"You can't leave us! Not again! Look at your son! What if something happens to you?!" she screamed at the man as he pulled himself onto his firebolt broomstick.
"I'll be alright." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Was he not a full grown man? She obviously didn't think so. He could take care of himself.
She was crying now and moved forward to hug him. "Please, darling, for us? For our family? Draco and I? The Dark Lord doesn't need your help, he has plenty of followers and I'm sure that most of them would be more than happy to take your place. Please...?" She sobbed into the man's shoulder and he raised a cruel eyebrow at her.
"Let me go, Narcissa!" the baby in her arms started to cry at this sudden excitement. Lucius sneered at him, "Take Draco into the manor, you know how I hate the sound of his crying."
"Only if you'll come with." She backed off a bit, not wanting him to hit her again. The last time he had done so, she'd had a black eye for a week, causing her sister to ask questions relentlessly about what had happened, but Narcissa guessed that she already knew very well that Lucius beat her almost daily.
"Fine! I'm leaving now!"
"NOOOO!" But it was to late. He had already flew off into the night sky and was too far away to hear her cries.
Narcissa stood for a while, tears running silently down her cheeks. Every night, Lucius would do this, determined to prove his loyalty to the Dark Lord, whom she knew that he feared more than anything else, even if he would never admit it. But she could see right through him, she and always been able to, and he hated it.
"Baby boy, let's go back inside." he was still crying pitifully, which broke her heart. Her only son. Their only son.
She stepped into the manor and gazed at the lavish decor. Where did it get them? Riches meant nothing, if anything, it only caused the Malfoys more pain, even if Lucius would never say so.
Narcissa walked through the entry and up the staircase to the next level where Draco's nursery was. Oil paintings of both Black and Malfoy relatives hung on the walls of every hallway, sternly looking down on those that passed.
One woman woke up from a nap with a start as they passed. "Cissy! Do you have Draco with you- Oh my?!"
She was looking into Narcissa's tear streaked face. "What did that horrible man do this time?!"
"Nothing. He's not a horrible man, he's every good. It's fine, I'm fine, aunty." Narcissa whipped her eyes and tried to put on a brave face.
The woman in the painting tutted loudly, "I can tell when something's wrong, you know. And right know, there is obviously something very wrong! Did he go to that horrible boy- Oh! What's his name again?!" She looked up for a second, in deep thought, before leaning forward excitedly, 'That Tom kid! Right?!"
"He's not a kid anymore, aunty. He is the Dark Lord." Narcissa giggled a bit before whispering, "and he doesn't have a nose!"
The aunt gave a hearty laugh. "How does one lose a nose?!"
"There are a lot of rumours about it. Some say it comes with being immortal and others say he lost it while gambling!"
She laughed more before pointing at Draco. "My little peanut looks tired and a bit upset. Maybe you should get him to bed."
That was an understatement, Draco couldn't seem to decide if he should keep crying or go to sleep. He was blubbering nonsense words while crying very hard, the poor thing.
Narcissa looked back up at her aunt "Yeah, I'll see you soon!"
"I hope so! And when I do, I want to see you a happy woman!"
Narcissa and Draco entered a large nursery, in the colours of green and silver, decorated with snakes. The family was determined to get the boy sorted into Slytherin and they had been pounding the qualities of a Slytherin into his head. He was to be cunning, ambitious and resourceful.
Narcissa sat down in a rocking chair with Draco in her arms by an enormous fireplace that lit the room in a golden light.
After a pause she started to sing their lullaby:
Slumber now my darling one
Rest for now, the day is done
Mother sings a lullaby
Hush my darling do not cry.
Narcissa looked into the fireplace as she sang, rocking back and forth to try and lull the baby to sleep.
May your sleep be as sweet as the glow from the flames
Casting shadows over your beautiful face
May each breath be a promise to help you believe
Papa'll be home safe, you'll see
Draco was starting to quiet down a bit and had even started to finger a piece of her brown and blonde hair.
Go to sleep, go to sleep, let your dreams take you away
Go to sleep, go to sleep, I will watch over you
Go to sleep, go to sleep, he'll be home when you wake up
He'll come home safe, I feel so
He'll come home to you and me
By now he had completely stopped crying and was even looking a bit sleepy, so she kept singing.
Papa'll be home on a broomstick
Soon we'll be with him once more
Moonlight shines through windows, bright
As I sit here and rock you to sleep
He was now asleep and she could feel herself getting tired, but continued in case he woke again.
May your sleep be as sweet as the glow from the flames
Casting shadows over your beautiful face
May each breath be a promise to help you believe
Papa'll be home safe, wait and see
She could feel her eyelids getting heavier.
Papa'll be home safe, wait and see...
Lucius climbed off of his broomstick in front of Malfoy Manor.
He never meant to be so cruel to Cissy, it just came out, it was his nature.
He never meant to beat her either. Most of the time she asked for it, what, with her winning and pleading, trying to get him to leave the Dark Lord. She didn't realise just how deep the situation was, so he had to knock sense into her sometimes.
Entering the manor he gazed around, wondering where she had gone. Probably to the nursery.
This thought was confirmed when a painting started talking, "Lucius, they went to the nursery I think. I heard talking up there."
He nodded his thanks and started up a staircase to the next floor. The nursery was just down the hall from where he was standing.
As Lucius walked he could hear soft snoring coming from paintings, some were still awake and had gathered in a larger painting of a garden to play cards and talk. They waved at him as he walked by.
Just around the corner sat Draco's nursery. He could see flickering light from a fireplace shining out from under the door.
He turned the handle as quietly as he could and entered.
Sure enough, in a rocking chair in front of the fire sat Narcissa and Draco. "Cissy!" He hissed, not wanting to wake his son. She didn't reply.
Lucius crept closer "Narcissa!" louder this time. Still, nothing.
As he walked closer he could see her chest rising and falling softly and rhythmically, she must be sleeping also.
Draco had his little thumb in his mouth, he had obviously been sucking it before he was put to sleep. Another one of his small hands was holding a piece of Narcissa's hair.
Lucius knelt down beside the chair and looked at his wife and son, sleeping so peacefully, when he noticed something on Narcissa's face. It looked as though someone had taken watered down black paint and dribbled it down her cheeks. Then it hit him. She must have cried herself to sleep.
He stood up again, his eyes filling with fresh tears. How could he ever have hurt her like he did? She was always so kind and willing to do whatever it took to keep the family together. That's what she had been trying to do this whole time. And how did he repay her? He hit her, almost daily.
Narcissa stirred a bit, as though she sensed him. That was all it took, he broke down and bent over his wife, hugging her. "I'm so sorry, Cissy. I'm so, so sorry."
Her eyes fluttered open and she returned the hug. "Lucius, I'll love you no matter what, I hope you know that."
"I do, and I love you so much. I hope you'll forgive me? I'll never beat you again, or go to anymore death eater meetings. You two need me so much more than the Dark Lord."
"I forgive you." Then she bent her head forward and they locked lips.