A light s m i l e playing at his lips as Narcissa brushed past him, he reached out with a soft hand to trail his knuckles down her spine. “You know I would do ANYTHING for you, bijou,” he murmured, snaking a hand around her waist and planting a kiss just behind her ear before stepping into the pub after her. Lingering close to Narcissa, Lucius felt the door THUD shut behind them.
“I do think making an appearance here might have the opposite of the DESIRED effect, however. When it comes to reputation.” He glanced down at their attire for the evening. “And we’re by FAR the most overdressed.” He paused in consideration. “Though that was to be expected,” he added, a s m u g tone coloring his voice.
“Perhaps we should have brought Draco with,” he mused. Lucius FROWNED unconsciously as he looked around at the layout of the room. “While not friendly to our family, it’s certainly safe enough for him here. Even at his age, you’re absolutely correct: it’s always important to see and be seen. Do we sit? Do we stand? What’s the procedure here?”
♔
“I do, and you know that I am forever grateful for that fact.” Narcissa replied with a small smile, hand raising so a thumb could briefly brush across the hand that had circled her waist. Public displays of affection were often frowned upon in their society and normally she would have been against them, but on this occasion she was happy to allow. It wasn’t like they were surrounded by those from their own circle after all.
“Look around my love, no one here is worried about us. Our reputation will be absolutely fine.” Sure they may have been overdressed, naturally standing out in such a crowd, but glancing around the old pub it was clear that everyone there was more interested in enjoying the celebrations with those they’d attended with to notice anyone else around them.
“Hm, I think we should wait at least a few more years before we allow Draco in to these sorts of places. There’s plenty of other opportunities for him to see and be seen among people we know and trust.” She explained. “But as for you and I, we sit. Come, there’s a booth in the corner available.”
It had been years since Eleanor had stopped foot in Hogsmeade. The village had long represented a time when she was at her happiest, at Hogwarts, and away from the messiness of her family and home. She had worried that it would make her sad, being around the past, but as she stood in the street, looking around, she was surprised that she felt comforted. Nothing had changed in the years since she had been at Hogwarts. Despite the war, and how different things were now, the streets looked just as they had when she had been at school.
Growing more comfortable as she made her way towards the Three Broomsticks, she spotted a familiar person walking towards the entrance of the pub. She was surprised to see Narcissa here, but a smile formed on her lips, and she quickened her steps to catch up to the other woman.
“Cissa! I’m so glad to see you here. I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Eleanor greeted.
♔
“Eleanor, hi.” Narcissa replied with a genuine smile. She knew that there was a high chance that she would run in to plenty people whom she’d rather not interact with at the celebrations, so it was a relief that one of the first people to approach her was someone she was happy to see. “And I know, normally we wouldn’t bother with these sorts of things but it’s been forever since Lucius and I have been able to head out without Draco, so I figured why not pop along for a short while?” She explained with a short nod. There was of course the matter of many people in their community believing that people like Narcissa and her husband had no right to show face at such an event, and she’d be damned if she were going to let them win.
“It’s great to see you too though. It feels like forever, how have you been?”
“You must be JOKING.” Despite the nature and tone of his words, the slight crinkle of his eyes and the bright gleam of them betrayed his a f f e c t i o n for his wife more than he could ever hope to HIDE.
Putting his weight on his walking stick, Lucius reached out with his other hand and swept the door open, trying to hide a slight wince from the weight of the wood. Lucius was a STRONG man, but it had taken significantly more time than he was expecting to get used to his injury. The pain was one thing, the limp another, but the constant disproportionate stress on his body was something he HADN’T expected. And the wounding to his pride for displaying the weakness was the worst part by far.
“You’re the one who insisted we patronize this…” Glancing around at the establishment and its patrons, the affection quickly v a n i s h e d. from Lucius’s features, and his lip curled up into a sneer instead. “CESSPOOL."
He turned back to Narcissa and, immediately, his features softened once more. "After you, my love. I insist.”
♔
“Now now, mon cher, I did no such thing... There may have been a please or two in there but I merely asked you to humour me for a short while. An hour at most. And in exchange we could do whatever you wished the rest of the evening...” Narcissa replied with a sweet smile and a small nod.
As slight as it may have been, her husbands wince did not pass Narcissa unnoticed. It never did. And had he been anyone else, she may have even acknowledged it, but she she knew him too well. Lucius Malfoy had always been a proud man, a man that didn’t want pity from anyone, especially in public. And though she sometimes wished that he could see past his own stubbornness, she understood why he hid his pain. And that was why she never openly acknowledged it. Not unless he invited her to do so.
“And besides, appearances must be kept and all that.” She added with a wave of her hand, lightly inclining her head in thanks before moving past him to enter The Three Broomsticks.
WHO: Narcissa & Open
WHEN: September 21st 1985, Evening
WHERE: The Three Broomsticks, Exterior
Although they were never going to be the types of celebrations that Narcissa had grown accustomed to over the years, nor were they truly ones that , she had secretly always liked the events that Madam Rosmerta hosted. Sure, they were always going to be full of people she’d rather not spent time with, but the owner of The Three Broomsticks always knew how to cater for just about anyone who would turn up at her door.
The festivities were well underway when Narcissa had arrived, and she found herself weaving in and out of the many other wixen as she made her way towards the pubs entrance, intending to head in to get herself a drink. As she reached the small step that led to the old wooden door, Narcissa realised that another person had arrived at the exact same time. Taking a small step back, she waved her hand ahead of herself.
in front of my m o t h e r and my sisters, i pretend L O V E is cheap and VULGAR. i act like it’s a s i n - i pretend that l o v e is for women on a dark path. but at night i D R E A M of a love so heavy it makes my spine throb - i dream up a LOVER who makes love like he is separating s a l t from water...
Full Name: Narcissa Elladora Malfoy née Black
Name Origin: Unlike her sisters and most of her relatives, Narcissa was not named after a star or constellation, instead after the Greeks. Narcissa is a name of Greek origin meaning daffodil. It is feminine of Narcisse, which comes from the legend of the beautiful Greek youth Narcissus, who became enamoured of his own reflection - hence “narcissism”.
Nicknames: Cissa or Cissy, but only to those closest to her. She does prefer Cissa over Cissy though, as it sounds less childish.
Age: Thirty
Birthday: 23rd December, Capricorn
Gender & Pronouns: Cis Woman, She/Her
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Relationship Status: Married
Patronus: Narcissa’s Patronus would take the form of a Tiger
Boggart: Narcissa’s Boggart is Death
Wand Type: 13″, Elm Wood with a Dragon Heartstring Core
Occupation: Socialite and Philanthropist, Dark Artefacts Curator
Affiliation: Former Death Eater Ally
Face Claim: Sarah Gadon
Key Information: Please see below the cut
𝙒𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙉𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 ;; coming soon
𝙋𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝘽𝙊𝘼𝙍𝘿 ;; can be found by clicking here
𝘼𝙎𝙎𝙊𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 / 𝘼𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙎 ;; ears that are always listening, rooms with high ceilings, the stony features of a face unwilling to give away any information, ‘clever as the devil and twice as pretty’, summer evenings and winter mornings, perfect paper creases, stargazing, ‘you’re like snow, beautiful but cold’, white linen, black roses protected by their thorns, the underestimated sister, the sweetest of smiles and eyes that are always watching.
𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙔 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙐𝙋𝘽𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙄𝙉𝙂 ;; The youngest of three daughters, Narcissa Elladora Black was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and an appearance that would instantly set her apart from the rest of her immediate family. With her golden locks and piercing blue eyes, she was destined to stand out in photographs, contrasting the raven hair and dark features that were commonly associated with the Black family. At no point did this ever put her at a disadvantage however. Only a moment spent in her company is enough to see that the Black blood runs deep in her veins.
As a child, she was the princess of the family, in her fathers eyes especially, and it was from a very young age that she started being taught all that there was to know about how to be the perfect young woman. Narcissa picked everything up easily, whilst continuing to enjoy the finer things in life, and that was exactly what Cygnus and Druella wanted for their daughter - to become a respected Pureblood woman with the world at her disposal.
Growing up as part of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was, of course, not all sunshine and rainbows. Like many of the other families in their society, the Black home is full of secrets, scandal and betrayal. You name it, and chances are at least one of them have been accused of it. Of course they have their own way of dealing with it - Narcissa has already lived to witness one of her cousins and her own sister be disowned completely and she knows it is not the first time that it has happened. The fear of this happening to her for not being good enough, or for doing something wrong was instilled early in her life and it continues to hang over her to this very day.
𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝙊𝙂𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙎 ;; When it came to attending Hogwarts, there was no doubt that Narcissa would be sorted in to Slytherin House. The Sorting Hat barely touched her head before making its decision, and it was with her fellow snakes that she thrived. She worked hard to achieve good grades, and being away from the watchful eyes of her parents, she was able to find her own independence and sense of identity. Of course it never strayed far from what her parents wanted for her, but she was determined to ensure things were done on her terms as well.
𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙍 ;; Although Narcissa is unemployed and has no need to find herself a job, she has always had a passion for dark artefacts and cursed objects, and has found herself to be somewhat of a collector of both. Only a small handful of people know about her collection, but it is something she takes pride in expanding. She has also been known to source and sell on a few objects here or there. When she is not expanding her collection, Narcissa considers herself as a proud socialite and philanthropist, publicly supporting a number of causes.
𝘼𝙁𝙁𝙄𝙇𝙄𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙍 ;; When it came to the war, Narcissa had always followed suit with the majority of her family and naturally agreed with the ideals of Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Most of the company she kept was often from the inner circle, but she knew very early on that she would never agree to take the dark mark, despite being approached on numerous occasions to do so.
She had openly declared herself to be an ally at first, but it wasn’t long before she started to see the effects that this cause was having on those closest to her, and that was when the doubt began to set in. More and more was her husband gone until the early hours of the morning, called to the right hand side of Voldemort himself, and then there was her sisters ever growing obsession with the man who promised them all great things but only seemed to deliver chaos and destruction in return for their unwavering loyalty. Unwavering in the sense that no one dared to step out of line in fear of the punishment that would follow.
The true test of Narcissa’s loyalty to the Dark Lord came when she found out she was pregnant with Draco. After trying and failing for several years to give her husband an heir, Narcissa’s world view completely shifted the day she found out that she was pregnant. If her loyalty wasn’t already solely to her family, it was now. Nothing else mattered but protecting her child. Not having the most loving of mothers herself growing up, she never expected the protection and care of her own child to consume her every emotion the way it did, but wasn’t that what mothers were for? To show us all of the things that we never want to be ourselves?
𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 𝙄𝙎 𝙎𝙃𝙀 𝙉𝙊𝙒 ;; The day that Voldemort was defeated was the last day that Narcissa had to feign any support of his so called cause. While others around her were in shock, devastated by the news and in disbelief that it was true, it was the first time in years that Narcissa felt that she could truly breath again. In her eyes it meant that her family was finally free, though she still has those days where she gets a niggling doubt in her mind that Voldemort isn’t truly gone for good.
In the years that have passed since Voldemort’s downfall, Narcissa has focussed almost all of her energy on her family. She counts her blessings every day that her husband has managed to avoid incarceration, though that isn’t to say that they Auror’s don’t still regularly knock on their door looking for anything that could potentially incriminate them. Whispers of other significant names have helped the Malfoy’s stay out of the direct firing line so far, and who’s to say what else they have up their sleeves to protect themselves at the cost of others.
When she isn’t doting on her son and husband, Narcissa invests her time in her collection of dark artefacts and cursed objects. Having always had a passion and curiosity for such things, she takes a lot of pride in her collection, even if only a small handful of people know about its existence. When she is not expanding her ever growing collection, Narcissa also considers herself to still be a proud socialite and philanthropist. Officially unemployed, but has more money than one person could ever need, she publicly supports a number of causes, with the cure for Dragon Pox fund being at the top of the list.
