Edinburgh. A beautiful city with a very elegant wizarding quarter, despite the preponderance of Cacophany Kilts with their singing sporrans, and also a place where the weather could not be predicted even for the next five minutes.
The Prophet had reported sunshine for the north today, and at home it was warm enough beneath the crisp breeze, so she hadn't taken an umbrella. The downpour had been sudden and unheralded; the sunlight had fled, the heavens had opened, and an ominous rumble of thunder had sounded a few moments later.
There had been a queue for the public Floo grate, which was not housed within a large shop or even within much of a building - it was little more than a roof over a fireplace, to stop the flames from growing out. The line of people waiting for it was exposed to the elements, and by the time Narcissa stepped into the warm green flames, the thunder was cracking overhead as if the roof of Hogwarts' Great Hall was splitting apart, and Narcissa was soaked to the bone. Her hair was limp, plastered to her skull where the persistent deluge had hammered it flat, her blue robes were darkened to navy, and because no one had offered her an umbrella, it wasn't just her robes that were sodden, but the blouse beneath as well.
The Floo fire did not warm here. She stepped out into her own home and threw down her handbag with petulant passion. Tibby appeared, but she ordered the gibbering creature away without listening to a word it was saying. A glance outside the window confirmed that it hadn't rained here today. She was still more displeased.
Pushing strands of her sticky, lank hair back from her face, she plucked at her robes. Shedding her outer layer and leaving it for Tibby to take away, she shook the damp folds of her blouse. They weren't plastered to her skin, but they were clinging more than they ought, and that made them uncomfortable. She kicked off her shoes and decided to head upstairs.
As she passed the drawing room, she could see a glimpse of someone relaxing on one of the chairs. Was Draco back? She walked in to say hello, and then paused. Not Draco at all - it was Yaxley.
"Hello, Lucius," she said, wondering instantly why Tibby hadn't told her he was in the house right away. "How long have you been here?" She reached up to smooth back her hair.