Serenity | 1

THIRTY FOUR

"My Treasure"

Christmas 1971, 1 month later

With a heavy sigh, Serenity pushed herself off of the dark leather couch. As her hand left the support of Lucius's knee, he reached up to grasp her wrist.

"Where are you going?" His blue eyes were wide, welcoming her back. She smiles, running her fingers through his hair and remaining standing.

"I'm hungry, so I'm going to get a sandwich. Do you want one?" His eyebrows drew together and hooded his eyes. He frowned ever-so-slightly, his bottom lip jutting out as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"I'll just get the elf to prepare it and bring it here." He opened his mouth to shout for the Malfoy's house elf, but was promptly silenced by Serenity's hand covering his mouth. She shakes her head at him, leaning into his touch.

"Don't. Elves made my food every day at Hogwarts, I like making my own food, so it can be just right." Lucius' eyebrows raise as if to say 'how do you make a sandwich wrong?', a look that earns gentle laughter from Serenity. "You don't just slap two slices of bread and a bit of cheese together Lucy." She continues playing with his hair, catching his gaze with her own. "You have to spread the butter evenly, cut the cheese to just the right thickness and, then, once it's all together..." she claps her hands together in front of his face, "you squash it down flat."

Lucius shakes his head and takes her hands in his. The only space between them being their hands and Serenity standing over him. The room looked much larger as they remained where they were, the large fireplace at one end illuminated the room; the light of the fire cast shadows over their faces, dancing in the slight breeze the night brought in through the window. Beside the fireplace stood a looming Christmas tree, the ferns almost ebony in the shadow of the corner, but the red and green decorations accentuating its presence. Another sofa was adjacent to them, a long glass coffee table separating the two on a cream rug that brightened the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves and portraits of long-deceased Malfoys and famous wizards. And, among all of this, heavy floor-to-ceiling black drapes hung over the windows, partially drawn to allow privacy to the room. In the centre of the ceiling hung an iron chandelier which, with a wave of a wand, could be lit at any moment, but the teens chose to keep only the firelight.

"You're a guest." Lucius mumbled as he dragged her down to sit with him again. "And, Father won't be back for a week or so... let me treat you." She giggled as she sat on his lap.

"With a sandwich?" The smirk on his face made her thankful to be sat down as she felt her knees weaken at the sight. Bring her hands up to his lips, he kissed her knuckles and looked up at her through his eyelashes. The touch was fleeting yet still her heart was all aflutter.

"Whatever you want... even if it's simply a sandwich." The corner of her mouth lifted, she had nothing left to say to him. What could she say to him? Since he greeted her on platform 9 and 3/4, everything he had been telling her felt weighted with emotion. She had never felt as seen and understood as she did with Lucius, never felt more loved.

Love... that word had been floating around a lot recently. The most recent one was in the letter Juliet had sent during the final week before everyone left for Hogwarts. She had disappeared the day after her seventeenth birthday: she had accompanied Lakita and Serenity into Hogsmeade, where Lucius and Vaughn had met with them, before disapparating. The note in question was a wedding invite. Apparently Vaughn had confessed his love for her and in the same night. The wedding isn't for another year, when Juliet, Serenity and Lakita graduate from Hogwarts, but it was a cause of wonder as to where the two of them had run off to and whether Juliet would return to complete her seventh year. Despite this, Serenity still couldn't help but wonder about Lucius and what the ache in her chest whenever he smiled at her really meant.