Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
"We know," Lucius said calmly, "I thought we had that covered?" he said, confused. I suppressed my urge to groan and searched through my memories again. I would have to go through all of Serena's memories so I wouldn't be caught off guard again. I quickly found the conversation they were having. Old Serena liked Lily; you'd have to be blind not to notice it, but considering how unprogressive the magical community was, I was sure not many noticed. It's not that there was strong discrimination against homosexuality, but it wasn't as widespread and present as it was in the 21st century, my old world. Wizards and witches didn't tend to think about it regularly enough that their first explanation for a same-sex couple being "friendlier" than normal was that they were a couple or liked each other.
The talk between old Serena and Lucius was about how Serena liked Lily, but she knew and was almost sure that Lily was as straight as an arrow. Even though she was practically obsessed with her, she had given in to the fact that they could not be an object. So, she let Lucius organize practically anything in her name to get a better social position. Old Serena wanted to be looked at, envied, and respected. If being someone's wife was the way to go, it was a small price to pay. After all, she only had to give him an heir, and she wouldn't have to have any kind of relationship with that person again.
I wanted to slap old Serena, but unfortunately, she was no longer here, so I was the one who had to deal with her stupid decisions, I sighed.
"Look, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but let's just say I had... some revelations over the summer. Being a man's trophy wife is no longer part of my plans for the future." I grimaced.
"Did something happen? Is everything okay?" I hummed lightly, considering Narcissa's question. She sounded genuinely concerned, so I was thinking about whether or not to be honest, as much as I could without mentioning the company, obviously.
"Okay, look-" I stood up straight while grimacing. "- at the beginning of summer, my 'father' tried to kill me. He left me in a pool of blood and left the house. When I woke up after that, let's say I had an... epiphany? Yeah, let's go with that, about what I want." I shrugged. The pair looked horrified.
"Oh, Morgana, are you okay?!" Narcissa squealed, standing up and starting to search my entire body.
"That bloody Muggle!" Lucius growled through clenched teeth and hands. "Why didn't you tell us anything? Where have you been staying? Has a proper healer seen you? We're going to the infirmary to get you checked out properly. I'll hire a specialist if necessary." I opened my eyes in surprise at the fierceness and determination of his words. I flinched when Narcissa put her hands under my shirt.
"Wow, wow, wow! Hands off the merchandise!" I slapped Narcissa's hands. "I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm healed up and in perfect condition. In fact, I'm better than before. Problems that hadn't been treated have been resolved. I've been living in the Leaky Cauldron while working with Mary, so calm down and stop touching me there!" I slapped Narcissa's hand again as it kept trying to touch inside my clothes.
"Why didn't you warn us?! An owl, and we would have gone to help you, you idiot!" Narcissa finally separated while looking at me angrily and slapping my shoulder annoyingly. I tilted my head slightly, confused.
"Why would I do that?" Wasn't it common sense not to get yourself further into debt with your creditors? And I didn't want to pay more than what old Serena already owed them.
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
We looked at each other awkwardly, or rather, the pair gave me piercing glances, I began to squirm in place. Did I say something wrong? Lucius sighed deeply.
"Serena... what do you think we are?" I blinked a couple of times.
" eeehh ... a sponsor and his sponsored one," I said, pointing at him and then at me. "and the sponsor's fiancée." I pointed at Narcissa, and the pair stared at me as if they wanted to stab my head through. I squirmed again. "D-did I say something wrong?"
"Something?!" Narcissa shrieked angrily. "Very much, Serena! We're friends! " Huh? Friends? Did she have any of those?!
"As Narcissa said, we may have started out with such a sponsor-sponsored relationship, but we hold you in high regard, Serena. You are our friend." Lucius looked almost disappointed. Huh!? The old Serena wasn't aware of that fact, so that means...
"I... have friends?" I murmured in disbelief which stopped the couple. Several emotions crossed their faces. Narcissa almost looked like she wanted to cry before they softened.
"Oh, Serena, of course we are." Narcissa hugged me tightly from the side. I still couldn't believe it. The old Serena had only counted Lily as her friend. No relationship she had made in Slytherin could be called friendship, they were all based on need, give and take, favors and payments, and that was what I thought I had with Lucius and Narcissa. They were only investing in me because I was good at potions, and with my wand, I thought that was where our relationship ended. Apparently, I had been completely wrong. I let Narcissa hug me.
"This is nice," I allowed myself to smile slightly as I clumsily wrapped one hand around Narcissa, who only hugged me tighter.
"I expect an owl next time you have a problem Serena." Lucius said firmly before smiling softly, I nodded as I returned a small smile. "Now, back to the previous conversation, if you don't want a man, that's fine. We can get you a perfect lady to marry." I stopped stiffly. Narcissa beside me squealed.
"I'll ask a few discreet questions; I know some girls who are witches' witches." Lucius nodded with a smile.
"We may not get a girl from a powerful family, but we can lower the standards a bit. They are usually more flexible with second or third daughters since they are not obligated to continue the family line." Narcissa nodded vigorously.
"There's a cute girl in Ravenclaw, she has an older brother, she -"
"Wait! Are you trying to get me a wife?!" I squealed in disbelief as I blushed. Narcissa nodded.
"Of course, she's stupid. She just goes with the flow; as I was saying, she's a little shy, but quite intelligent, I think you'll get along well."
"I don't want a wife!" I squealed embarrassedly, and the pair stopped.
"Why not?" Narcissa looked confused as she tilted her head, I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"You know I appreciate it, and I'm thrilled that you care about me as more than just an investment as I mistakenly thought until now, but I- " I bit my lip in frustration before sighing "- I no longer want everything that " entails " that type of marriage." there it is, Narcissa seemed not to understand it, but Lucius stared at me.
"You want to get out." he said without hesitation, and I nodded without looking at him.
"As I said, I appreciate everything you've done for me, all these years, but... my priorities are different than they were before. Tying myself to the new movement that's emerging is not what I want, nor what I'll ever want, I heard things in the Alley, and it's not as good as they say it's cracked up to be." Lucius frowned. Narcissa seemed confused, shifting her gaze from Lucius to me.
"Is it because of that blood su-because of Evans?" I hissed and ran my hand over my face while sighing.
"Yes? No? Maybe," I shrugged, "I won't say it didn't start with Lily. Joining for me was just a way to impress her." Lucius snorted derisively, and I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I didn't say it was a good idea. The point is, Lily's gone; she's no longer a part of my life, and I accept that. I tried to apologize. I groveled for her, and she didn't accept my apology. There's only so much I can do after that, and I refuse to humiliate myself further."
"Does that mean you broke up with Evans?" Narcissa asked incredulously, and she could understand why. Almost all of Serena's life revolved around Lily and potions; sometimes, she didn't know which was more important, so dropping Lily was something incredible, to say the least.
"Yeah," I said painfully, and it did hurt. The old Serena seemed to be torn apart inside me, "and without Lily, there really wasn't much of a Serena left, that's why, with everything that happened with my father, I decided to... how to put it... reinvent myself at the beginning of the summer." I pointed at myself with both hands. "for the first time, I'm liking this Serena, and I don't want to ruin myself by joining a group where I might end up dead."
"That's not what - "
"That's exactly what's going to happen." I interrupted Lucius, "They talk about the greatness of magic, the supremacy of purebloods, about putting muggles in their place and all that, but I heard the rumors in Knockturn. I spent the last two months in that alley, and people are talking. The leader, that Heir of Slytherin, Lord Voldemort, doesn't care about blood. He'd happily kill any pureblood family if they get in his way; the path to gain more power, and his path is only for him to walk. The rest of his followers will only be on their knees serving him."
I was taking a risk, going so against Voldemort in front of a Malfoy. According to my memories, he hadn't taken the mark yet, but his father was a staunch follower of Voldemort. It was a matter of time, but until then, I had time to prevent Lucius from joining in and dragging Narcissa into that torture just because she was his wife.
"You... are you sure?" Lucius almost looked defeated, which was a surprise. It seemed like he already knew about Voldemort's true face. He just didn't want to face the truth; she had a chance, and she would take it.
"Yes, unfortunately, I am. I'm sure you're more than aware of the deaths and torture of the so-called blood traitors. They are not the only ones who suffer such results; those who fail him, anger him, or simply disagree with his methods or goals are punished. Harshly punished, even if they are his followers." Lucius gritted his teeth.
"There was an increase in the werewolf population in the Alley. According to Mary, there have been more infected in recent years than in the past decades. Greyback has free rein to attack, and he uses it as punishment. I spoke to those werewolves. There are purebloods among them, even several with his mark, the dark mark."
I wasn't lying; Mary had grabbed any werewolf she could to test my potions, and I was shocked when they stripped naked on the full moon for the transformation. Seeing their marks was a sign of how cruel Voldemort really was, even during his first ascension, to allow his followers to be punished in such a way, not to mention the huge scars to match the new lycanthropy.
"No!" Narcissa gasped, completely pale, as she brought her hands to her mouth.
"Damn it!" Lucius cursed as he stood up angrily. I could feel his magic vibrating in the air. I quickly took out a cigarette and offered it to him; Lucius was about to rant. Still, I stuck the cigarette in his mouth. snap The cigarette lit suddenly, surprising him, and made him take an involuntary drag on the cigarette. The effects of my cigarette were almost immediate. He noticed, took it out of his mouth, and looked at it curiously before looking at me in surprise.
"Draft of Peace in a cigarette, not as effective as taking a potion, but it helps enough. It has the advantage that it is not addictive, so taking it often would not be a problem." I shrugged and took out two more cigarettes, I offered one to Narcissa, and she took it hesitantly, I brought mine to my lips and snapped my fingers once more, lighting both cigarettes. Narcissa let out a squeal, but I ignored it. I took a deep drag on my cigarette to relax.
"This is good," Narcissa muttered, exhaling smoke with her eyes closed. Lucius nodded as he slumped back into his seat once more and smoked his cigar. Narcissa latched onto him immediately, and the three of us stayed silent as we smoked.
"So... what do we do?" Lucius finally asked.
"'We' sounds like a pack." I snorted derisively. The pair glared at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Not like that, you idiots, you're my friends. I'll help you in any way I can, because that's what one does for friends apparently." I made a face. "But I'm not in the same position as you. I'm just a half-blood that you sponsored. I doubt I've gotten enough attention to be on Voldemort's radar or his inner circle, so it's easy for me to leave at any time. You guys, or rather you-" I pointed at Lucius. "- are the one in the most trouble; your father is a fervent follower of the Dark Lord, so that leaves you few options, not decent ones either."
"Any ideas?" Lucius sighed tiredly. I hummed lightly in consideration before grimacing.
"Tell me..." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "...let's say... how... attached are you to your father?" The pair looked at me expressionlessly, and I couldn't help but squirm again. "Don't look at me like that! That would solve a lot of problems."
"Unfortunately... you're right," Lucius sighed before taking another drag on his cigar, "and... not much really." he finally confessed.
"Lucy, are you really thinking about... " Narcissa asked worriedly, and I couldn't help but snort in amusement.
"Lucy?" I blurted out involuntarily, I could see a vein bulging in Lucius' neck.
"I wouldn't want to; we may not be very close to each other, but still... he's my father." Lucius masterfully ignored me while hugging Narcissa. "Besides, I have other priorities now," he said, kissing Narcissa on the crown of her head.
"Oh, Lucy." Narcissa practically fainted.
"Oh Merlin, I'm going to throw up," seriously, I can't stop these things from escaping from my mouth. Another vein grew on Lucius' temple; Narcissa noticed it and kissed Lucius on the cheek.
"Ignore her; she's just jealous that I have someone as wonderful as you." I couldn't help, nor did I want to avoid the gag that came out of my throat. Narcissa glared at me annoyedly. I rolled my eyes amusedly.
"Getting back to the topic, you don't have to decide. You have other options, like running away from the country for 5 or 10 years, maybe more. You still have this last year of school to think about something and make a decision." Lucius nodded with a frown. "and by the way-" I wrinkled my nose at Narcissa, "never, I would never be jealous of having a guy like Malfoy, no offense-" Lucius rolled his eyes. "-let alone a man, but if it's the other way around, I would be jealous of Malfoy for having someone like you. Really, what did you see in someone like Lucius." I asked mockingly as I leaned back in my seat. Lucius practically bristled at my statement and hugged Narcissa tightly and jealously.
"Get your own, Narcissa's mine," he practically growled. Narcissa giggled slightly, blushing, and I rolled my eyes amusedly once again.
"So? How was your vacation? " The pair, specifically Narcissa, took my change of topic quickly and forcefully and began ranting about everything Summer did. Lucius gave a long-suffering look while I just smiled and gave a few comments here and there.