Disclaimer: I just own the plot. (I've written hose words so many times I'm starting to think they may be tattooed on my brain!)
Review Responses:
FIRST OF ALL A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S EVER REVIEWED THIS FIC AS I NOW HAVE OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! I AM SO SHOCKED AND OVERWHELMED AND I LOVE YOU ALL!
Dark Comet - Only got your review for chapter 24 after I'd posted 25 so I apologise for your not getting a response in the last chapter. I too, despise Fudge, I mean he comes into these books looking all sweet in his pin striped cloak and lime green bowler hat and then proves to be a complete arsehole! I had so much fin writing the ferret incident! Seriously, that was one of my favourite parts to write! Chapter 27 for that. Wahoo, Umbridge in a Trolloc Pot! *Dances round the Trolloc pot calling Umbridge names and throwing rotten vegetables at her*. That makes me sound a tad crazy doesn't it? I just happen to think Umbridge is a twisted, evil woman who is up there on the list of people I will never forgive or empathise with along with, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., James Potter and possibly Fudge as well. That list is definitely getting longer! This Wheel of Fortune thing sounds intriguing, who's the author? Hee, hee, Voldie stealing old ladies handbags! You know I find it funny to think that if Voldie were a muggle he'd be collecting his pension and yelling at the neighbourhood kids at his age! Thanks for the review, sorry I didn't catch it at first. Jelly Babies and five year olds? Doesn't sound like the best of combinations! I know, Lucius being worried probably is one of the signs of the apocalpse but he knows that he probably isn't Voldy's favourite Death Eater at the moment! Thanks for the review to chapter 25!
Bella - Ah I love all reviews whether they are useful or not so thanks for dropping one, I cherish them all.
Lune Project - Of course it's ok that you reviewed 24 and 25 together! Mother does seem to create more distance between them than mum, luckily it was done in an attempt to hurt her not just because he really feels that distant from her, he was hurt because he was unable to understand why she was angry with him so he lashed out at her by being cold. It's sad but it does show that he cares how she treats him. Lucius wouldn't go to the World Cup without as view to ruining it for everybody else, unless of course the Weasleys were going in which case he'd have to go to keep up appearances! He is selfish the evil man! I too love Draco too much to slap him, he'd just look at me and Id be falling head over heels and letting him do what ever he wanted! Poor Narcissa she's unable to stop Lucy from polluting her son's mind! Trust Lucy to find deatheater gatherings fun! When I read GoF I also wondered how he got his bloody nose as I wouldn't have expected there to be a spell for that! He does kind of owe Narc his life though he doesn't know it, not that I think that curse would have killed him as it hits someone else but it is later established that there are no casualties. I too hate MacNair, particularly now he tried to hurt my Percy! I hadn't thought about their portkey but it's not a public one so I suppose it could be anything, a pen maybe or a quill? Ceramics or glass is a good idea. It didn't occur to me but I definitely don't think it was a piece of rubbish as I don't think Lucius would have touched it then! Lucius has realised that Voldie may not be too happy to see the man who never tried to find him! That and he had to actually get off his backside and do something! Narcissa's got a hard fight on her hands but she's not giving in. Draco is torn between his parents, there's his father and everything he's been taught is right and then there's his mother who he loves and who doesn't seem to quite fit in with his father's ideals. No wonder the kid's confused! I couldn't have Draco having bad taste! I had to be all Lucius' fault! Poor Madam Malkin, it can't be fun trying to serve a bickering couple! Those dress robes will be back in the story and it's not only Narcissa who doesn't like them! I'll update again soon, I've got your e-mails and will reply! Thanks for the covers that was interesting. Thank you for reviewing!
Serepidia - Narc mentions his dark mark under the assumption that her letter will not be intercepted and that anyone at Hogwarts who happens to read it will already know about it, it was a bit of a risk but the woman wants answers! Those dress robes will be back! Definitely a shame Lucy didn't overdose on his sleeping draughts! Perhaps if I lock him in a small room with Dippy he'll eventually kill himself to get away from her? Then again he'd probably just kill Dippy! Read on for Narcissa's plan! Thanks for reviewing!
I Built My Life Around You
**Narcissa's Thoughts**
Chapter 26
After Draco had been put on the train to school Narcissa returned to the Manor with a quiet Lucius. **He really is worried.** She sighed, **the last thing I need is to start empathising with the man who single handedly destroyed my life.**
"Narcissa, do you want a cup of tea? I though we could have the elf bring some to the drawing room," Lucius surprised her by his quiet tone.
"Alright." She agreed through curiosity, she had no desire to drink tea with him like they actually meant something to each other but she did want to know what was going through his mind.
Dippy served them tea and they sat in silence in the drawing room. Narcissa remembered how they used to sit together in this way and sighed deeply.
"What's the matter?" Lucius asked. "Is it the events of the summer? Are you worried?"
"Yes," she lied. **How can I tell him that I was dwelling on the days when I thought he loved me, when I thought we'd always be happy together?**
"We will be fine, I promise you."
**He sounds so much like he used to, like he really wants me to stop worrying.**
"We are purebloods from an ancient and powerful bloodline, it is not us who need fear." The contempt in his voice for those who he considered impure was clear.
**And you just had to spoil the moment didn't you? But then, it's exactly the kind of thing you would have said back then but I was too blinded by love to see the real horror of your words. Why did it take the death of a child to make me see? Why did you find it so easy to deceive me? Why didn't I listen to Morgana?**
She felt tears in her eyes, she avoided her husband as often as she could to avoid situations just like this. Situations that made her remember the way things used to be and made her wish with a desperation so powerful as to be overwhelming to turn back the clock and get things right.
"I'm going for a lie down," she told him.
He frowned in concern, "Alright, you do look a little tired. I've got some work to do in my study and then I'm going out to a meeting after lunch."
She nodded and left, desperate to have him away from her where she could push him and the feelings she had once held for him to the back of her mind. **They'll only get in the way when I put my plan into action.**
*******
After lunch she heard Lucius leave and, taking a deep breath, went downstairs to the first floor and stopped outside the door to his study. She tried the handle and found it locked. **Damn, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this.**
She tried the door to his bedroom and, finding it open, slipped inside. She ran her pale hands over the oak panelling along one of the walls, **Now where is it?**
Eventually one of the panels gave way beneath her hands slightly and she was able to push it to one side. Behind it lay a small cramped passage, coated in dirt and dust. **Oh joy! This'll be fun!**
She squeezed inside and crawled on her hands and knees through the passage until she hit her head on the end. "Ouch!" She brought a hand up to rub her aching head and lit the end of her wand and glanced at the backs of the panels seeing a handle on one of them. She pulled on it and the panel slid back easily. She was able to crawl out and into the study. She sneezed and pulled herself to her feet.
**Right, well that's the first step.**
She looked at the desk which was littered with papers. Narcissa sorted quickly through them finding little of interest, it appeared Lucius was looking over his finances. She was no accountant but she knew enough to realise that, on closer inspection, these papers revealed several withdrawals from his Gringott's account that she, at first, could not understand the purpose of. She glanced at the dates, **all more than fourteen years ago. Of course, Voldemort. This money must have been used to finance something to do with the deatheaters. It's not what I was looking for but if he was this careless with these, then it suggests I have a chance.**
Narcissa had formulated an idea to keep herself and her son safe. She had determined to find out as much as she could about what her husband had done and would do. It she could find enough evidence then she could rid herself of him if she became desperate. **I'd have to be desperate though, Draco's far too set in his beliefs to simply turn away from them because his father's influence was removed. I can't do anything yet, but maybe one day I'll be desperate enough to turn him in.**
She went through draw after draw reading through ancient correspondence and spell books that contained things she had not even realised were possible. It was growing dark when she suddenly realised the time, she had not been through half of the documents in the study but she couldn't stay there any longer in case Lucius came home. She put everything exactly as she had found it and crawled back down the passage shutting the panels after her.
She emerged from Lucius' bedroom covered in dirt, her head full of events and names from over a decade ago. The letters had been highly euphemistic and parts of some had been in a code she could not decipher but she had got the gist of them. **The things they did! And I'm not even shocked anymore!**
She went wearily to her bathroom to soak away the grime of the passageway, **Pity I can't soak away the feeling that I am by no means innocent in all this.**
*******
Ok, very short chapter again! Next one's longer! Next chapter we see the ferret incident and Narcissa's reaction to the man foolish enough to mess with her son! That should be up on Friday night.
Please review!
Review Responses:
FIRST OF ALL A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S EVER REVIEWED THIS FIC AS I NOW HAVE OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! I AM SO SHOCKED AND OVERWHELMED AND I LOVE YOU ALL!
Dark Comet - Only got your review for chapter 24 after I'd posted 25 so I apologise for your not getting a response in the last chapter. I too, despise Fudge, I mean he comes into these books looking all sweet in his pin striped cloak and lime green bowler hat and then proves to be a complete arsehole! I had so much fin writing the ferret incident! Seriously, that was one of my favourite parts to write! Chapter 27 for that. Wahoo, Umbridge in a Trolloc Pot! *Dances round the Trolloc pot calling Umbridge names and throwing rotten vegetables at her*. That makes me sound a tad crazy doesn't it? I just happen to think Umbridge is a twisted, evil woman who is up there on the list of people I will never forgive or empathise with along with, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., James Potter and possibly Fudge as well. That list is definitely getting longer! This Wheel of Fortune thing sounds intriguing, who's the author? Hee, hee, Voldie stealing old ladies handbags! You know I find it funny to think that if Voldie were a muggle he'd be collecting his pension and yelling at the neighbourhood kids at his age! Thanks for the review, sorry I didn't catch it at first. Jelly Babies and five year olds? Doesn't sound like the best of combinations! I know, Lucius being worried probably is one of the signs of the apocalpse but he knows that he probably isn't Voldy's favourite Death Eater at the moment! Thanks for the review to chapter 25!
Bella - Ah I love all reviews whether they are useful or not so thanks for dropping one, I cherish them all.
Lune Project - Of course it's ok that you reviewed 24 and 25 together! Mother does seem to create more distance between them than mum, luckily it was done in an attempt to hurt her not just because he really feels that distant from her, he was hurt because he was unable to understand why she was angry with him so he lashed out at her by being cold. It's sad but it does show that he cares how she treats him. Lucius wouldn't go to the World Cup without as view to ruining it for everybody else, unless of course the Weasleys were going in which case he'd have to go to keep up appearances! He is selfish the evil man! I too love Draco too much to slap him, he'd just look at me and Id be falling head over heels and letting him do what ever he wanted! Poor Narcissa she's unable to stop Lucy from polluting her son's mind! Trust Lucy to find deatheater gatherings fun! When I read GoF I also wondered how he got his bloody nose as I wouldn't have expected there to be a spell for that! He does kind of owe Narc his life though he doesn't know it, not that I think that curse would have killed him as it hits someone else but it is later established that there are no casualties. I too hate MacNair, particularly now he tried to hurt my Percy! I hadn't thought about their portkey but it's not a public one so I suppose it could be anything, a pen maybe or a quill? Ceramics or glass is a good idea. It didn't occur to me but I definitely don't think it was a piece of rubbish as I don't think Lucius would have touched it then! Lucius has realised that Voldie may not be too happy to see the man who never tried to find him! That and he had to actually get off his backside and do something! Narcissa's got a hard fight on her hands but she's not giving in. Draco is torn between his parents, there's his father and everything he's been taught is right and then there's his mother who he loves and who doesn't seem to quite fit in with his father's ideals. No wonder the kid's confused! I couldn't have Draco having bad taste! I had to be all Lucius' fault! Poor Madam Malkin, it can't be fun trying to serve a bickering couple! Those dress robes will be back in the story and it's not only Narcissa who doesn't like them! I'll update again soon, I've got your e-mails and will reply! Thanks for the covers that was interesting. Thank you for reviewing!
Serepidia - Narc mentions his dark mark under the assumption that her letter will not be intercepted and that anyone at Hogwarts who happens to read it will already know about it, it was a bit of a risk but the woman wants answers! Those dress robes will be back! Definitely a shame Lucy didn't overdose on his sleeping draughts! Perhaps if I lock him in a small room with Dippy he'll eventually kill himself to get away from her? Then again he'd probably just kill Dippy! Read on for Narcissa's plan! Thanks for reviewing!
I Built My Life Around You
**Narcissa's Thoughts**
Chapter 26
After Draco had been put on the train to school Narcissa returned to the Manor with a quiet Lucius. **He really is worried.** She sighed, **the last thing I need is to start empathising with the man who single handedly destroyed my life.**
"Narcissa, do you want a cup of tea? I though we could have the elf bring some to the drawing room," Lucius surprised her by his quiet tone.
"Alright." She agreed through curiosity, she had no desire to drink tea with him like they actually meant something to each other but she did want to know what was going through his mind.
Dippy served them tea and they sat in silence in the drawing room. Narcissa remembered how they used to sit together in this way and sighed deeply.
"What's the matter?" Lucius asked. "Is it the events of the summer? Are you worried?"
"Yes," she lied. **How can I tell him that I was dwelling on the days when I thought he loved me, when I thought we'd always be happy together?**
"We will be fine, I promise you."
**He sounds so much like he used to, like he really wants me to stop worrying.**
"We are purebloods from an ancient and powerful bloodline, it is not us who need fear." The contempt in his voice for those who he considered impure was clear.
**And you just had to spoil the moment didn't you? But then, it's exactly the kind of thing you would have said back then but I was too blinded by love to see the real horror of your words. Why did it take the death of a child to make me see? Why did you find it so easy to deceive me? Why didn't I listen to Morgana?**
She felt tears in her eyes, she avoided her husband as often as she could to avoid situations just like this. Situations that made her remember the way things used to be and made her wish with a desperation so powerful as to be overwhelming to turn back the clock and get things right.
"I'm going for a lie down," she told him.
He frowned in concern, "Alright, you do look a little tired. I've got some work to do in my study and then I'm going out to a meeting after lunch."
She nodded and left, desperate to have him away from her where she could push him and the feelings she had once held for him to the back of her mind. **They'll only get in the way when I put my plan into action.**
*******
After lunch she heard Lucius leave and, taking a deep breath, went downstairs to the first floor and stopped outside the door to his study. She tried the handle and found it locked. **Damn, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this.**
She tried the door to his bedroom and, finding it open, slipped inside. She ran her pale hands over the oak panelling along one of the walls, **Now where is it?**
Eventually one of the panels gave way beneath her hands slightly and she was able to push it to one side. Behind it lay a small cramped passage, coated in dirt and dust. **Oh joy! This'll be fun!**
She squeezed inside and crawled on her hands and knees through the passage until she hit her head on the end. "Ouch!" She brought a hand up to rub her aching head and lit the end of her wand and glanced at the backs of the panels seeing a handle on one of them. She pulled on it and the panel slid back easily. She was able to crawl out and into the study. She sneezed and pulled herself to her feet.
**Right, well that's the first step.**
She looked at the desk which was littered with papers. Narcissa sorted quickly through them finding little of interest, it appeared Lucius was looking over his finances. She was no accountant but she knew enough to realise that, on closer inspection, these papers revealed several withdrawals from his Gringott's account that she, at first, could not understand the purpose of. She glanced at the dates, **all more than fourteen years ago. Of course, Voldemort. This money must have been used to finance something to do with the deatheaters. It's not what I was looking for but if he was this careless with these, then it suggests I have a chance.**
Narcissa had formulated an idea to keep herself and her son safe. She had determined to find out as much as she could about what her husband had done and would do. It she could find enough evidence then she could rid herself of him if she became desperate. **I'd have to be desperate though, Draco's far too set in his beliefs to simply turn away from them because his father's influence was removed. I can't do anything yet, but maybe one day I'll be desperate enough to turn him in.**
She went through draw after draw reading through ancient correspondence and spell books that contained things she had not even realised were possible. It was growing dark when she suddenly realised the time, she had not been through half of the documents in the study but she couldn't stay there any longer in case Lucius came home. She put everything exactly as she had found it and crawled back down the passage shutting the panels after her.
She emerged from Lucius' bedroom covered in dirt, her head full of events and names from over a decade ago. The letters had been highly euphemistic and parts of some had been in a code she could not decipher but she had got the gist of them. **The things they did! And I'm not even shocked anymore!**
She went wearily to her bathroom to soak away the grime of the passageway, **Pity I can't soak away the feeling that I am by no means innocent in all this.**
*******
Ok, very short chapter again! Next one's longer! Next chapter we see the ferret incident and Narcissa's reaction to the man foolish enough to mess with her son! That should be up on Friday night.
Please review!
