The Death Eater's Daughter

Chapter Eight - Flattery

Luci awoke to a frantic knocking on her bedroom door.

The bride was standing in the hallway, still in her pajamas, with her hair in shambles.

"What happened to you?" asked Luci sleepily.

"Mageek eez not verking!" Fleur shrieked. "I need jour Muggle twicks!"

"Shh," said Luci. "Get in here."

"Zis eez a dizastere! Zook at me!"

"I can handle this. The problem with the magic is probably just your nerves. Relax."

"How can I welax?! I must look pear-fect!"

"Fleur, you're a Veela. I don't even get how you can be nervous at all!"

She sighed exasperatedly. Luci had never seen her anything less than perfectly poised. "Zomeday, jou vill un-dare-stand," she said.

"Doubtful," Luci muttered.

"No?" questioned Fleur with a frown, as she sat down in Luci's desk chair.

"No. I've told you. Not in my cards, I'm sure of it. Would need to find someone to tolerate me, obviously."

Luci had buried her hands into the thick golden hair and was tangling her fingers in preparation for an attempt at a French braid. Very appropriate.

Fleur sighed. "Eetz too bad jou are not a Veela. Ve never have pwoblems wiz our confeedence."

Then she turned abruptly in the chair, bringing her face up in order to look at Luci, who frowned, as she'd lost her place in the braid.

"Jou must come to zee wedding, Luzee!" she cooed, forgetting the previous topic.

"Fleur, you know I can't leave for that long. Draco and Narcissa would be all alone in this house."

"Just zee reception zen?" she suggested. "And von't Wemus still be here?"

"I don't know," Luci answered, turning Fleur's head and locating the correct sections of hair.

"I am jur he vill be. I vould like to have my hair styleest zere, and zee bride gets vut zee bride vonts."

Luci smiled. "I'll see what I can do, how's that?"

"Zat vill be fine if jour Muggle twicks vurk."

"Oh, they'll work. There's a reason why we Half-Bloods still do so much the old-fashioned way."

Being such a perfectionist and understanding the severity of the crisis, Luci produced a completely flawless braid, and it was stunning on the already-enrapturing Fleur, who immediately floated out of the room to show Molly. Luci doubted this would endear the distrusting woman to her at all, but at least she'd made herself somewhat useful. And pleasing Fleur was never unrewarding.

Not long after, the house was empty and silent. Draco and Narcissa had once again locked themselves away, and Luci wandered into the drawing room, where Remus sat, engrossed in a book.

He looked up when she cleared her throat and gave her a tired smile.

"Don't you want to go to the wedding?"

"Luci, weddings are very much a female enthusiasm."

She smiled. "True, but men do attend. Thank you for giving up the opportunity. I know it's because of us."

He sighed. "Molly's insistence. But don't take it personally."

"How can I not?" Luci almost cried, throwing her hands into the air. "She doesn't think I'm capable of keeping an eye on things. Either that, or she thinks I'm the worst of all of us and will lure them into some devious plan."

Remus closed his book. "You read too much into things."

"It's not easy to be hated, Remus, to have to pretend to be someone who is entirely worthy of hatred, at that," groaned Luci, throwing herself dejectedly onto the couch.

"Molly knows the truth."

Luci looked up at him. "Yeah, but, she disregards it."

"There will always be people like Molly and Harry who are a bit overprotective," he smiled softly. "But you must see it from their point of view, yes?"

"Harry?" she questioned. "What does he have to do with it?"

"Oh. I thought you might be referring to yesterday's chaos."

"Not exactly, but yeah, that was pretty... humiliating, I guess."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because... back home, people knew me to be a trustworthy person. I mean, I never had many friends, but I didn't have enemies either, like I have here."

"I wouldn't consider anyone in this house your enemy. Molly is just looking out for her children. And Harry... well, he has a hot temper, that's all. He'll cool down."

"I hope so," sighed Luci. "I'm worried that he won't and that he'll forbid us from staying here and it'll be up to me to figure out how to keep these two people safe. And I don't even care. I just... Professor Dumbledore asked me and I gave my word, but now I'm trapped and I hate it."

What was she doing? Why was she spilling her guts to this man that she hardly knew? Maybe because he was always so nonjudgmental and at this moment, there was a kind understanding in his eyes.

And she entirely forgave herself when he answered, "Every one of us would have done anything asked of us by Albus. I think you are doing a very dignified thing indeed. Keep up your spirits, and just let the rest of us worry about Harry."

Luci met his gaze and gave him the most grateful smile that she could muster. "You don't owe me anything, Remus. So thank you. For that."

He nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask a really ridiculously huge favor?"

And then he frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Fleur wants me to drop by the reception. Just briefly. I told her I'd at least make an attempt."

His expression melted into understanding, and he responded, "Please go. Have a good time. You need it. I'll take care of anything that might arise."

"Oh my god, thank you! You deserve a medal!"

He laughed. "Tell that to the people who give out the medals."

"Someday, I will," she grinned. "Okay, I'll be back soon. If anything happens, I give you permission to spank them."

Remus looked stunned for a moment, but then he chuckled and answered, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

----------------------------------------

Luci Apparated to the spot that the wedding party had specified when she had heard them leaving Grimmauld Place. She found herself in a small yard, surrounded by people and food and decorations.

She searched for the white gown, and her eyes fell on Fleur almost immediately. She was practically radiating light as other guests were congratulating her.

When Luci approached, Fleur flung out her arms to embrace her.

"Jou came!" she declared.

"Only for a little while," said Luci, pulling away. "You look marvelous! How was it?"

"Mar-vay-luz!" she chimed. "Now, go enzjoy jourself vhile jou can!"

And then Fleur was dancing away, straight into Bill's arms, and he was beaming in a way that Luci wasn't sure was even possible for anyone less than a god.

She watched them, aching just a little bit, in spite of herself. Sometimes, she felt like a normal girl, who wanted normal things, like maybe someone to look at her like that...

"Hi," came a voice.

Luci turned and grumbled, "Dear god, it's more red hair!"

He laughed. "Sorry. It can be a bit overwhelming."

"Mmm," she smiled.

"I'm Charlie," he offered, "and you look as out of place as I am, so I figured maybe we should stick together."

Luci studied him curiously. He looked almost entirely like the others, but instead of being tall and lanky, he had an athletic build, with strong, broad shoulders. "How did you know that I needed to be rescued?"

"A little bird told me?" he answered, his eyebrows raised.

She laughed. "I'm Luci."

"I know," he said. "The little bird was Tonks."

"Ah. That meddler. I'll have to have a talk with her."

"We can dance in her direction," suggested Charlie, extending his hand.

Luci hesitated, but then took it and agreed, "Good plan," before falling into rhythm.

"A beautiful day for a wedding, yeah?"

Luci groaned.

"What?"

"Small talk. It's dreadful."

He grinned. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? What would you rather?"

Luci shrugged, feeling his hand shift along her waist. "So why are you out of place?"

"Just been away from home for awhile. Sometimes, I come back, and I feel a little bit like a stranger with my own family."

"Hmm. Perhaps you should visit more often. Did you have to travel a long way?"

"From Romania," he nodded, "but I flew on a dragon, so it wasn't so bad."

Her heart skipped a beat. "A dragon?"

The creatures had always been a fascination for her.

Charlie nodded nonchalantly. "I work pretty closely with them, and they can be fairly domesticated."

"I love them!" breathed Luci. "They freak me out, but in a good way."

He chuckled. "That's what JoAnn says," and when Luci raised an eyebrow, he clarified, "my girlfriend."

"Ah," she said simply. Of course, he hadn't been interested in her. And, of course, she wasn't really interested in him either, but she'd almost had a moment of feeling flattered. It would be so nice to have a reason to feel flattered...

He must have seen the brief disappointment flash upon her face, because he chimed, "And you have many suitors back home, I'm sure?"

Mortified, she smiled softly. "I have a disillusioned friend, but no, I'm not really suitable for anyone."

The song had ended, and she stepped away, no more nearer to Tonks than before.

With a frown, he said, "That's an awful thing to say, and surely untrue."

"Maybe," she said with a tilt of her chin, and then, "Thank you for the dance."

"See you later then?"

"I'm sure you will."

She hurried away into the house, in hopes of finding some privacy. They'd been having a lovely conversation and then... She'd made such a fool of herself, and she could feel it creeping in, the sickness of her mind, so much more powerful than she was...

Harry Potter stood just inside, and forcing an offhand smile, she chirped, "Oh, hello, Harry."

He paid her no mind as she continued past.

But then she heard someone calling her name. She found the source of the voice to be that of a Weasley twin, but as they both stood before her, she couldn't tell them apart. She only knew, same as when she'd first met them, that one was called Fred, and the other, George.

"Listen, we have a feeling that our brother is going to ask you out," one of them said.

"Which one?" she asked, feeling very much like blushing. Perhaps now she could feel flattered?

"A reasonable question," said the same twin.

"That'd be Percy," the other answered her, pointing towards yet another Weasley brother.

How on earth can people breed this way? she thought to herself, but she queried aloud, "And what makes you think he'll be asking me out?"

The boys grinned and one replied, "We heard him telling someone from the Ministry that he fancied you."

"Ah," she said in understanding. "Obviously, he's blind, yes?" But she did feel flattered, despite herself.

"We thought it'd be fun if you told him that you were dating us," giggled the first twin, ignoring her.

"Both of you?" she exclaimed.

The twins nodded.

"That seems a little mean-spirited, doesn't it?" she asked, with a disapproving smile.

"He's an awful prat," said one boy.

"He deserves it; believe us," nodded the second.

Great, so someone was finally interested in her, and he was an awful prat. Luci did not want to play these games. She was not in the mood. But she knew that it was very important to get these people to like her, so she shrugged, "Well, why not? If he asks."

"Perfect!" the boys said together. They each gave her an enthusiastic slap on the shoulder, and then one of them said, "We'll be listening from afar!"

Luci turned around, determined to avoid this charade, but there stood Harry, apparently having listened to all of it. He appeared extremely interested. So she swallowed her melancholy and approached him.

"They're fun, eh?"

"Yeah, a riot," said Harry, and he smiled a smile that actually looked sincere. For some reason, her stomach gave a ridiculous jolt.

"Was it a nice ceremony?" she went on, even though she'd refused to small talk with Charlie. There was just something about Charlie. She could have told him the truth, and he wouldn't have thought her crazy at all. He reminded her a bit of Josh, without all of the awkward shit. But wonderful, loving Josh, who she wished was here right now to comfort her, but who would then probably try to kiss her again...

Harry had shrugged and answered, "I guess so."

But she had hardly heard him, as Percy Weasley was heading straight for them.

Luci nearly choked on air. "Wow, they weren't kidding. Here he comes."

Percy was suddenly merely inches away from her, offering his hand. Luci accepted and he said, "Percy Weasley, Assistant to the Minister of Magic."

"Luci Keegan," she put forward.

Percy threw a glare towards Harry, who seemed to take the hint, and he left her all alone with this man. She wanted to call him back, for some kind of protection, but he had already joined the twins.

"Don't mind them," said Percy, nodding towards Harry and the two boys. "They're probably up to some prank."

Luci almost smiled, but bit her lip. "Probably," she agreed.

"Children," he scoffed, before continuing, "As you may know by now, I've been working with the Minister for many years, and you cannot imagine the kind of respect I've earned. In the hierarchy, I've almost made it to the top. It's remarkable, really, what a bit of persistence and hard work can get for you."

She realized that her mouth had fallen open in sheer disbelief, and she promptly closed it. The twins had been off the mark; this man was here to brag about his achievements, but for what purpose?

"I have a lot of responsibilities and the Minister trusts me implicitly," he was going on. "I accompany him wherever he goes and keep records of all of his important matters. I'll have his job one day." He paused. "I understand that you're an Auror?"

"Y-" she attempted, but he cut her off with more verbal vomit.

"As personnel of the Ministry, we have a lot in common. Therefore, I wondered when you might like to discuss these commonalities over dinner with me?"

The awful prat ran his eyes over her in a fashion that made her skin crawl. Luci was never asked out very much, but when she was, it was by men who weren't of the least bit of interest to her. She cursed her luck and then shook her head at Percy.

"I'm sorry, but I'm seeing someone."

"Oh?"

"Two someones, actually."

"Two?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

"And seeing as how Fred and George are just over there, it would be quite impolite for me to accept."

"F-Fred and... George?"

"Mmm hmm," she nodded, feeling painfully deceptive, but almost not caring, in the face of this man's arrogance.

Percy's expression changed from astonishment to anger.

"Don't worry," said Luci teasingly. "I won't tell them that you hit on me."

He made a low, growling noise and marched away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly felt like she needed a nap.

"That was brilliant!" one of the twins said, as he came back towards her, flagged by his brother and Harry.

"All in a day's work," she said, trying to sound upbeat.

The twins snatched her hands, shaking them joyfully, and then they sauntered off, leaving her alone with Harry, a position in which she really did not want to be. So she stated, "I'm going to go say goodbye to Bill and Fleur," and walked away from him.

But he followed her. Of course, he'd want to send the newlyweds off, as well. How irritating.

When they arrived in the front room, the couple was so surrounded by people that Luci didn't think she had any chance of wishing them a happy honeymoon. Harry, of course, had wandered confidently into the crowd, because he was family. Luci wasn't. Feeling entirely like she did not belong here, she began to head outside so that she could Apparate back to the house without being seen.

But then Fleur called her name, and Luci turned to see her beckoning. Suddenly, she was overcome with a sense of friendship that she hadn't felt since she was in Arizona.

"Jou weren't leafing vithout zaying au revoir, vere jou?" asked the bride, when Luci had strolled over.

"You have enough people to bid farewell to," she said softly.

"Twue, but none ov zem did my hair," grinned Fleur.

Luci beamed in return and embraced her. "Congratulations. Again." And then she glanced at Bill and added, "Don't have too much fun. I think your parents would like you be come back alive."

He laughed and responded, "I can't make any promises."

Then he turned to someone that Luci didn't know and shook the man's hand.

"Okay," said Luci, addressing Fleur again, with a suggestive smile, "go mess up your hair."

And, with every intention of returning to her guard post, Luci left the room.

But then she saw Charlie sitting alone in the living room, sipping punch. She almost kept walking, but then she sighed inaudibly and ambled over to him, seating herself in a nearby chair.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hi," he returned in absolutely welcome.

"Sorry about earlier."

He smiled, shaking his head as if to dismiss the whole incident. "Feeling better?"

"Better?" asked Luci, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, less rejected and self-abusing and whatnot."

Luci almost laughed. He was wonderful. So, in the same manner that she would have answered Josh, she answered Charlie, "I'm not sure there's ever been a time when I haven't felt rejected and self-abusing."

He frowned slightly. "That's a shame. From where I'm sitting, you have no reason for either."

"Well, you haven't gotten to know me yet," she countered.

Charlie shrugged his square shoulders. There was just something familiar about him, something comforting. Of course, Luci was a firm believer that your body's chemistry clicked well with some and not so well with others. It was just nature's way of sending you towards the right friends. And probably lovers too, though nature seemed to have forgotten Luci where that was concerned.

"Does that take a long while?" he was asking.

"Hmm?"

"Getting to know you?"

"Oh. No, not really. In general, I am an open book who will tell you far more than you want to know."

She chuckled at her own flawed nature, and he grinned.

"Good, because I don't have long."

"Back to Romania as soon as possible then?"

"Yep, just here for the free food. I'll fly out this evening."

"On your dragon?" asked Luci curiously.

Charlie opened his mouth to respond, but his father had strolled in and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Would you and Luci like to help your mother clean up the kitchen? I'm seeing all of the guests out."

"Sure," Charlie answered his father. He rose, and corrected himself, "I mean, I'm thrilled to help, but Luci's a guest."

"Please," scoffed Luci, standing. "I'm the hair stylist. And I love cleaning kitchens."

"Really?" frowned Charlie.

"Well, no," she smiled, "but I do love helping."

Molly was alone in the kitchen, and when she turned to see one of her sons walking in with the girl that she hated, she made a menacing hissing sound.

Charlie ignored her and said, "We've come to help. What needs to be done?"

Molly glowered at Luci, but then turned to her son and said with mock sweetness, "The two of you can tend to the dishes, if you'd like."

Charlie pointed his wand at the plates and saucers that were stacked on the table, and began to move them towards the sink. Molly immediately went about wiping the tables, her wand guiding a dishtowel over the surfaces.

Luci took up another towel and began to hand dry the dishes as Charlie was cleaning them.

"Interesting," he commented.

"Hmm?" asked Luci.

"Muggle cleaning."

"Ah," she responded, and then looked around to make sure that no one was within earshot, before admitting, "Yeah, I prefer it."

He scoffed. "Why?"

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "It took me a long time to figure it out, but eventually, I realized that it made me feel more in control, like I could do a better job with my hands, instead of a stick."

"A stick?" he laughed.

"Yep."

"And the disillusioned friend? Is he a Muggle?"

Luci checked for a moment, gaped at him, and then answered slowly, "No."

"So what's wrong with him then?"

"Plenty. I mean. Not really plenty. He's just... too needy to date, I guess." She paused. "Oh, and I resent that last comment, as the only boy I ever loved was a Muggle."

"Really?" asked Charlie in obvious interest. He ceased commanding the sponge for a moment and turned to her. "What happened with that bloke?"

She looked at him steadily. Their conversation was so easy. She trusted him. She knew that she could tell him about Mark. But she hadn't talked about it, not really, not in depth, for a very long time...

"It was traumatic," she began hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," blurted Charlie then. "It's absolutely none of my business."

"Probably not," she smiled, "but I don't mind telling you."

"Tell away!" he urged her, and went back to scrubbing a stubborn casserole dish. She was drying the bowl that he had just sent her way.

"His name was Mark," she started again, resolutely, even though it still stung to remember it. "We were sixteen. We'd been friends for a long time. We worked together at a hardware store."

Charlie raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Yeah, I know," she responded, "but it helped my mom pay the bills. Anyway, I was crazy about him, and finally, I just got tired of waiting, I guess, and I asked him out."

"You asked him out?" he gawped.

Luci shrugged. "I'm not a traditionalist. And it was either that or more helplessly hoping for something that might never come."

Charlie nodded in agreement.

"So, to my absolute astonishment, he agreed. And we had a date. And it was marvelous."

"You don't appear happy at the memory," he observed.

"If the memory had ended there, but it didn't. The second date was the worst thing imaginable."

"The worst thing imaginable?"

She smiled softly. "Yes. To a sixteen-year-old girl in love, yes."

He nodded again for her to continue.

"So we were walking home, after having dinner, and it was dark, and we were talking about this movie that we wanted to go see, and then this man, this huge man, came out from behind some bushes and approached us."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, but Luci was all in and couldn't stop now. She went on, "And all of my defenses went up instantly, and I'll never forget him. He was tall and had light hair, but it was buzzed, and his eyes were... black, and he said, 'Give me your money,' and shoved a knife in our faces."

The man beside her gasped now, but she still kept on. She'd forgotten the dishes at this point and was simply staring at the floor, spilling, "And Mark started to move in front of me, but I feared so much for him, and even a little for myself, and something just kind of detonated, and the knife flew out of the man's hands and began stabbing him, repeatedly, and Mark was horrified, and... I didn't even have my wand! I don't even know what I was doing, but I knew it was me doing it, and I didn't stop. Not until Mark screamed, 'Monster!' and ran away from me. He ran away from me." She let out a tiny sob at this. "And I left the man there, bleeding, and I never saw him again, and I never heard from Mark again after that. He quit his job the next day and it was like he'd disappeared..."

Luci realized that her eyes had clouded with tears, and that Charlie had put down his wand, and was just standing there, listening to her. "I'm sorry," she spluttered. "I never tell that to anyone. You're just... so... I dunno... sympathetic?"

"Yeah," he said, barely audible. "You shouldn't have put yourself through that though."

She shrugged. "Eh, it's good to talk about things."

At that unsuitable moment, Arthur and the twins entered the kitchen.

"I think everything is back in place," announced Arthur.

Molly wandered in after him, shaking her wand in the air. She walked over to the sink and picked up a clean towel, asking, "Where's Percy? I wanted to give him that sweater."

"Haven't seen him since Luci broke his heart," said one of the twins.

"What?" spurted Luci. "I-"

"You weren't the first," chimed the other.

Molly's eyes had welled with tears. "He... he left without telling me?"

"Uh, oh," said a twin, and everyone in the room suddenly became very uncomfortable.

And then Molly Weasley was crying into her dishtowel. Luci wanted to join her, for entirely different reasons. Instead, since she happened to be standing nearest to the woman, she pattered her awkwardly on the back. Molly must have been terribly distraught, or she'd have otherwise swatted Luci's hand away, if her previous treatment were any indication.

Her youngest son and his friends had appeared in the house again, and Luci heard Ron say, "How thick can he be?"

Luci reached into the sink and filled a clean glass for Molly, as Ginny snarled, "Pretty damn thick."

"Take care of her for us, little bro," said one of the twins, and then they both disappeared from the spot.

Luci offered the water to Molly, but she sniffed, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just need a nap. Stressful day, you know."

Then, as if they thought that Molly was too much to handle, people began Disapparating from the house, without a word. Luci backed away from her, thinking she should go too, but Charlie seized her wrist. "It was really nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she said, wishing she could have more time with him. It was like having a friend. And she knew that she should feel like she needed to explain why she was so over-emotional, but for some reason, she figured Charlie understood.

Molly and Harry were the only two left in the room with them, and the Weasley matron was going on about something, sniffling, then demanding, and then they were gone.

Charlie leaned in to Luci, his eyes sparkling. "Would you like to meet Bertha?"

Luci furrowed her brow. "Another one of your girlfriends?"

Laughing, he shook his head. "The dragon."

She gasped. "Oh, god, are you kidding?" She'd only seen a few, during her Auror training, and they were, at the time, to be seen as enemies. "I would love that!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes, pleeeeease," she nodded enthusiastically.

And then, instantaneously, they were reeling, with a rough landing in a clearing.

Luci bobbed her head to clear it, gathered her bearings, and then looked up into darkness...