When Narcissa woke she knew something was wrong. She could feel it in the air, like something was saturating every breath she took.
Sundays were one of the few days Narcissa allowed herself to sleep in, even just for a little bit, but she was regretting that now. She almost regretted not sharing a bed with Lucius, because if he were behind this, she would have known when he woke up. He'd never been particularly conscientious when they'd shared a room.
She rose from her bed and quickly pulled on clean robes. She used magic to cleanse her skin, apply make up and do up her hair; something Narcissa usually preferred to do by hand.
Without pausing to eat the breakfast that had been carefully left out for her, Narcissa was out of her bedroom door and heading towards the source of power floating around the manor. It came from the front sitting room, it seemed.
Narcissa stopped down the hallway and composed herself. She steadied her shoulders and took a deep breath. Whoever it was she couldn't show emotion, she couldn't falter. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor and Narcissa pushed the sitting room door open, never slowing her stride.
Draco and Lucius were both inside, the latter rather enthusiastically talking to the fey queen while Draco listened with lips curled in distaste. Obviously he did not care for his father's choice in conversation topic. The Queen's eyes were wide, but the rest of her face blank as she stared at Lucius. Lucius likely thought it a look of interest, but with her head cocked slightly to the side Narcissa wondered if it were more one of confusion. What was an ant to a god, afterall? Humans must be so pedestrian to her.
Narcissa gritted her teeth but didn't slow her step. She moved forward and interrupted Lucius' conversation with a low curtsey.
"My Lady. I apologise for my tardiness. Had I know you were coming I'd have made sure to greet you as you arrived."
The Queen stood as Narcissa rose from her curtsey. She dwarfed everyone else in the room with her impressive height, and Narcissa felt a shiver flow down her spine when the Queen grinned at her with needle sharp teeth. The Queen raised a hand and cupped Narcissa's cheek. She spoke softly, ignoring the tension in Narcissa's body. Tensing was a natural response. Narcissa had seen those very fingers elongate into claws after all.
"There is nothing to apologise for. It is good to see you again, my dear. You seem to have grown in courage since then."
Narcissa felt her blood run cold, though she forced herself to not show it on her face. She had only ever seen the fey Queen the once, and Narcissa had spent the whole meeting hiding in the shadows. She had thought, hoped even, that she had escaped notice.
Yaxley bragged about the fairy he had captured. She was small, about the size of a doll, and from what everyone could tell, she was long dead. But Yaxley kept her with him like some sort of toy. He made the poor thing dance like a puppet.
She wasn't ugly like a doxy, or an imp, but rather looked like a miniature human, just with large butterfly wings. Narcissa knew that she had been a sentient person once, not merely a fey creature. It made her uneasy. Keeping a corpse around to play with was distasteful in the first place, but a fey? That was just asking for trouble.
Trouble is what Yaxley got.
The fey queen appeared silently. She just suddenly existed in the shadows at the corner of the room, her eyes glowing with rage.
Narcissa had never met her before, but she knew Bellatrix had. Just the once. When the Queen came to pledge several of her soldiers to the Dark Lord's cause a few weeks ago.
Bellatrix had come back from that meeting and told Narcissa everything. Bellatrix had been somewhat terrified of her, and that put Narcissa on edge. But seeing her in the shadows, Narcissa understood. Narcissa herself sat at the edge of the room, not quite involved in the meeting since she wasn't officially a death eater. Being pregnant with the Malfoy heir was enough of a reason to be spared the dark mark.
Only the Black sisters seemed to realise the fey queen was there. Everything Bellatrix told her about the woman was true, and that's when Narcissa realised who she was. Who she really was. Narcissa and Bellatrix's eyes met, and Narcissa tapped the side of her temple subtly. She welcomed Bellatrix into her mind, hoping to warn her sister before someone did something they'd regret.
Narcissa had figured out who the woman was, after all, and it terrified her.
The fey queen, yes. But she was also Lady Magic. The beginning and ending of all that was magical in their world.
After that revelation Bellatrix nearly had a complete breakdown right at the meeting. You couldn't believe in pureblood supremacy when you'd met Lady Magic. She proved that deep down everyone was the same, no matter their blood. Everyone received the gift of magic in the same way, pure blood, or otherwise.
Narcissa had been able to distract her long enough for Bellatrix to calm herself. Bellatrix had never been particularly good at calm, more one to react emotionally, consequences be damned. Still, it worked, much to Narcissa's relief.
The Queen moved from the shadows, her tall form making no noise, and to many it seemed like she had appeared out of nowhere. Her teeth were bared, and her fingers lengthened into long claws. Her hand reached out, and even with the warning shouts from around the table, Yaxley couldn't move fast enough.
Her claws were long enough to wrap around his whole head. Claw tips dug into his cheeks and jaw when he tried to speak.
Bellatrix had been watching her approach and was the first to act. With a few flicks of her wands she had disarmed all the death eaters who drew their wands. She was growled at, insulted even, but Bellatrix kept her eyes on the Queen. She received a discreet nod back.
"We made a deal, little prince. You were meant to keep your war away from my kind. It's only been a short while and yet already you let your followers kill mine, and DESECRATE THEIR BODIES!"
Narcissa's gaze dropped to her hands, unable to watch the anger that appeared on the Queen's face. The raw power she gave off was immense, and all consuming. She was not the only one forced to look away. When she was finally able to look up, Narcissa saw that Yaxley's head was being held painfully tight. Blood flowed freely from beneath the Queen's fingers.
"If you feel like this is a breach of our deal, you can exact a punishment you see fit." Voldemort said flippantly.
"I should not have to." The Queen hissed. "You should have stepped in much earlier than this. I will however, make sure your followers know not to cross me."
She let go of Yaxley, and he fell forward, his hands coming up to his face with a whimper.
The Queen kicked at the chair he was sitting on and it spun around to face her. She reached out and grabbed him by his chin, pulling Yaxley up so that his face was level with hers. His feet weakly kicked out as he hung in the air, slowly choking.
"If you wish to abuse the gift you were given, then you can give it back."
The Queen's eyes glowed red for a few second and then she dropped Yaxley to the floor. Still breathing. Still alive.
"You didn't kill him." Voldemort said disapprovingly.
Lord Voldemort, Narcissa realised, did not understand who he was speaking to. Not truly.
"That was your one chance, little prince. If I find anymore of your followers hurting my fey I will not give you another."
The Queen's finger shrunk, becoming hands once more and she gently scooped up the body of the small fey that lay in the table in front of Yaxley's seat. Then she was simply gone.
Bellatrix dropped the wands she had confiscated from the various death eaters and leapt across the table. She drew Yaxley up by the collar of his robes and slammed him into the wall.
"If you've broken this alliance for us Yaxley, I swear to Merlin that I will make whatever she did to you look like child's play."
Yaxley stared blankly ahead. "You can't. She took it from me."
"Took what?" Bellatrix snapped.
"My magic. I can't feel my magic."
Bellatrix dropped him, and Yaxley slid down to the floor.
"It's what you deserve." She spat. "You utter idiot."
"She took your magic?" Voldemort questioned lightly.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Well, you'd best work on that. You're no use to anyone without magic."
He would never find a way. A month later he begged Bellatrix to kill him. She did.
Bellatrix broke down that night. Screaming, crying and yelling. Narcissa was the only one she allowed near her. She was the only one who heard Bellatrix whisper about her doubts, and her beliefs. One could not believe in blood purity when the Old Ways told you that you were all equal. One could not believe in blood purity when you met the creator of all magic.
Something Lord Voldemort supported must be right though, or Lady Magic wouldn't offer him an alliance. Surely. Perhaps she couldn't follow Lord Voldemort's blood purity rhetoric anymore, but she could follow where Lady Magic led. She could follow the Old Ways.
"I recognise your magic. It is the one thing you can never hide from me, no matter how much you stay in the shadows." The Queen explained softly, for Narcissa's ears only. She rubbed her thumb across Narcissa's lips and chin. "And I never forget a glow. Especially one as pretty at yours."
Narcissa's brow furrowed. She had no idea what a glow was, but it seemed important if the Queen was talking about it that way.
"Cissy, I was having a nice conversation before you barged in here." Lucius snapped.
Narcissa turned to him, her face impassive. "You do not have the right to call me that. Remember your place, Lucius."
His face turned red, and a snarl ripped from Lucius' lips.
"Actually, Father." Draco interrupted Lucius before he could even begin. "I do believe she asked to speak to Mother. I was just keeping her company until Mother woke when you joined us."
Draco had become rather disillusioned with his father, something Narcissa couldn't thank Merlin enough for. Lucius had caused them no end of trouble during the war, and it had only been her own actions that had saved their family name. The Dark Lord had made it quite clear that Lucius had been saved only as a favour to her. Sometimes Narcissa wished he hadn't bothered.
The hand on her cheek pulled Narcissa's attention back to the Queen.
"Your son is right, I did come here to talk to you, Narcissa."
"Of course, my Lady."
"Please, call me Elphame. It is the name my charges have decided to call me by. I feel as if we should allow some informality, considering that I am here to ask you a favour."
Narcissa's heart quickened. A favour from Lady Magic? There was no way she could possibly say no. It could possibly be the only thing to save Bellatrix's life if Granger demanded justice.
Narcissa took in the flowers spread down Elphame's arms.
"Perhaps a walk in the garden, while we discuss business?"
Elphame grinned. "That sounds wonderful."
/
Hermione had questions, but Elphame had been gone for three weeks, and she had been avoiding her for the two weeks before that. It was frustrating because it wasn't even an unreasonable amount of time. Three weeks was only three days in the wizarding world. It was just at a very inopportune time, and Hermione couldn't help but feel it was very much planned.
She'd very briefly mentioned to Elphame that it seemed like they were being trained for something in particular and she had barely see the Queen since. It had been meant as a joke, but Hermione was conscious of the fact that their lesson plans with Elphame were very much focused. Magical theory, combat magic, curse breaking and fey history.
Hermione had taken to leaving charms up around the library and the garden to tell her when someone was there. Eventually it worked out, and shortly before she started getting ready for the night Hermione felt a tingle at the back of her mind. She concentrated on it.
The library.
Luna looked at her questioningly as Hermione stormed from their shared room and down the hall. She threw the door to the library open.
"Elphame!"
Elphame jumped and turned to Hermione from where she was pulling books off the shelves. She grinned.
"Young one! It's late, what are you still doing up?"
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. Elphame's grin slowly fell as Hermione said nothing, and just glared at her.
"Hermione?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. She started to feel a little mean when tears started to well up in Elphame's eyes. The Queen was not particularly good with emotions. Sudden laughter often startled her, and mixed emotions confused her. Surprisingly, sometimes Hermione forgot that Elphame wasn't like her. She wasn't human, or even half human.
"You're angry with me." Elphame said quietly.
"You've been avoiding me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You're amazing, and so very smart. But you're quick to anger sometimes and I … I don't … I'm not good at dealing with that." Elphame huffed. "I spend most of my time here, and the other fey, those that are full blooded, they don't question me. I have always been their queen and they see no reason not ever doubt what I say."
Elphame grinned at Hermione excitedly. "You're half human though, and you will. It's fantastic! Before wizards and witches existed everyone in the mortal realm was just human and they taught themselves not to trust everyone. They can say no to anyone they want. I…" Elphame trailed off. "I forget that sometimes. I was worried you would say no, so I avoided you."
Hermione sighed. "Say no to what?"
"There are so many fey in the mortal world that need help. I can fight their battles for them, but that doesn't mean that I can win for them. They need to do that themselves. Most of them are half or quarter fey and as much as I love them as they are, I will never truly understand them. You could. I want you to be my representative in the mortal world. Someone who can protect my fey, and make sure that Tom follows through on the promises he made to our kind."
"Is that why you saved me?" Hermione said quietly. She could meet Elphame's eyes.
Elphame gasped in shock and rushed across the room to Hermione.
"No, Young One, of course not. I took you from the mortal realm because you needed me, no other reason. You are mine to protect just as every other fey in this realm and the next is. Once you were here I realised that you were so smart, and caring, and that you'd be perfect to help me."
"Okay, I'll do it."
"Excellent! I've already found someone to teach you how to behave like a pureblood witch."
"What?"
/
When Bellatrix finally escorted Amelia back from their meeting with the Dark Lord, Noory was waiting to inform her that Narcissa had requested her presence.
The meeting had been rather simple. Bellatrix presented Amelia as the new head of Magical Law Enforcement, and then Voldemort nodded. That was all. Amelia spent the next half hour standing silently while Bellatrix and Voldemort talked about other matters. At one point Amelia looked up and met Voldemort's gaze. She quickly looked away, but from the itch at the back of her head she didn't think she had done it fast enough. She had no doubt that Voldemort had been in her brain.
At least she'd had nice new robes and shoes for it all. Even if Bellatrix had yet to remove the collar around her neck.
Bellatrix nodded down at Noory.
"I'll meet her in the library for tea."
Noory popped off.
"Bonesy, you'll stay here for now. We'll get you proper housing and the likes later."
"I have a house."
Bellatrix hummed. "Good point. I imagine it was seized when you were imprisoned. I'll look into it. Now, since you've finally pulled your head out of your arse and decided to head the DMLE, you are my guest. Feel free to call on Zanny or Noory if you need anything. You're more than welcome to wander the house, but I do ask that you keep conversation with my slaves to a minimum."
"Does that mean you'll take this damn collar off?"
Bellatrix laughed. "Once you sign the magically binding contract for your job, sure. Until then you're still my responsibility and it's so much easier to track you with the collar on."
Bellatrix lent forward and patted Amelia's cheek.
"Be a good little Bonesy, and we'll get it all sorted."
She turned on her heel, and left a fuming Amelia in search of her sister.
Narcissa was sipping tea when Bellatrix entered the library. She entered the room as she did everything in her life; loudly, and drawing attention to herself.
"Cissy! What brings you by?"
Narcissa gestured towards the chair opposite her and Bellatrix collapsed into it dramatically. She scooped up the tea Narcissa had prepared for her and took a sip.
"I need you to promise me something, Bellatrix."
Bellatrix tilted her head and stared at Narcissa.
"It must be serious. Usually you're a lot more coy about what you want."
Narcissa sighed heavily. "I was visited this morning by Lady Magic."
Bellatrix tensed and sat up straight in her seat.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. She asked me for a favour."
"You said no." Bellatrix interrupted. "Tell me you said no."
"Bella…"
"Narcissa! I shouldn't have to tell you not to make deals with fey!"
"I'm not stupid, Bella." Narcissa snapped. "It's not a deal. I've agreed to do something for her, and in return she owes me a boon."
"Then you had better word that boon carefully. Fey are tricksters, they will twist your words. It's part of their nature, they can't help it, and she has more power than any other."
"It will be fine, Bella."
"I hope so, Cissy. I truly do. Now what did you want me to promise you?"
"I need you to owl me before you visit the Manor for the foreseeable future. I will be teaching one of Lady Magic's charges in the ways of pureblood society and etiquette. For what reason, I do not know, but that is what I have been tasked with."
"The mudblood."
Narcissa nodded. "Yes, Miss Granger will be visiting me at Malfoy Manor nearly everyday until she can interact with other purebloods properly."
"I see." Bellatrix said softly.
"I think we can both agree that's it's best for Miss Granger to forget you exist for as long as possible."
