The Half-Blood Rose

Chapter Four: A Black Secret

Immediately after the conversation, Lucius had gone up to his room to write a message to Beatrice.

"June 17, 1971,

My Dearest Beatrice,

The day that I dreaded would come just came. Father began lecturing me on the importance of Blood Status, which I think is utterly ridiculous. He said I mustn't marry anyone who isn't a Pureblood, and I think it's so stupid. I know you're a Half-Blood and that doesn't affect anything in my eyes. You're brilliant, beautiful, and special to me, more than all the galleons inside Gringott's. And not to worry—I've got a plan.

This year, sixth year, we're going to have to be extremely discreet if we don't want any trouble. If we don't, too many of our house are going to find out and somehow make things more difficult  for us. We have to pretend that we're just friends now. But we can still be ourselves in private. We'll sneak about just like we always do. But this has to be done for our safety. I would hate for it to reach my family's ears somehow. Besides, it'll be just two more years until graduation. After that, we can live together privately. I'll take all of my money from Gringott's and we'll run away to a private place.

I miss you and I can't wait to see you soon.

Much love,

Your Lucius."

He immediately sent his owl to Beatrice and anxiously waited for a reply.

Beatrice was cleaning her room when she noticed Lucius' owl fly in through her window. "Oh hello," she told the owl with a smile and took the message. She always enjoyed receiving messages from Lucius, and watched the owl fly out of her window.

She anxiously opened the message and read it, expecting good news or a romantic letter. But when she realized it was all the contrary, she felt dismayed. She knew Lucius meant the best for her and themselves as a couple, but things were beginning to get difficult. The situation seemed messy, and it annoyed her, but Lucius was right. They would have to be extremely discreet if their relationship were to succeed. She thought about it for a while and wrote back.

"July 17, 1971,

My dear Lucius,

It pains me to hear such sad news. But I am willing to be with you no matter what. We can still live our lives how we want without getting caught. Two years isn't a super long time and then we can move away together. My dad has a secret place in the countryside. Then we can get jobs and start our life together. I think I'm going to pursue medical magic."

Then she trailed off. She didn't know how to write about the nagging feeling of preoccupation inside of her. It started to seem like things weren't completely alright anymore, like it would be difficult to succeed. But nonetheless she kept her hopes up, in all teenage naïveté, and finished writing back to Lucius.

*******

Beatrice came back from her flashbacks. Lucius and her had been conversing about them for about an additional hour.

"Yes, Lucius . ." She continued. "I had a gut feeling when you sent me that letter that things wouldn't go as we planned. And I was right. As much as I tried to blind myself from reality, I know we couldn't hide it for much longer. I knew I was a Half-Blood, but I didn't know under what circumstances. My mother died when I was very young. She was an Auror, and a Half-Blood witch. My father never mentioned anything of his family. He stated he was Half-Blood himself, so that's what I was raised to believe. But you know how everything changed."

**********

In 1971, Lucius and Beatrice had begun their sixth year, acting just as friends in classes but behaving as a couple in private. They'd send owls and secret notes in order to plan where they'd meet then, but it was hard with so much scrutiny from other fellow Slytherins, who were a bit suspicious of Beatrice and her blood status. It seemed as if Lucius wasn't the only one that got "the talk" from his father. In fact, many of the Slytherin families had begun to get more fervent about their beliefs somehow . . . Parents disappearing in the night while their children slept, holding meetings in cavernous edifices for the return of a certain Dark Lord . . .