A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for this update! Also, if you are a fan of our dear Lacey, see her battle head to head for Lucius' affections in the spin-off, collaboration story with VenusInHerHair titled "Sweeter Than Heaven and Hotter Than Hell" on my profile. We would both love for you to check it out. Enjoy the chapter!
This is a bit of a different chapter as it marks the exact halfway point through this story, and I really hope you enjoy the direction of this chapter.
~o0o~
Narcissa was more than pleased that she found the Manor entirely empty upon arriving in it late that morning. The silence gave her a chance to collect her thoughts while she took a warm bath, playing over in her mind fond memories of an entire night spent with Remus, and the troubling press leak of Sirius and Ginny's relationship. It wasn't until all of the rose-scented bubbles in her luxurious bath were nearly gone that she heard footsteps in the hallway outside of her bedroom. She stepped out of the tub, and with a quick drying spell, hurried to her closet and slipped on a blue silk wrap dress. Her long, thin fingers deftly tied the sash and she tried her best to fake a look of confidence as she opened the door and walked out into the hallway.
"Narcissa," Lucius feigned a look of surprise as he turned around from down the hall to look at her. Her soft footsteps and the creaking of the old doors of the manor didn't escape him and he abandoned his original plans of flooing to Lacey's new house to leave her a surprise and instead decided to have a conversation years in the making with his wife, "Draco and I missed you last night…I hope you didn't overstay your welcome at Grace's. I do know that when you have too much wine, you are prone to getting rather drowsy". He walked towards her and bent to kiss her right cheek softly, keeping his tone light and his manner pleasant. He wanted to lure her into a false sense of security and her expression at his demeanor certainly suggested that she was surprised, and what he had both feared and hoped for-very guilty.
"I did stay a bit too late, I admit, and I hope I didn't wake you when I came in," Narcissa smiled coolly up at her husband and he so badly wanted to call her out on her bluffing but instead, offered her a gentlemanly arm and lead her back down the hallway on his original path to his study.
"No, dear, not at all. But I am a bit worried about the state of our owls, seeing as Draco sent one to Grace's last night and received no response from you. Not as smart as we all think they are, hmm?" Lucius could almost not contain his smirk when he closed the door behind both of him into his office and strode over to his desk, leaving Narcissa to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room. He knew Narcissa was a good liar, but now that he had the advantage of knowing she was in the middle of possibly the largest lie of her life, he was able to discern the tells that gave her away. In any other circumstance he would have considered them normal, but the way she looked at her nails for an extended period of time and darted her tongue out to wet her upper lip just slightly showed she was nervous.
"I didn't get a letter…how odd," she shrugged, finally looking him in his cold blue eyes as he stood formidably behind his desk, "And why was Draco trying to speak with me? Did something happen?"
"Yes, Narcissa, quite a lot happened last night. I daresay he would want to tell you himself, and attempted to, but there is no getting around that now," Lucius drawled out the last few words and hit his wife with such a look that it made her whole body go cold and numb. It was in that instant that she knew he knew.
"Did something happen with Astoria?" she tried to keep the conversation on a different and safe topic for as long as possible, but finally, after holding it back for so long, Lucius' mouth turned up in a smirk and he let out a low, dark laugh.
"Miss Greengrass tried to seduce me last night. Needless to say the wedding is called off and Draco is very upset. But you would have known all this if you were actually with Grace and not fornicating with some other man."
Narcissa gasped delicately, but other than that, silence filled the room as a glaze to the thick tension between husband and wife. They were both using the moment to think of an appropriate move.
"I don't know what you mean…"
"Do not lie to me anymore Narcissa. Clearly you have been doing it for some time, but I won't tolerate it and it makes you look hideously unintelligent. The facts stand as such: Draco owled Grace and received a reply that you never had plans to begin with. You did not return to the Manor until very late in the morning. What else am I to assume but that you are being unfaithful?" Lucius looked at her, nearly challenging her to lie to him again with his eyes. But the very last word he uttered snapped something inside of Narcissa and her eyes glowed with anger and her posture changed. She stood up straighter and walked towards the desk in a confident stroll with a hand on her hip. It was as if she had morphed back into her seventeen year old self, trying to get Lucius' attention in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts.
"Do you really want to talk about adultery Lucius, because we can," her voice was sugary and menacing at the same time.
"This has nothing to do with me…"
"Oh, but it has everything to do with you Lucius. You've had mistresses since Draco was six months old. I've always known, but I stood by you through both wars and now that we've both come out on the other side of them, what is so wrong about me having a lover?" Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him, her voice strong and defiant.
"What's wrong is that it is affecting our family and is embarrassing and degrading to me as your husband!" Lucius raised his voice although he winced when he heard how contradictory the words sounded coming out of his mouth.
"Affecting our family," Narcissa cocked her head to the side, "Is that so? And it didn't affect our family when Draco caught you in bed with his girlfriend? Are you telling me that it doesn't affect us when you are flaunting your current mistress around this house in front of the elves?! It all comes back to you Lucius. Why are Astoria and Draco not together anymore? Because she tried to "seduce" you…and by the way, I think it was probably quite the opposite…" her voice came out low, bitter, and filled with the hurt and betrayal of twenty four years, "Times have changed Lucius, and I know we have both changed with them…but your notion that you are the only one allowed to step outside of the bounds of this marriage is archaic".
"I regret what happened with Miss Parkinson every damn day of my life, and make no mistake in my sincerity when I tell you that I dismissed Astoria from our house and that I made no advances on her. Yes, Narcissa, I have had mistresses and yes, I have one now, but I will not do anything that hurts my son again," Lucius stepped out from behind his desk, his muscles tense, and readying himself for a fight, "But you…you are supposed to be my loving, faithful, wife. The mother of my heir. It's what is expected of you."
Both of them were so consumed with rage and resentment that they had no idea these feelings had been harbored in them for so long. For Lucius, sleeping with other women had become so natural and was so ingrained into Malfoy tradition that it was normal to him. And even though he hardly ever thought about it consciously anymore, having the perfect pureblood wife in Narcissa was something he prided himself on. It was something he could take to his last remaining friends, all of whom were divorced, and say 'look what I can get away with, but she still adores me'. He knew it was sick, but it was the truth. Narcissa, similarly, was no longer in love with the man standing in front of her, but her whole life had also been firmly rooted in tradition that breaking those rules was scary to her. Clearly, Lacey had done all she had asked of her, and she knew how ridiculous it was to feel jealous of her, but she could not help it. She loved Remus with her entire heart, but there was a complicated history between her and Lucius, and a third of a century was hard to forget so quickly.
"I am not some doll you can keep in a box and take out to dress up and play with anymore Lucius. I want a say in my own life. I want to feel loved and I want to feel wanted and needed again. If you are allowed to, then why can't I?" her face was flushed with emotion, but she firmly stood her ground even when Lucius took a calculated step closer to her, trying to further intimidate her. Slowly, he raised a hand up to her pink cheek and stroked her skin, which was only now showing minimal signs of age.
"But darling, you've always liked it that way," he lowered his venomous voice so that it was a mere breath between them.
Narcissa knew there was some truth in that statement. She had grown up wealthy and privileged, and her marriage to Lucius took that luxury to the next level. She loved the clothes and the jewelry and the looks of respect people gave her that she didn't have to work for. It wasn't that Narcissa was going to suddenly hate all of those things; it was that she felt ready to let them go. She knew, in that moment, that this conversation was more of a turning point than serving him divorce papers would ever be, and she had to make a choice. In her heart, Narcissa understood that she would be able to live without any of that, so long as she had Remus by her side. That realization bolstered her confidence, and a small smile came upon her face.
"But I don't anymore, Lucius," she looked up at him, "You see, you try to keep women in a cage. But no matter how lovely you make that cage to be, eventually, they will want to see the rest of the world. You did it with me and no doubt you have done it to every other woman you have been with. But in the end, they all leave, don't they?"
Lucius couldn't have hated his wife more than at that moment, solely because the first person that popped into his mind was Lacey, and his heart lurched at the truth in Narcissa's statement. He had also always thought that he got rid of his mistresses because he was tired of them, or because they had become boring. But maybe they tired him because he kept them too close? To avoid thinking about it any longer, he turned his resentment back on his wife.
"So, you are leaving me then?" he asked her with an uncaring lilt to his voice, but his eyes told a different story—one of being desperately afraid of losing control on any aspect of his life, especially one that he had thought was as perfect as it could be.
"No, Lucius. I am not leaving you," Narcissa said quickly. She wanted to make sure that when the time came for the divorce, it was a surprise, so she lied and saw his posture slacken a half-inch in relief, "But I am going to continue seeing my lover."
Lucius' relief instantly turned to a potent mix of jealousy and rage at her defiance, "Who is he?"
"Who is she?" Narcissa countered, although she knew very well who it was: the girl with the messy brown hair and eyes in his same mold.
Lucius stiffened, trying to regain an air of formal aristocracy that always afforded him confidence and merely said, "It looks as if we have nothing left to talk about. But remember, you are still my wife and you will act as such in this Manor. Do not further embarrass me and I will not embarrass you."
"Oh, it's too late for that Lucius," Narcissa shook her head smugly and turned towards the door, "But I do hope you have a wonderful day, husband." With a satisfied smirk, Narcissa left his office. The conversation had hurt her, but she felt that she had the upper hand. After all, she thought that she was the one coming out of the situation with a grand and lasting love, whereas Lacey would leave Lucius as soon as she requested her to. She felt like a free woman, even though she was far from it in the eyes of society, and decided to push her luck by heading straight back to where she came from-Grimmauld Place.
When Narcissa left his study, Lucius walked back to his desk and slammed his fist down onto it to release some of his frustration. He felt that his life was spiraling out of control and he hated feeling so uncertain of everything. He had been so sure that his wife was having an affair, but when it was undoubtedly confirmed, it shocked him. He had also thought she would cry to him, and beg for forgiveness, but she hadn't done that either.
It wasn't so much that he was mad at Narcissa about her lover, but that he was overwhelmed that he no longer knew her. He had gone on for years with the idea that she was the same girl she was when they were first married, or the same woman she was when she was swollen with his baby. But she had changed so much and he felt both sad and guilty that he had somehow missed it and let it slip past him. He had been so caught up in his own life that he had completely lost the life he used to cherish beyond anything. Narcissa had been his ally, the one to champion him. She stood by him and cleaned his wounds when he came home beaten from meetings with Voldemort. Lucius didn't love her with the passion he used to, but he was devastated that he no longer had her as a friend.
He felt hollow and self-conscious, having been made aware of his faults by his wife in such quick succession to Lacey's take on them from the previous night. Both women had him questioning himself, but he knew that while he was close to losing one and would have to resign to that fact, he desperately did not want to lose the other.
Lucius went over to the small mahogany bar in his office and poured himself a liberal amount of bourbon before moving to the left wall of his office. He took out his wand from the inside of his jacket and tapped the third wood panel in from the corner of the wall. With a creak, it sunk back into the wall, revealing an ornate silver door handle, which Lucius turned, opening the very tall, skinny hidden door leading into a much smaller, private chamber.
Malfoy Manor was full of secret passageways and hidden doors, but this one Lucius took pains to keep from Draco and Narcissa. As he slipped inside the dark inner hallway and closed the outer door behind him, he walked along to just the light on the tip of his wand until he came to a circular room. There was a single leather chair in front of a small fireplace, some bookshelves with his most prized first additions, a small desk containing his will and other important documents, and one particularly important portrait. With a flick of his wand, Lucius lit the fireplace and then moved over to the portrait, which was currently empty. The background looked very similar to the Slytherin dungeons and Lucius tapped the tip of his wand impatiently against the canvas.
After a few moments of summoning the subject of the portrait, Lucius retired to the comfortable leather chair and sipped his bourbon while he waited, watching the low flames dance and crackle.
"My old friend, I had almost thought you had forgotten about me," the dark, familiar voice was enough to direct Lucius' attention back to the portrait of his best friend, Severus Snape. Setting his glass down, Lucius walked with a sense of reverence over to the portrait-the portrait of a man he had trusted so much in his lifetime, who he had been so sad to see die, and whom he admired for doing far better things with his life than he did. Lucius knew he didn't have and never would have the courage to do what Severus did, and thus had commissioned the only other portrait in existence of Severus to hang in this secret room. His main portrait was in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, but Lucius could not live without his friends' advice is tricky situations. Today happened to be one of the biggest of such situations.
"How could I?" Lucius assured him, "How is life in your other home?"
Severus scowled, crossing his arms and pacing back and forth across the length of the picture, "Let's just say that watching Minerva poorly discipline little brats is sometimes grating."
Lucius smiled, and Severus' likeness smiled back at him. Now that the entire wizarding world knew Severus Snape had a heart and idolized him for it, he couldn't hide it as easily as he used to.
"I need to talk to you about something very important, otherwise I wouldn't have made you come here," Lucius began and Severus' raised brow prompted him forward, "Narcissa has taken a lover."
Snape chuckled, "I always knew Cissy would."
"What does that mean?" Lucius nearly growled at the portrait, his eyes suddenly flashing.
"It means, Lucius, that after you having mistresses for decades, I'm not surprised that she tried it out for herself. Are you angry with her?"
"Yes," Lucius answered instinctively, "Well…that doesn't matter. It isn't so much anger as confusion. I want my family, Severus, but I am in love, and I think this may be a sign to sever ties with my wife."
"Lucius, in love?" Snape smirked, "Usually you are just in heat. Does this girl have anything to do with your son, by chance?"
Lucius' eyes darkened as he shook his head, "No, Severus. But this girl is different than the others. There is something about her that is irresistible, and yet I am worried that I am pushing her away…"
"Smothering her?" Severus added, purposefully trying to incite Lucius.
"Yes, in so many words. And I'm also afraid…" Lucius finally decided to open up to his confidant about something that he hadn't been able to verbalize before now.
"Yes?"
"I'm afraid that she's hiding something. I know she had feelings for me, but I can't seem to get close to her…and she's…" Lucius stopped himself before the word 'perfect' passed his lips, and looked down at the dark wood floor.
"Do I know this girl?"
"I daresay you do, after all, you taught her so well I can't get into her damned mind…her name is Lacey Delaney."
"Terrible at potions, but more than adept at Occlumency. I remember her well. Part of Potter's little clan-such an interesting choice for a man like you," Severus put his index finger to his chin, thinking, "I'd like to see her again."
"Why?"
"I think seeing her would tell me about why she is in your life, because it is rather odd pairing on both sides. Just leave the passageway door open when she is here, and if she is anything like the girl she used to be at Hogwarts, I have no doubt she will find me. But regarding your marriage, I think it is high time to consider a divorce. It's a new era Lucius, you don't have to continue to live in a past that has long since been forgotten by everyone but a select few". Severus nodded after he gave his advice, "But I have to return to the school. You do remember, no one knows about my second home here, and it is the middle of the day."
"Thank you," Lucius said sincerely to the image of his best friend and both disappeared from the hidden room.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! This took a few days to crank out, as I was a little distracted, so I would love some reviews! Also, next chapter we will see what Lacey and Draco are up to and the fallout from Sirius and Ginny's picture in the Prophet. Any guesses as to what will happen would be fun!
