Hey, Soul Sister [Lucius/Narcissa]

Chapter Forty-Four

A/N: Thank you to justforpractice for writing with me on chapters 35-43, and thank you all for reading. I greatly appreciate hearing from you. There were some plot issues pointed out to me by readers that needed rectified for the sake of continuity, and that's the reason for the double notification. I'm very sorry about that—I wanted to make sure you knew that portions of chapters 42 onward have been modified. I would love to hear whether you think this version of events flows. Thank you for your patience. x

***

Lucius stared into the dormant fireplace without seeing the stone or the logs. He was trying hard to shake away the mental fog that had surrounded him since the loss of his father and pull himself together, and this was proving much more difficult than he'd planned.

***

"What are all these for, Father?" Lucius ran his fingertips over the sealed letters covering his father's desk as he watched Abraxas sort through a stack of papers that towered over the boy's head.

"Connections. You'll understand, one day. Communication is the way to ensure our family's future—alliances. It'll come easily to you, when you're older. You'll make friends in high places, and you'll be respected."

***

Lucius bit back a sigh. He'd done decently in terms of friends; he had allies in the Ministry, according to Eugenia Jenkins. He was respected by the majority of his peers, barring the ones with whom he'd had disagreements, and though that number seemed to be on the rise lately, the amount of people who thought highly of him still outweighed those who did not.

He glanced over to the bed and watched the peaceful expression Narcissa wore as she slept. Her worries were nowhere to be found, and her hand rested over the spot where his heart had been when he'd lain beside her before getting up quietly to gather his thoughts. Lucius didn't particularly mind making enemies, if doing so ensured her safety. Just when he'd thought they would be left to themselves now that their ordeal with Rowle was—in theory—at an end and now that Narcissa was free of her parents, they'd been blindsided.

Who are we supposed to trust?

He shook his head as he looked back into the fireplace, his hand moving unconsciously to his abdomen, where Thorfinn had landed his first blow before the one to the nose that had been too much to bear. Augustus had been there when things had turned violent but not when Lucius and Walden had awoken, and Lucius could only hope something worse hadn't happened to him. Lucius severely regretted snapping at Augustus at the funeral. He supposed he'd allowed his insecurities and fears of losing Narcissa to get the better of him—Walden had told him that Augustus held feelings for her, after all, and the last thing Lucius needed at the moment was to make another enemy.

He knew he and Narcissa could trust Walden and Lenore, at least, and Avalon. A pang of regret shot through Lucius's stomach as he recalled that he hadn't gone to check on any of them after they'd returned from the scuffle at The Three Broomsticks. He greatly appreciated how willing Walden had been to help him, and he hated that they'd both managed to be injured and frighten everyone who cared about them in the process. I'll go and find them all and thank them for sticking by us, he thought. He'd yet to have the conversation, but he knew he wanted Walden to serve as best man in his wedding.

Lucius heard a soft yawn from behind him, and he turned toward the sound, smiling as he watched Narcissa stretch. He stood and moved over to the bed, and he sat beside her before leaning down to kiss her lips gently.