"I'm the deadliest woman in the world. But right now, I'm just scared shitless for my baby." – Kill Bill Vol. 2
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Interlude: A Narcissa Story
In which a very exclusive club holds a very exclusive meeting and Narcissa needs help…
September 29, 2003The air in the Red Room was heavy with darkness and anticipation.
In the shadows, female forms shuffled to and fro, sitting, then thinking better of it and standing, then thinking better of it again and sitting back down.
"Incendio" someone whispered. A tall, red candle flickered to life, casting the features of Aemilia Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, and Narcissa's mother-in-law into ghostly relief.
A secret meeting of Malfoy women was being held in the deep dark bowels of Malfoy Manor, where Cordelia lived with Maximillian and a lot of ghosts.
"Alright, ladies. You all know why you're here. What are we going to do about it?" Cordelia began.
"Kill her." Narcissa snapped, running a shaking hand through her hair. "Rip her to shreds."
"Good thinking, but no." Cordelia shook her head. "If we didn't do it before, we're not going to do it now. We're better than that."
Narcissa looked a bit put out. She tapped her unbreakable enamel nails against the tabletop and thought again. "We could poison her. Find out if she has any allergies. No-one would know."
"Try less obvious." Cordelia patted the back of her hand in an almost-motherly way.
Narcissa thought again. "GAH!" she finally screamed, pounding her fist on the table. "None of this would have happened if he'd just married Pansy like I wanted him to!"
"We know, darling, we know," Cordelia whispered, "but right now, we need you to think."
"But this is just so awful!"
"Darling, we know but…"
"I've just been such an awful mother!"
"Darling…"
"I swore I wouldn't let him be that… that stupid! I swore when he was born that I'd raise him better than that and now look what he's gotten himself into! Marrying a mudblood! This is just so awful!" she wailed.
"Narcissa…"
"And now she's gone and broke his heart, just like I knew she would! They're all the—"
"NARCISSA!" Cordelia's hand met the side of Narcissa's face with a painful thwap. "Get a hold of yourself! Of course he's that stupid, he's a man! That's why he has brilliant women like us to help him out! That's what we're HERE FOR! Yes, you may have been a terrible mother before but that is not something you wail about. There is nothing you can do about it and at least now you may be able to remedy it by saving your baby from himself! Come on, woman! Who do you think you are? You are Narcissa Daphne Malfoy! Your husband is one of the richest, handsomest, most brilliant men in the whole of England! Your sister was so dedicated to freedom, that she was willing to die for it! She spent thirteen years in Azkaban and did you once hear her complain? Of course not, she's a bleeding hero! Now you come to me and say that your son has made the biggest mistake of your life and all you can do is bawl about it? You must have been adopted!"
She sat down so hard that the chair jumped.
Narcissa said nothing.
"Now, I will tell you what we're going to do." Cordelia cleared her throat. "We are not going to kill her. Malfoys do not kill Malfoys and, despite its mothering, that is most likely a little Malfoy she is carrying. We are not going to blackmail her into leaving. We are not going to tell Draco to leave her out in the cold. As I stated before, it is imperative that they get married. Malfoys take care of their own. That little baby is not going to be born without a father and Draco will be its father, even if it's born with flaming red hair and a big fat W on its forehead. If we say that its ours, the public will accept it as ours and it will be ours. Malfoys do not stand to be humiliated by anyone, especially not mudbloods and Weasleys. Next, Narcissa, your son's pride has been hurt. That'll take a bit of fixing but there is no doubt in my mind as to his desire to marry her. He wants it. He wants it more than he's ever wanted anything in his entire life, or he would have pulled out by now. The boy's not known for his courage. As to her, I'm not sure. She's going to need some wooing but I think we can get her, too. Until then, we will act as though nothing has happened. Narcissa, you may be as neurotic as you like but don't mention Weasley. Aemilia, I'm not quite sure why you're here in the first place. Just keep doing what you've been doing."
"But… what about after the baby is born?" Narcissa whimpered.
Cordelia smiled. "You can kill her then, Narcissa, if you still want to."
Narcissa seemed to like that. "But what about for now?"
"For now, we'll give her a hell of a hard time getting down that aisle. Mind, we won't stop her, but we can come as close as you like." She smiled a macabre grin. "You don't need to be standing to get married, after all."
Narcissa laughed. "I'll talk to Draco."
"No." Cordelia shook her head. "I'll do it. I'll come over tomorrow and we'll… chat."
A/N: I wrote this chapter very quickly once I'd got half-way through the chapter that's supposed to be here but is actually coming next. I'm dedicating this chapter to OrgnlAmagic because their review made me realize that the next chapter will make no sense without this little scene. So, here's this little scene. Onto the next chapter.