De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

A Lesson Learned

Lucius's business kept him busy for the next couple of weeks and unable to see Adriana again. Finally, a free day presented itself in his schedule and he planned to take advantage of it. Waking up early, Lucius dressed and prepared for the day. He was going to apparate to her house and eat breakfast with her. Then she could find something for them to do, one of her "Challenges". Lucius wondered what those would consist of, but wasn't too worried. Challenges were what he lived for.

It was 8:30 in the morning when he arrived at Adriana's house. Knocking on the door, he waited much like the first time he'd visited. After several knocks without a response, Lucius detached his wand from his walking stick and was about to try opening the door when he remembered that it wouldn't work while he was there. Frustrated, Lucius walked around the porch to the backside of the house. He took several minutes to take in the enormity of Adriana's property. The pond in the centre could easily house a yacht. The orchard, on whose trees the leaves were beginning to appear, seemed like a forest. At the far end was a large hill bearing one lone tree, of a kind he had never seen before.

Scanning the orchard, he saw something that caught his eye. Adriana was caught inside some type of net set between two trees, and there was no sign of movement from her. Alarmed, he walked quickly down to where she was. Once he made it to her, he saw that she was not in fact caught in midair, but lying on the net, asleep, peacefully. Relieved, Lucius looked at the sleeping figure in front of him. Even in sleep she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Dressed in draw-string plaid shorts and a black tank top, she lay on her side, with her face towards him. He thought about how easy it would be to crawl onto the net, next to her. She was asleep, unable to protest. He saw himself running his fingers through her hair, over the smooth skin of her face, and down her arms. How easy it would be to pull the draw-string of her shorts, and continue his fingers' journey to its final destination. Taking a step forward, he stopped short as the reality of the consequences flooded his mind. Not wanting to die a painful death, Lucius regained control of himself and pushed those ideas from his mind.

Instead, Lucius leaned down and whispered Adriana's name in her ear. There was no response. Taking a chance, he pressed his lips to hers, which were still warm from sleep, and kissed her. Adriana stirred but did not wake. In her stirring, Adriana's shirt twisted up her body and exposed her hip to Lucius. Grinning, Lucius brushed his gloved fingertips against the exposed skin, tickling her. Adriana squealed, hit his hand away from her, and her eyes fluttered open. "MMMM. Go 'way...tired." She croaked. Clearly disoriented, Adriana looked around, trying to figure out where she was and why Lucius was standing next to her. "What day is it?"

"Tuesday," Lucius replied.

"What time is it?"

"9 o'clock."

"In the morning?"

"Yes."

Blinking her eyes as she adjusted to the light, Adriana sat up and carefully got out of the hammock. Beginning to walk, but stumbling slightly, Lucius grabbed her arm and helped her walk back to the house. "I went out here to look at the stars last night. I guess I fell asleep. What are you doing here?" Adriana sounded very grumpy. Clearly she was not a morning person.

"I had some free time so I thought I'd come and see you again," Lucius explained. "I thought I'd come over for breakfast."

"Well I have to take a shower first," Adriana replied. "I'm not even ready, it's too early to be awake."

Together they walked to the door of a room that Lucius hadn't been in yet. Opening it and walking in, Lucius saw the bathroom. It was bright and light, yet much smaller than he was used to. She only had one sink! Lucius couldn't see how anybody could function with less than three. Walking to her tub, Lucius turned the water on for her, trying to be as helpful as he possibly could. "Now you take a nice long bath, that'll wake you up. Do you want bubbles?"

Looking asleep on her feet, Adriana stood silently, until Lucius asked her more loudly. "No, no bubbles," she finally mumbled, walking to the tub. Without thinking, she started to pull her shirt over her head. Lucius watched with relish, hoping she would stay groggy like this all day. Stopping in mid-action, Adriana looked at Lucius, her eyes narrowing. "Hey... get out!" She barked at him, realizing what she'd almost done. Lucius knew it had been too good to last, and turned to leave. He shut the door behind him and stood there for several minutes, listening to the running water and the sounds of Adriana splashing. Imagining what she looked like in the tub, Lucius was interrupted by a loud singing voice singing on the other side of the door. "I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair, and send him on his way..." Lucius received the message and left for the kitchen.

He thought about starting breakfast, but had no idea how to cook. Lucius had never even been in the kitchen of Malfoy Manor. Going to the fridge, he opened it to see what was there. It was full of foods he'd never seen or heard of before. "Coke", "Crisps", "Twinkies", what was all of this? Taking a "Coke", he looked at the can and pulled the tab up, breaking the seal and opening it. Putting it to his nose and smelling, he was surprised as bubbles in the can popped and splashed against his skin. Putting the can to his lips, he took a small sip. The bubbles popped against his tongue and a flavour impossible for him to describe filled his mouth. It tasted sweet, but good. He continued to drink the beverage until the can was empty.

Lucius walked around the kitchen, opening drawers and doors, seeing what she had to eat. He was hungry and didn't know how long he could wait until Adriana was done in the bathroom so she could make him breakfast.

After a while, Adriana emerged from the bathroom and entered the kitchen. "So what did you make for breakfast?" She asked.

"I don't cook! That's what servants are for," Lucius replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, I see. Servants, eh?"

"Yes, servants," Lucius said.

"Ah, that's interesting," Adriana said.

"What is?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, you rely so heavily on servants to do things for you. And you use magic for everything else. I was just wondering if you're capable of actually doing anything for yourself, or if you're completely dependant on others."

Anger flooded Lucius' veins. Turning an angry shade of white and glaring at Adriana, he remained silent. She had backed him into a corner from which there was no easy way out. There was no answer he could give that didn't at least partially justify that statement.

"Do you think I'm your servant, Mr. Malfoy?" Adriana asked, so primly that she had to be seething with anger.

"Of course not. I was merely explaining why I didn't make breakfast," Lucius answered.

Walking to the fridge, Adriana opened the door and began taking items out. "Come here," She shouted at him. After walking to her, Adriana shoved a package of bacon and a handful of eggs into his arms. Removing more food and putting them into his hands, Adriana walked to the stove and took several pans from under the counter. Lucius laid the items in his arms on the table and watched Adriana gather knives and plates and other cooking utensils.

"This is your challenge, I'm going to show you how to make breakfast. Then you will make it, and I will eat it, and it had better be good," Adriana explained calmly as she went to a drawer and took something out of it and handed it to Lucius.

Lucius sighed with resignation. Opening up what she'd given him, he saw it was a white, frilly apron. Tying it around his waist, he realized he must look quite ridiculous, but was grateful for the meager protection from the dirty food.

Taking a bowl out of the cupboard, Adriana showed him how to crack an egg and pour it into the bowl. Lucius tried next, breaking the shell into the bowl and dropping the yolk on the floor. He scooped the shell out with a spoon and tried again, with more success. With a fork, he stirred the eggs carefully until they were well beaten.

Adriana opened the package of bacon and demonstrated to Lucius how to take the pieces out and lay them in the pan. With a pair of tongs, he took each piece out and put them in the pan.

Cutting two slices of bread from a loaf that she had made herself, Adriana showed Lucius how the toaster worked. She told him how to use the stove and watched as the bacon began to sizzle, giving off its delicious, smoky aroma. She explained to Lucius how to scramble the eggs and sat back to watch him try on his own. Stirring the eggs and turning the bacon, the food cooked quickly. The smoky aroma of bacon soon turned to actual smoke as it burned on the stove. Adriana set out two plates by the stove for Lucius. Grabbing the pan of bacon from the stove, Lucius used the tongs to divide it between the plates. Next he turned to the eggs. The bottom half was scorched and the top half was runny. He divided those onto the plates as well. Finally Lucius took the toast out of the toaster. It had toasted to a nice dried-out, dark brown. Spreading butter over the pieces, he placed them on the plates as well. Adriana had put two glasses by the plates along with a pitcher of orange juice. Lucius poured juice into them without stirring it first. Picking them up, he placed them on the table. Returning to the counter, he took the plates to the table as well.

Sitting down across from Adriana, Lucius picked up his fork and took a bite of the eggs. Chewing carefully, his teeth ground a piece of eggshell. The runny eggs were lukewarm and gooey in his mouth. He grimaced and spat the eggs out into his napkin. Taking a large sip of orange juice, Lucius was surprised at the watery liquid that barely tasted of oranges. "This is terrible, don't eat it!" Lucius bellowed, grabbing onto Adriana's arm as her hand lifted the fork to her mouth. He was so angry, he'd tried his best, yet this was the result.

Adriana saw his frustration and couldn't bring herself to insult him, he looked so adorable with the apron around his waist. And he had tried his best. Standing up, she walked to the stove and quickly prepared another breakfast and in a few minutes, a perfectly cooked meal was put in front of Lucius. He tasted the food as his should have. "I've just had more practice than you, that's all," Adriana said, smiling kindly and looking into his eyes.

Lucius looked away from her, unable to meet her eyes. He had seen the pity in them. How dare she feel sorry for him? He felt so foolish, something he didn't think he'd ever felt in his life before. She had shown him up and was smiling about it? Unable to eat anymore, Lucius pushed his plate away from him and stood up. Untying the apron from his waist, he threw it on the floor in anger and stomped to the backdoor and walked onto the porch.

Adriana rolled her eyes and continued to eat her food. She understood he was frustrated, but didn't see why he had to act like such a baby about it. "Grow up," she muttered to herself. When she finished, Adriana stood up and walked to the door and looked out at Lucius. He was standing on the edge of the steps, hands on his hips, looking at the property. "You still have a chance to pass this challenge, you know. The dishes need to be washed," Adriana called to him.

Turning around, Lucius was glad to see that not a trace of pity was left on her face. The chance of winning the challenge was appealing to him, he returned to the kitchen and picked up the apron, tying it around his waist once again. Adriana explained how the stopper in the sink and the soap worked and under her close eye, drew a nice foamy bath for the dishes. After carefully scraping the rest of the food into the dust bin, Lucius placed the dishes into the water. Putting rubber gloves over his leather ones, he picked up a scrubbing pad and went to work. Carefully cleaning and rinsing each dish or utensil, Lucius put them on the drying rack and managed to make it through the ordeal without dropping or breaking anything. Adriana assisted in drying the dishes and side-by-side, they worked together. Adriana brushed her shoulder against his arm, pointed her towel at the glass Lucius was drying and said, "Oh, you missed a spot."

Looking carefully at the glass, he asked, "Where?"

"There," Adriana said, hitting him lightly on the chin with her towel and giggling.

Carefully setting down the glass, Lucius looked at her seriously and asked, "Now, why did you do that? I've been working very hard, and here you are goofing off."

"Oh, come on! Loosen up! You're the most uptight man I've ever met, and I've met quite a few men in my time!"

"Really, how many men would that be?" Lucius asked, a small smile dawning on his face.

"A million," She replied.

"Oh? And how many of those did you sleep with?" Lucius asked boldly.

"Ah! I can't believe you asked me that! What if I slept with all of them?"

"I suppose I wouldn't mind as long as I get to be counted among them," Lucius grinned at Adriana, grabbing her towel and pulling her towards himself.

Laughing, she looked up at Lucius, but stopped short and cleared her throat. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, I believe you passed this challenge. Your cooking skills will improve with practice, I can assure you. I suppose I should give you your reward now," Adriana looked uncomfortable suddenly.

Lucius was both excited and disappointed. He liked the prospects of his reward, yet had wanted to spend the day with her, but he knew she'd make him leave afterwards. "You don't really have to...I mean I burnt the food," Lucius said slowly.

"No, no, you did a good job, for the most part, and a deal is a deal," Adriana said, stepping closer to him. Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her toes to reach his face. Closing her eyes, Adriana pressed her lips to his for about a second before pulling back and opening her eyes wide. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and she began to feel slightly light-headed.

"Well, thank you for stopping by Mr. Malfoy. Do you know when you might visit again?" Adriana's voice wavered as she spoke, in spite of her best efforts to stay calm.

"I might have time next week I believe," Lucius responded.

"Well, then I will look forward to seeing you again."

Lucius untied the apron around his waist and placed it in Adriana's shaking hands. Walking to her front door, he saw himself out before apparating back to Malfoy Manor.

Adriana looked at the apron in her hands and bemoaned her behaviour. How could she have acted like that? Like a silly school girl with a crush on him. She hated this feeling, hated not being able to control it. She was much too old to act like that. And besides, he was a married man, not happily, but still married. But, try as she might, Lucius Malfoy had an effect on her she wished he did not.

"Next week," she said to herself, a smile growing on her face.