The Difference One Choice Makes
20th February 1977
The now 20-year-old Narcissa made her way through the hallways of Black Castle feeling a slight sense of dread with each step she took. The Auror Trainee had cut her long blonde hair a bit shorter to where it ended just below her shoulders as well as keeping it in a sensible braid while she was dressed in a dark green and black blend coloured witches style dress.
After finishing her Hogwarts education in June 1975 she had applied for the Auror Training a month later after receiving a mixture of Outstanding and Exceeds Expectations grades in her required Newts in DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology.
Her soon to be fiance James who was weeks away from turning 19 and like Narcissa, was also training to be an Auror along with Sirius with the veteran Auror Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody who was personally overseeing their training reckoned that the two young men would become qualified Aurors within a year.
Well, whether or not he would become her fiance entirely depended on what happened when Narcissa met with Lord Arcturus Black III remembering what he told her Aunt Dorea nearly two and a half years ago.
"You are also free to marry a man of your own choosing… but only with his approval first" said Dorea.
Narcissa had hoped that because James was a Pureblood and that her Aunt Dorea was married to another Potter that Lord Black would allow her and James to get married.
He had proposed to her during dinner at one of the finest magical restaurants two nights ago with Narcissa saying yes at first before she informed him that they would not be able to marry without Lord Black's approval first.
James of course said he didn't care about that and promised he would want to be with her even without Lord Black's approval but Narcissa (not wishing to alienate herself from her Family even further) assured him that she would make sure Lord Black agreed to their match.
Though it was mostly great, hers and James's relationship had not been without its hitches in the near two and a half years they had been together.
The first major hitch in their relationship had been in October 1976 when she found out that James had joined a vigilante group founded by Dumbledore and gone on dangerous missions without telling her. The vigilante group known as the Order Of The Phoenix was formed by the Hogwarts Headmaster with the sole intention was to fight back against the Dark Lord Voldemort and his ever-growing army of followers.
This had led to three fights in the space of a few hours before James was confined to the settee of the cottage they shared for two nights. After he had spent two nights on their settee James had brought her to meet with Dumbledore at Hogwarts where after much persuasion on her part, she joined her boyfriend as an official member of the Order Of The Phoenix alongside its other members Sirius, Remus, Peter who she never liked from the beginning of her relationship with James finding him to be weak and spineless who would leech off of people who he felt could protect him.
Other members of the Order included Lily Evans and Severus Snape who had been together since the end of their Sixth Year with the latter finally having gathered enough courage to confess his real feelings to his one true friend. Aurors Alastor Moody, Benjamin "Benjy" Fenwick, Frank Longbottom and Edgar Bones were also members alongside Alice Longbottom nee Prewett, Marlene Mckinnon and Dorcas Meadowes who were dating Sirius and Remus respectively.
Most of her work for the Order as a trainee Auror consisted of spying on known Death Eaters with said Death Eaters not willing to risk open warfare at this time for fear of bringing negative attention to their cause.
As Narcissa approached the door leading to Arcturus's study she thought back to hers and James's second and most recent fight just three weeks ago.
After Narcissa had continuously questioned him on his nickname of "Prongs" used by his friends when they were at school a rather reluctant James had finally confessed the full truth about his stag annimagus ability as well as how Remus was a werewolf hence his nickname "Moony".
Now Narcissa did not dislike or even hate werewolves, far from it, a werewolf cannot be blamed for being bitten. She was just scared of them and very wary of being around werewolves for fear of getting bitten even when they are untransformed. Their subsequent fight and avoidance of each other only lasted a day this time before James brought Remus around to show her why the reason he, Sirius and Peter became animagi.
Upon seeing the still healing scars on Remus's arms from his recent transformation three nights ago Narcissa discovered that without animal company during a full moon or the chance to hunt, a werewolf would knaw its own limbs in order to satiate its blood lust.
She and James made up rather quickly after Narcissa saw the state of Remus's arms before she used her admittedly limited knowledge of medical practice to try and heal the scars on his arms.
Narcissa snapped herself out of her thoughts as she knocked on the door to Arcturus Black's study.
"Come in!" said the stern but sharp voice of Arcturus Black from behind the door.
Narcissa composed herself before opening the door and walking inside the study finding Arcturus Black sat at his desk signing several parchment documents.
"Sit down Narcissa" said Arcturus not even looking up at her.
Narcissa made her way over to his desk and sat down in the chair across from him.
Several minutes of silence ensued before Arcturus looked up at her with a stern look on his face.
"Yes?" said Arcturus stiffly.
Narcissa swallowed her nerves before taking a deep breath.
"You made it aware to me that I can only marry someone who you deem worthy of my hand Lord Black" said Narcissa politely feeling it was better to remain on Arcturus's good side if she was going to get his approval to her and James.
"Who did you have in mind?" said Arcturus sternly.
Narcissa touched the shiny diamond engagement ring on her left ring finger given to her by James.
"James Potter" said Narcissa confidently.
Her heart froze when she saw Arcturus scowl in slight disappointment.
"James Potter?" said Arcturus frostily.
"Yes… James Potter, I will not have anyone else" said Narcissa stiffly.
Arcturus stood up and made his way over to his fireplace looking into the flames deep in thought.
Narcissa remained still with her eyes on him watching carefully for any reactions for the next several seconds before his voice broke the silence in the room.
"I had hoped you would have chosen someone from a different family, from a family without the rumours of muggle ties or a Member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight" said Arcturus in disappointment.
Narcissa knew why he was disappointed.
He already had a link to the Potter family thanks to her Aunt Dorea and he wanted her to marry someone from a family he had no ties to so he could use that alliance to his own benefit.
Had she been weak of mind, Narcissa might have accepted his words right then and there.
But Narcissa was not weak-minded. She was a Daughter of House Black, and Daughters of House Black take what they want.
"I will not change my mind Lord Black… I love James and he loves me, we are going to get married regardless of what you say, but for the sake of the family we would like your approval first" said Narcissa confidently.
Arcturus straightened up.
"Well… I suppose Potter will do then, being the next Lady Potter is a worthy enough title for you" said Arcturus flatly.
Narcissa's heart skipped a beat with excitement.
She had done it. She had Lord Black's approval which meant that she and James could get married without causing trouble within her own family.
The thought of marrying James brought a bit of heat to her cheeks and made her heart race even more.
Arcturus turned his head to face her.
"I shall begin discussions with Lord Potter about arranging your wedding, as you will become the next Lady Potter a wedding in the grounds of Potter Manor will be suitable" said Arcturus flatly.
Narcissa got to her feet and bowed her head to him in thanks.
"Thank you Lord Black" said Narcissa kindly.
She remained in his office for another minute or so before returning to hers and James's cottage only to find out that he was still at the Ministry and would not be back for another three hours.
18th April 1977
"Do you, James Fleamont Potter, take this woman, Narcissa Cynthia Black to be your lawful wedded wife, in the eyes of magic herself and all who are witnessing this today" said the middle-aged Wizard Pastor officiating the wedding.
The wedding itself was taking place on the grounds of Potter Manor on a warm sunny afternoon with James and Narcissa stood under a white alter decorated with dozens of flowers joined together with green vines while their guests were occupying white and gold trim seats on a makeshift patio several feet behind them.
James was dressed in a dark grey wizard suit with Sirius stood to his side dressed in a nearly identical suit while Remus and Peter were stood behind Sirius also dressed in dark grey suits.
Stood opposite him dressed in an expensive-looking white wedding gown, white net veil and silver Goblin made tiara was Narcissa Black soon to be Narcissa Potter who had her eyes on her soon to be husband with a smirk on her face.
Not only were she and James happy to finally be getting married there was also something else that they were yet to share with anyone else.
Though she was not showing it yet, Narcissa was three months pregnant with their first child with the two planning to make the announcement to everyone at their wedding reception.
Ever since word got out that she was dating James in her Seventh Year her friends in Slytherin had abandoned her claiming that she was dating a blood traitor.
Given that none of them would be attending her wedding Narcissa had asked the qualified Senior Auror Amelia Bones known as "Madam Bones" as well as fellow Order member Marlene Mckinnon to be her Bridesmaids. For her Maid Of Honour Narcissa had insisted that her Great Aunt Dorea take up the responsibility telling her that if it was not for Dorea taking her in, she would not be here getting married to James. The three women were stood several feet to the left of Narcissa wearing matching deep blue gowns holding onto small bouquets of flowers.
"I do" said James.
The Pastor turned to Narcissa who glanced at him.
"Do you, Narcissa Cynthia Black, take this man, James Fleamont Potter as your lawful wedded Husband, in the eyes of magic herself and all who are witnessing this today" said the Pastor.
"I do" said Narcissa softly.
After their vows had been said Sirius had given them their wedding rings which they slid onto each others left ring fingers before sealing their union with a kiss.
As the crowd of guests all of whom were now on their feet included, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, Charlus Potter, Professor Mcgonagall, Hagrid and several Order Members including Dorcas Meadowes, Emmeline Vance nee Boot and her Husband of four years Jacob Vance, Sturgis Podmore, Edgar Bones and his Wife Maria Bones nee Smith, the Prewett Twins, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Caradoc Dearborn and finally Lily Evans and Severus Snape who despite his school rivalry with James that he never truly got over was applauding them from his place beside Lily.
Arcturus Black who had a look of approval on his stern face was stood next to the slightly ill Fleamont and Euphemia Potter having walked Narcissa down the aisle with her own Father Cygnus declining to attend voicing his opinions to Arcturus Black that Narcissa's marriage to a blood traitor family was a disgrace and that he would have no part of it.
While Druella Black had also chosen not to attend she did send Narcissa a letter congratulating her on marrying into a Pureblood family which gave Narcissa some joy at receiving congratulations from her Mother.
As James pulled her into him and kissed her again to cheers, applause and a few tears from the crowd Narcissa felt like this was the happiest day in her life.
7th October 1977
"Congratulations Mrs Potter… you have a healthy baby boy" said the female Healer Melanie Mcmanus as she used her wand on the birth certificate attached to a clipboard in her left hand.
Their fellow Order Member and Healer was in her early forties with long brown hair tied up in a sensible braid as she filled in all of the relevant information on the birth certificate.
Narcissa clad in a light blue hospital gown was breathing heavily as she sat up in her bed on the maternity ward of St Mungo's.
Stood around her bed were James and Dorea while Sirius, Marlene, Remus, Dorcas and Peter slowly made their way through the ward doors and over to her bed.
Another young female Healer who was a few years older than Narcissa gently placed her newborn Son who was wrapped in white blankets in Narcissa's arms.
Her Son took solely after his Father in looks with traces of brown hair with grey eyes just like his Father and Grandfather.
Narcissa looked down at him with loving eyes though with a small hint of regret in the back of her mind.
The small amount of regret she was feeling was due to the absence of her In-Laws Fleamont and Euphemia Potter who had been confined to Potter Manor owing to their ongoing battle with Dragon Pox. Unfortunately due to their advanced age and isolation Fleamont and Euphemia might never get to see their Grandson since their strain of Dragon Pox was quite contagious and would eventually claim their lives at some point in the coming years.
Charlus Potter would have been here to see James and Narcissa have their first child had he not been out hunting rumoured Death Eaters on behalf of the Minister For Magic Millicent Bagnold and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch Sr and was currently out of the country. Though she would never voice it, Dorea had a feeling that Charlus would have avoided attending the birth anyway not wanting to be reminded of his own Son.
Pushing those thoughts aside Narcissa glanced at James who moved closer to the bed.
"Edward… Edward Henry Potter" said Narcissa softly.
Edward was a strong and popular name within both the Potter and Black families and to Narcissa, it felt fitting that their first child be named in honour of both of their families while the middle name of Henry was James and Narcissa's way of honouring their late Cousin who passed away long before both of them were born.
"Edward Henry… I like it" said James as he sat down on the side of the bed tracing a single finger on Edward's cheek who stirred under his Father's touch.
Healer Mcmanus finished adding all of the appropriate information to the birth certificate before casting a Duplicating Charm on it making an extra copy handing the original to Dorea Potter who would put it with the rest of the Potter birth records in the main Potter Family Vault at Gringotts.
None of the others said a word as they watched the Husband and Wife celebrate the birth of their first child born in the darkest days of the war.
After several more seconds of silence, James turned to Sirius with a serious look on his face.
"Padfoot… Narcissa and I have decided, that we want you to be Edward's Godfather, will you accept?" said James proudly.
Sirius who felt as shocked as he looked took a few steps closer to the bed looking down at his best friends Son.
His Godson.
"I accept" said Sirius still feeling the shock.
Even feeling his girlfriend Marlene wrap her arms around his waist from behind pressing her chin to his shoulder did nothing to distract him from the shock he was feeling.
When he had finally recovered several seconds later he was allowed to hold his new Godson for a short time before handing him to Dorea.
After several minutes Sirius and the others were told to leave with Narcissa having to remain on the ward overnight so the Healers could make sure she and her Son were fit and healthy before they went home while James transfigured one of the chairs by the bed into a cot for him to sleep on so he could stay with his Wife and Son.
9th May 1978
Holding a moving photograph in both of her hands as she was sat on the brown leather settee Narcissa shed a few tears as she thought about the fates of some of the people in the photograph.
With it being late at night Edward was currently asleep in his cot next to the settee while James was away on a mission for the Order. Though Narcissa still did a few spying missions for the Order she had mostly stepped away from the missions focusing her time on looking after Edward instead.
In the last six months, the Death Eaters had stepped up their efforts in purifying Magical Britain with murders and disappearances becoming rife throughout Magical Britain.
The photograph in Narcissa's hands was one of the only pictures they had of the Order Of The Phoenix and it was taken in late December 1977 after one of the meetings at Longbottom Manor.
All of the occupants in the photo had formed a few mismatched rows so they could all get into the picture even if it looked like they were all over the place.
Stood from left to right were Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Caradoc Dearborn, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas and Remus, Peter, Narcissa and James, Sirius and Marlene, Aberforth Dumbledore, Edgar Bones, Dumbledore, Mary Macdonald, Lily, Severus Snape, Hagrid, Mundungus Fletcher, Melanie Mcmanus, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Mad-Eye Moody, Sturgis Podmore, Jacob and Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge and Dedalus Diggle all of whom had glasses of wine or mugs of ale in their hands as they looked up at Narcissa from the photograph occasionally laughing and sharing words with each other.
Had things been different Narcissa might not have felt so sad looking at this photograph as she thought back to what happened to quite a few people in the photograph.
Only two weeks after they had taken this photograph, Marlene had been visiting her entire family at their ancestral home of Mckinnon Manor in the North Yorkshire countryside when it came under attack by more than a dozen Death Eaters.
Neither Marlene nor any of her family were able to escape and were slaughtered in a brutal massacre before the manor itself was set on fire. Sirius who was devastated by the loss of his girlfriend had been on a warpath ever since ending the lives of more than one Death Eater though he managed to capture a few of them even if most of them escaped capture.
Not long after the attack on Mckinnon Manor, Remus who had spent the last three weeks working undercover with the werewolf communities trying to bring them over to the Order's side returned from his mission to report his findings feeling confused to find that his fiance was not there to greet him.
He was devastated to discover that his fiance Dorcas Meadowes had been killed in a small battle between the Order and the Death Eaters a few miles from Hogwarts five days after the attack on Mckinnon Manor. As the battle raged on she found herself one on one against the Dark Lord Voldemort himself putting up as much of a fight as she could before he ended her life and fled.
Benjy Fenwick and Caradoc Dearborn had been spying on known Death Eaters Antonin Dolohov and Morgan Mulciber when something had gone terribly wrong. Caradoc had disappeared without a trace never to be seen again while Benjy had been blasted to smithereens with the only noticeable parts remaining were one of his feet and two of his fingers along with his wand.
Fabian and Gideon Prewett lost their lives fighting against five Death Eaters including Antonin Dolohov though the Brothers managed to kill two of the Death Eaters before they died.
Many more small skirmishes took place between the two sides taking the lives of both Death Eaters, Aurors and Order Members alike including Jacob Vance and Melanie Mcmanus from the Order along with Aurors Graham Carmichael, Denise Morrison and Michael Khanna.
As had happened with the Mckinnon's, Edgar Bones and most of the Bones family were doomed to suffer the same fate. He, his wife Maria, their two children Ellamae and Edric who were aged 7 and 5 respectively and Edgar's parents David and Leanne were slaughtered at their home.
Perhaps the most painful of them all for Narcissa was what happened just over three weeks ago. Charlus Potter who had been following a lead on Titus Lestrange suspecting him of having Death Eater ties. Unfortunately for him, he was undertaking this mission alone as his fellow Hit-Wizards were following other leads on Voldemort and other suspected Death Eaters which would prove to be a fatal decision.
As he followed Titus Lestrange through Diagon Alley in the direction of Knockturn Alley Voldemort appeared in front of him and openly challenged him in full view of everyone in the Alley most of whom were terrified by his presence.
To his credit, Charlus Potter did not flee and started rapidly exchanging spells with the Dark Lord without relenting. Their duel lasted for several minutes before Voldemort overpowered the famed Hit-Wizard and shattered his wand and wand hand with a single spell.
The few witnesses who were close enough to the duel would later say that they heard Charlus Potter utter a single word moments before Voldemort's Killing Curse ended his life.
The last word of her Great Uncle was "Henry" comforting himself in the face of death that he would be reunited with his Son.
Though Narcissa would see her Great Aunt Dorea quite often, she rarely saw or corresponded with her in the last three weeks. Before her Husbands death, Dorea would often babysit Edward when James and Narcissa were away on Order missions or having the occasional night to themselves but she had not visited the Potters since then.
So much death with no signs of when it might end.
Not able to take any more grief and heartache Narcissa threw the photograph away from her on the settee.
Taking a deep breath as she put her head in her hands for a moment before glancing at where her Son was still sleeping.
With each passing day, things got harder and harder for Narcissa to deal with and it did not help that she now had her Son to think about as well.
"When will it be over?" thought Narcissa wearily.
2nd August 1978
James winced as Narcissa applied Essence Of Dittany to a large cut on his left forearm which slowly began to stitch itself back together as well as clean it of any infection.
The cause of his cut as well as the bruises on Narcissa's left shoulder and right cheek was the battle the two had been a part of three hours prior.
The two were sat on their settee taking turns treating each others battle wounds.
Having lost many members of their Order, Albus Dumbledore had openly challenged Voldemort to a wizards duel to finally end the war.
As Dumbledore had expected, Voldemort arrived with his army of hooded and masked Death Eaters at his back eager to show his power to the heavily battered and depleted Order Of The Phoenix and their other allies including Hogwarts Professors, Auror Department and other Ministry Of Magic personnel who chose to stand up to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The battle itself took place on a large mountainside close to the village of Hogsmeade with Voldemort planning to march on Hogwarts and take over the school after he defeated Dumbledore.
As his presence close to Hogwarts was discovered Professor's Slughorn, Mcgonagall and Flitwick joined Dumbledore to fight against the Death Eaters not wanting to see the empty school fall into Voldemort's hands.
Several words were exchanged between the Hogwarts Headmaster and the Dark Lord over the next several minutes before their duel began.
While the two powerful magic users duelled with incredible speed and precision the two sets of allies also clashed. Not willing to let each other out of their sights James and Narcissa stayed close to each other as they fought Death Eaters left, right and centre sustaining minor injuries each with the determination to see Edward grow up in a safe world giving them the strength to keep fighting.
While both sides suffered casualties for the next hour or so including the likes of Augusta Longbottom and Remus's Father John Lupin among others on both sides. Eventually, the incredible sight of Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel was too much to behold as both sides ceased fighting and moved well away from the duel not wanting to be caught in the crossfire as they watched wondering who was going to win.
After several more minutes during which Dumbledore purposely avoided using lethal spells which would have ended his opponent's life eventually he changed tactics after understanding that Magical Britain would only be safe when Voldemort was dead.
Dumbledore unleashed some of the most deadly spells in his arsenal though neglecting to stoop to Voldemort's level by using the Killing Curse without caring who it hit. After another few minutes, Voldemort let out a gut-wrenching scream and dropped back towards the floor as Dumbledore ended his reign of terror as well as his life.
However before he hit the floor his body exploded into a large puff of smoke though several people on both sides saw the dark remnants of his soul fleeing the scene proving that somehow, Voldemort had made himself immortal.
For the Death Eaters, it was not over as several stunners were sent their way by the survivors. Most of the Death Eaters managed to apparate away to safety while others were quickly stunned and captured.
As Narcissa finished tending to James's wounds she did not feel completely at ease knowing that Voldemort and most of his Death Eaters were still out there and the fact that she and James were Auror's made them targets for attack.
"We're under the Fidellius remember… and Sirius would never give up the secret no matter what happened?" said James reassuringly.
Though the reminder that their cottage had been under the Fidellius since Edward was born with Sirius serving as their Secret Keeper was slightly reassuring to Narcissa it did not help her as much as James wanted since she was still worried about the safety of their Son every day.
"Hopefully we can sleep a little easier tonight" said James softly.
Narcissa frowned and turned away from James doubting that sleep would come to her easily tonight.
"Cissy?" said James.
Narcissa looked up at his eyes.
"I love you" said James softly before touching her cheek and kissing her gently.
Narcissa slowly returned his kiss as she traced her hands on his arms.
She moved her hands up to his neck as he pulled her onto his lap settling her legs on either side of his hips.
Narcissa broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against his.
"I love you too James" said Narcissa softly.
James took her hand lacing his fingers through hers.
"Things will start to get easier now… I promise" said James softly.
Narcissa managed a small nod not completely believing her Husband's words.
James kissed her again before suddenly moving them so she landed on her back on the settee pinned underneath him causing her to giggle before kissing him again.
The two remained there for several seconds sharing kisses and groping each other before Narcissa leaned up to his ear.
"Let's take this upstairs" whispered Narcissa in a breathy voice before gently nipping James earlobe with her teeth.
"Why not here, we've never done it on the settee" whispered James moving to slide his hands under her shirt.
"No… I have to check on Edward first, I expect I'll find you waiting for me in bed" said Narcissa sternly.
Finally getting up from the settee they went upstairs with Narcissa going to check on Edward before heading for the bedroom to join James who was already in their bedroom waiting for her.