Author's Note: This can be considered a standalone prequel to the Death Eater Trilogy (Might as Well Have Kissed a Death Eater, Descendants of the Death Eaters, and So I Married a Death Eater) I'm in love with reviewers!! Category: Angst/Drama/Mystery Timeline: Lucius/Narcissa's seventh year, MWPP's sixth-year
"Did you get prefect?" an excited Lily Evans asked her dorm mate, Susanna, as they found an empty spot on the Hogwart's Express.
"No, but I hear James Potter did," shrugged Susanna dejectedly. "Bloody toff gets everything... He got my spot as a Chaser, got my prefect letter..."
"That's awful," Lily agreed. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "There's always next year."
"I suppose." Susanna shrugged and slouched further in her seat.
The rowdy noise of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs could be heard just outside their compartment as the boys stomped onto the train.
"Speak of the devil," muttered Lily.
"Hurry on up, Snivellus!" taunted James. "We haven't got all day, you know!"
Sirius guffawed as James tripped up Severus who was trying to heave his Potions kit through the aisles.
"Couldn't have stored your precious chemistry set with the rest of the luggage?" laughed Sirius.
Lily thrust the door open and stared at the group.
Remus rolled his eyes and pushed past them to enter an empty compartment, taking out a lengthy novel.
"Would it be too much to ask for you to leave Severus alone?!" roared Lily. She turned to face Sirius and James in such a manner that her prefect badge shined blatantly.
Severus threw Evans a look of both shock and embarrassment. He made his way past the arguing Gryffindors, hoping no one else had witnessed the scene.
"Oh jolly good show, Snape," applauded seventh-year Slytherin Roger Marwood. In stark contrast to Lucius Malfoy's lithe, slim figure, Roger was a tall, muscular Beater with rigidly cut black hair and a brow that was in constant furrow.
"Shove off, Marwood," spat Severus.
Roger laughed maliciously, patting him on the back. "There aren't any other seats. You'll have to share with the Hufflepuffs, where you belong."
Lucius Malfoy slid open the door to his compartment. "You're welcome in here, Severus." He shared an icy glare with Roger before closing the door after Severus.
Severus knew that there was a motive behind Lucius' kindness. "What do you want, Lucius?"
"Yes," yawned a bored Narcissa. "Why ever did you bring Severus here, darling?"
"I want you to do my Potions homework this year," said Lucius straightforwardly. "All of it."
"Why should I?"
"I'll keep Marwood off your back."
"And the Gryffindors?"
"No guarantees there, but if I see them mocking you, I'll step in. Do we have a deal?"
Severus sniffed as he considered the older student's offer. He frowned and nodded slightly.
"Good." Lucius leaned back, putting an arm around his betrothed.
Narcissa adjusted herself to a more comfortable position, which happened to be nearly lying atop Lucius.
Severus noted her movement and adjusted his robes uncomfortably. "As a sixth-year student you should be mature enough to leave others be!" Lily raged on as they continued their row in Remus' compartment. When she spotted Remus, she cooled off a bit. "Hello, Remus."
Remus lowered his book and met her eyes, holding them longingly for a moment as he answered softly, "Hello, Lily."
Sirius marked James' expression as he sat next to Remus and could tell that James wanted to provoke her further.
"I am a prefect too, Evans!" shouted James. "If I wasn't 'mature' enough, McGonagall wouldn't've made me a prefect!
"What kind of example are you setting for the other students?!"
"A fun one, unlike you!"
"So you're saying I'm not fun?"
"No, you don't have any fun. You read and do boring homework all day. That's all you do."
"Homework isn't boring! If you knew what Muggles had to study in school, you'd realise how fascinating wizarding school is."
"Enlighten me."
"Mathematics, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, Chemistry..."
At the mention of Chemistry, Sirius and James sniggered.
Lily glared at James. "Arithmancy is better than Algebra. Believe me! So..." She couldn't remember the original point of their conversation and under the heated stare of James, she suddenly felt abnormally hot. She stood up abruptly. "I've got to go....change....into robes..."
Before anyone had a chance to say anything further, she was gone.
James looked to Sirius with a confused look on his face. "She's wearing robes already."
Sirius smiled knowingly. "She is? I hadn't noticed."
Behind his book, Remus frowned.
"Dead sexy she is," surmised Sirius. "So are you going to get her to go out with you this year or shall I see if Snivellus is up for it?"
James groaned.
"We all know you fancy her and she obviously fancies you," said Sirius.
"I don't see you with a girl, Sirius," countered James.
Remus perked up at this.
Sirius stood and disappeared from their compartment for a moment only to return with a brunette Ravenclaw James didn't recognise.
"This is Fay Abbot," Sirius introduced the girl.
"Hi," the girl said, smiling broadly so that her teeth sparkled like pearls.
"Want to go out with me?" asked Sirius.
"Sure!" Fay exclaimed enthusiastically as she sat next to him across from James.
"So," continued Sirius as he sat next to her, tossing an arm around her shoulders, "now that I've already got myself a girl and Remus--well he's got that grey wolf who was hanging about last year..."
Remus closed his book at this, commanding, "Shut it, Sirius!" He wasn't nearly as embarrassed as he was concerned about revealing his secret to the Ravenclaw girl.
Sirius laughed and the rest of the compartment joined in, though Fay just thought Sirius was being silly.
"She was kind of cute," remarked Remus in feigned wistfulness, causing everyone to laugh even more. After changing into robes, Narcissa sat back down next to Lucius, fiddling with her jewellery. She aimed to make it less visible so she wouldn't be asked to remove it once they got to school. "I never did understand why you hate Roger so. I know you've hated each other since first year, but you really have a lot in common."
"Such as?" Lucius ventured to ask.
Severus tossed a wary look at his senior, wondering if he should leave but remembered there wasn't anywhere else to sit.
"Such as," teased Narcissa, "you're both in Quidditch. You're both filthy rich from old money—"
"The Malfoys never married outside the UK, unlike Roger's daddy, Roderick," smirked Lucius. "We weren't pirates! The Malfoys stayed loyal to the crown while the Marwoods pirated and siding with Britain's enemies in every war. My father told me Roger's old man married some old Spanish heiress because their money had run out."
"Old heiress? Is that right?" sneered Roger from across the hall. "Lucia is a ruddy ferret compared to the beauty of my Spanish mother!"
"Don't talk about my mother, Marwood!"
Luckily, the train came to a stop at that moment, sparing Narcissa from further verbal sparring. She pulled Lucius off the train.
Roger sniffed as Snape passed, but set his sights on a bumbling second-year Gryffindor. "Oy, Weasley!"
Bill looked up at the domineering seventh-year Slytherin. His knees started to shake as his fellow second-years continued on toward the horseless carriages.
"Nice hair," laughed Roger.
Bill brushed a hand over his hair that his father had cut quite short since they couldn't afford to pay someone professional to do it. Bill frowned and sullenly got into a carriage. Raven-haired, slim-figured Lucretia Firebrand stretched lazily on her four-poster bed. She'd spent the entire week before school started at Hogwarts since both of her parents were off doing something for Lord Voldemort. They didn't trust many people, so they paid a hefty sum to have her stay at Hogwarts a full week before classes began and even had her books owled to her. Lucretia didn't mind in the least since that meant she practically had the whole castle to herself save the odd House Elf or professor lurking about. No one bothered her though and it was quite peaceful with nary a distraction so she could do as she pleased such as sleeping as late as she desired.
After showering and changing, Lucretia gazed in the mirror, examining her features. It was a shame she didn't have the flowing golden ringlets her best friend had. All the boys wanted Narcissa and all the girls wanted to be Narcissa. Compared to her, Lucretia was plain and barely conspicuous.
Lucretia waved her wand over her head, charming her long, dark-black hair blonde. It looked strange, so she charmed her eyes an icy blue only realising then that her skin was too dark, so that had to be lightened as well. By the time she was finished performing the illegal glamour charms, she looked like her best friend's twin. Lucretia smiled, but the smile was a sad one for she knew she could never present herself like that. She shook her head and her hair fell dark around her; her skin reassuming its natural golden-brown and her eyes dimming to a dark-brown hue.
Soon it was evening and all of the students arrived at Hogwarts in time for the feast. Since she hadn't anything else to do, Lucretia was the first to arrive in the Great Hall where she sat at the end of the Slytherin table nearest the door. The first and second-years students were next and sat at their respective tables as she stirred her pumpkin juice with a straw, awaiting the entrance of her fellow seventh-years.
Narcissa glided over to her best friend and embraced her. "Lucretia, darling." She kissed her cheek. "However did you manage a whole week here alone?"
Lucretia sat back down, smiling and Narcissa sat next to her. "It wasn't all bad," she insisted, marking Lucius' glance. She quickly averted her eyes and the two friends started gabbing about the latest gossip.
Roger noticed Lucius staring at Lucretia and furrowed his brow. He hated the fact that Lucius was Seeker for Slytherin while he tried out every year for that position always getting Beater. Lucius was also prefect for the past two years while Roger never got that kind of acknowledgment. Before he had a chance to say anything, his younger sister, Juliette, entered with throngs of boys flanking her sides. He rolled his eyes.
Juliette Marwood laughed raucously at one of the boys' jokes giving them each a kiss before sitting between her two favourites.
"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Lucius to Crabbe and Goyle loud enough for the entire table to hear. "That Marwood bint is such a slag."
"Too right, she is," agreed Crabbe.
"And only, what, fifteen?" Goyle put in.
Lucius sniffed. "Slag."
"Who's a slag?" asked Narcissa, who hadn't been paying attention.
Lucretia looked up, also wondering who Lucius was referring to.
"Marwood," answered Lucius.
"Which one?" joked Narcissa.
"Juliette," stated Lucius.
Lucretia pined for the kind of attention Narcissa was receiving, wishing she could just jump into a conversation and have people care what she thought. She remained silent, taking in their dialogue intently.
"Look who's a new prefect," Narcissa pointed out.
Lucretia looked across the hall to see Lily Evans walking in with her horde of devoted followers. Jealousy burned within as Lucretia observed sixth-years Potter and Lupin fawning over Evans like drooling devotees. "She makes me tired by just looking at her. I'm glad I'm not a prefect!"
"Hmm," considered Narcissa. "Let's have a bit of fun with her this year. What say you?"
"Only if your definition of fun is making her life miserable," said Lucretia.
Narcissa smiled craftily. "Why ever would you think that?"
Lucretia matched her smile.
Lucius licked his lips expectantly as he observed the two girls' exchange.
Roger rubbed his chin, contemplating the best way to get back at his rival. How far did Lucius' fascination with Lucretia Firebrand go? Once he figured that out, he would know what the best angle would be to make Lucius' year a living hell.
Over the next week or so, Roger watched Lucius from a safe distance, examining his behaviour toward both Narcissa and Lucretia, comparing that to how he acted around other girls. He came to the conclusion that Lucius had a large pash on Lucretia and that Narcissa hadn't noticed it yet.
Archive: This story is indeed my property (as in I created the situation, the dialogue etc.) It may be passed along and archived as long as my name goes right along with it. Please ask me first. My email is cariel@harrypotterfanfiction.com. Let me know where it's at so I can come visit. =)
Disclaimer: All characters have been borrowed with love, but not permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note cont'd: Character bios with major spoilers can be found at my website, which is listed on my bio page.
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