A/N

Ah. I'm back. :) This takes place in fourth year. It's also a sorta a companion piece to Chapter 5 of my 20 Simple Questions.

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling.

"You know your mother, Malfoy? That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

The words Potter had said to him echoed in his head again. It was odd how this one insult made him think so much. Why did his mother always have that expression on her face? It didn't matter where they were, what they were doing, or what time it was; the sour expression was always fixed there.

So he kept that question in his mind until the holidays. Draco thought he'd ask his mum then...

And soon, the time came. Tentatively, he asked, "Mum?"

"Yes, Draco?" Narcissa was always kinder than her husband, and since she didn't snap at him, it meant she was in a good mood, which put Draco at ease.

But he still had to try and phrase his question in a nice way, or she might take it as an insult, and that would not be good. "Er, why is your nose always scrunched up and your mouth always pressed into a thin line? Sometimes you look as if you just smelled something bad…"

Yeah, that would've been better if he hadn't added the last part. And sure enough, the usual sour look on Narcissa's face intensified, and her nostrils flared.

"Draco-"

"I just want to know why you have that facial expression. That's all." He added hurriedly.

His mother sighed and he sighed relieved, as well. His mother cared a lot about looks, and when someone insulted her appearance, and, well, let's just say that the result wasn't pretty.

"See…it began one day during my Hogwarts years." She paused, while Draco waited. And waited. And waited…

"Mum?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her reverie. "My apologies, dear. I was just remembering…" She shuddered. She still didn't say anything. Draco waited. And waited. And waited. Wow, it must be really bad.

It took nearly another fifteen minutes for Narcissa to get ready to started telling the story, and Draco was already half regretting even asking.

"So, yes, like I said, during dinner, once, the Marauders played a prank on the whole school."

"Marauders?" What kind of name was that?

"A group of Gryffindors. James Potter-"

"Potter's dad?"

Narcissa sniffed angrily. "Yes, that stupid prat; he was always playing pranks on people. Anyways, there was also Sirius Black-that blood traitor who got in Gryffindor-"

Draco's eyes were as wide as saucers. "The murderer who escaped from Azkaban?!"

"He deserved that place too-there was Remus Lupin-"

"Wha-" Draco spluttered. It was hard to believe that their third year DADA teacher who wore shabby clothes was once a prankster. "The werewolf? Our ex-teacher? That poor shabby person?"

"Yes, Draco. And finally, Peter Pettigrew. Well, he mostly just trailed around them, but still."

"Wasn't Pettigrew that person that Black murdered?" This was really an odd group of friends…

"Er…sure, you could say that. And they liked playing pranks. One of them was changing our shoes into animals-"

"What's so bad about that?" Draco interrupted.

Narcissa scowled. "Don't interrupt, Draco. It's not proper. As a respective pureblood you should mind your manners and you should always rememb-"

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good, mother. Continue with the story. Please." Draco drawled, cutting her off again and in return, he received a sharp glare from Narcissa.

She sighed. "So…animals. The headmaster had just excused us and suddenly my feet began tingling. And then my shoes…they transformed." She finished dramatically.

Draco's reaction was not as she expected. Narcissa was always an overly dramatic person who often exaggerated, and it was clear she had possibly expected a gasp or even a soft scream.

Instead, he said, "What?"

Narcissa looked annoyed. "They transformed…into skunks."

Draco had to suppress a laugh. "Really?"

She scowled deeply, frowning. "Yes. And the skunks sprayed their disgusting smell right into my beautiful face. The stench was overbearing and terrible."

Draco had to tread carefully; this was dangerous territory. "…And…?"

"And the smell was so dreadful! It hung around me for so long, and it was extremely disgusting, Draco. I wrinkled my nose and clamped my mouth for so long that it became permanent." Narcissa's sour look intensified and she looked like she had swallowed even more extremely acidic lemons. "Those idiotic Marauders ruined my looks forever!" she screeched.

Personally, Draco thought that even without the pursed lips and the wrinkled nose she still wouldn't look exactly beautiful…(But you didn't hear that from him…)

A/N

I know it's kind of weird, not exactly funny, but ah, well. It just explains how Narcissa got that facial expression Harry commented on in GoF.

Review!