Ice

Chapter 8: "Come sail your ships around me, and burn your bridges down."--Nick Cave, The Ship Song.

The Travers' party was similar to most of the society parties Narcissa had attended since her official come-out; a dead bore. Attending one on Lucius' arm, however, was vastly more entertaining. He had a malicious sense of humor and a quick wit that had her smiling even though she knew it was inappropriate to do so at a party. Narcissa wondered why it was that she was dying to do something inappropriate, and that the feeling had been growing worse ever since her encounter with the thief in Knockturn Alley. She tried very hard to ignore that thrill of lust that had shot through her watching Lucius curse that man, but it was a difficult feeling to suppress.

Bella's reaction to the situation had surprised Narcissa. She'd of course asked what had happened to her face, although her question was more along the lines of "I'll kill that son of a bitch! How dare he hit my sister!" Narcissas was able to explain calmly that it was not actually Lucius who had struck her, but a man intent on hurting her and stealing her jewelry. Bellatrix had paused in her moment of rage, dark eyes flashing, and said only, "what in the name of all the hells were you doing with Malfoy in Knockturn Alley?"

It was clear to her that while Bellatrix admitted Narcissa was intelligent, she still thought of her youngest sibling as an innocent. While that was technically true, she didn't feel very innocent; with her reaction to Malfoy's threatening her attacker, and the dreams that plagued her at night--confusing images of lust and pain--she was starting to think herself as twisted as her sister. She had placated Bella by saying she had wanted to visit the nefarious street, and thought that "Lucius would of course be adequate protection--as he indeed turned out to be." Her sister--rather surprisingly, Narcissa had thought--bought her simpering explanation and sent over a potion to keep her face from bruising. Thankfully, Bellatrix had been so distracted by her reddened jaw that she hadn't noticed her swollen lip or else she'd assumed the cause to have been the same. Narcissa did not enlighten her, nor did she explain why she allowed the swollen lip to remain while she had applied the potion liberally to her injured jaw. She enjoyed running her lip over it and imagining Lucius kissing her, pushing her forcibly back against the wall....

Narcissa sucked in her breath, turning her attention back to the couple who had just approached them. Her sister and her brother-in-law had both shown up rather late to the party--well past the dinner hour--and there was a fanatical gleam in Bellatrix's eyes that Narcissa recognized all too well. Her sister was practically humming with energy and Rodolphus was staring at her with worshipful adoration in his limpid dark eyes. Narcissa schooled her features into her normal mask of politeness and tried not to roll her eyes as she noted Bellatrix and Rodolphus were holding each other's hands. It wasn't so much the hand-holding that bothered her (although Narcissa was convinced that holding the arm of one's date was the only appropriate affectionate behavior in a society gathering), but the way they did it--as if they were clinging to each other while drowning rather than out of any sense of emotional attachment. Appropriate, she thought and nodded her head as her sister addressed her.

"Such a horribly boring party," Bellatrix said in her sultry voice, her heavy-lidded eyes staring at Lucius in a way that made Narcissa angry. "I am so happy we found something much more entertaining to do this evening, aren't you, Rodolphus?" Bellatrix giggled. Narcissa ground her teeth together--anyone who did not know Bella would think she had consumed too much alcohol. Oh, Bellatrix was drunk alright, but not on champagne.

Rodolphus only nodded, and Narcissa said in a cool voice, "It was a lovely dinner, I am so sorry you were not able to join us."

Bella shrugged. Her lush, voluptuous body was wrapped in the blood-red dress robes that were her favorite. A memory surfaced of Andromeda asking Bella why she had all of her dress robes made in such a disturbing shade of red. Bella had smiled and said, "Because the color suits me." She was correct; it was a wonderful compliment to her dark, exotic good looks. Standing next to Lucius they made a striking pair--her dark, lush beauty the perfect foil for his cold pale perfection. Narcissa rather thought the same would apply to her and Rodolphus, and tried not to shudder at the thought. It wasn't that she did not like her brother-in-law exactly, merely that his worship of her sister made her nervous. Besides Narcissa, Rodolphus had to be the only other person who truly knew Bellatrix and the fact that he could and still worship her as he did was disconcerting.

Narcissa looked up at Lucius, who was staring at her sister and her husband with a sneer on his face. For some reason this delighted Narcissa immensely and she felt herself cheered, as petty as she knew the feeling was. She was certain Lucius and Bellatrix had been....together... as she vaguely remembered Bella mentioning it in the past. While it did not bother her exactly, it was heartening to know her beau had no interest in the admittedly sensual Bellatrix. Narcissa had never known a man to resist Bella's charms, and Narcissa quite adamantly refused to share. She was a Black, after all.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus went off to find Walden McNair and the three of them stood together in a corner sipping champagne and whispering excitedly. The electricity around her sister buzzed in the air, Narcissa noticed a great many eyes turned her way. Bellatrix was enthralling, there was no doubt about that. Almost as if they could not help it, many young witches and wizards were drawn to her side. It had ever been that way with Bellatrix--she attracted and repelled at the same time.

"Your sister certainly commands an audience," Lucius drawled sarcastically, watching the others cluster around Bellatrix. He looked down at her, a speculative gleam in his eyes. "Does that not bother you?"

Before she could stop herself Narcissa snorted in a most unladylike fashion, and then blushed slightly as she guilty looked around to make sure no one noticed. Finding they were safely alone, she met Lucius' gaze and shook her head. "Of course not," she said. "I'm quite used to it. Besides," she said, sipping her glass of lemonade, "it has been rather useful on occasion, actually."

"Has it?" Lucius asked, his hand on her arm moving her around the perimeter of the dance floor. She was not sure where they were going and almost wanted to stop and see if he would pull her forcibly along. She resisted the brief flare of desire that went through her at the thought and decided to answer his question.

"Did you know my sister?" she asked cautiously. He looked down at her and a frown furrowed his brow.

"We were in school together, of course," he said, "and I have told you we are acquaintances."

Narcissa resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the condescending tone of his voice. Malfoy dislikes answering the same question twice. She filed that information away and then continued.

"No, not Bellatrix. I mean, Andr-my other sister," she finished, not wanting to say Andromeda's name. While she understood the reasons behind Andromeda's banishment, it did not mean she did not feel the loss of her sibling. She would die before admitting it, of course, but she felt it nonetheless. Long ago, Narcissa had made a vow never to lie to herself, and she did not intend on breaking it.

"Oh. Her. Yes, I knew her. Why?" Lucius pulled her outside, and headed towards a small wooded area on the side of the Travers' property.

"Where are we going?" Narcissa asked, momentarily distracted. It was quite chilly outside and she did not have on her wrap. Trust Malfoy to drag me out here without any kind of wrap and not even offer me his coat.

"I have something to give you, and it was becoming quite crowded in that ballroom. Entirely too many people in one space. I thought perhaps we could take a bit of air." He did not cease his stride, and being quite a bit taller than her and possessing much longer legs, she almost had to struggle to keep up.

"It would appear we are enjoying a brisk evening run, Lucius. Do slow down," Narcissa snapped, and he slowed his stride without a word. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she took a breath and continued her story.

"As I was saying, my sisters were forever in trouble as dissimilar as they were. Andromeda attempted to right every wrong Bellatrix committed, and Bellatrix always said she best do something appropriately horrid for Andromeda to fret over. It was quite exhausting. One time, father took us shopping in Hogsmeade shortly after Bella had started school at Hogwarts. Bella had stolen some sweets from Honeydukes and Andromeda had witnessed it. She demanded that Bella return the stolen goods, but Bellatrix threatened to hex her and told her to be quiet. Andromeda saw an Auror in the street and marched right over and informed the Auror that her sister was a thief and should be locked up in Azkaban." Narcissa sighed. "Father was completely humiliated, and scolded Bella for stealing and Andromeda for being so ridiculously dramatic and summoning an Auror, as if they had nothing more to do than stop young girls from stealing chocolates. It was quite the scene," she finished.

Lucius pulled her over to a tree, and leaned his back against it. He looked very handsome there as he smiled at her story, dressed in his evening finery. "And what did the youngest Black sister do?"

Narcissa grinned, amused despite herself. "In all the commotion, Bella had dropped the candy she had stolen. I looked at my sisters, my father, and the Auror: all talking at once and completely oblivious to my presence. I picked up a Chocolate Frog, unwrapped it and ate it in front of all of them without anyone noticing," she finished. "Father was furious with Bellatrix when she returned the candy and Andromeda noticed the missing Chocolate Frog. Bella accused Andy of lying, and Andy accused Bellatrix of hiding it. No one thought to ask me if I had it. It was the first time I'd realized my very different nature might have some serious advantages."

Lucius laughed, and she liked the sound--rough and low, it was a sound she was fairly certain he did not often make. "My Narcissa," he said, pulling her close to him. "Ever the opportunist."

He smirked as he settled her against his body, while her heart pounded at his words "My Narcissa," as well as his nearness. "Your lip appears to be suffering continual swelling, Narcissa. Yet I see nothing on your face of your unfortunate bruise. Did you not put your healing potion on your lip, as well?" He reached his hand and traced one of his long fingers, encased in his black leather gloves, across her bottom lip.

Narcissa shuddered, both at the contact and the slight wince of pain from the gesture. "No," she whispered, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders.

"Why?" His voice was soft and she was captivated by his glittering gaze.

"Because I-" she lowered her eyes, and stared at his mouth, and took a deep breath. Narcissa did not back down from a challenge, and even though her instinct was to keep her council she raised her eyes to his and brazenly drew her tongue across her bottom lip. "I liked it," she said, a huskiness in her voice she was certain had never been there before.

"Did you now?" he said in a slightly breathless voice that she found incredibly appealing. He lowered his head and took her mouth with his own before she could answer.

She gasped as he sucked her bottom lip into his teeth, biting down gently. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades and she heard him moan. The sound pleased her and she decided she wanted very much to hear it again, so she bit his top lip. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it wasn't a gentle nip, either.

He moved so suddenly she made a noise that sounded like a squeak, and would have horrified her if she was able to notice such things. She was pressed suddenly against the tree where he had been leaning. He captured her hands and pinned them above her. She winced as the bark scraped against the uncovered skin of her arms. He was pressed against her, and before she could say anything, he kissed her again.

She lost count of the moments they stood there, him pinning her to a tree and kissing her wildly. She felt she might collapse if he released her arms, and when he rubbed himself against her, she moaned loudly. He laughed in her ear and drew his mouth down her neck.

"Don't you want to know what I brought for you?" he said, his mouth very close to her ear. It caused her body to break out in chills and she kept her head turned to allow him access to the smooth column of her throat.

"I thought you brought me this," she said and tilted her hips against him. He hissed and bit her neck, and she laughed delightedly.

"Not so innocent after all, are we, Miss Black?" he murmured, licking the small hurt on her neck.

"How dare you imply such a thing, Mr. Malfoy," she said, unable to stop her body from writhing against his. She felt as if something inside her had broken free, and the entire experience was almost...liberating.

He shifted so that he held one her left hand above her head, still pinned against the rough wood of the tree. She wrapped her freed right hand about his neck in an attempt to pull him closer to her. He laughed softly, and the sound was deliciously sinister in the dark night. "I have something that I need to return to you," he said, and reached down into his robes. When he pulled his hand out he was holding a small black velvet box. He offered it to her silently.

Narcissa arched a brow at him and reached out with her right hand to take the box from his left. He freed her other hand although kept his braced on either side of her. The feeling of being captured flitted briefly through her body, but she rather enjoyed it. Turning her attention to the box, she opened it, unsure of exactly what would be there. Surely this is not...? While she was fairly certain she and Lucius Malfoy would end up married, this was not exactly how she had thought he would propose. It took her a moment, with her blood heated from his rough caresses and her mind a whirl, to understand what it was that was nestled in the small black velvet box.