Chapter Text
Her pale skin blossomed with purple splotches, her body on fire from when he used Cruciatus curse on her for a quite unbearable punishment.
One of his coworkers at the ministry had told him she’d seen his wife taking up conversation with some other man, and presumed she’d been flirting. Lucius came home livid.
He didn’t know that it was, in fact, Severus Snape, who of which was telling her how good her little boy was at potions. “He’d make an excellent worker at a brewery, Narcissa.” Is what he’d told her.
When her husband got home, she greeted him with her usual smile and kiss on the cheek, but she could feel the tension in the air when he arrived.
Today he stared her down like she’d befriended a mudblood.
Her smile had quickly faded, and she tried to make herself smaller to signify she felt uneasy.
He’d taken it as a sign of guilt, a sign of shame that she felt when she was caught in the act, and punched her in the stomach with enough force to send her tumbling to the ground.
Before she could say or do anything, Lucius muttered “Crucio.”
The pain was searing. It envoloped her whole body in rapid waves of pain that felt like puncturing white-hot needles, and she was sure there was no feeling like it.
“Lucius-” She wheezed out, her voice muted as the wind left her lungs, simultaneously she was pressing her whole body into the marble floor.
After about five minutes, he finally directed his wand somewhere else, leaving her to curl up on the floor and sob.
“How low are you that I have to hear from one of my coworkers that you were talking to other men?” He snapped, kicking her in the back. She yelped, and forced herself on her knees, as to better look up at him.
“I haven’t in the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
“Flipendo.” He muttered.
With a squeak, Narcissa slammed into the wall behind her.
Lucius held her against the wall, tracing his finger upon her protruding rib cage, feeling along as her ribs pressed up against his index finger.
“Hm. I don’t remember you ever looking like this.” He muttered, tracing his hand up her body until he reached her sharp jawline. “Keeping yourself presentable for other men, I reckon.” He muttered into her ear.
Running his finger up her face, he ran his hand through a strand of platinum blonde hair, mixing it in with a strand of black.
“We’ve got a dinner tonight, I’ll deal with your unfaithfulness later.”
And with that, he let her drop to the floor and walked off.
Shuddering on the floor, she waited around and hour before she pulled herself up. Wrapping her hands around her pained abdomen, she tiptoed back to their bedroom.
Grabbing a midnight black cocktail dress out of her wardrobe, she trudged into the bathroom to change.
Lucius had been right, though, because she hadn’t remembered looking like this herself. She’d always been quite thin, but this was the smallest she’d ever been.
Though it was to be expected, hence the rushed breakfast pass-ups in the mornings, “forgetting” to have lunch more often than not, along with eating a noticeably smaller portion of food during dinner.
Dobby noticed, but, knowing Lucius, never cared to ask.
Pulling the loose cocktail dress up over her shoulders, she adjusted it so it looked slightly presentable. Luckily, she’d grabbed a belt.
She had to say, the dress was truly beautiful; the midnight was gracefully complementing the emerald green accents etched upon it.
Fixing her hair, she put it up into a fluffed out braid arching in the middle, mixing in strands of black and white to create just the look she’d been going for.
Applying her makeup with a tap of her wand, she smiled brightly and joined her husband in the great hall.
He had a suit that matched her dress, and his wand was concealed tightly at his side.
He glared at her as she approached, and snapped his head back to the front of the manor when she sulked under his gaze.
Squeezing his arm around her waist, he apparated them to said restaurant.
It was busy, and she saw a lot of Lucius’s old death eater colleagues. With a scowl, she turned to face him. “What is this? A sort of sick joke?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, grabbing her arm tightly. “Don’t you start here, I won’t hesitate to slap you in front of all of these people.”
That shut her up. She let Lucius lead her to a table with their names on it, and they sat down.
She sat absentmindedly through the whole dinner, pushing her food around on her plate, as she wasn’t hungry.
They had an odd get together ensemble, and Narcissa swore it lasted forever.
While Lucius got up to make toasts, or to tell stories, she stood by his side with her hands neatly folded in front of her.
When other people there did or said anything, she made sure to clap and occasionally nod her head.
The perfect housewife. No mistakes, no problems.
After it was finally over, Lucius once again wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her around to talk to a bunch of stupid people she couldn’t care less about.
They were turning to leave when another one of the pathetic death eaters walked up.
Narcissa hadn’t met this one.
He walked up with a sly smile. “That’s a pretty one you’ve got there, Malfoy.” He purred, staring into her eyes dreamily.
“Yes. My wife, Narcissa.” He gestured at her. “This is my good friend Antonin Dolohov.”
Either Lucius was lying, or he didn’t tell her much anymore because she’d never even heard him mention the name before.
“Nice to meet you, gorgeous.” He smiled hungrily, sticking his hand out for her to shake.
She hesitantly stuck her hand out, and didn’t even get to react before he crushed her hand in his and shook vigorously.
Smiling weakly, she grasped her throbbing hand and swallowed back the profanities she wanted to throw at him for treating her like that.
She never knew why Lucius got himself into this mess, but she surely wasn’t going to question it, as her back hurt enough already.
As he guided her towards the exit, Bellatrix caught up to them.
“Cissy, Lucius!” She called, waving her arms dramatically and jumping up and down.
Her slightly crazed smile dropped as they approached. “What’s he done to you now?” She asked crudely, cocking her head sideways, and tilting her chin up slightly.
“I haven’t any idea what you’re going on about, Bella.” She responded nervously, she had felt the grip around her waist tighten substantially.
“You’re nothing more than skin and bones!” She clamored, biting her lip angrily.
Blinking in shock, she turned her head and looked fearfully up at her husband. He was digging his newly closed fist into her ribs.
“She hasn’t any problems, Bella. Just taking care of herself, finally.” He’d made sure to stretch the words out to make a bigger point.
“Whatever you say, Lucius.” She spat, clearly mocking him.
Narcissa felt his nails claw into her ribs, and she yelped quietly at the unexpectedly sharp pain.
“Don’t you test me now, Lucius.” Bella spat, shooting him a look of fire before tossing her hair over her shoulder and storming off.
“We’re done here.” He growled.
He’d moved his hand from her waist to her wrist, enclosing his hand around it and dragging her outside.
He’d been so angry that Bella humiliated him in front of all those people that he hadn’t hesitated to take it out on his innocent wife.
With a sob, Narcissa shoved herself into the corner of the sitting room, nursing her bruised ribs.
She didn’t know how long he’d lashed out at her, but she knew he stopped when she was fighting for her breath on the ground.
“Oh, Cissy.” He spoke gently, his words filled with empty promises. The abuse she sustained, well, it’s bound to happen in a pure blood family. She still hadn’t been expecting it.
Holding her close, he helped her walk throughout the manor to their room.
She stared absently ahead as he undressed her, exposing her frail, beat up body to the crisp, cold air.
She didn’t react to when, after changing her into a pair of his pyjamas, he laid down next to her on the bed and held her close.
She’d figured she’d done a good job, making them look like they were in love. He was fifteen years older than her, set in an arranged marriage soon after her fifteenth birthday.
He’d seen how she was on their wedding day, trembling quietly out of fear, a bruise from her father’s iron fist already forming on her chest.
He held her close and healed her, kissing where the bruise had been. He’d promised to never hurt her like that, to protect her from the bruises and fear that she was so very familiar with.
She knew it wasn’t an act out of love, but merely to calm her down for the wedding. She really didn’t want to find out what would’ve happened to her if she hadn’t gone through with it.
She knew he never loved her, to him she was just an outlet to take his stress out on after a long day at work, or a sort of tool he used to practice hexes on when she didn’t do something to make the Malfoy name look good.
Whether he laid a hand on her or screamed at her for hours on end, she’d trained herself to best listen to his wishes, and how to improve herself.
How to be the perfect wife. Prim, proper, and pretty.
She tries so hard to be good enough for him, wearing matching outfits, fixing her hair and makeup to his preference, saying the exact things he’d wanted her to.
She learned a long time ago that she just wasn’t perfect enough.
She wanted to stay up and yell, no, scream at him, give him a piece of what she’d dealt with from him for years, but she couldn’t.
She couldn’t because she loved him.
So instead, she just drifted off into a timid sleep.
Waking up was more of a chore for her now, as sleeping was the only time she got away from the high expectations of being a Malfoy.
Of course, growing up as a Black wasn’t much easier, but she’d been a child, and people can expect small accidents from children. She was an adult now, and people expected punishment if she didn’t do something properly.
Rolling to face away from the sun, she was met with Lucius’s icy glare. Whimpering, she recoiled into the headboard to get away from him.
He shot her a look of sympathy, slowly sitting up and scooting towards her, while he maintained eye contact.
Sitting next to her, he reached his hand out to cup her cheek. She flinched away before he could touch her though, letting her tears spill down her face.
“Oh, my dear.” He whispered, pulling her close. She shook violently in his arms, trying to calm her breathing to a normal level.
After she’d calmed down a considerable amount, he let her go and watched as her dull blue eyes scanned across the marble floors of their oversized bedroom.
“I best get going off to work, dear.” He whispered, sliding off their bed to change into a suit.
Following soon after, she changed into a twinning suit to go with her husband’s.
She walked with her head held high, despite it hurting her back terribly.
She found Lucius in the dining room, eating a fixed breakfast of eggs, ham, toast, and a muffin. Just like he had every morning. Sitting down to his left, her usual small salad appeared.
“We’re going to see the Weasley’s today. I’d like you to meet them at their house after breakfast.” Pushing a piece of lettuce around, she looked up at him. “Okay then, dear.” She muttered, dropping her fork on the plate in front of her.
Standing up, she walked over to Lucius and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, dear.” She whispered. Walking away, she apparated to The Burrow.
Walking up to the door, she knocked three times before folding her hands behind her back.
After hearing some yelling and rustling, the door opened to reveal Arthur Weasley.
Blinking in surprise at her rapidly changed figure, he smiled and welcomed her in.
She was quiet. Not because she didn’t like the Weasley’s, but because she felt terrible for the way she’d acted around them.
She bent her head down in shame as she was escorted through their house, and into the living room.
Mrs. Weasley wore a scowl, which was expected, she hadn’t been too nice the last time they’d interacted.
“Good morning, ma’am.” Narcissa stuck her hand out, which Molly grasped angrily. Wincing, she finished the handshake and quickly took her hand back.
What was with people and aggressively shaking her hand? It was quite painful.
“Excuse me Mrs. Weasley, that was quite unprofessional of me.” She muttered.
She watched confusion dance across the older woman’s features, before her angry glare returned.
“You richer lads can’t handle anything that ruffles your perfect hair, now can you?” She spat angrily.
Narcissa just looked down, blinking away the tears that lined her eyes.
“Would it be okay if I sat down?” She had turned her head to look at Arthur.
“I don’t see why not.” He answered, gesturing towards a chair parallel to the couch Molly sat at.
Taking her suit jacket off, the couple could really take in how drastically Mrs. Malfoy had changed.
Shooting each other worried glances, Arthur took a place on the couch next to his wife.
“How’s it been going with Lucius, then?” Arthur inquired, leaning forward to sit straight up.
“Well, it’s been okay. He’s been very stressed with his job lately. But I suppose I really shouldn’t be surprised. The stressed out attitude I can deal with, it’s the, um, anger that really gets to me.”
“Yes, ministry jobs can be hard, that’s why you have to be patient.”
“Yeah, I try, but it’s hard sometimes, to keep up with all the demands of being his wife. I get sick of it sometimes. I grew up with quite strict parents, maybe a bit more than strict, actually. I suppose I’m used to it now, though.” Sighing, she shook her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I know it’s rude to complain, I live a life much more fortunate than most everyone, but it’s really demanding.” She bit her lip, already knowing she’d said too much.
Molly pushed herself off the couch, walking over to the deathly skinny woman in her chair. She was really seeing Narcissa in a new light. Instead of a stuck up rich pure blood, all she could see was a broken girl who grew up in an abusive home, and never really got out of the situation.
She reached her hand out to brush a strand of hair out of Narcissa’s face, but she flinched away just as her hand touched her cheek.
“Oh honey.” She whispered, walking briskly into the kitchen.
“If you’ll excuse us.” Arthur called back, following his wife into the kitchen.
Turning his head over to meet his wife’s eyes, which were red and teary.
“I-I’m not sure I know how people can treat their wives like that.” She muttered, shaking her head.
“Molly, it’s Lucius, what do you really expect?” Arthur responded, his words intended to reassure his hysterical wife.
“Just another reason I should’ve noticed!” She screamed, burying her head in her arms.
She got it now, the reason Narcissa acted like that, she was terrified of her husband. Being raised into blood purity importance, along with being married into it, never gave her the choice to really decide anything for herself.
The amount of fear Narcissa had to have in Lucius to act so preppy was absolutely disgusting to Molly.
“I’m terribly sorry if I’ve caused any sort of inconvenience.” Narcissa’s voice snapped Molly out of her thoughts.
“Oh, not at all dear. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll fix you up something to eat?” She responded with a smile.
“Oh, I’d rather not, I’ve just eaten a rather filling breakfast.”
Arthur snorted, clearly amused with her sad excuse of a denial.
“Oh, leave it Arthur!” Molly growled, shooting him an angry look.
“That’s fine, dear. Sit down, tell me how Draco’s been doing at school.”
The three of them talked for a few hours, and moved back into the living room to talk some more.
Narcissa was listening to Molly complain about how she never got herbology when she was a second-year, when Lucius walked in.
The room went silent. “I’m glad to see you’ve made good company, dear.” He purred, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Narcissa flinched.
Molly noticed.
Smiling weakly, she angled her head to look at her husband. “I suppose I have. Care to join us?”
Smiling coolly, Lucius lowered himself onto the chair next to his wife, setting his cane on the armrest.
After a few seconds, Molly broke the uncomfortable silence.
”What exactly is it that you’re here for anyways? Your letter was rather vague.”
”I figured I could stop by and discuss how or children have been getting on. One of your own, Ronald, was it? Hasn’t been getting along with our Draco, or so I’ve heard.”
Molly’s scowl deepened. “You mean your son constantly harassing ours, I presume.”
”If that’s how you see it.”
”That’s how it is.”
“Why don’t we talk about this over dinner sometime? So we can all have our wits together.” Arthur offered.
”Why of course, our treat. I’ll make sure to owl you the details.” Lucius said whilst standing up.
”Very well, good day.” Arthur began to follow him to the door.
As Narcissa got up to leave, Molly grabbed her shoulder, and pretended not to feel the twist in her stomach as the woman flinched slightly.
”Come over any time you need, dear. The door’s always open” She whispered with a smile, leading her towards the door.
”I’ll keep it noted, thank you” She whispered back, quickly joining Lucius at his arm as he walked down the driveway.
He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side as they walked further away from The Burrow.
Leaning his head down to look at her, he suddenly dug his nails into her side, making her yelp quietly.
”So much as a negative word about me from them and I’ll kill you, hear me? Don’t go around telling some sob story about your life now.”
”Of course not, dear. Why would I?”
”Hm. I find out you’re lying and expect much the same.”
With that, he appparated them back to their manor, shoving her aside as he walked away.