Summary: Parsifal Parkinson makes a contact, and Marita Covarrubias wears pink. Complete title - Parallel Catastrophes: The Wedding Of Lucius And Narcissa. Part of a series of Harry Potter/XF crossovers, Krycek/Marita.

Title: The Wedding of Lucius and Narcissa
Author: Vanzetti
Feedback: vanzetti @ populli.net
Website: Parallel Catastrophes
(http://vanzetti.populli.net/pc/pcmenu.htm)
Rating G
Category: HP/XF crossover snippet (WMM, Marita, Lucius, Narcissa)
Summary: Parsifal Parkinson makes a contact, and Marita Covarrubias
wears pink.
Disclaimer: The X-Files Universe belongs to 1013 Productions, Fox
Television, and Chris Carter. The Harry Potter Universe belongs to
J. K. Rowling and her publishers etc. including Bloomsbury,
Scholastic, and whoever was responsible for those movies. I make no
claim to ownership of previously copyrighted materials, nor do I
make a profit from my use of them.


The wedding was a disaster. Oh, not in any obvious way. It didn't
rain, the band wasn't horrible, the guests didn't appear to be
developing food poisoning. No fights had broken out, no family feuds
erupted, no one was going to be killed the next day in a wizarding
duel over some drunken slight. The bride was beautiful, the
bridegroom attentive, the parents and friends all doting.

But still, a disaster. From the folds of Narcissa's white chiffon
dress to the white roses she had carried down the aisle to the
tasteful quartet playing a pavanne, the whole affair oozed good
taste and Malfoy money. And that, Marita thought, was the problem.

The night before she had made one final attempt to explain her fears
to her older sister, and once more Narcissa had shrugged them off.
No doubt trying to use the Freudian psychology she'd picked up in
Muggle Studies last year had been a mistake. "Daddy is dead,
Marita," Narcissa had hissed at her. "I know that! And Lucius is
nothing like him."

"What I mean," Marita had said, "is that you're trying to use Lucius
to replace Daddy. Lucius is always telling you what to do, and you
like that."

"Don't be stupid. And anyway, someone needs to take care of this
family. You don't think that mother is going to do it, do you?"

Their mother was becoming more ghostlike every year since their
father's disappearance, and for a while Marita had gotten up early
every morning to check and make sure that she hadn't faded away
entirely. "Why can't we take care of each other, the way we used
to?"

"Oh Marita, you're such a child. When you're a woman you'll
understand."

"I'm 14," Marita had objected. "I know about sex."

"But not about love, darling," Narcissa had said.

Love indeed, Marita thought now, watching her sister dance with her
new husband. Narcissa could not possibly be in love with that creepy
Lucius Malfoy, no matter what she said. It was Malfoy's money and
standing that she wanted, that was all.

The pavanne finally ended, and the quartet struck up a waltz. Arturo
Goyle was making his way purposefully toward her; she looked around
for an escape and when she looked back found an older man standing
in front of her. That Mr. Parkinson again, she thought. Not for the
first time, she noticed that there was something snakelike about
him, something in the shape of his head or the set of his eyes. She
wouldn't have been surprised if he's turned out to be a
Parselmouth. But he was an old friend of Lucius' family and had
walked Narcissa down the aisle, in the absence of their own father.

He held out his hand. "May I?" he asked and she was so surprised
that she let him lead her out onto the dance floor. "I don't believe
that I've told you how lovely you look, my dear."

She resisted the urge to correct him. Narcissa was the pretty one,
and today more than ever. Marita was the smart one, top of her year
in Charms and Transfiguration and in the top three of everything
else. "Thank you," she managed.

He looked down at her. "I suppose that this marriage will cause a
number of changes for you."

Marita had an answer ready for that. "Mother and I are moving into a
house on the Malfoy estate. Lucius has been very kind."

"Lucius thinks very highly of you, you know. I suspect he finds you
rather daunting."

"Why?" she asked and bit her lip. She could always hope that he
would think the question bold, rather than stupid.

Parkinson continued as if he hadn't heard her. "And as you know, he
loves you sister very much."

Marita suspected that it would be tactless to tell Mr. Parkinson
that she didn't believe Lucius capable of love, and had her doubts
about Narcissa. "Yes," seemed the most innocuous comment.

When the music ended he escorted her off the dance floor. "Lucius
tells me that you've decided to pursue Muggle Studies."

"I find it interesting."

"It's an unusual choice for a Slytherin."

She had an answer ready for that question, too. "Muggle Studies is
an important subject. We need to understand them. They outnumber us,
and what happens to them affects us."

"Indeed." He surveyed the room. "Pity more of us didn't agree with
you."

She blushed at the praise.

"You may not know, Marita, that my business takes me to New York on
a regular basis. Would you like to come with me someday?"

This time Marita kept her questions to herself. Maybe this was just
Lucius' way of getting rid of her, or maybe there was something else
Mr. Parkinson wanted. She was certain that the entire conversation
had been engineered to permit this question.

"Think about it," Mr. Parkinson told her. "I believe that you'd find
New York interesting." He bowed slightly and turned to go.

"Mr. Parkinson?" she asked. He turned back. "My sister thinks that
Lucius Malfoy isn't a gambler." She could feel how pink her cheeks
were. They probably matched her dress.

"Well, not in the sense that your father was. Or is," he corrected
himself. "Lucius is unlikely to disappear mysteriously after a
wizarding baccarat game in Buenos Aires, for example."

She could feel herself turning even redder, and reminded herself
that she had chosen to ask the question; she could hardly object if
he mentioned her father.

"But in every other way, my dear," Mr. Parkinson continued, "Lucius
Malfoy is the grandest gambler I know, and it is very clever of you
to see it. Just look at this crowd." He nodded to her and wandered
away.

End.

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