HP Fic: A Mercy Even as The Darkness Hardens (Narcissa Malfoy, gen)

[igrockspock]

Title: A Mercy Even as The Darkness Hardens
Characters: Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Florian Fortescue, Severus Snape
Rating: PG-13 (brief references to torture and violence)
Summary: When Bellatrix witnesses Snape showing mercy to a prisoner, Narcissa must find a way to save him from the Dark Lord's fury.
Notes: for girlsavesboyfic. Thank you to downjune for

Comments

[igrockspock]

Thank you so much! I do love writing Narcissa, so I'm glad you liked her here :)

[hummingfly67]

Kudos. Wonderful deepening of Narcissa, a story that makes you feel for her despite everything. Great characterization.

That night, she watched Draco emerge from his lesson with dead eyes and pale skin and swore she would find him a better protector.

This humanizes her so. And painted such a vivid image.

[igrockspock]

Thank you very much!

[kellychambliss]

Wow, this is really good. You capture all of them so well, deepening them while keeping them recognizably their canon selves -- mad Bella with her unexpected vulnerabilities, mother Narcissa, whip-smart and fundamentally kind, yet implacable where her boy and her needs are concerned; she's both able and unable to step outside her upbringing. And heartbreaking, strong, appealing Florian is a triumph. I love the flower detail, and the notion of the unmeltable ice cream, and his thoughtfulness.

Other things I really liked: the great opening; the Narcissa, Severus moments (love the way he's able to comfort her even while remaining hard and unsentimental); details like Narcissa's tower and Draco's baby things (powerful because, like Severus, they aren't sentimentalized.)

Excellent job.

[igrockspock]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment! I confess, I wasn't totally sure about this story when I posted it - it means a lot that it worked so well for you!

[ysilme]

Great work, this works really well.

[igrockspock]

Thank you very much!

[chthonya]

This is a wonderful portrait of Narcissa - needing to harden to survive, but never losing her humanity. I love her relationship to Fortescue here - so rarely does Narcissa appear in fic acting outside the constraints of her upbringing.

[igrockspock]

Thank you! I'm glad the Fortescue story worked for you - I wasn't sure about it, but I liked the idea that when she was younger, she might have had a few chance encounters that caused her to question her beliefs.