Confession Is Good For…Something
"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy."
-"Hamlet", Act One, Scene Five
Lucius opened his eyes slowly, smacking his lips as he did so. His sleep addled brain once again pondered the ornate ceiling above his head. A few seconds later, once some of the aforementioned sleep had begun clearing from his mind a bit, he frowned as he continued staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling.
I'm having déjà vu or something. Isn't this exactly how I found myself in this house the first time? But…where am I now? That's not the same ceiling as before.
A sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a groan came from his right, beside him; then something warm and soft was pressing against his side, and an arm was flopped across his chest. This was followed by a sigh almost in his ear.
Lucius eyes widened as he continued staring at the ceiling. There's…someone in bed with me! What the heck is happening? With a gulp, Lucius very slowly turned his head to the right. A mess of blonde hair covered the pillow next to him, and nestled within the hair was the most beautiful and angelic face he'd ever seen.
Lucius stared at the beautiful, cherubic face beside him for several moments, frowning in confusion, until his still somewhat sleep-addled brain began to fully function once more and clicked into gear; and when it did so, his frown was replaced by the widest grin Lucius Malfoy had probably ever had on his face in his life, as he gazed at the radiant visage his wife. And the memories of the most intense lovemaking session he had ever experienced flooded back into his mind.
Lucius slowly turned his face back to the ceiling, still grinning. It suddenly dawned on him that he and Narcissa were naked under the covers. I wonder what the odds are that Narcissa might be…interested in another round.
As if on cue, Narcissa sighed and stretched her arms above her head…the bedclothes sliding down just enough to grace Lucius with a tantalizing peek at her breasts. He gulped again.
Narcissa opened her eyes and looked at Lucius, a bashful smile on her slowly reddening face. "Hello, my love."
Lucius smiled back, and gently caressed Narcissa's cheek with the back of his knuckles. Narcissa smiled, and sighed, leaning her head into Lucius' touch. "Hello, my beautiful-beyond-words wife," he replied.
Narcissa sighed again, her smile growing even more beautiful as love blazed out from her eyes. And finally, for the first time since he woke from his accident, Lucius saw no fear in his wife's eyes. Narcissa placed her own hand over her husband's and sighed yet again. "I've…missed this, Lucius. I've…missed being in your arms."
Lucius sighed himself, once more caressing Narcissa's soft cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I wish I could say I missed it, but…I couldn't remember what it was like." He smiled. "But now that I've had a taste, well…"
Narcissa grinned and leaned up on Lucius, her breasts brushing against his chest. She kissed him gently and murmured. "Then, how about we make some more memories?"
Lucius grinned. Narcissa returned his grin, and pulled the covers over their heads, giggling as she did so.
(XXX)
Draco was drifting through his days. Oh, he paid attention to his grades, as he always did. But he found himself pondering on how much change had come into his life over the last few months. he had been thinking often of how greatly his father had changed. Draco still feared that Lucius might return to his old personality and demeanor at some point. But with each passing day, and with each letter from his mother, Draco grew more hopeful that the "new Lucius", as Narcissa called him, would stay permanently.
The other big change had to do with the girl who was walking beside him, holding his hand. Draco shifted his gaze to the right and smiled. Daphne caught his smile and returned it with a bright one of her own; her hand giving Draco's a gentle squeeze.
Daphne was so different from Pansy that it was difficult for Draco to put into words just how different the two girls actually were. It was more of a stark contrast than simply the cliché saying "night and day" could convey. For one thing, Daphne had more in mind for her life than merely being "Draco's girl". For another thing, no one but Hermione could even come close to challenging her academically. She planned on becoming a healer after graduating from Hogwarts. And yes, becoming Draco's wife as well. It just wasn't her only focus…like it had been for Pansy.
Daphne also encouraged Draco in regards to his father. "My father says that your father is growing better by the day, Draco," she had told him one morning earlier in the week at breakfast. "Father says that he spends a lot of time talking with your father, and he says that there's no sign of the…old Lucius coming back."
Draco sighed and gave his girlfriend a soft smile. "I hope your father is right, Daph." Draco smirked seeing the light blush that dusted Daphne's cheeks at Draco's use of her nickname.
"Hey!" Tracy exclaimed from the other side of Daphne. "I call you Daph all the time, and you never blush when I call you that!"
Daphne rolled her eyes and Tracy grinned at Draco sending him a wink as Daphne replied, "It's a little different when you call me Daph, Tracy. For one thing, I'm not in love with you."
Tracy gasped dramatically, placing one hand on her heart and the other against her forehead. "What? My best friend doesn't love me? OH, what a thing to tell your best friend!"
Daphne sighed and shook her head. "I do love you, you goof; just not romantically."
Draco chuckled at the banter between his girlfriend and her best friend. Another of the many reasons Draco hoped Lucius would not revert to his former ways was because he enjoyed being around Tracy. Tracy took hold of life and ran with it. Not much ever dampened her spirits. But as Tracy was "just" a half-blood, old Lucius would have looked down on her and forbid Draco from interacting with her. Heck, the old Lucius would never have given his permission to enter into a marriage contract with Daphne. Old Lucius had grown to despise the Greengrasses strict neutrality, often attempting to get William to change his mind and join the Dark Lord's side. The Greengrasses were a powerful family in their own right, almost a match for the Malfoys themselves in terms of money and position, and they had been in England much longer than the Malfoys had as well. But the Greengrass family had maintained a strict position of neutrality amongst the magical families of Britain ever since the Middle Ages. And Draco doubted that would ever change.
Draco, from scraps of off-handed comments his mother made, got the feeling that his father was moving the Malfoys more and more toward the political center as well. Perhaps from William Greengrass' influence, as well as Lucius own denunciations of the Dark Lord. But both he and Daphne had heard some muttering in the common room about Lucius Malfoy's changed personality as well, and the muttering had not been pleasant.
Guess I need to keep my ears open, Draco told himself. He glanced once more at the two girls sitting beside him as they continued their teasing of one another. And my eyes. I won't let anyone hurt Daphne. Or Tracey either. He glanced behind him at the lumbering figures of Crabbe and Goyle. I'll have to enlist those two as well. Draco sighed softly. As stupid as they were, Draco had a soft spot for his two shadows. Their loyalty was unsurpassed. And loyalty was a rare commodity these days.
The group of Slytherins continued down the hallway towards their class, not noticing the Look one Hermione Granger gave them as they passed the alcove where she sat studying.
(XXX)
Severus Snape was not a touchy man…meaning, he did not like people touching him. Which was why he was so confused at the moment. For outside of Lily, and his mother when he had been very young, he couldn't abide with anyone touching him…not even his colleagues, which is why he always gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and jerked away whenever the headmaster or Minerva (ridiculous Gryffindors!) would attempt to touch him.
Except…except, he didn't seem to mind it when Rowena Malfoy touched him. Which she did frequently: a gentle squeeze of his arm here, a subtle brush of her fingers against his own there, or a tender rubbing of his back, and even the occasionally common hand on his shoulder.
Severus was infuriated…except, he wasn't. Not by Rowena's touches, at least. What infuriated him was that he wasn't infuriated by her touches. A small part of his mind actually enjoyed it when Rowena touched him, which served to infuriate him further. And yet…he couldn't bring himself to tell her to stop, or to even act offended when she touched him. There was no gritting of teeth, clenching of fists, or jerking away when Rowena Malfoy touched him.
And it wasn't just her touches, but Merlin could that woman talk! However, unlike the vapid, empty headed women he was most used to, Rowena Malfoy could carry intelligent conversations on a wide variety of topics. And for some reason, her voice soothed Severus (which a part of his brain also found both confusing and infuriating). So Snape had been coming up with the most farfetched and vague reasons to visit Malfoy Manor as often as he could, and talk with Lucius' cousin.
Did he…love her? No, impossible. He had loved no one besides Lily for so many years. And Rowena Malfoy looked nothing like Lily. Well, except for her strikingly green eyes. Her hair was very dark, but her eyes…they were perhaps even more green than Lily's had been.
No, Snape assured himself that he did NOT love Rowena Malfoy. Yet he also could not understand why she had such a calming effect on him. Snape decided that it would take more research in order to understand what it was about Lucius' cousin that was so…pleasing to him. Lots of research, he decided. Hence, his now very common visits to Malfoy Manor. As he was this evening, dining yet again with the Malfoy family.
Narcissa had noticed a few things regarding Severus and Rowena, and it made her heart lighter. Poor Severus had been pining for that filthy muggle-born witch for nearly two decades now, and it both saddened and annoyed her. After what that atrocious Lilly Evans did to poor Severus. Such a vile and petty woman she was! Perfect for that arrogant prat James Potter. Of course, Narcissa would never think say any of that to Severus.
Lucius, as usual, had absolutely no clue there was anything strange going on.
Even though, once again, Severus was a dinner guest of the Malfoys…as was becoming rather frequent, considering how often he visited their house. Narcissa wondered how Severus found the time for multiple visits per week with school in full swing. Not to mention the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
"An excellent meal as always," Severus commented as he finished his wine. He set his glass down with an exasperated sigh. "It would be nice to spend further time this evening with you all," (he shot a very quick glance at Rowena before continuing) "but I must get back to the school and brew some wolfsbane potion for the headmaster's pet werewolf." Severus' tone was bitter. "I cannot abide that disgusting Remus Lupin," he then muttered, more to himself than anyone in the room with him. But Lucius heard him nonetheless.
Lucius choked on his wine, nearly spitting it out, a dribble escaping his mouth and running down his chin. Narcissa made a "tsk" sound and dabbed his chin with a napkin as Lucius set his glass down with a thud. Severus gave him a slight frown as Lucius sputtered a moment before regaining the ability to speak.
"Wait…first of all, there are werewolves here too?" He asked. "Giants and goblins and trolls and vampires aren't enough, there are honest to God werewolves here as well?"
"Yeeees?" Severus replied, still giving his friend a frown and not certain why Lucius was so surprised to discover the existence of werewolves.
"Well of course there are, I mean why wouldn't there be?" Lucius replied in a rather sarcastic tone of voice, rubbing his eyes. "And second, was this Remus character born a werewolf?
Severus frown deepened. "Of course not! Don't be absurd, Lucius…no one is born a werewolf. They have to become one by the bite of someone who is already a werewolf.
Lucius stared at Snape a moment before shaking his head. "Well then, I blame his parents…If you project that hard out into the universe, you're practically begging it to have your kid become a werewolf. Sheesh." He shook his head again.
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Snape asked, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Lucius glanced at him, cocking an eyebrow. "Seriously? Are you being serious right now? You don't see it?" He glanced around the silent table…Narcissa, who was sat on Lucius left, was staring at him in confusion; Snape was glaring at him; and Rowena, sat on Snape's right, across from Narcissa, was smirking down at her plate. He sighed and looked at Snape.
"Remus Lupin…Remus: Romulus and REMUS, founders of Rome, raised by wolves? Lupin: Lupine, Latin for WOLF? You see? His parents must have really wanted a werewolf for a son or something. Why else name your kid something so…so, um…so wolfish?"
Narcissa rolled her eyes. Snape was looking confused, like he'd never realized the significance of the Marauder's name before that moment and was wondering why he hadn't.
Rowena snickered, still smirking down at her plate. Then she turned her eyes to her cousin, clearing her throat to gain his attention and gave him a pointed look.
Lucius held her gaze a moment then sighed. He and Rowena had talked and decided that they needed to mention their extra abilities beyond magic in case they were accidentally seen using them."Narcissa, Severus…Rowena and I have…something to tell you about the Malfoy family."
Something in Lucius' tone of voice caught Narcissa and Severus' attention, Narcissa looking concerned and Severus frowned, once more glancing quickly at Rowena. "What…what is it, Lucius?" Narcissa hesitantly asked.
Lucius exchanged another look with Rowena and sighed again. He was thankful he had listened to Rowena's advice and gone over a story to give Narcissa and Severus, the two memorizing what they would say and do so that the lie sounded natural.
"It might be difficult for you to fully understand. In all truth, our family has never been able to understand or figure it out in full either. But it seems that there is some sort of recessive gene in the Malfoy family that causes…mutations, every once in a great while. Most of the time, it's perhaps one every century or even longer. And there is no set age for when the mutation might manifest itself…it might be during childhood, middle life, or even old age."
"How does this…mutation manifest itself, Lucius?" Severus was leaning forward, still frowning but sounding interested. Being raised in the muggle world, Severus had a better understanding of the terminology Lucius was using than Narcissa did, whose face still bore a concerned yet confused expression.
"It has to do with technology," Rowena explained, Severus' eyes darting to her face. "And always an advanced level of technology…highly advanced. The first few Malfoys who manifested the mutation went insane with the knowledge they gained and destroyed themselves."
Narcissa gasped, and shot a look of concern at her husband, grabbing his hand tightly. Lucius smiled and placed his other hand atop his wife's as Rowena continued. "Finally, a Malfoy who lived a couple of centuries ago who was infected with the mutation managed to figure out, as best he could, what was happening, and he learned to control it. He wrote his discoveries down in a journal that has since been added to by all those Malfoys who continue to have the mutation. As Lucius explained, there aren't many who end up with it. So far, to our knowledge, there have only been eleven Malfoys who ever have; and always only one per generation. Except for this generation…in this generation, there are two who have." She paused and glanced at Lucius, who continued with a sigh…he hated lying to Narcissa, but solaced himself with the thought that as far as the world he and Isis/Rowena came from was concerned, he was telling the truth, minus a few little details. Besides, she had lived such a sheltered life that she would never be able to understand it completely anyway.
"Both Rowena and I have manifested the mutation. Rowena has known since she was a teenager. As for me, I believe that my…accident may have caused it to be activated. We call ourselves Technomages, since the mutation fuses magic with technology inside us. As far as we have been able to discover, it's a singularly Malfoy trait. Or if there are other families with the mutation, they have been very careful to guard that secret."
Both Severus and Narcissa were silent for a few moments once Lucius and Rowena were done breaking the news to them. Lucius could tell that the frown on Narcissa's face was one of confusion mixed with worry, whilst the frown on Severus' face was one of deep contemplation. And Severus was the first to ask a question.
"What exactly does this…condition do, Lucius?"
Lucius exchanged glances with Rowena, who shrugged and took up the explanation. "We are able to use abilities that would, to non-magical people, appear to be magic. It's difficult to fully explain. The extended Malfoy family still struggles to accept those of us with this…condition. In fact, that's one reason I came here. Knowing Lucius has the same condition, I thought I would move to England, at least temporarily, in order to study the mutation more thoroughly."
Rowena cast a sidelong glance at Snape as she said, "Between Lucius and myself, and perhaps another person or two, we hope to figure out in greater detail the reasons behind the mutation."
For his part, Snape was intrigued. The chance to observe and study another form of magical conditions that was practically unheard of? In Merlin's name of course he would help! He was far too intrigued to pass up such an opportunity.
And spending more time around Miss Malfoy…purely for research purposes. Snape smiled inwardly, thinking of Rowena's pleasant smile…then reminded himself yet again that it was entirely for research. Yes. Research, that was all it was.
Severus cleared his throat. "I would be very interested in helping the two of you with your…research. But not tonight, unfortunately. As I said, I must get back and take care of the werewolf." He sighed and stood, stretching a bit as he did so.
Rowena stood also. "Thank you for joining us for dinner this evening, Professor."
Snape tried to frown and mumble, but instead the words that came out of his mouth were: "It was my pleasure, Miss Malfoy. And please, don't be so formal…call me Severus."
"Only if you call me Rowena…Miss Malfoy makes me feel like a child."
Severus couldn't stop the discreet look he gave Rowena, noticing how…womanly she was. You are definitely not a child. "Very well, Rowena," Snape drawled; and he liked the way her name sounded on his lips. He shook his head. Snap out of it! Think of Lily!
"I'll walk you to the floo," Rowena said, the bright smile that Severus often thought of when in his rooms at Hogwarts now covering her face. And all thoughts of Lily evaporated from Snape's mind for the moment.
Once again Snape attempted to make some grumpy comment along the lines of, "I have been here many times, Miss Malfoy. I know where the main floo is." But all that exited his mouth was a few mumbled words as he and Rowena left the dining room and headed to the front sitting room.
Narcissa smiled as she watched them go. "I think your cousin may be falling for our dear friend Severus. And I wonder if the feeling might be mutual."
Lucius glanced at his wife, then at the retreating figures of Snape and Rowena, then back at his wife, who was now smirking. "Rowena? Falling for Severus? Um, my love, I think you might ne imagining things. Besides, Severus and a woman?"
Narcissa's smirk grew as she leaned closer to Lucius and patted his hand. "Of course, I'm quite certain you're right darling. After all, what do I know about the intricacies of feelings between men and women." She gave her husband a sultry smile, and Lucius gulped, his face turning red.
Lucius sighed and looked away. "Touché," he mumbled. Then he shook his head. "But Severus and a woman…really? And Rowena of all women?"
Narcissa smirked and shrugged a shoulder. "Time will tell."
With another sigh, Lucius stood and pulled Narcissa chair out for her, offering her his hand as he helped her to her feet. Then the two headed for the front sitting room, arm in arm.
Okay, does anyone want to even bother hearing why I've been gone so long? I won't bore you, never fear. Besides I can sum it up in one word: Life. Ugh. At any rate, I'm back now. And I do apologize very, very, VERY much for the long delay. My other stories will be updated soon too. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this…perhaps somewhat boring chapter.
