The Twenty-seventh
"I miss him."
During the last week, there had been no more Howlers, and no angry letters. They had annoyed Narcissa and made her feel angry. But their absence made her miserable.
"I know. But he's dangerous. He hurt you."
She didn't like the sympathy in Molly's voice. It irritated her for no good reason.
"Only since Azkaban. He never hit me before. He was different!"
The other woman said nothing. Narcissa stubbornly looked down at her tea.
"He loved me." The words sounded hollow. It had been true, once, but not anymore. Or so it seemed.
"I love him."
The twenty-eighth
Narcissa was sitting on her bed, looking at an old photo album. Molly, who had come to get her for tea, sat down next to her silently. The pictures showed a young and happy couple in wedding attire, both apparently very much in love.
"He promised me he'd be different from father," Narcissa finally said. "That he'd never hurt me, or our children, for whatever reason." Suddenly, she slammed the album shut with surprising force, her fingers tightly clenching around it.
"Coming from someone who had already killed Muggle women and children, I should have known it was a lie."
The Twenty-ninth
Arthur and Molly were sitting on the couch after coming back from visiting Percy at St. Mungo's in the afternoon.
Narcissa had tactfully left with Harry and Hermione when Arthur had rushed into the kitchen during teatime, telling his wife that Percy had been badly injured in an accident at work. They both hadn't had much time to think about it, but now, finally, the impact of what had happened slowly settled in.
"He could have died… my son could have died…"
Despite her own worry, Molly had to smile. It had been years since Arthur had called Percy that.
The Thirtieth
"Thank you." Narcissa, who had just returned from visiting Draco, collapsed on the chair and took the cup Molly had filled with tea. "If I had known that woman would be there as well, I doubt I would have gone. What did Draco think when he invited me?"
"Who was there?"
"Petunia!" Narcissa made a most un-ladylike face.
"Oh." Molly nodded sympathetically. "Was she so hostile?"
"No. Just…exhausting. Hard to get used to."
Molly smiled. "You have something in common, then."
The other woman looked indignant – only to burst out laughing after a second.
"I guess you have a point."