Chapter Twenty-Five: Conspiracies and Surprises

Narcissa stared out the window, thinking about the outcome of the last six months. Her husband had kicked her out and left her for a younger woman. They had decided to tell everyone that she had left him, well he had anyway, to salvage his reputation. He hadn't cared about hers. He wanted his whore.

She sighed and remembered the day she had found out about the pregnancy.

She had been staying with her mother and father in France when she had received an owl from someone she had not heard from in years. Jimmy Campton.

Dearest Narcissa,

I was sorry to hear about your impending divorce from Lucius. I have come across some information that you might find intriguing. We need to meet in person when you can find the time. Owl me back as soon as possible.

Jimmy

She had not understood why, after so many years, he was contacting her but she wrote out a reply that she was in France, and he was welcome to come to her, as she would not be returning to England anytime soon.

She had spent the rest of that week wringing her hands, wondering what it was that he wished to tell her. His reply owl had come back quickly telling her that he would be there as soon as he could. This made her fret even more. Why was it so important?

When he finally arrived, they decided to meet at her parent's house. When he got there they retired to the Sitting room.

"You look beautiful, as always, Narcissa."

She had smiled. "Thank you Jimmy."

The sat and talked for a while before he brought up the issue of why he was there.

"So, when is the divorce final?" He asked.

"It should be final in February."

He nodded. "I saw Lucius recently, in Diagon Alley."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, but did not comment.

"He was with a young woman." He paused again. "She was pregnant."

It had taken a moment to sink in. She looked up at him, unshed tears in her eyes. "She's pregnant?"

"Very, from what I saw. Narcissa, is she the reason you two got a divorce?"

Narcissa stood and paced the room. "Lucius told me that he wanted a divorce. That he had fallen for another woman. He never said her name, but I knew who she was. He had been sleeping with her for some time before that."

She returned to her seat, but did not sit. "Does he... is he happy?"

"Narcissa, I think that your happiness is what counts here. Obviously this girl, my so called daughter, was trying to get something out of him. His money, his power, his influence. Whatever it is she got it and she's not going to let go. Are you going to be seen as the woman who gave her husband away to some harlot?"

"Jimmy..."

"You need to fight back! You need to make him pay for the grief he has caused you."

Narcissa hung her head, thinking. "But how?"

"Kill her."

Her head popped up, but an evil smile had taken place upon her lips.

She had agreed, after much talk with Jimmy, to arrange for the murder of Jezebel Campton. Now, as she stood staring out the window in early January, she wondered if that had been such a good idea. Neither attempt had worked and it was getting harder and harder to get her away from Lucius. It seemed now that they had holed themselves up in the house and hidden from the world. Even her son had decided to take their side. She had not heard from Draco in months.

She needed to amp things up a bit. She needed to get Lucius away from her long enough so that she could finish the job. So she could make him pay for throwing her away.

Jezzy was in bed one early February morning, reading the book Lucius had grabbed for her from the library. Because of her frail pregnancy her NEWTs had been postponed until after the birth. She adjusted her body to a more comfortable position and sighed. This child was sapping her of all of her strength. It wasn't that she wasn't happy about having it, she just wished that she was able to enjoy it more than she was.

Lucius walked in the room with a tray of lunch for her. He had set up a little desk area in the adjourning room so that he could always be close to her. In case of another emergency. Luckily nothing had happened since the bomb.

"Good afternoon, my love."

"OO, food!"

"I'm happy to see you too." He grinned.

She smiled at him and let him kiss her cheek as he set the tray in front of her. She picked her way through the food while Lucius went into the next room to finish up his paper work. As she ate she realized that the following Tuesday would mark her pregnancy in the seventh month. She nearly choked on her food.

"Jezzy, are you alright." Lucius asked, running back into the room.

"Yes, tried to swallow too much." He shook his head and went back to his work.

She looked down at her belly and watched it twitch as her child moved. That much closer to seeing her first child. That much closer to being a mother.

She was scared to death.

The last time the nurse had been with her she had mentioned multiple heartbeats. When Jezzy had asked what that meant the nurse had just smiled.

"It means that there is a big possibility of more than one child. From the size of you I would say two."

Jezzy's eyes had gotten very wide. "Two?"

The nurse had smiled again and patted her belly lightly. "Perhaps three."

"Three? What am I a cat?"

"Nonsense dear. It happens all the time. We will just have to keep an extra close watch over you. Most multiple pregnancies are premature. We shall have to be prepared for that."

"Premature?"

"Usually around thirty-seven weeks."

Jezzy hadn't realized until the woman left that that was barely four weeks away. She rubbed her belly and couldn't help but smile. As scared as she was, she was excited beyond measure. The only thing she had failed to do was inform Lucius that he may be getting even more than he bargained for.