she knew it was going to hurt so badly when she had to say goodbye.
She had one month. One month to be his, and looking at him, there was no way she could say no, even if it meant lying to everyone.
"I…I belong to you…I want you…" she stammered out, each word leaving her lips thrilled her and scared her, like she was saying a dark curse for the first time.
"You are my mistress Lacey."
Her breath caught in her throat. Now she was one of them, one in a long line of many, and yet she wanted it so badly, "Yes, but…"
Lucius smiled a genuine smile that rarely saw the light of day. He should have known there would be some stipulation with her, or some exception, "But what?"
"But you belong to me too."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Favorite part or line? What do you think this changes for Lacey? I am always curious about your theories and I would love a review!
