Disclaimer: I just own the plot.
Review Responses:
Slytherin Starr-Athena or should that be Sailormoonsues? - Have you changed your author name? You were the first to review the last chapter! Narcissa does rock and you gotta love that house elf! Thanks for reviewing!
Trillium - Ah yes, Sev can face down Voldemort no trouble but a pissed Narcissa Malfoy? I think that's enough to send anyone running for cover! LOL! She's a scary woman! Draco working for the good side in the books? I suppose there was that sort of warning he gave them in book four at the Quidditch cup but what about his behaviour in book five? I wish he were working for the good side! Thanks for the review!
Professor Charlotte Snape - I'll hold Lucy down, you conduct the lobotomy! I don't know who described Pansy as pretty and vivacious, perhaps it was just Rita trying to stay on the Slytherin's good side in order to get more information from them? Glad you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!
Dark Comet - You have a happy sevvie dance? I have to learn that! LOL! Sev's good! 'What's ailing you now?' Gotta love that! He's here in this chapter! I'm glad to know that there's someone out there besides Narcissa who deems throwing bread rolls at teapots perfectly normal behaviour! Narcissa needs some sympathy I think. Thanks for reviewing!
BellatrixBlack - Glad you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!
I Built My Life Around You
**Narcissa's Thoughts**
***Severus' Thoughts***
Chapter 32
Narcissa walked into The Three Broomsticks at ten past one on the following Sunday, she spotted Severus sat at a table on the far corner and made her way over to him.
"Hi, sorry I'm late, Lucius was supposed to go out over an hour ago and he only just left."
"That's alright, is he giving you a hard time?"
"Not really. I just didn't want him to ask where I was going, he's taking an unhealthy interest in my life at the moment."
"He is your husband."
"It's been many, many years since he acted like it and frankly I wish he wasn't."
"And yet you still stay," Severus said wearily.
"And you know why," Narcissa replied in the same tone. They were both simply paying lip service to what they thought needed to be said, neither was about to give ground on the issue though they both understood each other's point of view.
They were at that point interrupted by Madame Rosmerta to take their orders. They hadn't been eating long when Narcissa happened to glance up at the door. "Looks like we've been caught!"
Severus raised a puzzled eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"
"Your colleagues have just stepped through the door and are staring at us," she gave McGonagall and Flitwick a little wave.
Severus turned around and the two surprised looking teachers headed over to their table.
"Good afternoon Severus, and I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your young lady friend," Professor Flitwick smiled charmingly at Narcissa.
Severus nodded a greeting and was about to introduce Narcissa when she extended a hand, "Narcissa Malfoy, you used to teach me, Professor."
"Of course, good gracious I would never have recognised you."
"No, nor would I," McGonagall chipped in somewhat coldly.
"Good afternoon Professor McGonagall," Narcissa responded, her tone equally cool.
Professor McGonagall looked disapproving, "Good afternoon Mrs Malfoy."
"Well, we'll leave you to enjoy your meal, we've got to meet Minister Fudge and Professor Dumbledore for lunch ourselves," Flitwick said, seemingly unaware of the tension.
"Minister Fudge is coming here?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes, in about ten minutes actually, well enjoy the rest of your day Severus," Flitwick gave the potions master a sly wink which would have made Narcissa laugh if she hadn't been so worried.
As soon as the two teachers had walked to another table Narcissa picked up her bag from the floor beside her, "I have to go. Fudge can't see me here with you, it'd get back to Lucius."
"Alright, let's go."
"You don't have to, I mean you could always join your colleagues, I didn't mean to ruin your afternoon."
"Forget it, I wasn't hungry anyway and I'm really not in the mood to deal with Cornelius Fudge."
They both reached for the bill.
"What Sev, too chivalrous to let a lady pay?" Narcissa teased.
"I suppose so."
"Don't worry, the lady isn't paying, Lucy is."
"Oh well, when you put it like that."
Narcissa smiled and quickly paid the bill before the two of them slipped out quietly into the streets of Hogsmeade.
"Severus, with McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore and yourself out of the school who's in charge?"
"Well, there are no lessons on a Sunday so probably Professor Sprout. Filch can keep the corridors under control and Madam Pince will be patrolling the library, the students don't require twenty four hour observation according to Dumbledore, personally I'm not so sure."
"Well look on the bright side, if they blow up the school you won't have to teach them anymore!"
"Now that would definitely be a bright side!"
They walked in a companionable silence for a while until Severus spoke up, "Was there a particular reason you wanted to see me or were you just feeling lonely?"
"Where would you get the idea that I'm lonely?"
"Christmas maybe?"
"Alright maybe I am a bit. Actually, I just wanted to see you, I thought it might be nice to have lunch like normal friends, though apparently the world won't even allow me to do that anymore!" Narcissa switched the topic purposely, she had intended to mention what she had found in Lucius' study but looking at Severus she knew she couldn't raise those memories again, **he deserves to forget all that or at least not have it raised when he's having a day off.**
"What do you think he'd do if he found out we were still friends?" Severus asked.
"Kill me? Kill you? I don't know, but I have a feeling I wouldn't like to find out."
"Then maybe we shouldn't meet up like this."
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm sick of having Lucius running my life, besides I'm going completely mad in that house!"
"Narcissa, if Lucius had come back earlier than expected on Boxing Day and caught me there what do think would have happened?!"
"He didn't though, did he?"
"That's not the point."
"I know Sev, I'm sorry maybe we shouldn't keep meeting I don't want him going after you."
"I can handle Lucius, it's you I worry about!"
"Well don't, I'm not worth it I assure you! What's the point in worrying about someone who's in a mess of their own making?"
"You loved him," Severus pointed out, "Marrying him probably looked like the right thing to do at the time!"
"Yeah it did! Pity I didn't take divination at school!"
"I thought you didn't take it because you felt uncomfortable about the idea of knowing the future?"
"I did, I still do, there's something deeply unnatural about divination. I don't want to know the future, what's going happen is going to happen whether I foresee it or not and I'd rather not see it. That, and do you really think I'd take a class taught by Trewlawny?!"
"Good point!"
"How are things at school?"
"About the same, Dumbledore's getting increasingly worried about the tournament."
"With regards to Potter you mean?"
"Isn't everything with regards to Potter these days?"
"Seems like it. Draco said you've been having some fun with Potter and his press clippings?"
"Ah yes, most amusing some of those articles, I may never speak ill of Rita Skeeter again."
"Yeah, your Slytherins seem keen on talking to her as well."
"They're just expressing their opinions."
"They certainly are. So tell me, are Miss Granger and Mr Potter really involved?"
"Not as far as I know, she seems to spend much of her time picking apart everything Mr. Weasley does in the way women do when they see a future husband in the making who just needs training up a bit. Pansy Parkinson appears to be doing it to your son."
"Oh is she? Well, Draco's quite capable of handling himself but I don't think she's going to get anywhere, he doesn't seem interested. But Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Draco said something about them as well, they sound pretty sweet!"
"Oh, they're just adorable," Severus said with the kind of exasperated sarcasm that came from listening to women wax lyrical about his students being cute, ***The woman would probably think Longbottom was just a darling!***
"You grumpy old cynic!" she laughed.
"You're older than I am."
"Don't remind me!"
They continued to wander through Hogsmeade talking until Narcissa noticed the time. "Damn, I should get going, Lucy'll be home soon."
"I'll say goodbye then, if you think it's safe maybe we could do this again some time."
"I'd love to. Bye Sev, I think I'll just apparate rather than walking back to the floo station." She smiled one last time then disappeared with a slight popping noise.
Severus turned back towards the school and walked back, hoping that Narcissa wouldn't get into any bother with Lucius through meeting him. He sighed, ***And from the conspiratorial wink Flitwick gave me and the fact McGonagall looked like she didn't trust Narcissa as far as she could throw her I think I'm going to have some explaining to do.***
It was for this reason that he avoided the staff room when he reached the school, heading instead for the peace of his dungeons.
***But no, I can't even get peace down here can I? What the hell are the Slytherins doing now?!*** There was a lot of noise coming from the direction of his potions lab and he quickened his pace in case people had lost their senses and dared to destroy his precious potions ingredients.
Severus turned a corner to see a group of second year Slytherins and Gryffindors engaged in a full out fight. ***Right, that's it, I'm just going to kill them this time, it'll be quicker!*** He raised his wand in serious contemplation of, if not quite killing them, then sending them all up to the hospital wing feeling pretty sorry for themselves when he decided that it was probably more than his life was worth to harm one of Minerva's Gryffindors.
"Stop that this instant!" Severus didn't usually shout but he was beginning to get a headache, the day had been far too stressful what with worrying about Narcissa, being glared at by McGonagall, winked at by Flitwick, (***who also called Narcissa my young lady friend!***), and now brawling children, it was more than a sane man could take.
The children realised that if they valued their continued existence they should stop, the Slytherins slipping in some last minute hexes knowing that their chances of getting away with it were pretty good. Severus couldn't even be bothered asking what this had been about. "Thirty points from Gryffindor! Detention for all of you and get out of my sight. Oh, and could you three," he gestured to the Gryffindors, "Get back to your own part of the castle!"
The students fled, seeming to realise that now was not the time to question the fairness of their punishment.
Severus went into his office and sat down behind his desk, he had a pile of marking to do and no inclination to do it, maybe he should just fail them all, it was the fourth year Gryffindors after all. ***I'd love to see the look on Granger's face if she failed a piece of work!*** Severus had just gleefully picked up his quill to carry out his plan when Minerva McGonagall stormed into his office. ***Oh joy!***
"Ever heard of knocking?!" he snapped.
"You just put three of my Gryffindors in detention and deducted thirty points from my house!"
"They were fighting in the corridors!"
"So were the Slytherins, they didn't lose any points!"
"The Gryffindors started it!"
"That's not the way they tell it, they claim you didn't even ask who had started it."
"No, I didn't and I don't care!"
McGonagall's face softened slightly, "Mrs Malfoy didn't look too good, is she ill?"
"Let's put it this way, she has looked like that and worse for much of the last fifteen years."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Lucius."
McGonagall sighed and sat down, "Severus don't get involved with them. From what I remember of her, the woman is perfectly capable of coping on her own and you have no idea what she is telling Lucius."
"So you are suggesting that I leave to Lucius' tender care?"
"I don't mean to sound cold Severus but I hardly need remind you that he would kill you given the chance and for all we know so would she! I'm quite sure she'd be more capable of it than you would expect."
"I do not underestimate Narcissa Malfoy, believe me."
"Severus, things are getting worse, the deatheater activity at the world cup, the dark mark in the sky again. These are hardly good omens and it is hardly the time for you to be resurrecting a friendship with the wife of a well known and highly dangerous deatheater!"
"I am not resurrecting a friendship. You can not resurrect something that never died in the first place."
"How long have you been seeing her?"
"I remained on good terms with her whilst I was spying for Dumbledore and we have been in contact since Draco was six, though admittedly I have seen little of her in the last fifteen years."
"Severus, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into!"
"I am not getting myself into anything. The woman is alone, she needs someone to talk to, she needs some company every now and again and she needs someone to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish. Thank you for your concern professor but I can handle this situation."
"I hope you can," she sighed, "Just lay off my Gryffindors alright, they're not to blame for the world's ills!"
"That's debatable!"
"I'm going to choose to ignore that comment. Is there something the matter that I can help with?"
"No."
"Severus don't waste your time worrying about Narcissa, she's probably a lot safer than you. I'll see you at dinner," McGonagall stood up and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
"I assure you Professor, Narcissa is not a lot safer than I am, in fact she may not be safe at all."
*******
I know that the fifth book establishes that Trewlawny wouldn't have been there in Narcissa's day but I wrote this before reading book five and as it's non OotP compatible anyway I'm not going to change it.
Ok, next update will be the 31st and then you'll have a bit of a wait because I'm away for a week. I should be able to update again on the 8th of August. We're nearing the end of this fic, it only has 37 chapters, I'll post the third and final part to this story after that.
Next chapter we meet Crabbe and Goyle Sr.'s wives.
Review Please!!
Review Responses:
Slytherin Starr-Athena or should that be Sailormoonsues? - Have you changed your author name? You were the first to review the last chapter! Narcissa does rock and you gotta love that house elf! Thanks for reviewing!
Trillium - Ah yes, Sev can face down Voldemort no trouble but a pissed Narcissa Malfoy? I think that's enough to send anyone running for cover! LOL! She's a scary woman! Draco working for the good side in the books? I suppose there was that sort of warning he gave them in book four at the Quidditch cup but what about his behaviour in book five? I wish he were working for the good side! Thanks for the review!
Professor Charlotte Snape - I'll hold Lucy down, you conduct the lobotomy! I don't know who described Pansy as pretty and vivacious, perhaps it was just Rita trying to stay on the Slytherin's good side in order to get more information from them? Glad you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!
Dark Comet - You have a happy sevvie dance? I have to learn that! LOL! Sev's good! 'What's ailing you now?' Gotta love that! He's here in this chapter! I'm glad to know that there's someone out there besides Narcissa who deems throwing bread rolls at teapots perfectly normal behaviour! Narcissa needs some sympathy I think. Thanks for reviewing!
BellatrixBlack - Glad you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing!
I Built My Life Around You
**Narcissa's Thoughts**
***Severus' Thoughts***
Chapter 32
Narcissa walked into The Three Broomsticks at ten past one on the following Sunday, she spotted Severus sat at a table on the far corner and made her way over to him.
"Hi, sorry I'm late, Lucius was supposed to go out over an hour ago and he only just left."
"That's alright, is he giving you a hard time?"
"Not really. I just didn't want him to ask where I was going, he's taking an unhealthy interest in my life at the moment."
"He is your husband."
"It's been many, many years since he acted like it and frankly I wish he wasn't."
"And yet you still stay," Severus said wearily.
"And you know why," Narcissa replied in the same tone. They were both simply paying lip service to what they thought needed to be said, neither was about to give ground on the issue though they both understood each other's point of view.
They were at that point interrupted by Madame Rosmerta to take their orders. They hadn't been eating long when Narcissa happened to glance up at the door. "Looks like we've been caught!"
Severus raised a puzzled eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"
"Your colleagues have just stepped through the door and are staring at us," she gave McGonagall and Flitwick a little wave.
Severus turned around and the two surprised looking teachers headed over to their table.
"Good afternoon Severus, and I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your young lady friend," Professor Flitwick smiled charmingly at Narcissa.
Severus nodded a greeting and was about to introduce Narcissa when she extended a hand, "Narcissa Malfoy, you used to teach me, Professor."
"Of course, good gracious I would never have recognised you."
"No, nor would I," McGonagall chipped in somewhat coldly.
"Good afternoon Professor McGonagall," Narcissa responded, her tone equally cool.
Professor McGonagall looked disapproving, "Good afternoon Mrs Malfoy."
"Well, we'll leave you to enjoy your meal, we've got to meet Minister Fudge and Professor Dumbledore for lunch ourselves," Flitwick said, seemingly unaware of the tension.
"Minister Fudge is coming here?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes, in about ten minutes actually, well enjoy the rest of your day Severus," Flitwick gave the potions master a sly wink which would have made Narcissa laugh if she hadn't been so worried.
As soon as the two teachers had walked to another table Narcissa picked up her bag from the floor beside her, "I have to go. Fudge can't see me here with you, it'd get back to Lucius."
"Alright, let's go."
"You don't have to, I mean you could always join your colleagues, I didn't mean to ruin your afternoon."
"Forget it, I wasn't hungry anyway and I'm really not in the mood to deal with Cornelius Fudge."
They both reached for the bill.
"What Sev, too chivalrous to let a lady pay?" Narcissa teased.
"I suppose so."
"Don't worry, the lady isn't paying, Lucy is."
"Oh well, when you put it like that."
Narcissa smiled and quickly paid the bill before the two of them slipped out quietly into the streets of Hogsmeade.
"Severus, with McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore and yourself out of the school who's in charge?"
"Well, there are no lessons on a Sunday so probably Professor Sprout. Filch can keep the corridors under control and Madam Pince will be patrolling the library, the students don't require twenty four hour observation according to Dumbledore, personally I'm not so sure."
"Well look on the bright side, if they blow up the school you won't have to teach them anymore!"
"Now that would definitely be a bright side!"
They walked in a companionable silence for a while until Severus spoke up, "Was there a particular reason you wanted to see me or were you just feeling lonely?"
"Where would you get the idea that I'm lonely?"
"Christmas maybe?"
"Alright maybe I am a bit. Actually, I just wanted to see you, I thought it might be nice to have lunch like normal friends, though apparently the world won't even allow me to do that anymore!" Narcissa switched the topic purposely, she had intended to mention what she had found in Lucius' study but looking at Severus she knew she couldn't raise those memories again, **he deserves to forget all that or at least not have it raised when he's having a day off.**
"What do you think he'd do if he found out we were still friends?" Severus asked.
"Kill me? Kill you? I don't know, but I have a feeling I wouldn't like to find out."
"Then maybe we shouldn't meet up like this."
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm sick of having Lucius running my life, besides I'm going completely mad in that house!"
"Narcissa, if Lucius had come back earlier than expected on Boxing Day and caught me there what do think would have happened?!"
"He didn't though, did he?"
"That's not the point."
"I know Sev, I'm sorry maybe we shouldn't keep meeting I don't want him going after you."
"I can handle Lucius, it's you I worry about!"
"Well don't, I'm not worth it I assure you! What's the point in worrying about someone who's in a mess of their own making?"
"You loved him," Severus pointed out, "Marrying him probably looked like the right thing to do at the time!"
"Yeah it did! Pity I didn't take divination at school!"
"I thought you didn't take it because you felt uncomfortable about the idea of knowing the future?"
"I did, I still do, there's something deeply unnatural about divination. I don't want to know the future, what's going happen is going to happen whether I foresee it or not and I'd rather not see it. That, and do you really think I'd take a class taught by Trewlawny?!"
"Good point!"
"How are things at school?"
"About the same, Dumbledore's getting increasingly worried about the tournament."
"With regards to Potter you mean?"
"Isn't everything with regards to Potter these days?"
"Seems like it. Draco said you've been having some fun with Potter and his press clippings?"
"Ah yes, most amusing some of those articles, I may never speak ill of Rita Skeeter again."
"Yeah, your Slytherins seem keen on talking to her as well."
"They're just expressing their opinions."
"They certainly are. So tell me, are Miss Granger and Mr Potter really involved?"
"Not as far as I know, she seems to spend much of her time picking apart everything Mr. Weasley does in the way women do when they see a future husband in the making who just needs training up a bit. Pansy Parkinson appears to be doing it to your son."
"Oh is she? Well, Draco's quite capable of handling himself but I don't think she's going to get anywhere, he doesn't seem interested. But Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Draco said something about them as well, they sound pretty sweet!"
"Oh, they're just adorable," Severus said with the kind of exasperated sarcasm that came from listening to women wax lyrical about his students being cute, ***The woman would probably think Longbottom was just a darling!***
"You grumpy old cynic!" she laughed.
"You're older than I am."
"Don't remind me!"
They continued to wander through Hogsmeade talking until Narcissa noticed the time. "Damn, I should get going, Lucy'll be home soon."
"I'll say goodbye then, if you think it's safe maybe we could do this again some time."
"I'd love to. Bye Sev, I think I'll just apparate rather than walking back to the floo station." She smiled one last time then disappeared with a slight popping noise.
Severus turned back towards the school and walked back, hoping that Narcissa wouldn't get into any bother with Lucius through meeting him. He sighed, ***And from the conspiratorial wink Flitwick gave me and the fact McGonagall looked like she didn't trust Narcissa as far as she could throw her I think I'm going to have some explaining to do.***
It was for this reason that he avoided the staff room when he reached the school, heading instead for the peace of his dungeons.
***But no, I can't even get peace down here can I? What the hell are the Slytherins doing now?!*** There was a lot of noise coming from the direction of his potions lab and he quickened his pace in case people had lost their senses and dared to destroy his precious potions ingredients.
Severus turned a corner to see a group of second year Slytherins and Gryffindors engaged in a full out fight. ***Right, that's it, I'm just going to kill them this time, it'll be quicker!*** He raised his wand in serious contemplation of, if not quite killing them, then sending them all up to the hospital wing feeling pretty sorry for themselves when he decided that it was probably more than his life was worth to harm one of Minerva's Gryffindors.
"Stop that this instant!" Severus didn't usually shout but he was beginning to get a headache, the day had been far too stressful what with worrying about Narcissa, being glared at by McGonagall, winked at by Flitwick, (***who also called Narcissa my young lady friend!***), and now brawling children, it was more than a sane man could take.
The children realised that if they valued their continued existence they should stop, the Slytherins slipping in some last minute hexes knowing that their chances of getting away with it were pretty good. Severus couldn't even be bothered asking what this had been about. "Thirty points from Gryffindor! Detention for all of you and get out of my sight. Oh, and could you three," he gestured to the Gryffindors, "Get back to your own part of the castle!"
The students fled, seeming to realise that now was not the time to question the fairness of their punishment.
Severus went into his office and sat down behind his desk, he had a pile of marking to do and no inclination to do it, maybe he should just fail them all, it was the fourth year Gryffindors after all. ***I'd love to see the look on Granger's face if she failed a piece of work!*** Severus had just gleefully picked up his quill to carry out his plan when Minerva McGonagall stormed into his office. ***Oh joy!***
"Ever heard of knocking?!" he snapped.
"You just put three of my Gryffindors in detention and deducted thirty points from my house!"
"They were fighting in the corridors!"
"So were the Slytherins, they didn't lose any points!"
"The Gryffindors started it!"
"That's not the way they tell it, they claim you didn't even ask who had started it."
"No, I didn't and I don't care!"
McGonagall's face softened slightly, "Mrs Malfoy didn't look too good, is she ill?"
"Let's put it this way, she has looked like that and worse for much of the last fifteen years."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Lucius."
McGonagall sighed and sat down, "Severus don't get involved with them. From what I remember of her, the woman is perfectly capable of coping on her own and you have no idea what she is telling Lucius."
"So you are suggesting that I leave to Lucius' tender care?"
"I don't mean to sound cold Severus but I hardly need remind you that he would kill you given the chance and for all we know so would she! I'm quite sure she'd be more capable of it than you would expect."
"I do not underestimate Narcissa Malfoy, believe me."
"Severus, things are getting worse, the deatheater activity at the world cup, the dark mark in the sky again. These are hardly good omens and it is hardly the time for you to be resurrecting a friendship with the wife of a well known and highly dangerous deatheater!"
"I am not resurrecting a friendship. You can not resurrect something that never died in the first place."
"How long have you been seeing her?"
"I remained on good terms with her whilst I was spying for Dumbledore and we have been in contact since Draco was six, though admittedly I have seen little of her in the last fifteen years."
"Severus, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into!"
"I am not getting myself into anything. The woman is alone, she needs someone to talk to, she needs some company every now and again and she needs someone to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish. Thank you for your concern professor but I can handle this situation."
"I hope you can," she sighed, "Just lay off my Gryffindors alright, they're not to blame for the world's ills!"
"That's debatable!"
"I'm going to choose to ignore that comment. Is there something the matter that I can help with?"
"No."
"Severus don't waste your time worrying about Narcissa, she's probably a lot safer than you. I'll see you at dinner," McGonagall stood up and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
"I assure you Professor, Narcissa is not a lot safer than I am, in fact she may not be safe at all."
*******
I know that the fifth book establishes that Trewlawny wouldn't have been there in Narcissa's day but I wrote this before reading book five and as it's non OotP compatible anyway I'm not going to change it.
Ok, next update will be the 31st and then you'll have a bit of a wait because I'm away for a week. I should be able to update again on the 8th of August. We're nearing the end of this fic, it only has 37 chapters, I'll post the third and final part to this story after that.
Next chapter we meet Crabbe and Goyle Sr.'s wives.
Review Please!!
