Marrying Lucius Malfoy

And come up with something they did. Selina was whisked away to her rooms by two young maids, both of whom were experts in makeup charms and hair-do spells. The two maids then produced a fairly risqué dress, and, having no other options, Selina relented and slipped into it. After being trussed and fluffed by an approving Andrea, Selina was taken down the hall to Lucius's rooms. Having left all the arrangements to Daphne and Andrea, she had no idea what to expect.

Luckily, neither of her consorts had gone overboard. What with the makeover and sexy dress, Selina had believed Daphne and Andrea to be mislead in what she and Lucius were to discuss. She couldn't help but feel that both women had nothing it better to do than force she and her husband to fall in love.

"Have fun, darling," Andrea called as she left Selina to wait for Lucius.

It didn't take long. He came storming down the hall, in as bad a mood as ever, and Selina was prone to remember his flaming temper. She almost regretted trying to make amends when the door slammed shut and he saw her. However, his surprise stopped him short, and he stared at her in nothing short of shock.

"I waited an hour," he said slowly, after regaining himself.

Selina paused to calculate the perfect answer. While thinking, she noticed that he must have taken the time to spruce up. His hair was tied with a black sain bow, and matching trimmings covered his black robes. The cold of the outside hadn't worn off yet and a tinge of pink brushed his lips and cheeks. Not for the first time in the past twenty-four hours, Selina grudgingly admitted that Lucius Malfoy was notably sexy.

"Your letter came at four-thirty. By the time I finished reading it, it was already past five. By then, well, I thought it would be better to surprise you."

Lucius was still rigid. "I understand," he said softly. He sounded far from understanding, though. The haughtiness was creeping back into his voice. His drawl was becoming more pronounced and irritating. He was reverting back to his former self.

"You said in your letter you wanted to talk." Selina crossed her arms. "Do you want to talk?"

Lucius shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps tomorrow. I'm tired now, and I might decide to retire to bed early." To emphasize his point he reached up and untied his blonde hair. Shaking it loose he gave Selina a dismissing look, as if to ask her why she didn't do him a favor a leave.

Selina's shoulders slumped. Her red hair bounced softly around her face as she turned to leave. "Goodnight, Lucius," she said over her shoulder, but he didn't hear her. The moment she given in he had retreated to his own room. Her hand was barely only the doorknob when Lucius dashed out into the front room, gray eyes glinting with...embarrassment?

"Do you fancy yourself a prankster?" he snarled. Whatever good intentions he'd had towards her while writing the letter were gone. She'd done something to grieve him deeply.

Still, she had to ask. "What?"

Lucius rose to his full height, and then some, if it were possible. "You're making fun of me!"

Selina took a step back. "Don't get this way with me," she growled. The fire she'd felt earlier was returning. She'd explained why she hadn't shown up...She'd gone through lengths to make up for missing dinner!

"If you want to play innocent then I suppose I'll have to show you what you did!" Lucius grabbed his wife by the wrist and dragged her into his own bedroom. It was beautifully decorated, with soft looking black covers and several umber pots adorning the dresser and beside stand. However, the furniture wasn't what drew her eyes; it was the rose petals!

Dozens and dozens of rose petals littered the floors and his bed and every possible surface in the room. And not just any kind of rose petals...Red rose petals. Incidentally, a bottle of red wine was cooling in a small, silver container...Selina didn't know if there was a proper name for the object. As if wine and rose petals weren't enough, the second the both of them were in the room the door slammed shut and soft music started playing.

Oh, my love
My darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time...

Lucius froze. "This isn't your doing," he said.

"No. It isn't."

Selina should have suspected something when Andrea and Daphne left without slipping her an aphrodisiac potion...They'd been planning it all along. She couldn't help but feel a tad bit of anger towards the two women. After all, they barely knew each other; how dare they interfere with her life like this!

"You let Miss Daphne and her maid help you this afternoon." Lucius spoke slowly, as if uncertain how to piece together the events. "They planned this behind your back."

Selina gave him a cold look. "It would appear so," she snapped.

As time goes by, so slowly
And time goes by so slowly
Are you still mine?

"Hmm. Well, it's to be expected. Andrea's a distant cousin of Ms. Laverne. It should make sense that they have the same ability to scheme." Lucius said this as if he would have admired the feat had he himself not been a victim. "And good Merlin, what is this song?"


I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love
To me...


"It's a muggle song. Unchained Harmony, or something to that effect. Don't know the artist." Selina grinned when Lucius made a wry face. "Even muggle songs annoy you?"

"You wouldn't understand," Lucius snapped.

"You're right. I don't understand a damn thing that goes on in that head of yours. Just forget about it." Selina slumped into a chair. She pondered for a moment, and then asked, "When will they let us out?"

"In a few hours, maybe," Lucius said. "Enough time for us to shag a few times, at least."

Selina groaned. "This is terrible," she sighed.

"Same to you," her husband snapped. Then he calmed. He lowered his head and muttered in a voice so quiet it was almost lost in the music, "I'm sorry."


Lonely rivers flow
To the sea
To the sea
To the open arms
Of the sea...

"What?" Selina almost chocked, which would have been a remarkable feat since she had nothing to choke on in the first place.

"I'm sorry," Lucius said, this time a little louder. He looked at her. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to say? That I'm sorry?"

"Are you?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry for being such a difficult man. I meant what I said in my letter, you know. If I were a better man&helip;If I were a better man..." He let out a chocked, strained laugh. "I'll never be a better man. It's no use going all soft and making foppish excuses." He was apparently trying to regain face, but with little success. His voice, while not shaky, was unstable in some sorts, and his eyes darted about in quick, jerky motions.

"However difficult you might be, you are interesting." Selina hadn't meant to say it just that way. She hadn't meant to compliment him at all.

It must have done some sort of trick, though, because he perked up a little and said, "Really? How so?"

Selina could sense that he just wanted his ego to be stoked. It was bad enough that she was stuck in this room with him, but she wouldn't survive an hour with his ego pumped to its fullest. So she didn't reply. She just sat their, ignoring one of the richest and most powerful wizards in Britain, and maybe even Europe. When he didn't implode upon himself or explode upon her she grew rather curious as to why. She chanced a glance over at her husband, and she found that he wasn't even looking her way. He was staring off into space, his gray eyes focused on something that she had no power to see.


Lonely rivers sigh
Wait for me
Wait for me
I'll be coming home
Wait for me...

"What would you have named the child?"

It was a question of complete random, and it was the second strange thing Lucius had said in the past five minutes, but she understood what he was asking her. "Louisiana Amerie Malfoy," she said. "I didn't think of any boys' names."

Lucius sat down on the bed. "I did. Justinian Marcus Malfoy. That's what I wanted to name Draco, but Narcissa thought it was an idiotic name. We both agreed on Draco."

"It suits him better," Selina agreed. "And if the child had been a girl?"

Lucius didn't even pause to think. "Delphine Agnes Malfoy." He said the name, and then his eyes went to the ceiling. "The second," he added.

"The second?" Selina sat up straight. "You'd have wanted to name our daughter Delphine Agnes Malfoy...the second?"

Lucius nodded. Something dark came over him, though, and he snapped again. "God damn it, when will the fucking song be over?" To emphasize his point he threw the bottle of wine at the wall. Then he cried, "Silencio!" flicked his wand, and the room went quiet.

Selina wasn't at all intimidated. Her curiosity was taking over her logic. "Who was she?" she asked. "A grandmother? An aunt?" She paused, and then, "Was she your mother?"

Lucius snorted. "Hardly." Then he asked, "You don't know my mother's name?"

Selina blushed. She didn't know either of Lucius's parents' names. Neither he nor his brother had ever mentioned them, and in turn, she had never wondered. "You never told me," she admitted.

"I never saw a point to it. They're both dead, and I never liked them in their lives, anyway. But for the record, and should anyone ever ask you again, my father's name was Andros, and my mother's was Odessa."

"And Delphine Agnes was...?"

"My sister. She was my little sister."

Selina was shocked. "You never told me that you had a little sister." And then a memory came to here. It was foggy, but it was still there. Mr. Chang at the Hogwarts competitions had mentioned Lucius's sister. Something about how everyone "knew" about her, and his parents too. Knew what about them, Selina had never asked, but she was curious to find out now.

"What happened to her?"

"She died." Lucius spoke in a hollow, unfeeling voice. "She died a long time ago."

"How?"

Lucius gave her a hard look. "She was murdered." He paused for a moment, as if expecting her to gasp in horror, but then he remembered something. "Your sister was murdered too, wasn't she?"

"My whole family was," she replied.

"How?" he wondered aloud.

"I asked first."

"And I'll tell you second. First, tell me how your parents died. Then I'll tell you the events leading up to my sister's death."

Selina was uncertain. "Didn't you ever ask Debra?"

"Ms. Smith?" Lucius shook his head. "Truth be told, when she first approached me I was more worried about you arriving safely than how your parents were killed. After we were wed, I was never in a position to ask you."

"There's not much I could tell you," Selina confessed. "Their deaths are still under an investigation. They were bloodied up, though; I know that much. So much that we couldn't have an open casket funeral. My father was so bad off--he was the only body I was ever actually allowed to see--but whoever the killer was, they did a real number on my sister and my cousin."

"And your mother?" Lucius inquired.

Selina dropped her head. "When they wouldn't tell me what happened to her," she said softly, "Riley went up and gave them what for. She found out that the murderer cut off my mother's feet and tongue, and chopped off her fingers. I don't know if they've been able to find those."

Lucius's pale eyebrows drew together. His hand shot out, and before Selina could jerk away he had given her shoulder a gentle pat. The gesture didn't seem to make him uncomfortable at all, and he leaned back onto the headboard of the bed. "And now I suppose that you will want to hear my story."

"You promised."

"I never put much stock in promises, you know, but I do put quite a bit of stock into you. So I'll tell you how Delly died."

"Delly?"

"A nickname. Delly was Delphine's nickname."

"I would have thought that Malfoys were above nicknames."

Lucius smirked. "We are. But the rules can be broken for the special ones."

"I suppose she was one of the special ones."

"More so than any other," Lucius said. "She was the middle child. Younger than I, but older than Lucifer. When we were children, Lucifer and I fought quite often. I didn't want my scrawny baby brother following me around, and all he ever seemed to want to do was be just like me. It used to drive me mad, the way he'd dress in my clothes and play with my toys. We might have grown up to hate each other if Delphine hadn't always been there to smooth things out.

"Incidentally, we both adored her. It seemed that everyone did, even our mother. Our mother was quite...frigid, you see. She gave birth to eight children, six girls and two boys, but only one of the girls were born alive. My father didn't much care for Delphine-he barely cared for Lucifer-but we were able to shield Delly from his temper.

"When Delphine was fifteen, and I was seventeen, my father took Lucifer and I away to our uncle's home during the summer. We didn't get back until two or so weeks before Hogwarts would begin, and we hadn't seen Delphine much over the summer. We found out when we got home, from our mother, that Delphine was spending time in the town--it was mixed in with muggles back then--with her new muggle boyfriend.

"The Malfoys were never much for muggles, but my father was more interested in going after young, pretty women than non-magical people that he never saw. He didn't think much of Delphine's boyfriend, but my mother did. She didn't like him, or his crowd. She came to Lucifer and I and asked us to talk some sense into her, and if that didn't work, to rough up her boyfriend.

"Lucifer and I were teenaged boys. I had a few girlfriends of my own, and Lucifer was trying to get one for himself. As much as we loved Delphine, we didn't think much of her relationship." Lucius paused and drew in a deep breath. He didn't seem to want to continue, but something drove him on.

"We only started to care about Delphine's boyfriend when we never saw Delphine. Every morning she'd wake up and scamper down the hill, and we never saw her. She became totally immersed in this boy, and she began to pick up his habits. Sometimes she came home completely intoxicated, and then our mother would sweep her into their rooms and they'd whisper until morning.

"By the end of the summer, I didn't know my little sister anymore. Even my father was beginning to notice the changes in her personality. Of course, he was more worried about the muggle boy finding out about magic than Delphine getting into any sort of trouble. Two evenings before we would have returned to Hogwarts, Delphine was still at the manor when I went down for breakfast. This struck me as odd, but I was also rather glad. I believed that I would get to see my little sister for once. I had no such luck, because she spent the whole day in her room. She was doing her makeup, mother said. She was having dinner with her boyfriend that night.

"And so Delphine went down the hill to town. She looked lovely. Lucifer and I wished to walk her down to town, but Delly forbade it. She insisted she was woman enough to handle herself. She left around seven-after all these years, I still remember that-so when she wasn't back by two that morning, our mother awoke Lucifer and I and forced us down to town.

"When we arrived in town, a muggle law enforcer hailed us down. He knew that the Malfoys ran the town, and he knew that we were the Malfoy boys. He told us that there had been an accident, and that Delphine was dead-"

"I thought you said she was murdered." Selina interrupted Lucius before thinking her comment through.

He gave her a scathing glare in response. "She was!" he asserted. "Her stupid fucking boyfriend was drunk! He took Delphine out to a quarry, and he got her drunk too! Then he told her that he and his friends always dove into the water. He told her that she should, too, and that she'd have a real ball if she did. Only, when Delly jumped, there was no water." Lucius's eyes were narrow. "That little fucker got off too, just because he was drunk. Just because he'd had a little booze. He still killed her, plain and simple."

Selina was floored. She'd never guessed that Lucius might have a reason for hating muggles, even if it was an unfounded one. To hate an entire group of people based on the actions of a sole member...No wonder the man was so bitter.

"Delphine's death sent my mother over the edge. Her little ray of light was gone, and so, much like a plant, she ceased to live. My father went mad too, but for different reasons. Every night after my mother's death he'd awaken to find her raving ghost at the foot of his bed. Or so he swore. Lucifer always thought that it was the man's guilt that haunted him, but I knew Father much better than that. In all his life Andros Louis Malfoy never felt a hint of guilt. It was always my belief that he just wanted to hurry up and die and leave Lucifer and I to fend off all the men he owed debts to."

"Debts?" Selina queried.

"Oh, yes. Before dying my father went and lost quite a bit of money to quite a few powerful people. I'd never allow anyone to know it, but there was a time when the name of Malfoy had absolutely no money to back it." Lucius, who had previously descended into a very dark mood, gave Selina the tiniest of smiles, almost as if they were two comrades sharing a trusted secret. "I can trust you to keep your little mouth shut, can't I?"

Selina allowed herself to return the smile. "Who would I tell?"

Lucius nodded approvingly, and then finished his story. "And so, within the next three years, I regained my family's money by taking it back, bit by bit. And that, my dear, is why your husband is a rich man." His tale was closed with a friendly sort of tone, as if its teller had remembered something to smile about along the way. One would never have been able to tell that he'd started out by telling how his sister died.

"You hate all things muggle because of that boy, do you not?" Selina asked finally, before she lost her courage.

Lucius frowned. She could tell that he wanted to shrug off the answer and maybe just shrug off her altogether, but, for whatever reasons, he answered the question without much of a fight. "I hate what that boy represents. The carelessness, the selfishness, the unwillingness to take the blame for his own faults. They're a weaker species among the magical. You, as a witch, are more cautious about your actions because you know the consequences your magic can cause. And because you, in an essence, are your magic you know the consequences your own being can cause. The same cannot be said of muggles, the likes of whom rarely think about those that they might hurt when they charge headfirst into every battle."

A lock of red hair was tucked behind a pale ear, and Selina had to remember how ridiculous Lucius's beliefs were, no matter how academic and established they might seem. The man had a definite way with his tongue, and he could probably suck anyone into his twisted vortex of a mind if they let their guards down. Wisely, though, Selina shifted to a new subject. It had been a question forming at the back of her mind for some time, perhaps ever since she'd lost the first child, but it had been brought forward when Lucius asked what she would have named their child.

"Will we have another one?"

She didn't specify what 'another one' was, but thankfully Lucius understood her question, just as she'd understood his. "It would all depend on what happens with us." He paused and considered if he should add one last line to the answer. He decided to do so. "A child without parents that love each other can get caught in the crossfire. That happened too often when Draco was a child."

"I wouldn't want to raise any child of mine that way either." Selina crossed her legs in the chair and leaned back. "But I do want to have children, someday."

"Someday?" Lucius asked. "How far away is someday?"

"Far away enough to ensure that we're at least friends, I suppose."

"At least friends? You make it sound as if we could be more."

Selina remembered well the day that she told him she could never love him. She still didn't know if love was possible. Rather than getting his hopes up, Selina said, "Only time will tell."

Lucius gave her a tight smile and averted his eyes. Then he looked at Selina, and said, "Yes, friends. We need to be friends." If it was possible, he seemed a little unsure of himself. "I've never really tried to be friends with anyone," he conceded. "My own brother is my best friend, if even that. My second closest friend? Perhaps my cousin Dionyza, but she only bothers to come around during the holidays."

"If it makes you feel any better, I only have a few friends beside Riley. My cousin Bruce was one of them, but he's dead now. There were a few girls from school that I see every once and a while, but besides that, I was a loner."

"What about your sister? You two were close?"

Selina gave a small snort. "Christ, no! Sydney was nine years older than me. She graduated from Serendipity's when I was eight, and then she was out of there. She only came home a few times after that, and usually I wasn't there. I'm closer to Riley's sister Penny than I ever was to my own."

"But still, you know how to make friends. I'll admit it to you, Selina, I'm a better lover than a friend."

Selina looked at the man who was her husband, and decided that, for the sake of any friendship, she'd have to be the initiator. She stood from the chair and sat down beside Lucius on the bed. She reached out to take his pale hand, and when he put up no fight, she gave it a light squeeze.

"It'll be easier than you think, Lucius. Things like this...they just click."

He smiled. A true, genuine smile. "You don't say my name often," he noted. "It's a rare treat."

Selina smiled back. "So, are we going to give this thing a try?" she asked.

Lucius nodded. He squeezed her hand back. "Why not?" he asked.

The music started up again. Right at the moment when they'd agreed to be friends. Once Selina had read a romance novel of Riley's, and something along the same line had happened. The heroine and the hero had said that they loved each other, and then it had started raining. The heroine had thought rain was terribly romantic. They'd both kissed. Selina had thought that the moment was over clichéd and stupidly written. But now that it was happening to her...

Oh, my love
My darling
I've hungered...Hungered!
For your touch
A long lonely time...

..Things were so different...


And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?

..And for a moment, Selina knew that she'd love the man across from her one day...

I need your love
I need, I need your love
God speed your love
To me!

But a momen is only a moment, and when the song ended, so did the mood.

Selina couldn't forget the feeling though, but she could do her best to deny it. Even as Lucius took her hand, and even as he said, "Someday, we'll dance to that," she quelled the feeling that had warmed her heart for a moment. She nodded, even kissed Lucius's cheek softly, and then bade him goodnight. She tried the door, and thankfully it opened.

She didn't think of why it might have opened, and she didn't care, either.

Selina cried herself to sleep that night, but for the life of her, she couldn't understand why.

~*~

Lucius Malfoy awoke a changed man.

Heavens help him, but there was an actual bounce in his step.

And then he remembered the cause of his sudden change in mood. For the first time in some five months of marriage, he and Selina were on relatively good terms. Mind you, there would be some rough spots to smooth over, but all in all, they were one step closer to a real marital relationship. They'd even discussed the possibility of children! They'd finally discussed the miscarried child...They'd finally done many things they should have done ages ago.

They'd finally done something right.

He'd finally done something right!

After dressing himself in clothes befitting a Malfoy in love, Lucius went to see if Selina would take a morning stroll with him. He knew the mansion to have a lovely set of walkways through the gardens, and perhaps Selina would like to pick a bouquet of flowers. He'd been waiting outside her door only a few moments when a young, pimply maid sidled up.

"Monsieur Malfoy?" she asked. She was, apparently, not a native Italian but a French woman. "Your wife asked me to zel you to meet 'er in zee arboretum. She pulled togezer a breakfast picnic."

Lucius was pleased. Selina had actually invited him to breakfast. "Very well," he said, and set off towards the arboretum.

~*~

"I hope you like strawberries and cream," Selina called when she saw him. She'd dressed casually enough, in a dark blue robe that clung to her curves. Lucius was reminded, not for the first time, of how young and lithe his wife was. He squelched his arousal though, knowing full well that the basis of his current relationship with Selina was friendship, and nothing more.

"Strawberries and cream? Where did you find strawberries in winter?" Lucius sat down by Selina on a spread out blanket. She'd settled in a small grove of orchids, and everything around them smelled wonderful.

"Where did Daphne find them, you mean. I don't know. She didn't tell me at all. Just said she didn't like strawberries, and that we were free to have them."

Lucius nodded and reached for one of the ripe, red berries. He dipped it into one of the three bowls of cream Selina had brought along, and then motioned for Selina to open her mouth. She looked rather surprised, but she relented and allowed him to feed her several strawberries. Finally, Lucius asked, "What did you say to our meddling hostess?"

Selina laughed lightly. A bit of cream was left on her upper lip, and she licked it off before answering. "Well, as you might imagine, I was more than a little peeved when she approached me in the kitchens. I was still quite sore about last night. We talked, though, about various things, and then I rather realized that she hadn't really meant harm, but just...well..." Selina blushed.

Few of the women Lucius knew blushed. Only the innocent blushed, he thought. He asked, "Well, what? What did she talk to you about?"

"True love, among things. Did you know she was honestly trying to set us up? You know, get us to fall in love?" She gave another light, airy laugh, as if the idea of love between them was a great fallacy. It was all Lucius could do to keep from losing his temper. God help him, he loved her so much...And she wasn't even considering the idea! Selina was insightful enough to see that he was upset. "Lucius, what's the matter?" she queried.

"Nothing," he lied. "Nothing at all."

"It's never nothing with you," Selina replied, and they sat in silence. After a bit, Selina began to eat her own strawberries, and Lucius made no move to feed them to her. Things settled into a quiet that wasn't at all like the old days, when quiet meant that someone was silently steaming, but still wasn't at all peaceful.

Selina seemed to know that she'd hurt him, Lucius knew, but didn't seem to understand why. And he couldn't blame her for that, either. She couldn't possibly know that he loved, her, and probably couldn't even begin to suspect it.

"Really, Selina, I am fine. Don't trouble yourself with me," Lucius implored. His assurances only seem to attract her attention more, and before she could get downright annoying, Lucius asked, "What do you wish to do with the day? We do not have unlimited time before we have to return to the manor."

"The manor," Selina shuddered. She smiled though, to show that she wasn't totally adverse to returning home.

"I have vacation homes throughout Europe," Lucius told her. "If you please, then in a month or so I can take you to one and work from there. I have a villa near Venice, a bungalow in Berlin, a penthouse in Paris, and château in Crete. Take your pick."

"Cute rhyme," Selina commented before answering her husband. "But why stop at a château in Crete? Why not a chalet in Cyprus and an apartment in Athens? Perhaps a palace on Peloponnesus and a romp in Rome? Another manor in Milan? A fling in Florence?"

As her own rhyme had progressed, Selina's words had grown increasingly intimate. You did not romp and fling with someone you didn't at least want to get to know better, Lucius knew. Putting all of that away for later analytical critique, though, rewarded his wife with a smile and said, "You certainly know much about the Mediterranean."

"Mostly just Greece and Italy, though a cavort in Cairo wouldn't be too awful. I've wanted to visit those countries for longer than I can remember. Ever since my sister Sydney went and studied for a month on the island of Cyprus. It was one of the few times she ever talked to me, one-on-one. We weren't that close."

"So you've said." Lucius rubbed the nape of his neck. The subjects had shifted from travel destinations to one that was mutually uncomfortable: their siblings. Their conversation continued from the one the night before. "Whenever Lucifer and I see each other, we get along well enough. Sometimes he goes off and does truly idiotic things--locking me up in my own home, for instance--but he's one of the few people I..."

"He's one of the few people you love, Lucius. Be a man and admit it." Selina had curled her legs under her body, and the laugh she gave forth sounded more like a purr than anything else.

"Yes. One of the few people I love." Lucius decided to make himself more comfortable. He lay back on the blanket and unbuttoned his dark robe to expose a pair of black trousers and a crisp white shirt. "I never know how to describe how close we are. We don't see each other all that often, and even when we do, we don't tell each other the intimate days of our lives. I find out more about the women he sees in the French tabloids than from his own mouth."

"Lucifer rates the tabloids?" Selina asked. She sounded oddly amused.

"He was a wild youth," Lucius snorted. "Used to go out, get drunk, and raise hell. On a good night he might take out half of the bar with some spell or another. I should know, because at that point I was writing the checks. He finally settled down when he hit twenty-eight, but the tabloids never stopped following him, hoping to catch another glimpse of the old Lucifer. Sometimes, every so often, they do."

Lucius shrugged, as if he could care less. "He moved to France around the time I began to run for offices. Perhaps that's why. Because he knew his behavior could harm my chances. And then he just never moved back."

"Sydney didn't care if she ever moved back," Selina replied. "She broke my parents' heart because she'd never come home. And then poof; a week before her murder she turns up on the doorstep. I can't help but wonder if she'd still be alive if she hadn't come home." Selina rubbed her forehead and groaned. "Oh, I'm beginning to sound like a horrible romance novel, with all this emotional talk. How did we get so off track? I mean, weren't we planning our day before this?"

Lucius nodded. "What do you want to do today?" he asked.

Selina stood and stretched limberly. "Do they have any horses?" she asked.

"Of course. Daphne is an avid horse rider. I'm sure she'd be able to take you out on a-"

"You'd come too, of course."

Lucius shook his head vigorously. "I can't ride horses. A terrible thing for a man of my stature, I know, but it can't be helped."

"Can't swim, can't ride horses...Well, Lucius, I certainly have a lot to teach you." Selina had a look of extreme determination on her face.

Lucius shrank away from his wife in mock fear. His playfulness changed, though, when Selina dragged him up by his arms. She laughed as he tried to escape her grip, and he laughed with her. In a matter of seconds Lucius managed to turn the tables by wrapping her in a strong embrace. Selina stiffened then, and Lucius could only guess at what he had done wrong.

"Friends don't hug like these," Selina offered weakly. She pulled away from his body and turned to face him. It seemed as though she could find nothing more to say, because, for the longest time, her lips just opened and closed helplessly.

"I'll meet you in the stables in twenty minutes," Lucius said after Selina's cheeks began to color. "We should both be better dressed for this weather."

~*~

It wasn't a snow covered landscape outside-"People with smaller areas of ex-mat can control some of the larger weather movements that occur. The plot of land we live on is too big to do this, but Daphne is able to stop the snowfall, if she so pleases," Lucius said-but the winter chilly was enough to make sure that Selina and Lucius both dressed warmly. Lucius had made sure that Selina's cloak was brand new and very becoming to her.

"Thank you," she said to him when they met up outside the stables. She seemed a little less cautious, and Lucius dared to hope that she'd forgotten how "friendly" he'd been with her. As good as it felt to hug Selina, and as much as it frustrated him, Lucius knew that their relationship was based upon him acting blasé about everything. "Daphne's in the stables, preparing three horses. She wouldn't allow me to lift a finger."

Lucius looked down at her and nodded. "I wouldn't want you lifting one of your fingers. They're far too delicate."

Selina extended her hand so that she could look upon it. When she wiggled the fingers, she admitted, "They are rather slight," she admitted. Then she laughed and took her husband's hand in her own. "But yours aren't much better! My god, I think you spend more time grooming your hands than I spend grooming by whole body." She twirled a strand of her hair and laughed some more. "Even your hair is longer! I never thought that my husband's hair would be longer than mine!"

Lucius allowed Selina her jibes. As long as she was happy he had little to be upset about. He even managed to let out a hoarse laugh when Selina slipped and fell into the snow. In a matter of seconds, she had attacked his legs, and he fell into the snow besie her. Despite the fact that he was on the ground, cold, and rapidly becoming wet, Lucius kept laughing with his wife.

Everything was halted, though, when somebody said, "Cut it out, you two, and get a room." Daphne stood in the entrance to the stable. Eyes filled with mirth, she held the reigns to a large black horse in her hand. "Or, better than that, come help me lead the horses outside."

Selina leapt to her feet, now quite eager to escape from the cold ground. She walked slowly towards the stables, so as not to frighten the horse, and never even looked back at her husband, lying still on the ground. A moment later she stepped out, leading two smaller, golden mares out into the cold.

"I think Lucius will need help getting on his horse," Selina whispered. She said it quietly enough so that Lucius knew she didn't for him to hear, but her words cut him all the same. She clearly thought that he was incapable of performing a great number of leisurely activities. Even worse than that, she appeared to be nervous that he would actually try to perform the said activities, and become a menace to any who were near. A clear image of the day that he almost drowned surfaced in Lucius's mind, and an overwhelming sense of self-disgust overcame him.

'I almost killed the both of us,' Lucius thought quietly as he walked over to the stallion. He barely heard Daphne tell him that though the stallion, Tador, was quite large for a beginner, he was the gentlest horse available. "Yes, yes," he muttered.

As it turned out, Lucius didn't need any help mounting Tador the stallion. He'd seen people mount horses before, and he was tall enough to be able to swing his leg around the horse's back with ease. His sour mood was distilled only a little when Selina complimented him. Soon all three of them were on their respected horses, and they were off across Daphne's property.

For a bit they rode in silence, and then Daphne spoke carefully. "I understand that you're upset with me Lucius," she said. She didn't sound the least bit apologetic, just slightly amused.

Lucius thought. He wasn't so upset with her anymore. After all, if it hadn't been for her meddling than he and Selina would never have become "friends." He didn't know how to answer.

Daphne must have taken his silence as the cold shoulder. She continued, "I hope you won't hold it against me. I really meant all the best." She nodded. "All the best."

"I don't think we mind so much anymore," Selina told Daphne. Her horse, Marigold, was walking at a nice, brisk pace. Lucius willed his horse to match his wife's stride for stride, so they could ride next to each other. He liked it when she referred to them as 'we.'

"I agree," he told Daphne.

"Selina told me that you two are friends now," Daphne said. A smile was curling her lips.

"We are," Selina confirmed. "I suppose we should thank you for that."

"No thanks is necessary," Daphne said. "I know how it was for my husband and I. That's reason enough."

Lucius had no idea where her husband was. He knew Andrea Briello through her several visits to Malfoy Manor. She'd always been there to visit Delilah Laverne, though, and on the few occasions she'd crossed paths with Lucius, they never talked about her young mistress, much less the much older husband. All Lucius knew was that the man's name was Dante Lucci and that he was still living.

The next twenty minutes were filled with gentle conversation between Selina and Daphne, mostly about subjects far too feminine for Lucius's manly interests. It might as well have been silent, for he didn't listen to a single word either of the women said. Instead he brooded, mostly on the damn unfairness of the world. It wasn't until the three riders reached a tree-bordered clearing that he was forced to focus again.

"This clearing's full of flowers in the springtime," Daphne said, "and it's always been my favorite part of the property. My husband and I used to race our horses here, but we never seem to be able to find the time to do that anymore. Could I beg of my guests the favor of a race?"

Lucius sat up taller in his saddle. He was never the sort to turn down a challenge. "I'm for it," he told his hostess.

Selina shot him a worried look. She probably remembered the last time he tried to do something he didn't know how to. But she didn't make a move to stop him from entering, and went so far as to add, "Me too. I'm in."

Daphne clutched the reigns of her horse tightly. Quickly she outlined the starting and finishing points of the race. And then, "On your marks, get set, go!"

All three horses took off. The desire to win was as avid among the humans as it was their animals. Surges of adrenalin pumped through the bodies of the mighty animals, and Lucius was thrilled when his steed took the lead. He might have heard Selina call for him to slow down, but if he did, he paid her no head. Winning always took a backseat priority to safety. All things considered, the stallion was going at a break neck speed when a small animal jumped out of the snow and frightened the horse. As was a normal reaction per horses, the horse reared, and then dashed off across the clearing and towards the trees.

"Lucius!"

This time Lucius heard Selina loud and clear. Had he not been so aware of the trees looming at him, he might have picked out the fear in her voice. As it was, he only had the sense to throw and arm in front of his face before his horse charged into the forest, still traveling as fast as possible. When the first strong, steady branch made contact with Lucius's arm, though, the jolt threw him from the saddle. His right foot was caught in the right stirrup, though, and Lucius was dragged seven meters before the stirrup tore free from the saddle.

His last thought before going unconscious was, 'Selina is never going to let me here the end of this.'