Chapter Thirty Four

A/N: No reviewers.

Three years had passed in safety, the Malfoys' lives becoming so mundane that they sometimes could hardly believe they had come so close to falling apart. Lucius had regained his position in the Ministry, much to the disdain of many of his colleagues, while Narcissa had devoted herself completely to raising her darling son. For years, it was as if nothing had changed.

And then something did.

Narcissa fell heavily onto the settee, exhausted from her day's exertions. Draco had run around the Manor all day, taunting her to catch him and running away each time she got near, and once she had finally done so she felt so ill that she could not lift him. Instead, she had to wait for Lucius to return home from work and stand by, her cheeks flaming red with embarrassment while he was forced to take their son to bed. It was mortifying, to think that she had so few tasks to accomplish throughout the day, and yet she had unloaded one of them onto her hard-working husband.

When Lucius swept back into the room, Narcissa made to stand and greet him, but he waved his hand dismissively in her direction, coming to sit beside her on the settee.

"Cissa, is something the matter?" Lucius asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

The young woman tried to smile convincingly, but even that effort was too much. Instead, her expertly crafted mask began to crack and crumble.

Lucius' arms were around her the moment the tears began to fall. For all his callous behaviour towards the rest of the world, he could not stand to see his beloved cry.

Their embrace lasted several minutes, until Narcissa's sobs turned to tiny shudders. They sat in silence a few minutes more, each waiting for the other to speak. In the end, it was Lucius who broke first.

"Cissa, what is it?" he asked, his voice gentle and calm. It was almost like approaching a wounded animal in the forest, trying to help before it bolted away. "Please, darling, I only want to help."

Narcissa considered lying, trying to brush it off as simple tiredness from running around after a small boy, but his eyes were so pleading that she could not bring herself to do it.

"I've not been feeling well for a week or so." the woman admitted sadly. She looked away from her husband, not wanting to see the shock in his expression. "Actually, it may have been two. But of course, Draco does not know the difference, so he keeps running around and I keep running after him. I suppose I just reached the end of my strength today."

"Is there anything else wrong?" Lucius pressed. He spent so much of his day at the Ministry, she could easily have had any number of symptoms without his knowledge.

"I've been sick quite often, and a little dizzy, but I thought it could just be the weather." She knew that she was trying to brush off the issue again, but it was useless even to try. Lucius was clearly not willing to let up. "Draco's had the sniffles for a few days, I thought I might have caught it from him, but I'm still ill, long after he's recovered."

"And you don't suppose this might be something else?" Lucius tried to hide the grin that threatened to overwhelm his features. He could not be sure, this could simply be a cold… but there was something about it that made him hope.

Narcissa looked at him blankly, her brow furrowed. With a head that felt lighter with every passing second, it was all she could do to hear his words at all. "What do you mean?"

"Only that you've had these symptoms before, haven't you?" her husband asked. The woman was still none the wiser. "Just the once before, about five years ago."

Suddenly, the pieces fell into place and Narcissa leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands covering her mouth. Of course, it all seemed so obvious now.

"Do you really think… do you think it might be?" For some reason, she could not quite say the word, not wanting to jinx their happiness when it had barely begun. "After all we went through to get Draco, is this really happening again?"

Lucius did not answer, instead pulling his wand from its place in his belt and resting the tip against her belly. It took a moment for the silent spell to take hold, before a golden glow began to radiate from the wood.

Narcissa gasped in wonder, her palm drifting down to rest against her belly. She could not believe her eyes.

"A baby." she breathed, her voice so quiet it was almost inaudible. "Oh, Lucius. We're going to have a baby!"

The man smiled widely, pressing a lingering kiss to his wife's forehead. "Oh, darling, I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. I know you've wanted another for so long now."

"Don't make it sound as though Draco means any less than the world to me." Narcissa protested, though her heart was not in the argument. "But I was raised with siblings and endless cousins. I suppose I always wanted that for myself."

"Well, now you have it." Lucius wrapped his arms tightly around his wife, rocking her from side to side, just as he would soon do their child. "All the trials we have faced over these last few years, it is all over now. We can be happy again, truly."

"I hope so." Narcissa sighed in response, relishing the warmth of her husband's embrace. Her cheeks were already beginning to ache from her smile, but she could not bring herself to stop. She was so happy, she felt her heart might burst in her chest.

'I'll have to tell Draco in the morning.' she reminded herself. 'He's longed for a sibling ever since he was born. Now I can finally give that to him.'

It seemed surreal, that after all the suffering the last half-decade had brought, they could be blessed in such a way, to have their family safe and happy and growing again.

It almost seemed too good to be true.

A/N: What's happening next? Hopefully I'll get the next one up soon. Please review!