A/N: Lucius finds his wife crying outside in the light falling snow. Lucissa! RxR. FxF.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Speed Drabble
Represent That Character! Challenge II
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
He had been searching for his wife all morning. When he had woken up, he found her side of the bed empty, the cold sheets suggesting that she had left them long before. He found it strange that he hadn't noticed her departure. Living with the Dark Lord for a year had made him paranoid and a very light sleeper. He would chalk it up to finally feeling safe and relieved within his own house. It had been six months, the war was won and for the moment, he and his family were allowed to stay in their home and just be.
But now his wife was missing. He chanced a glance out the window and saw a lone figure in the garden. He slipped quietly through the back door and walked towards her. She was sitting on a bench, snowflakes trapped in her fair hair. Her shoulders were bare, her arms held around her body but her chest shook not from the cold but from sobs. She gasped again, her breath condensing in front of her face as the tear covered her cheek. Maybe if it were colder, they would freeze on her skin, but he didn't want to stick around to see that happen.
She was so caught up in her sorrow, she did not hear when he approached her. Or maybe she had, for she didn't jump when the warmth of his coat enveloped her. "Here, take my jacket," he said softly, smoothing it out around her body and pulling it closed.
She looked up into his face and said brokenly, "She's gone. She's really gone."
He nodded and took a seat beside her on the bench, uncaring of the snow soaking his trousers or the slight chill that stung his bum as it met the stone beneath. There were times when the results of the war would take a toll on his wife and her dreams and reduce her to tears. He drew her into his chest and she continued to cry. "She's really gone, Lucius."
He brushed her hair as she cried, melting the snowflakes into her hair but she didn't care. She said quietly, "We used to be best friends at one point. She would tease me, pull on my hair, but she was my friend. She was my sister. I looked up to her."
He said softly, "Things change. People change. She was no longer the person you knew. She changed a long time ago, Narcissa."
She nodded and said sadly, "I just hoped that somewhere beneath it all, she was still there. As time went by, my hope lessened but it was still there, even as I watched her turn into a monster. But now she's gone, she's really gone."
He smoothed out a wrinkle on his jacket while rubbing her back in small circles. "Yes, she's gone, and if she was really still the person you knew underneath, she wouldn't have wanted you wasting tears on her. What did she always say?"
She gave a funny cross between a laugh and grimace,"'Tears are for the weak'."
He nodded, "She was a strong person, a little too strong, so she wouldn't want you like this." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "And I don't want you like this either."
He rose off the bench, pulling her up with him and said, "Let's go inside. I think we've spent enough time out here," before leading her back into the house.