(narcissa) Getting to the bottom of things

Narcissa had not been the same since her father's passing and funeral. Though she still commanded a sense of respect and authority just by presence alone, Cissa had become withdrawn and stoic. She was in a state of mourning, but those around her, especially her enemies, loved to tack on other possible reasons for her dejected demeanor. The most popular was how miserable she was due to her arranged marriage, despite that this couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, Cissa had always had some naive wish to marry for love but she also knew her realities. Her union would add to the family wealth and ensure she was well cared for in life. Not just that, but with Evan Rosier as her future husband, Cissa was fully aware she would most likely have full dominion over their financials. At the current moment in time, Cissa simply had no cares for anything concerning her future, not even marriage.

The second most popular rumor hitting the mill was that she was in love with someone else, but unable to pursue said relationship due to her arrangement with the Rosier family. Narcissa merely scoffed when a housemate or one of her sisters pressed her on this particular subject. She was mourning the loss of their father. she simply did not have time to pursue any latent crushes she may or may not have. Moreover, why did anybody care so damn much? Wasn't there enough scandal running rampant through Hogwarts without adding her to it? Cissa rounded the stone staircase leading up to the owlrey. Her personal owl was out on an errand from the previous day, but Cissa enjoyed going to the open place for two reasons. The first, there was always some sort of noise to distract her thoughts, and the second was the lack of people who enjoyed spending time in the place.

What Cissa had not expected was to see a certain blond-haired Slytherin boy with his back to her. Lucius had caught her eye from the moment she'd started at Hogwarts. He matched her in looks, and was certainly aware of what power his looks possessed. He was intriguing, smart, clever, and came from a well known pureblood family. What had at one time been simple childish crushes somehow transformed into lustful flirtation with mere glances to one another. Cissa had never pursued anything further, fearful of what her father or Bellatrix might say on the fact. However, Bells wasn't present and her father was dead. "I'm sorry," She spoke softly, "I didn't realize anyone was up here."

Lucius Malfoy, a Slytherin to beat all other Slytherins. Narcissa had been aware of the platinum blonde playboy since the first day she stepped foot inside the castle. His family was well known and pureblood, but more than that the seventh year prefect made Cissa's stomach fill with butterflies. It was an absurd analogy, really, and Cissa was ashamed she had stooped to such a barbaric way of describing her feelings. She also chastised herself for such girlish, childish feelings. Cissa was a Black, and as Bellatrix had explained to her on countless occasions since their father's death, the Black family name needed to be represented with sophistication, fineness, and a strong backbone. Swooning over some seventh year pureblood while already betrothed to another son of a pureblood family was not the right representation. Even if said boy was completely and breathtakingly gorgeous.

Cissa's breath caught in her throat as she opened her mouth to reply to his offer. She had never heard him sound so kind or compliant before. Well, at least not he was talking to others. Lucius had always been soft and gentle towards Cissa, and she adored him for it. Cissa enjoyed being treated differently than those around her, and she loved when she was was the center of someone's attention. Looking towards a snowy white owl perched nearest to her, Cissa reached out a hand and stroked the bird's wing with her forefinger. "No, please don't go. Bellatrix and Andromeda already worry I spend far too much time on my own. It would be nice to have an alibi for once."

She continued petting the owl, coaxing it to hop onto her forearm. Slowly, Cissa brought her arm back towards her body still stroking the bright white feathers. Had she been alone, she would have been too completely lost in her own thoughts to have registered the words that came from Lucius next. Narcissa was used to condolences by now, and the looks other students gave her since coming back to school. Each one sounded just as hollow as the next, and even worse the words came from people with hollow eyes and sneers on faces. No one truly cared. All they wanted was the next bit of juicy gossip to spread, especially if it was about the youngest Black sister, whom everyone knew had taken to isolating herself after the death of her father. However, coming from Lucius, those words seemed full of meaning, and his face showed honest caring. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder that sent shivers down her spine. The good kind, of course. Why, oh why couldn't she have been betrothed to Lucius instead of Evan!

"Thank you, Lucius," She turned her head towards him slightly, her long blonde hair slipping over her shoulder. With a small smile, she gazed into his cool grey eyes which seemed so bright and inviting to her. Her own, usually a vibrant blue in color, were now dimmed with dark circles from her lack of sleep. "You are very kind to say so."