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Jan. 29th, 2006 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foudebassanOmnioculars lottery submission
Characters: Narcissa Black & Firenze
Rating: PG
Warnings: Large quantities of tea are ingested in this fic.
743 words
“Friends” was not the appropriate term. “Acquaintances” would be better suited to the peculiar relationship their shared, but “acquaintances” was a word Narcissa reserved to people she would not play bridge with, and this was not the case with him. Tea of course was another matter altogether – one may even share tea with Mudbloods if the political situation called for it. On the other hand, he was no bridge partner of hers, and the likelihood of his ever playing card games was remote, so she could not dub him “bridge partner” either, even though they did share moments of an intimacy one usually associates with discreetly signally to one’s partner in order to trounce the opponents, er, friends one is playing with. It is after all no coincidence that one usually partners with one’s long time spouse – sharing a bed is something you can do with just about anyone given the right pheromones and candlelight, and lovers are not hard to choose, but bridge signals distinctly belong to the kind one develops over a long period with a trusted individual.
So the problem was whole, and not likely to be resolved anytime soon. She had no means of describing what she shared with him, which made their entire relationship a mystery to the rest of the world. To be entirely honest, it sometimes was a mystery to herself as well.
It is after all no common occurrence to spend large amounts of time in the company of a representative of another species, let alone one who cannot even sit down properly in one’s boudoir for tea.
Funny that. She felt far closer to him than to people she ordinarily entertained on such occasions, closer to him than to her own husband even, at times; and yet they had not partaken tea once.
If describing their relationship was complicated, there was nothing uneasy with the relationship itself. On the contrary – she often felt that all the awkwardness had been dealt with when they first met, what with being from different species and both full of prejudice against each other. She chuckled at the recollection. How could she ever have thought that Centaurs were no better than Mudbloods?
Well, she wasn’t one to cling to her pre-formatted beliefs, anyway – and neither was he, thank Merlin. And their first meeting, when they both expected something significant from the other, had quickly developed into… something more, albeit something Narcissa still could not put words on.
Back then, she only wanted protection for her son. Snape would watch over him, she knew that – Unbreakable Vows may not be broken, after all – but if marriage to a Malfoy had taught her anything, it would be never to rely on one sole ally. She needed someone else in Hogwarts to help her offspring accomplish the task the Dark Lord had set for him. He somehow sensed that Dumbledore’s days were numbered, and sought a place to live elsewhere from Hogwarts, as the forest was now forbidden for him – the other Centaurs were not forgiving to those who fled the tribe, that much even Narcissa knew. The alliance was struck – they had become allies, and ...allies they were indeed, to this day.
Narcissa sighed happily under her breath. That first alliance of sorts had not prepared her for what was to come – the companionship, the shared discussions and plotting, the knowledge that there was one other being in this world she understood and liked more than herself. Lucius was bound to come back from Azkhaban someday, and she looked forward to it. Her husband didn’t represent the same things to her than Firenze did; his return would not change anything on that account.
But she knew one thing for sure. Lucius being away affected her; Firenze going to Azkhaban would destroy her. Husbands could be replaced, even when one had got used to the current one; yet allies-turned-soulmates were unique.
She would have to take measures to prevent him from ever going away from the Malfoy estates. It would take some tact and plotting – he shouldn’t be allowed to guess she was trying to keep him prisoner – but she felt up to the task. The stakes were high enough for her to use her entire potential, after all.
It was most fortunate that Centaurs were Pureblooded magical creatures – she did not know how she would have coped with enjoying a Mudblood’s company.
Characters: Narcissa Black & Firenze
Rating: PG
Warnings: Large quantities of tea are ingested in this fic.
743 words
“Friends” was not the appropriate term. “Acquaintances” would be better suited to the peculiar relationship their shared, but “acquaintances” was a word Narcissa reserved to people she would not play bridge with, and this was not the case with him. Tea of course was another matter altogether – one may even share tea with Mudbloods if the political situation called for it. On the other hand, he was no bridge partner of hers, and the likelihood of his ever playing card games was remote, so she could not dub him “bridge partner” either, even though they did share moments of an intimacy one usually associates with discreetly signally to one’s partner in order to trounce the opponents, er, friends one is playing with. It is after all no coincidence that one usually partners with one’s long time spouse – sharing a bed is something you can do with just about anyone given the right pheromones and candlelight, and lovers are not hard to choose, but bridge signals distinctly belong to the kind one develops over a long period with a trusted individual.
So the problem was whole, and not likely to be resolved anytime soon. She had no means of describing what she shared with him, which made their entire relationship a mystery to the rest of the world. To be entirely honest, it sometimes was a mystery to herself as well.
It is after all no common occurrence to spend large amounts of time in the company of a representative of another species, let alone one who cannot even sit down properly in one’s boudoir for tea.
Funny that. She felt far closer to him than to people she ordinarily entertained on such occasions, closer to him than to her own husband even, at times; and yet they had not partaken tea once.
If describing their relationship was complicated, there was nothing uneasy with the relationship itself. On the contrary – she often felt that all the awkwardness had been dealt with when they first met, what with being from different species and both full of prejudice against each other. She chuckled at the recollection. How could she ever have thought that Centaurs were no better than Mudbloods?
Well, she wasn’t one to cling to her pre-formatted beliefs, anyway – and neither was he, thank Merlin. And their first meeting, when they both expected something significant from the other, had quickly developed into… something more, albeit something Narcissa still could not put words on.
Back then, she only wanted protection for her son. Snape would watch over him, she knew that – Unbreakable Vows may not be broken, after all – but if marriage to a Malfoy had taught her anything, it would be never to rely on one sole ally. She needed someone else in Hogwarts to help her offspring accomplish the task the Dark Lord had set for him. He somehow sensed that Dumbledore’s days were numbered, and sought a place to live elsewhere from Hogwarts, as the forest was now forbidden for him – the other Centaurs were not forgiving to those who fled the tribe, that much even Narcissa knew. The alliance was struck – they had become allies, and ...allies they were indeed, to this day.
Narcissa sighed happily under her breath. That first alliance of sorts had not prepared her for what was to come – the companionship, the shared discussions and plotting, the knowledge that there was one other being in this world she understood and liked more than herself. Lucius was bound to come back from Azkhaban someday, and she looked forward to it. Her husband didn’t represent the same things to her than Firenze did; his return would not change anything on that account.
But she knew one thing for sure. Lucius being away affected her; Firenze going to Azkhaban would destroy her. Husbands could be replaced, even when one had got used to the current one; yet allies-turned-soulmates were unique.
She would have to take measures to prevent him from ever going away from the Malfoy estates. It would take some tact and plotting – he shouldn’t be allowed to guess she was trying to keep him prisoner – but she felt up to the task. The stakes were high enough for her to use her entire potential, after all.
It was most fortunate that Centaurs were Pureblooded magical creatures – she did not know how she would have coped with enjoying a Mudblood’s company.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 02:43 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it :)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 01:21 pm (UTC)That was a good one. It was most fortunate that Centaurs were Pureblooded magical creatures LOL
**Applauds** I would have been completely at loss with this task, but you spun made a believable story around it. Congratulations.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-30 09:12 am (UTC)Joins in applause - that really is a terrific line: not just the wit, but the seeds of folly that are going to ruin things. So do you plan a companion from Firenze's POV ;)
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Date: 2006-01-30 10:03 am (UTC)So do you plan a companion from Firenze's POV
I've already begun to write it :)
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Date: 2006-01-29 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-30 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-30 10:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-29 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-30 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-30 02:02 pm (UTC)Nicely done.
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Date: 2006-02-01 10:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 10:21 pm (UTC)