Narcissa closed and locked her trunk after she had finished packing—a task much easier now that she could legally use magic. She took a deep breath and looked around her room. Today was the start of her seventh year. She could not believe how fast time had gone by. Before she knew it, she'd be dressed in a green and silver graduation cap and gown, shaking McGonagall's hand and receiving her diploma. And soon afterward—Narcissa didn't know exactly when because a date had not been finalized—she would be walking down the aisle in a white wedding dress on her father's arm to marry her favorite person in the world.
Narcissa could hardly believe how quickly her life had gone by, as it seemed like it wasn't that long ago that she was playing dolls with her sisters. Bella's idea of playing dolls had been interesting to say the least. Bellatrix had usually spent her free time outside with the Lestrange brothers, getting dirty, flying on broomsticks, or pretending to duel with sticks until they were old enough to own wands. Unlike Bellatrix—whose dolls often ended up in the corner after destruction—Andromeda and Narcissa had taken better care of their toys as children. A sting went through Narcissa's heart when she thought about Dromeda. She hadn't seen her sister since the day she revealed to the family that she was going to marry Ted, but that didn't stop Narcissa from thinking about her. Andromeda's betrayal hadn't seemed to bother her parents or Bellatrix, or if it had, they didn't reveal it. She couldn't discuss with any of them how much she missed Dromeda, and she didn't have the courage to tell Lucius. Narcissa figured that Lucius either wouldn't understand since he was an only child, or that he would tell her to let it go the way Bella had the one time Narcissa had wanted to talk about it. "Don't bring up that blood traitor, Cissy. Just forget about her." It was easier said than done for Narcissa.
Narcissa looked down at her uniform: her final year of wearing the outfit. The Slytherin crest still adorned the robe, but now, a shiny Head Girl badge sparkled next to it. Her green and silver scarf was draped over her neck like a stole, and her wand was securely in her robe pocket. Her engagement ring was snuggled securely on her left ring finger and flashed brightly for the world to see.
Narcissa heard someone Apparate into the room. "Does Mistress Cissy need Glitter to do anything?" asked Glitter.
"Bring my trunk into the sitting room, Glitter," Narcissa ordered.
"Yes, Mistress." The small house-elf grabbed the trunk and lugged it down the steps. Narcissa descended the steps, and she Apparated to King's Cross Station along with her parents. When they arrived to Platform 9 and ran through the wall, she found Auntie Walburga, Uncle Orion, Sirius, and now Regulus standing there, along with Bella and Rod. Narcissa approached the group, and while her aunt, uncle, and cousins barely acknowledged her with the exception of Regulus giving her a nervous smile, Bellatrix said, "It seems like just yesterday when you were boarding this train for the first time."
"I felt like a little kid at the time," Narcissa admitted.
"Now look at you: you're Head Girl. You'll get to tell other people what to do. Merlin, are you lucky." The sisters saw Lucius approach, and Bellatrix said, "And here comes the other significant outcome of that day."
"Bella."
"It's true, though," said Bellatrix. She laid her hand on Narcissa's shoulder. "Rod and I have to get going. The Dark Lord wants to meet with us at noon. Have a good year, Cissy. I'll see you at Christmas."
Narcissa nodded, and Bella and Rod left. Narcissa bid Cygnus and Druella farewell before Lucius pulled her aside. "I know you'll do well this year."
"Having a supportive man like you in my life makes me believe I can handle anything."
"I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing my best to do so," said Lucius. The dismal nature of their last conversation was still thick in the air between them. "Things will work out the way they're supposed to. Do what your Healer told you to do, but focus on yourself and finishing your education first."
Narcissa nodded and squeezed his hand. Lucius lightly kissed her forehead; they were now at the age where it was considered unrefined to make overt public displays of affection. "We'll write letters, we'll meet for dates during the weekend trips to Hogsmeade, and perhaps we can meet at Hogwarts on occasion to plan our wedding."
The train's whistle sounded, and Lucius said, "You better get going. You don't need to be late on the first day of your final year."
Narcissa smiled and pecked his cheek before boarding. She placed her trunk in an overhead compartment outside where Regulus was sitting alone before she reported to the Prefects' carriage. Since Narcissa was well-versed in a Prefect's duties thanks to Lucius's former tenure as one, it didn't take her long to instruct the current group of Prefects on their duties before making a brief patrol of the corridors. Narcissa found Regulus and smiled at her cousin, but didn't say anything. After several minutes, Narcissa asked, "How was your summer?"
Regulus shrugged his shoulders. "All right. Mother and Sirius fought a lot. Sirius permanently stuck Gryffindor banners on the walls of his room, and Mother didn't like it." Narcissa scrunched her nose, but nodded in understanding. "Cissy?" She turned to face him. "How did you deal with Dromeda betraying our family?"
Narcissa hadn't really dealt with it, to be honest. Between Dromeda's betrayal, Sirius's sorting deviation, dealing with Head Girl duties, and planning a wedding, Narcissa had just put on a happy face like she had been trained to do. Perhaps the buildup of internal stress was what was affecting her cycle, so she hoped after she graduated and got married, it would become easier to conceive an heir. Merlin knew she wanted a few wizards or witches of her own. "I…we were told to just forget about her, so that's what I did. I have to patrol the corridors." Narcissa stood and left the compartment.
The students arrived at Hogwarts, and Narcissa took her place the Slytherin table. It was strange this year, as the only two people seated with her were Victoria and Violet. Severus came into the Great Hall, smiled softly at Narcissa, and took a seat next to Violet. Narcissa looked across the room, where Sirius, the boy with jet-black hair, and two other wizards—one scrawny with a scar across his face, and one short and pudgy—were seated with their fellow Gryffindors. They looked like a swell group of mates.
McGonagall led the first years into the Great Hall, and Narcissa couldn't help but feel overwhelming anxiety over the Sorting Ceremony now that she knew a Black in Slytherin wasn't a guarantee. "Regulus Black." Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the Sorting Hat announce, "SLYTHERIN!"
Regulus came over and sat down next to her. The other students were sorted, and Dumbledore stood. "Good evening, wizards and witches, and welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dumbledore gave his speech, which Narcissa ignored more often than not as he spewed his nonsense. "I would also like to introduce your Head Boy and Head Girl for the 1972-1973 academic year. Please stand when I call your names. Adam Winthrop of Gryffindor, and Narcissa Black of Slytherin." Narcissa stood, along with a light-brown haired wizard. Lucius had mentioned that he had been one of the Gryffindor Prefects. Of course, Dumbledore would pull some sort of cosmic joke on her and force her to cooperate with a Gryffindor as Head Boy. Narcissa gave a slight wave with her left hand just to show everyone in the room her opulent engagement ring and to make sure everyone knew she was taken. They all knew who her fiancé was. Because of this well-known information, a few Slytherin witches gave her envious expressions, and Narcissa smiled smugly in satisfaction. She sat back down again, and Dumbledore clapped his hands, signaling the beginning of the feast.
"So, Narcissa, have you and Lucius set a wedding date yet?" asked Victoria.
"We're aiming for mid-July, but nothing has been finalized. Mother and Mrs. Malfoy are more than ready to help get everything ready in time. But, while we're on the subject of weddings, I wanted to ask you if you would be one of my bridesmaids?"
"Of course; I would be honored," said Victoria. "I'm assuming Bellatrix will be your Matron of Honor?"
"I haven't asked her yet, but I'm hoping she will be. She has always had a soft spot for me, even though she hates everything to do with elaborate events. When are you and Atticus looking to marry?"
"Probably in the fall. Maybe next spring. Everyone knows our wedding will be considered secondary."
"That's not true, Vicky. Your wedding will be just as special."
The group continued to eat before Narcissa excused herself to perform her Head Girl duties. After she had made sure all of the students were in their dorms and that the Prefects were executing their duties properly, she went to the Slytherin dungeon and up to her dormitory. She changed into her nightdress, and since Victoria was already asleep, Narcissa pulled out her wand to read the Hogwarts newsletter for students, parents, and alumni. "Lumos," she chanted. The tip of her wand lit, and Narcissa scanned the articles when one caught her attention. It was under the pregnancy and birth announcements. Mr Edward Tonks of Hufflepuff '73 and Mrs Andromeda Tonks nee Black of Slytherin '73 are pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby girl in the spring. Underneath the announcement was a moving picture of Andromeda and Ted, and the both of them had their hands placed on the small swell in her midsection. The pair was beaming with enthusiasm.
Narcissa took a deep breath and set the newsletter and her wand on her nightstand. She read the newsletters enough to know that Andromeda had married the Mudblood last January, so it had taken her sister less than a year to get pregnant. Bellatrix wasn't bothering to try for a baby for whatever reason; Narcissa wouldn't be surprised if her eldest sister had decided to preserve Wizard purity by fighting for the cause instead of conceiving and birthing an heir for Rodolphus. Not that Rodolphus seemed to care about becoming a parent, either. It was on her to give her mother and father a pure-blood grandchild, even if said grandchild would technically be a Malfoy.
Narcissa rolled over onto her side and snuggled under the covers. Dromeda's announcement was still eating at her on the inside like a parasite. Not that she cared about her sister's half-blood kid. But it made her worry about her own future. It had been instilled in her ever since she was a young witch that it would be her duty one day to marry a wealthy, pure-blood wizard and to provide her husband an heir. Cygnus and Druella were expecting her to do so. Abraxas and Eleanor certainly were excepting an heir to carry on the Malfoy name and to inherit the Manor after Lucius. Lucius could claim all he wanted to about never leaving her side, about being with her one-hundred percent, about facing their possible fertility issues together, but what would happen if they were married for a few years and still no baby? What would happen if she couldn't do her pure-blood wifely duty of providing him an heir? What would happen if, Merlin forbid, she was unable to have children at all? What would Lucius think then? Sure, they were currently young and in love as they dreamed about their future together. Their biggest concerns were choosing color schemes, deciding on wedding attire, and preventing their mothers from going overboard in regard to the actually ceremony. But after the stress of wedding planning passed, and all of their time and energy could be focused on conceiving, surely Lucius would come to resent her if she couldn't do as she was born to do. Surely, his duty as a pure-blood wizard would start to cause a rift in the marriage. Surely, he would think less of her, even though he madly respected how powerful of a witch she was. Merlin, she wasn't even married yet, and she already felt like she was a failure as a wife.
Narcissa climbed out of bed and slowly descended the stairs leading to the common room. If someone caught her, she could pull the Head Girl card. She walked over to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, and threw it into the hearth. "Lucius Malfoy's bed chamber, Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, UK," she announced before she stuck her head into the fireplace. Her head transported to his room, and it was the first time she had seen it. The walls were hunter green, and the baseboards were painted silver. The Malfoy family crest was framed above his desk, placed next to the four poster bed. The bookshelf next to the window to her left contained a wide array of selections, though Narcissa couldn't read the titles from her limited view. Much to her surprise, Lucius wasn't asleep, but sitting at his desk, working on some sort of paperwork. "Lucius."
He jumped, but turned toward the fireplace. "Cissy?" He pulled his chair over to the fireplace. "What are you doing up? And where are you?"
"The Slytherin common room. If I get caught, I can say I was performing my Head Girl duties," she said. "What are you doing up?"
"Father is helping me find a place at the Ministry of Magic. Currently, I'm his assistant secretary. He's hoping I can work my way up. Now, what are you doing up?"
Narcissa sighed. "I couldn't sleep. I was worrying about our lives after we get married."
"Cissy, you should really be focused on school right now. You know how much more difficult N.E.W.T. classes are."
"I just miss you. I needed to see you." Narcissa took a deep breath "Did you read the Hogwarts newsletter today?"
Lucius hesitated before he said, "I read the pregnancy announcement if that's what you're asking."
Narcissa didn't know what to say to Lucius. Quite frankly, she was wondering why she had contacted him in the first place. She supposed it was to hear the soothing sound of his subdued voice, the tone reserved for the people he loved deeply. "Luce, promise me one thing. Promise me that no matter what life throws at us or how difficult it gets, nothing will come between us and we'll always put each other first."
"Cissy, no matter what happens in the future, I will always protect you."