Blood that bonds,
Ties that bind,
Things I thought I'd left behind,
Come to haunt me once again
And the blood brings the bitter end...
Narcissa stared out the window, shivering uncontrollably. Her pale blond hair tumbled around her shoulders, and a faint sheen of sweat glistened on her face as winter swirled outside. Snow fell to the ground in rough, angry drifts, swirling in the cold wind. The room was cold. There was no light in here, no light but what came from the gray snow outside, a pale half-light filling the room, falling on her skin with the touch that chilled. It illuminated every nuance of her, sweat glistening over her body, spread over the chair, limpid and exhausted. Her white silk nightgown cooled her further, but it could not clean her.
She could feel it welling up inside her, and even without tearing her eyes away from the window, she knew the cut would still be there, blood soaking up in her silk robes. The memory of it made her choke, and at any other time she would have burst into tears, but it was too late for that, now. Bellatrix had come, Bellatrix Lestrange, that perverted, child-molesting, inbred, lesbian rapist.....
Narcissa shivered once, uncontrollably. No. She would not think about Bellatrix, the hell that woman had put her through. She had not got Draco, that was all that mattered, that her baby was safe. It didn't matter what happened to her. Her eyes stared in the mirror Bellatrix had left there to remind her, unchanging as she stared at her reflection, at her blood, soaking through her robe, the words cut into her skin.
"Mother?"
Narcissa sat up abruptly. Draco, oh Lord, had Bellatrix touched him, she had sworn she wouldn't...."Mother?" he asked again, the three year old staring at her, horrified. "Mum, what happened to you, why are you bloody...Mummy?"
Narcissa stood up abruptly, taking all her remaining energy to push Draco out the door. "Draco...just...please leave Mummy alone right now," she whispered, her voice harsh. "Did Mrs. Lestrange touch you?"
"No, Mummy," Draco said, plainly frightened. "Mummy, should I get Daddy?"
"No!" Narcissa's strangled reply was too abrupt. Lucius would only make it worse, worse for her, and he had no natural inhibitions, and Dark Lord only knew what he would do to Draco when she wasn't looking after him... "Don't tell daddy about this," she whispered. "Please, Draco, listen to Mummy. Go back upstairs and go to bed, all right? Mummy will be up in a minute..."
She heard retreating footsteps down the corridor, and sank to the floor, lying there, her head limp against the door. Bellatrix. She hated that woman, that...she shivered uncontrollably at the memory of it, so disgusted and angry and burned out all she could feel...was cold. Her heart was ice. No. Don't think about what Bellatrix had done to her, the perverted woman. Think about Draco. She had to get cleaned up, had to wash the blood off her robe, had to heal the cuts in her skin before Lucius saw.
Slowly, gathering all her energy, Narcissa pulled herself up, staring at her reflection in the mirror, the broken, hurt woman she saw there. Blood seeped through her robes, words cut into her skin with Bellatrix's cruel, perverted...no. She stared into the mirror, forcing her face into a semblance of calm before reaching for her wand, slowly focusing on her blood, healing each letter cut into her skin by her sister.
Slut.
Narcissa stared absently over the grounds, sitting in the wicker porch swing on the front porch. She was dressed in dark green robes, sitting back on the swing, watching the driveway. Lucius would be home soon. She cringed internally. Bellatrix was not enough, no, but Lucius had to come home today as well. Perhaps he would be too tired after his journey from France.
"Mum?"
Narcissa turned toward the front door that opened out onto the porch. The angelic three year old stood there, blond hair messed, a book in his hands. "Mum, will you read to me?"
Narcissa smiled, a true smile that transported her away from her life. Draco was the only one who could do that to her now; make her smile. She couldn't even laugh, now, not after her wedding day, when she had met her sister for the first time in years after her wedding. Lucius had punished her for that.
Banishing the thoughts, she smiled at Draco again and scooted over, patting the seat next to her. "Come sit next to Mummy, Draco, and we'll read. Let's see here...The Little Owl That Could," she read off the cover, and settled down in a corner of the armchair. "Once, there was a little owl named Zeus...."
Draco settled comfortably into his mother's arm, following the story across the pages as his mother read to him, occasionally reaching out with small fingers to turn the page, making Narcissa smile. She had closed the book when footsteps across the lawn announced Lucius was back.
Narcissa looked up, unwilling to let go of Draco. "Your daddy is back," she whispered to him. "But remember, only call him father, okay? And don't tell him about Mrs. Lestrange," she added. "Now, go say hello to him!"
Reluctantly, she pushed him off the chair towards Lucius, and the three year old ran across the yard to see his father. "Hello father," she could hear him saying, reaching up to give him a hug, but Lucius was impatient, brushing off his son, striding across the lawn, the three year old trailing after him.
"Get him out of my way," he told Narcissa coldly, pausing as she sat in the porch swing, her eyes burning bright blue. "And I will be home tonight."
Narcissa's eyes hardened and grew colder as he went inside. No, she couldn't take any more of it, not after Bellatrix, and she wouldn't. His son, he ignored his son like that, her precious baby Draco..."Come here, Draco," she said, opening her arms as Draco jumped into them for a hug.
"Mummy, how come Daddy doesn't like me?" Draco asked into her shoulder as she held him tightly. Narcissa's eyes tightened and softened, feeling the heartbreak of her son as she could never feel her own.
"Daddy's just...busy," she whispered, knowing it was a lie, and hating Lucius for it. "But don't worry, Mummy will tuck you in tonight and we'll read another story, okay?"
Draco nodded before he pulled free and ran into the house. "Is supper ready?" he asked loudly, and Narcissa smiled. He was so carefree, so innocent of the blood that drowned this family up to their necks, blood she had been pulled into. He was innocent and she would do anything--anything--to see he remained that way. He was her son, he was all she had left.
Author's Notes: Hmm. Since I'm putting up edited versions of everything, I have to say that I WILL NOT BE CONTINUING THIS FIC. It might stand alone as a one-shot, though. Just for my Slytherin fans. Love ya and sorry I can't continue.