Just Around the Riverbend

Voracious Reader
LaBibliographe
Serin Blackmoon
angeles
KippersDancingOnMyToes
HarryGInny4Eva
amd2175
Anathma
Atrumnex

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Phelan looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He nervously ran his hand down the front of the white button-up shirt, admiring the way his new outfit looked. Suzy had also put him in soft black slacks, a dark blue set of lined cotton robes, and a new pair of soft black boots. He looked…decent.

Suzy watched his face carefully. He had very few tells, but she’d spent years honing her skills on finding even the slightest ones. He was nervous, she could tell that by the way he kept touching the shirt. He was very pleased, as well. She could tell that by the ever-so-slight way his yellow eyes had lit up when he saw the finished outfit.

He was handsome in clean clothes.

“You look very handsome.” Suzy said gently. Phelan straightened out a small wrinkle in his white shirt.

“Erm…th…thank y-you.” He said, his tongue fumbling over the unfamiliar words. Suzy laughed, a sound like the tinkling of bells, and clapped her hands.

“Well! Time for a few more outfits, and then we’ll see about that costume!”

~~

Lucius flipped through a small sketch pad that Suzy had given him, filled with her sketch ideas for Oberon outfits. Some he vetoed immediately, because a few were of a Grecian design, and would reveal too much of the legs. He had no shame of his body, but it was inappropriate to show so much of it in public.

There was one that caught his eye immediately. It was labeled ‘King of Shadows.’ It was done in smoky grays and dark blues, with a head piece included. If those blues were turned to green, and some of those grays turned to silver, the ‘King of Shadows’ would be a nice costume. But on second thought, the next page was already in green…

He looked up as Suzy came floating out from the back, a broad smile on her face.

“You came to me with a lump of coal. Through careful refining, I turned that lump into a sparkling diamond.” She said, and stepped aside dramatically. Lucius stood from his seat, pleasantly surprised.

Phelan looked different, indeed. His shoddy shoes had been replaced by new black boots with a matte shine. His frayed pants were now immaculate denim jeans that encased his strong legs, and lovingly accentuated his posterior. He was also wearing a set of dark blue robes over a white undershirt. He looked casual, yet put-together. And he was…was that a smile?

It was. And it transformed his entire face. His normally somber expression had lightened, and instead of looking like a miniature version of his sour father, he looked like a normal fifteen-year-old boy who happened to have yellow eyes and grey hair.

“Suzy, you are a sorceress of style.” Lucius said. Suzy giggled and blushed.

“You spoil me, Mr. Malfoy.” She said. Lucius turned to Phelan, noting that he was even standing straighter.

“Come now, my boy. We have to see a man about that mop of hair.” He said.

“My hair?” Phelan asked. He reached up and ran a hand through his shaggy gray hair. He was quite aware that his hair was messy. It’s just the way nature had made him. His hair was like a wolf’s fur, and the longer it got, the shaggier and messier it got. Perhaps it would look better shorter. But then he couldn’t hide his eyes in a curtain of his hair. “But my eyes…” Phelan argued feebly.

“Are unique. Now come.” Lucius said, and turned towards the door with a whirl of his cloak. He stopped, and turned to Suzy as a second thought. “Put his total on my tab, and send his things to me.” She said, and continued out the door. Suzy nodded happily, and went to fill out the shipping information.

Lucius walked briskly down the street, the young werewolf walking behind him. He was headed towards a popular barbershop. Indeed Franco was the only one Lucius trusted with his hair when it came time for it to see the barber’s scissors.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Phelan asked, stopping at the threshold of the door. Lucius turned around and grabbed Phelan by the front of the robes, pulling him inside the barbershop.

A lanky, dark-skinned man immediately appeared near Lucius.

“Ah, Mr. Malfoy! It is very soon since last I see you. Surely it isn’t time yet?” Franco said. He was paid well to take care of Lucius Malfoy’s hair, and he didn’t dare abuse that trust. Lucius knew what he wanted and had kept his hair very similar in all the years he had come to Franco, and Franco didn’t suggest otherwise.

“No, Franco. I’ve come to you with another client. He’s very nervous about letting anyone touch his hair, and I brought him here with great trust on your part.” Lucius said. Franco looked at the young man, and raised a dark eyebrow.

“Isn’t he-?”

“Here with me. That’s all you need to know.” Lucius said, his head tilting back slightly to look down his nose at Franco. Franco knew when his mouth needed to be shut.

“Well that settles it! Come, young friend, and I shall make your hair match your face.”

~~

“I’m bored.” Daisy said, and began folding a piece of parchment into a paper airplane.

“Yeah, well. You should be working on your Latin and French. Lucius said you were doing well, but you could do better if you applied yourself.” Hermione said, pinning Daisy with a stare.

“But Mrs. Cummings is soooo boring!” Daisy whined. She’d been keeping up with the two tutors she had left. But the only place she was actually learning was with Gertrude Cummings. Coco wasn’t teaching her anything her mother hadn’t. The plump woman was teaching her at a pace she should if she hadn’t ever picked up a needle or thread. It was dreadfully uninteresting.

“Je m’ennuie très.” Daisy said. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the girl.

“Ha ha.”

Suddenly Daisy’s head lifted slightly. “They’re back!” she said, and quickly stood up from the floor. Hermione looked up from her large book as Lucius appeared at the doorway, a very smug look on his face.

“You’ve either taken over the Ministry of Magic, or gotten Phelan some decent clothes.” Hermione said. Lucius cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Please. I’ve had the Ministry in my pocket for years.” He said and stepped aside, revealing Phelan to the two women. Daisy’s mouth fell open, and Hermione smiled brightly.

Along with his sharp new outfit, Phelan was sporting a new hairstyle. His shaggy, shapeless grey hair had been chopped away. It was cut on the sides, and left longer on top to be spiked up stylishly. His hair had been hiding a lot, apparently. He had a strong square jaw, and a very symmetrical face. His cheek was marred with three light colored scars, and another scar could be seen stretching from below his left ear diagonally across his throat.

“Oh my god you look like Hugh Jackman!” Daisy squealed. All eyes were on her. Even Hermione was lost to the reference. Daisy looked at all of them. “Really? I’m the only one? God you people need a movie theater. Hugh Jackman has, like, just played the coolest movie role ever! Wolverine? X-Men?” Daisy said, looking at the blank faces. “Just forget it!” she said, and sighed. They’d never understand. “Did you get your costume?” she asked sullenly. Phelan grunted.

“Yeah.” He said, and glared at Lucius, who merely smiled.

“Well…what are you going as?” Daisy asked.

“You’ll find out at the ball.” Phelan said. Daisy rolled her eyes.

“Fine.” Daisy snapped.

“Fine!” Phelan snapped back.

“Fine!” Daisy snapped again.

“Fi- You know what? Screw this!” Phelan said, and Apparated. Daisy huffed angrily, and stomped out of the room, leaving Lucius and Hermione alone.

“What just happened?” Lucius asked. Hermione shrugged.

“Teenagers. Hormones. General awkwardness.” She said.

Lucius walked over to the couch Hermione had settled herself on, and situated himself on the other end. He leaned back against the cushion, and sighed.

“Today was hell. That boy has zilch self-esteem, and I nearly had to restrain him when Franco started cutting his hair. I hope you’re happy.” He said petulantly. Hermione closed her book and set it aside, looking at the large blonde on the other end of the sofa.

“You know…I meant to talk to you when you came back. About Daisy.” Hermione said. Lucius sat up a little straighter, moving into a more business-like position.

“What about her?” he asked.

“I think she might be developing…feelings…for Phelan.” Hermione said delicately.

“What?” Lucius asked, his voice deceptively quiet. Hermione scrambled to salvage the situation.

“I think it’s just a passing fancy for a handsome boy.” She put in quickly.

“Well you can just tell her to cut it out. I still don’t like the boy, and I don’t want him around her like that. He’s a werewolf, Hermione. If he got wind that she liked him he’d try to cock her legs like some common bitch.” He said, bristling.

“Relax…I told her you wouldn’t approve, and she said she wouldn’t dream of displeasing her big, bad, Death Eater cousin!” Hermione said, and laughed as if at a funny joke. Lucius blinked. Wait a tic…

“What did you say? Were those her…exact words?” he asked. Hermione chuckled.

“Yeah. Why?” she asked.

“I haven’t told her anything about the War. I’m only wondering how she found out…” he said, his glacial eyes resting on Hermione’s face. Her smile slowly faded.

“Wh-What do you mean?” she asked.

“Exactly what I said, Hermione. I didn’t tell Daisy anything about the war, nor has she seen the Mark. So I pose my question: How did she find out? I wasn’t ready to tell her.” He said. Hermione swallowed.

“I told her. Sh-she wanted to know why Harry didn’t like you. She wanted to know wh-why there was hostility between us.” She said, not liking the way his expressions had frozen over.

“And so you took it upon yourself to explain my past to her. How long ago was this?” he asked.

“The day I helped her from the book store.”

“She was in this country three days at that point. Three days she’d known me.” He was furious. Of course he’d planned on telling Daisy about that…but this is not how he’d wanted her to find out!

“She deserved to know-”

“But not from you! It wasn't your story to tell, Hermione. I thought it would have been better to let her know the man I've become before I told her about the man I was.” Lucius exploded, coming to his feet. He took in Hermione’s wide-eyed expression, and took a deep breath. “Perhaps…perhaps having you here was a bad idea.” He said, and turned away from her. “Perhaps you should gather your things and leave, Hermione.”

“What? You can’t!” Hermione sputtered, coming to her feet as well.

“But I can, Hermione. I hired you, and I can fire you.” He said softly.

“But, I like it here! I like spending time with Daisy…and with…with you…” Hermione pleaded.

“You are so very reckless with what you tell my cousin. I can’t have that. Not when I’m trying to give her a semblance of structure in her life.” He countered.

“I’m sorry! Please….let me make it up to you! I’ll do anything!” Hermione begged. Lucius turned back to her, and looked down his patrician nose at her, his frosty blue eyes narrowing.

“Anything?” he asked. Hermione gulped.

“I want to make it up you…” she said softly. He kept his stare even as he looked at her.

“I’ll think about it.”

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Hmm....interesting turn of events. I wonder how this could end. *HINT* Look at the warnings on this story. :D

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