Chapter 4

"That looks awful," Narcissa remarked, examining the dark purple blemishes on Luna's fair arms and legs. "How inconsiderate of my son, I thought to have taught him better. He hasn't brought you to a healer?" she reached over the distance of the loveseat get a closer look at her wrists.

Her hands were cold, making Luna pull away. She shifted in her seat, crossing her arms hoping to make the marks less visible. Luna kept her head down, hoping to avoid the older woman's gaze. "No," was her simple response. She felt uneasy, the matriarch of the Malfoy family, wife and now mother of the two most notorious Death Eaters of their age. She was always composed, calm, it was unnerving.

"Of course," she pursed her lips into a thin line, "I hope you're adjusting well,"

"Not well at all I'm afraid," the blatant honesty slipped out. She wouldn't try to lie, she was an open book to most people, she was sure Narcissa would be able to see through any kind of deceit.

"I see,"

A heavy silence fell over them. They barely knew each other, they would have no reason to be acquainted.

They did however meet once before, but only once.

It was the time when Draco had been sent to the infirmary in the middle of his sixth year at Hogwarts. He passed out while wandering the halls in the middle of the night, Madame Pomfrey accredited his condition to sheer exhaustion and dehydration. But as a mother, Narcissa knew better. The stress the Dark Lord and the fixing the vanishing cabinet was beginning to take its toll. It was no surprise he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks.

Security at Hogwarts had tightened significantly that year, so Narcissa had been forced to complete an ungodly amount of paperwork before she recieved permission to visit the campus. By the time she finished and apparated outside of the school gates, it was early morning. She quickly trudged her way into the medical wing of the castle, pushing through to the nurse's quarters.

She spotted him lying on a cot in the far corner of the room, he was the only patient there. It was curious, for someone that was supposed to have suffered from insomnia, Draco looked to be having a peaceful sleep.

Then by some convenient reason, a seat had already been pulled out by his bedside. Odd how the chair was still faintly warm, almost as if someone had been sitting in it all night.

She took her son's hand, hushing him soothingly, he kept muttering something in his sleep. He was repeating the same phrase over and over again. It was then that Narcissa spotted the collection of colorful, childish looking charms on the nightstand. A note had been left underneath them, reading:

'To keep away the Wrackspurts'

Surely her son didn't believe in such absurdities.

Before Narcissa could really go further into all that anomalies in the room, she joined Draco in his slumber. Worry over Draco's wellbeing had tired her out just as well. When she awoke a few hours later, she was surprised for find that Draco was still sleeping soundly. Whatever potions they gave him had really helped.

But she was even more shocked to find that they had been joined by a new presence. A girl, no older than Draco, was humming and rearranging the charms on the table. Narcissa watched bleary eyed as the girl finished and skipped her way out of the room. There was no time to question her actions, as Madame Pomfrey arrived seconds later.

Narcissa immediately inquired the girl's identity from the nurse that had just entered.

The nurse opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the only male in the room. It caught both of them off guard, not expecting him to gain consciousness so suddenly. He hadn't been awake when the girl was present, but he was confident in his answer.

"Luna Lovegood,"

It was then that she realized what, or who, Draco had been desperately asking for in his sleep.

Now Narcissa picked Luna's appearance apart with deft eyes. The girl was pretty, but there wasn't much else material to go off of. She found herself speechless at Luna's breathtakingly blue eyes.

Perhaps there was only one piece of information she really needed to know, she smiled knowingly as she faced the younger woman, "Do you love him?"

Luna wasn't sure she had heard correctly, "Do I what?"

She clicked her tongue, entertained by how flustered she had gotten at the question. She didn't bother repeating her question before continuing, "Malfoy is a prestigious title, I'm sure you know what such an honor would entail," she ignored the bewildered expression on Luna's face, "I'm here to help guide you, ease your transition a bit,"

A transition she was forced to make.

Narcissa sighed, "It's best you listen to what I have to tell you. Draco's cared for you for quite some time now, I doubt he'll be willing to let you go. I know he acts a bit different than you last remember, but he does care about you,"

Luna looked unconvinced, even while admitting there were hints of truth in her words.

"If it weren't for Draco, you'd be out on the street hiding from prosecution for your crimes. With him, you'll be able to lead a different life, a better one,"

The younger woman cringed. She didn't want to owe her vitality to a single being, not to someone like him.

"It goes without saying the union will take place,"

Pools of tears began to gather in her eyes, eventually building up and trailing down her complexion. She held her breath to try and stop. Her fate had already been sealed, and she had no say in it.

Narcissa did something uncharacteristically warm, she leaned over and embraced the other female with a tight hug. It didn't feel all that long ago that she had been subjected to a similar situation. At least Luna had loved her future husband at some point.

"Shh," she hushed, rubbing circles on her back as she continued to sob, reminiscent of how she had comforted her own blood child. "It's going to be okay. Come love, let's get you cleaned up."

-p-

That day had been a horrific realization.

Narcissa was a comforting company, but her future mother-in-law wasn't one to sugar coat the future. She had rigidly outlined the responsibilities and requirements that would be made of her when she married Draco.

After the daunting conversation, Narcissa had ordered the house elves to draw a proper bath for Luna. One duty that had been explained was appearance. Ladies of the upper crust held their looks as their first priority. Vanity had never meant anything to Luna before, she was immediately overwhelmed with the list that Narcissa had put out.

Next, a number of bags brought into the room.

Each dress, each shoe, each accessory was magically tailored to her body. With her long golden hair assembled into smooth waves, Narcissa had complimented that she looked like a real lady. Fit to be seen as a Malfoy woman.

Luna decided that Narcissa would act as an ally while she was there. Narcissa was the closest to a maternal figure as she would ever have. The older woman also took it upon herself go beyond what was necessary to help Luna. She couldn't help it.

Hours had passed, and Narcissa had taken her leave.

Luna now stared at her reflection in the mirror, it didn't look like her. The expensive dress that clung to her figure, the heels that she'd been urged to put on her tiny feet. She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to remember what she had looked the last time she looked into a mirror.

When she couldn't recall, she gave up and opened her eyelids. She jumped back in surprise at what she saw, because she had been joined by someone else.

She hadn't heard him enter the room, she hadn't even sensed his presence.

His arms slid to her hips from behind, raising to caress her waist. She bashfully lowered her eyes, not wanting to look at him in the vanity. She didn't struggle out of his grasp, she just stood still.

But as she managed to avoid contact with his grey eyes, she was confronted with the dark insignia on his left forearm. He never showed it openly to her, he had hidden the fact that he had taken the mark before. Things had changed, the world had changed. He was proud of it now.

"I like the dress," he whispered into her hair huskily, "It suits you,"

She noted the time that he confessed he enjoyed plum colors on her.

"I see my mother visited," he worked his way deeper into her neck. She froze as she felt his teeth graze over the sensitive skin. "I assume you had a good time?" his tone somewhat spiteful.

Without thinking, her hand raised to caress the side of his face. Before she could stop herself, she murmured, "I missed you,"

She didn't know why it slipped out, but all the talk Narcissa dished had scared her. She needed a friend, she needed a shelter, refuge. Everything else she knew, any other person she cared about, nothing remained.

She needed him. She was tired of fighting it all. She needed someone to hold her, tell her everything would work itself out. Even if it was a lie, she needed it.

For an instant she thought to retract her comment, but decided against it. Instead, she kept going, "All these years, all of it, I missed you," it was the first time she admitted it.

She felt his muscles tense, this time not out of anger, but out of surprise. She didn't need to see his face to know he was pleased.

Before she could register what he was doing, he had dropped his arms to the side, then grabbed her the shoulders and forced her to turn around. She felt her hips ram violently up against his as he dipped his head and crashed his lips onto hers.

Luna tried not to think about the fact that the one she missed was the Draco Malfoy from before, not the one that was kissing her.

End Chapter 4

A/N: Leave me a review if you want me to continue. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!