Walpurgis Night

[lucius]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

It was the 1970s. It was an unseasonably brisk April day, the muggles called this Walpurgis Night, lit bondfires or some such to something or another- Lucius Malfoy could hardly be expected to be made to know any of that foolishness, muggle studies being mandatory as it was. Of course he hadn't let that ruin the view of the roaring and rolling foothills before what the underclassmen - and even Dumbledore himself- called the Shrieking Shack, apparently so haunted the lily livered ghosts of hogwarts castle dare not go down it's ragged echelons or through it's ragged firmament. So it stood, as always on the bravest, the strongest, the pure blooded wizards to muster up the courage, the gumption and wherewithal to put their noses to the grindstone and get the job done, to make the world a better place. Magic is Might after all.

Of course, looking back to the class, that had already headed on it's way back to the castle grounds, while he tarried, to the one figure that had waited for him, he knew THAT wasn't the reason he'd be out on the grounds tonight. After all, they'd been dating for awhile now and they'd not as much alone time as they'd- especially he'd- have preferred, if they could tonight what could be better? his long dark robes, a finely knit scarf, and his long blonde hair being taken by the wind as he stood in the midst of it. Lucius Malfoy, final year until graduation, prefect, strong student, especially in potions, and even member of the prestigious "Slug club" he had all the accolades to his name, the fine bloodline, the social standing both in the wizarding world and student body, but right now he thought about a very different body indeed.

"Cissa."Malfoy said somewhat under his breath, looking about to see the ever deviating nearly obscured figures that were the class heading over the varying hills and between the trees of the grounds of Hogwarts ground and the school proper. As he reached out, saying then in a clearer tone of voice, "Narcissa." his voice as usual carrying a certain prestige or manner, very aristocratic, strong and commanding yet not without a hint of warmth, perhaps for this single figure only. gripping somewhat as if gesturing to someone as his grip coiled around her wrist.

This was of course to get her attention again as he stopped intimately close to her, "Come walk with me darling. I've something I want to show you." again the wind pelted his face a bit harder than he might prefer, taking his robes, hair, in the wind as he did, his forget-me-not blue eyes tracing over the woman he now stood behind, wondering if as he'd whispered that in her ear if a face of acceptance or denial awaited him just out of sight.

Be that as it may he'd already started to lead the young woman off with him by the hand if only slightly, he'd seen other figures and thought some of their classmates might've tried to follow them back, not wanting that he continued "I think you'll like it, it's peaceful this time of the day. You. Me. Alone. very romantic." of course having never seen Muggle cinema such as Friday the 13th and Halloween Lucius had no idea how bad of an idea it was for a teenager to go out into the woods alone.

Malfoy had looked from her for but a second because of the shifting weather and the time, the sky was alight with all manner of color, crimsons, purples, the cloud cover made for a more beautiful twilight as sun began to set than was normal for this time of year.

[NARCISSA MALFOY]

Ask Narcissa what holiday it was and she would give a blank look. She did not muggle holidays. Ignorance was safety. If she knew of the holidays, people might accuse her of celebrating them. All Narcissa knew was that it was very cold, but she did not care because she was with the man she loved. Oho, laugh at her because of her age, but Lucius was perfect. He was rich. He was connected. He was utterly gorgeous. He came from a very respected wizarding family. What else could Narcissa ever want? Plus, with his blond hair and hers, they would make the most gorgeous babies. Three, of course. Just like her parents. Except she wanted two girls and a boy. The children would get along just as well as her and her sisters did. The boy would look out for the girls, even if he was younger. She would teach them all how to nobly act like a Malfoy and Black mix should. Oh, it would be just perfect.

When Lucius first said her name, she popped out of her fantasy with just the slightest hint of a blush on her cheeks. She could tell she was blushing, but she hoped he would just assume it was from the cold. When he said her name again, Narcissa looked at him, all blushing gone. She smiled the smile that she practiced in front of her dormitory mirror when the girls were elsewhere. She showed no teeth because she did not want to seem too excited. Her mother had instructed her to never seem too interested in a boy. She bit her lip, almost without thinking. Letting go, she said, “Lucius.” She did not know what he wanted to do today, but they were alone, and that was enough for her.

Years of lessons instructed Narcissa that if a suitor told you to follow him, you follow him. At least, if you could trust him. Her mother had warned her on the dangers of men, but Narcissa trusted Lucius with her life, “Yes, of course.” She whispered unnecessarily as he already started to walk away. She followed, wondering if perhaps she should have dressed differently. When Lucius told her to meet him, she took extra care with her dressing. She wore her brand new baby blue robes. They were extremely tight, which made it hard to move, even breathe, but the attendant told her that was how everyone wore them now. She had to admit, it did make her figure look outstanding. They were snug over her hips until they fanned out so they could follow behind her if she walked at a fast enough pace, or with this insufferable wind, they just continually blew around her. Unfortunately, she spent too much time on her hair. It was perfectly straight when she left, with not a hair out of place. She had two braids on either side of her head that she wrapped together, creating a horizontal braid near the top of her head, which she wrapped ribbon through of the same colour as her robes. Yet the wind blew her hair in her face and she tried to attractively move it back into place, but she figured she just looked ridiculous.

“Alone?” Narcissa said with the slightest tinkling laugh, something else she practiced for hours, “That will be nice. We hardly ever get time to ourselves.” She had not noticed anyone else anywhere around her. Her eyes were for Lucius alone until he looked away from her. She followed his gaze and almost gasped with surprise. Luckily, she caught herself, “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly, as if it were Lucius’ doing. She knew that he could never do something like that, but still, it felt like it was all for her.

[lucius]

Lucius heard Narcissa's giggles and acquiescence and thought to himself how of course that was the case. He was after all, Lucius Malfoy, bright, the brightest, a top student, an incredible wizard in the making, rich, handsome, affluent, all the things anyone could want. That being said, he had the slightest of smiles come to his lips, if only for a second; when she agreed to come along before he banished it, propriety of course.

He reasserted the "Come" simply and calmly as he walked with her to the shack, they'd made their way to it with a bit of jovial haste as he spoke with equal measure of calm yet a flicker of excitement "Old man Dumbledore says it's haunted. I doubt that mountebank knows his wand from his nose though. If we could find a way inside... I thought we could start a fire. Get warm." looked back to Narcissa, his eyes had what might seem otherworldly or unusual for him, a soft concern and kindness for the girl before him. Most others found his blues to be cold or piercing, many a slytherin underclassmen and even his various classmates, enough to intimidate or brow beat them into submission.

"You look frozen." with that he disrobed the long, flowing black coat he wore and draped it around her gingerly, bundling the girl up a bit, the warmth of his body and the fragrance of his colognes wrapping around her and inundating her as well.

Now he ran a hand through his long blond tresses and down the darkened neck of the black turtle neck he wore and said "I'll warm you up." he placed a few small kisses on her neck, cheek and lips while his free hand moved his wand, a warmth coming from it that was effulgent.

When she looked to the shrieking shack she'd see what he just did. Some people would call it blatant property vandalism, others a misuse of magic, but to Lucius, carving their names into the side of the shrieking shack with bluebell flames. Towering, the entire side of the shack now proclaimed their love.

Of course deep down he knew that the old man Dumbledore or the old bat faced woman that was Transfiguration professor would fix it, he'd get in trouble, take all the blame, just another detention he'd be given. It was an absurdity. His father would hear about it.

[NARCISSA MALFOY]

As expected, Narcissa followed the every command of her future husband. Feminists cried at the very thought of the blonde girl, so ready to please whomever she deemed important enough. As they approached closer and closer to the Shrieking Shack, Narcissa felt her courage leave her, just the tiniest bit. There was a reason she was no Gryffindor and it was not just because she looked gorgeous in Slytherin green. Sure, the ghosts at school were kind enough. She avoided the Bloody Baron at all costs because he was simply too grotesque to be allowed. What a wonder that he was still around. She figured it was only so that he could command Peeves. Still, the Bloody Baron scared her and anything that lived in the Shrieking Shack would obviously be much, much worse.

“Mmm,” she said, trying to disguise her fear. Narcissa did not like Dumbledore in any which way. Why would she? Her parents hated him, so she hated him. That was how it worked. Yet she had enough respect for him that if he said something was haunted, she wanted to listen. Still, she would follow Lucius anywhere, so she did not beg to return. Besides, when he looked at her like that, she could barely think straight. For a moment, she forgot even why she was afraid. Did she really think Lucius would ever let anything happen to her? The thought was quite comical. He would do anything for her. He was so romantic.

Narcissa was about to reply to say that she was fine, not wanting to seem difficult, when he wrapped his coat around her. She sighed peacefully and snuggled up closer in the jacket. It smelled just like him. This was absolutely perfect. “Thank you, Lucius. This is so sweet of you. But will you not be cold yourself?” She looked up at him with a lovesick look upon her face. Lucius could have suggested that Narcissa should break her wand in two and make her way into the Shrieking Shack unarmed and she probably would have done it without a second thought. That was how much Lucius’ gesture meant to her and how clouded it made her rational thinking.

A quick giggle bubbled out of her as he said in quite a cheesy manner that he would warm her up. It was so cliché, but so perfect. She allowed him for a few moments to kiss her without returning any affection except a few pecks on the lips, “But Lucius, someone might see us. We mustn’t.” With great difficulty, remembering what her mother had said about the importance of reputation, she took a great step back. She turned toward the Shrieking Shack and saw what Lucius had done. When had he managed that? She completely failed to notice. Yet she looked for only a moment before clapping her hands to her mouth with was turned into a dazzling smile, “Lucius! It is so romantic. You did all of this for me,” She sighed happily wondering how she was so lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend before closing the distance between them and kissing him solidly on the mouth. Sod the reputation. A boy who would go to such daring matters obviously would marry her anyway. Besides, the longer she spent snogging the boy, the shorter amount of time they could spend trying to get into the Shrieking Shack. It was a perfect plan.