Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Loved	By : Dazzlious Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 5761 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from J K Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so.

Chapter List
- 8
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- 10
Julia paled as she saw Lucius heading across the dance floor in her direction. She wondered if she would have time to get up and leave before he reached her but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Now that he had decided to seek her out he wouldn’t stop until he caught up with her; that was the sort of man he was. At least here, sitting with George, she had a bit of backup and she felt she could probably rely on the younger man to help her if Lucius got out of hand.
Until this moment the afternoon had been wonderful. The marriage service itself had been touching and romantic, and afterwards George and his brother Charlie had led Julia towards the marquee where tables were now set up for the wedding breakfast. They had entrenched her in the middle of what she thought of as the “Weasley area”, far away from the head table where Lucius and the bimbo were holding court with Ginny and Draco.
Narcissa was up there, too, along with her date, a man Julia didn’t recognise. They sat as far away from Lucius as they could manage and Julia couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the woman as she didn’t look awfully happy. On the other side were Molly and Arthur along with Hermione and Ron, while Blaise and his girlfriend, a pretty brunette called Cynthia, made up the rest of the table.
Julia was pleased that George had deliberately seated them so their backs were to the head table, which meant that apart from when she turned round for the speeches she didn’t have to keep looking at Lucius throughout the meal. She couldn’t forget he was there, though, aided mainly by Crystal’s sharp laugh piercing the air every so often just to make sure she remembered. The meal was delicious and there was plenty of champagne and wine; eventually Julia began to relax and enjoy the reception and even managed, to some extent, to stop worrying about Lucius and his wife.
Once the meal was over the tables were moved once more, creating a dance floor in the centre of the marquee and Draco and Ginny took to the floor to engage in the first dance, quickly urging everyone else to join them. George offered to dance with Julia but she was enjoying just watching, the ambiance of the place in the oncoming twilight was making her relaxed. She smiled as twinkling fairy lights began to come on all around the garden as dusk fell, and the music seemed to capture the mood perfectly.
But now that calm was on the verge of being shattered by a confrontation with the one man in the world Julia didn’t want to see or speak to. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
‘Hullo, Julia,’ Lucius said, his voice warm and seductive as he stopped next to her seat. He gave her a small, polite bow as he spoke.
Julia fought to breathe as a mixture of feelings and emotions tore through her one after another — nausea, panic, light-headedness and the desire to run away all fighting with that age-old favourite, betrayal — and on top of that, overwhelming everything else, was a massive wave of desire for the gorgeous man for whom she still felt so much love.
‘Hullo, Lucius.’ Julia could hear the quaver in her voice as she tried to stay calm. Whatever happened, she couldn’t lose control, couldn’t make an idiot of herself in front of all these people.
Lucius extended his hand, the smile on his face warm and charming as he gazed at her avidly. ‘Will you dance with me?’ he asked quietly, his voice sounding hopeful.
Julia wanted to say no — wanted nothing to do with him, wanted to run away — but she was aware it would be impolite to do so and also that there was a great deal of interest in her and Lucius from around the marquee and she didn’t want to give the gossipmongers anything further to tattle about. She looked at him without speaking for a moment.
‘Please?’ he added.
After a quick glance at George, who was watching Lucius carefully, and still without speaking, Julia nodded. Standing up, she took Lucius’ hand and he led her towards the dance floor and was soon whisking her around effortlessly. Lucius was a good dancer, far better than she, but he always made her feel like she could dance and this time was no exception. Initially stilted and straight-backed, her stomach clenching and unclenching with panic, the rhythm embraced Julia and the smooth moves became easier as she relaxed into Lucius’ arms.
On and on the couple twirled, Julia attempting to lose herself in the music and the flow, determined not to think about the man who was holding her, the man she had missed so much. As the song finished she began to pull away, intending to go and sit down, her duty done but Lucius wouldn’t release her, and as the next song began she found herself enfolded even more tightly in his arms.
‘Gods, it feels so good to hold you again,’ Lucius said honestly, his voice a soft whisper in her ear. ‘I’ve missed you so much, my love. You have no idea . . . .’
Julia didn’t say anything. She couldn’t trust herself to speak. She wasn’t sure whether what would come out would be a pathetic admission of her desire for him and agreement at how good it felt to be in his arms or something far more acidic and hurtful. It was easier to say nothing and hope he would stop talking to her.
‘I don’t understand why you’ve kept away from me for so long,’ Lucius said after they had danced for another few minutes, seemingly unable to keep quiet. ‘You must have known how much I wanted to see you.’
‘Oh, Lucius, you know why I haven’t seen you,’ Julia said exasperatedly. ‘Nothing’s changed since you got married to Crystal. I can’t be with you while you’re with her.’
‘But that’s bloody stupid. You love me, don’t you? And I certainly love you, so why fight it? We should be together, Julia . . . please, let me love you,’ Lucius pleaded.
Julia shook her head and looked at Lucius sadly. ‘You’ve got a wife, Lucius.’
‘Yes, you — you’re my wife,’ Lucius stated adamantly. ‘I told you that on our anniversary. I don’t accept anyone else as my wife, not ever — only you, my love.’ When she didn’t reply he added, ‘There are only another three months and then I’m free.’
‘But you won’t be, will you?’ Julia pointed out unhappily. ‘You’ll get rid of Crystal and the Ministry will pair you with someone else. That’s what they do. And then it’ll be another two years, and so on, ad infinitum. I can’t do that — you know I can’t, Lucius. As much as I love you, it’s too hard to be near you. It has to be over between us . . . it just has to.’
‘I don’t believe you can do that to us,’ Lucius said. ‘What’s the point in us both continuing to be miserable apart when we could be so happy together?’
Julia sighed but she didn’t respond. There was no point. It was an unwinnable argument that just drew out the same comments again and again. For a while they continued dancing silently, but then Lucius pulled her even closer, crushing her to him as his lips brushed against her hair, then down further, over her cheek — whisper-soft touches that made Julia’s heart flutter.
‘I want to kiss you,’ he said, his voice low and full of desire. ‘I need to kiss you, Julia.’
‘No!’
Julia’s heart was thumping as she blurted it out, and she began pushing and wriggling, trying to get out of Lucius’ grasp. He pulled her towards him again and one of his hands found her face and caressed her cheek as he looked at her in surprise at her outburst.
‘Let go of me, Lucius,’ Julia begged. ‘Please don’t do this.’
‘I just want to kiss you. Why are you being so difficult?’ Lucius asked, as if it was the most reasonable request in the world and he couldn’t understand why she was turning him down.
His head moved, his lips heading for hers, and Julia pulled her head back, turning it so he couldn’t do as he wanted.
‘Stop it, Lucius,’ she hissed, her voice low and desperate now. ‘We can’t do this. You’re married.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ Lucius responded loudly and belligerently. ‘You know I couldn’t care less about her. It’s you I love.’
‘But she’s your wife. What do you think everyone will think?’
‘Everyone already knows how I feel, including her,’ Lucius said, ‘so I don’t understand what the problem is.’
‘Now is really not the time for this,’ Julia growled. ‘Not now. Honestly.’
‘Of course it is,’ Lucius said, his voice more seductive now. ‘I’ve had to wait almost two years for this moment.’
‘It’s your son’s wedding,’ Julia reminded him sharply. ‘Whilst you might not care about setting off the gossipmongers, I do — and I have more respect for Ginny and Draco than to create a spectacle that will overshadow what should be the best day of their lives. Now please, let me go, Lucius.’
‘I really think you’re overreacting about this,’ Lucius said, and he tried once more to kiss her.
Again Julia pulled her head away, this time twisting more urgently in an attempt to escape Lucius’ hold completely. She was beginning to get distressed now, uncomfortable and unhappy about what he was trying to do, and she no longer wanted to dance with him. But Lucius still wasn’t letting her go. Her stomach twisted as panic began to rise in her. She didn’t want this to get out of hand.
‘Do you mind if I cut in, Father? It’s about time I danced with Julia,’ Draco said smoothly. He held out his hand to Julia, leaving Lucius with no option but to cede her to him. Smiling coldly, he put her hand into Draco’s.
‘Look after her, Draco. You know she’s very precious to me,’ Lucius said, then he turned to stare at Julia. ‘I’ll dance with you again later, my love, once my son’s finished. You’re not getting away from me that easily.’
‘Are you all right?’ Draco asked worriedly once they had put some distance between themselves and Lucius. He had seen her becoming distressed and knew he had to step in before his father did something catastrophic.
‘I’ll live,’ Julia told him. ‘But I don’t want your father kissing me in the middle of the dance floor at your wedding reception. This is already hard enough without him causing a scene.’
‘He’s just so happy to see you,’ Draco said. ‘I don’t think he really believed you would turn up. He didn’t know we’d had our little chat.’
‘That’s no excuse for inappropriate behaviour.’ Julia said tartly. ‘Anyway, his wife’s over there.’
‘In name only,’ Draco reminded her.
‘She’s still his wife, though, Draco, and that makes trying to kiss me a big no-no, especially when we’re celebrating your wedding. I don’t want the day to end up being remembered by everyone for that.’
‘Well, perhaps you should take a walk with him, go and discuss things elsewhere,’ Draco suggested with a smile.
Julia sighed, then said sadly, ‘That’s not going to happen, either. I’m not going anywhere or doing anything with your father and that’s final. And once tonight is over I don’t even want to hear his name mentioned. I just want to forget that he even exists and get on with my life. He’s just going to have to accept that it’s over. The sooner he does that, the sooner he’ll have a successful marriage.’
‘He had a successful marriage,’ Draco pointed out bluntly. ‘But the Ministry of Magic robbed him of it. You can hardly blame him for being unhappy.’
Julia looked into Draco’s eyes. ‘We’re both unhappy, Draco, but unlike your father I’m not willing to settle for an affair. I need all or nothing . . . and yes, I know everyone thinks that’s selfish, but I have to think about myself and that’s what I need to be happy. Nothing else will do.’
‘I just wish there was some way to sort this out,’ Draco said glumly. ‘It would help if the bloody Ministry didn’t keep marrying him off. Perhaps we can arrange a wedding for the two of you as soon as his annulment comes through.’
Julia gave a bitter laugh. ‘Not a chance, I’m afraid. They won’t even let him leave the office before pairing him off with the new wife. That’s how he ended up with Crystal. They already had her waiting outside. They just needed me to leave the office . . . and Lucius convinced me I should wait outside for you and Ginny while he tried to talk them round.’
‘My father had no idea they were going to do that,’ Draco said forcefully. ‘He would never have let you leave if he’d had any idea they were going to strong-arm him into another marriage. You do know that, don’t you, Julia?’
Julia sighed. ‘Yes, I know that he didn’t know. But it doesn’t change the fact that he ended up re-married, and that’s exactly what will happen next time. There’s no way to stop it and no chance of a life with him for me, and so the only way to get through that is to forget about him completely.’
‘You won’t be able to do that,’ Draco predicted confidently. ‘You love him as much as he loves you. Eventually, you’ll get drawn back together. It’s karma.’
‘Well, it’s not happening in this lifetime,’ Julia said morosely. ‘Please, can you keep your father away from me for the rest of the evening? Otherwise, I’m going to go home. I don’t want a repeat of his earlier behaviour.’
‘All right, I’ll keep him away from you for tonight,’ Draco said, looking and sounding disappointed. ‘But I can’t promise anything for the future. I’m not getting involved in that.’
‘That’s good enough,’ Julia said, although she didn’t sound very happy.

Draco was as good as his word: Lucius went nowhere near Julia for the rest of the evening, although she saw him watching her. She recognised the expression on his face, a mixture of longing and desire, the same one she knew her own face held whenever she looked at him. She danced with George and then with Charlie and even had one dance with Greg, then, as the music became faster and more modern, she joined Ginny and her girlfriends for more dancing, which was really more chatting than anything. But all the while she could feel Lucius’ eyes on her, watching her every move. And he wasn’t the only one.
It wasn’t long before she realised that Crystal was watching her, too, avidly keeping an eye on what Julia was doing and who she was doing it with. There had already been a slightly embarrassing moment earlier in the evening when during a break in the music Crystal had asked Julia very loudly and bluntly why she was there when she was no longer anything to do with the Malfoy family.
Draco and Ginny had both angrily informed the woman in no uncertain terms that not only was Julia still family as far as they were concerned but that she was also a good friend to both of them and would have merited an invitation because of that alone. It was also made perfectly clear to the detestable woman that the only reason Crystal was at the wedding was because she lived at Malfoy Manor and they couldn’t stop her from attending.
Julia knew the crowd of onlookers had been hoping that she would weigh in and a fight between her and Crystal would ensue, hopefully with intervention from Lucius. But fortunately, he was kept well away from the argument and was unaware until later that it had even taken place, and Julia chose to keep a dignified silence which she was sure gave her the win. But later that evening Julia was drawn into conversation with Crystal by accident.
‘I really don’t know why you’re still here,’ Crystal said, sounding bored. She had wandered over to stand next to Julia while the older woman was watching the youngsters all taking part in some mad dance that she didn’t know the moves to, and was carefully making sure not to look at Julia while she talked. ‘Surely you’d be better off at home alone celebrating your angst-fest . . . the terrible tragedy of your doomed love with Lucius.’ She looked at Julia and smiled sweetly, but there was a hard look in her eyes.
‘At least I’m welcome here,’ Julia replied, her own voice as sweet as she could make it with a smile to match. ‘You must be pretty thick-skinned under all that fake tan, Crystal because everyone seems to hate you, and Draco and Ginny certainly don’t want you here.’
‘Maybe they don’t, but they don’t have any choice in the matter,’ Crystal told her. ‘Malfoy Manor is my home now, and if they want to continue coming here they’re going to need to change their ideas.’ She looked critically at Julia, ‘and their friends.’
Julia gave a sharp bark of a laugh. ‘What, you’re going to stop them from coming here because they’re friends with me? Dream on, Crystal. Your time here is limited . . . it’s coming to an end. In three months’ time you’ll be in the same position as me, except that Lucius won’t be in love with you and won’t give a damn what happens to you. His love is my curse, unfortunately.’
Crystal gave a cold, mocking laugh. ‘I think you’re the one who’s going to be disappointed, love. I won’t be going anywhere. Malfoy Manor and Lucius’ lovely money are going to be mine forever and there’s not a bloody thing you can do about it.’
‘But that’s not possible,’ Julia said. ‘Unless . . . .’ She broke off, looking at Crystal in astonishment.
Once again the woman gave that saccharine-sweet smile. ‘That’s right, love, I’m pregnant.’ She let the bombshell drop for a couple of seconds, then added, ‘I’m giving Lucius what you never could, Julia. I’m not defective like you. It was worth him fucking me all those times — we’re going to have a baby.’
Julia felt as if Crystal had just punched her in the stomach. She couldn’t help her sharp gasp of shock; the pain in her heart was worse than it had ever been as she suddenly realised that there was now really never any chance of her and Lucius getting back together. Crystal had done what she had never been able to and conceived a child so she would remain Lucius’ wife for the rest of her life. Julia had to fight hard not to let out a sob of anguish and to fight back the tears that were threatening.
‘So you might as well toddle off home. Now you’ve really got something to be upset about,’ Crystal continued nastily.
‘Perhaps I don’t believe you,’ Julia retorted, trying to regain her composure. ‘It’s funny how this has just come out now, when we’re talking.’
‘Oh, but I was waiting to tell you specially,’ Crystal told her with a smirk. ‘I found out the day before yesterday and I thought you’d love to be the first person to know, having had problems in that area yourself. I was so sure you’d be pleased for us.’
‘You really are a bitch,’ Julia said honestly.
‘Of course I am, but I’m also a pregnant one who’s married to the man you love,’ Crystal replied, her smile positively evil now.
Julia wasn’t sure how she managed to stop herself from attacking the smug woman who had just completely ruined her life forever. She took a deep breath, counting to ten in her mind as she tried to calm down.
‘Well . . . congratulations,’ she said in her sweet voice again. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and see some friends of mine.’ She walked away in as dignified a manner as she could manage.
‘Are you okay?’ George asked worriedly when she returned to the table to retrieve her handbag. ‘I saw you talking to the golden girl. What did she want?’
‘Oh, she was just trying to ruin my evening,’ Julia said trying to keep her voice light although she wasn’t sure she succeeded. ‘Unfortunately, she did a pretty good job,’ she admitted. ‘I think I’m going to go home. I’m not really in the mood to party anymore.’
‘Are you sure?’ George asked. ‘Do you need someone to take you home to make sure you get there safely?’
Julia shook her head. ‘No, I’ll be fine thanks, George. I’ll Apparate once I get outside the grounds.’ She gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. ‘It was so lovely to meet you. Thank you so much for being my companion today. You were absolutely brilliant.’
‘So were you,’ George told her honestly. ‘And I still think you were really brave to come in the first place. Come and see me the next time you’re in Diagon Alley. I’ve always got the kettle on.’
‘I definitely will,’ Julia promised with a smile.
She gave him a small wave as she headed off to find Ginny and Draco to say goodbye, her mind racing with what she had been told and her soul wracked with pain that she was trying very hard to keep under control. She made her way over to where the couple were talking to a group of their friends, trying to ignore the smug look on Crystal’s face as she went. She was annoyed that the woman was aware she had upset her, but she hadn’t been able to hide her shock at the news of the pregnancy and it had left her in more pain than ever.
‘I’m just about to go home so I thought I’d pop over and say thank you for a lovely day,’ Julia told them, trying to keep her voice light.
‘You’re going already?’ Ginny said, sounding disappointed. ‘Is something wrong?’
Julia shook her head, but the whole time all she could hear were Crystal’s ringing words telling her she was pregnant.
‘My father hasn’t been any more trouble, has he?’ Draco asked worriedly, staring at the obviously unhappy woman. ‘I did warn him not to go near you and he agreed, although I will admit he wasn’t very happy about it.’
‘No, it’s not Lucius,’ Julia replied. At least not directly, she thought.
‘I saw you talking to Chandelier just now,’ Ginny said. ‘She didn’t say or do anything, did she? I don’t want that bitch ruining my wedding by upsetting my friends.’
Julia went to shake her head, but again Crystal’s words came back, mocking her with their content and she looked miserably at her friends.
‘The lady of the manor isn’t terribly pleased at my being here and she wanted to point out that this is her home now, not mine.’
‘Not for much longer,’ Draco said. ‘She’ll be out on her ear in three months’ time. And let’s face it, it can’t come a day too soon.’
Julia shook her head. ‘Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen now,’ she said quietly. ‘Mrs Malfoy has just informed me that she is expecting Lucius’ baby and so she will be hanging on to both the Manor and all of Lucius’ money.’
‘That’s got to be a wind-up, surely?’ Draco said sounding shocked. ‘She was just trying to get a rise out of you. My father would never—’ He broke off as Julia continued to shake her head.
‘In order for the marriage to be annulled after two years there has to have been regular attempts to conceive . . . and I don’t mean once a year. Lucius would have had no choice but to try, and it seems to have worked. As Crystal so kindly pointed out, she isn’t defective like me,’ Julia told them bitterly.
Ginny grabbed hold of Julia’s hand and stroked it comfortingly, knowing how unhappy this would make her. ‘But maybe she’s lying. Her obvious intention was to hurt and upset you as she tried to do earlier, and now she’s achieved that.’ She looked over at the golden woman who was still grinning maliciously. ‘I wouldn’t believe a word she says.’
‘I think it’s true,’ Julia said unhappily. ‘I accused her of winding me up, but she told me she found out a couple of days ago. She said she had been waiting, just so she could give me the good news. She knew how much it would hurt me.’
‘Well, it’s not going to change anything,’ Draco said. ‘My father’s still going to detest her even if she is pregnant. There’s never going to be a real marriage between those two.’
‘He’s not going to have any choice,’ Julia pointed out. ‘There won’t be an annulment now and she’s already made it clear that she expects me to disappear from the lives of the Malfoys.’
‘Well, that’s not going to happen, either,’ Ginny replied adamantly.
Julia sighed. ‘It will, Ginny. To be honest, I had already decided I can’t ever see Lucius again anyway, but Crystal’s made it clear that if you two expect to be able to come here to spend time with him in future you’ll need to change your friends to more suitable people . . . and that most definitely doesn’t include me.’
‘We are not dropping you as a friend because of that bitch,’ Ginny said stoutly.
‘My father will never let her get away with that,’ Draco added.
‘But it doesn’t matter, don’t you see?’ Julia asked, beginning to get upset again. ‘Although I’ve always said there was no future with Lucius, that wasn’t quite true. While he was only going through two years with Crystal there was still the tiniest glimmer of hope that things might one day work out for us . . . just the smallest spark that I’ve kept buried deep within my heart. But now Crystal’s pregnant and Lucius will be married to her forever, with no hope of escape. That final minuscule spark has just been extinguished and I no longer have any hope. I can’t bear to be anywhere near him knowing there can never be anything between us . . . and yes, I know you think we could have a relationship anyway, but I can’t. You know that has never been an option for me.’
‘You can’t just let her win,’ Draco said darkly.
‘She already has,’ Julia replied, sounding resigned. ‘And now I need to go home. I can’t face being anywhere near her . . . or Lucius for that matter. It hurts too much and I don’t want to embarrass myself by acting stupidly in public, which I can guarantee I will at some point if I stay.’ She squeezed Ginny’s hand, which she was still holding. ‘I’ll contact you once you get back from your honeymoon. Things will have calmed down by then and we’ll know better how the land lies.’
‘I already know how it lies,’ Draco told her staunchly. ‘My father hates her, is in love with you and will be absolutely furious to discover she’s pregnant.’
Julia shrugged. ‘That may well be true but he’ll have to get used to it and change his views on both of us.’
‘He’ll go off the rails even more,’ Draco warned. ‘I know what he’s like.’
‘Then you’ll need to be ready to help him.’ Julia said sensibly. ‘I really need to go now.’
She hugged both Draco and Ginny, then looked at them appraisingly. ‘You both looked gorgeous up there today. It was such a lovely ceremony and a great reception . . . oh, and your brothers are brilliant, Ginny.’ She grinned.
‘What, even Percy?’ Ginny asked, sounding surprised.
Julia chuckled. ‘Well, maybe not him so much . . . but George and Charlie more than make up for him. Right, I’m off. Have a great time in Tuscany. I’m very jealous!’

Julia had almost made it to the front door when she was stopped by Lucius, the last person in the world she wanted to see at that moment.
‘Are you leaving?’ he asked, looking unhappy. His voice was low and very dark.
‘Yes. It’s been a good day but I really need to go home now.’
‘I was hoping to spend a bit of time with you before you left,’ Lucius admitted.
‘You know you weren’t supposed to come anywhere near me,’ Julia replied. ‘I told Draco to keep you away from me and he said he would.’
‘Do you really think he would be able to stop me?’ Lucius asked with bitter amusement. ‘I allowed him to separate us earlier as I knew you were getting distressed and didn’t want to embarrass you.’ He indicated towards his office. ‘Will you at least come and have a drink with me before you leave?’
Julia shook her head. ‘I don’t think there’s any point in prolonging this, Lucius. There’s nothing either of us can say that hasn’t already been said.’
Lucius took hold of her hand, looking at it as he gently stroked it. ‘I don’t want you to go, Julia — not now and not ever. I want to be with you. I want to love you — I do love you.
‘And I love you, Lucius,’ Julia whispered. She could feel tears prickling at her eyes and was desperate for them not to fall. ‘But I can’t be with you.’
‘Don’t leave me, please,’ Lucius begged, his own voice breaking now.
‘I’m sorry, but I have to,’ Julia replied. ‘You should be with your wife, try to make a go of things with her.’
Lucius’ head shot up to glare at her. ‘I told you, she’s not my wife, and in three months time she won’t be anything more than a nasty memory.’
‘But she is your wife, Lucius. She’s having your baby.’ Julia just about managed to stop the sob that almost erupted as she told Lucius the thing that was breaking her heart.
‘But that’s not possible,’ Lucius whispered. He sounded and looked completely devastated.
‘I’m afraid it is. She found out a couple of days ago.’ Julia let go of Lucius’ hand. ‘I’m sorry, Lucius, but there will be no annulment now.’
Lucius stood there still in shock as Julia opened the front door and stepped through it. She looked back sadly.
‘Goodbye, Lucius.’
The door closed and for several long minutes Lucius stood where he was before managing to pull himself out of his stunned torpor. Realising that Julia had gone, he opened the door and ran down the drive, catching up with her just before she reached the gate.
‘Julia . . . wait . . . please.’
Julia stopped and turned to look at him. There were tears streaming down her face that she was doing nothing to stop.
‘What do you want, Lucius? Go back to your wife.’
‘You’re my wife. How many times do I have to tell you that?’ Lucius replied desperately.
Julia began to crumple. Lucius grabbed hold of her and pulled her to him as she sobbed into his shoulder, stroking her back soothingly.
‘I don’t want to let you go,’ he told her, his voice stilted with emotion.
‘You have to,’ Julia whispered.
‘No, I don’t. You’re upset because of what that bitch said. Leave it a few days and then let me come to see you. We can talk about things properly.’
Julia shook her head and pulled back from him. ‘There’s no point,’ she said morosely. ‘Nothing’s going to change. You’re still married to Crystal and she’s still pregnant . . . and I’m still not willing to have an affair with you. I’m sorry.’
Lucius sighed. ‘Well, at least tell me where you live.’
‘What’s the point? I don’t want you coming to see me. That’s the last thing I need at the moment,’ Julia said, sounding distraught.
Lucius stared at her as if seeing into her soul. ‘Please don’t end it like this,’ he said quietly. ‘Don’t just walk away.’
‘I have to,’ Julia told him, her face wet with tears. ‘Please let me go, Lucius.’
Lucius looked at her for a few seconds more, then he nodded and released her. He watched as Julia walked to the gate and opened it. She didn’t look back — she didn’t dare. She was already in so much pain and she couldn’t bear to see the look of despair on Lucius’ face.
‘Goodbye, my love,’ Lucius whispered as, once outside the boundary of Malfoy Manor, Julia Disapparated.
Lucius walked slowly back up the drive towards the house, intending to go to his office and get completely slaughtered. His last chance at winning Julia back had just disappeared in a trail of tears, and if what she had told him was true the silly little bitch he was bonded to had got herself pregnant. He could feel the old anger rising within him and he had no desire to quell it. Once in his office he poured a generous measure of brandy and settled down in an armchair, looking dejectedly at the empty fireplace.
For twenty months he had waited for Julia to come back to him, forced by Draco and Ginny to overcome his usual domineering nature and let her make the first move. From the moment she left Malfoy Manor Lucius’ only desire had been to bring her back home. There had been many times he had attempted to do just that but he was always thwarted by his son and his fiancée, who had time and again warned him off going to find her, assuring him that once she’d had time to consider it properly Julia would realise they were supposed to be together, whatever the Ministry of Magic threw at them.
But Julia had never come back to him, hadn’t even made any attempt to see or speak to him, and as the months went on his anger with her had grown. She was just one of many people he was angry with after the forced break-up of his marriage. The child the blasted Ministry of Magic had paired him with was an annoying little gold-digger, but at least he was pretty much able to forget she existed most of the time. But nothing he did — and over the months he had tried just about everything from drugs to hardcore sexual fetishes — had made him forget the woman he had fallen in love with. And none of it had made him any happier, either.
As he slowly counted down the days until he would finally be free of Crystal forever he had begun to realise that he would do absolutely anything to get Julia back; that nothing would be beyond him if he could just be with her again. When he had discovered she had returned to the idiot she had been with before their marriage, a whole new layer of anger had overtaken him. Draco had needed to work particularly hard to stop him from going to hex the bastard, pointing out that a long stretch in Azkaban and the title of murderer was going to do nothing to help win back his wife.
Lucius had hoped but not had much expectation of Julia attending the wedding, understanding deep inside himself that her desire to keep away from him overrode any friendship with Ginny and Draco. But when he had seen her, sitting with one of Ginny’s brothers, he had been at first angry and then overjoyed and could think only of holding her, kissing her, finally making love to her again — and he had made a fool of himself and upset her in the process. He had been overbearing, possessive . . . and incredibly stupid.
Once again Draco had cautioned him and one last time he had retreated, but now she was gone for good and his life had just taken a nose-dive. He downed the rest of the brandy in one mouthful, enjoying the pain the liqueur gave as it worked its way down his body. Standing, he poured another brandy, taking a large gulp of it before refilling the glass a third time. He leant against his desk, once more thinking of Julia.
He realised he was crying, silent tears rolling down his cheeks as his heart contracted and twisted. Even though she had avoided him, even when she had returned to her former lover, Lucius had been sure that eventually they would be together once more. But she had walked away from him, had left him for good, and he was never going to see her again.
He dropped the now-empty glass on the desk with a heavy thud. Julia had refused to tell him where she lived, but someone knew. Draco and Ginny had always pretended they had no idea where Julia was staying, but suddenly Lucius knew that wasn’t true. At least one of them knew and they were going to tell him . . . and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Draco watched with worry as his father stormed into the marquee, looking furious. He was sure he knew why he was angry. Julia had left and she had obviously told him Crystal’s news before she went. Draco still wasn’t sure that Crystal really was pregnant, preferring to think that she was just a vindictive bitch — otherwise the future was going to be unbearable — but he was worried about what his father was going to do. His last chance for happiness seemingly gone, Draco knew Lucius was capable of doing just about anything.
Ignoring the still smirking Crystal completely, Lucius searched for and found Ginny, who was talking to her family. He stalked across the dance floor towards her, not taking any notice of anyone else in the marquee. His entire focus was on his daughter-in-law and what she could tell him.
‘Are you all right, Lucius?’ Ginny asked, looking worried as he reached her. She could tell from the glacial expression on his face and the sharp look in his eyes that he was in a foul mood and she could hazard a guess why.
‘Where does Julia live?’
‘What?’ Ginny was thrown by the question and didn’t know what to say. She knew Julia would never forgive her if she gave Lucius her address.
‘You know where she lives. Tell me.’ Lucius’ voice was commanding and cold.
Ginny shook her head. ‘I’m sorry but I can’t tell you, Lucius. If she wanted you to know she would have told you herself.’
Lucius felt his temper rising and with the alcohol fuelling his rage he grabbed Ginny’s arm painfully and pulled her to him, shaking her hard.
‘Tell me where she is,’ he insisted in a hiss, his face an inch from hers.
‘What do you think you’re doing, Father?’ Draco asked angrily as he pulled the irate man away from his wife. He glared at Lucius. ‘Leave Ginny alone. Hurting her isn’t going to help you get Julia back.’
He turned to Ginny, asking solicitously, ‘Are you okay, love?’ Ginny nodded her head but looked rather upset.
Lucius had the decency to look a little ashamed at his behaviour but it lasted only a moment. His rage had no intention of being quelled. ‘She knows where Julia lives,’ he told his son bullishly. ‘I need to know.’
Draco looked evenly at his father, attempting to calm himself before he spoke. He knew that one wrong step now could mean the entire wedding being ruined.
‘Yes, she does,’ he acknowledged quietly and as calmly as he could manage, ‘but she promised Julia she wouldn’t tell you and it’s not fair of you to try and force her . . . especially at our wedding reception. Now calm down and be sensible.’
Lucius looked furious and his voice was full of ice-cold steel. ‘I’ve had enough of being sensible and I’ve had enough of listening to your advice; telling me time and again to wait. I’ve waited for almost two years now and what has it got me? Absolutely bloody nothing — that’s what. The woman I love has walked out on me again and I need to see her. I need to do something this time. I can’t just let her go without a fight, Draco.’ He turned away for a moment running his hand through his hair in exasperation. Then, much more quietly but with despair, he added, ‘So please, if you know where she lives, just tell me.’
Draco looked at Ginny, who looked unsure, but after a few seconds of thought she gave a small shrug.
Draco sighed. ‘Okay, I’ll take you to where she lives. But if she doesn’t want to see you, you have to promise me that you will leave her alone and not bother her again.’
‘Anything,’ Lucius said readily, his heart suddenly beating faster at the thought of seeing Julia again. ‘Let’s just go . . . now . . . please?’
Draco kissed Ginny. ‘I have to do this, darling. I won’t be long,’ he said, sounding regretful.
She gave him a small smile and gently stroked his cheek, signalling her understanding.
‘Come on, then,’ he said to Lucius in resignation. ‘Is there anywhere in the grounds we can Apparate from?’
Lucius nodded and took his son’s arm. ‘This way,’ he said, and led him out of the marquee.
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