Hey all! First updates the day after my birthday. Hope you enjoy. Big thanks to everyone still reading this, means a lot to me.
Lots of love,
LM xxxxx
Finally Belonging Somewhere-Part 29:
Lucius had lost track of time and was enjoying the time with Aurora. He could feel the 11-year-old beginning to trust him more. He looked and couldn't see the Manor behind him but he knew Trixie knew her way back.
"Where in Merlin's name are they?" Narcissa asked, "I might take Bella up. She'll find them instantly."
"Now Narcissa she'll be fine with him," Druella said, "it may help them to bond."
"Just whistle mother," Draco said, "and Trixie should hear." Narcissa whistled and waited for a few minutes and then Trixie appeared in the air and she heard a sound. Laughter. Aurora was laughing and as she slipped off and into Narcissa's arms.
"Daddy cast a warming charm on me," Aurora smiled as she hugged Narcissa, "once he realised that we were away from the Manor."
"Daddy now is it?" Narcissa asked before she noticed a yawn and picked Aurora up, "alright Little Flower there's time for a nap. We'll go to the parlour. Draco you may join us or you are permitted to use my study for homework."
"I'll use the study mother," he said before excusing himself and heading inside.
Narcissa walked inside and sat down on one of the long, elegant emerald green and silver sofas and rested Aurora's head on her lap. The little girl had had quite the day and she was tired. Lucius grabbed a blanket before sitting next to his wife and placed the blanket over Aurora. Druella watched from the matching sofa. She had been way too judgemental of everything.
"Narcissa, Lucius…I want to apologise for the way I have been behaving over this whole situation with Aurora," Druella said, "you are doing things differently from the way I would have done but you have to considering all her…problems. I shouldn't have been so hard on her. She's already had it so rough in her short life."
"Thank you mother," Narcissa said, "yes we do things differently with Aurora we have to. Mentally she's behind on a lot of things and even doing her homework can be a problem. The thought of a blood test is out of the question. I can read your thoughts."
"Well why don't you? You could find out who her birth parents are," Druella said.
"She was placed in the system because they didn't care about her in the first place. All it would do is confuse her and possibly hurt her more than she already has done," Lucius said, "when the time comes that Cissa and I will think about beginning to adopt her then we will do the test and talk to Aurora and explain everything to her. But right now everything is settled and we don't want her even more upset than she has been."
Narcissa summoned Daisy and ordered some tea to be served and a cup to be taken to Draco in her study before she looked down at Aurora and pushed some of the hair back out of the girl's face and then rested her head on Lucius' shoulder.
"You don't want to let her go back to Hogwarts do you?" Druella mused as she watched her youngest daughter.
"It's the best thing for her as she can improve her skills but she needs careful monitoring from myself and the professors," Narcissa said as the tea was served.
"Well if it is fine with the both of you I'd like to accompany you both to Hogwarts when you take the two of them back. I'd like to see how they are handling the situation and make sure that it is the best way for Aurora," Druella said, shocking both Narcissa and Lucius.
"Well you've changed your tune," Lucius mumbled before feeling both pairs of eyes on him.
"Well yes I have, especially with seeing the changes that you have had to make for her," Druella said, "it's clear she's suffered her whole life. You having her is improving both Black and Malfoy family names and you will only save the children from that orphanage with the reports. You cannot deny it how alike she is to Narcissa though."
Narcissa sighed,
"Mother that is what everyone says but she can't be our daughter. I just want things to stay the way they are until the end of the school year. If that Skeeter woman hadn't revealed anything we could have passed her off as ours until we adopted her and then said the truth once it was all done but she changed everything."
Lucius rested his hand on Narcissa's arm as she had been getting more wound up and the last thing he wanted was Aurora waking up to raised voices. He ordered the dinner to be started and said for five people, guessing that his mother-in-law would remain at Malfoy Manor until after Draco and Aurora were back at Hogwarts.
Narcissa woke Aurora up a few minutes later and summoned the young witch's reading book and began to practice the girl's reading with her. Aurora's reading was good but she wasn't at the level she should have been at for her age. Aurora smiled and carried on reading as she tried to get some difficult words but struggled so Lucius and Druella went to find Draco and Aurora seemed to relax once they were out of the room.
The next day was rather subdued for Narcissa as she was preparing herself for taking Aurora back to Hogwarts the next day. Draco had let his Snitch from his Quidditch set loose and Aurora's squeals and giggles could be heard as she chased the flying golden ball around the Manor before Narcissa took her outside and to go and groom Trixie and spend time with Snowdrop.
"This kills her doesn't it?" Druella asked Lucius.
"Anything to do with Aurora kills her," Lucius said, "it just makes me wish I'd protected our daughter better and then Narcissa wouldn't struggle so much with letting Aurora out of her sight. She knows she's safe at Hogwarts…"
"I don't blame her Lucius. That second pregnancy basically killed her and then to lose the child you risked your life for…I can see that it still haunts her. I'm surprised she even let the girl out of her sight so soon after finding her."
"So was I but Draco, Daphne and Astoria were there and Draco could see how upset Cissa was at Aurora's plight. It took her back to when our child was snatched," Lucius said.
"I'll never forget that day when you asked me to come to the hospital and she was just laid there holding the teddy and crying silently," Druella recalled, "I just wanted to protect her from the world."
"She couldn't save our child, well daughter according to the Tapestry, but she's hellbent on saving Aurora and not even Merlin or Morgana can stop her once she's made up her mind on something."
Druella chuckled slightly,
"After all these years of being married to a Black and you still aren't used to the stubbornness. Has Narcissa taught you nothing?" she asked before noticing Lucius smirk.
"Druella I know the Rosiers are just as stubborn as the Blacks so don't you blame it all on Cygnus' side."
Druella had been about to say something when Aurora ran into the room followed by Narcissa. Lucius let her lean back into him knowing that the next day would be hard on Narcissa. He wouldn't admit it but it would be hard on him too but being strong for his wife was what Lucius had to do.