De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

The First Year Ends

Lucius was on the floor of the dressing room, with money on his chest, as Adriana left the store. He had gotten so close, SO close, this time. Here he was, this was worse than the dinner party had been, at least she had given him some satisfaction then. Lucius sat on the floor for several minutes, thinking of unattractive things until he was ready to attempt standing up again. He stood up slowly, and gingerly put his own clothes back on, before gathering the new clothes and money Adriana had "given" him, and walked out of the dressing room.

Lucius laid the clothing on the sales counter while the clerk added up the total. Adriana had left him an ample amount of money, which he handed to the clerk in a large handful. He didn't know how Muggle money worked, nor did he care. The clerk handed him his change and the bag of clothes and Lucius left the store, on his own for the first time, to find his way back to Adriana's house, without the use of magic.

Lucius couldn't help feeling sorry for himself. The little tease had left him to get back to her house by himself. He had no idea how to do that. The only thing he knew was what he wanted to do to Adriana when he saw her again. The thought of asking a Muggle for assistance was almost too much for him to bear, yet he knew it was only a matter of time. This was the largest town they had passed on the way over, so Lucius assumed this was his best chance of getting help. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a restaurant with a few Muggles in it. Turning to walk towards it, Lucius mentally prepared to take yet another step below his station in life.

Adriana drove home recklessly fast, yet managed to not see another soul along the way. Tears streamed down her face as she relived the humiliating scene over and over again in her mind. She hated Lucius, who was only looking at her as a bit on the side, nothing more than his whore; she hated his wife, who obviously took her husband for granted and didn't realize what a good thing she had; she hated his son, who received Lucius' attention and devotion, but mostly, she hated herself, for allowing herself to fall for this man who didn't deserve her in the least. Damn it, DAMN IT!, Adriana thought to herself. She was weak and couldn't overcome it.

It took far less than an hour to reach her home. Parking her car in the drive way, Adriana ran into the house and locked the door behind her. Making her way to the bathroom, she turned on the shower and stood there as steaming hot water poured out of the showerhead. Taking her clothes off slowly, she stepped into the water and stood there, letting the shame and pain of the day drain away. She stood there for over an hour, letting the hot water wash over her, until her skin was bright pink and burning.

Finally, turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, Adriana wrapped herself in a towel and walked to the bedroom to change into shorts and a tank top. As she left the room, Lucius's walking stick caught her eye. A feeling of dread gnawed at her stomach. He'd be coming back for it. Standing before it, she stared blankly for several minutes before walking to her writing desk in the living room and finding a piece of paper and a pen. Quickly writing a note, Adriana taped it to the stick before opening the door and tossing it outside, letting it land wherever it would. Slamming the door and locking it behind her, she walked out to the back and left the house.

Barefoot, Adriana walked up her hill, sitting under the lone olive tree at the very top. She sat in silence and looked down on the other side of her property from above. A small wheat field lay at the bottom and next to it a working windmill. She tried to empty her mind of all emotion and move on from there. But always her thoughts returned to Lucius.

Lucius looked around the restaurant before deciding what to do. "Welcome to McDonald's" he read on the large menu with pictures of food to choose from. Bright colours attacked him from all sides and a frighteningly stupid-looking red-haired clown smiled at him from the corner. I always knew those Weasleys would amount to greatness some day, He thought to himself, sneering.

He couldn't believe Muggles actually lived this way. He didn't see why Adriana chose willingly to live this life, it was almost as if she preferred it this way. How could the most powerful person he knew want to live a life without magic? Not only wouldn't she sleep with him, he was still unable to find out anything about her. He wanted to know where her powers came from, for he wanted them for himself. He still saw her as the key to his rise to succession over Voldemort.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Lucius walked to the counter and hailed the first person he saw, over to him. A young girl of about 20 or so years, walked to him. "If I was trying to get somewhere, but I didn't have a car, how would you suggest I get there?" He asked.

The girl looked at him like he was insane. "How far away is it?"

Lucius had no idea how far away Adriana's house was. "It took an hour to drive here."

"That's much too far to walk. You should take a taxi," The girl suggested helpfully.

"Ah yes, a taxi..." Nodding his head knowingly, Lucius didn't know what a taxi was and couldn't suffer the humiliation of asking what one was.

"You could ring a taxi, and they'd come pick you up," The girl explained, when she realized he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Ah yes, ring..." Nodding again. Yet another thing Lucius knew nothing about.

Sighing, the girl asked, "Would you like me to ring you a taxi?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful!" Lucius flashed her a smile of gratitude. He realized she wasn't too bad looking and remained as suave as possible while she disappeared to ring his taxi. He loved having other people do things for him. When the girl returned, Lucius leaned across the counter, until he was very close to her face. Putting on all his charms, he asked, "So, just how big are the Big Macs?"

The girl's eyes grew large and she backed away slowly from Lucius. "Your taxi will be here shortly, you can wait for it outside," She said before walking away from him, the second girl who had left him high and dry that day.

As Lucius walked out the door, a woman and her small child were leaving the restaurant. The child, a boy about four years old, was holding a cup. As he brushed past Lucius, the cup toppled out of his hand and spilled a thick, brown, cold substance all over his legs. The boy started to scream over his loss and the woman picked him up, while glaring at Lucius, as though it had been his fault. Brushing off what he could of the sticky mess all over him, Lucius walked back to get some napkins to try and clean himself up more.

Walking out of the store completely, this time without any incident, Lucius kept an eye out for the taxi. After about 10 minutes, a black car pulled up. The driver rolled down the window and called out to Lucius, asking if he'd ordered the taxi. Lucius nodded and stepped forward, getting into the back seat. The driver asked where he needed to go, and Lucius gave him Adriana's address. The driver looked startled at how far away it was, but drove off anyway.

Lucius sat in silence, thinking about Adriana. He wanted her so badly; the scent of the vanilla perfume she wore was constantly in his mind. He couldn't get away from it. All he saw when he was awake or asleep was her. Ever since he had met her, she had been there, her eyes boring into his soul, making him want to tell her things about himself he'd never told anybody before. His thoughts were of Adriana for the entire taxi ride back to her house.

When the taxi pulled up to Adriana's driveway, Lucius gave the driver all the money he had left and got out of the car. Luckily it was enough. The taxi drove away, leaving Lucius standing in the front yard, gazing at the house. Pulling himself together, he started walking over to the porch. As he did so, he saw something lying in the dust of the front walk. A closer look showed it to be his wand. She had thrown it out of the house! That bitch! Bending down to pick it up, Lucius saw there was a piece of paper attached to it. Tearing it off, he slowly read the letter, turning ever paler with anger with each successive paragraph:

Lucius,

I wish I could be more like you. You go after what you want in this life without any care of the consequences. Your level of selfishness is unmatched by any other human on this planet. You walk through life as though you're God's gift to the world, taking from people whatever you want, no matter who you hurt.

Your family must miss seeing you, I suggest you spend the summer holiday with them. You must miss your lovely wife, and the son you never see, even when he is home, I'd be willing to bet.

If you wish to continue to visit me, return at the beginning of the next school year, after your son returns to Hogwarts. Perhaps I will have learned to be a selfish bitch, just like the bastard you are, in a few months time.

-Adriana

P.S. You owe me ninety Muggle pounds for the clothes.

P.P.S. Don't be surprised if something funny happens the next time you use your wand to cleanse yourself.

P.P.P.S. But then again, don't be surprised if it doesn't.

Lucius read the note a couple of times before marching up her stairs to the front door and banging loudly on them. Predictably, there was no response. Stomping around to the back porch, he walked around the property, looking for Adriana.

Adriana still sat beneath the olive tree at the top of the hill, yet Lucius couldn't see her. She listened to him stomping and traipsing around her yard, feeling safe, for he could not see her unless she wanted him to. Watching as he walked up the hill, closer to her, she stayed as quiet as she could. Even though he couldn't hear her either, her instincts told her to stay as still and silent as possible. Adriana's magic allowed her to remain unseen or heard by Lucius, for as long as she wished. She sat looking up at Lucius, who was no more than six inches from her, as he looked down on the other side of her property for the first time, without seeing any sign of her at all.

With a frustrated growl, Lucius turned around and walked back down the hill and left the property. Adriana allowed him to apparate home without any complications, and didn't see him again for a very long time.