De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

The Masque

The annual New Year's Eve Wizard's Masque had come once again. Lucius Malfoy wasn't particularly excited at the prospect of an evening in public with Narcissa, his wife. The masque was always the same, year in and year out. Everybody wore dark, stuffy clothes and masks to cover their faces. Witches and wizards stood, huddled in groups, gossiping about outfits and trying to figure out who was who.

Because he had his image to maintain, Lucius always attended, looking his best and on his best behaviour, although he would've rather have spent the evening in a boggart's cupboard. Lucius sighed with boredom, rolled his eyes, and folded his arms impatiently as he stood at Narcissa's side, while she made small talk with the people surrounding them. He was looking wistfully up the stairs to the door when another couple made their entrance.

A man with long white hair and beard, his typical purple ensemble, and a small black mask over his eyes; who was obviously Albus Dumbledore, head master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, appeared. Lucius couldn't stand the man and was about to turn away when he noticed the woman on Dumbledore's arm.

She was very attractive and seemed somewhat familiar. Her outfit stood out from the rest of the crowd, who were all conservatively dressed in dark coloured evening gowns and robes. She wore a short, low-cut, skin-tight emerald green outfit that could barely be called a dress. The top part was skin tight while the skirt was made up of green strips of cloth that hung down to her knees. The strips swayed as she moved, revealing even more of her flesh. Her shapely legs ended in matching green high heeled shoes. On one arm, was a series of green bracelets that traveled from her wrist, all the way up her arm to just below her shoulder. A simple green choker adorned her slender neck. She wore a delicate green mask over her eyes. Dark black, chin-length hair created a dark halo around her head. He longed to run his hands over her olive-toned skin that looked like it was just made to be touched.

The mismatched couple slowly made their way down the long staircase, and onto the dance floor. Lucius watched as the two began to dance a lively waltz together. For such an old man, Dumbledore was quite nimble on his feet as he danced with the enchantress. She was quite a dancer herself. There was a familiarity between those two that made Lucius wonder how they knew each other. She seemed only a fraction of his age... perhaps they were related? All Lucius knew for sure was that he didn't know nearly as much about her as he wanted to.

When the dance ended, Lucius was rudely interrupted by Narcissa's bony finger jabbing into the small of his back. Swinging around to face her, he swiped the glass of wine she was holding out for him and drank it in one swallow. He shoved the empty glass back into her hand and turned around again to find that woman, but both she and Dumbledore seemed to have disappeared. He looked around for any sign of them, but had no luck finding them. He walked around the edge of the dance floor, searching for her, when he finally ran into Dumbledore, who was by himself. "Dumbledore," Lucius began, curtly.

"How did you know it was me?" Albus asked innocently.

Not wanting to ruin his chances with Albus' date, Lucius said, "Just a good guess I suppose."

"I assume you're here with you're lovely wife, Narcissa."

Lucius forced a smile on his face. "But of course," he replied. "And who was that girl I saw you arrive with? She doesn't look familiar to me."

Albus smiled and said, "An old friend of mine."

"I must say, she does stand out in this crowd, quite a breath of fresh air actually."

"Yes, that's why I brought her. The New Year's Masque has been rather dull over the last few years. I thought she might liven up the party."

Lucius nodded his head slowly in agreement. "She does have a fair air about her."

"Aye. 'Fair and perilous; but only evil need fear it, or those who bring some evil with them.'" Albus gave Lucius a look that was both an agreement and a warning of some sort. "If you'll excuse me," Albus walked over to a crowd of people talking, and joined in their conversation, leaving Lucius standing by himself, trying to figure out where that quote was from.

Lucius began to walk around the dance floor again, looking for the girl in the green dress. He spotted her and began to walk towards her, but stopped. His stomach felt nervous when he saw who she was talking with: Narcissa.

Narcissa had been standing alone at the refreshment table, nursing a glass of champagne when a snippet of a girl in an emerald green dress appeared next to her. The girl picked up a glass of wine and stood next to Narcissa and sighed. "So, who dragged you to this shindig?" She asked.

Rolling her eyes at having to respond to her, Narcissa answered, "My 'darling' husband."

Trying to make conversation, the girl asked, "Oh really, where is he then?"

Narcissa looked out to the crowd of mingling people. "Over there, he's the one talking to that wizened old fool with long hair..." She pointed to the pair of talking wizards.

"You mean Albus Dumbledore?" The girl asked.

"Whatever. Who did you come with?" Narcissa asked, mildly interested.

"That wizened fool, Albus Dumbledore," The girl answered haughtily.

"Oh." Quickly changing the subject, Narcissa asked, "Anyway, where ever did you dig up that thing? It's hardly appropriate." Narcissa said pointing to the girl's dress.

"Oh this? This is just a little something I conjured up. It's not as though I have to be well dressed for the likes of these people," the girl responded, gesturing to the people in the room, making sure she included Narcissa in the sweep of her hand.

Lucius chose this moment to intervene between the two women who he could clearly see were not hitting it off. He had hoped they weren't talking about him. A wave of excitement passed over Lucius as he approached the beautiful girl. Walking in between his wife and her, he put his hand over the girl's forearm and gently pulled her away from Narcissa. "Shall we dance?" He asked. The girl looked surprised, momentarily, as Lucius took her wine glass and shoved it into Narcissa's hand and guided her out to the dance floor. Lucius never took his eyes off the girl.

Lucius towered at least half a foot over her as they danced. He held her body tightly with his hands, one clasped over hers, the other at the small of her back, pressing her to him. The girl seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Lucius' familiarity with her and remained silent while he tried to think of something to say to her.

She looked up at his face and he finally had a chance to look into her eyes. Coal black eyes that seared into his soul...he had seen them before. When had he seen them before? As he twirled the girl around the dance floor, the scent of vanilla filled Lucius' head. All of a sudden a memory flashed into his mind: She. The woman in the trinket shop.

They had the same eyes, same hair, same scent. It had to be her. Now Lucius had to confirm whether it had indeed been this same woman. He couldn't come right out and ask her, he had to spark her memory. Clearing his throat, Lucius looked into her eyes and said, "Pleasant evening isn't it?"

The woman nodded her head in agreement.

"Although it is getting a little bit dull. I was thinking about livening it up. What do you think? I could pull a rabbit out of my hat, maybe? Make somebody disappear? Or, how about sawing my lovely assistant in half? Would that be amusing to see? I hope so, I have been practicing very hard, and hopefully someday soon, I'll get to be a magician!" Lucius' voice dripped with sarcasm as he continued looking in her eyes. She seemed confused at first, but then he saw her eyes grow wide as she realized what he was saying.

"Oh my...trinket shop." The woman said softly, cringing slightly as she saw that she was dancing with the man who had annoyed her greatly that day in the store. She automatically tried to pull away from his grip, but Lucius held on to her. Now that he'd found her, he certainly wasn't about to let her go easily.

Lucius had just opened his mouth to say something when Dumbledore appeared at their side and tapped on his shoulder. "May I cut in?" He asked, grinning at Lucius. Lucius didn't know where he had come from, but thought he'd arrived rather quickly. Too quickly, as though he had been summoned. Lucius looked in the woman's eyes and saw a sparkle of humour in them. He loosened his grip while She peeled herself off of Lucius and sauntered up to Dumbledore. Together, they danced, leaving Lucius standing alone in the middle of the dance floor. From across the room, he made eye contact with Narcissa, who smirked at him, held up her wine glass, made a gesture as to toast him, and drained it. Fury enveloped Lucius as he looked around for Dumbledore and the woman. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was ten minutes to midnight. The Masque ended then; he didn't have much time.

He wandered around, scanning the crowd for her. Five minutes left and still no sign of her. Two minutes left, nothing. Lucius found himself directly across from the large clock and saw her standing next to Dumbledore beside it. He quickly made his way across the floor that was still crowded with dancing couples.

The crowd had begun the count down to the first stroke of midnight, he was almost there. He finally made it to her side as the crowd began cheering and the clock struck midnight. Lucius grabbed her by the arms and dragged her behind the clock, out of sight from Dumbledore and the rest of the party. "It's a sacred tradition to kiss somebody at midnight on New Year's Eve." He whispered, holding her, pinned against the clock. As she opened her mouth to protest, Lucius leaned his face into hers and kissed her, knocking her head hard into the wood base of the clock. He held onto her and continued kissing her until the clock had finished chiming. When it had stopped, he released her from his grasp and watched as she fled from his sight, with Dumbledore trailing quickly behind her. This had been the best Masque ever.