Author's Note: This chapter has spoilers for the fourth book. Argh… I should write things down when I think of them. I can't remember how the original thing went. Whatever. I hope this will be just as good.
Title: An Unexpected Love
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Just a little.
Summary: Narcissa Black marries Lucius Malfoy, never expecting to love him as much as she does. This is the story of what the wife of a Death Eater goes through when she loses her husband.
Disclaimer: All this Harry Potter stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot of this story is mine.
Setting: This story begins during Lucius and Narcissa's days at Hogwarts and goes through their years of marriage to each other.
--- - setting change
/…/ - time
italics - emphasis
-Why?-
/Summer before Draco's 4th year/
"Ah, Fudge," said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?"
Narcissa didn't like the man her husband had become. What had happened to the sweet (albeit conceited) boy she had once known? Where had he gone? When had everything changed? They said wizards who were put in Slytherin were ambitious. Perhaps Lucius was a bit too ambitious. He reminded her of how Severus Snape used to be. Oily. Greasy. Very unlikable. Lucius always associated with the "top" people at the Ministry. It seemed to her that he was a bit power-mad.
She thought about her son, the boy who looked so much like his father (AN: Strangely enough, Harry looks a lot like his father too… What's with all the family resemblance?). She didn't want him to be like Lucius. She didn't want some poor girl to go through the same pain she went through everyday. Draco had inherited his father's gray eyes. To his mother, it seemed that he had also inherited the coldness that resided in those eyes.
"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge, smiling and bowing to Mrs. Malfoy. "And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk—Obalonsk—Mr.—well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else—you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"
---
Mr. Malfoy's cold gray eyes swept over Mr. Weasley, and then up and down the row.
"Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"
Narcissa thought Lucius was being very cruel, but she didn't say anything, because she was supposed to be the dutiful wife and stay quiet while her husband greeted everyone.
Fudge, who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest."
Narcissa thought back to when she had first met Lucius. He had always prided himself on the fact that he was rich. Ever since his trial, he had donated a lot of money to a lot of causes to convince people that he was decent.
"How—how nice," said Mr. Weasley, with a very strained smile.
Mr. Malfoy's eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him.
The blond woman didn't know why Lucius hated Muggle-borns. She was a pureblooded witch herself, but she didn't really care if someone else was or not.
---
Narcissa watched as her hooded and masked husband tortured the Muggles hanging in the air. She knew he was drunk. There was no way he would have done this if he was sober, not with so many Ministry wizards running around.
She had a problem with what he was doing. Draco did not. Narcissa hated the fact that he was so much like his father. She hated the fact that sometimes he was so much like him, he was almost Lucius's clone.
She was starting to feel sick. If the Ministry unmasked Lucius, everything would be over. He was putting himself in danger, and for what? For no reason except his own blind hatred.
---
/Draco's 4th year/
"And I was telling him that—"
Narcissa tuned out as her husband continued to drone on and on about something-or-other that Fudge had said, or something he had said to Fudge… She hadn't been paying much attention. She sat there, watching him, thinking about their relationship and how it had changed over the years. And suddenly she snapped.
"Then he said that he—" Lucius was cut off by the most passionate kiss his wife had ever given him.
When Narcissa pulled away, Lucius thought that she looked like she was going to cry. He stared at her, puzzled. "Narcissa, what—"
"You used to kiss me like that," the blonde said. "Why don't you kiss me like that anymore?" she asked, choking back her tears.
Lucius opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Narcissa started speaking again, more loudly. "You used to do a lot of things that you don't do anymore. Why?" She was starting to sound hysterical. "I hate this! I hate it! I hate not being able to be myself in public! I hate being so perfect all the time! You've changed, Lucius. You used to care more about me than getting power and respect. Now, I think it's the other way around. I want you to come back to me. I just—I can't—Please…" She started crying.
Lucius pulled her closer to him. The sight of his beautiful wife reduced to this sobbing mess stirred something within him.
Narcissa continued, "I can't take this anymore! I don't like who you are now! Why can't you just be you? Why did you have to change?"
Lucius held her tighter. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed Narcissa down a little.
She started speaking again, more softly this time. "You used to look at me in a special way too. Why don't you look at me like that anymore?" She looked up, and Lucius could see the tears in her eyes. "I want you back," she said. "I miss you. I need you. Why did you go away? I just… I just want to feel like you still love me. Is that so much to ask? Actions speak louder than words, Lucius, and based on your actions, you don't want to have anything to do with me. It hurts inside. Everyday it gets worse. I don't want that pain anymore. I can't take it."
"I'm sorry," he said, speaking for the first time since his wife had started ranting. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "Can you forgive me?"
Narcissa closed her eyes. "I forgave you when you forgot my sixteenth birthday. But this—this hurt so much more. I don't know if it will be so easy this time."
Lucius bent down and kissed her, putting as much passion behind it as he could.
"That's a start," Narcissa replied, smiling weakly.
---
Narcissa entered the bedroom. Lucius was sitting on the edge of the bed. As her gaze moved from the mark on his left arm to the look of fear in his eyes, realization dawned on her. "It's him, isn't it? The Dark Lord is back."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Well, this was supposed to be the last chapter, but due to popular demand, I have decided to write another chapter based on Order of the Phoenix.
