Liv
Slytherin
Posts: 5 
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Post by Liv on Sept 22, 2012 4:14:47 GMT -5
Wednesday 16th September, Evening The sun rose and everyone followed. Five girls in the dungeon of an ancient castle knew the sun had returned before they felt its rays tease their retinas. Narcissa walked straight out of her bed in a silk slip to the floor length mirror which stood in the corner of the dormitory. It was an antique piece procured by her great great ... great, and another few at that, grandmother. The carvings on the frame were magnificently intricate depicting the story of the Maiden and he snakes. It was a divine horror. As a routine, Cissa went to her ancestor’s mirror every morning and admired herself, before kissing her reflection delicately, thanking her ancestors for the genes they had bestowed upon her and praising her own beauty. She was not modest.
Once she had showered, she sat at her dressing table as her doting friends brushed her hair and she told them stories. Not everybody could be blessed with her life and Cissa was well aware that there were many less fortunate than she who must find tales of her life simply fascinating. All the girls whom she kept company were high breed aristocratic ladies, but none were as noble as she. Or as beautiful for that matter. Again, far from modest.
Cissa told them of her plans for the evening and slipped momentarily into a day dream as her excitement brewed for tonight’s events. Lucius Malfoy, the heir to the Malfoy estate and Abraxis Malfoys’ only son, had asked her to join him at his manor in Wiltshire for the evening. The invite had come during a chance encounter in Hogsmeade that weekend. It was brief but memorable, and butterflies filled her stomach at the thought.
The girls combing her hair were giggling most unladylike which snapped her sharply from her dreams. They were sharing their own plans for a night without their beautiful pack leader. A party – her cheeks flushed with anger as she heard her cousin’s name and she stood quickly, snatching the wand from her dresser and, with a sharp flick, sending the hair brush flying dramatically across the room thudding into the wall.
“Don’t you dare speak his name to me,” she demanded, “And no proper lady would be caught dead at such an event!” Sirius Black had offended an ancient name abandoning his family roots and heartlessly defying his own parents by rebelling and ultimately leaving home. Cissa wanted no more to do with him, but everywhere she turned this week all she heard was whispers of this party. The whole school it seemed would be there. What a joke. She sent her friends away to think about their error, why would noble born women associated willingly with wrongfully arrogant scum like her cousin.
The thought irritated her all day, but she soon perked up as the time came for her big date. She wore her best new robes over knee length pencil dress, with all her favourite jewellery – black family heirlooms. Bella had no interest and Meda couldn’t have them, so Cissa got to keep them all much to her delight. She had gotten permission to leave the castle for an evening and met a tiny house elf outside the front gates at six. It called itself Debbie or something, and Cissa crinkled her nose as the creature insisted she hold its hand. When she refused it grabbed her leg, much to her dismay, and with a loud pop they were at the gates of the rather impressive Malfoy Manor. The elf walked through the grounds and into the Malfoy family home, offering her a seat in the lounge to wait on master Lucius. It was a stunning room, decorated with an array of ancestors from the Malfoy line, filled with the history of an ancient family. Narcissa knew anyone this proud of their heritage was worth her time. |
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Post by Lucius Malfoy on Sept 22, 2012 5:32:24 GMT -5
Lucius had an abnormally busy weak. His work at the ministry was taxing enough, but it was his second life that kept him off his feet lately. In the space of three days he had intimidated five high powered political figures into resigning and promptly had them replaced with his own men, successfully kidnapped and tortured several aurors and suspected members of an apparent resistance for information on their plans and organised attacks on several large muggle institutions. The world was descending into chaos and he was leading his own attack.
That day he had spent organising his own promotion in the Ministry. Now that he had replaced his superior with someone he controlled, they were – oddly enough – more than happy to promote him. Once he established himself further he could begin to root out the enemies within until the Dark Lord’s forces controlled the entire political centre of the magical community. Then the fun could really start. It had not been confirmed, but Lucius’ position after the war was almost certainly the very height of political ladder. There was a lot for him in this new world, which was why he was willing to do almost anything to accomplish it.
That evening he and some of the Death Eaters he kept closest had returned to his empty Wiltshire home, as his mother and father were away visiting the wizard communities of close European countries. Malfoy manor was where Lucius had grown up and he had extremely fond memories of the place. It was a stunning building, with an intricate design right down to the dungeons. He and his colleagues escorted a muggle-born man who had assisted a defence force of traitorous wizards during one of their attacks on a large muggle building in London. The resistance was substantial, but this was the only man they caught. Lucius himself apprehended the man as most of his witless associates seemed more content to fire curses than think about how valuable the information could be. They spent the evening torturing the man and Lucius completely lost track of the time, a trait he didn’t usually suffer, as his house elf informed him he had company.
After instructing his associates to leave the man where he was and discretely leave – Lucius had a quick shower to wash the dirty blood from himself , dressed himself a tad more respectably and descended the huge staircase to meet his guest. He had only met Narcissa a couple of times, but each time he did she had become strikingly more attractive. She was perfection, not just in her beauty but her attitude. Lucius needed a respectable partner, and though he didn’t have much time for a relationship he knew how good it would look to take a wife.
“Narcissa, welcome,” he said, taking her hand and brushing it with his lips. He heard a scream from downstairs and quickly cleared his throat rather loudly in an attempt to cover the noise. They would pay for that later. “Excuse me, the winter colds are going around already it seems. You look beautiful.” Lucius took the seat o the right of her, his father’s arm chair, and genuinely admired her loos. “I must apologise for our last encounter, when we met in Hogsmeade I regret I was overrun with work but I couldn’t let you leave without catching up. How are your parents? And your sister?” He kept that singular, he didn’t want to insult her by bringing up the other. Two traitors in one generation was embarrassing for a family such as hers, Lucius couldn’t imagine how she must feel.
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Liv
Slytherin
Posts: 5
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Post by Liv on Sept 26, 2012 12:27:53 GMT -5
Narcissa was made to wait a good while before Lucius emerged. She wasn’t normally the patient type. Years of getting her own way and being the spoilt child had left her with a demanding attitude. Even in her classes she had distaste for being told what to do by certain professors whom she didn’t think much of. As she got older she learnt the skill of keeping these feelings to herself in certain situations and putting a lid on her spoilt attitude. She still felt she deserved preferential treatment but at least now she could mask her annoyance.
In this case she was irritated but knew when to keep her mouth shut. Lucius, she understood, was a busy man and, whilst he knew she was coming, probably had many other things to balance in order to see her. So when he finally did emerge she said nothing of it and stood to greet him. He kissed her hand, the perfect gentlemen. When he sat she took her own seat once more at the end of the settee, cross legged and ladylike, baring her most dazzling smile.
“Why thank you Lucius. My parents are very well, it’s kind of you to ask. And I’m almost certain you’ve seen more of my sister than I have these past months,” Narcissa said knowingly, a faint smile across her lips. She was not oblivious to what was going on, far from it, but she wasn’t sure that was the life for her. Cissa wasn’t the type to want blood on her hands. Her sister on the other hand she was certain wanted just that. Bella had been awfully busy the past summer, though she hadn’t settled on a job since Hogwarts, Cissa wasn’t stupid and had heard enough rumour to put two and two together. She loved gossip, but wasn’t foolish enough to confuse it with delicate information. Having heard the rumours about Lucius and bumping into him in Hogsmeade, Cissa was pretty convinced her suspicions were correct, but she would not press the matter. She changed the subject swiftly.
“I hear you’re an important man these days? I spoke to my father and he informed me you’re becoming quite the –” She paused as they both heard a scream and Lucius attempted to mask the noise. Again, she was not stupid enough to miss that but nor was she foolish enough to bring it up. “He tells me you’re moving up quickly,” she finished, resisting breaking eye contact with him as much as she wanted to look towards the source of the scream. Cissa wasn’t even sure she wanted to know. “Congratulations. Are you enjoying your work?”
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Post by Lucius Malfoy on Oct 13, 2012 15:08:31 GMT -5
Every move she made he followed, she was the true aristocratic lady, utterly flawless. Lucius hadn’t spent much time with Cissa since they were children, but she’d grown up marvellously. He couldn’t truly say she was perfection, he had too much to learn about her, he only knew that her mannerisms and the way she held herself were to him just what he expected of a lady of the most noble house of Black. She was as close to perfect as he had ever seen. Lucius had already decided he would pursue the youngest Black until she was his. Her station, her wealth, her appearance all were exactly what he needed and he wouldn’t stop until he had such a lady of his own.
Even after the scream she continued with polite conversation. Bella would have been down there flexing dark magic already, and most other ladies of pureblood society would not have been able to mask their horror so fluently. There was a mutual understanding between them, he realised. They were playing a very strange game. She clearly knew what he was doing, and he had realised that, but neither one was about to bring it up or talk about it. It was an extremely large elephant in the room, that everyone in it pretended not to see. He liked that attitude. She had obviously become accustomed to hiding her awareness of these dark times in the family.
“One could say that,” Lucius agreed, trying his hand at modesty. “I have my father to thank for the opportunity of course, but I have progressed quickly from intern to department vice.” In truth, he had his dark associates to thank for that. “I am enjoying it,” he admitted, truthfully he was. In a short time he’d carved out an empire from his position in the inside and his influence with the dark forces. Half the ministry was under their control now. They owned the city and nobody had even realised yet. Whatever administrative work he would have had to endure without his powerful allies would have probably been far less enjoyable.
“Have you given any thought to what path you might pursue, after Hogwarts?” The question was laced with a dozen others. Would she follow her sister’s example? Bella was in a world of her own. Lucius dealt with some dangerous men of late. They were terrific for getting ones dirty work done efficiently, and there were plenty of thugs around to fill that purpose. But Bellatrix had a dark, violent genius in her ways that concerned even he. She was a rival for his own authorative position within the Dark Lord’s organisation. Cissa didn’t quite seem the type, but nor did he think she would defect as Meda had.
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Liv
Slytherin
Posts: 5
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Post by Liv on Oct 14, 2012 4:43:30 GMT -5
The little house elf who had dared touch her returned with drinks and Cissa took a shallow glass of liquor poured over ice, with a grateful look to Lucius and a discerning glare at the little elf. She didn’t like to be handled by such lesser creatures. Tentatively sipping her drink, she eyed Lucius over the tip of her glass as he spoke about his career. Something about the way he talked made her suspicious to what his actual job entailed, but she didn’t need to know. It was enough to know he was involved with certain things she’d be better off not knowing.
Lucius asked what she would do herself after leaving Hogwarts and she treated him to one of her more mischievous smiles. A lady like herself did not have to think to far. Cissa had grown up spoilt by her father whilst enjoying every luxury in life without any concern for money or labour. She very much intended to continue with her privileged life with another man providing the budget. In truth she didn’t even know what she would do if she did choose to work. She was talented with magic. Potions was a struggle for her as she understood it quite well but hated the dirty work. Similarly, care of magical creatures had been difficult when she hated most sub species. But generally speaking she was intelligent, she just had no work ethic or professional ambition. Cissa had been made aware from an early age that it was possible, quite easy in fact, to live a sheltered life with your husband’s money. Taking a page from her mother’s book, Cissa worked hard to maintain her image and beauty rather than think of any career paths.
So when Lucius asked she simply smiled and met his glance, eyes sparkling. It seemed he had everything she needed not to answer that question. But then, it would be rather rude to ignore it. “I’m a lady of leisure,” she said, her smile pulling further to a slight grin. She was an extreme lightweight and after finishing her glass of firewhisky, her cheeks were already stinging with giddiness she fought to contain. But she had had enough practice not to lose her composure, just allow it to falter ever slightly. “After Hogwarts I hope to return to my leisurely affairs, I have so much catching up to do. I regret to have to admit this, but I am awfully behind.” |
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Post by Lucius Malfoy on Nov 2, 2012 13:56:16 GMT -5
The time had flown by with Cissa’s company. When he checked what hour it was, it seemed unbelievable. Lucius was delighted with how easy their relationship came. With all the controversy surrounding her house of late, he had his doubts over whether she would still be suitable. The whole Sirius affair had really tarnished their reputation. Lucius wasn’t one to disregard a lifetime of noble breeding over one runt, but his father was another story. If he said no, Lucius would have to switch his attentions to another – but he really hoped that would not be the case.
The evening had truly been an enjoyable one. He was highly irritated therefore, when his attentions were stolen for the sake of business. Nobody should be harassed for anything at this hour, the young Malfoy thought to himself. The little elf looked terribly flustered when he entered and spoke shakily.
“Master Malfoy, sir,” it quivered, “Some guests demand your presence for a... business problem.”
Lucius really didn’t like this. It was bad enough the activities in his own home, as his basement had been offered up for some of their more private works. But unannounced visitors bringing problems to his door while he entertained respectable guests was simply out of order.
“Excuse me, Narcissa,” he said, regrettably. “I must see to this. I’ll return shortly.”
With that he left the lounge, closing the doors behind him and making his way down to the basement where the elf would have lead them. What he saw was genuinely beyond his imagination. Lucius hadn’t even imagined the young teenagers he had enlisted to cause Gamp’s daughter some pain would have the stomach to damage her much at all. She was known to be a rather delicate thing, easily scared he presumed. It was totally unnecessary to carve open her skull and... Well, here they were. The girl had been placed on a table for examination, but it was clear there wasn’t anything which could be done. No magic could truly restore life.
The Dark Lord would have been furious, had the murder been witnessed or exposed. The intricate plan to take control of their society was hinged on major institutions such as Hogwarts. If a body was found, it would almost certainly see the board demand its closure, if not Dumbledore himself. An attack however, that was enough to keep the school open whilst planting seeds of doubt in the ability of its headmaster to protect his students. Plus it would convince Gamp, father of the victim, to take their threats to heart. But with his daughter dead, how much more did he have to lose. The man would probably defy them further out of grief and vengeance. What a mess.
Rabastan and Alecto were the deliverers of this news, and the corpse. “How dare you show up to my home with your mess. This -“ Lucius was at a loss for words with the state of the girl. “The Dark Lord will be furious,” he warned them. “You will beg for his forgiveness for this failure, Lestrange, and you Carrow will beg for your life.” He considered them both, pacing around the dungeon. This would be a problem. “But first, explain to me what occurred tonight to cause such a monumental mistake, and what you intend to do to rectify it.”
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