A / N: Apologies that I haven't updated this story for a while, I've been a little uninspired with it as well as having had a very busy few months recently. However, I intend to get this story finished by the end of the year so the next update will hopefully come quite soon.
As always, thank you for sticking with this and please continue to read and review.
October 1973
The Leaky Cauldron was crowded with customers, all nattering away as witches and wizards enjoyed a drink or a meal. Narcissa kept the hood of her cloak up, walking through the crowded bar and up the stairs to where the guests stayed in the pub's rooms. She was here to meet someone who desperately wanted to talk to her about something, and she could understand why they had chosen The Leaky Cauldron as the place to meet. Due to the pub's crowds, she could walk in unnoticed by anyone who might have been watching the two of them.
When she reached the corridor she turned left and headed down to the end of the corridor, knocking on the door right at the end three times. The door opened and she was quickly pulled inside the room and the door shut silently behind her.
"I got your letter, what is it?" Narcissa asked.
Lucius rose from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed and stood up to face her. Narcissa tried to smile but the look on his face told her that he hadn't asked her here to have a pleasant and lovely conversation.
"I wanted you to hear it from me, before it goes public." Lucius replied, his voice full of resentment and bitterness.
Narcissa frowned, "What is it?" she questioned.
Lucius took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily, his grey eyes coming to a close as he said the words she never wanted to hear from his lips.
"Cecily is pregnant, she says it's my child."
Narcissa felt a crushing feeling in her chest, it was as if someone had wrapped their hand around her heart and were trying to stop it from beating.
"You seem unsure." she pointed out.
"Cecily claims that in order for me to have relations with her, I need to drug myself in order to find the act more appealing. She says that it makes me forget what occurs between us because she always leaves my bed before I wake the following morning." Lucius said, his tone cold.
"So why did you want me to know?" Narcissa asked.
Lucius opened his eyes, grey aflame with the answer she already knew; he loved her and he didn't want her to be hurt by this news if she heard it elsewhere.
"After everything we have shared and have been through together, I didn't want you to hear about the pregnancy from a third party. You deserve to hear it from me." Lucius said quietly.
"How considerate. But there is nothing between us anymore, you know that." Narcissa shot back coldly.
With his eyes turning angry at her remark, he stepped towards her and placed his hands tightly on the tops of her arms. Grey eyes bore into her blue ones and she felt rooted to the spot where she stood, Narcissa always knew what followed when he was angry or annoyed.
"Do yourself a favour and stop lying to yourself. You know full well that just because there are some obstacles in our way, we will end up together." Lucius growled.
Narcissa glared up at him.
"You created the greatest one, you married Cecily Blishwick and now she is giving you what your father always wanted from you; an heir." Narcissa cried back.
"I told you after we spent the night together after the little gathering at the manor that I would find a way to get a divorce from Cecily!" Lucius snapped.
"And how are you going to manage that now?!" Narcissa shouted, "She's carrying your child. Your father would never allow you to break apart the future of the Malfoy family just so you can have what you want!"
"The child will still be well cared for. It will be classed as my heir until we have one of our own!"
Narcissa laughed harshly, "Say hypothetically that we did get married, what if Cecily gives you a son? Any child I gave birth to would come behind this one!"
"I don't know how it's going to work, Cissa. I don't want this child, not with her. It should have been you that I married, it should be you who is pregnant with my child right now."
Narcissa couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks, despite even trying to close her eyes to keep them in but she couldn't. His declaration that he wanted her to the one he was experiencing a pregnancy with was too much for her to deal with right now. But before she could open her eyes and respond to him, Lucius placed his lips to hers and started to kiss her.
She responded, she couldn't help it. Her hands curled into the front of his robes and pulled him to her as close as she could, her lips moving against his as passionately as his were moving against hers. Lucius placed his hands into her hair, running it through his fingers until one arm locked itself round her back and began to pull her as he moved backwards to the bed. As he sat down and pulled her to straddle his lap, something clicked inside her head. As much as she wanted to rip his clothes off and spend the afternoon making love to him as much as possible, she knew that if she did it would be too painful for her to let go. Pulling away from his lips, she breathed heavily; trying to regain her normal pace.
"What's the matter?" Lucius asked with a rough voice.
Narcissa looked away from him.
"I c-can't do this." she whispered, her voice breaking.
He cupped her cheek and tried to pull her face back to his but she wouldn't let him.
"Why not?" he questioned.
"If I do...I won't be able to let you go." Narcissa admitted quietly.
"I don't want you to let me go." he said to her, his soft voice trying to soothe her breaking heart.
But Narcissa shook her head and got up from his lap.
"We can't, ever again, Lucius. Go home to your wife and let me get on with my life." Narcissa pleaded.
Lucius scoffed in disbelief.
"So...just like that...it's over?"
Narcissa nodded and headed to the door, she refused to be his mistress when she wanted nothing more than to be his wife; she wouldn't settle for anything less. If she couldn't be Mrs Malfoy, she wouldn't have him in any other way.
"Goodbye Lucius." she whispered.
Her hand went around the door handle and she opened the door, exiting the room as quickly as she could and shut the door behind her.
ooOoo
Sitting in front of the fireplace, Narcissa felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders and someone sit next to her. Looking to her right, she gave Henri a small smile of gratitude before turning her attention back to the orange flames.
"How was your evening with Isabel?" Narcissa asked.
"Quite pleasant, she's accepted my plea for another chance at a relationship, although she feels guilty for stealing me away from you and I feel guilty for deceiving her." Henri replied.
"It's only natural to feel that way." she said flatly.
Henri frowned, "What's the matter? Did your visit with Lucius not go as you hoped?" he asked.
Narcissa shook her head, wiping away another tear that had fallen down her cheek.
"He said that he would find a way for us to be together, that he would find a way to divorce his wife and I believed it. When I received his letter asking me to meet him, I thought it would be the confirmation that I would finally get to be with the man I loved once more, but I was wrong." Narcissa cried.
Henri wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer, hugging her tightly as he rested his head on top of hers.
"What happened?" Henri questioned.
"Lucius told me that his wife is pregnant with his child."
"But...you said that he told you during your night together that he had only been with Cecily once."
Narcissa nodded.
"Apparently he has to be drugged in order to have relations with her." Narcissa said, more tears flowing down her cheeks.
Henri laughed, causing Narcissa to look up at him with a questionable look in her eye.
"From what you've told me about your past with Lucius, he doesn't need any help in the bedroom." Henri clarified.
Narcissa wiped her cheeks dry and sniffed.
"He didn't. Never with me."
"And why would a nineteen year old need to drug himself in order to have relations with his wife? It's not like he's an old man." Henri pointed out.
Narcissa frowned.
"Are you suggesting...that Cecily might be lying about something?" she asked.
Henri shrugged, "She might know how much Lucius wants you and that can make a woman jealous and desperate." he answered.
"Desperate enough to seek attention elsewhere and then lie to cover her tracks?"
"It's a possibility. If my theory turns out to be correct, we'll have just what we need to ensure that you do end up with Lucius Malfoy."
Narcissa's heart began to beat a little faster in her chest as she and Henri began to discuss the ways in which they could find out if Cecily was deceiving Lucius. She could only hope that Henri's theory that Cecily was lying was correct, Lucius didn't deserve to be deceived in this way. And maybe, just maybe, Cecily may have just handed her everything she needed to ensure that she got everything back that she had lost just over a year ago.
