THC

House: Ravenclaw

Class: Head of House

Category: Drabble

Theme: Corruption

Bonus Prompt: A mistake you made has led to unimaginable consequences

Word count: 908

Notes: discussions of pregnancy and being sick while pregnant. They also mess with Narcissa's pregnancy to ensure that Draco will be a death eater.

Corrupted Fate

"He can offer you more protection than I can," Lucius begged—a sight unseen to Narcissa. Her husband knelt in front of their bed where she lay sick.

"I don't need protection," A couch wracked through her body. "I need a cure."

They couldn't pinpoint when she got sick, and no one could tell her what it was. Every day her body seemed to get weaker by the minute. Narcissa didn't care about that. She didn't care about herself in this situation. The baby is what mattered more. At eight months pregnant, she was bedridden with a mysterious disease.

"Just swear your allegiance to him, the Dark Lord, and he'll help us."

"You've already sworn allegiance, why do I need to as well." Narcissa didn't want to owe the Dark Lord anything. She didn't know what he would ask of her—but it seemed that she didn't have any choice.

"He wants you as well." Lucius stood from the floor, "I'll tell him you're ready to do it."

She hadn't given an answer but it's not like it ever mattered to begin with. What her husband wanted, he got.

"I pledge myself to the Dark Lord, I live to serve him, every breath I take is because of him," Narcissa uttered the words, but they held no worth to her. She loved Lucius, or at least she thought she did, but this isn't what she wanted in life. Marrying rich was something she was raised to aim for but becoming a servant for the Dark Lord was not. Her parents held controversial ideals it would seem, but they weren't evil. She wasn't evil either. Narcissa felt like she had a good head on her shoulders. She did what was asked of her, and she didn't complain but this was perhaps a step too far. A necessary step, unfortunately.

"I accept your pledge," The Dark Lord drawled. Narcissa didn't dare to look him in the eyes—her gaze was locked on his mouth. Wicked looking teeth gleamed as he spoke. He raised a chalice towards her and Narcissa took it with no complaints. She didn't bother to ask what it was and drank from it. Her refusal would only cause further issues. "My power now lives in you."

It felt gross and invasive, but she knew they were just words. He was powerful but he didn't hold that kind of power. It wouldn't benefit him to give out his magic to others like this.

"How do you feel?" Lucius asked after Narcissa finished the drink.

She hadn't stopped to think about that. Her body felt a bit stronger like she was no longer being held underwater. Nothing seemed wrong and she took that to be a good sign. Narcissa didn't understand how pledging herself to the Dark Lord would help in the long run. Maybe, the drink consisted of a cure of some sort.

"I'm glad you agreed, my dear." The Dark Lord smiled at her and Narcissa felt sick to her stomach. As if she had walked into a lion's den and she was the main course. "Your little one will serve me well."

"What does he mean by that, Lucius?" Something underneath her skin prickled as if her body was fighting itself.

"He can give the baby a life that we can't," Lucius spoke softly, "A life filled with power."

They had tricked her into selling her baby. She didn't know what fate would behold the child, now that the Dark Lord had that connection. Narcissa thought about when she first felt ill and remembered that her husband had spoken to the Dark Lord shortly before it. Had he poisoned her with something only the Dark Lord could fix? Did they put her in this position in the first place?

"It's nothing to fret about, dear, he'll be in good hands."

Narcissa shivered at his voice. They didn't know what gender the baby would be, and he sounded so confident that it would be a boy. She feared what would happen if the child wasn't a boy. Everything had been planned from day one it seemed.

"You're sure this will work?" Lucius asked as the Dark Lord handed him something.

"Your son will help overturn the prophecy," the Dark Lord rose from his chair and placed his hands on Narcissa's stomach. She wanted to back away, but she was rooted in place. "I'll mold him into the best wizard the world has ever seen."

If only Narcissa had married someone else. Then she wouldn't be in this situation, her unborn child wouldn't be in this situation. She ruined their futures in the blink of an eye. She'd never be able to fix it or make up for what she had done. Her poor child would be raised to only think of the Dark Lord the minute they were born. There was no way to purify this situation, but Narcissa would spend the rest of her life trying to fix it. To make sure that her child didn't end up corrupted. Her husband was already a lost cause, and she didn't know what they had done to her. The drink had to have done something, but Narcissa would work to reverse it the best she could. She wouldn't let her child's life be dictated like this. They had their own fate before the Dark Lord meddled in it and she would see that her child got that fate.