Chapter 96: Natasha's pleasant outing

Chapter 96: Natasha's pleasant outing

Natasha was walking around Diagon Alley, looking for a place where she could get lunch. Tom was far too busy with his research so for today she was alone.

Her morning was spent going around the apothecary shops and buying herbs she intended to plant in her new garden and she had to admit, Wizarding Britain was a wonderful place when it came to the variety of magical plants.

It was a few days ago that Tom and Hermione made up and it was decided that Hermione would stay at the Weasleys until the end of the summer holidays because the girl wanted to stay with her friends.

Frankly, Natasha was completely fine with that. Being alone with Tom was preferable for her. She didn't mind the girl much but it is what it is. Unlike Tom who took Hermione's behavior as a bratty rebellion, Natasha didn't like it at all but it was not her business.

As she walked across the street, Natasha suddenly saw one person she remembered from the Quidditch World Championship entering a bit too fancy-looking restaurant for her tastes, and her eyes brightened. Now that she thought about it, there was that one thing...

Instantly changing her direction, Natasha decided to pay Narcissa Malfoy a visit.

...

Narcissa Malfoy sat in a private VIP booth in her favorite restaurant, waiting for her food when she heard a knock on the door.

Surprised, yet, happy that her food was finished so fast... thinking that the service had improved since she last ate here... Narcissa swished her wand at the door, unlocking them in a sign that the waiters can enter.

But just as she was about to mind her own business and ignore the waiters, from the corner of her eye Narcissa noticed it was not a member of the staff who entered but a redheaded woman.

Needless to say, Narcissa's wand instantly snapped back into position, aimed at the newcomer before she even realized who exactly it was that paid her a visit.

Once Narcissa recognized Natasha, her throat went dry and her eyes slightly widened in worry... but it was gone as fast as it appeared on her face, and channeling her upbringing, Narcissa forcefully calmed down, leveling her cold gaze on the smiling Natasha who calmly walked towards the table, not minding the threat of Narcissa's wand at all.

Narcissa's eyes followed Natasha in mute surprise up until the moment she rudely sat down opposite her and silently looked Narcissa in the eyes, her smile still plastered on her face as she put her elbows on the table and her chin on her joined hands while silently waiting for Narcissa's reaction.

After a short while of silence where the women stared at each other, measuring the other with their eyes, Narcissa broke the moment by slowly pulling her wand back and putting it on the table. But she didn't let go of it, still clutching it in her hand, just in case.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy." Natasha politely greeted, starting to annoy the other woman with her easy-going smile.

"What do I owe the... pleasure, Miss Romanoff?" Narcissa frowned and asked, spontaneously twitching her nose a bit as a sign of what she thought about this surprising visit.

"Mhm. From your reaction, I see that you do know about your husband's recent escapades." Natasha quipped.

Because of that upbringing, she could make a clear distinction between some Killing Curse shooting loser dark wizards wannabes like her husband and the really dangerous men like the Dark Lord. It was all in the willingness to go further than anybody would deem humane when it came to hurting others.

Killing Curse was merciful, and painless. But when Narcissa witnessed what Natasha did to the kids who attacked her during the Quidditch World Cup... that proved to Narcissa that these two newcomers were not simply full of hot air and political scheming like her husband. These were the real deal who would not hesitate to step over a mountain of corpses to get what they wanted.

To be honest, Wizarding Britain didn't have the best track record when it came to stopping these kinds of people.

While Narcissa had no idea what exactly these two desired and she tried to caution Lucius but he just didn't listen, still trying to provoke them due to the small slight he 'suffered' at their hands. Being arrogant was fine... but sometimes, Lucius was taking it too far. At times, Narcissa wondered how it was possible that the growling at Voldemort's feet still didn't manage to curb his inborn arrogance of Malfoys.

It worried Narcissa a lot these days. She didn't want Wizarding Britain to erupt into another conflict or for her House to be targeted by dangerous people. Not when her baby boy was entering his teenage years.

Hearing Natasha clearing her throat, Narcissa realized she was lost in her thoughts for a tad bit more than was polite, and her cheeks slightly reddened. But then she saw Natasha's pleased smile and with an inward huff, Narcissa realized she was just teased.

"He is very upset." She kept her reply short in order to keep at least some of her decorum and keep her voice calm and polite... but without her realization, the tension in her shoulders disappeared.

Natasha had to admit that the rigid blonde was fun to tease. Something about making her break her facade of the perfect lady was immensely satisfying.

"I can imagine. I am actually very surprised you are so truthful about it. Don't you care about your husband? Won't he reprimand you for talking with me? Isn't it one of your wifey duties to listen to your husband?" Natasha gleefully asked without any shame, causing Narcissa's eyebrow to twitch.

'I am talking to you because I have no other choice!' She was inwardly screaming in frustration.

"Most of his current success is because of my previous family's connections and my help with his politicking so my husband's opinion on the matter doesn't matter." Narcissa dryly bit out.

Hearing that, Natasha widened her eyes in a mock surprise, "But don't you love your husband? How can you say that about poor Lucy?" She was enjoying it a tad bit too much.

As these words reached Narcissa's ears, she understood one important thing. A thing that made her close her eyes and take a deep breath to calm herself. Still, she decided to ask about it, hoping it wasn't true because if it was, it would be so very demeaning...

"Are you here only to make fun of me?" Narcissa blandly asked with helpless exasperation.

At first, she thought Natasha was here to hurt or threaten her. And if not that, then to get some information out of her. But the woman was just fooling around! This was getting ridiculous. The last time someone was teasing her like this was during her school days.

Narcissa had to admit she was maybe... just slightly, only the teensiest bit, kinda... enjoying it deep down. She tried to squash that feeling as soon as it came but she wasn't entirely successful. At this point, Narcissa would have been happier if Natasha indeed had some kind of agenda.

Unfortunately for her, Natasha just nonchalantly shrugged with her perpetually calm smile still plastered on her face, "Pretty much. I had nothing to do."

And Narcissa could only deadpan at the rude... but interestingly irritating redhead.