A/N: I originally intended for this fic to be a bit shorter, but I suppose once I start with these two I just can't stop! I haven't explored any sort of argument or disagreement between the Malfoys, so I thought I'd try that this time around, though it's far from anything too serious, as I tend to prefer it.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series, characters, etc belong to the wonderful JKR, not me.

Narcissa Malfoy had chosen to spend her evening alone in the Malfoy manor sitting room, with the fireplace lit and a novel in hand, and a rather sour expression on her face, which certainly did not result from the elf-made wine she had been drinking throughout the night. She gave a heavy, very irritated sigh and took another long drink from the glass that had been placed on the table next to her, draining half of it before replacing the glass and shutting her book with more force than was necessary.

She could hardly remember any of what she had read thus far, her thoughts very much elsewhere. That is to say, her mind was already much too full of thoughts of her husband and his recent behavior to comprehend much of anything else. Lucius had been nothing short of furious when he had arrived home from the Ministry, and, after giving Narcissa an explanation for it that left much to be desired, he departed for Hogwarts before the house elf could so much as finish polishing his shoes. He returned to the manor one house elf short and in even worse condition than before, shouting at Narcissa and shoving her away when she attempted to meet him at the door, not offering so much as a brief apology. Lucius had retreated immediately to his study, the one place in the manor he felt he could truly be alone without interruption, speaking not one word to his wife since.

With another sigh, Narcissa flipped through the pages of the book once more, hoping to find something that would catch her interest, but to no avail; she was just as much concerned about Lucius as she was angry with him.

However, she had no trouble pretending to be very interested when she heard the approaching footsteps. Though she could feel his presence as he neared her, not once did she turn to look at him.

Lucius paused a moment, hesitant to speak, hoping that by some stroke of luck it would be Narcissa that made the first move. However, the seconds that passed felt like ages and the more Lucius hoped, the more his wife seemed to ignore him, crushing any hope he had of her speaking first to expel the cold silence between them.

"Narcissa..." he began nervously, taking another step towards her. At her lack of response, he could only continue his speech. "I... I don't suppose you have time for your selfish, foolish, and careless excuse for a husband...?"

"This means you've calmed down enough to treat me like your wife, instead of your servant...?" she asked casually, certainly not about to allow him to get away with treating her, one of the last descendants of the noble and most ancient House of Black and the current Mistress Malfoy, as he had.

Lucius grimaced. This certainly didn't seem as though it would be easy. "Narcissa, please allow me to explain. I promise, I didn't mean to be so..." he paused once more, in an attempt to find the right words to say to her, "so unfeeling towards you before, and perhaps if you'd let me explain why, you might be more inclined to forgive me..."

"...Sit," she commanded, pointing at the large chair to her right, identical to the one she was already occupying. Lucius, of course, obeyed. "Speak. And be careful you don't test me, Lucius"

"Well, Cissa..." Now that he was given the opportunity, Lucius found it difficult to know where to being. "I've already explained to you about the diary and the certain events that transpired at Diagon Alley..."

The woman nodded, but still never glancing towards him, remembering clearly how she had interrogated him about just how it was he could be sent to buy Draco's school supplies and somehow return home with not only that, but a black eye and sprained ankle as well.

"When I went to Hogwarts to see just what in god's name Dumbledore was doing back there after I'd had him removed from the school, those events were... Well, they were traced back to me, so to speak. There wasn't any evidence whatsoever, of course, just the Potter boy's word... And on top of that, the Headmaster proceeded to accuse me of bribing and threatening the other governors..." Just recounting the scene to Narcissa was enough to anger Lucius once more.

"Afterward, as I was leaving with the house elf, Potter came chasing after us and forced into my hand a sock, of all things, and within it was the diary. Of course I discarded that immediately. Seeing as the elf never returned with me, I'm sure you can imagine the rest."

"You were careless where you tossed it, and the house elf took the clothing, gaining its freedom."

"Precisely. I was so infuriated by that point, I drew my wand against Potter, only to be stopped by the elf and thrown down a staircase by that thing's magic... I'd lost both my dignity and my only servant; I know it's no excuse but you can see, can't you, why it was I snapped at you like that and all...? I know you're already aware I didn't mean a word of what I said..."

"...I suppose," she conceded, finally looking up at him.

"Does that mean... You forgive me...?" he asked hesitantly, having learned over the years to tread very¸ very lightly when he had upset his wife.

"I..." After hearing his explanation, Narcissa understood that his anger was indeed justified – any pureblood wizard would have surely reacted similarly. It was very rare that Lucius was anything but perfectly composed in the first place, and even rarer still that he lost his temper, especially with her. One small trespass could be forgiven, could it not? On top of that, she was worried about him, and he'd certainly be more willing to speak with her about it if he knew she wasn't unhappy with him... "...Yes, Lucius, I forgive you."

"Narcissa, thank you, I know I've been terrible recently, I just... I just don't know what I'm expected to do now, now that I don't have a servant to take care of things for me—"

He was interrupted by a laugh from his beloved, which caught him more than a little off-guard. He found it difficult to imagine a fellow pureblood, a pureblood whose family was more well-regarded among wizards than even his own, finding the loss of a house elf something worth laughing about. "Lucius," she said at length, "as long as it's for you, I wouldn't mind doing most of the work that the house elf was responsible for."

"Wh-what? Narcissa, you're a pureblood witch! That's just... You can't!" The mere suggestion that his wife, who could do no wrong, who was always perfect, do the work of an elf of all things was absolutely outrageous to Mr. Malfoy; the very thought absurd.

"Well, it may not be conventional..." she admitted, her cheeks flushing at having to explain herself to him, "but I'm a housewife, Lucius; I don't see the harm in taking some time out of my day to learn a few household spells."

"Y-yes, but... What would Bellatrix say about this? Or your parents, even! You know full well that Cygnus and Druella will find a way to blame it on me if they hear of it!"

"What I do with my free time is no concern of theirs, and I can't say I recall you ever taking Bellatrix's opinion into account on any matter before."

"That... That's different, Cissy, you know it..."

"I won't have you fussing about this ordeal any more, Lucius. I only want to do this for your sake, to make you more comfortable and perhaps keep you in a better mood more often. It worries me, you know, seeing you so stressed about everything that's happened lately. It's the least you could do to allow me to help you." Narcissa gave her husband a reassuring smile.

"Well... You put it that way and you look at me like that, and I... Fine. I give in; do as you please." Defeated, Lucius took Narcissa's unfinished glass of wine from the table between them and drank deeply, draining it fully.

"...I certainly hope you plan on pouring me more of that," she said with mock testiness. "I may have forgiven you for your disgraceful behavior towards me, but you still owe me, you know. Get yourself something as well, while you're at it. Goodness knows you could do with something strong," she told him sincerely.

Lucius sighed. As always, he couldn't deny a word of what she said. Resigned to this, he could only comply. "Yes, dear."