De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

Adriana's Revenge

An entire month had passed and Adriana had not seen or heard from Lucius in that time. She'd spent the time torturing herself. Had she been that bad of a lover? It had been a while since her last time, but she'd never gotten any complaints before. Maybe now that he'd finally gotten what he wanted from her, he'd decided to go back to Narcissa. She remembered Narcissa's warning from the very night she'd slept with Lucius, Narcissa knew what he was capable of and had tried to warn her, but she hadn't listened.

The first few nights had been horrible. Unable to sleep, Adriana lay in bed wondering what Lucius was thinking about her, and where he was, if he was in bed at Malfoy Manor with Narcissa, or off with some other lover. She'd never felt so used in her entire life.

After a couple weeks of second guessing everything that had happened in their relationship, Adriana's mood began to change--to anger. How dare he leave her like that? Who did he think he was? She was tempted to march over to Malfoy Manor and tell him what she thought of him. Finally one morning, she prepared to do just that.

Taking a pen and piece of paper, Adriana wrote a letter to Narcissa, hoping to open a channel of communication between them. Walking to the barn, Adriana attached the letter to Hitchcock and sent him off to deliver it. She hoped one of the house elves would receive it, because Lucius would be able to recognize the owl.

Glancing at Lucius's painting, she saw the blank background on the canvas. It had left after she'd drawn on it and hadn't returned, yet for some reason she'd kept the painting around anyway. She couldn't even get any clues from the stupid painting of Lucius.

There was nothing to do but sit back and wait for a response from Narcissa. Adriana kept herself busy cleaning out the stalls, milking the cow, and other farm duties that had to be done.

Narcissa was in her room, sitting in bed, reading a book when she heard a knock on the door, and a squeaky voice call out, "Mistress, a post is here for you, is you wanting it?"

Sitting up curiously, Narcissa told the elf to enter. She never got mail. Who could it be from? Taking the paper from the elf, which groveled on the floor before leaving the room and shutting the door, she carefully opened it up. She couldn't have been more shocked by what she read. That girl Lucius was seeing had the nerve to write to her! But the little slut wanted her help, and Narcissa liked that feeling of dependence upon her. Narcissa supposed her proposal was intriguing. She would enjoy watching Lucius suffer after abandoning her at the Masque. She'd had to get a ride home from Cornelius Fudge, who was more than happy to help her. He was a horrible man, and the first thing Narcissa had done when she'd left him was take a long, cleansing bath.

Narcissa thought about what she could gain from participating in this little stunt of Adriana's. She promised to teach Narcissa spells in return for her help. It was a humiliating thought to be so eager to learn from this young girl, who was little more than a child, what she should have learned if she'd completed her schooling instead of marrying Lucius. But Narcissa had always wanted more power, and this seemed a rather easy and fun way to gain it. It didn't have to be a friendship, only an alliance, temporary, easy to dissolve whenever she chose.

Standing up and walking to her desk, Narcissa found a quill and parchment and wrote a reply. Calling a house elf to the room, she told him to send it off as soon as possible, and shut her door, thinking about how to pull all of this off.

Lucius had returned that morning after leaving Adriana's to Malfoy Manor and spent the rest of the day in his room. What did Adriana want from him now? All he needed after that night was to stay the day with her and talk about their feelings. He'd rather have gouged his eyes out with a spoon.

But as the days passed, he grew more lonely without being around Adriana, and thought about contacting her. He had spent a few nights unable to sleep, all Lucius kept thinking about was what she was thinking about him. He supposed it was rude to not speak with her for such a long time after sleeping with her finally, but he hadn't wanted to. He'd just needed some time to himself to think about things. He'd never felt so overwhelmed before. He'd spent the time away from Adriana thinking about her, hoping he hadn't disappointed her that night, hoping she didn't hate him now.

He'd spent days composing letters to Adriana, but none of them had said quite what he needed or wanted to say to her, so he hadn't sent any of them. He hated that he wasn't very good with putting words on paper. He was a man of action, not writing or talking. He thought about going over to her house again, but he was immobilized, terrified of making a fool of himself, and so had done nothing. A couple more weeks had passed, and he knew it was too late; Adriana wouldn't want to see him again. Lucius couldn't get the image of her in Snape's loving arms, out of his head. She wouldn't really do that, would she? He felt alarmed at the thought of her running off with Snape after she'd received such little satisfaction from him. Maybe she didn't want him to come back to her. With a mixture of sadness and anger in his heart, he prepared to move on with his life, without her.

Adriana read Narcissa's response several times to make sure she would be able to get to the Manor safely. It had to be done very carefully, as there were charms and spells that had to be disabled for her to enter undetected by Lucius.

She would be going to the Manor tomorrow, and had to plan what to wear. She wouldn't be meeting Lucius then, but wanted to look good, in order to impress Narcissa. Adriana knew she looked down her nose at her and wanted to give her no reason to do so that next day.

The next morning, Adriana woke at eight in the morning. She'd heard rumour of times this early in the day, but hadn't really ever seen them before. Dragging herself out of her warm, cozy bed, she made her way to the bathroom where she stood under the hot shower for a long time trying to wake up. Shuffling sleepily back to her bedroom, she got dressed for the day. Adriana chose a black business dress suit, very formal looking, for the occasion. Once she had eaten a hasty breakfast, she apparated to the outskirts of Lucius's. The gate had a charm on it that allowed one to call at the Manor for entrance. Nobody could apparate beyond that point. There was supposed to be a house elf standing ready to speak with her and let her in, but she was still nervous over the thought of running into Lucius. There was no guarantee that he would be gone, if she wasn't careful, she could meet him in a hallway of the Manor. She might be able to turn invisible, but she'd have to wait and see if it worked once she got inside.

Adriana stepped into the boundary of the charm, alerting those inside that somebody was outside. From seemingly out of nowhere, the small voice of a house elf called out, "Who's there?"

After a few seconds of trying to figure out where to speak, Adriana finally said, "Uh, I'm here to see Narcissa, she's expecting me."

"Mistress isn't allowed to see anybody without Master's permission; I is needing to ask him first. What is your name?" the house elf asked.

"No, you don't understand, Narcissa's expecting me, you don't have to get Lucius," Adriana was panicking.

"Master is needing to know who is at the Manor, I is needing to get him," the house elf explained.

"No, don't get Master!" Adriana tried to get the house elf to reason with her. "Why don't you get Narcissa?"

"I is getting Master," the house elf said.

"But Narcissa told me to come today. She wants me to be here, she'll be very angry if she finds out I had so much trouble getting inside. I hate to think what she'd do to the poor house elf who wouldn't let me in..." Adriana trailed off menacingly. She didn't like threatening the poor elf who was just doing his job, but she needed to get inside!

"Oh, oh, well, I is getting Mistress then. Stay right there," the house elf's voice got fainter as he obviously ran to get Narcissa.

Several nerve wracking minutes passed before another voice called out to her in barely more than a whisper, "Hello? Miss Orendes?"

"Mrs. Malfoy?" Adriana cringed when those words left her mouth. "I tried to get in without causing any scenes, but..." she explained.

"Well, hold on, let me open the gate," Narcissa said, sounding put-out for having to come all the way to the door herself.

The gate slid open, allowing Adriana to walk through freely. As a precaution, she made herself invisible, although she couldn't tell if it was working or not, as there was nobody around to not see her. The door was open when Adriana approached the house. Stepping inside and looking around, she saw the house elf looking outside, awaiting her arrival. He obviously hadn't seen her, so her powers still worked at the manor. Turning herself visible again, she called out to the elf, hoping not to frighten him too much. The elf turned and looked startled. He jumped and shrieked loudly. "Where is you coming from?" he cried.

"Shhhh. Not so loud," Adriana hissed, waving her hands at the elf, trying to quiet him down. Looking up, she saw Narcissa emerge from the shadows of the foyer.

Narcissa looked at her carefully before speaking. She'd heard snippets from Lucius about her powers, but hadn't any idea how they worked. No wonder this girl was so attractive to Lucius, he'd wanted her for her powers, no doubt, until she had wormed her way into his heart. Narcissa didn't know why, but a part of her wanted to strangle Adriana, not let her into her house. Adriana would see the condition in which she lived, the way Lucius treated her. Narcissa didn't want her pity or understanding. She would never be able to understand what life for her was like, and she thought she might be sick if Adriana pretended to know where she was coming from. She knew nothing of the "real" Lucius, the man he was when he was at Malfoy Manor. All Adriana had ever seen was his "good" side, if he even had one. Narcissa wondered what Lucius was like when the two were alone. He was a smooth talker and very charming when he wanted to be. He had obviously deluded this girl into believing they were a special couple, that they had a future together. As suddenly as those thoughts came to Narcissa, they were gone. She had one thought left, the spells Adriana had promised to teach her. Standing up straight, and holding her head high, she walked up to Adriana. "How...nice of you to come today, Miss Orendes," Narcissa had always played the gracious hostess.

Smiling, Adriana replied, "I'm so glad you agreed to this, it'll be a lot of fun I'm sure."

"Well, we shall see, shan't we?" Narcissa turned and walked towards the staircase. Adriana trailed behind her.

"Where is Lucius?" She asked.

Narcissa continued walking. "In his study, we won't be passing by him."

Adriana breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. So I guess I can show you the spells first, and then we can move on from there."

"I think that's a wonderful plan," Narcissa said, through clenched teeth. She still tried not to think about letting a child teach her magic. Finally they reached her room and stepped inside.

Adriana looked around. The rest of the manor was dark, ceilings, floors, and walls, all covered in blue, black, and purple materials. It resembled a funeral parlor slightly, and she imagined it was just about as much fun as one too. But Narcissa's room was off-white, a large contrast, almost an act of defiance against the rest the house. Adriana walked around and looked at the items that filled the room. There were several bookshelves filled with books. A mahogany writing desk and chair stood against the wall opposite the four poster queen-sized bed.

"So, what sorts of spells do you want to learn? Some will probably take more time to teach than others," Adriana asked Narcissa as she sat down at the foot of the bed.

Narcissa glanced nervously at the door. Adriana knew that Lucius led a very different life at the manor than he did at her property. Sometimes she wondered why she allowed herself to be with him when she could only imagine the things he did to his wife. Taking a guess at the sorts of things Narcissa endured, she made a couple of suggestions that might help make life for her easier. "There's the Gelidus Spell. That's one of my own. It's a cooling spell, but can be regionalized to specific things, or parts of the body. So, let's say somebody was trying to...have his way with you and you didn't want to, this spell would disable him, whoever that person might be. Would that be good?"

Narcissa looked interested. "What else can you show me?"

"Hmm, well, there's the Contego Spell. That's another one of my own. It's a blocking spell. So, if someone was hitting you, this could block it. But since the person hitting you would be able to see that he couldn't reach you, he'd be onto it, so this is a specified block that blocks the pain of the blows. Would that be helpful too?"

Narcissa nodded her head, while looking at the floor.

"I'll have to show you with your wand, I don't have one anymore," Adriana said. Narcissa walked to her bed, reached under her pillow, and pulled out her wand. As she placed it in Adriana's hands, Adriana looked at it and continued, "I hope I can remember how to do this, it's been a very long time since I used one." Clearing her throat nervously, she looked around. "Maybe I'll try something really small to get the hang of it again," she said pointing to the unlit oil lamp on the writing desk. "I'll light that lamp." Standing up, she pointed the wand at the lamp, and flicked her wrist. Not only did the lamp light up, it burst into flames for a few seconds before exploding and lighting the desk on fire. The two women screamed and looked at each other as the flames grew larger. "Don't worry, I'll put it out," Adriana gasped. Looking at the fire, they watched as it disappeared instantly. She was able to restore the desk to its original state, and air out the room as well. But seeing as there was nothing of the lamp left to put back together, nothing could be done about it. "I'll get you a new one," Adriana promised.

"I forgot to say the spell out loud, I think that was the problem," Adriana concluded after looking at the wand carefully. Narcissa looked at her with wide eyes, unable to speak, and backed away from her until she ran up against the wall and could go no further. Turning to another lamp, by the bed, Adriana pointed the wand, and said, "Lumos," and smiled as a gentle light appeared and remained steady. "It's like riding a bicycle," She murmured to herself.

The women spent several hours practicing the spells, with no more incidents. Narcissa learned quickly and deftly and found Adriana pleasant to be around. She would never have admitted it out loud, but Adriana wasn't so bad after all. She was definitely interesting and lively. There was nothing condescending about her either, which Narcissa found surprising and refreshing. After Narcissa had completed her training, Adriana explained that the Gelidus Spell was tricky, and required a lot of attention, or she could actually freeze the object she was trying to chill. "The first time I tried it, I used an egg, and accidentally froze it solid, then it fell on the floor and smashed into a million pieces. So I ask, please, be careful if you ever use this, it would make me very sad if something ended up going wrong..." The look on Adriana's face was so comical, Narcissa couldn't help laughing-something she hadn't done in earnest since she could remember. "Hopefully I won't need it; I haven't really needed it since he met you."

Adriana looked more sober after that. "I guess that's great. This is all so complicated, you know? I just wish this was easier for all of us. I wish it didn't have to be this way. We all deserve better."

"Yes, but this is the way it is, isn't it?" Narcissa smiled sadly. "Well, let's go to the dining room for tea, shall we?"

The two sat at the dining room table, sipping tea and eating biscuits. Narcissa hailed the nearest house elf and told her to go bring Lucius to them, that he had a guest. Adriana was nervous, she hadn't really thought about what she'd say to Lucius when she saw him.

When they heard his footsteps approaching the room, they broke into loud laughter, as though they were best friends catching up with old times. They looked at Lucius when he walked into the room. His reaction was truly priceless. Stopping in mid-stride, his walking stick dropped from his fingers, his jaw dropped open, and his eyes grew as wide as saucers. Looking back and forth between Narcissa and Adriana, he sputtered, "What, how, what?" Adriana watched with delight as he broke into a sweat for the second time since she'd known him. He positively glistened in the firelight.

Regaining control of his senses, he took a step forward, catching onto his walking stick, which lay at his feet, forgotten. Flying through the air, Lucius landed on his face on the hard wood floor. "Awww, damn it," He muttered.

As he slowly turned over, he saw Adriana had walked over to him and stood above him. He had the strangest sense of deja vu. She put her high-heeled foot on his stomach and held him pinned to the floor. "Well, well, well, we always seem to meet like this, don't we?" As shocked and upset as Lucius was, he was blissfully aware of the great view he had looking up Adriana's skirt.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Lucius asked, trying to muster some semblance of dignity while lying on the floor.

"You left me! We finally slept together after a year, and you just left me! How dare you! You never came back or sent a post. Was I that bad? You couldn't even stand to see me again?" Adriana didn't care that she was revealing such things to Narcissa who was still sitting at the dining room table.

"Sure, like you haven't been off with Snape. You love him more than me anyway! You always did! I figured you wouldn't miss me," Lucius yelped as Adriana dug her heel into his stomach.

Adriana surprised Lucius by sliding down on top of him, straddling his chest, and pinning his arms down. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I don't love Snape, I love you!"

Lucius's eyes grew wide again. "What?"

"Nothing, never mind. You're an obnoxious oaf and I hate you, and I said what I came to say, and now I'm leaving," Adriana stood up to leave, but Lucius grabbed her ankles, which stopped her from moving. Adriana looked around the room, and noticed that Narcissa had slipped out of the room at some point in time, before putting her hands on her hips and looking down at Lucius. "What?" She asked.

Lucius ran his fingertips up and down her calves, while Adriana stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore him. "You don't deserve me to be so nice to you; you do realize that, don't you?" she asked, gasping as his fingers moved further up her legs.

"I know, I don't deserve to have you even speak to me, ever again," Lucius said quietly. "But I'm glad you are. I've missed seeing you and being with you and it's all been my fault. I can't believe I'm about to utter these words, but I feel you deserve to hear them," Lucius took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm...I'm...s....sor...sorry," He sighed as he finally finished his speech.

Adriana leaned down over Lucius again. "That's good to hear. Now I have to go, you will come and see me soon, right?" Lucius nodded. "And, all of this was my idea, all my plan. Don't you dare lay a finger on Narcissa for this, understand? Because if you do, I'll find out about it, and I'll hurt you, OK?" She bent down, bringing her face to his, kissing him gently, before standing up and walking away.

As Adriana left the manor, she told the house elf that opened the door for her to tell Narcissa that everything was going to be OK, and to thank her for the wonderful day. Once she had left the property, Adriana apparated back to her house, with a smile on her face.