Serenity | 1

EIGHTEEN

"A Lovely Christmas"

December 1966, 2 months later

It was the night before the students of Hogwarts were due to leave to have Christmas with their families and Slughorn had decided to host a small soiree for his club members and their partners. As the orchestra played quietly, he smiled proudly as each of them entered the room one by one.

The Senate twins entered in their usual coat and tails accompanied by their sister and Andromeda Black- the two girls wearing similar dresses distinguished only by their house colours. Out of the three Black sisters Andromeda was, in fact, the nicest and looked beautiful in her emerald gown. Lakita glanced around hesitantly and tugged at her shorter yellow dress- she'd never been to an event like this before. Not too far behind, trailed Serenity in pale pink dress that kissed at her ankles with every step. Clinging to her arm like a monkey, Merritt entered beside her in the blue dress Serenity had worn at her first Slug Club event. The two sisters joined the Senates and Andromeda after greeting Slughorn and accepting a drink.

The room they were in was white, decorated fabulously with golden chandeliers and petals showering from the ceiling that disappeared before they could hit anything. The candles in the room were a warmer orange than they usually were and sheer white curtains shielded the night sky. Other members and guests entered the room and joined the party, the room was buzzing with excitement when he arrived.

Lucius Malfoy wore a velvet tuxedo coloured a deep plum. His hair was slicked across his scalp but fell freely about his shoulders, each lock of hair curling, twisting and jumping every which way. His icy gaze did nothing to soften the scowl that rested on his face when he wasn't necessarily engaging in conversation. To anyone else in the room he would be unapproachable. Nonetheless, Slughorn gave a hearty laugh and pat the boy on the back. The third-year seemed to scowl deeper at the contact yet offered a charming grin when Slughorn offered a drink.

While pretending to hear the Professor, Lucius' eyes wandered. He felt as though he was searching for someone yet he was at a loss for a name. A loud burst of laughter from across the room drew his gaze; there.

She was wearing a different dress but that laugh, her voice and the way she held herself. She was who he was looking for. When she met his eyes from across the room her laughter faded, she could feel his eyes on her the entire time he excused himself from his conversation with Slughorn and began to approach her.

Pushing her way through the crowd in front of her, Serenity meets him in the middle of the room.

"Hello." He states gruffly before clearing his throat.

"Hello, Lucius," she greets with a small smile, "am I mistaken or were you staring at me?" He shakes his head with a frown.

"No, no, I was looking for you."

"Oh?" She crosses her arms, the playful grin on her face mocked him considering he had, in fact, been caught red-handed. He clears his throat again and nods. "Did you have something to say?"

"I didn't see you at the last dinner." He states and searches her face for any indication of insult in her smile- there was no way she could be this beautiful without some kind of malicious intent. Instead, she shook her head with that same lovely smile.

"I didn't feel like going, everytime I go Slughorn asks me to do some magic and it's exhausting." Nodding understandably, Lucius glances over at the professor.

"He can be overbearing sometimes."

"Sometimes?" She giggles. The sound a melody in his ears that he wanted to hear over and over again- the orchestra seemed to have shut up completely when she laughed and the other guests disappeared. It was just them now. "Try all the time." And reality came crashing back to him. The conversation was back on track, the orchestra was playing and there was more than two dozen people around them.

"Yes, all right, you make a good point. In his defense, your magic is extraordinary..." he stumbles over his words slightly, an involuntary action that startles and offends him mildly. "You're extraordinary." The pounding in his chest and the struggle it took to say those two words felt like a betrayal of his own mind. He never gor nervous, he was a sure and confident boy of thirteen and he would be damned if some girl would make him stumble over his words.

Yet, again, Serenity smiled her smile that made something in his chest tickle.

"You're not so bad yourself, Lucius." She states calmly. Her name is called from across the room which draws her attention. Every moment her face was turned away made him angry, he wanted to see her face again. That anger completely vanished when she looks back at him. "I have to go," she says and his heart drops slightly, "merry Christmas, Lucius."

"Merry Christmas, Serenity." He responds, but by that point she'd already walked away.

A/N

So they finally have a real conversation and ikkle Lucius has a crush