Chapter Fifty Four: Christmas

To Estella's absolute horror, Severus had decided against giving her permission to spend Christmas in London with Remus.

"But I haven't seen him since Summer!" She complained bitterly. "It's not fair! You said that was the arrangement!"

"Estella!" Severus snapped, as he looked up from his cauldron as they worked in the lab on the last Friday afternoon of term. "I have told you on countless occasions that life isn't fair. Circumstances changed and I am no longer able to honour our previous arrangement. I've spoken to your Godfather at length about this and he concurs that there is no choice in the matter."

"You didn't speak with Remus!" Estella spat scathingly. "You spoke at him just like you always do. You never take his suggestions to mind; and why do I get the impression you're not keeping me here to try and make up for what happened last year?"

Severus looked up sharply from his work and stared at Estella with an unreadable expression on his face. "I thought we agreed to put that behind us."

"I thought you agreed to let me spend the holidays with my Godfather." Estella retorted. "Nothing in life is fair, Uncle Sev. I'll bring it back up however often I damn well please!"

"Estella, you will watch your tongue." Severus scowled. "Consider that my warning."

"Well I will be staying in the dorms then." Estella said resolutely. "Consider that my warning."

As angry as he was, Severus had to bite back a smirk at Estella's flawless imitation. "As a matter of fact, Estella, I do not intend to detain us here over the yuletide holiday." Severus said carefully, making sure to take his cauldron off the boil. "I have accepted a invitation to spend Christmas with the Malfoys."

"You did WHAT?" Estella shrieked. "Just when I thought you couldn't possibly top last year's performance I have to give up time with Remus for a week of useless brown nosing! How could you! It's Christmas!"

Severus lowered his head, his mask of indifference slipping. He may be a bastard, but it still hurt him to think he was in some way spoiling the holidays for his niece. "I had no choice!" He said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I've been turning them down for years. But Narcisssa insisted that since you and Draco are such 'good friends' it would be something you'd both enjoy."

Estella shot a dark look at her Uncle. "Are you implying that this is in some measure my fault?" She asked slowly, trying to contain her rage. "Of all the…"

"Estella I would advise you not to finish that sentence!" Severus warned. "I did no such thing. Now, since we have established quite firmly that you have a history for being a sickly child, I will not be adverse to investing in a potion that will give the impression that you are too ill to continue our stay there after a few days, thus enabling you to see in the New Year with your Godfather if that is what you so wish." Estella's eyes grew hopeful. "But you must give me a few days."

"How many?" She asked.

"Until the day after Christmas, at least." Severus said. "Just give the sign that you are ready to depart and I can slip you a potion before you go to bed. You will wake up feeling dreadfully unpleasant, but you needn't worry for I will have the antidote on my person at all times ready to administer it to you should things get out of hand." Estella nodded, not liking the idea that she will have to endure a potion-induced illness, but grateful for the way out nonetheless. "Now I trust you have been practicing your Occlumency?"

Estella nodded. Like her Uncle and many of the Snape line before her, Estella had a natural predisposition to being a accomplished Occlumens. Shortly after her tenth birthday her Uncle had taken to formally instructing her, working towards refining the naturally inbred defences. Whilst she could not fully protect her mind against intrusion, she was more than adept at clearing her mind and controlling which memories her attacking legilimens could see. Of course she still found it difficult when her Uncle delved into her mind in search of a specific memory he knew was there, but not many people knew her as well as her Uncle did in order to know what to look for, so she was safe for the time being.

Christmas lunch at the Malfoy's was a grand affair. When Severus had noted Draco's name on the list of Slytherins remaining at the school over the holidays, he had assumed there had been some mistake, but yet, there it was, the truth staring him right in the face all along telling him something was amiss; and yet he'd missed all the signs.

"I do so apologise profusely for our son's absence." Narcissa lamented sincerely, not for the first time that day. "His father and he had a rather heated discussion prior to the break and now I'm afraid young Draco has chosen this avenue to rebel."

"I assure you, Severus, he will be punished accordingly." Lucius asserted in clipped tones. "The boy just has to learn to take news – no matter how favourable or distasteful it is to his tastes – in his stride."

Estella squirmed in her seat and continued to pick at her food forlornly. At least Christmas with someone around her age would have been better than this!

"Estella dear, I am sure my Draconis is feeling remorseful for standing you up such as it is." Narcissa cooed. "He does care a great deal about you, don't let this doubt you on that."

Estella cast her 'Aunt' a wary look and smiled serenely. "Oh yes, Aunt Narcissa, I am sure Draco is already formulating a way in which he can make it up to me when I get back to school." She gushed hollowly. "He is always surprising me."

That, in itself, was not an outright lie. Estella had been extremely surprised when she had discovered her errant cousin with her walkman, having a merry old time bopping along to some Beatles classics. His comment about how 'With a name like that they must surely be wizards in disguise' and how the band's name was assuredly inspired from their animagus forms was enough to make the wistful smile on her face a real one.

At her smile, Lucius cast her a smug look. Shivers creeping down her spine at the eye contact, Estella could not help but think that the Malfoy patriarch was up to something. One look at her Uncle confirmed that he was thinking the same thing.

"I do hope you deemed our gift worthy." Lucius said to Estella with false concern, all the while not tearing his eyes away from Severus. "We do get to see so little of you child; it makes it difficult to anticipate your tastes."

Estella exchanged a look with her Uncle, her mind suspecting that the powerful blonde wizard was voicing his suspicions. Severus returned the look with a 'I-know-Lucius-better-than-thou-he-is-just-making-excuses-for-his-lack-of-taste-in-gifts' one of his own. There wasn't a lot, after all, that her family didn't own already; and this was probably Lucius' way of saving face of his own inadequacies as a 'provider'.

"Why thank you, Lucius. The talisman will prove extremely useful for my extra-curricular classes." Estella beamed, her face betraying none of the talisman's – a magnet for dark magic - true fate (which was to be locked in a impenetrable vault with all of the other questionable gifts the Malfoys had bestowed upon her throughout her life… some she'd seen, others she'd never set eyes on).

"Perhaps you could visit over the Summer so Draco and yourself can learn from it together." Lucius suggested silkily.

"Oh I'd love that!" Estella said with mock enthusiasm, ignoring the 'let-me-handle-this' glare her Uncle was giving her. "Still, it depends on how I fare in my classes. My grasp on several of my subjects is of a positively mediocre standard, for a Ravenclaw, and I may need to invest my time in extra tuition over the break."

"You could come here and exploit the services of the tutor we deploy for young Draco." Narcissa cooed. "Being a year above you I am sure Draco could also assist you bring up your grades."

Severus cast a 'told-you-so' look at Estella and swiftly cut in. "Nonsense, my niece hardly requires remedial tutoring!" Severus scoffed. "She maintains an 'Exceeds Expectation' average."

"Yes, but…" Estella whined, "it's not an 'Outstanding' average, is it Uncle? There's still people above me in the class rankings! A person of my lineage shouldn't have to settle for second best!"

To Estella's surprise, the light haired hosts laughed. 'So much like our Draco' they praised.

"Severus, if I may have a private word with you my office?" Lucius asked congenially, rising from his chair once the frivolities were over.

Seeing the look of hesitation on Severus' face when he locked eyes with his niece, Narcissa wrapped her arm around Estella's shoulders. "Don't worry about your niece, Severus." She assured him. "As fellow women I'm sure we could find something to occupy ourselves with, isn't that right, precious?"

Estella nodded slowly, a foreign sensation of warmth flooding through her. She had always wondered what it was like to have a mother, to do mother-daughter things, but never in her wildest imagination did she think her body would betray her by filling that void with the likes of Narcissa Malfoy! Then again, it was not as though Estella had many women in her life to choose from.

"Very well then." Severus said finally, after carefully scrutinising his niece for any signs of duress.

While Narcissa kept Estella occupied by giving the awed child a tour of one of her many dressing rooms ("A witch can never have enough robes.") and showing her a few make up charms and hair spells she could try once back at school, Severus and Lucius talked in his office.

"I suppose you are wondering why I brought you in here tonight." Lucius said, taking his seat behind his desk and gesturing for Severus to occupy the seat in front of him. "I'll get straight to the point, shall I?"

Severus nodded curiously, a tight knot of dread beginning to form in his stomach on account of Lucius' extreme ease.

"Narcissa is not the biological child of Altair Black." Lucius said quickly. At Severus' questioning look, he explained. "Her mother had an affair with a German purist who escaped here after the war. Did you not ever wonder why Narcissa is the only blonde out of the three sisters?"

"So you are implying that Narcissa is not Black's cousin." Severus said, his suspicions growing. "If Altair Black did not sire her, how do you know…"

"…if her blood is pure?" Lucius completed. "Altair Black divulged the family secret when Narcissa and I were betrothed. Who her father was is of little incident, except to say that her blood maintained its integrity throughout the extensive testing."

Severus inwardly cringed. He knew of many dark ways pure blooded families assessed the purity of 'new' blood. None of them were very pleasant.

"You're a sadist, Lucius." Severus drawled nonchalantly at Lucius' malevolent grin. "You would have done it anyway."

Lucius chuckled evilly. "You know me all too well, Severus."

"What do you hope to gain by telling me this?" Severus asked. Such secrets were so readily disclosed without due reason.

Lucius eyed him carefully and raised his chin high. "Severus, my friend, I have a proposal for you." He said. "I would like to see our two families combined."

"You want to bond Draco and Estella?" Severus asked, flabbergasted, all blood leaving his face.

"Think of the power, Severus!" Lucius said passionately. "With their bloodlines and combined wealth you'd be looking at the most influential family in Europe!"

"You've been planning this all along, haven't you?" Severus bit back, accusingly. "Why only tell me now?"

"Well like any self-respecting father would want to do, I wanted to ensure that my son actually liked the girl at least!" Lucius replied.

Severus looked at the man suspiciously.

"Alright you caught me." Lucius sighed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I was waiting on news of the child's sorting. Couldn't very well have a Gryffindor in the family… or a, what is it you like to call them? A dunderhead."

Severus kept his ongoing suspicions in check and pushed the matter to the back of his mind. "Just what makes you think I am in the position to consent?"

"Ah yes, the tidy little dilemma of Black being alive." Lucius said matter-of-factly as he conjured a pair of goblets filled with the finest wine. "I can more than take care of that little problem."

The knot twisting uncomfortably tighter in the pit of his stomach, Severus winced. Condemning the man to Azkaban was one thing, having him murdered so that his niece could be condemned to a life of refined confinement was another.

"That won't be necessary." Severus shook his head. "I've been toying with the idea of adopting her for some time." He lied smoothly. "Calling the name he left her in class has become quite tedious."

Lucius looked at his guest critically. "You do realise if you adopt her while her father is still alive you will renounce her claim to the Black legacy?" Lucius warned. "Don't forget who will be next in line to her birthright if she forfeits."

"Potter." Severus spat, his hatred not at all coerced. "Black's Godson."

"To think your sister would have been forced to the whims of Black and Potter had they lived." Lucius said, shaking his head in disgust. "They would surely have bonded their children had they had the chance. Imagine, the noble house of Black besmirched by a filthy halfblood! Centuries of purity, ruined! The Potter line may have been aligned with the light, but at least they used to be a respectable pureblood family until that ignorant prat defiled himself with that whore Evans and spawned the bane of our great Lord's existence. Just think about it Severus. If you don't want to put an end to Black's torturous existence just yet, I am sure my sources within the Ministry can find a way for you to be accredited loco parentis. It's not as though Black is in the position to make decisions, is it?"

Severus nodded numbly. "So, I assume the discussion with Draco was about this?" He said, in an effort to change the subject.

"I haven't told him my intention to see him bonded, no." Lucius said. "The news about his mother's illegitimacy was enough to send him into a spiral. I raised the boy too well, I'm afraid."

"Shall I keep an eye on him when I return?" Severus offered.

"Narcissa and I will feel more at ease if you did." Lucius said by way of thanks. "His reaction was much as you would expect. If you could also exercise discretion…"

"You needn't ask me to do that, Lucius." Severus interrupted. "I'll observe my niece's behaviour around Draco over the next few years. I'd like to think I've done a decent enough job with her that the natural order of things will find their own way without our intervention. I regret to say my niece has inherited her Father's bullheadedness and would be quite inclined to rebel if pushed."

Reading his pointed look, Lucius smirked. "Very well, Severus. How very Slytherin of you." He said. "Such fierce independence and determination is an admirable trait when cultivated in the right environment. You were right to leave Black in Azkaban."

Severus' head shot up. "What are you talking about?" He asked, trying to hide his shock.

"Oh come now, Severus! We both know he didn't do anything." Lucius exclaimed. "If James Potter was a woman Black would have found the love of his life! And he was far too Gryffindor to kill innocent Muggles, no matter how hot tempered 'Cissa tells me he was as a youth."

"After what he did to me in school I thought it was wholly appropriate to condemn him to an eternity in that hell." Severus confessed, knowing the key to espionage was to blur the line between truth and lie as much as possible without disclosing the crucial information. "In light of my sister's passing I also thought it prudent to ensure that her child was raised accordingly."

"Indeed. You made the right choice, as I said." Lucius agreed smoothly, raising his glass. "The disheartening effect that it had on the enemy's morale was but an all too sweet addendum. Wouldn't you agree?"

Severus joined his host in a toast, his insides relaxing under the warm lull of the wine. The fact that as accused Death Eaters at the time, neither of them would have held much clout in the Ministry did not escape either of them. It was merely a nature of their arrogant self-centredness – well on Lucius' part anyway as Severus was feigning that role – that they believed themselves indestructible and capable of anything. They were after all, purebloods.

"I don't mean to be rude, Aunt Narcissa, but why are you showing me all this?" Estella asked tiredly as her chaperone proceeded to show her yet another of the manor's extensive nurseries. She was hardly at an age where she wanted to play with baby toys.

"Why I simply thought you may care to see where your children will one day be raised." Narcissa cooed in a reverently sweet tone.

Estella narrowed her eyes. No one so much as implied how she chose to live her life! "Ewww, Dray and I are cousins!" She whined with as much juvenile mortification as she could muster.

Narcissa patted her on the head tolerantly. "Why, Draco's grandparents were second cousins just as you are." She assured her, unwilling to let her family secret slip just yet. "So sweet you refer to my little Dragon with such endearment. You will do him all manner of good, I can tell!"

Estella balked. Narcissa saw this and tutted. "I assure you in a few years you won't hold the same aversion towards the opposite gender as you do now."

'Nope, just Draco.' Estella thought to herself, smirking inwardly as she imagined the look on the boy's face when she called him 'little Dragon' in front of the whole school.

"You poor child, growing up without a mother to guide you into womanhood." Narcissa sighed, playing with Estella's hair. "I so did want to give Draco a sister. I always wanted a little girl of my own…"

"Then why didn't you?" Estella asked, biting back her snootiness.

Sighing, Narcissa explained. "Lucius doesn't see much value in daughters. He would be loathe to pay a dowry only to have the child relinquish the Malfoy name."

"Oh." Estella muttered, not knowing what else to say as she tried to move her head (and body) out of the touchy woman's reach as subtly as possible. "I'm sorry to hear you didn't get to have a little girl, Aunt Narcissa."

"You may call me Mother if you wish." Narcissa said hopefully. "I daresay I am the closest thing you have to one."

Staring at the meddling woman coolly, Estella pulled herself up to her full height. "I'm sorry, Aunt Narcissa, but I have a mother." Estella said as politely as she could. "She may be dead, but she died giving me life. I do not wish to dishonour her sacrifice in the pursuit of my own selfish needs."

For all outward appearances, Estella was proud of her poise and perceived objectivity at that moment; for it completely contradicted the red hot fury burning deep inside her.

Narcissa's face softened genuinely, and she gathered the child up into a hug. "Oh darling, if your mother was alive right now she would be so happy. Any man or woman would be proud to call you their own."

Hearing those uncharacteristically heartfelt and caring words from the last source she would ever have though to hear them from, Estella could not help herself. She let her tears fall as she folded willingly into the older woman's embrace. Narcissa was far from flawless, but her exhibited motherly instincts towards Estella were enough to give the child an insight into what it was she was missing out on. The thought that her own mother could have undoubtedly solicited these feelings in her at a whole different, far more superior, level made her heart ache. It was at moments such as these she truly appreciated just how gaping and unsustainable the void in her life was.

The two men were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Narcissa, you may enter." Lucius said dismissively, his wards sensing the identity of the person outside his door.

When Narcissa arrived without Estella, Severus' senses were automatically on alert. His fears were realised when the Malfoy matriarch got straight to the point.

"Severus, you must come quickly!" She beckoned urgently. "I don't know what happened. She was fine one minute… but she won't stop convulsing!"

With no amount of feigned concern, Severus was out of his chair and following Narcissa down the hall sooner than you could say 'aconite'. The sickness potion he had intended to slip into Estella's evening Cocoa was still concealed within the cuff of his sleeve and even if she had somehow imbibed it, the symptoms Narcissa was describing was not its prescribed effect.

As he made his way towards one of Narcissa's private parlours, he was dimly aware of Lucius close on his heels, following. Crashing into the room in Narcissa's wake, he was greeted with the sight of his niece curled up in a ball on one of the plush chaise lounges, convulsing uncontrollably as tears streamed down her face, her face twisted into a look of pain.

Crouching at her side in concern, he brushed a sweat matted lock of hair from her eyes and checked for any sign of fever.

Peering down at the child from over Severus' shoulder, Lucius voiced his opinion. "The child looks to be hysterical… distraught about something?" He half asked, casting his wife an accusing look. "Narcissa, fetch me a calming draught."

"No." Severus countered, thinking quickly for he did not wish to linger in the house a moment longer, let alone have his niece ingest a potion of questionable origin. "Estella has a sensitivity to moonstone, she cannot ingest the draught in its recognised formula."

"What can we do then?" Narcissa asked desperately.

Severus pulled Estella into a sitting position and knelt before her. "Estella!" He shook her. "Estella answer me at once!"

In response, Estella shook harder, her body wracking with uncontrollable sobs.

"Severus! She's turning blue!" Lucius observed, a slight edge of panic to his voice. It would not do for his vested interest in the future integrity of his bloodlines to pass out dead in his wife's sitting room.

A look of alarm sneaking through his standard mask of indifference, Severus paled. "Estella, listen to my voice!" He urged. "Listen to me! Breathe! Slow, deep breaths!"

Estella continued to be unresponsive, her eyes began to cloud over and roll back into her head.

"Narcissa, what on earth did you do?" Lucius roared at the woman.

"I-I-I…" Narcissa stuttered, tears coming to her eyes.

"Enough of this!" Severus snapped, pulling his wand and aiming it levelly at his niece. He had never experienced anything like this with the child before, but it was all he could think of to do at the time "Legillimens!"

End Chapter: Christmas