De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

Masque In Flames

Lucius's painting had spent one night in Adriana's room before she decided it needed to be put in a new home, further away from her house. She had made the huge mistake of putting on her nightgown in front of it, while it had looked like it was asleep. But it must have had some sensor to detect what she was doing and ogled her while she changed. His hoots and whistles made her seriously rethink ever sleeping with Lucius.

Early the next morning, Adriana had carried the painting to the barn and nailed it to one of the walls. It yelled at her for leaving it alone outside. A few days later, it was still berating her when she got fed up. Summoning a pen from inside the house, she went to work on the painting, drawing a black moustache and glasses on its face. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought black was your natural colour, shall I find a brown pen instead?" Adriana replied, smirking at the painting.

At that moment, Hitchcock the barn owl fluttered onto Adriana's shoulder bearing a letter. Taking it off his leg, she opened the letter and read it.

Dearest Adriana,

I am looking forward to attending the New Year's Masque once again with you. I had a lot of fun last year, but when have I not had fun with you? Meet me outside the main entrance at 9pm New Year's Eve and together we will make our grand entrance.

Love Always,

Albus "Lemon Drop" Dumbledore

P.S. Wear the fire dress, that was always my favourite.

Adriana smiled, remembering the last time she'd worn that dress for Albus. They'd had a lot of fun that night! It had been a celebration worth commemorating and they had definitely paid it the proper respect it deserved.

Adriana spent Christmas Day by herself on the farm, lost in thought. It seemed as though the ghost of all her Christmas's past had come to haunt her, filling her with bittersweet memories. When the day had passed, she turned her thoughts to the Masque. As much as she loved being with Albus, she was looking forward to seeing Lucius there. He would of course be there with Narcissa, but Adriana tried not to think about that fact too much.

Lucius had spent Boxing Day hung over, as usual. He too thought about the Masque. He hoped Adriana would be going again, he wanted to ask her if what the painting had told him, about being drawn on and placed in the barn, was true or not. It had returned to Malfoy manor several days after he'd given her the painting. He looked forward to seeing her again.

The week passed slowly for both, while they made preparations for the Masque. Finally the big night arrived. Lucius and Narcissa had come early, to make sure Lucius had a chance to speak to all of his colleagues.

Five minutes passed and Albus didn't appear, but a man she wasn't expecting to see, did: Severus. He walked up to Adriana, who hugged him. "I haven't seen you in months! How are you? Who are you going to the Masque with?"

Severus smiled, and replied, "Albus told me this afternoon that he wasn't going to be able to make it and asked if I would come in his stead. How could I resist?"

Adriana was disappointed to miss out on seeing Albus, but Severus was a lot of fun to be around too. She gazed at him, he looked different. His hair was clean and tied back in an elegant queue. He wore a dark maroon suit that went well with her dress. She was surprised to see what a handsome man Severus was when he wanted to be.

Adriana sighed and smiled. Albus, that man! He'd set this up from the very beginning. Since that day at Hogwarts, he'd been trying to set her up with Severus. While she loved Sev dearly as a friend, she didn't have romantic feelings for him. The only bad thing was the thought of possibly having to break Sev's heart one day. But that thought faded quickly as Severus took Adriana's hand and placed it on his arm, and spoke, "Albus sure seems to want the two of us to end up together, doesn't he?" Laughing softly, the couple walked towards the main entrance and walked down the staircase.

As they walked down the stairs, Adriana leaned to Severus and whispered, "Tonight, we're going to find you a girl, you deserve one." Severus smiled sadly at Adriana, blushed, and held her close to his side.

When they had made their way to the main floor, Adriana noticed that nobody was dancing yet. People were mingled around in small groups talking, and she knew one of those groups would contain Lucius. Her heart fluttered at the thought. Standing awkwardly, side-by-side, Severus and Adriana gazed around, trying to figure out what to do. Severus saw many people he had known well in a former life, but was not keen on rekindling ties with any of them.

Adriana grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards a crowd of people. She looked around for Lucius, but didn't see him. She did see a man she recognized: Cornelius Fudge, the man whose house she had been to the year before. Fudge saw her, smiled and walked over to the two. After greeting Severus, he engaged Adriana in a lively conversation, making her promise to dance with him later on that evening.

Lucius had been speaking to Goyle, and had missed Adriana and Severus's entrance. As the conversation died down, he turned around and saw the two speaking to Fudge. Almost choking on his champagne, Lucius was livid when he saw Snape holding Adriana's hand. What the hell was he doing here? It was bad enough to see her with Dumbledore, but him? He didn't know where Narcissa had gone off to, and he didn't care, so he set off to meet Adriana.

Severus saw Lucius first, smiled at him, putting his arm around Adriana's shoulders, pulling her close to him. Adriana glanced over her shoulder, and noticed Lucius. Smiling in spite of herself, she turned around and watched as he walked over to her. Lucius looked back and forth between Snape and Adriana before speaking. "Well, Miss Orendes, it's a pleasure to see you this evening," He said, looking into her eyes. Turning to Snape, he continued, "Snape, I must say I am surprised to see you here tonight. You must be very uncomfortable here, I know how much you hate social occasions. But don't worry, I'm sure nothing will happen to you as long as she's with you," he said, jerking a gloved thumb in Adriana's direction as he mentioned her. "Do let me know if I can be of assistance in reintroducing you to all of your old friends, I'd be very happy to help," Lucius smiled at Snape.

Snape grinned maliciously at Lucius, while maintaining his hold on Adriana. "I don't think I'll need to meet anybody else tonight, Lucius. Adriana's more than enough woman for one man to enjoy, wouldn't you agree?" Adriana giggled in response, and looked lovingly up at Snape. Lucius wondered at what point he would actually kill Snape in front of all these witnesses, but managed to control himself.

Severus asked Adriana if she wanted to dance. As they walked to the dance floor, Adriana looked back at Lucius, and called out to him, "I'll try to save you a dance tonight, although my dance card is rather full already. I'll see what I can do." With that, she turned her back on Lucius, and left him alone, staring after the happy couple.

The two dancers drew much attention from the on-looking crowd. Not many wizards danced the tango, but Adriana had obviously taught Severus well. They moved closely to one another, their bodies touching and eyes locking onto one another's.

Lucius longed to be the one dancing so provocatively with her. He hated Snape for being allowed to touch her that way. He hated Adriana for letting Snape do things with her that he had waited over a year for and still wasn't allowed to do. He hated himself for letting her worm her way into his affections and making him feel this way. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and keep her all to himself, hidden from the rest of the world.

Adriana looked out at the crowd while they danced. She caught a glimpse of the pained expression on Lucius's face. She was having fun, and knew there was nothing for him to be upset about, but felt a little guilty for making Lucius think there was more to her relationship with Sev than really existed.

Severus couldn't see what Adriana saw in Lucius. He, like Albus, would rather see her in the arms of a loving man, worthy of her. He would do all he could to make sure that happened. A small, well-hidden part of him wished he was worthy enough to be that man, the one that Adriana should love.

The two danced several dances together, and were applauded loudly by the crowd at the end of each one, before separating. Adriana made her way to the refreshment table to quench the thirst that dancing had created. Severus disappeared for a while and Adriana had no idea where he had gone.

Lucius followed Snape as he separated from Adriana. Snape knew he was being followed and walked to a dark corner of the ballroom to speak with Lucius. Leaning against a pillar, he waited until Lucius approached him. Lucius gripped his walking stick so tightly his knuckles were white. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth shut tight and Snape could hear angry snorts with each step he took. There was a vein on Lucius's temple that pulsed with each beat of his pounding heart. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and he really couldn't say if he would be able to remain calm and not create a scene.

"Well, Snape, you seem to be having a fun evening. All those educational dancing lessons with Adriana seem to have paid off," Lucius said through clenched teeth. "What other things did she teach you over the holiday? She told me all about the heart-to-heart talks on her bed and the sun tan sessions, and who could forget the drunken skinny dipping!"

Snape chose wisely to remain silent, knowing anything he said would lead to trouble. He hadn't realized how far Lucius had fallen for Adriana until now. He wondered if Adriana even knew.

Lucius had taken his wand apart from the walking stick, and was holding it at Snape's chest, trying to think of the best course of action, when Cornelius Fudge ran up to them. Quickly replacing his wand, Lucius turned around and glared at Fudge. "Ah, Snape, you seem to be having a good time this evening," Fudge said, walking up to Snape.

"That girl you were dancing with, the one I talked to earlier, isn't she the same one who came to the dinner party at my house last year?" Fudge asked, glancing between Snape and Lucius. "You remember, the one you acted so strangely at?"

"Yes, that's her, and I do remember, thank you very much for reminding me, Fudge," Lucius said quietly, rubbing his throbbing temple.

"I just saw her at the refreshment table talking to your wife," Fudge went on.

Lucius looked alarmed, and turned around to see where they were.

Adriana had finished her second glass of champagne when a familiar woman appeared at her side. Adriana's stomach lurched as she saw Narcissa glaring at her. "Well, you sure have made a spectacle of yourself this evening. And where did you get that dress? Something you conjured up again?" She said as some type of greeting to Adriana.

"Well, I did want to make a dent tonight," Adriana replied, smirking at Narcissa.

"I see, I just hope the dent you make isn't too big. You might have trouble getting out of it again," Narcissa responded, glancing at Adriana's curvaceous body.

Adriana narrowed her eyes, "Well, at least I'm making a dent at all."

"Hmm, well you know how it is, it's so hard to keep your girlish figure at all these parties, but then that's probably why you had to conjure up a new dress tonight. I like to make sure that I can fit into my formals well before-hand. After all, they're classics," Narcissa ran a hand over her long sleeved-black satin dress, smoothing out the creases.

"Does that mean Lucius hasn't bought you any new clothes in that long a time? Too bad," Adriana said, picking up a carrot stick and biting into it. "Ah, girlish figure, I remember those days. By the way, how many handfuls of tissues did you stuff into your dress?" she asked, while rearranging the fire-ruffle to show off her cleavage.

"Oh, why? Did you need a tissue? Is your mascara running?" Narcissa asked with a sneer on her face. "Not as though you care, but Lucius doesn't buy my clothes. That fool wouldn't know what was fashionable if it bit him on...well I'm sure you've seen it," Narcissa's eyes narrowed as she looked at Adriana.

"Speaking of Lucius, I've always wondered why he has such a large walking stick. He takes it everywhere. It's almost as if he's compensating for something," Adriana said, grinning slightly.

"He is. Look girl, you want some friendly advice? I only give it once. Stay away from him." Adriana paled as she thought Narcissa was bringing up the topic of the affair. "He's not worth it, trust me, I learned the hard way," Narcissa spoke coldly, yet her words seemed strangely heart-felt.

Adriana met her eyes, there was a warning there, not from some jealous wife, but from a concerned woman looking out for another one. She looked away, not wanting to see that look again. "You just don't know how to handle him, that's all," She said quietly.

"I've been handling him since you were a tot! You know nothing about him girl, and I promise you, if you ever do, you'll regret it!" Narcissa rubbed her left arm, which was covered by a wrist-length sleeve. She looked over Adriana's shoulder, her eyes growing wide as she saw Lucius approach.

Adriana turned around and saw Lucius walk up to them. Her palms began to sweat, her mouth went dry, and she felt like a nervous 15-year old girl with a crush on an upper classman. He was so attractive, he looked so strong and formidable, and it drove her crazy. She was about to melt into a puddle at his feet, when he opened his mouth.

In barely more than a whisper, he began, "Are you going to sleep with him tonight? When he takes you home?" He took a step towards her, looking into her eyes, purring, "You going to let him into your room and the two of you will...how much is he paying you anyway? He'll put his hands all over you, and you'll just lie back and let him have his way with you?" Glaring at her, he hissed, "You little tart!"

Adriana knew she had been pushing Lucius, but she had no idea he would be so upset. Rolling her eyes, she ignored his tirade, and asked, "Where is Sev?"

Lucius's jaw dropped open and he sputtered nonsensically. Adriana wondered if he had actually lost his mind by this point in time. Leaving him with Narcissa, she walked back in the direction that he had come from, but was met by Fudge, returning from his talk with Snape. "My dear girl," He began, "We must share this dance. I remember you from the dinner party at my house last year." With that, he pulled Adriana off to the dance floor.

"I really must find-" Adriana tried to pull herself out of his grip, but Fudge was insistent on dancing with her.

"Nonsense, girl, whoever you're looking for will wait for you, I'm sure," Fudge put one arm around her waist, and held her tightly to his body.

Adriana considered using her powers to fight him off, but thought better of it when she realized what could happen to her if she did. Fudge was the Minister for Magic, not a man to be messed with. With an air of defeat, she pasted a smile on her face and danced with him, until the music ended, several minutes later.

After finally being released from Fudge, Adriana silently called out to Severus, trying to locate him. She found him in the corner in which he'd talked to Lucius. Fudge had talked his ear off, and he had been enjoying the silence for several minutes, when Adriana walked over to him. Severus saw how distraught she looked and put his arm around her shoulder, concerned. "Adriana, are you alright? Has something happened?"

"I just need to get out of here. I don't want to be here anymore. Can we go? Anywhere? I don't care where," Adriana requested.

"Of course we can," Severus replied. Arm in arm, they walked around the dance floor, up the staircase, and out of the main entrance. Lucius watched the two leave, and followed them out.