Dinner with the Malfoys -- thread

[devoted_master]

Lucius had sent Severus his request to come over for dinner Friday, and as it was Friday, he was certainly going to be home early to make sure everything was prepared. He was looking forward to Sunday morning, of course, but every day in its own time

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[purebloodcissa]

Narcissa sat in the sitting room sipping wine from a tall glass, waiting. She did it every day. Just sat and waited for Lucius to arrive. Lucius was always working late, and there was no telling where Draco was these days, so she just sat and waited until dinner was served, then ate in silent solitude and retired to bed in the same fashion.

Hearing the front door close and a small squeak from a House Elf, Narcissa's ears perked and she looked towards the doors that lead to the hall. "Lucius," she said and smiled warmly, seeing her husband enter the room.

[devoted_master]

Lucius' lips curled slowly as they always did when he first saw his wife. "Narcissa." He walked to the table and poured himself a glass of wine, setting his cane on the back of a chair. "Have you been waiting long, my dear?"

[purebloodcissa]

Narcissa stood and crossed over to Lucius, placing her hand over his. "Too long, darling."

[devoted_master]

Lucius in turn set down his wine to take her hand, holding it between his gloved hands with a slight tilt of his head. "Too long? I did apologize for being busy, dearest. The Dark Lord expects me to keep everything running smoothly, and I cannot give him any reason to doubt me again. You don't doubt that I am still your loving husband, do you?"

[purebloodcissa]

"I have no doubts in our marriage, Lucius. But I do wish you were home more often so we could enjoy it. You're needed here as well." Narcissa raised her hand and softly caressed her husband's cheek. "Surely our Lord would understand the importance of that?"

[devoted_master]

Lucius raised his hand and covered hers on his cheek, leaning into their hands. "I will not ask him, but I will try to be here for you more. I doubt he understands the importance of family in the same way you or I do. It would mean forgiving someone for their weakness, and you know he is not like that." He took her hand and kissed it before leaning in to kiss her cheek delicately. "I am here now. Isn't that what's important?"

[purebloodcissa]

"Yes, it is," Narcissa said. "Now please, come sit." She held his hand and lead him around to sit on one of the small sofa's in the sitting room. "I want to here about what work is so important as to steal my husband away from me."

[devoted_master]

Lucius sat, taking his gloves off slowly with a shake of his head. "It is difficult being the head of a department, my dear. I have Fenrir making requests of the runaways he's been catching, and I have to appease him. You know I'm the go between for him and The Dark Lord, so I must handle many things. Sometimes I must deal with even the Slaves themselves. It's quite trying." He paused to look at the nearby clock, wondering how much longer their dinner guest would be, as he wasn't thrilled with having to discuss work. Another thought made him change the subject a bit. "Have you been shopping much, my dear? I believe you mentioned needing a new riding crop. Hopefully you haven't needed to use it much on your new toy."

[purebloodcissa]

Narcissa smiled to herself at her husband's clever change of topic. She knew he didn't enjoy talking about work, but she was satisfied with anything he would talk about. As long as he was home and talking. "I bought a new one yesterday, actually. The other one broke under rather unfortunate circumstances. It seems that after repeated lashings, one well placed hit will snap it right in two." She reached for her wine glass and took a sip, peering at her husband out of the corner of her eye. "It's good to have you home, dear."

[cold_as_snape]

Dinner with Lucius and Narcissa was, more often than not, quite the experience. Severus arrived at the manor in his customary black from head to toe, though in newer robes that hadn't yet faded from the wash. A knock on the door brought the house elf answering, squeaking a greeting as it opened the door and ran off to announce him to Lucius and Narcissa.

[devoted_master]

Lucius turned his head as they were interrupted and stood, returning to the table to retrieve his wine. "Yes, you've announced him," Lucius said, a bit snippy, "now send him in."

Lucius glared at the house elf as it took off back to bring Severus into the sitting room, then turned to his wife. "Really, we should have guests more often. I think our servants are out of practice."

[purebloodcissa]

Narcissa wrinkled her nose and the small Elf announced Severus' arrival. She'd never liked House Elves, she'd always found them disgusting, but she couldn't deny that they were devoted servants. "I believe I can fix that problem. I'll start tomorrow."

[cold_as_snape]

"On what?" Severus asked, catching the last bit of Narcissa's words as he entered the room, the house elf promptly vanishing to go do whatever house elves did. "Narcissa, Lucius," he said each with a bow of his head. "A pleasure to see you both again."

[devoted_master]

Lucius grinned, smirking a bit that Severus had caught the end of the conversation. "Our House Elves, Severus. Narcissa prides herself in breaking them in, and I do believe she does a good job of it." He walked past her, stroking her cheek with his fingertips as he approached Severus. "Wine?" He offered his own glass, quite content with getting himself another.

[purebloodcissa]

Narcissa smiled at Lucius, then turned her attention to Severus. "Severus," she said warmly. "It's so good to see you." She walked over to Severus and kissed him on both cheeks, her standard greeting for close friends of the family. "It's been a long time."

[cold_as_snape]

"So I've been told," Severus murmured, taking the glass from Lucius, fingers just barely moving over the other man's before he lifted it from his glass. "You're looking as beautiful as ever, Narcissa. And you are looking well, Lucius."