The Half-Blood Rose

Chapter Three: A Trip Down Memory Lane

September 1965

11-year old Beatrice Blackthorn gets sorted into Slytherin house, much to her surprise. She wasn't the typical Slytherin. She usually valued other people's emotions and thoughts, and didn't regularly justify certain means to certain ends. Could the Sorting Hat been wrong this time? It did seem to stall for a bit . . .

Next. "Lucius Malfoy—Slytherin!" The platinum-blond kid smiled knowingly and sat himself down at the Slytherin table. Beatrice looked at him briefly, and he smiled at her, but that's about it. They didn't talk. Boys hung with boys, and girls hung with girls. They didn't mind with silly stuff like crushes, and most of them were more excited by Hogwarts itself than anything else.

Up until the fourth year of Hogwarts, when Lucius and Beatrice were 14 years old, they wouldn't have spoken much, except for the occasional greeting. Lucius would sometimes ask Beatrice for notes, as she was gifted in certain subjects he was lacking in, and this helped bridge a casual friendship between the two. In third year, he'd buy candy from Hogsmeade to pay her back for her services, as she would help him study, and he would defend her against bullies that would try to pester her for being introverted.

When fourth year started, Beatrice had stepped out of her shell more and became more rebellious. She listened to obscure rock music (it was 1969, after all) and started sticking up for herself more. But Lucius, having known her, still saw her as someone to protect, so he stuck beside her as a good friend. One day, during a Quidditch tryout, Beatrice would've fallen to her death if it hadn't been for Lucius swooping in to save her. It was after this moment that Lucius realized that Beatrice was special to him. He had never felt this amount of fear out of potentially losing anyone in his life. He noticed he started having different sorts of feelings around this age, and that she looked different somehow than to how he was used to remembering her. Previously, it's like she didn't even exist in his mind all that often, but as the year progressed and came to another end, with Ravenclaw winning the house cup, he grew increasingly more conscious of his feelings. He wanted to be with her all the time, and so they sent each other secret owls during that entire summer before fifth year began.

It was now 1970, and a Triwizard Tournament, even though banned in the 1700s, was heavily rumored to take place this year. Beatrice, now a fifth year student, was excited for it, surely it would be fun to watch, but she also wouldn't have stood watching other fellow students die. It would've broken her heart. She thanked the heavens that Lucius, being a fifth-year, wouldn't even be able to qualify as a Triwizard Champion, because there'd be no chance he'd lose his life . . . And that is how she knew she truly cared about him. When the Yule Ball was announced, Lucius could think of no other girl he wanted to ask than Beatrice, and she wouldn't have accepted anybody else but him to take her. In the months leading up to The Yule Ball, they'd exchange flirty looks across the classroom and pass notes, being very careful to remain sneaky, but they stopped after the Potions professor subtracted 10 points from Slytherin for not being as serious as they should've been in class. Now, they had no option but to keep a slightly lower profile.

Fifth year was also proving more challenging than the previous ones due to the OWLs. It seemed like there were too many things to study in depth and not enough time. However, every Hogwarts student fourth year and above was too excited over the rumored Yule Ball, until The Ministry of Magic got together with the International Council of Magical Affairs and disagreed to the whole event. They decided it was still not safe enough to pursue—due to undisclosed reasons—so that would be the end of that. The excitation of the students diminished greatly, but it didn't stop a few determined ones from convincing the Headmaster to create their own Yule Ball, without it having to correspond to the Triwizard Tournament. So it was the first and only time in Hogwarts history to have a Yule Ball in such circumstances. Therefore, it was very special for Lucius and Beatrice.

They would practice their dances frequently, as Beatrice was a bit of a perfectionist, and Lucius didn't want to look bad. Finally, that Christmas night, a black tuxedo-clad Lucius, with his long platinum hair tied back in a ponytail, looked dashing as he never looked before. He looked like a true English gentleman, and Beatrice, well, she looked like a rose.

She wore a long, beautiful pink gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was shimmering and had beautiful crystals that decorated it. She had styled her hair and was wearing long gloves. When they locked eyes, the entire world seemed to disappear.

Hogwarts had a grand orchestra play, and somehow even managed to hire The Kneazles for a gig. Most of it was done through student fundraising, as Hogwarts saw no point sponsoring a non-traditional event (unless there was absolute reason to). All the fourth-through-seventh year students cooperated with whatever they could find to be able to afford the Yule Ball. And even though it wasn't the fanciest ball, it was still fresh, fun, exciting, romantic, and filled to the brim with coming-of-age.

They spent all the time dancing, a magical time. The two waltzed with smiles and laughter on their faces, going through the practiced motions, even improvising just a bit due to the excitement. Lucius spun her, held her by the waist, and pulled her in, and she let him lead, succumbing to his strength. Never had they felt so young and wild and free. And little did they know, it would be one of their last times feeling this way forever.

What they didn't know is that Narcissa Black hid in the shadows, observing Lucius and Beatrice with growing jealousy.  She never quite paid attention to him before, but fifth year was the year she grew more into womanhood and started noticing Lucius. After all, he had garnered popularity with the Slytherins, and started hanging out with other rebellious wizards. She hated the way they were together and how much they enjoyed themselves. Still, she didn't say or do much of anything. But she silently plotted their demise.

It was around after the Yule Ball when Lucius and his group of friends started becoming more rebellious . . . More obscure. They started their endeavors in the Dark Arts and restricted knowledge for fun. Lucius, of course, was a prefect, so he had to be extremely cautious as to not get caught. And he succeeded. Beatrice, out of love for him and out of a rebellious streak she was experiencing, dabbled a bit in the interesting and occult magic that she knew wasn't allowed, or at least, just to learn about it.

Beatrice and Lucius managed to maintain a good relationship, sending owls frequently throughout the summer, and though Lucius was developing an affinity towards darkness, his heart was nonetheless with her. Abraxas, Lucius' father, had noticed a changed in him, and knowing he was 15 now, began inquiring about his personal life. Lucius denied any involvement with anybody, as he didn't want his family involved in his personal business, and even though he loved Beatrice, he just thought that it would be annoying to involve the family so soon. He was, after all, still very young, and was nowhere ready for commitments of the sort. So he kept denying Abraxas' questions.

It was a few weeks into the summer when Abraxas pulled Lucius aside and gave him a lecture on blood purity. He had always mentioned this throughout Lucius' life, but he'd be too young to care. He stated that Lucius must not marry anybody who isn't a Pureblood, and Slytherin-dominant families were preferred. He stressed the importance of Purebloods being superior to any other kind, even more so than Half-Bloods, and Lucius listened, but rolled his eyes internally. He wasn't just rebellious at school, he was rebellious towards his father's doctrines. It just didn't make sense how Half-Bloods we're inferior. Beatrice was a Half-Blood, and well, she was very clever and kind and good at magic. Still, he was defiant. He wouldn't let his father or any stupid ideology get in the way of being with the person he cared for the most in the world.

"My father doesn't have to know. My family doesn't have to know. Nobody has to know anything. This is my life, my choice. I'll just lie and say I'm not interested in anybody so they leave me alone and stop pestering me. I'll have to keep my relationship with Beatrice a secret. It's the only way. Too bad most Slytherins at school already know about us . . . But thankfully,  they don't know about her blood status. And if they do find out, I can just keep them quiet by intimidating them. They haven't bullied her since she's been in my company," he thought. It would be almost perfect.

Still, Lucius listened and lied again, saying he wasn't interested in anybody at all and that he'd know better than to mix with anybody that is not Pureblooded. You know, just the things dad wanted to hear. At least he was grateful that he had his own private owl to send messages to Beatrice with. Abraxas seemed to trust in Lucius, and his mother trusted Abraxas, so life was a bit tense but manageable, as the real problems hadn't begun yet . . .