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melting the ice queen

pairing: narcissa x lucius

warnings: just fluff, some angst

No one had seen Narcissa since the news broke about Andromeda. Bellatrix had already graduated so Lucius knew that he couldn’t rely on the eldest Black sister. The other girls from Slytherin were of no help either. It was beyond irritating. 

Then again, Lucius and Narcissa could barely stand each other. Whenever they were in the same room together, everyone could feel the tension and the daggers in their gazes. There wasn’t a time in the past year when they weren’t arguing and constantly at each other’s throats about the pettiest of things. Narcissa had expressed her disdain for him after he told her that she herself was a nuisance. Now that she was out of sight, he should have been happy, right?

He ignored the whispers of Slytherins as he stormed out of the common room and through the hallways of Hogwarts. If they weren’t gossiping about the Black family, they were wondering why Malfoy was on a mission to find Narcissa. He couldn’t explain it either. Since the start of this year, he found a strange pleasure in their arguments and in her presence. Now, all he wanted to do was to check on her.

When he finally found her, it was in the strangest place. There she was sitting on the shore of the Black Lake, staring out at the murky waters. Her hair was down instead of the pulled back ponytail or tight bun that she was constantly sporting. There was no sign of makeup and she was in plain clothes rather than in her house robes. 

He huffed when he realized that she didn’t recognize his presence. “I hope you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking. Walking into the lake to be drowned by mermaids is much too dramatic, even for you,” Lucius said in a haughty manner, brushing off his robes.

“Go away, Lucius. Today is not the day for a verbal sparring. You can resume your daily insults tomorrow,” Narcissa replied quietly, not bothering to turn to look at him. 

A look of genuine concerned washed over Lucius. He had never seen Narcissa in this state before. She was always a poised and proud woman, never letting a stray hair be out of place. Even in her moments of quiet retaliation, there was a fire in her eyes that could not be extinguished. But this? This was not the Narcissa that he knew.

Not caring if his pants would get messed up, he took a seat beside her and stared out at the lake with her. He was at a loss in more ways than one. He wasn’t certain what he could do to make it better and he was even more baffled at why he wanted to do something. Lucius wasn’t the type to care about anyone, least of all Narcissa. It was why no one was able to entrap him into a real relationship. 

After a few more moments of silence, Narcissa finally turned to Lucius. Her eyes were puffy and red from lack of sleep and the tears that had since run out. If he had seen her any other day, this visage would have made her an easy target for insults. 

“What are you doing here, Lucius?” she asked. Coming out to the lake for was supposed to be a sanctuary. It was where Andromeda and her would visit each other without prying ears. It was where her and Regulus taught each other occlumency. It was supposed to be a place of refuge, but he had invaded her space.

His hand twitched, eager to reach out and cup her cheek, to pull her into his chest. However, he had enough self control to keep his hands to himself. “You shouldn’t be alone,” he finally responded, setting down a hand on the ground beside hers as if it was an offering of a life raft. 

She had been called ice queen for a reason. Her emotions had always been controlled and in check. That’s the way she had to be. All eyes were on her now as the Black family’s last hope. The thought of it was too much. Everything was too much. The weight of it all was crashing down and she couldn’t control herself, even if she had Lucius as an audience.

Narcissa’s face turned away from him as she tried and failed to stop crying. “I didn’t ask you to be here. I didn’t…” she started. the tears started falling again, her arms wrapping around her knees to try and keep her body from shaking. Narcissa could be a cold person when she wanted to be, but she was a person with feelings too. This was something that Lucius knew but never fully grasped until he saw her like this. He shook his head and interrupted her by wrapping his arms firmly around her. “You’re not ridding of me that easily. Later,” he assured her.