De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

Getting To Know You

It took a couple of weeks for Lucius to recover from his father's death. There were funeral arrangements that had to be made, and for a while, he didn't feel like being with Adriana in that way. But she remained at his side, helping him through the lifetime of emotions he was finally working through.

After a month, Lucius began to feel like his old self again, and warmed up to Adriana once again. The time passed quickly for them. They found themselves once again on equal footing, and enjoyed rebuilding their relationship to a stronger level than ever before.

The couple spent most of their time making love in the most clichéd places imaginable, and enjoying every minute of it. They'd done it on the kitchen table, up against the washing machine-during the spin cycle, in the pond, and on the backseat of Flynn.

Today it was in the hayloft. And it was on this warm, breezy mid-May afternoon that they lay in one another's arms, discussing what to do for the rest of the day, when they decided to go out to dinner and dancing afterwards that evening. With that tough decision made, they went back to more pressing business with one another, laughing and crying out and scaring the animals in the barn.

The evening arrived and after a shower together, to save time of course, they prepared for their night on the town. Lucius had brought all of his Muggle clothes to Adriana's to keep there, and chose the fanciest of the outfits. He looked dashing in the black dinner suit. Adriana wore a floor-length sea green and pink strapless dress with a blue sash that began at her waist and drooped down around her knees on the opposite side of her body. It was bright and cheerful, just perfect for the lovely spring evening ahead of them.

They drove for about 45 minutes to the largest town closest to them that would have a nice hotel. Lucius was most distrustful of the valet parking attendant, and could not understand why Adriana willingly handed the car keys over to him. They made a handsome couple as Adriana held onto Lucius' arm, walking into the hotel's dining room.

They were seated at a candle-lit table by a window, which allowed them to see and be seen by almost everybody inside and out of the restaurant. This suited both of them just fine.

Lucius had eaten in a Muggle restaurant once before and had enjoyed the experience more than he'd thought he would have, so he had high expectations for the night. They poured over the menu, studying the items carefully before choosing their entrees. Lucius ordered the oysters Rockefeller, and Adriana the chicken cordon bleu. They passed the time waiting for their food watching Muggle couples, making up stories of how they came to be there that evening. Who knew that one couple on the far side of the restaurant were actually international spies, sent here by the head of their government to find out the secret recipe of the hotel's famed chocolate mousse? Lucius told Adriana that the couple in the opposite corner window table were actually a witch and wizard, out for an evening among Muggles to see what life on the other side was really like. He obviously needed some work in the creative story telling department, but it was a good effort on his part to play along with her.

When their food came, the conversation turned more serious. For some reason Lucius was in a curious mood, and wanted to get to know Adriana better. He thought he'd try to get some actual answers from her this time, seeing as they were in public and she was less likely to make a scene. "So, what class were you?" Obviously he meant Hogwarts.

"Uh, I was in the class of...'80," Adriana said slowly, as though she had forgotten when she'd left and had to count the years.

"And what house were you?" Lucius went on curiously.

Smiling, Adriana watched for his reaction as she spoke, "Gryffindor."

Lucius cringed. "Not Gryffindor, I knew Slytherin was asking a lot, but I'd hoped at least maybe Ravenclaw."

"I know, it's a lot to take in, but I had to accept you for the Slytherin you were, after all, and I managed somehow," Adriana grinned, patting Lucius on the hand consolingly.

Lucius shook his head, sighed, and sat back in his chair. After a few minutes of eating their food in silence, he started up again. "So, at Christmas, you told me about your family's Christmas traditions, and you said you don't see them anymore. Why is that?"

Adriana was startled at the question. He obviously remembered nothing of the drunken stupor he had been in after Janos' death. She was uncertain how to answer that. "Well...they're not really in a place where I can see them that often. They're very far from here, and it makes for a difficult time trying to get together with them. Although I wish more than anything that I could see them again. I wish I was where they were, but I can't seem to find any way around it, you know?"

Lucius nodded his head, and grabbed her hand, comfortingly. "I'm sorry you miss them, they must live very far away if you can't get to where they are."

"You have no idea," she replied quietly.

Once again they ate in silence for several minutes. The food was delicious and they enjoyed it a lot. But once again Lucius spoke, "So, how did you come to own your farm?"

Why was he prying so much? Adriana was getting uncomfortable with all the questions. "I had just come out of a very stressful part of my life, and I wanted something relaxing and peaceful to do. I saw the property and fell in love with it. I've been there ever since." The waiter passed the table and Adriana asked him for the bill, hoping that Lucius would stop questioning her if they went to dance soon.

Lucius was delighted at finally getting some answers from her. The challenges of their earlier days that had been rewarded with kisses instead of answers, felt like a thing of the past now. Now he knew how to get them from her: corner her in a public situation where she couldn't get out of it.

After the bill had been paid, Adriana asked Lucius if he was ready to dance. The hotel had a ballroom with musicians that played every night, and she wanted to have some fun. Arm in arm once again, they walked to the ballroom, which was filled with many dancing couples.

They waited for a break in the music to start onto the dance floor. Lucius was surprised to see that Muggles danced basically the same dances as magical folk did. Smiling and laughing, they danced several waltzes together. Their bodies moved as one in rhythm to the music, twirling and flowing with the rest of the dancers perfectly. They danced a few slow dances together. For one, Adriana rested her head on Lucius' chest, while he held her tightly in his arms. For another, they danced cheek-to-cheek, whispering sweet nothings into one another's ears. The next dance was a lively polka, which they danced all over the floor to. They drew the attention of the rest of the dancers, who stood back to let them dance. Lucius was strong and was able to lift Adriana off the ground at some of the turns. She loved the feeling of flying through the air. It reminded her of the dance scene in the musical, "The King and I", which was one of her very favourite movies of all time.

The tone of the music quickened its pace and became more energetic as the musicians began to play something Adriana called "Big Band Music". Lucius had never heard anything like it before and was fascinated at the moves some of the couples were able to do. Adriana tried to show him some of the dances, but as he was a little nervous at trying them in public without perfecting them first, they mainly watched the others.

The music eventually went back to the classical style that Lucius was more comfortable dancing to, and they joined in once again. They danced the night away, until the musicians finished playing and started to put their instruments away. They were so tired, that Lucius suggested getting a room for the night, which Adriana agreed was a good idea.

They stopped at the front desk and checked out a room. Lucius took his first ride in a lift up to the floor the room was on. He wasn't sure he liked the feel of being out of control, and knowing that a Muggle-made machine was responsible for it. But it was over soon, and they walked down the hallway, holding hands, until they found the room.

It was a nice, cozy-looking room, with a king-sized bed in the centre. Seeing as they had no nightclothes, the only choice they had was to sleep in the nude, which neither had a problem with. As tired as they were, it didn't stop them from making love several times before falling asleep finally.

They awoke late the next morning, showered, and dressed in their clothes from the night before. They breakfasted in the restaurant, even though Lucius thought it was a cardinal sin to show up in the same clothes again. After checking out, they went to the valet attendants who brought Flynn over to them.

After they drove out of the city, Adriana pulled Flynn over and looked at Lucius, grinning. "So, do you want your first driving lesson?"

Lucius's eyes grew wide, "Really, do you mean it?"

"Sure," she replied, opening the door and stepping out of the car.

Lucius got out and traded seats with Adriana. The lonely country road was an ideal place to learn to drive and Lucius made a good student. He mastered the ins and outs of driving quickly, and successfully drove Adriana home, while she beamed proudly at him.

After parking and stepping out of the car, Lucius smiled at Adriana, grabbed her hand, and walked to the porch with her. As they made their way into the house, Lucius asked, "So, I thought I'd stay for the day, what do you feel like doing?"

Adriana hugged Lucius and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for saying that," she said as she led them to the bedroom, where they stayed for the rest of the day.