Blood
Prologue
"I TRUSTED YOU!" she screamed at her husband.
"Yes, you did. But why should you? I've never loved you. I married you for blood…Crucio!"
"Stop! Why are you doing this to me? What have I ever done to you?"
"You've defied my patience…Crucio!"
She screamed in pain again. "Stop," she whimpered, crawling to her feet. "I'll…I'll never talk to her again."
Tears fell out of her eyes in streams. "Very well then. I knew you'd come around," he said, swishing his wand back inside his robe. "You must swear to me…never to associate yourself with such mudblood filth."
"I won't," she sobbed, "I promise."
"Now, I believe you know what you have to do."
"Yes, Lucius."
"Go and tend to the crying baby upstairs, before I make him feel pain as well."
"Yes, sir."
She crawled upstairs into her son's bedroom. He lay there, crying as he watched his mother's tears stream out of her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Draco. I am sorry you had to hear that," she whispered, cradling the tiny baby in her arms. "You deserve love. I know you do. You shouldn't be born like this. I have never known love…but I want better for you. My only son. The only son I shall ever bear. The sole ray of sunshine left in my life. I hope you do not turn on me as well," she looked at the babe who was now laughing and playing with the tears she had split upon him. She laughed with him. "There is my Draco. My dragon of happiness. I should teach you how to learn. How to love. I must. I must teach you everything before your life changes from my son to the vicious adolescent I know you will become."
Her husband came behind her like a shadow…she hugged the baby to her chest, tears still pouring out of her eyes. "Talking to an insolent baby, are we?" he whispered.
"No," she said.
"I know when you are lying to me, Cissa."
"Please do not call me that."
"I will call you whatever I please."
"You do not have power over me."
"Oh, that is where you're wrong. I'm off to bed," he whispered, "You will join me in due course."
"No," she whispered out of fear.
He stopped, his eyes narrowed. "What did you just say to me, my dear?"
"I said I will not."
"Have I not broken your spirit yet? You will do as I say. Always. There will never be a time you will not obey me. We will go to sleep in a few minutes, whether you like it or not," he said coldly, his metal arm sliding to her shoulder, cupping it before he pinched the baby.
"Do not touch him. Do as you please with me, but I forbid you to touch my son."
"He is my son also. I shall do as I please with him as well. I could kill him right now…" he drawled.
"I love him," she whispered.
"Avada…"
"Did you not hear me? I love him!"
"Kedav…"
"He is our only heir to the Malfoy blood!" she screamed. This stopped him from drawling out the last syllable. He lifted his wand off the baby and swished it back inside his robe.
"You make a valid point," he said coldly, "however, had we other children, he would be the first to go."
"Why do you not love him?" she asked him, tears spilling out again from the wet pools of her eyes.
"I have never loved anyone. You know that, Narcissa. I will never love. Too much pain and suffering is involved. No, I am the one that inflicts the suffering. We are only together because we must be…for blood," he put his medal arm on her shoulder again. "Join me, my dear. We will go to sleep. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Lucius," she murmured as he left.
Collapsing on the floor, Narcissa Malfoy cried as she felt her husband swish out of the room. She looked into her son's eyes. Eyes of grey. "Curse you, Lucius," she whispered, knowing that the baby had the Malfoy curse. It was at this time that the baby uttered its first words.
"Avedokedavro…" it whispered, looking at his mother. "Avedokedavro…"
"No…" she whispered, "Mum. Say mum, Draco."
"Mu-um?"
"Yes," she said in triumph, hugging the child, "Now say, 'love'."
"Lo-ooo…"
"V," she said, pronouncing the v.
"Looooove."
"Yes, Draco. Now say, "Mum love."
"Mu-um looooove."
"Me."
"Me-e. Mu-um looooove me-e."
"Yes," she whispered again, crawling up from the ground with the child in her arms. "I love you, very much, Draco. Do not let anybody else tell you otherwise."
"Mu-um looooove me-e."
She turned the light out in his room, whisking away to find the terror that lay within hers.
He was awake, of course, reading the Daily Prophet in his chair when she entered. "Ah, Narcissa," he drawled evilly, looking at his wife.
"What is it this time, Lucius?"
"You are still not broken yet," he said with disgust.
"I am tired and I would like to sleep."
"But we do nothing for you, do we? It is all of my command," he said, getting up and walking over to her.
"No, sir."
"There is my little doll," he said, putting both hands on her shoulders this time, "You will stay awake and talk to me, Narcissa. Sit, for we shall be here a while."
"Yes, sir. May I ask a favor, sir?"
"Hmmm…that depends. Your behavior tonight has not been in its best efforts. But yes, I will grant you one favor, so use it wisely."
"May I dress in my pajamas and get ready to sleep?"
"Yes, you may," he said, stroking his long blond hair. "I am here to tell you that my master has vanished."
Narcissa stopped and looked at him.
"Yes…he went and killed those mudbloods; Lily and James Potter. But he tried to kill their son and simply couldn't. Oh, God, this place is going to the dogs," drawled her husband, making endless amounts of curses under his breath.
But something about their names rang a bell in Narcissa's memory…
"Is Lucius being mean to you again, Narcissa? I'm sorry. I guess I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who cares about me."
"You know you cannot tell anybody we are friends. I will be a disgrace to my family, and you a disgrace to all of Gryffindor."
"Of course I won't tell anybody. Especially of the abuse that Lucius has done to you. I'm so, so sorry, Narcissa."
"It's okay, Lily. I don't want to marry him, but I must. For blood, my mother says. And Bellatrix is off to the same fate, marrying Lestrange. He never talks to her."
"Better off then, she is. No talk means no abuse. Not like you."
"Please do not take pity on me."
"But, Narcissa, I must. We should take pity on ourselves; we will never see each other again after we graduate this year," said Lily, hugging her friend as tears spilt out of her eyes.
Again, those same tears spilt out of Narcissa's eyes, she knew she had lost her friend to her husband's dark friend.
"Narcissa, what is wrong with you? Carry on to the bathroom, I must owl my fellow followers and find a job."
And there, Narcissa wept until she was covered in her own tears.
"Be my guardian angel, Lily. Your blood may not be pure, but your heart is. Keep me safe. Safe from this world, Lucius, the Death Eaters, my own son."
She paused before continuing.
"Narcissa…" he drawled from the bedroom.
"Keep me safe from my own flesh and blood."
Part One:
Draco's Childhood
He learned to walk, talk, and play. He grew; and with each step he took, he learned more. Narcissa was so proud of him. He was growing up like she did; before everything started. The only drawback was his father.
The father who was never there. The father that ignored Draco when he was around. The father who made money by striking deals with innocent wizards and witches; who he swore would die if they did not agree. The father that abused his mother when she did not please him.
"Mummy, I want to play with your wand!" said Draco, running over to the counter-top to grab his mother's wand
"Now, Draco, what did I tell you? You may not play with my wand, ever. You could seriously hurt yourself, daddy, me, or this house. Do you understand me?" she said sternly.
"Yes, Mummy."
"Now, run along and play outside. You can go play with the statues."
"Thank you Mummy!"
"Oh, dear…I almost forgot," she said, walking over to her wand, "Aurora Maximus!" she exclaimed, giving her son the sunscreen charm as he ran off to explore the lush green moor.
She sighed and sat down at the kitchen table to read the Daily Prophet while drinking a glass of water; watching her three year old son play outside with the stone statues that responded.
"You've kept me safe so far, Lily," she whispered, looking at the sky from the window, "Just ten or fifteen years more and we'll be squared away. As long as he's safe. As long as you keep Draco in my arms."
CRACK!
Somebody had apparated into the kitchen.
"Why, Narcissa, how lovely to see you."
"What are you doing here?" she asked with disdain, refusing to look at her husband.
"What do you mean, what am I doing here? It's my house," he said, walking around to the back of the chair his wife was sitting in.
"Get away from me."
"Tut, tut. Forgot our manners, have we? Well, we can fix that…Accio Narcissa's Wand!"
"Give that back to me this instant."
"Still being thick, are we? My, my, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Must I banish you to the attic again?"
"No, Lucius."
"There we are. But I think to teach you a lesson I will take this away for a time."
"How long?"
"Oh, I'd give it a month."
"Lucius Malice Malfoy, you know damn well I can't go a week without a wand, how I am supposed to go a month?" she demanded, wriggling out of her husband's strong grasp on her shoulders.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm packing my things. I've had enough of this bloody crap from you. I'm out," she said, running upstairs to gather her things. She heard another CRACK! At once she knew that her husband had apparated into their bedroom.
"You are not going anywhere," drawled Lucius.
"Oh, yes I am. And you are not going to stop me."
"Crucio!"
Narcissa screamed.
"Crucio!"
Again.
"Crucio!"
Again.
"Crucio!"
"I am not done yet…" cried Narcissa, crawling to her feet.
"Crucio!"
"CRUCIO!"
Narcissa uttered her last scream.
"I…I…"
He went over and lifted up her chin. "You shall never defy me again."
"N-n-no…I won't…" she said weakly.
"You will never think of running away."
"N-n-never, Lucius."
"You will leave our son alone…"
Narcissa cried, tears coming down from her eyes in buckets.
"Well?" he drawled.
"I…I will leave my son to you."
"I will be his role model. You will never influence him. He will ask you the questions. And you will answer him. And once he gets his wand, I will teach him the Cruciatus Curse, and he will use it on you if you defy him."
He left.
"And I will know if you have influenced him," he said, locking the door behind him. Narcissa wept yet again as she heard maniacal laughter in the back round. "I am through with her."
"Mummy, what is going on?" asked Draco through the door of the locked bedroom.
"Nothing, Draco," she sobbed during a break in her tears.
"Mummy, father says you cannot talk to me anymore. He says that I rule over you. I don't want to rule over you, mummy."
"I love you Draco," she sobbed, her head resting on the door.
"I love you too, mummy."
He left her. He was already turning into his father.
At age seven, Draco Malfoy had turned into a malicious monster. With the influence of his father coming from all around him, he had a choice to make. He could be like his mother, and fear his father, or he could join his father and be brave, strong, clever and sneaky.
He made this decision slowly, making Narcissa's pain worse. Week by week, he changed. The first time he cursed at his mother, she punished him, but he punched her leg. When Narcissa told Lucius about this, he said he was proud, and that he could hurt her anyway he liked, and if she tried to overcome that, she would be brutally punished. At first, Narcissa could see the way it hurt him to touch her, to make her cry, to make her bleed. But as months went by, he smiled when he did this.
Had it not been for Narcissa's training as a healer, she would not have survived. She would have committed suicide, if Lucius didn't kill her first. She had gone back on her promise. She knew she had to be strong, but she was helpless.
Helpless like the year old babe she held that night. The one that almost died because of its own father.
Helpless like her mother had been to her father.
Helpless like Lily and James were to Voldemort.
When he went to the local 'Little Warlock's and Witch's Preschool', and to 'Grindenwald Elementary School', he beat up anybody who crossed his path, unless they joined his league of bullies. Narcissa was called into the office dozens of times; hearing headmasters on the rage. 'It all starts in the home,' they would say, 'You've got to be doing something wrong, normal boys don't act like this.'
The issue was that he wasn't normal. He would never be normal.
He was a pureblood.
She tried to explain this to the headmaster.
He didn't listen.
Why should he? It's not like he was a pureblood, the muggle-loving git.
That is when she gave up, and owled her mum.
Dear Mum,
I have nobody else to talk to; and I am very afraid that this letter will be intercepted by the one I fear most. The same man I am married to (remember, the pureblood that was betrothed to me before I could even walk?) is hurting me so. He abuses me, uses curses on me, and is now teaching our son to be evil like him. I am fed up, and do not know where to turn.
Your Beloved Daughter,
Narcissa Black Malfoy
Three months later, she received an owl from her mother.
My Dear Narcissa,
Abuse is part of being a pure-blood. You have no choice. You will put up with it. You absolutely must. What do you think our friends would think if you divorced Lucius Malfoy? He holds heir to the strongest, richest, wisest pure-blood family in all of Europe. You must grin and bear it. What do you think I did with your father? He abused me like hell, but I didn't give up. Besides my dear, the big man upstairs shall deal with them when they die.
How is Draco? I want to know all about him, darling. Please, do respond to this letter, it means much to me.
Your Mother,
Flavia A. Black
Her mother didn't understand. Narcissa couldn't remember a time when her father used curses on her mother. Her mother's screams still echoed in her mind, yes, but she had told her children that her father wasn't doing anything that was to hurt her body. He was always hurting her feelings, but he never used illegal curses on her.
He wasn't a death eater. He was pretty close, but he didn't find it fun to inflict pain on others.
Dear Mum,
I will have to agree with you, against my own volition. All this week, my husband is going to be away, and my son is going to be at summer camp, so I have the house to myself. Please, Floo me! I need to hear your voice again!
Your desperate daughter,
N. M.
Only this time, it was intercepted.
At about noon, a familiar face appeared in the fireplace, one that Narcissa wished she wasn't going to see in a week.
"Oh, Narcissa…" said an evil voice with maniacal laughter in the back round. "How's our mother doing, eh? Dear Mum, I have nobody else to talk to; and I am very afraid that this letter will be intercepted by the one I fear most. The same man I am married to (remember, the pureblood that was betrothed to me before I could even walk?) is hurting me so. He abuses me, uses curses on me, and is now teaching our son to be evil like him. I am fed up, and do not know where to turn," he stopped, his voice echoing across the vast mansion walls. "Think you could escape me, hmmm, Narcissa?"
"No, Lucius…that's not what I tried to do at all…"
"Well, then, what is it you were trying to do?"
"I was trying to ask for help."
"You don't need help!" he hollered, his green, smoky face echoed. "You have me. Your love."
"I DO NOT LOVE YOU!"
"You have no choice but to love me. Over the past few days, I have made a decision. If you promise to love me, worship me, etc., I will not torture you when you have done something wrong. I will give you the right to punish Draco again."
Narcissa thought for a moment…this was the way out she'd been looking for.
"So, do we have a deal?" he drawled.
"Yes, Lucius. We have a deal," she murmured.
"I will see you on Friday then, hmm, my dear?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, my love," she said sweetly.
His face disappeared from the fire.
"Oh, I'll see you on Friday…" thought Narcissa evilly, "Oh, yes, I will."
