Chapter 3

Lucius,

Narcissa

Narcissa looked over her short note to her ex-husband and hoped that this time he would give a positive reply. She had been trying for a few weeks to get him to come to France, with no luck as of yet. She called for her snow owl, Noria, who came quickly on hearing her mistress call. She petted and crooned to the pure white bird before attaching the letter. "Take this to Lucius, Noria, and wait for him to respond before you come back," she said as she opened the window and sent the owl in its way.

Between the detective she'd hired and her own surveillance of the couple, she had their schedules well documented. Now, if she could only get that stubborn ex of hers here and things would finally come together.

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Hermione kept her word and was vigilant in keeping aware of her surroundings but had not yet been aware of anything suspicious. She hoped that the former Mrs Malfoy would not find a way to make him aware of the existence of the child. Of course, she always knew it would happen that one day he would learn of Alex, but she fervently hoped it would be sometime in the distant future and not the near. The thought of seeing him again set her nerves on end and her stomach churning. She knew he hadn't had a choice that night; if he hadn't done as Voldemort had bidden, he and his family would be dead. However, she remembered every awful detail of that evening. Even now, years later, she would on occasion have nightmares about it... Bellatrix's evil laughter still ringing in her ears as she woke up in a cold sweat.

Severus was her savior of sorts. He was there to help her through her nightmares and made sure that she was well taken care of. She in turn helped him to heal... inside and out. It amazed her that he had insisted on marrying her--he'd refused to take no for an answer. He had not allowed her child to come into this world a bastard. The love, though, that had come later, well into their second year of marriage. Even now, it amazed her. Who would have thought that she and Severus Snape would end up married and in love? She laughed to herself imagining how Ron and Harry would react to that statement. The sadness returned then, and she wondered where they were. Were they both married? Did they have children of their own? Did they think about her?

It was hard to live in hiding, to stay away from friends and family. She felt a tug at her hand; looking down, she saw her son's angelic face. "We go eat with Da?" he asked.

"Not today, love. Da has classes."

"Oh," he said, looking forlorn.

"How about we have a picnic on the university lawn? Maybe we'll see Da looking out the window?"

"YEA!" screamed Alex. "We go now!" he exclaimed as he attempted to pull her along.

Hermione laughed. "Okay... We go now."

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Lucius Malfoy sat alone in his opulent manor, going over his morning mail. A particular letter from his accountant at Gringotts reminded him he had to make an appointment to go over the latest earnings on his investments. He hated dealing with goblins, and this appointment would no doubt cost him a few hundred Galleons. "Why can't he just send the damn report to me?" he spoke aloud to the empty room and took the next letter in the pile. As he broke the seal, he heard a tapping at the window. Looking up, he immediately recognized the owl... It was Narcissa's. Flicking his wand, he opened the window to allow it entry.

The owl landed on his desk and held out its leg for him to remove the parchment.

"Did your mistress instruct you to wait for my reply?" The owl nodded in response. "Very well, why don't you go to the owlery and rest for a bit. I'll let you know when it's ready," he said and watched the owl gracefully fly out the window.

Sighing, he broke the seal and opened the letter. He smirked as he read it. "Really, Narcissa, as if I would believe there is a problem you are incapable of handling. You're losing your Slytherin cunning, my dear. What is the real reason you want me to come?" he wondered.

Eyeing the letter from Gringotts, he thought going to France would be a good excuse to get out of another boring and costly meeting with the goblins. Alright, Narcissa, it's time to find out just what it is you are up to, he thought as he picked up his quill to respond to his ex-wife.

Narcissa,

Lucius

After reading it over and drying the ink, he sealed the parchment. He called the owl back and sent it quickly on its way with his reply.

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Severus, or Professor Sutton as his students called him, slowly walked up and down between the work areas, examining the potions his current class was brewing. He enjoyed teaching at university level. The students were brighter and wanted to learn what knowledge he had to offer them. It was so unlike teaching at Hogwarts where he only on occasion had a bright and willing student. His Hermione had been one of those few. How he wished things had been different back then; he would have given her the acknowledgment she had deserved for her efforts. Of course, though he would temper it with criticism... Doesn't pay to have a student who is too confident.

As he neared the tables by the window, he sighted Hermione and Alex eating under a tree directly across from the Potions building. He smiled as he watched his son turn, looking up as if he would be able to catch sight of his dad. Of course, he wouldn't be able to; the windows here were charmed to keep out most of the sunlight, as some ingredients did not mix well with it. Turning around to eye his students, he noted that all was going as it should and turned to step into his cloakroom. Closing the door, he opened the window and stood in front of it waving to his family to catch their attention.

Hermione was the first to see him. She caught Alex's attention and pointed out the window to him where he stood.

Severus smiled as he watched Alex wave wildly at him and heard him faintly yelling 'Da.' He waved back at them, wishing he could join them. There was one thing he could do though... He rummaged through his cloak, and finding parchment, ink and quill, he quickly scrawled a note to his family. He then fashioned it into a paper plane, much like the ones the British Ministry used, charmed it and sent it flying down to his wife and son.

Alex watched in fascination as the paper took flight and headed towards him. He caught it and squealed with glee. "Look, Mum! Plane!"

"Yes, I see. It's a note from your dad," she said. "Give it to me, and let's see what he has to say."

Reluctantly, he handed her what he saw as his prize and watched as his mother unfolded it.

"It says: I wish I could join you two, but know that I love you both and will see you at home, and it's signed Dad."

Hermione looked up to see him still standing at the window and blew a kiss to him. He waved back and indicated he had to return to class. "Wave goodbye to your da now, Alex. He has to get back to work."

The little boy turned and blew a kiss to his dad as he saw his mother do and then waved at the man he thought was his father. He watched as the window closed, and his da disappeared from sight.

Shortly after, they were done eating. It was time to head back home and for one sleepy little boy to go down for a nap.

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Narcissa sat in her private dining room, having her morning tea and toast. She wondered what time today Lucius would show up; he had failed to give her a time. Typical of him, really. He always loves to keep people guessing, she thought as she looked out the window with a view of the gardens. The gardens here couldn't compare to the ones at the manor, but she would work on that with her gardener. Roses. Definitely need more roses here. As she continued her internal dialogue, she failed to notice the sound of footsteps coming her way.

"Narcissa," said Lucius as he entered the room. "You're looking as lovely as ever," he said as he approached her and placed a peck on her cheek.

"Have a seat. Did you eat yet?"

"Just tea would be fine, thank you."

Narcissa poured the tea into a cup that appeared on the table, thanks to the efficiency of her house-elf. "It's a new blend I discovered. I hope it meets with your approval."

"I'm sure it will be fine. You always had exquisite taste," he said as he brought the cup to his lips. "Mmm, marvelous."

"I'm glad you like it. Of course, it doesn't hold a candle to Tieguanyin, but I found a lovely little cafe that serves it exclusively. I'll take you there later."

Lucius watched his ex-wife's body language and noticed a slight fidgeting when she mentioned the cafe. So, this 'problem' is some way associated with this cafe. Interesting, he thought as he continued to feign interest in the tea.

"They serve the most delicious pastries, too. There is this dark choco..."

"Narcissa, I couldn't care less about pastries, or this cafe you're rambling on about. What is this problem you insisted that I HAD to come here to help you with?"

"Well," she said, fidgeting a bit with her toast. "It's not something I can tell you about, per se. It's something you need to see to really understand."

Lucius nodded. "When, then, will you be showing me what this 'problem' is?"

"It's not here at the villa. We need to go to the cafe."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

"It's too early to go, yet. We'll need to be there about elevenish."

Lucius sighed and took another sip of his tea before replying. "Very well. Elevenish then... this had better be worth my time."

Several hours later, Lucius found himself sitting at a small table, in front of a large window, across from Narcissa. She was right; this tea is exquisite, he thought as he took another sip. "Excellent tea, but where is this problem that I can only see, and you cannot tell me about?"

"Isn't the view lovely?" she replied.

"Narcissa, no more games!"

"Just keep watching the view, Lucius. You'll see it soon."

"Very well," he sighed as he once again looked out the window. His eyes scanned back and forth over the Boulevard de Gaston. He was about to scold Narcissa about her silly game when he spotted a child. One he would have sworn was the mirror image of...

Narcissa knew when he went pale that he had spotted the child.

He looked over to her with a million questions written on his face. "There's more, Lucius."

"What more could there possible be? How could she keep this from me? Why..." he said as he quickly stood up, intending to confront the mother of his child.

Narcissa grabbed hold of his arm, keeping him from leaving. "Lucius, no! You can't... Not this way. Sit down, there's still something else you need to know.

"You know why she didn't tell you. Can you possibly blame the girl? After all she endured in our home..."

"I know--I was there also."

Narcissa sipped her tea, trying to decide how to tell him the rest. "She's married to a Potions master. One we're well acquainted with..."

He looked at her curiously. "The only Potions master we knew has been dead for over four years."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He's not."

A/N: Thanks to Lady_Karelia for all her help and the beta work on this story.