Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.
Reflections
(Ryua, her bedroom, August 11, night before trial)
Lucius, thankfully, hadn't cursed her again since that night. This meant that Ryua could concentrate on what she was going to say in her defense. Actually, she probably didn't need to say anything, she had clearly been acting in her own defense, had been the victim.
Well, Ryua didn't work that way. If father really wanted to bribe off the jury, let him, she wasn't going to turn down help, but she wasn't really worried about convincing them.
What she was worried about was the Zabinis. Forget that their son had been the aggressor; in their eyes, their little baby boy had been killed. And they would want an explanation at the least, and probably some form of recompense. Father seemed sure that he'd just pay them one and a half her dowry, and that would settle things. And for him, it probably would. Lucius would look at losing his daughter or son as a setback, a loss of a potential breeder, but probably wouldn't really care. And Narcissa...
She might actually care. She might be sad that one of her children was dead. She might even go so far as to express her grief to Lucius, and ask for something, something to fill the void. A puppy, perhaps. Narcissa had never been good for standing up for herself, or even her children. You could tell that deep down, she had a maternal instinct as strong as Mrs. Weasley's, but she had buried it deep under many layers of fear and self-pity, and it had degraded, down to something barely noticed.
Here's something interesting; Lucius was the one that wanted more children. He wanted enough genes to ensure his line continued. He never wanted to play with them, or help them grow, but he wanted offspring. Especially sons, as daughters were just good for marrying off... (Little chauvinistic son-of-a-bundimun...)
And he'd married Narcissa because she was pretty, pureblood, and used to being ordered around. Deep down, she'd resented the marriage. And deep down, he knew it. That was one of the reasons they had so many troubles.
The ironic thing was, he'd wanted a brood-mare and a trophy, not a dependant who served no purpose. And he'd been the one to make Narcissa just that. Once, back when she was a little girl, even a young teen, Narcissa had been energetic, full of life, and seemingly ready to undergo any rigors of womanhood. When she was married to a 19-year-old Lucius at 23, she wasn't your fully blushing, giddy bride, but she seemed resigned to put her all into it.
Over the years, that had all changed.
(Narcissa, wandering through memories)
She was first pregnant at 24, but never carried past the first term. And that was just a fluke. Nothing her fault, not even anything his fault. What happened next was his fault.
Lucius had been furious. He started cursing her, threatening her with horrific punishments if she didn't bear children. And the fact that he was rising fast through the Death Eater ranks only made him cocky and able to carry out those threats. So she tried. And got weaker and weaker with every pregnancy. She had two more false alarms before she finally conceived twins.
It was then that she made her biggest mistake. When she missed her cycle that month, she didn't bother to tell Lucius, thinking it would just make him so mad when it turned out to be another false alarm.
Which it didn't. She didn't realize this for months, of course, but one of his curses, she wasn't sure which one, or whether it was many, hit deep. Deep enough that it affected her womb, split the fetus into twins, and through some miraculous twist of fate, probably the only true bit of luck she ever got, altered one of the genes into a male. She carried to full term, and delivered two healthy, if small children.
What the doctor didn't tell her, and what Lucius refused to truly acknowledge for years, was that between the curses and birthing twins, Narcissa's womb was incapable of housing a baby again. When two months after the birth, she was still aching, and Lucius refused to pay attention to her pain but kept trying to sire children, she took a day to visit some friends. Once she was safely out of the house, one twin on her front and the other across her back, Narcissa went directly to St. Mungo's, and tracked down a midwife. The round, motherly woman charmed away the damage still unhealed from the birth, set an anti-pregnancy charm, and sent home an official warning that Narcissa was never again to bear children, or Lucius would be out one wife.
He was furious. Narcissa knew he'd be furious, and had tucked her children away to sleep in the nursery, closing and soundproofing the door before she went to confront him. All he wanted from a wife was to bear children, and now he was stuck with one who couldn't. And in this day, he couldn't have more than one. Actually, he'd been so put out about it, that he was planning with the Dark Lord (to whom he was right hand now) to give all his 'officers' the right to 'ensure their noble lines were continued', with wives, or any women they deemed 'suitable'.
It would have neatly solved Lucius' problem.
Unfortunately, they made a miscalculation.
And a legend by the name of Harry Potter was born.
Lucius was stuck with a barren wife, one son, one rebellious daughter, and a lot of bribing just to keep his good name.
Now, He was back. And Lucius planned to make up for lost time, as soon as the Dark Lord was back in full force. Narcissa knew her days were numbered. She just hoped her children would have a better shot at life. Somehow...
Author's Note: I had originally planned to write a completely different chapter. And then I realized that no one actually knew the history for these people that I have written out in my head. It's changed a lot, since the beginning of the books, but I like it this way. Incredible, how much the story evolves on it's own. It really is completely different than I ever intended.
Here's a question for you. (Yes, you sitting in front of the computer, debating whether or not to hit the review button. Please do, I need feedback.) Should I break up my story into individual books (like, Book One is a separate story from Book Two, and so on...), leave it all in one big lump, like it is now and go for the record for longest fanfic, or cut it at book five, and then I get to keep my PG-13 rating, and still safely write and rate what comes after.
And, just in case anyone is interested in me completely spoiling the story for you, please let me know. I'm not looking for an actual beta, cause I'm not online enough for a full-time thing. What I need is a sounding board. I have all these ideas, and I don't know which ones to go with. And I need to figure that out before I write too much more. I tried to get my mom, sister, and boyfriend to read the story, and only the last has gotten past even the first book. I need someone who knows Ryua, knows the story, and what her life is like, someone who'll even listen to me rant about ideas. So, please let me know, but keep in mind, you'll lose a huge chunk of the enjoyment of reading a story, as you'll know huge amounts of what's going to happen.
Regarding the rather rude review left by !!!!!!!!!, I've now re-uploaded book three. For future reference, if anyone notices that my formatting's bad, or I've left a hole in the plot, or something... it is REALLY useful if you actually tell me what parts are messed up. I spent an hour and a half finding my own story on the site, then going through each chapter to see what ones were uploaded wrong. Thanks for the note, but next time, tell me what actually needs to be fixed, instead of 'stop clumping the paragraphs stupid author'
One good thing that did, though, was that I've suddenly noticed I have well over a hundred reviews now. That is so incredibly cool, as I've always read authors and gone 'wow, how did they get so many reviews, I could never do that'. I guess I did.
So...
THANK YOU ALL!
(This doesn't mean you can stop reviewing now, by the way.)
And in case anyone wonders, a bundimun is a stinky, scurrying, mossy creature found in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
