Who: Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy When: Tuesday August 23rd, Late at night. Where: Malfoy Manor What: Finally, the two talk about the pink elephant in the room -- aka, Narcissa isn't getting pregnant
Nighttime had always been Narcissa's favorite period in the day. She was a firm believer in wishing on stars, no matter how impractical it seemed. She would never confess to such juvenile behavior, but to her, each star in the sky was an opportunity for her to send wishes and her deepest desires out into the great, unknown void of the night sky. They were private wishes, privy only to her and the stars, and it made her feel safe. Most of her wishes over the past few years revolved around having children. Narcissa wanted so, so much to become a mother. All of her life she had always gotten everything she wanted, but in this case, she was still without a child. She had not given up hope, but it was terribly disheartening.
Like the stars, Narcissa had also found comfort and safety within the soft, plush covers of the bed she shared with Lucius. Lying there at night, she felt secure and content. In recent months, however, those feelings of security were slipping away. In the same place she felt safe, she also felt incredibly vulnerable. It was because of Lucius that she felt safe, but she also had begun to feel fearful. The whole purpose of their match was because it was believed they would produce perfect children. Over time, she had fallen very much in love with her husband, which gave her much more purpose to be married, but even so, bearing his children was extremely important in order for their marriage to flourish and their family to grow. Lucius was the only heir to the Malfoy family. If they did not produce a son, the name would die with him. Her mother had been nagging at her for months and months, pestering her about the whole ordeal. What her mother did not know (or anyone else for that matter), was that they had been trying to have children for years. It was a bit of an embarrassment, to think that the two of them, who thrived on their perfection, were so flawed in that they could not even conceive a child together. Narcissa's blasphemous former sister had reproduced, so why couldn't she? Her physician said there was nothing physically wrong with her, and that she just needed to be patient.
Patience was not exactly her strong suit, nor was it Lucius', and that was what scared her most of all.
Lying next to her husband, as she stared at the ceiling, she wondered how much patience he had left with her. Lucius could leave her and start a new life with a new spouse; another woman who would bear him as many children as he desired. It ate away at her pride to think there could be someone out there better for him, but was that not the case? If she could not have children, what good was she to him, or anyone for that matter? Such fears had been weighing heavily upon her fragile, petite shoulders for a considerable time, and it was getting worse. It was keeping her awake that night, and had done so many nights in the past.
Losing him was something she did not know if she could take. She slowly turned her head so she could glance over at him and see if he was still awake. Neither of them had spoken for the past several, so she wanted to check.