Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Written for The Houses Competition Round 1, Year 3
Written for QLFC Season 6, Round 5
House: Hufflepuff
Position: Head Student
Category: Standard
Prompt: [Color] Azure
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Chaser 2
Position Prompt: Use the title of a story written by your Chaser 3 for inspiration. (At What Price)
Additional Prompts:
[Genre] Family
[Word] Eternity
[Emotion] Apathetic
Word Count: (Per Google Docs) 1,119
Beta(s): Magi, Dina, CP
Summary: Narcissa was taken from them, and Lucius wished that he realized the consequences of his actions before it was too late.
Genre: Family, Tragedy
Warning(s): Mentions of Character Death
At What Price
Love has no middle term: it either saves, or it destroys.
Victor Hugo
.oOo.
The War ended but not without loss. Both sides suffered sacrifices paid with the lives of those who fought for what they thought were right. Such loss will never be forgotten; it will forever be a mark on the world, a blackened, charred darkness in history that will linger for generations to come that will remind them the consequences of opposing views.
She did it out of an act of love for the sake of their son. The risk hadn't mattered so long as she knew he was safe. The price she paid would change their family forever. It didn't matter who was friend or foe to the Dark Lord; whoever crossed him would face his wrath regardless.
Narcissa's lie was realized when Harry revealed he was not dead. When she and Lucius attempted to slip into the castle to look for Draco was when her punishment was paid. The memory of the green flash of light snuffing the life from her will forever be burned into his conscious.
Lucius and Draco were pardoned for their crimes committed, an extension of mercy from Harry as a gratitude for what she did for him. Had it not been for her sacrifice in this war, he would have never been able to defeat Voldemort.
Shock caused Lucius to appear apathetic about his tragic loss of his wife, about the emptiness that echoed throughout the manor as he walked through the corridors in silence. Draco struggled to restrain his thoughts about the outcome of war and the damage that had been done to their family name.
Lucius found him sitting on the cream-colored settee in the grand bedchamber, pressing an azure pillow to his chest as he stared at the vanity across the room. Narcissa's beauty products, brushes, and jewelry boxes sat untouched in their respective places.
"What do you do when there's nothing but pain left inside of you?" Draco asked, tone wavering.
Lucius had no way to answer him. He didn't know how to offer the comfort his son desperately sought from him right now. Silver eyes met when he approached Draco, only capable of pulling him and the azure pillow into a hug. The young man's body shook with emotion, but soon it stilled as the quiet stretched on between them.
It hadn't taken much time for Draco to recall all of the wrong Lucius brought upon the family, the mistrust placed in the promise of a dominant future the Dark Lord reign would give them. He was disgusted in knowing that his father's actions had lead to the devastating consequences of losing Narcissa.
"You made me a promise—us a promise—to protect and provide for us no matter what," Draco hissed on the eve of her funeral. "This was not the change you claimed we were going to get. This is a punishment for your wrongdoing, and now we both have to suffer for it!"
Lucius wasn't going to offer excuses. He was not going to dismiss the guilt in knowing that he was in fact responsible for his wife's death. Yet he didn't have the heart to verbally admit that Draco was right. If he did, he wouldn't be able to cope himself. They both couldn't afford to fall apart right now, but they also couldn't risk tearing each other apart, either.
"If I had known, Draco—"
"I can't even look at you right now."
Draco's' words stung Lucius as he stormed from the sitting room. All Lucius could do was swallow the amber liquid he held in hand and allow the burn dull the ache within him. Lucius was slowly losing his family, and he didn't know how to stop it.
"I should have known…"
Lucius held the neatly folded azure shawl in his hands, a red rose resting on the soft material as he reminisced how it always made the blue of Narcissa's eyes almost glow whenever she wore the garment. It was one of her favourite accessories whenever she dressed herself for an outing. One of Lucius's fonder memories of her wearing it was with a lovely cream-colored dress with it for the Ministry Annual Dinner one year. He remembered how stunning she'd looked, how she complimented the color combination with her beautiful golden yellow hair, gorgeous eyes, and dusty rose lips.
Looking at her had felt like he was gazing upon an angel from heaven.
As the officiator spoke her eulogy in front of the Malfoy crypt. He barely registered the words of praise he gave, instead silver eyes skimmed across the few who came to pay respects to the witch in her passing. It was odd to see the boy who saved the world there, standing off to the left and a bit back from the coffin with someone he had not seen in a very, very long time. On first glance, Lucius swore the woman was a ghost of Narcissa's eldest sister, but once reason set in at the sight of the infant she held in her arms, he knew it was Andromeda.
The gesture alone would have meant a lot to Narcissa, and that was all that mattered to him. Lucius wouldn't dare send either them away – there was no point. Draco stood to his right, a young lady was at his side clinging to his arm to offer a form of comfort. He couldn't recall a name at the moment, but right now, he was simply happy to see that there was someone out there that would make his son happy.
Silence hovered over the tiny gathering of family and friends, allowing the moment of quiet respect for Narcissa before she would be placed in the crypt to rest. It felt like time had stood still and an eternity had passed before Lucius placed a kiss on the azure shawl and the red rose. The faint smell of perfume lingered on the fabric, he couldn't help but breathe it in for a beat before laying the garment and rose on the lid of the coffin. He couldn't bear to see her lifeless form one last time. He wanted to remember the angelic memory of her in his mind's eye, smiling and full of life.
The crypt was soon sealed – Narcissa inside with Lucius' ancestors – and the few who had come were quietly waiting for direction from him. Draco had silently slipped away with the young lady without him noticing. The gesture hurt, but he held a silent hope that they simply excused themselves back to the manor for the reception.
Lucius would not get to see nor speak to Draco for several years.
Shannon's Showcase: 15. [Object] Red Rose
Book Club - Aunt Sticky Feet: [Action] Hugging Someone [Object] Shawl [Word] Heaven
Showtime - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: [Word] Time
Count Your Buttons: [Dialogue] "I should have known."
Lyric Alley: 19. And I'm tryin' not to cry
Sophie's Shelf - Vault 11: [Word] Sacrifice
Angel's Arcade - Riku: [Color] Silver [Word Set] Darkness, Change, Mistrust [Dialogue] "You made me a promise."
Low's Lowdown: [Quote] Love has no middle term: it either saves, or it destroys. - Victor Hugo [BONUS]
Bex's Biscuit Barrel - Rich Tea: [Word] Wrong [Emotion] Disgusted [Dialogue] "I can't even look at you right now."
Days of the Year - International Widow's Day: Write about a widow
Birthstone - Sapphire: [Dialogue] "What do you do when there's nothing but pain left inside of you?"
Flowers - Foxglove: [Word] Heart
Fire Element: [Word] Charred
Shay's Musical Challenge - South Pacific: Write about struggling to accept something someone can't change.
Insane House Challenge: 42. [Character] Lucius Malfoy
365 Challenge: 115. [Emotion] Upset