CHARACTER STATS;
Name: Narcissa Malfoy
Date of Birth: September 30, 1955
Occupation: Society Wife and unmarked Death Eater (more an active sympathiser)
Blood status: Pure
Former House: Slytherin
Wand: Cedar and unicorn hair
Gringotts Vault: 732
Familial and Spousal Units: Married to Lucius Malfoy, they have a newborn son, Draco. Her parents are Cygnus Black and Druella Black nee Rosier. Her elder sister is Bellatrix, married to Rodolphus Lestrange. She prefers not to acknowledge the existence of their middle sister, Andromeda.
HISTORY;
The youngest of three and not the longed-for son and heir, Narcissa worked hard her entire life to be the daughter her parents would be proudest of. A tiny, delicate, slip of a child, she trailed after her sisters eagerly, always doing what they asked in an effort to not be left behind. This resulted in a tendency to put other’s needs first, although learning to manipulate those needs to suit her own came much later. Easily the most accomplished of her sisters in terms of societal graces, Narcissa did Druella’s bidding as she grew up, and learnt the spells her Papa taught her. Sorted into Slytherin after threatening the hat when it suggested she would do well in Ravenclaw, Narcissa was a quiet achiever. Her marks were consistently high, though she was careful never to draw attention to them.
A rift formed in the fabric of her family as Narcissa neared the end of her sixth year; Andromeda chose to run off with a Mudblood, and then further ruined her social standing by breeding with it. It was this blatant slap in the face to her beliefs that led a newly-graduated Narcissa to accept the suit of Lucius Malfoy without really thinking about it. All that mattered was that his line was as Pure as hers, and very nearly as old. They courted traditionally, because she demanded it, and married when she was twenty. She didn’t expect to fall in love with him, but she did, and the arrival a few years later of their son, Draco, only cemented the relationship.
PERSONALITY;
Narcissa is almost fanatically loyal to the concept of family. She will be by Lucius’ side through everything, and as such is much more involved with the Death Eaters than it would appear on the surface, though she is not marked. Her wandwork is quick and creative, and she has quite the nasty temper when provoked. It’s not unusual for a skirmish to end with her quietly casting from out of the way, and someone going home with an unexplainable, untreatable rash in a private location. From the outside, Narcissa is essentially a snobbish, beautiful Pureblood woman, who people can’t help but want to be close to, simply because it’s hard to resist something beautiful, despite the fact that if you fell over in front of her in the street, she would simply step on or over you, not caring if the toe of her boot catches your ribs. She can be hedonistic, a little vain, and is fiercely possessive of her husband. Jealousy is ugly, and she struggles with it, though she never allows it to taint her public façade.
MENTAL;
Narcissa would score quite high on an IQ test, though since they’re not written for wizards, an accurate result is unlikely. Suffice to say, she could have been a Ravenclaw, but her cunning and willingness to do whatever it took to get her way meant she was better suited to Slytherin. Her status as the youngest child meant she got to witness the mistakes her sisters made, and she was careful to avoid them. She’s very much about appearances, and will cheerfully cover a bloodstain with a priceless Persian rug if that’s what it takes to present the right image.
The spectre of madness has always hovered around the Black line; though it touched her sister and not her, Narcissa has always feared it. Extreme emotion scares her slightly, and while strong on the surface, she can and does succumb to panic behind closed doors. She has an almost pathological need to be loved, a leftover trait from trying desperately to gain her sisters’ attention, and Andromeda leaving hurt more than she will ever admit, even to herself. Ignoring her existence is almost a healing action for her. This leaves her a little too open to suggestion from Bellatrix, because her fear of Bella’s madness drives her to appease it in any way she can, and she tries to make up for Andromeda’s loss with her own presence. Often convinced that she’s failing in this, Narcissa can retreat into herself easily, and it’s the steadying presence of her husband that brings her back.
PHYSICAL;
Aptly named, Narcissa is beautiful, but not classically so. Rather, it’s the beauty of youth and prettiness, and being the standout with her colouring among the dark-haired Blacks. She has their bone structure, though, and her full lips and cheeks will fade into stark handsomeness as she ages. She will always be stunning, but never a standard beauty. As healthy as a new mother can be, Narcissa has no scars or disfigurements other than the web of marks on her stomach telling the story of carrying her son. She is as fit as someone who is not a sportsman can be, and if years of forced calm while dancing for hours in a corset have taught her anything, it’s that fitness can be a hidden tool. Able to run for longer than a lady ought, she can swim, and she can fly, though she prefers not to. She tires easily after the birth of Draco, but that’s to be expected, and she is working hard to regain her figure. Anyone who has given birth will laugh at anything else being called painful, but her threshold is reasonably high. This is mostly due to her upbringing; she was taught never to allow her emotions to get the better of her in public, so her ability to feign indifference translated to a tolerance that is slightly higher than most girls.
MAGICAL;
Performing best in Charms, Astronomy and Transfiguration, she was competent enough in everything else to achieve six NEWTS, a respectable figure for a girl whose future lay in being someone’s wife. Her lowest score was an A in Potions, her highest an O in Charms. She has surprisingly poor skill with Potions, despite her head of house teaching it - her NEWT score was based mostly on her theory, and she loathed any outdoor classes. Divination is utter rubbish, and she’s not particularly good at Apparating, preferring to Side-Along, though she is improving with practice. She does have a little-known knack for Occlumency, though it’s nothing she ever had trained, and she’s not really aware that she has it. It’s more that anyone trying to use Legilimency simply won’t get past her surface thoughts, and will leave her head with the impression that she really is that superficial and breezy.
POLITICAL;
Narcissa is loyal to Lucius, and the Blacks, not to anyone else. She will mouth the right formulae in public, and bow and scrape to the right people, but her duty first and foremost is to her family. Since this currently aligns with Voldemort’s play for power, this suits her. He scares her, and she respects his power and skill, but if it came down to it, she would abandon him for greener pastures. Narcissa actually quite likes Crouch Sr.; he’s running Wizarding Britain the way she thinks it ought to be run - Purebloods are in power, annoyances are removed, and no one is trying to rise above their station.
In their own words, how would your character describe themselves?: A lady, though that really ought to be obvious. I do come from one of our best families, and I married very well - an alliance between the Blacks and the Malfoys was really very advantageous... oh, fine. I’m better than you, and I always will be. No one comes close to my family in terms of power and prestige, and my son stands to inherit the earth if we play our cards right. All we need to do is make it through this ridiculous war with our sanity intact, and the Wizarding world is ours for the taking.