ccnqueror

[ccnqueror]

rosalind selwyn·

“That sounds no better.”

.

“Better than doing nothing all day. What exactly is it that you do? Write down a list of insults?”

[ccnqueror]

“No,” he was saying, “absolutely not.” 

Lucius pulled his arm back, holding a handful of corn kernels. He held up the index finger of his other hand -- a silencing gesture. He gave the peacock a very stern glance, frowning. 

“If you’re going to screech like that, I’m not going to give you anything. I mean it.” There was a pause. Lucius pouted. “Don’t look at me like that. You’ve scared off so many customers. Ah - ah - ah! Be quiet!” 

@narcissablack-x​

[ccnqueror]

rosalind selwyn·

“You work here?”

“Work?” He scoffed. “No, I’m just minding the shop. I work there, in that office.” 

[ccnqueror]

@rosalindselwyn​

A flash of red hair from the corner of his eye. Lucius turned. “What do you want now, Wease -- oh, it’s you.” Shit. “Er, welcome to Buttons and Bows?”

[ccnqueror]

@bartycrouchjunior​

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Crouch,” he drawled casually, leaning against a tree just outside Tremblay Manor. Lucius lifted his hand, inspecting his nails. “And what have you been doing over the summer, hm?”

[ccnqueror]

LASHES OUT.

d. Thursday, 27th August.

l. Buttons and Bows Boutique.

w. 735 words.

There’s something feral in his eyes. The boyish, immature sparkle has gone – faded – and his eyes are bottomless and empty, a corpse of what had once been. He used to have his mother’s eyes – pale grey and cold, alight with the mischievous gleam that comes from a spoiled childhood. Now, his shoulders are broader, his jaw sharper and more angular; where once was a chubby-cheeked, pouty little boy, there is now a man, arrogant and unfeeling.

He wasn’t like this before the summer. He’d been as he always was: whiny, bratty, a near-perfect imitation of his father’s chilly but playful nature. And there was the sketchbook he used to bring with him, the doodles he drew and the poetry he’d write – where was that romanticism now? And where was that quirk in his lip when he smiled – that sideways tilt to his mouth, the smirk?

What happened to her little Ducky?

“Ava,” he drawls, “can’t you manage your own photoshoot?”

He doesn’t look at her when he speaks, and she’s glad for it. He’s reading the parchment before him, tapping his quill thoughtfully against the edge of a pot of ink.

“It’s five minutes, Lucius,” she says.

She watches the muscles roll down his body. He leans back against his chair, sighing, throwing the quill into the ink. And when he pulls his gaze towards her, she shivers and glances down. Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked him. Perhaps she shouldn’t have hoped.

But then he stands up. “Five minutes,” he growls.

It’s a win, but it doesn’t feel like one.

He brushes past her, out the door. Doesn’t offer his arm like a gentleman might’ve – like she’d raised him to. And when his shoulder bumps hers, she has to take a deep breath and remind herself that he’d been a child, once. A helpless toddler, wide-eyed and afraid of the world. She had held his hand, then. She does not have to be so scared of him now.

The model in the shop is a familiar person. After their last meeting ten months ago, Ava had tried to set them up. Ducky had been himself, then. He’d spent the whole date talking about himself, boasting about various implausible things everyone new he hadn’t done – and he’d been so satisfied with himself, proclaiming it to be a ‘gold star’ date, even when his date hadn’t agreed to a second one.

He doesn’t recognise her anymore. She gives him a breezy, “hello again”, as he sits down, flipping carelessly through a box of make-up.

“My skin’s gotten better,” says the girl proudly. “I’ve been using that moisturiser you gave me –”

He sneers. “And yet you still look awful.”

“Lucius.” Ava folds her arms. Speaks firmly, the way she’d done when he was little.

But then he gives her a sideways glance – a glare. And she looks at the whites of his eyes, and wilts.

He throws down a brush. It crashes loudly against the others, and both women in the room flinch. The model looks at Ava, eyes wide as though pleading for help. Ava falls against her seat, shaking. He’d been scared of her, once. She’s scared of him, now.

“You can stop if you’re busy,” she tries. “I’ll do it myself –”

“What was the point in asking me if you’re just going to be like this?” He snaps.

Ava slips her eyes shut. He’s had tantrums before.

(Somehow, they’ve never been this intense.)

“You seem different.” It’s the model who speaks, her voice airy and light. She looks at him in the eyes, firm and challenging, as though saying, you can’t hurt me. “Is everything alright?”

There’s a pause. Lucius flexes his fingers.

And then there’s that smile.

That frosty, dead-eyed smile.

His voice is a soft whisper. “Do you ever get that feeling – that you’ve reached it? That everything you’ve ever dreamed about is there, in the palm of your hand?”

“You feel agitated,” she says.

He looks up.

(There’s something feral in his eyes.)

“Yes.”

“Restless.”

“Very much so.”

Ava’s stomach sinks. Every part of her is telling her to run. Her gut is screaming. It’s like she’s staring at a monster, like she’s looking into the eyes of a creature who has killed Ducky – sweet, baby Ducky – and taken his body.

“The world is changing,” says Lucius. He’s looking at the fingers of his left hand. “For the greater good.”

[ccnqueror]

Hey! I know I haven’t been on in ages, rip. Under the cut is an update on Lucius, and what he’s been doing over the summer. If you have any ideas for plots or connections, feel free to hit me up whenever!

He’s been completely silent. Lucius has not been seen publicly in a long time, and he hasn’t answered any letters. House calls have been answered by either an elf or his father, who simply state that he’s asleep -- at all hours of the day. If your character attended Cambridge with him, they might remember that the last time this happened was after his mother’s death. 

He’s joined the Death Eaters. If your character is involved, or their parents are, then they’ve seen him at meetings all through the summer. Lucius is something of an intern, there, doing odd jobs around the place: staking out certain areas, gathering information on potential victims, making coffee and sandwiches. He has been to a few missions, but has yet to cast a killing curse.

He’s got a new wand. His old one broke during a fight with a muggle. For a while, he was using a cheap replacement wand -- just some stick he found lying about the manor. One day, however, he stumbled across a snake-headed cane with a wand inside and decided it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Now, however, he’s finally been seen outside, in the daytime -- and at the Ministry, no less. He has not been there for the protests, but he has been trying to expand his father’s networking circle. If your character is a high-up in the Ministry, or is related to someone who is, then they’ve likely mentioned talking to the Malfoy boy.

He’s moved back to Hogsmaede, and is no longer living at Malfoy Manor. He is still occupying the flat above Buttons and Bows. There are, however, two new additions to the clothing store. Firstly, the peacock pen, with two bright albino peacocks and the sign: murderous peacocks, do not touch. Secondly, a smaller office next door: this one belongs to Lucius.

He operates two businesses. Firstly, a loaning company. If you are looking for an investor, or simply need some money for personal or medical reasons, feel free to approach Lucius. He’s a very good negotiator. Otherwise, you might be there to rent a property. Lucius has taken over a lot of the real estate the Malfoys own, and is now the landlord of several high-quality apartments. If your character rents from him, say goodbye to the security deposit -- that’s never going back.

[ccnqueror]

alecto carrow

“You’re talking to yourself.”

“...No, I wasn’t. I was... talking to you. And, oh look -- you’ve responded.”

[ccnqueror]

dw

.

“Unless he swallows it or sommat,” she said casually enough, and then reached out a hand to softly pat the bird’s head. As sure as she was that she wouldn’t lose a finger, she didn’t press her luck and linger with her hand too near its mouth after the fact. “You must be barmy, keeping a peacock for a pet.”

Lucius pulled a face. “’m not barmy.” He shrugged. “They’re nice to look at. They make good guards, too -- they squawk at everything, you know. That one scared off this big dog once, when I was three.” He smiled, nodding to the ferocious little bird at their feet.

[ccnqueror]

natalya greengrass

“I did not” her tongue clicked against her teeth, the words coming out of her lips in a calm and slow way, her eyes carefully watching every expression on Lucius’ face. For someone who used to be overly expressive, the lack of emotion on his face as he looked at the muggle was a surprise. Good, she thought, he learned something. Lucius’ subtle movement caught Natalya’s attention and her gaze dropped for a moment to where the hand of the recent death eater was resting, the expression on her face remaining unchanged even when she realized what that movement meant. Someone else in her place would have offered to aid him, but even in a good mood Natalya was not that kind. She rested an elbow on the table, her chin resting on the palm of her hand, a smile forming on her lips, her fingers tapping gently against her cheek. “Right, that was quite the welcome you had there” her gaze drifted slightly to the group of death eaters who were previously pinching Lucius’ cheeks. “Excuse my rudeness, but do you want something from me?” she insisted “I am rather tired, I am sure you understand” she drifted her gaze down, the hand she had on her cheek coming to rest on her forehead demonstrating the headache she did not have.

“Oh.” He glanced away, a tad sheepish. He’d never asked for help once in his life -- and, seeing this... monstrosity before him, Lucius didn’t think threatening would work, here. He cocked his head, trying to make eye contact with his father. “Well. I suppose I have something to ask...?”

Abraxas stared back at him. The old man jerked his head to the left, where a dusty corridor lead to the toilets, before happily turning back to his friends.

The younger Malfoy scowled. That old man was useless. He rubbed at his stomach once more. 

“I, um.” Lucius cleared his throat, preparing himself for the lies that would come next. “My father stabbed me -- voluntarily, you see. He wanted to teach me some medical skills. Admittedly, we were a bit -- well, a lot -- drunk at the time, so, this probably isn’t my best work...” Lucius lifted his shirt. “Will you take a look?” 

[ccnqueror]

Lucius had never, ever, purchased Witch Weekly in his entire life. And this was, technically, true: his mother’s subscription hadn’t stopped when she died. Generally, the Malfoys liked to read it -- deface it, really -- at the breakfast table. But the second Lucius realised what, exactly, it’d meant, he’d snatched the thing out of his father’s hands and ran somewhere private: a small booth in the corner of A Brewed Awakening. 

He bit his lip, playing at the edge of the magazine, muttering to himself. “Should I write her? Would that be too desperate? Would she write back?”

@c-alecto​

[ccnqueror]

narcissa black

“You can’t possibly upset me, Lucius.” Narcissa faked a smirk, clearly lying. 

“Mhm, Marceaux.” She confirmed with a nod. “I am taking you know him?” She raised her brow. “I wouldn’t say a lot of but I do have a few and I love them dearly.”

Lucius leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. Annoyance flitted over his features; he did not bother to hide it, however, opting instead to glare straight ahead. 

“Love,” he drawled. “You really love to throw that word around, don’t you?” 

He stood up. Set his jaw as he looked at her again. “Well, I hope you have a fun time. Bertha and I certainly will be.”

[ccnqueror]

dw

.

“Unless he swallows it or sommat,” she said casually enough, and then reached out a hand to softly pat the bird’s head. As sure as she was that she wouldn’t lose a finger, she didn’t press her luck and linger with her hand too near its mouth after the fact. “You must be barmy, keeping a peacock for a pet.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes. “I’m not barmy. What’s wrong with having some peacocks?” He fluffed up the one in his arms, tousling the top of its head proudly. “Look. See? Adorable.”

[ccnqueror]

natalya greengrass·

The dark lord was always present, the symbol on each one’s forearm was a constant reminder of that fact, however in the many situations where he was not physically present the fear and tension seemed to disappear almost completely and that made conversations easier and lighter. Even now, while Natalya sat beside the inferius watching all the damage she had done, her gaze got caught on a large group of dark wizards, their loud and excited voices disturbing the calm that Natalya was feeling. At the center of all the commotion was Lucius and his father, the girl could tell from the older Malfoy’s posture that he was incredibly satisfied with the praises he and his son were receiving. Did all Malfoys live to be the center of attention? She looked at Lucius, analyzing him silently. It didn’t take long before he noticed her gaze. “A weapon. One of many, which are going to be useful to us sooner or later” she explained briefly, adjusting her posture to lean in the Lucius’ direction. She didn’t recommend wizards based on trust, she only cared about their abilities. It was very important that Lucius had managed to pass the first task. “Should I have chosen a less challenging one? You left it in such a poor condition” she whispered calmly, there was no evidence that she was angry or making fun of a Lucius, she really wanted to know what had happened. There was something that was different about Lucius.

He did not look at her. He stared, instead, at the muggle’s face: untouched, unlike the rest of its scarred body. He hadn’t been able to look at it, before. Death had taken that fear from him, somewhat. This was no longer a living creature. Nothing to be afraid of, he told himself.

Lucius wound one arm around his stomach, cupping the injury on his hip. 

Nothing to be afraid of.

“I wasn’t aware you needed it in good condition.” Finally, he drew his gaze back to her. “It’s dead. Or, was, anyway.” He lifted his chin, conveying a level confidence he did not feel. “And I can handle myself -- as I’ve proven to you and everyone else. I don’t need to be coddled. I’ll accept any challenge.”

[ccnqueror]

amycus carrow

Amycus ‘laughter quickly stopped as soon as Lucius mentioned barring pigs, memories of his fight with Cecily coming up and that was almost enough to put him in a bad mood, luckily Lucius’ miserable look continued to balance things out. “Yeah keep eating cake like that and we will see who looks like a pig at the end of the year”

Lucius stabbed at another piece. “It’ll still be you,” he said with a sniff. “I, at least, have the grace of good genetics. This face?” He gestured to himself. “Will never be ugly. Unlike you inbred Carrows, we Malfoys age like fine wine.”

[ccnqueror]

james potter

“I don’t think any of them have teeth.”

“I know for sure this one does.” He glared at it. It stared back at him -- smugly. Like it remembered The Incident. “What’re you doing here, anyway? Giving your pet a walk?” 

[ccnqueror]

dw

“Might be cool, losing a finger,” she commented, more to the bird than to him. “Sure they’ve got spells to reattach ‘em, yeah?”

.

“...I don’t actually know.” He blinked. “Give him a pat, and we can find out.”