September 1979
Narcissa knocked lightly on the front door of the Greengrass townhouse, with Lucius stood behind her with an arm on her shoulder; offering support if she found the visit to Neil and Jemima difficult. Three days ago, she had received a letter from Neil to say that Jemima had given birth to their first child; a daughter who they had named Daphne. News of Jemima's pregnancy had been a difficult one, having been trying to conceive a child with Lucius for over a year now and had been unsuccessful, she hadn't want to discuss pregnancy with her best friend.
She had been assured by as many as twelve different healers, some from other countries that Lucius had paid to assess her, told her that she had no abnormalities and wasn't infertile but that sometimes it took time to conceive a child. Their words had left her feeling numb. Her pregnancy with Lyra and the miscarriage had been unplanned so she and Lucius had agreed that they would leave it for a while and not get stressed out by it; getting stressed because they hadn't conceived yet wouldn't help.
The door opened and they were greated warmly by Neil, who invited them into the house. Walking through to the large living room, Narcissa kissed her best friend's cheek before looking down at the beautiful baby girl that lay asleep in the moses basket.
"Congratulations Jemima, how do you feel?" Lucius asked.
"Tired." Jemima replied softly with a smile.
"She's beautiful Jem." Narcissa gushed, taking a seat on the sofa opposite.
Lucius joined her as they chatted about various things, how Neil was already planning on having a second child which put Jemima off by her telling them that she didn't want another child just yet, having one and going through twenty-six hours of labour was slightly offputting. Neil handed them both a cup of tea as Jemima let Narcissa have a cuddle with her new goddaughter when there was another knock on the door.
A few seconds later, Narcissa's smile had faded. In the doorway stood the person she had cut all ties with after the remarks made about Lyra's death. Amelia stood, holding the hands of her two sons, Marcus and Tobias and clearly her former friend was stunned to see her. Narcissa looked to Jemima, who was also wearing a look of displeasure on her face. She rose from the sofa, handing the baby back to Jemima and left the room; causing Charlie to follow her.
"Narcissa-"
"It is probably best that my husband and I leave, I cannot stay in this house with you and your wife here." Narcissa hissed, turning to stare at her former suitor.
"You aren't the only one who is unhappy with her. She's not the person I believed her to be." Charlie growled.
"She used to be my friend, one of my best friends and she is not now." Narcissa stated.
"I'm sorry that it turned out the way it did." Charlie muttered.
She scoffed slightly, "You mean the way that Amelia made fun out of my daughter's death? That your wife takes great pleasure in the pain that I feel five years on from that. Charlie, if you are that unhappy with Amelia then why not seek a divorce?"
"It's more complicated than that."
"I do not need to hear the complications of your marriage. What Amelia did was unacceptable and I do not wish to associate with her anymore. If Neil wishes to remain friends with you, that is fair enough but I suggest that you leave soon because Jemima ended her friendship with Amelia just like I did and you would not wish to outstay your welcome when it comes to a hormonal woman." Narcissa advised.
Lucius came out into the hall, looking his nose down at Charlie as he took Narcissa's hand and led her out of the house. She felt grateful that her husband had said their goodbyes and that Jemima didn't look best pleased that the Flints had come calling. But she knew that Neil and Charlie had formed a close friendship and she wasn't about to demand that her best friend's husband cut ties with Charlie, after all he hadn't been the one to make snide remarks about Lyra's death.
Apparating home, Narcissa slumped down onto the sofa and massaged her temple. She felt slightly guilty for leaving so quickly after arriving to see the baby and she silently decided that she would write to Jemima in a little while to apologise and arrange another day to get together.
"Cissa?" Lucius questioned.
She looked at her husband and smiled warmly but having held Daphne, a part of her wanted to be able to have that again and she was growing impatient. It was all she wanted at the moment, to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy child that she could call her own. A child that she could cradle in her arms for hours on end and sing to sleep, a child that she could watch grow and play but all of those desires seemed to be out of her grasp. And being the wealthiest family in their world seemed to be the most pointless in her situation right now; their wealth couldn't buy her the child that she and Lucius desperately craved.
"I will be fine Lucius." Narcissa assured him.
He sat next to her, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly.
"Is it bad to admit to you that I am rather jealous of my best friend?" she asked quietly.
Lucius shook his head, "No it is not but you need not fear because I will be the only one to hear you admit that and I do not think any less of you for saying so." he whispered, kissing her forehead.
Narcissa hadn't wanted to cry but she found herself unable to stop the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks as her husband pulled her into his chest.
"It's been fifteen months since we agreed to start trying again." she mumbled.
"I know Narcissa but we can take a break and relax for a little while." Lucius said softly.
"All I want is to be mother, to love a child that nobody else will love more than me." Narcissa sniffed.
"Sssh my love, I am here." he said soothingly.
Her blue eyes closed as she moved her lips to his, kissing him slowly and tangling her fingers into his blonde hair. Lucius didn't stop her when the kiss grew a little more heated and neither did he stop her when her fingers moved from his hair to his jaw and to the buttons on his shirt. He knew that she needed to be comforted and as they removed each other's clothes, that was what he intended to do for her.
December 1979
12 weeks later.
Her eyes went to the moving posters around the wall in the healer's office, of various famour award winning healers that Healer Brown admired. It was too sickly to look at the posters for long, all the people were shaking hands as they accepted an award or were grinning cheesily at the camera that had taken the photograph. Luckily for Narcissa, the door to the office opened and Healer Brown stepped in, greeting her warmly before taking a seat behind the wooden desk.
"Good Afternoon Mrs Malfoy, now what can I do for you today?" the healer asked.
"Well considering that you work in the maternity department Healer Brown, I think you can suspect why I am here." Narcissa replied coolly.
"Of course. Now tell me your symptoms."
"Nausea, tiredness, soreness of breasts and of course the missing period all indicated that I was pregnant but the spell said was negative." Narcissa said.
The healer frowned and asked Narcissa to lay on the bed in the corner of the room in order for an ultrasound scan to be performed. Narcissa knew what to do by now, she lay on the bed and exposed her stomach. The healer flicked her wand over a device and placed some gel onto her stomach before the device began to move slowly over the gel.
For a few seconds, Narcissa shuddered at the coldness from the gel and the thoughts of whether her body was tricking her with pregnancy symptoms. Healer Brown was staring at the screen before smiling widely and pushing the screen in her direction. Narcissa felt overwhelmed as she watched the small baby move inside her, the heart beat flickering fast before her eyes.
"Congratulations Mrs Malfoy, you're twelve weeks into the pregnancy." the healer said warmly.
Narcissa didn't know what to say, she continued to stare at the screen until the healer gave her the scan picture and put the device away. She wiped the gel off her stomach and thanked the healer before leaving the hospital. Finally, it had happened. Finally she could stop stressing and getting upset over when she would conceive a child. After exiting the hospital entrance, she headed straight for the Ministry; she couldn't wait until Lucius returned home that night to share the news with him.
Arriving at the Ministry, the receptionist tried to hold her back but she didn't care. She barged through the atrium until she reached the lifts and didn't get out until the level on which Lucius's office was on. Narcissa hurried through the corridors, finally reaching it and letting herself in. Lucius was sat behind his desk, writing away on some parchment that he didn't acknowledge her entrance.
"I have already told you that I am not going to the meeting-"
"Well dear husband." Narcissa began, closing the door behind her. "It is good to know you do not intend on going to any meetings at the moment."
Lucius looked up and raised an eyebrow, remembering the last time she had visited him in his office. She grinned at the memory but shook her head to remain focussed on why she had come here.
"What do I owe the pleasure sweetheart?" Lucius said in a low whisper.
"Nothing like that dearest." Narcissa replied.
"Well if you are not here to be a welcome distraction, why are you here?" he questioned.
She reached into her pocket and handed him the scan photo, smiling as his eyes widened in surprise and watched him. He rose from his seat, still holding the photograph as he walked round to be next to her. A few minutes passed with neither of them saying anything until grey eyes met blue.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked.
Narcissa beamed and nodded, "Yes Lucius. We are having a baby. I am already twelve weeks along." she replied.
With that, Lucius wrapped his arms around his wife and lifted her off her feet; spinning her around the room before placing a kiss to her lips. They were both happy in the knowledge that they were getting another chance. This would be their chance at parenthood and both hoped that nothing would go wrong this time around.