Chapter 7

A/N: I'm the Heidi Fleiss of review whores! Pander to me!

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Most assuredly, there can be no question that the crown jewel of pureblood society is the much-lauded Mrs. M----, golden goddess that she is. However, This Author must admit that she is sorely remiss in her praise of the lady's sister, the delightful Mrs. L----. No one serves Lord V---- more tirelessly, more faithfully than she! Not only that, but the gossipmongers report that this delightful woman has taken it upon herself to become instrumental in arranging trysts between her incomparable sister and the immeasurable Professor S----! Working behind the back of Mr. M---- is not an enviable task by any means, so is it at all a surprise that she has decided to host a ball where the two lovers can fend for themselves?

--Gilda Grindylow's Society Papers, 3 December 1996

"Bellatrix Lestrange! What a delight!" Shunting Pansy forward in the receiving line, Violet Parkinson rushed forward to greet her hostess. "You don't come to so much as a garden party for ages, and then we find you holding the crush of the Season! With a gown in the first stare of fashion, I might add."

With visible ennui, Bella responded, "Yes, yes. My sister has impeccable taste. Do enjoy yourself, Violet. Hi, little sweetie!" she added, with a nod to Pansy. "Go on and play with ickle Drakiekins!" Without noticing Pansy's scowl, Bella turned to Rodolphus when the Parkinsons had moved off toward the dance floor and hissed, "Does the bloody woman think we're running a nanny service? That child isn't even out yet!" Turning back to her guests, she said silkily, "Severus! How very lovely of you to join us! I believe... " Lowering her voice, she leaned forward confidentially toward his curtain of greasy hair and whispered into his ear. " ...that my sister was asking after you not ten minutes ago. She was by the lemonade table, I believe."

Snape gave a grim nod and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Helpful as ever, my dear Mrs. Lestrange."

"I don't normally make a habit of helping blood traitors, Severus. My sister is determined to avoid the scandal of divorce and stay in that loveless marriage, but she oughtn't to suffer unduly for her sensibilities. I'm helping her; you're just reaping the side benefits."

"Narcissa often tells me that she loves Lucius," Snape returned quietly. "Every time we make love, in fact. I've been thinking of ending it... "

"Don't be silly." Bella's smile was positively reptilian, but Snape took no notice of that salient fact. "Her guilty conscience obligates her to speak thus. She cares very much for you, my traitorous friend. Carry on; she needs you as long as she's married to Malfoy."

Curtly, the Head of Slytherin House turned on the heel of his gleaming black boot and, dark robes flapping, strode purposefully toward the refreshment table.

On the opposite side of the room, Narcissa waved her delicate beribboned fan before her face a few times to stave off the stifling heat that already pervaded the room. Standing along the edge of the crowd, near one of the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the magnificent gardens of Chateau Lestrange, she had an unobstructed view of the gracefully curved marble staircase that led directly into the center of the room. Uncertain though she was of just whom she was truly looking for, she nonetheless continued to watch the new arrivals make their entrances.

Suddenly, the heavy bronze door banged open so loudly, scattering squeaking house-elves and reverberating through the entire entrance hall, that all the revelers nearest it turned to stare, and even the musicians jumped, causing a slight hiccup in the quadrille they had been playing. Attired in his finest evening robes, hair neatly queued back, Lucius made his way down the stairs, shoving partygoers aside with his ever-useful cane, and locked his cold, arrogant eyes with his wife's. She saw them soften briefly, traveling over her shimmering gown, resting appreciatively on the soft curve of her breasts, and returning to her face as he finally reached her.

"You're looking very well, Narcissa." Bowing over her white-gloved hand, he kissed the inside of her wrist, still sensitive beneath the fabric. "Your divine beauty transcends words."

Biting back a laugh, his wife said, "Thank you for that most unusual compliment, my dear. I say, are you quite all right this evening? I rather thought you'd learned your lesson with the Firewhisky the other week. You don't want a repeat of that, now do you?"

Recalling how he'd got Narcissa to stay in his bed on the pretext of being too hung-over to know what he was asking, Lucius responded evenly, "I can think of worse things. However, I'm not in my cups. Is it a crime to speak flowery words to one's wife on occasion? Especially when your gown puts me in mind of a field of the ripest wheat at harvest time."

This time, Narcissa actually did giggle. "But, Lucius, my gown is blue!"

"Do you hear him?" demanded Bella as she and Rabastan crouched behind a caryatid. "That was supposed to be the line about her hair!"

"Merlin's balls, I meant your hair," came Lucius' voice from a few feet away.

"Oh, don't worry overmuch, Bella. How often does one get to hear Lucius Malfoy make an utter fool of himself? She's likely to be flattered that he's even trying."

"Whatever." Her mind had sprung ahead to the next phase of the plan. "Distract Lucius somehow. He's so embarrassed, he'll likely be glad to escape. Play a round or two of Wizard's Whist, discuss business, kill Muggles, I don't care. I'll intercept Severus. He's still looking for her, the idiot."

Chuckling, Rabastan moved away from his sister-in-law, over to the struggling Lucius. "Lucius, my boy!" his voice boomed. "That old devil Rodolphus has wagered fifty Galleons that you can't beat me in a game of Wizard's Whist. Fifty, I say! Care to prove him wrong?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt. That's a foolish bet as it is. Here, get some of that mead, and I'll meet you in the card room." Turning to his wife, he added, "Beg pardon, Narcissa dear. It's not a wager a man can ignore."

"Of course, Lucius. Do enjoy yourself."

With a nod, Lucius surprised her by kissing her full on the lips before he turned toward the side room that held all the card tables.

As soon as his lover's husband had disappeared, Snape slithered out from between two columns and casually sidled up to her. "I trust you're enjoying yourself, Narcissa?" he asked with a condescending sneer.

"Quite," she returned with a haughty toss of her golden head. "I can't remember when I've enjoyed a ball so much."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? I seem to recall that you had quite an... interesting time at the Parkinson's anniversary ball."

"Did I?" queried Mrs. Malfoy innocently. "Perhaps you ought to remind me then."

His sloe-eyed gaze darkening with heated desire, the Potions master bowed over the lady's hand. "Certainly, Narcissa. Will you do me the honor of a dance?"

Anxiously, she glanced at the closed door to the card room, and, satisfied that it would remain thus, gave a delicate curtsey to her partner. "I suppose, since you asked so nicely this time."

Without another word, Snape led Narcissa out onto the dance floor, sweeping her across the room in a fast-paced waltz and outside to the dark shadowy gardens with one particularly energetic twirl. Stealthily, the lovers made their way through the maze of hedgerows and into a moonlit grotto that Bella had had sculpted into dark, mossy stone taken from the ruins of a castle that bore an ancient curse. At once, Snape leaned down to capture Narcissa's lips with his own, molding them carefully, teasing and probing with his tongue.

With a soft sigh, Narcissa pressed her body more closely against his, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoving her peaked breasts, sensitive in their flimsy silk, against his broad chest. He lifted her off the ground, shoving her against the wall of the grotto, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling his arousal even beneath the layers of flounce in her skirt. "Oh gods, Severus," she moaned, "you're a horrible, horrible man."

He smirked. "But yet, you can't resist me." His hands continued their journey down her back, squeezing her derriere and pushing her toward his hips.

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"Lucius! Lucius!" Wearing a look of gravest concern, Bella dashed into the card room. "I've heard the most distressing rumor! Rodolphus has told me that there are Aurors in the gardens! Apparently, someone told them that all the Death Eaters would be here... probably that blood traitor, Severus Snape. Oh gods, I should never have invited that horrible man. Come on then, hurry. You're the best wizard of the lot."

Lucius leapt to his feet with alacrity. "I shall see to it right away, Bella. Aren't you coming? You are the best witch of the lot."

"Of course." Bella grinned evilly. "Wouldn't want to miss this." She and her brother-in-law swept out onto the portico, taking care not to draw any undue attention to themselves. "I believe he said they were down here, near the grotto," she informed him in a whisper. "Take care not to startle them or we'll be hexed into next year."

"Which Aurors?" hissed Lucius, drawing his wand.

"That awful girl I'm loathe to call my niece. Perhaps Shacklebolt," Bellatrix improvised. "Just around this corner here. Don't strike too soon, now." She had no wish to be responsible for Lucius' turning the Killing Curse on her sister.

Peering around the corner, Lucius heard the sound of labored breathing and a few deep groans.

"Harder, Severus," moaned one of the Aurors, "yes, oh gods, yes... "

"Good evening, Severus. Narcissa." Grey eyes narrowing in disgust, Lucius leaned on his cane, coolly observing the guilty looks of the disheveled pair until his jealousy overcame his aristocratic façade. Seizing Snape by the neck, he shoved him back against the slimy stone wall. "So, you thought you could carry on with my wife, did you?"

"I've done so for several months now, and you haven't seemed to mind," answered Snape, ever sarcastic. "Why the change of heart, Malfoy?"

Narcissa's finely plucked brows drew together in anguish. "Oh, Lucius, I never meant to... you know that I love you... " She regarded him through wide, fearful eyes.

"It's nothing to do with you, Cissa. It's the blood traitor I'm going to kill," Lucius growled, tightening his grip on the greasy flesh of Snape's neck.

For a moment, something like fear flickered across the Head of Slytherin's derisive face. "Not your old school chum, Lucius," he said uneasily. "After all those holiday visits to Snape Hall?"

Lucius recalled for a moment how a falling piece of ceiling had nearly killed him one summer at the Snape family's decaying ancestral home. "Our friendship was void the moment you began fucking my wife."

"Was it?" Snape was back to his sardonic self. "Funny, that. I was told," he said slowly, with a significant glance to a rather triumphant Bella, "that your marriage was hardly one at all. That you spend all your time with whores in Knockturn Alley. That you... "

"Enough," snarled Lucius. "Lies, all of them. I love my wife and I... "

Bella and Narcissa let out delighted gasps, clutching at each other's hands. Snape's eyes at last widened in true fear, and Lucius drew back his hand.

"A wizard's duel, Snape. Two weeks hence, at dawn, in the meadow near Malfoy Manor. My seconds shall call upon yours," he spat, and turning on his heel, grabbed for Narcissa's hand. "We're going, Cissa. Thank you for your hospitality, Bellatrix." The Malfoys disappeared in the shadows of the hedge maze, leaving Snape and Bella alone.

"You," hissed Snape, "you... " Words had quite escaped him as he stuttered at the smirking lady Death Eater whose cunning had led to his almost certain death. Though excellent at dueling, Severus stood little chance against a jealous husband, no matter how much he himself adored the man's wife. "I shall make certain you pay for this treachery. Mark my words, Mrs. Lestrange, I may die in this duel, but you won't remain unpunished."

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A duel, a duel! The most exciting, the most romantic of episodes to be sure! There is nothing quite like two gentlemen with wands facing each other at dawn to battle over some slight to one's honor. In this case, a lady is involved, and indeed, any pureblood cannot be surprised that it is the beautiful, graceful Mrs. M----. Though This Author hesitates to discuss the particulars of this sordid affair, suffice it to say that Mr. M---- has finally decided to put a stop to his wife's passionate trysts with that dashing debonair, the genius of the Potions laboratory, the Head of the most revered, ancient House, Professor S----! Who shall emerge the victor? Only time will tell...

--Gilda Grindylow's Society Papers, 12 December 1996

A soft knock at the door of his study drew Lucius' thoughts away from the Muggle objects he was busily cursing. "Enter."

Hesitantly, his wife padded across the Oriental carpet toward his desk, shutting the ornately carved door behind her. Settling herself in a buttery leather chair, she spoke quietly: "Lucius, I must know, is it true what you told Severus?" She gazed beseechingly into his face.

"That I intend to kill him? Yes, that's very definitely true, Narcissa."

"Oh, er, yes of course. But I really meant when you told him that you... that you love your wife."

Lucius sighed. "I don't wish to discuss that," he informed her harshly, but his eyes were kind. "I need to look up a few jinxes for the duel tomorrow. I'll speak to you later." He made a gesture of finality with which his wife could not argue.

That evening, as Lucius slowly removed his robes and donned his black silk dressing gown and tugged at the black silk ribbon, letting his hair fall over his shoulders, his feet led him to the connecting door that separated his room from his wife's, and he knocked softly. "Cissa? May I speak with you for a moment?"

Narcissa's footsteps hastened toward the door, and she slowly pulled it open to reveal her surprised face. "Lucius? Are you all right?" Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his soft hair and timidly kissed his hard mouth.

Lucius groaned, pressing her against his body, letting her feel the taut muscles beneath his robe. Though he had never wished to admit it, the effect of his wife's rare beauty was undeniable. "Oh, Merlin, Cissa," he mumbled, tasting the sweet honey of her mouth, "do you know what you do to me?"

Reaching down, Narcissa teasingly stroked the hard length of him. "Oh, I could hazard a guess." She parted the folds of his dressing gown, skimmed her fingers over his smooth skin, and quickly divested him of the garment. At that moment, she realized that her silky nightdress was in a heap at her feet, so she twined her arms around Lucius' neck, pressing her breasts into the fine blond hair on his chest. Her nipples hardened instantly, causing Lucius to smirk.

"Tell me," he murmured huskily into her ear, "all about these trysts with the blood traitor. Was he a good lover? Not nearly as good as me, I assume."

"No, of course not," Narcissa moaned as Lucius lowered himself to the floor and captured her in the most intimate of kisses. "Not even close."

"You're not?" He looked up at her with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Then I must be losing my touch." Sliding his tongue between her wet, hot folds, he began to explore her, only letting the idea that Snape had done the same bother him slightly.

Clutching her husband's long hair between her manicured fingers, Narcissa gasped, adding, "But... but he was very curious about how we m-make love... and he... oh, gods, Lucius!... used all sorts of sex spells."

Lucius slowly rose to his feet and kissed her on the lips again. "Sex spells? I thought only impotent old men used sex spells. Snape must be lacking for something." Sweeping his wife off the floor, he carried her toward the large, ornately carved bedstead where she had first made love with Snape... and Lucius. He laid her down on the luxurious cotton sheets where the elves had turned the bed down and swiftly covered her body with his own, pushing her thighs apart and abruptly entering her. They made love with wild abandon until they climaxed together and collapsed in a sweaty heap.

When Narcissa awoke the next morning, she found, much to her dismay, that Lucius had already gone, and a chilly breeze filled the vast bedchamber. Wrapping herself in a sheet, the woman rose and walked to the window to gaze out over the countryside. She stood for several minutes, staring at the rolling meadows beyond Malfoy Manor until suddenly a Thestral glided over the hill, carrying none other than her husband, clad in a dark green cloak and a simple silver robe and followed by Rodolphus and Rabastan.

"The duel!" she gasped as she scrambled to find her cloak. "Those idiot bastards!" Dashing into the hallway, as one cannot Apparate out of Lucius' bedroom, she disappeared with a pop and seconds later, found herself at the crest of the hill above the meadow.

Lucius and Snape stood a few feet apart, scowling at one another, while Rodolphus conducted the standard dueling procedure. "So," he said grimly, "do you wish to apologize for fucking his wife, Severus?"

"I have nothing to apologize for," sneered Snape. "His wife was an excellent lay."

Lucius' wand arm twitched, but his brother-in-law stilled him. "Just bow and walk twenty paces, the both of you. Then you can hex him, Malfoy."

The men gave each other curt nods and moved the required distance apart, finally drawing their wands. "Sectumsempra!" bellowed Lucius, waving his wand to cut a deep gash in Snape's wand arm.

Raising his injured arm, Snape prepared to cast his retaliation, "Cruc-"

"Noooo!" Narcissa dashed down the hill, shrieking, tripping over her cloak and silk nightgown in a most undignified manner. "Stop!" She flung herself into the middle of the melee.

"What the devil?" muttered Rodolphus. "Cissy! Move!"

"Salazar's blood, woman, are you trying to be killed?" Snape lowered his wand. "Lucius, remove your wife from the dueling field. I want her unharmed for my celebration when I've hexed you into oblivion."

"Expelliarmus!" cried Narcissa, jabbing her wand toward Snape, then Lucius. Both the men's wands flew from their hands, and they shot her icy glares. "Now then, if you would stop acting like fools for one moment! Please don't kill one another on my account. I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: I love Lucius! Even if... please... you mustn't!"

"Cissa." Lucius spoke for the first time. "Please be calm." He strode over to her in a few long strides and clasped her shoulder in his strong fingers. "Do you think Snape a better wizard than I?"

"No, no, of course not, I was just anxious. I'm sorry I slighted your honor, I'm sorry I was unfaithful, I... "

Lucius placed his hand on her other shoulder. "Narcissa, I love you."

"You what?"

"I love you." He bent his head and kissed her softly. "I think I always have... but these past weeks, during your affair with this blood-traitor and some things Bella has said... "

"Oh gods." Narcissa's eyes glowed, and she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck. "Lucius, that's brilliant."

"Excuse me," snapped Snape, "but I take it you withdraw the challenge? Some of us have jobs to return to."

"Yes, and grotty bachelor's lodgings, too," taunted Rodolphus. "Oh... no offense, Rabastan."

"None taken," returned Rabastan cheerily. "You know, this all has me even more dead set against the married state. It's too bad about your lack of an heir, brother."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Snape muttered in the man's ear as he passed. "I've tampered with Bella's birth control potion. Added a Muggle substance called 'Cool-Aide' or something of the sort."

"Well, you did promise revenge," laughed Rabastan. "Good man, carry on."

Snape continued across the meadow alone to where his horse and Muggle-style coach waited.

Rodolphus Apparated back to Chateau Lestrange to check on his wife, who had felt strangely ill that morning.

Rabastan Apparated to Madame Delamour's House of Earthly Pleasure in Knockturn Alley.

Lucius and Narcissa made their way back up the hillside to Malfoy Manor, hand in hand, silently thanking Bella for her Slytherin cunning.

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End Note: This was the first HP fic I ever wrote (I posted it on Pureblood first). I tend to OD on Regency romance, thus the semi-corny ending. Please leave kind reviews!