Crime And Punishment
Chapter 9 of 21
MementoLucius is frustrated and overreacts a little.
Reviewed- Chapter Eight -
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Sacrilegia minuta puniuntur, magna in triumphis feruntur.
SENECA – Epistulae Morales
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He was unfamiliar with the whole concept of sadness. He had a faint acquaintance with frustration when things didn’t go the way he wanted them to take, but mostly they did anyhow. Disappointment and depression were new for him and he had no clue how to handle them. And he was depressed, there could be no doubt about it.
So far, he had comforted himself with the notion that deep down, she might like him a little, enough to allow him to make her like him a little more – damn it! He was charming! He could be! All those girls were crazy for him, so why couldn’t she be?! But no, no, she wouldn’t stand to be in his company for more than five minutes! She’d rather go to a nunnery than go out with him only once! She –
In his fury, he knocked over a pile of books, making the lunatic librarian throw a tantrum, but he wasn’t in the mood to simply beg her pardon or leave. Instead, he yelled back at her, that it was her damn job to collect books and store them away, that it wasn’t his fault in the first place that the entire place was a mess, topping it all by calling her an ‘evil vulture’. He received three nights of detentions from Professor McGonagall for this, who had heard the argument – well, hardly anyone in the castle could have missed it, they had both been screaming at the top of their lungs – and rushed by.
“Have you taken leave of your senses, Mr Malfoy?!” Her lips were thinner than he had ever seen when she jerked head to indicate he should follow her to his Head of House.
“And if I have?!”
She drew her breath, doubtless to give him an exhausting lecture on manners and rules, but for now he was spared this because she had found another object for her anger. “Mr Tonks! Miss Black!” she snapped. “You, too, are Prefects! You ought to set younger students an example! And as for you, Miss Black – I am very surprised at you!”
Lucius suppressed a laugh; there stood Narcissa’s big sister, and three seconds ago she had still been tightly entwined with her Hufflepuff Mudblood boyfriend. That sister at least knew how to have fun! Even if she had bad taste in choosing with whom to have it, but that was another story! McGonagall docked five points each from Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and another five from Slytherin because Andromeda had given a saucy reply – “We are giving a good example for cordiality among the Houses, Professor!” – but then his reprieve was over.
“Just because you are your father’s son, Mr Malfoy, or because you are Captain of your House Team, does not entitle you to any privileges! Speaking like this to Madam Pince! You, a Prefect! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard you with my own two ears! I’ve never met with such insolence, and if you were in my House –”
“Which I am luckily not –”
“Oh, be still! I know that Professor Slughorn thinks very highly of you, but don’t you believe you will get away this time!” She continued in this manner, and he simply did what he was used to – his father couldn’t get through the day without at least one of those speeches – he completely ignored her and let his thoughts trail back to his real problems. Narcissa Black. How was she to be worked on? What should he do? He made a mental note to send her some flowers for a start. He didn’t believe it’d work, that was the crux of it, and he racked his brains what else he could try.
One good thing had come out of this – he smiled at the notion. For so long he had wondered how her eyes would look close up, and at last he had had the chance to inspect them! Good Lord! Her eyes were of the darkest blue on the outside, getting brighter closer to her pupils, and tiny sparkles of turquoise were sprinkled in. Had the world ever seen such eyes? Certainly not! Like a well reflecting heaven, like –
He was rudely disturbed in his reverie because McGonagall hammered on his Head of House’s door. Predictably, old Slughorn wasn’t exactly pleased with his favourite’s performance, but also far from McGonagall’s level of just outrage. He tried to soothe her, but she wouldn’t calm down. “Such behaviour must have consequences, Horace!”
“Three nights of cauldron cleaning will surely do the job, Minerva.”
“No, they will not, and you know it! I demand that he be banned from the next match; perhaps that would suffice to make an impression!”
Both the old Potions master and Lucius gasped. “What?!” Lucius burst out, goggling at her incredulously.
Old Sluggy stared, too, but then broke out in merry laughter. “That was a good one, Minerva, I give you that! Yes, you’ve given him a good fright there!”
“I was perfectly serious!”
Lucius protested heatedly, “That’s not up to you to decide!”
“Seriously, Minerva! I know you must be sore from losing the Quidditch Cup once again, I must say, to Slytherin, but sabotaging the team in such a blatant way should be out of the question!”
“I don’t care for the Cup – not in this case, anyway! But you, as the Deputy Headmaster, cannot possibly allow any student to walk around and mortify staff members in such a way! And mere detentions are a joke for him!”
“No!” Lucius knew when it was the right time to fall down to his knees, and this was it. “Professor McGonagall – Madam – I know I’ve behaved very badly, and I can only assure you that I do not take detentions as a joke! Make it a week if you will! A fortnight! I will do whatever you think is right, but please! You only want to punish me, and I surely deserve it, but please do not punish the whole team, I pray you!”
“Spare your smooth talking, Mr Malfoy! I have no wish to punish your team, but if I do, you’ve only got yourself to blame!”
Dishonest, but all the more eloquent repentance on Lucius’ part, dextrous negotiating on Professor Slughorn’s and most of all, a soft core underneath McGonagall’s iron-hard case finally achieved a fair deal, or the best they could get out of it. A whole month of detentions – two weeks with Mr Filch, two with McGonagall herself – and a formal apology for Madam Pince. The punishment was ridiculous, compared with the offence, Lucius still found, but he would not complain, as long as he could play. There was one condition though – the next major offence and he’d be banned from the team for the rest of the year.
As soon as McGonagall had grudgingly left, Lucius inquired what exactly a ‘major offence’ was. Slughorn grinned slyly. “You will not insult staff members, and this includes Mr Ogg and Mr Filch. You will not curse anyone –”
“Oh, come on!”
“No curses, Mr Malfoy. I may turn a blind eye on jinxes and hexes though. And if I might give you a word of advice – try to avoid all other Heads of House; they could want to better the chances for their own House Team by taking you out.”
Lucius nodded and trotted out, back to his dorm. To be honest – he was pretty certain that McGonagall, as well as Flitwick and Summerby, were above such underhanded tricks. That was rather Slughorn’s domain. Still, he had to be careful; sometimes he tended to act a bit too rashly, or too strongly. He was more inclined to curse someone than endure cheek – or mediocre performances from his team-mates – and every now and then he would curse someone because he didn’t like their faces, okay, okay. So he had to give up that habit. Term was about to end; he would get along without cursing anyone in the coming two months. Should be easy, shouldn’t it?
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Sacrilegia… Little crimes are punished, great ones celebrated.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Memento Mori
36 Reviews | 3.86/10 Average
I love the relationship Narcissa shares with Severus!
Ah, sweet little Severus!
Lucius is such a Slytherin ... and I love it. This is one of two stories I've been reading currently that feature Narcissa prominently. I think I'm beginning to really love this character, see her as a more filled out, and that is really inspiring.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so, so, so much! That is such an awesome compliment!!!Yes, I love the character very much, too (I guess it shows), and it makes me just so happy to hear that somebody reads this story and likes it - and her. Thank you for telling me!!!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so, so, so much! That is such an awesome compliment!!!Yes, I love the character very much, too (I guess it shows), and it makes me just so happy to hear that somebody reads this story and likes it - and her. Thank you for telling me!!!
Hmmm. It occured to me that I am now seeing them as people, not just villians. How odd! I do love Narcissa though, she's the bomb!!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!!And if you say you start seeing them as people, I can't tell you how happy that makes me, because this was one of my principal reasons to start writing this. Thanks for letting me know!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!!And if you say you start seeing them as people, I can't tell you how happy that makes me, because this was one of my principal reasons to start writing this. Thanks for letting me know!
This is adorable Lucissa. Positively adorable! Its so cute! You might want to start giving Narcissa fashion sense though, since in canon she's know for it.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so so much!'My' Narcissa (for all purposes of this story) is supposed to have natural taste; she just doesn't care for fashion magazines etc. But she recognises a good dress when she sees it 
And thank you for the kind review (and excuse me for taking so long to answer it; I've got so much work in real life to do). I'm really happy you enjoy the story. It was such fun for me to write it. Thanks!!!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so so much!'My' Narcissa (for all purposes of this story) is supposed to have natural taste; she just doesn't care for fashion magazines etc. But she recognises a good dress when she sees it And thank you for the kind review (and excuse me for taking so long to answer it; I've got so much work in real life to do). I'm really happy you enjoy the story. It was such fun for me to write it. Thanks!!!
A very interesting story that gives us much insight into what might have been.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review for me!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review for me!
Hmmm. Lucius is a piece of work! I really love Narcissa as the source of Snape's personality traits. Excellent!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!!!!I'm glad you like it; I thought it fitted to TPT and SWM canon - as a young boy, he could not keep his mouth shut (or open in the appropriate moment), and Narcissa seemed the right character to take over the task; I had bestowed all those character traits to her anyway, as being very controlled, very seclude in her emotional life, and I thought it would make sense for them to bond over questions like this one, because she wants to help him by all means.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!!!!I'm glad you like it; I thought it fitted to TPT and SWM canon - as a young boy, he could not keep his mouth shut (or open in the appropriate moment), and Narcissa seemed the right character to take over the task; I had bestowed all those character traits to her anyway, as being very controlled, very seclude in her emotional life, and I thought it would make sense for them to bond over questions like this one, because she wants to help him by all means.
Hmmm...lots to think about here. I really like your geneology/character introductions for the Blacks. Very interesting! I adore backstory! Well done.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to write it, too. And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review for me, that's great. Thank you!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to write it, too. And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review for me, that's great. Thank you!
I'm hooked to this story!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you! I'm so happy you like it! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review for me, that really means a lot to me, thank you so much!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you! I'm so happy you like it! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review for me, that really means a lot to me, thank you so much!
Really interesting taking on the initiation process. I think it was good, the bit about drinking blood was nasty, but Voldemort really isn't the sort for garden parties, is he? It's odd that you've had internet issues, me as well. I was 'off-line' for nearly a week. Horrible isn't it? Glad you're back! =]
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you! I'm glad you found it interesting.Gosh, the horrible internet - at first, I didn't even understand it was a provider problem and didn't complain to them because I thought I had done something wrong when disconnecting the router from the electricity net. Which could have been the root of the problem; I'm useless with technics 
Severus is running with a dangerous crowd, and Lucius is in better company! It's nice that he dated someone who could call him on his crap. Narcissa is becoming more isolated. In trying harder to control her, her father is driving her away. Very good paradox!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Well, yes, Severus IS running with a dangerous crowd, but so is Lucius, in every other respect than his current girlfriend.As for Narcissa - well, yes, she is distancing herself to a certain degree from her parents, but I'm not so sure whether that's not a good thing. She's nearly 17 now, and in many respects, she's as much a Daddy's Girl as Draco will be a Mummy's (and Daddy's) Boy. I think it'd be healthy for her to emancipate herself a bit 
Happy New Year!
The, ahem, true and highly inappropriate translation of the Adam and Eve bit is...."When Adam delved *cough* and Eve span, who was then a gentleman?"Teehee. Lovely chapter, poor Lucius! And come on, little Severus (Savvy????) help them along!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Oh, thank you so much for your help! I corrected it straight away!Well, I'm afraid little Savvy (I always thought of him like that, so it was the natural choice for a nickname for the Septuplet) won't be of much help regarding the future romance. He's done his bit, and he wouldn't DARE meddling with other people's business in this respect. No, no, he won't be the cupid in this piece 
merry belated christmas! Poor Narcissa and Lucius, they're at cross roads, i wonder when they'll see each other again. Looking forward to the next chappter
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
thank you so much! A merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well!Without giving away too much right now, I think I can safely tell you that they will meet again ;) I'm not sure when I can upload a new chapter because my internet connection at home is faulty, but it should be there in the next two weeks, I guess. Once more: thank you!
Starcrossed lovers....ah, poor things. Can't help feeling sorry for them, even though we know they're going to end up being snobby twits.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
thank you!!!!Well, even snobby twits can have a love life, eh?
The contrast between the two handling their grief is wonderful. Narcissa's situation with her mother is quite sad. Lord Moldy-shorts has made his appearance at last...I don't suppose you could have written it without him, but I was still disappointed to havve Lucius fall in with him. Amazing as always. Happy Christmas, Rhia
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much, and a belated Merry Christmas and a somewhat more appropriate Happy New Year to you, too!Yes, well, it was not really possible to have Lucius not joining up, given later events... Sorry to have disappointed you 
Aww, poor Lucius. Karma came back to bite him! How will he soften down old Cygnus, hmmm? Let alone Narcissa...
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
First of all: 
Being no native speaker of English, I've never heard that phrase before, and it just nails it 
As for the softening - Narcissa is bound to cool down soon enough; her main reason for reacting so viciously was the emotional strain she was going through. As for Cygnus... Well, he's got two alienated daughters already. In the end, he has no strength to deny his darling child her happiness.
How have you done it? I feel so bad for Lucius, I even managed an *awww* during Mr. Black's rant. He's meant to be a deranged monster...now you've gone and made him human, for shame! LOL Really lovely. The family dynamics give a real insight into future behaviours. I like the multi-faceted story. It reminds me of a twisted food-chain! Really nice.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you!!!!I'm really, really happy to hear you say that Lucius is human; it was my aim to achieve this without denying his negative traits of character. It's far more interesting to write, and I can only hope it makes for interesting reading as well.
Bottom line, men will never understand women. Well ... poor guy really had no inkling of the circumstances behind the behaviour, but really, men will never understand women. Nope. They might think they do (at times), but that's only what we let them believe so they feel more manly.Lovely chapter. Looking forward to the next one ... in fact, going right now to find it and stick my name on it in queue so I get to read it first.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much; I'm so happy you liked it!!!Yes, well, what is true for all men is particularly true for Lucius. Empathy really isn't his strong suit to begin with, although in this case, he didn't have a chance of seeing it coming. What's worse - this time, he'll take her rejection seriously. Her father drove the point home that, especially after Andromeda's 'downfall' (of which Lucius will of course hear later on), Narcissa would never seriously contemplate a guy like Lucius. The tragic aspect about all this is that now he will try to find something else to do and pursue... 
Response from notsosaintly (Reviewer)
That is tragic, indeed. However, conflict is necessary to keep readers interested in a story. It is why stories like this attract readers' attention and makes them want to come back for more.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
You know, you're right. It's just that, while writing, I rather followed the more selfish approach, not thinking so much of the potential reader, but what *I* enjoy writing. In fact, I was always rather afraid that I'm procrastinating too much so that many readers might lose patience and interest.
Thank you for mentioning me, I'm truly glad to review for you! 
And utterly addicted to this story!This was really interesting. I was extremely sad, and feeling so sorry for the Black family. It's amazing how a look at someone's troubles can make you empathize with them. Brilliant. I wonder who her visitor might be? Hmm....
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank youuuuu! 
I'm really glad to hear you say that you can emphasise with them in this situation; it was my aim to achieve that, but I can never be sure whether it works out like planned. Thanks for letting me know!Ah, the visitor...
Excellent 'argument scene', that was. Poor Cissy, though. She got trampled on, and it really hurts not to be Daddy's Little Girl anymore.
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!I must admit that I had fun writing the argument though; I find there is something compelling about the inner logic of the dynamics that such fights take when regarded from the point of view of each participant.Yeah, poor Cissy. That's what you get for making whoopee 
awhh, i was hoping for a better night for lucius and narcissa..
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Well, they must not have it too easily, eh?
Oh, dear lord, its hit the fan....poor Andy. And when on earth shall Narcissa and Lucius get together, since it seems they shall no longer both attend Hogwarts?
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Oh, thing will be getting a tad worse still, I'm afraid. As for Lucius and Narcissa - well, since the outcome of their romance is so totally well-known, I thought I'd have to keep up the tension by separating them for a bit. Which will also give Narcissa the chance to see what was in her grasp so long, and has so utterly slipped away from her. I believe in the saying that one can sometimes only see a thing's true value when losing it. 
Well, after seeing the patrilineal line of the Malfoy family, Draco is an absoltue gem! LOL I think it was interesting that both of them are used to being rather dignified in public, and were wrong-footed by their families in this case. It's a clever way you've given them a common ground. I was also intrigued at the mentilon of Narcissa's academic idol. I honestly thought you were refering to Dumbledore... excellent!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!!!Yeah, Narcissa is a bit of an intellectual groupie. She and Dumbledore might have been great friends if she were a hundred years older, but as things are, and with her knowing only his 'old' self, she'd rather idolise brilliant Tom Riddle Yes, Draco didn't turn out half that bad, seeing his gene pool, don't you think? 
But he's got one material advantage - he'll grow up with loving, caring parents.
Aww, poor Lucius!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Ah, come on - he had it coming, don't you think?
I've heard of doing things the hard way, but Lucius seems to do nothing but spite himself. I am pleased to see that Narcissa is getting more interested in him. He can be charming, an arrogant bastard, yes, but a charming one! This is quite the spell-binding little tale!
Response from Memento (Author of Memento Mori)
Thank you so much!Well, Narcissa IS - always was in a way - interested in him. He would not bug her so badly if she hadn't always been intrigued by him. She's just acutely aware that she has no reason to trust him, so she fights her affection for him. Allowing him to become her friend was a first, guarded step to permit him into her life. After all, she's pretty young - at this point of the story, she's 16, so the greater part of his 'courting' her, she was 13, 14 - she was 15 when joining the Septuplet, while he acts the experienced, elder guy. She's not ready for that. Yet ;)