Author's Note: About a year has passed between the last chapter and this chapter. Narcissa has suffered one or two more miscarriages since that time. We are still, however, a few years away from Draco being born. Draco won't come until the next story in this series. Sorry Draco fans, but the story of his birth really deserves its own fic.

"Well?" Narcissa pressed the Healer, a witch.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy," the witch said. "You did indeed suffer another miscarriage."

Narcissa managed to keep her face impassive. It was becoming easier and easier to do so.

"Why?" Narcissa asked in a cold voice. "Why do I keep on having miscarriages?"

"I have performed many tests on you," the witch replied, "but I can't find any reason why you shouldn't be able to carry a baby to full term and deliver it in good health."

"You can't find any reason?" Narcissa sneered. "Well, there has to be a reason, considering that I know for a fact I don't have any children at home."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Save it," Narcissa hissed. "None of your sorries have helped me yet. There has to be a reason for this. There has to be."

"I could have some of the other Healers perform more tests on you," the witch offered.

"No, don't bother," Narcissa snapped. She then faltered slightly. "What's wrong with me? Why am I not able to carry a baby? Why am I not able to produce an heir for my husband?"

The witch didn't have any answers for Narcissa's questions, so she remained silent.

"Thank you for making sure that I wasn't bleeding anymore," Narcissa suddenly spoke in an emotionless voice. "Perhaps I'm just not meant to be a mother."

Narcissa spoke the words nonchalantly, but inside she was breaking. She couldn't take this anymore, always being hopeful that her next pregnancy would finally result in a healthy, living baby, only to be quickly disappointed when she suddenly started to bleed.

She wanted so much to be a mother. She wanted so much to be able to give her Lucius a child.

But she couldn't do either of those things.

Narcissa knew what she needed to do next. She knew that it would hurt Lucius, and she didn't want to hurt him more than he already had been.

But it had to be done. There was no other choice.

The Auror did not notice Lucius, who was standing in the shadows of the hallway, hidden under a Disillusionment Charm.

Lucius sneered to himself. One would think that an Auror would be smarter than this, especially considering that it was a time of war. But no, some Aurors were still obviously foolish enough to believe that they were safe just because they were inside the Ministry.

The hallway was wide, and Lucius was pressed against the wall. The Auror was nearing him from the other side of the hallway.

The Auror walked casually and was clearly at ease. The fool.

Faster than the eye could blink, a beam of green light shot out of the wand that Lucius had stolen from one of the Ministry workers who had been foolish enough to just leave his wand on top of his desk, with his office door wide open. His office had been empty. His wand had been in clear sight. It had practically been begging to be stolen. How much more foolish could people get, especially during a time of war?

The green light struck the Auror right in his chest.

The Auror didn't even have time to react to just being killed. His body just crumbled to the floor, a peaceful expression on his face.

Still under his Disillusionment Charm, Lucius left the hallway at a casual pace. He had to return the stolen wand before his promised meeting with Fudge.

And it would not do for Lucius to be late.

Lucius had future plans for Fudge. It was important, therefore, to keep Fudge happy.

The office door was still wide open. The office itself was still empty. It took Lucius only a matter of moments to place the wand back on the desk. Then, still under his Disillusionment Charm, Lucius strolled out of the office.

It was only after he was in an empty hallway, far away from both where the Auror had been killed and from where the wand had been stolen, that Lucius finally undid his Disillusionment Charm.

Lucius couldn't help but wonder whether or not the body would be discovered while he was in his meeting with Fudge or afterwards. It mattered on how long Fudge insisted on talking his head off, while Lucius would be forced to nod politely at the appropriate moments.

Not that it really mattered, of course. The body would eventually be discovered. Lucius had made sure to kill the Auror in a hallway that tended to be busy in both the early morning and in the late evening, but not at the time when Lucius had killed him (several hours after the lunch hour).

The Dark Lord had wanted Lucius to create panic and chaos within the Ministry, and the discovery of a dead Auror would definitely ensure that those things happened.

Narcissa entered Malfoy Manor.

"Did you just come back from St. Mungo's?" came Abraxas's mocking voice.

"What?"

"I received an owl from the hospital not that long ago that you had suffered another miscarriage. How disappointing."

"St. Mungo's has been sending you letters about me?" Narcissa was completely outraged. Lucius had signed documents to prevent his father from being able to receive any information on her.

"Your husband is not the only one with connections," Abraxas taunted. "Where do you think he learned it from? He's learned lots from me, you know."

"Lucius is nothing like you," Narcissa snarled.

"It truly is amazing how naive and stupid you can be, even after all this time," Abraxas sneered. "Surely you realize that there are some people that would consider your husband a monster."

"All those people are inferior to us," Narcissa hissed. "They know nothing about Lucius, nothing at all."

"So, you are aware of the types of things Lucius does when the Dark Lord summons him," Abraxas said to Narcissa as if she was some foolish, little child.

"Very much so," Narcissa growled.

"Oh, so Lucius shares all the little details with you. And here I was, thinking that he wasn't a complete idiot. I've just been proven wrong. How disappointing."

"Of course Lucius doesn't tell me everything. If the Aurors ever decide to question me, it's best that I don't know much. But I do have some awareness of what the Dark Lord requires out of my husband. And I'm perfectly fine with what he's doing. He's fighting to make this world a better place for us Purebloods. Well, all us Purebloods except for you, of course."

"Oh, look who can insult," Abraxas laughed mockingly.

"Don't push me any further," Narcissa warned. "I can hex just as well as Lucius can. He's taught me a few hexes, in fact. Would you like me to demonstrate them on you?"

Abraxas laughed again. "You speak like you're actually someone important. But you're not. You're just a woman, a woman who can't even give her husband an heir."

Narcissa stiffened.

"I see I have struck a nerve," Abraxas smirked. "But you know the words I speak are true. Lucius has a duty to continue his family line. You have a duty to help him with that by giving him a child. You have clearly failed in your duty.

"Unless you would like to suggest that all this is somehow Lucius's fault. But that can't be possible. You have no problem with becoming pregnant. You just have a problem with keeping the baby alive. The problem, therefore, clearly lies with you, not Lucius. You wouldn't even be able to become pregnant if the fault was Lucius's."

"Don't you think I already know this?" Narcissa hissed. "Don't you think I've thought about this before, more than once? I care about duty just as much as Lucius does. I want Lucius to have an heir just as much as you do."

"Then you know what you must do next." Narcissa had never before seen her father-in-law look so satisfied.

Narcissa swallowed. She had already thought about this before she had left St. Mungo's. Abraxas Malfoy's words had only served to confirm what she had already been thinking.

She knew what she had to do.

She also knew that it would break Lucius's heart even more than it had already been broken. How much more could his heart possibly take before it was broken completely, beyond repair?

But both she and Lucius had an obligation to duty. She knew this. Lucius knew this.

It had to be done. There was no other choice. Duty always came first for Purebloods.

"I do," Narcissa finally spoke. "I do know what is now required of me. And I will do it. I will do my duty, so that Lucius can do his duty."

Abraxas's pleased smile grew even wider.

Author's Note: Only one more chapter to go with this fic. I will, however, be writing a brief side story that will look into the events that happen immediately after the Auror's body is discovered.