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“Oh, please. Who would want to bond with Evans?” Narcissa Black snorted. “She’s a Mudblood Gryffindor. She’ll be lucky if some old pureblood decides to make her his mistress. I’m sure she knows that, at least. I’ll bet she’s too dumb to be careful, too. She’ll have to let him kill her illegitimate children.” Narcissa snickered with Ursula Urquhart.
Lilith Evans felt her throat swell shut. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but, Merlin, she was so glad she had. What an idiot she’d been to assume Narcissa’s offer of friendship once Lilith became a New Blood was actually sincere!
Everything was supposed to be different now! She was meant to be accepted in society as a lady.
If Potter smiled that lecherous smile at her once more, she was going to castrate him and accept the consequences. Azkaban would be better than Hogwarts right now—anything to get a holiday from Potter and his obsession with her.
“Maybe I’ll let slip in a conversation that Evans got drunk and slept with Potter.”
“Did she really?” Ursula asked.
“Of course, not. Evans isn’t that stupid.” Narcissa huffed and then gloated, “Lucius will never look at her again!”
That’s what this was all about? Lucius Malfoy? Narcissa intended to start rumors to keep Lucius Malfoy from looking at her? Weren’t Severus Snape and Narcissa courting, still? So why should Narcissa care if Lucius liked Lilith?
If Narcissa was using Severus to make Lucius jealous. . . .
“Oh, you’ll pay for that,” Lilith hissed. She wiped the tears from her lashes and straightened her shoulders, head upright and proud. Narcissa could be jealous all she wanted, and it wasn’t going to change a thing; if Lucius was the slightest bit interested in Lilith, she’d steal him before Narcissa ever had a chance.
As Lilith took a deep breath and smoothed her styled hair, she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t mind having Lucius as her own, even if Narcissa weren’t involved. The Malfoy Heir had captivated her since they had met in Knockturn Alley. However, she had never imagined that he might be interested in her: a Mudblood turned New Blood. If she hadn’t overheard Narcissa just now, she would’ve always assumed that he tolerated her presence, at best. Now she had hope, small though it may be.
Lucius had proven himself to be a Slytherin through and through. He would enjoy revenge, cunning, and guile. She knew just how to get him, and how to get Narcissa to shut her trap.
Lilith entered the Great Hall, not too far behind Narcissa and Ursula. She walked to the Slytherin table, to the astonishment of the occupants of the room, and stopped at the middle of the table, the side with its back to the wall—allowing utmost protection—where Lucius held court as Head Boy.
“What do you want, Evans?” Narcissa asked, face twisted in disgust, as if she smelled something putrid.
Lucius held up his hand to silence her, and then turned his head, focusing on Lilith and nothing else. “Yes?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked in query.
Lilith grinned at Lucius and lifted her robes just long enough to show him her ankles, before sinking into a very deep curtsey. “I apologize for the late acceptance, Lucius. I had some matters of estate to attend to, as I’m sure you understand.” It was a small estate to be sure, but her entitlement from her sponsorship family, the Princes, deserved ever bit of care and attention.
Narcissa leapt to her feet, body quivering, face red. “How dare you address him by his given—”
“Hush up, Narcissa!” Regulus Black snapped as he leaned warily away from Lucius.
“Indeed, I do,” Lucius replied as he met her upturned gaze.
“If you can forgive the unbearable rudeness of the lateness of my reply, I would be honored to spend the Yule break at Malfoy Manor, becoming acquainted with my future mother-in-law and father-in-law,” Lilith said. She successfully kept the blush off her cheeks as she spewed one lie after another. Please let Narcissa have been right, she thought. Please let him have been casting eyes at me.
Lucius’s eyes softened as a smirk split his face. He offered her his hand, and lifted her out of her curtsey. “Mother and Father will be pleased to hear that, darling. They’ve been dying to get to know you better. Mother is most insistent on taking you to her milliner and dressmaker in Paris. She’s adamant that your trousseau outshine every other ordered this century.”
Narcissa fainted, and everyone was so riveted on watching Lucius and Lilith that no one even attempted to catch her.
Even though it was a lie, it was a sweet one. How wonderful would it be if his parents really did welcome her into the Malfoy family and love her, as her own had been unable to do after discovering she was a witch?
Lilith flushed and averted her eyes. “She doesn’t have to do that for me.”
“Yes, she does. My future bride deserves top quality,” Lucius said as he stroked her cheek. “Malfoys always deserve top quality. Why do you think I fell in love with you, Lilith?” The words were spoken with painful sincerity.
“Because you didn’t know any better?” Lilith teased as she stepped closer to him at his urging.
Lucius snapped his fingers and Rodolphus Lestrange grumbled and slid down the bench, leaving an open space next to Lucius. Lilith sat and Lucius wrapped an arm around her waist. “Oh, I can assure you that I knew precisely what I was doing when I set out to capture you, darling.”
“You did, did you?”
“Yes, I did.” His tone brooked no argument. Lucius kissed her forehead, and then shifted until Lilith took the hint and laid her head on his shoulder. “Eat, darling. And after lunch I’ll write my parents and tell them you’ve accepted after all.”
“As you wish, Lucius.” Lilith picked up a peach and took a bite, before setting it on his plate. She wasn’t all that hungry; she was never hungry when she was nervous.
Once conversation picked up in the Great Hall, speculation and babble drowning out almost all else, Lucius leaned down and spoke in her ear. “Tell me you meant that.” His voice was harsh and cruel, as if he would greatly like to torture someone if she backed out of their sudden engagement.
Despite the dark tone, she could hear the pain beneath it all. How long had he been interested, while she wasn’t paying attention? She couldn’t remember him giving any indication of interest, but then, she hadn’t looked at him often, in fear that she would reveal where her interests lay. While she was still a Mudblood, she was sure that he would never consider her anyway. And he hadn’t seemingly changed his attentions since her official recognition as a New Blood.
“With all my heart, my lord,” Lilith whispered.
Lucius’s grip became almost excruciatingly tight as he hugged her even closer. “Mine.”
Lilith rolled her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. She remembered all the nights she had told the girls in the dorm that a possessive man would drive her mental. Some of the purebloods took it so far that they decided who their wives were allowed to converse with, what topics were appropriate, and so on. After years of being stalked by Potter, she hadn’t wanted to surrender control to anyone.
“I belong to myself,” she whispered. She didn’t want to start an argument where others could hear it, but Lilith couldn’t be passive and allow him to think she would accept the strictest pureblood lifestyle. She didn’t mind most of the customs, but she wasn’t going to be chattel. She deserved better than that.
She could hear the sound of his teeth grinding before he replied. “I know.” Lilith could tell how much it had hurt for him to speak those two words. His lips brushed against her hair as he said, “But you’ll bond with me.”
Lilith nodded.
“You’ll take my name.”
Grinning, Lilith nodded again.
“You’ll live in my family manor, in our chambers.”
“Yes,” she whispered. The image he was painting in her mind inspired a feeling of peace and safety. Lilith could only imagine that being in her husband’s home would be loving and soothing.
Lucius twined his fingers with hers beneath the table. “You’ll let me love you, and create a family with you.”
Heat singed her cheeks, but Lilith didn’t care. Despite what everyone might think, she didn’t want to be an Unspeakable. She wanted to be a wife and mother—to offer love and protection to her family. “I’m looking forward to it,” Lilith replied cheekily.
His next words were so soft that she almost didn’t hear them. “And you’ll love me.” It sounded like a desperate plea from a broken man, instead of a confident statement from a pureblood heir. What had she been unwittingly doing to him all these years to make him speak like that?
Lilith stared into his eyes and offered the assurance that was rapidly becoming familiar. It would have to be enough—until he trusted her feelings were real and unwavering. “With all my heart, my lord.”