InsaneJournal

Ficlet: Narcissa Malfoy - Third Time's the Charm
Title: Third Time's the Charm
Characters: Narcissa Black (with appearances by Lucius, Druella, Evadne Malfoy, and Regulus)
Summary: Dull and detached Narcissa Malfoy during and after her third miscarriage.
Rating: Let's say PG13 due to the imagery, even if it's mild.

This is the third miscarriage since the death of their first child. Each time she sees the blood, she never thinks about the expensive rugs or the silk robes she's wearing. She never thinks about what they'll say about her, but what he'll say. She thinks that he regrets marrying her, and she's certain that he is not the only one.

The blood that flows in her veins might have gotten her foot in the door, but it was Narcissa's personality that pushed it wide open. Narcissa integrated herself into the Malfoy family rather well. She knows exactly what topics are taboo for a woman of her station to speak on with his father. She enjoys shopping trips and social planning with his mother. Narcissa is as much a part of the family as their long dead relatives upon the walls.

But the blood in her veins is weak, and it drains life from her as much as it kills her unborn child. Narcissa Malfoy will never be the same witch again. Her smile is a rarity these days, and though she never speaks of it, her carriage recedes, and the disappointment reads as anger and disgust.

This time, she manages to her bathroom, but once she's there, she doesn't know what to do with herself. Dobby cleans the mess the best he can, but it's never good enough. Lady Malfoy can never get rid of that damned spot, and Dobby knows that he's in for a serious beating when the master gets his bearings. Still it's nothing compared to the mental berating Narcissa gives herself as she sinks to the floor.

Another house elf fetches Lucius who looks more terrified than angry with Narcissa. Merlin bless him, Narcissa thinks dully to herself, allowing herself to be smothered by his arms. He apparates them to St. Mungo's where she has a private room, with a private healer, and the only visitor she allows is Regulus, and that is simply because even while she sees that his heart is breaking for her, he always tells her funny stories from when they were younger.

Even when she returns home, she's not really there. She ambles around Malfoy Manor, sometimes aimlessly, and spends days in her old sitting room at the Black family home staring out of the window. Her mother sidesteps her, and it's clear that Narcissa is no longer the apple of her mother's eye. It won't be long before Druella asks, "Where are my precious grandchildren? I can't go on forever without them!" Narcissa always bites her tongue ("Maybe you shouldn't have pressured me to be the thinnest; Andromeda's child is alive and well."), smiles vapidly, and tells her that they'll try again in a few months.

And they will.

In the back of her mind, she wonders how much blood will she have to spill for the family, and the answer is always the same: all of it. She's sure that it won't be long before Lucius's terror does turn to anger, but until then, she prays that she will die instead of having to suffer another miscarriage. After all, what good is she if she can't even produce an heir?

The news is whispered in pureblood circles, but never within earshot. The last person who suggested to Lucius Malfoy that he go outside of his marriage for an heir suspiciously disappeared with a Dark Mark hovering above his house.