Disclaimer: All characters, settings and anything else recognizable from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling, and we make no claim on her ideas.
It rains the whole night before her wedding.
Her mother is furious, and spends the entire night pacing, glaring at the window, huffing about how they'll never be able to have the wedding outdoors like it's supposed to be, as though she can will the clouds to stop their weeping and suit her needs. Narcissa, on the other hand, watches the rain smudge the lights past her window, fragmenting into rainbows if she tilts her head just right, and dreams.
Lucuis is... a handsome man, and a good, respectable pure-blood groom. He's a little cold, a little formal, like he read a book on how to court women or was taught by his father the day before he met her. Like the Lucius she knows isn't quite him. But he's...
A complete bore, really. If she's honest with herself. He follows protocol - he gave her a corsage on their first date, pulled out the chair for her stiffly, poured her wine, that sort of thing - and doesn't go any further. A kiss on her hand - Enchanted to meet you. I see beauty runs in the family - as if he wanted to be Prince Charming but forgot how to smile.
As a little girl, her older sister would tell her fairytales to help her sleep, of magical cloaks and maidens on voyages and beautiful princesses rescued by handsome princes. Andromeda's stories were always a mixture of everything, something she'd heard on the train, something she'd made up, something she'd been told not to do, a dream she'd had - it all went into Narcissa's bedtime stories. Andy had a knack for storytelling, a way of spinning words, of making the sentences come alive.
If she's honest - and now is the time to be, for there won't be many chances to be later - she respects Andromeda more than anyone else, respects her courage and determination, her voice and her willpower. She half-wishes that her sister could be at her wedding, but Mother would never allow it (and she isn't sure Andy would come if she got an invitation, anyway).
It's a childish wish, but she wants to hear her sister's voice, she wants to be tucked in with a fairytale prince and a caricature of evil. She wants to close her eyes and be a little girl again, a child imagining worlds beyond the rainbows in her window, more than Hogwarts or Diagon Alley, a place where dreams come true and mistakes can be fixed.
She's being stupid, and she knows it. What would Mother think?
She would probably tell her that there is no place here for such folly, and to stop being such a child. It's time to grow up and be a Lady now, you're too old for that nonsense. Stand up straight and stop biting your lip.
Don't cry.
Her eyes blur in the darkness, her last night in her old bed, rain pattering at the roof overhead, the house in silence except for Mother's pacing in the Drawing Room, the lights past her windows glowing orange and undefined, the distant sounds of a Muggle town beyond the walls blending with the words in her head - And they lived happily ever after. Andromeda's voice echoes through her ears, the ending to every story, the close of every once upon a time - happily ever after. She swallows hard and tries not to let her tears touch the pillow.
Andromeda was strong enough to -
But Lucius is a good man. That's what they all tell her, and that's the truth. He's not Prince Charming, but he's a Pure-Blood and the only heir to the Malfoy fortune, so she'll never want for anything. She's not in love with him, but they say that love will come. Eventually, she'll grow attached to him by sheer force of will, and all will be well.
And if she squeezes her eyes tight and clutches the comforter hard enough, she can almost convince herself that someone is going to dive through her window and carry her off into the night and save her from a loveless society marriage, the same way that that Tonks Mudblood did for Andromeda. If she squints, she can believe that she's a princess locked up in a tower, and her prince will - But all of this is nonsense, she knows. Even inside her own dreams, she can't escape the fact that she is not living a fairytale.
She will not be saved from this marriage, nor does she need to be. Lucius is a fine man. She will find happiness with him, in time. She will grow to enjoy his company.
Through the blurry tears she can see the window, glittery with rainbows and childhood and innocence, whispering once upon a time and ever after. Then she blinks, and all she sees is rain on glass.
You're too old for that nonsense.
(There's a big, bright rainbow glittering at her wedding, but no one mentions it, not even Narcissa.)
By cupid-painted-blind
General A/N (from Lexie, not Cupid): All reviews will be replied to personally by the author of each chapter – so this is a reminder to please review everything!!! (you know, as if they were all one-shots)
And just in case anyone is wondering, this is labeled Narcissa Black because she doesn't become a Malfoy until the end… so yeah. Cupid, if you want it changed, let me know!
Thank you for reading!