The Half-Blood Rose

Chapter Six: Le Petit Mort

Note from author:

If you are reading this right now, please do not disregard this note. It is VERY important. This is the point in the story in which the rating goes from "everybody" to "mature". If you do NOT fit the age requirement to read Mature content, please do NOT continue. I do not plan to somehow get in trouble with Wattpad or get my story removed. Disregard this note if you are Mature.

Happy reading!

- Nyx

********************************************

After leaving Draco under the care of the next shift's doctors and nurses, Beatrice went home, showered, and got ready for her date. She saw no reason to fear going to the manor now. Most of the Blacks were dead, and the two evil ones were for the meantime, gone—Narcissa in who-knows-where and Bellatrix in Azkaban. Her cousin Sirius was also in Azkaban, but she knew he was there unjustly. Sirius, like her, was different from the rest of the Blacks, and she knew he'd never commit such a heinous crime.

She applied her makeup as she thought about Lucius. She wondered what he needed to tell her, what events would unfold . . . She got the same feeling of excitement as she did when she was a teenager. Alas, history was repeating itself. She decided to wear lightweight dark green robes, for it was July and the weather was at its hottest, even during the afternoon. Once ready, she took a deep breath and rode her broom to from London to Wiltshire, where Malfoy Manor was.

The entire trip took less than twenty minutes. Nimbus brooms were rather quick. Thinking about it, this was the most she'd traveled in months. Work and life in London was too busy and left her too tired to go out from the city much. She felt a sense of elation she hadn't felt in a long time, the wind rushing through her hair, her robes flowing wildly. She felt quite liberated, gliding in the air. The city lights beneath her seemed like shooting stars as she raced by them. Then the night grew a bit darker, until just along a hill, upon which the sun was setting, the dark, monolithic Malfoy Manor stood in all its gothic splendor.

She descended until she found Lucius waiting for her outside at the door. He walked towards her and offered his arm to escort her home. "May I?"

She smiled. "Certainly."

She took his arm and he led her inside. She couldn't stop staring at the marvelous edifice, the large arches and the tall entrance. Internally, it was even more luxurious and beautiful, but dark. Very elegant. Black, gray, white, and green accents. She was led into a magnificent dining hall, where there was a delicious spread consisting of a vast array of appetizers—charcuterie in various cuts and flavors, cheeses of at least five kinds, fresh dates and figs and pomegranates, honeycomb, and slices of baguette. A very small but exquisite main dish was placed in the middle—lamb chops bathed in cognac-dijon cream sauce. There were vegetables on the side, sliced carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. There was an exquisite soup in a bowl that smelled delicious, along with a side of baked potatoes and finally, a delicious berry tart for dessert.

Beatrice wasn't accustomed to such luxury. "Wow, Lucius, you really went all out," she rather humbly said.

"Oh, I got it catered," he replied. "I never really fussed with all this cooking business. We always had house elves for that ..." he trailed off. "Until a certain pesky brat freed my house elf," he wanted to say, but didn't. He didn't want her to suspect of any involvement with Harry Potter.

She felt the strangeness in his remark, but for some reason didn't question it. I think that one might suppose she was too fascinated by the food and the huge mansion to really pay attention to the implications of what he said. Maybe he had freed his own house elf? She thought.