Chapter 5: Narcissa's Rage

White Hall, Suffolk, England

July 17, 1993

Narcissa sighed as she rested her head against the back of the wooden chair. The chair was made of solid English Oak. It had been commissioned by her years ago when the girls were still quite young. It had been lovingly hand carved by Carver Sprout, the Grandson of Hogwart's Herbology Mistress, Pomona Sprout. The chair had long ago been placed deep in the lush park of White Hall, her beloved home and favored retreat from the stifling mausoleum that was Malfoy Manor. White Hall, though elegantly decorated, was first and foremost a home for herself and her three girls and she cherished the times that she and her daughters spent there.

Narcissa had always loved White Hall and now she was determined to make it her permanent residence. If she had her way, she and her daughters would not return to Malfoy Manor, at least not until Lucius was dead.

It was ironic that Narcissa now looked at her husband as her worst enemy. She no longer viewed him with the loving regard she once had. Once she had been willing to undergo dark magic to beget him his precious male heir. It had resulted in two beautiful daughters instead and had left her barren, but those daughters meant everything to her. Lucius had not been pleased with the birth of daughters. He had only occasionally shown any pleasure in his daughter's existence. She had thought she understood his disappointment. She had even tolerated the affair he had engaged in during her pregnancy. She had learned of the affair after the birth of the girls when the woman had died in childbirth and her daughter had been brought to Malfoy Manor for Lucius to see to. Narcissa had claimed the girl as her own and the few in Wizarding Society who knew otherwise either respected her too much or feared her too dearly to whisper about it.

She ignored Lucius's affairs over the years. So, long as he was discreet and didn't leave the woman pregnant then Narcissa was willing to keep the peace. Their marriage had become a partnership of sorts. Over the years, Lucius's lack of fidelity had eaten at their marriage until partnership was all that they had left. Still, Narcissa had trusted him to obey the rules of their partnership. The first of those rules had been that Lucius would do nothing to publicly shame her or her daughters. The second was that he would do nothing to endanger Lyra, Arya, and Satyra.

Lucius had broken the rules that Narcissa had cared the most about. He had endangered her daughters and his actions, if they ever became known, would shame her daughters publicly. There would be no forgiveness from her for his actions. What he did was despicable. She had removed his magical signature from the wards of White Hall, banning him from accessing them, and shielding her daughters from his poisonous presence.

She sighed as she closed her eyes, smiling softly as a soft breeze caressed her face. The sound of leaves rustling overhead was soothing. The air was chill with the hint of a summer storm. She should return to the house, she knew. Her solicitor was due any time now. They had been in talks since early July with him trying to find ways that would free her from her marriage to Lucius Malfoy and permit her to claim full custody of her three daughters. Thus far, Mr. Corner had yet to find a way for her to divorce Lucius and keep custody of her daughters. There was even the fear that Lucius would make public that Satyra was not her own child and thus remove Satyra from her custody.

The girls had been home at Malfoy Manor no more than two days before she had decided to confront Lucius with the knowledge that she had gained from her daughters. Satyra had told her of how she had found a book on the train to Hogwarts and that she had recognized it as belonging to her father. It was a rather old looking journal but it seemed that no one had ever written in the book. She had thought that Arya had somehow lost it and had intended to give it back to the girl, but then she and Arya had gotten into another spat, as they had done all summer, and in a moment of vindictiveness Satyra had chosen to keep the book for herself. She had been surprised when the book had written back to her, but it had said it was a memory and how could a memory do harm to anyone?

Whatever the book was, it had been no mere memory. The book was dark, dangerous and had possessed Satyra, feeding off of her magic and her very spirit. When Narcissa had questioned Arya, the girl had revealed that she had not taken the book from home. She had not seen it before. Narcissa was sure that her daughter was not lying and had spoken with Lyra. Her oldest daughter likewise had not taken the book from home, but Lyra had reminded Narcissa of the day in which Lucius had brawled like a muggle against Arthur Weasley in Flourish and Blotts. Narcissa had to agree with Lyra's assessment that it was quite out of character for Lucius. Narcissa had thought as much at the time but had shrugged it away because she knew that Arthur Weasley got under her husband's skin in ways that few people ever could. Lyra believed that his actions that day was a distraction and it made Narcissa question her husband's.

She listened intently to Lyra's theory that Lucius had slipped the diary to Ginevra Weasley, and that the girl must have finally noticed the book on the train and recognizing that it was not her own had gotten rid of it. Narcissa had to admit that the theory was plausible. Slipping a dangerous book among the young Weasley girl's things was the sort of ruthless thing that Lucius was certainly capable of doing. Though Narcissa felt annoyance with the Weasley child for not taking the book to a prefect or to a teacher, she didn't let it detract from the true culprit. Lucius was the one at fault. He was an adult and he had tried to harm a child. It was despicable. She could not let him go unpunished, could she?

The answer was a resounding no. She was a daughter of the House of Black and Vengeance burned in their blood. She was also the proud daughter-in-law of the Old Dragon, and she had sworn to him that she would do all that she could to protect the future of his house. That future was her daughters, not her husband. She could not let him get away with harming her family, her Black blood would not stand for it. It had been with such thoughts in mind that she had confronted her husband.

"I know what you did, Lucius," she had said in a voice that was measured and controlled, hiding her rage. She wanted to hex him until he bled. She wanted to hurt him until he begged for mercy. She let herself burn with indignation and fury that this man was the reason why her daughter had been harmed. It was unacceptable. Behavior that was most unbefitting for a man of his station. It was unbefitting for a Malfoy. While Malfoy's were supposed to crush their enemies, they were not supposed to harm the innocent. "I know that the book belonged to you, Lucius. You put it in with the Weasley girl's books and then picked a fight with Arthur Weasley to distract everyone from what you had done."

Lucius had looked at her with an appraising eye. "Yes, I did," he chose truth over a lie, which surprised her.

She clenched her hands into fists at her sides to keep them from going for her wand then and there. "Did you know what the book would do?" she had demanded to know.

"I knew that the book was dark magic, but otherwise no," Lucius had admitted to her. He stared at her with cool ice-blue eyes, eyes that she had once adored. "I wanted the Weasley family to suffer, and their precious daughter being booted out of Hogwarts School due to bringing Dark Magical artifacts into the school would certainly have shamed the family's reputation."

She had narrowed her eyes into a fierce glare then. "When you learned that a monster was going around the school terrorizing the students and faculty, did you think that it was connected to the book you gave the Weasley girl?"

"Of course, but I couldn't very well come forward and admit to anything," Lucius had reasoned.

As much as she hated it, Narcissa saw the sense of his statement. No, he could not have come forward. He would have shamed their family with his admission. He might have even been forced to serve a few years in Azkaban Prison for endangering the lives of the students.

"You didn't care that this book might hurt the Weasley girl, did you?" she had asked softly and felt her breath catch when his cold eyes narrowed at the question. His expression told her everything. It was as though he thought her question was ridiculous.

"The Weasley's are our enemies. They have been for centuries now. If the girl had died then she would have been one less little rodent to worry about," he declared.

Narcissa had felt her breath hitch at that admission. "You, you nearly killed my daughter!" her voice had risen on the end. "Your lust for revenge against the Weasley's nearly cost you your daughter. Don't you care about that?"

Lucius had stared at her then with ice cold eyes that slowly became hard as steel. "Why should I? I have two more after all."

Narcissa had stepped back as if struck. She felt the harsh sting of tears but she refused to shed them. Not for this man, never again for this man. This was not the same man that she had fallen in love with. He was not the same man that she had married so many years ago. He was no longer her love. That man was gone, lost to her now. This man was different, a stranger wearing her husband's face and she wanted nothing more than to crush him.

"I will never forgive you, Lucius," she had vowed in a voice that was hard and unforgiving. "For what you did to Satyra, for how callously you just spoke of her life, I will never forgive you. If you ever cause harm directly or indirectly to my daughters again, I will punish you in ways that will make your precious Dark Lord's punishments seem like gentle tickles."

Lucius had for a moment looked wary of her but he recovered swiftly. "Satyra is not your child," he had said. It was a low blow, reminding her that she had not given birth to Satyra, that the girl was the product of Lucius's affair with another woman.

She had refused to let him see the barb draw blood. "I claimed her as my own. I have loved her when you refused. I took care of her when you could not be bothered. These three girls are the glory of the Malfoy family and they are mine, Lucius. They are mine!" she said vehemently. "You dared to hurt what was mine!"

"What is yours is mine!" Lucius had roared then but he had frozen when Narcissa had stepped forward and given in to the urge that was coursing through her. She struck him hard across the face.

"I am taking my daughters and we will depart for White Hall. Do not bother to visit us, I am revoking your rights to visit White Hall," she had informed him in her cold and unrelenting voice. Then she had left him alone in his office and she had issued orders to the house elves to pack up her belongings and the belongings of her daughters because they would spend the rest of their summer at White Hall.

The first drop of water splashing upon her head had her opening her eyes and coming back to the present. She sighed and slowly arose from her chair beneath the old Rowan tree. Lucius hated the tree. He said that he could not understand what a Rowan tree was doing growing on an estate owned by the Black family. The unspoken meaning was clear enough for Narcissa. Rowan trees were said to bear protective qualities from Dark Magic and Dark Wizards. Since the Black family were widely known as Dark Wizards, Lucius believed that she should cut down the Rowan tree. He was never willing to go near the tree. She had once considered doing it but the tree was beautiful and had been there since long before her birth. It had more rights to be here than she did. Now, she would leave the tree if only to ward off Lucius.

She chose to enjoy the summer rain as she slowly made her way back to the house. She could call her house elf to come get her but she chose not to call the little elf. Walking through the grounds as the storm waged overhead, drenching her in rain water, was refreshing. It helped to clear her mind. It was also quite improper behavior for the Lady Malfoy.

She smiled at that thought and found herself laughing as she rounded the bend of trees to view the back terrace of her home. Her three daughters were outside in the rain as well. Arya was upon the veranda but both Satyra and Lyra were in the garden twirling with their arms open wide and their faces tilted up to the heavens.

Narcissa swiftly caught up with her girls and she laughed as Satyra took her hand and then grabbed for Lyra's. Arya came down to join them and then, holding hands the four Malfoy women pranced in a circle, enjoying the summer rain. Giggle's bubbled from her daughter's throats and Narcissa let herself revel in the pure joy she felt in having her daughters there with her, alive and safe.

Their fun was interrupted by her personal elf, Miffy. "Mistress, Miffy is sorry to disturb you, but Mr. Corner is here."

Narcissa smiled at the news and she then began to usher her daughters inside. "It's just as well," she said with a smile. "If we stay outside any longer, we will catch a summer cold. Come on."

It was a testament to the training in deportment that her daughters had undergone during the summer that none of them showed any outwards sign of distress at being forced back indoors. At the beginning of the summer Satyra would have moaned softly in despair and pouted, but now the girl only nodded understanding that it was an order and she would have to bear it graciously. Narcissa was proud of her youngest daughter's progress.

The girls entered ahead of her and Narcissa followed them, completely unaware of the eyes that had been watching her closely since she had traversed the lawn and had joined her daughters in a summer rain dance. Once in doors she was gratified to see that her daughter's house-elves were present and ready to take control of their charges. Drying charms swiftly washed over the girls and they were no longer drenched in rain water. Narcissa felt a drying charm cast over her as well and she glanced at Miffy and smiled her gratitude. Another elf appeared in the hallway and began to clean the water from the floor. She smiled at the elf.

"Thank you," she said and it blushed and nodded but said nothing as Narcissa and her daughter's dispersed.

"I'll be in the study with Mr. Corner," she told her daughters. "Only interrupt if it is necessary," she ordered.

"Yes mother," Lyra said and then she snagged Satyra, "come along, your transfiguration still needs a bit of work. You almost had it last night."

Narcissa smiled as she watched delight at the praise shine in Satyra's eyes. The girl eagerly followed Lyra up the stairs with Arya trailing behind. She glanced at her hair in the hallway mirror and smiled. She didn't look like the perfectly coiffed wife of Lucius Malfoy. She found that she liked the wild curls that were currently falling down her back, held back from her face by a few delicate looking ivory pins.

She went to her study and found Mr. Alexander Corner awaiting her. Alexander was her solicitor. She had hired him years ago to manage a few of her own personal investments, things she had chosen to do with her own money that she wanted Lucius to have nothing to do with. He was now her legal advisor regarding trying to find a way to end her marriage to Lucius.

"Narcissa, it is good to see you again," Alexander Corner said as he rose from the position he had taken upon the sofa. He had a few documents spread along her coffee table. He gently took her hand and kissed the top of it and led her to the chair across from the sofa.

"Alexander, a pleasure," she assured him. "Would you like some tea?"

"No thank you, Narcissa," he declined politely. "I wish I had good news to tell you, but unfortunately your fear was correct. Dissolving your marriage to Lucius is practically impossible."

She sighed in disappointment. "I had feared as much," she said softly. "I had to try though," she said and he nodded in sympathy if not in full understanding. She had confided in him that she no longer loved Lucius and she feared him and what he might do to her daughters. He had, despite public appearances, never gotten over the fact that he had daughters instead of sons.

"There is only one avenue toward divorce and you gaining custody of your daughters," Alexander told her.

She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "What?" she asked eagerly. "What is this avenue?"

"Lucius testified that he was not a Death Eater by choice," Alexander explained to her. "If you have proof that he willingly became a Death Eater or at any point enjoyed being one and were willing to testify to this then the courts would send him to Azkaban and grant you full custody of your daughters and the Regency of the Malfoy estate until Lyra came of age or was wed."

Narcissa arose then and went to the window and stared out at the storm clouds roiling overhead. "I was here at White Hall when he was marked," she admitted sadly. "He was not a marked Death Eater when I became pregnant with my daughters. I am grateful for that. The mark, I think it taints people. It tainted his magic and I would hate for that taint to have somehow been passed on to my girls," she said as her hand rose to her throat in a gesture of pure horror at the thought. "I had lost children before and the quiet of life here at White Hall was considered best for me during my pregnancy. Malfoy Manor was more like an eternal office due to both Abraxas and Lucius during those days so it was always stressful there," she shook herself away from the memories. "My point is that, I would not be able to testify that he had lied about being under the Imperius when he took the Dark Mark because I was not there, I didn't even live at the Manor at the time and Lucius only rarely visited me here at White Hall."

Alexander nodded with a sad look in his eyes. "Then I am sorry Narcissa, but there is no legal way to end your marriage," he said sadly. "I wish I could do more to help you."

She tamped down on her disappointment and reminded herself that she had not really thought that her marriage could be ended through the legal means anyway. "Thank you for trying to help me, Alexander," she said graciously.

He nodded and then looked at the papers on the coffee table. "I brought the paperwork for a few of your businesses. You need to sign a few documents and that property you owned in Carkitt Market has a new renter," he told her swiftly changing the subject.

She was grateful for the swift change of topic. She couldn't free herself and her daughters from Lucius. She had somehow known that she wouldn't be able to break the marriage contract. It was just like both the Malfoy's and the Black's to create a contract that was nearly impossible to break. If Lucius proved a true Death Eater she could break it, but alas, she had no real evidence that he was. Even his placing of that damned book among the Weasley girl's things didn't prove he was a Death Eater. It only proved he had a dark artifact and was a vicious vindictive monster.

She spent the next two hours going over the paperwork on her properties and businesses with Alexander. When it was time for him to go, Narcissa wished Alexander well and sent her regards to his wife and his son Michael, who was a Ravenclaw and friends with her daughter Arya.

She filed her own copy of the paperwork in her desk drawer and then movement outside caught her attention. She found herself once more before the large window staring out onto the grounds. The storm was truly ferocious now overhead and the wind was lashing against the house and the vegetation outside. She was now grateful that she had ordered the girls inside since the sky had darkened so much that she could only just make out the shapes of the trees and bushes outside.

There was a loud roll of thunder overhead and it seemed to shake the windows of the house and then there was a clash of bright lightening. It illuminated the grounds for a moment and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she stared at the black Grim that stared back at her from between two of the trees. She gasped in alarm and took an involuntary step toward the window to better see out. All was darkness once more and her eyes scanned the area where she could have sworn she saw the Grim.

Lightning flashed again, illuminating the grounds and her eyes scanned for the Grim but she could not see any sign of it. She felt her heart rate slowly begin to calm and she wondered if she had really seen the Grim, an Omen of Death, or was it just her imagination?

Thank you for reading. I know in the last chapter's author's note I had mentioned that we would see Lyra confronting Lucius about the Diary. I apologize for that. I tried and tried writing it that way but it just was not right. Overtime I realized that I needed it to be Narcissa that confronted Lucius and not Lyra. It was so wonderful to write Narcissa once more. I have missed her. I wanted to show how things have changed on the home front for the Malfoy's. Here we clearly see that the Rose Colored glasses have been obliterated and that Narcissa no longer views Lucius as though he were the most magnificent man in the world. Also congratulations to all readers who understand the Grim in this chapter and who the Grim is.