Revenge Is Sweet

Narcissa woke up to her younger sister's smiling face. "What do you want?"

Andromeda bounced slightly on the bed in barely contained excitement. "Tell me what happened to you after the Quidditch match!"

Narcissa groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers up over her head. "Go away, Andromeda. Go back to your own dormitory and let me sleep in peace!"

"Narcissa!" Andromeda whined. "Come on! Please tell me what happened with Frederick!"

Narcissa remained silent, determined to ignore her sister and go back to sleep, but Andromeda would not be deterred. She hopped to her feet and yanked the covers off the bed. "Rise and shine!"

"Andromeda!" Narcissa shrieked, the chill in the room cruelly pulling her into consciousness. "What is wrong with you?" She reached out and tried to snatch the covers away from her sister, but Andromeda was merciless.

"I'll give you back your covers if you tell me what happened last night with you and Frederick!"

"Oh yes, do tell, Narcissa!" Bellatrix entered the room and sat down on the edge of Narcissa's bed. "We want all the details, of course."

Narcissa sighed heavily and resigned herself to the inevitable. "You two are absolutely horrid. Couldn't this have waited until after breakfast?"

Bellatrix grinned. "Of course not. By then you would have had time to come up with some good lies. Besides," she added, "I brought you a cup of cocoa to wake you up."

Narcissa sat up and took the cup gratefully. "Okay, I'll tell you what happened, but you have to promise you won't laugh."

"Laugh?" Andromeda asked innocently. "Why would we laugh at our favorite sister?"

"You'd think she didn't trust us or something," Bellatrix added with feigned surprise.

"Exactly! And we only laugh at the really embarrassing things, anyway!"

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Shut up, you two, and let me tell the bloody story already!"

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"You're joking, right?"

Lucius frowned. "No, of course I'm not joking. Why would I be joking?"

Severus looked confused. "So you're telling me that you spent an entire hour in a broom closet with Narcissa Black and nothing happened?" He shook his head in disbelief. "And now you want to back out of the deal?"

Lucius knew it sounded stupid. "Yes, that's right."

"I don't understand. You still have two weeks to complete your part of the bet - why would you give up just because you didn't immediately succeed within the first hour?"

Lucius sighed. "That's not the reason." He didn't want to admit the truth, but at least Severus would keep his secret, and he had to tell someone. "I'm in love with her."

"So?" Severus raised his eyebrows. "If you're in love with her, don't you want to shag her, and win the bet in the process?"

"Don't be such an idiot, Severus," he snapped. "It's not about winning. What would happen if Narcissa found out about the bet?"

"Oh." Severus frowned. "I see your point."

"That's why I want out of the bet."

"You know it's social suicide, Lucius. Rodolphus would make sure of that."

Lucius nodded. "I know."

"There's got to be a way to win the bet without Narcissa finding out about it."

"Believe me, I wish there was."

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Andromeda was in shock.

"Are you telling me that you spent an entire hour in a broom closet with Lucius Malfoy and nothing happened?" she cried. "Narcissa! How is that even possible?"

Narcissa frowned. "Good gods, Andromeda. I'm not a whore, you know."

"I know that, but..." She hesitated. "But, does he know that?" she asked tentatively.

Narcissa felt tears rising in her eyes. "He said..."

"Of course he knows that, Andromeda!" Bellatrix growled, saving Narcissa from having to speak at that moment. "Lucius has been mooning over Narcissa for years - if he thought she was a whore, he would have done something long before this."

"What?" Narcissa sat up straight, her eyes wide. "He's been... mooning over me?"

Bellatrix looked surprised. "Since the moment he first saw you, Narcissa. Rodolphus told me ages ago - didn't I mention it?"

Narcissa shook her head, and Bellatrix continued. "Lucius tells Rodolphus everything, and Rodolphus..."

"Tells you." Narcissa's heart was beating erratically, her throat tight with poorly suppressed hope. "How did I miss this?" she whispered. "How did I not know?"

Andromeda scrunched up her nose and sighed. "I suppose you were too busy believing that he didn't notice you to notice that he did."

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Lucius was in a foul mood.

He had spent all morning trying to think of ways to win the bet, but not really win it at the same time. He had been snapping at everyone who came within ten feet of him and had successfully managed to terrify a group of first years who had accidentally infringed upon his space. He was quite sure they would never fully recover.

He stomped down to the dungeons and came to a halt in front of the Common Room entrance. He knew Severus had told him the new password this morning, but he had been so distracted that he'd barely noticed. He spun around, ready to march back up to the library and find someone who could give it to him, but instead, he came face to face with the object of his distraction.

"'Morning, Lucius," Narcissa smiled at him. "Forget the password?"

He couldn't have answered if he tried. Just looking at her made him forget his own name. He blinked stupidly and she stared at him, her smile fading slightly. "Lucius? Are you alright?" she asked uncertainly.

"Er, yes. Yes, I'm fine." He cleared his throat and tried to look like everything was normal, like standing outside of the Common Room was something he did every day. "You?"

She laughed - like an angel, he thought - and stepped past him, up to the stone wall. "The password's 'superior'," she said as the concealed door slid open. "Didn't anyone tell you?"

"No," he lied. "No one told me. But I'm glad you came and rescued me." He gave her his most charming grin.

"You're such a bad liar, Lucius," she laughed. "But I'm glad I rescued you, too."

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Narcissa felt like her heart was going was to explode with happiness. She had spent the entire afternoon with Lucius - talking, laughing, enjoying each other's company. She hadn't wanted to leave him.

But leave she did. When the Prefects had come into the Common Room at midnight, Lucius and Narcissa hadn't had any choice but to go to their respective dormitories.

Not without a goodnight kiss, of course.

Even now, an hour later, she couldn't believe it. She closed her eyes and smiled, imagining again the wonderful feeling of his lips on hers. It had been brief, more of a peck than a kiss, but it still had left quite an impression on her heart.

She sighed in utter contentment, sure that something in her life was finally going the way she wanted it to.

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Lucius was a different person when he was with her. He knew it - he couldn't deny it. With other people, even his friends, he was cold, distant, aloof. But with her... with her he was kind, charming - he laughed, for the love of Merlin! Her very presence was enough to make him forget everything that was on his mind.

Except one thing.

Maybe I should just lose the bet on purpose. It's only three hundred galleons. I'd rather lose my money and my reputation than lose her.

He yanked the curtains on his bed closed and lay flat on his back, his arm over his eyes. Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he'd tell Rodolphus that the bet was off

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"Narcissa! Good gods, Narcissa, wake up!"

Narcissa sat up and pulled apart the curtains in alarm. "Andromeda! What's wrong? Are you alright?" She jumped off her bed and grabbed her sister by the arms. "What's happened?"

Andromeda clutched her chest, struggling for breath. "You're not... not going to... believe this," she panted. "I just... heard..."

"Heard what?" Narcissa asked in concern. "Take a deep breath and calm down, then tell me what's happened."

Andromeda took a moment to compose herself, then turned to her sister with a pained expression. "I was studying late in the library, and on my way back I heard Rodolphus talking to some other guys... you know, his usual gang. He said... well, he said that..." She stopped, looking even more upset than before.

"What did he say?" Narcissa prompted.

Andromeda looked close to tears. "He said that he made a bet with Lucius that Lucius couldn't... that he couldn't shag you by the end of the month!"

Narcissa's heart stopped. "What?" She felt her chin begin to quiver.

Andromeda wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'm so sorry, Narcissa. I thought you'd want to know."

This isn't happening. I won't believe it. Lucius wouldn't do that to me. Not the Lucius I know. And she did know him - knew him better than he knew himself. His heart was a part of hers, and she knew that even though he could be a complete arse at times, he really did care for her.

"Narcissa?" Andromeda pulled back and looked at her in concern. "Say something. Please."

She felt her pain turn quickly into anger. She was not going to take this sitting down. Narcissa turned to her sister and grinned, a slow, determined smile. "He's going to pay for this. He's going to pay big time."