Narcissa Black-Malfoy
Part One- Personal
Name: Chas
Character's Name: Narcissa Black-Malfoy
Email: jocelinhayden@yahoo.com
AIM: RowanM176
YIM jocelinhayden
AGE: 18 (03/08/1989)
Past Rpg Experience: Extensive. I have played Narcissa Malfoy and Xiomara Hooch on Tabu (Greatest Journal) and Luna Lovegood on Through Glass (Greatest Journal.) Although I don’t particularly care for them, I have also done forum RPGs including Hogwarts AU Reflections and Dark Times. Original characters were used for both of the aforementioned forum games.
Where did you hear about our RPG? comm_central
The following situations may or may not arise over the course of the game. You, as a player, are never required to participate in anything you do not wish, but the situations might arise around you. This is an adult game set in a fantasy world where there are definite bad-guys out there.
Having said that, please tell us how you feel about:
Het, slash and femmeslash: I have written all three of these relationship types and enjoy the spin they can put on canon events. Being female, male slash is shaky ground for me when writing, but I give is a good shot and it does not make me uncomfortable.
NC-17 material: In excess, I think this rating can take away from plot and character development, but I realize that in order for roleplaying to be true to life, this rating is sometimes necessary. Again, it doesn’t make me uncomfortable when it is warranted.
Violence: I’m not particularly squeamish about violence, either. While I can play the victim of violence quite convincingly, however, I’m not very good at writing violent actions from my own character.
Part Two- Character Info
Character Name: Narcissa Black-Malfoy
Age: 47
Birthday: 12/15/1955
Wand: 9 3/4 inches, oak, unicorn hair core. Rigid. Good for charms.
House in School: Slytherin
Bloodline: Pureblood
Political View: Narcissa knows the mistakes that the Death Eaters made during the war, and that was allowing warm blood to control their actions. Since youth, she has always been frigid both in mind and appearance, and she knows that future action has to be controlled and well thought out even if blood status is a topic that incites strong feelings. She believes in the absolute superiority of purebloods, but isn’t particularly given to the idea of exterminating all of them. Mudbloods and Muggles could be quite useful as a lower class, for how else does the upperclass maintain their status if they have no on to lord over? Half-breeds have unusual strength and endurance and would make a wonderful working class. She sees no reason to waste all of that man power that can be used to build an empire. That being said, she is uncomfortable giving these opinions to people as she feels out of place in the political arena. Most of her ideas are deferred to her husband whom she trusts to be the face of their policies and lead them to power.
Appearance
Height: 5'6'’
Weight: 130 lb
Build: Slim, delicate bone structure.
Eyes: Light blue.
Hair: Naturally blonde. Very light, almost platinum, with none of the dirty yellow color so common in blondes of mixed parentage. Long and straight.
Dress style: Conservative. Narcissa does not feel the need to wear revealing or particularly flashy clothing and looks down on those who do. Generally, she considers revealing clothing a mistake of the young and flashy clothing a mistake of ‘new blood.’ She knows that she is stunning in simple dress, and doesn’t care to wear anything that will take attention away from herself. Although, being a Black, she knows plenty of the strength of women, she does not believe it comes from wearing pants. Therefore, she is nearly always in full dress and robes, appearing formal, intimidating, and very old-fashioned.
Discerning Marks: The classic sharp bone structure in her face that is so common to her family. Her voice is soft and feminine, but captivating and rememberable nevertheless.
PB: Julia Roberts
Sexuality: Straight. Still, she is well aware of the effect she can have on women of certain orientations and is not above wielding it as a tool of manipulation. There isn’t much in the way of history since she married Lucius at a fairly young age and was encouraged by her mother to protect her reputation and virtue.
Psychology
Introvert/Extrovert Introvert. Certain social duties are expected of her, and she does those with grace, but she really prefers to be alone, stemming from a childhood that was spent with very few people outside of her nuclear family.
Boggart is? Herself, having lost all the beauty of youth, her hair is dull and gray and her skin is wrinkled. Her beauty has always been her greatest asset, pulling people toward her so that she may state her opinions when her weak personality may have caused her to be otherwise overlooked. This weighs particularly heavy on her mind as the age of fifty approaches.
Patronus-- A single white dove. It is connected strongly to her own feelings of having so much expected of her. Though small, her patronus is still quite effective in warding off dementors.
Personality
Strengths: A generally nonthreatening appearance and personality that lead to people trusting her. Charm that even aurors have a hard time resisting. The ability to look at a situation objectively and know that sometimes instead of taking a step forward or backward, you have to take one sideways.
Weaknesses: A dependency on other people in her life; first on her sisters and now on her husband. Narcissa has a tendency to see herself as the victim in any given situation and has not yet accepted her darkest corners, leading to a difficulty with offensive magic and a general lack of confidence in physically combative environments.
Outlook: She has a generally positive, though sometimes unrealistic view of the world. Believing in the validity of her opinions, she has a deep-seated belief that nothing bad can happen to her or her family and for the most part has been proved right. Her home is her sanctuary from the harshness of the real world and she spends her time filling it with fresh-cut flowers and new furniture.
Family
Parents: Druella Rosier-Black and Cygnus Black. Both have been deceased for quite some time.
Siblings: Bellatrix Black-Lestrange, Andromeda Black-Tonks
Family dynamics: Narcissa has complete devotion to her older sister, her husband, and her son. Recently, she has been forced to take on more responsibility for everyone in her attempts to clear her husband and sister of any ill charges brought up by the Ministry, and she manages to hold back resentment of this fact by assuring herself that when she gets the problems taken care of, everything will return to normal. (She is good at doing what she has to, but not much more.) Too much is changing! Especially her grip on her son who seems to be slipping away from her with every passing day. She is struggling to reinvent a past that exists only in history. Lately the idea has come to her that she should reconnect with her sister Andromeda and her half-blood daughter. In their day, no one could make things happen like the Blacks, and she believes the reappearance of the old bloodline will help present her family’s pureblood politics in a cleaner view, especially considering the recent championing of her cousin, Sirius Black.
Lifestyle
Occupation: Wife and mother.
Residence: Malfoy Manor. Wiltshire, England.
Financial Status: She doesn’t handle such matters, but it’s safe to assume that she is well-off. As her husband is on rocky ground at the moment, she has been slowly peeling back the legal layers of the Black family account so there is money to spare should something go wrong.
History from student days at Hogwarts to the present time:
Immediately following Hogwarts, Narcissa briefly lived with some relatives in France to expand her horizons. These were happy times when Voldemort was still going the political route and her side of the family was still holding strong. When she returned home, her older sister Andromeda had experienced a falling out with the family and ran off to marry her Muggleborn boyfriend. Worried about any effect the girl might have had on Narcissa, Druella immediately began looking for a proper suitor for her youngest daughter. Knowing that her eldest daughter, Bellatrix, would be attracted to power more quickly than to marriage, she decided to make due with the one girl she knew she could have achieve her dreams.
Lucius Malfoy was quickly selected as the son of a pureblood family that was not terribly close in blood relation. The young couple hit it off better than was to be expected in an arranged match and it was every bit the fairytale romance that Narcissa expected for herself. Despite Druella’s urging from the background, it was a year before they were finally married in a traditional pureblood marriage ceremony.
Though she often found herself jealous of the time her husband spent away from home, she supported his political ambitions with the Death Eaters. She grew uncomfortable, however, at the growing conflict of ideologies and requested that Lucius retire from the organization. His refusal enraged her, even though he tried to explain his reasoning, and she finally decided it was time to honor their duty to their lines, hoping a child would bring his attention back to the home front.
Unfortunately, having a child only seemed to make him more determined that he had to work with the Death Eaters to secure his family’s place in the new order that would form upon Voldemort’s victory and make the wizarding world a better place to raise his pureblood son. Narcissa grew more content with a son who needed her so completely and did not seem as intent on abandoning her as the rest of her family. It stung, nevertheless, when Lucius continued to seek Voldemort’s resurrection after his downfall.
She remained close to her son even after Lucius’s return to her, grudgingly admitting that the Dark Lord was gone and fearing the flurry of trials that were taking place, and kept him at her side until he left for Hogwarts. This was very difficult for her and she made a conscious effort to make him depend on her and tried to make him feel guilty at every opportunity.
Draco showed an interest in the rumors that were floating around at Hogwarts that the Dark Lord was attempting to return. Narcissa squelched all of them whenever he spoke of them to her, insisting that people did not come back from the dead and that her son should be thinking about less morbid matters. Her husband seemed as given to these rumors as she was, and she believed deeply in her soul that he didn’t remember accurately what things had been like when Voldemort had been around.
When the Dark Lord rose during her son’s fourth year, Narcissa pleaded with Lucius not to go but to no avail. Later in the year, Bellatrix was released from Azkaban and Narcissa quickly recruited her to her side, trying to prove to Lucius that she didn’t need him. Upon her husband’s incarceration, she felt a twinge of regret that grew sharper as she discovered exactly how unforgiving both the Death Eaters and the Order could be to an unprotected pureblood woman.
The second war provided the same dullness that the first one had for Narcissa who spent a good deal of her time trying to protect her family and heal those wounded among the Death Eaters. Upon Voldemort’s defeat, she felt a deep relief and used her lack of involvement in the war and natural charms to protect those she cared about from being punished by the zealous government.
Events
Harry Potter and his victory over Voldemort? Harry Potter is a child. She finds his youth unsettling and pities him to a certain degree due to his status as an orphan and all of the responsibility he must bare. Still, she has no intention to help the boy since she has her own problems and her own child to worry about. She is thankful for his defeat of the Dark Lord - who did more harm to her family’s ideologies than good - but does not believe that should give him any future authority.
Dumbledore and his murder by Severus Snape? Dumbledore was as ineffective to his ideologies as Voldemort was to his. Personally, she thinks that the light side should be happy to see him go so they can get someone in his place who is better equipped to see things from both side. She isn’t impressed by the feat that Snape accomplished, for killing an old man hardly has any glamour to it.
Lucius Malfoy's pardon and book publication? She is relieved about the pardon and proud of her part in accomplishing it. The book publication leads to hours of amusement for her and her new favorite pastime seems to be teasing Lucius, quoting his book, and pulling the more outrageous fan letters he has received for her own reading. There is also some relief that he’s finding a nonviolent way to further his political career.
Snape's pardon and appointment back to his old job at Hogwarts? Narcissa thinks Snape is a coward and hiding under the Order just as he did during the first war. Teaching adolescent brats at a school ran by one of Dumbledore’s contemporaries hardly seems like a reward, however, and she hopes it’ll bring him every ounce of pain he deserves.
The Registry? A clever tactic by the so-called good guys to make the citizens feel as though they are completely protected and a Dark Lord will never rise again. She will be amused to see it corrupted and turned against the very people it is mean to protect.
Werewolf Remus Lupin's job at Hogwarts? Disgusting that they would let the filthy beast teach impressionable children. Being a mother and one of the most prominent pureblood wives, she makes her opinion known often about this, often swaying the opinions of young women who are sending their children to the school. More often than not she focuses on his ill-timed transformation during Draco’s third year and alludes to his relationship with Severus Snape. No, she’s not beneath playing off homophobia and the fact that people like that are teaching children . . .
Bellatrix's capture, insanity defence, followed by her "cure" and release from St. Mungo's? She was quite angry of her sister’s treatment when she was captured and the way that they presented Longbottom as a ‘hero’ attacking a woman like that. She often wonders aloud how that affects the views of other pureblood boys because her baby was taught from the sandbox to keep his hands to himself. The insanity defense is something that she is weary of, not wanting people prodding into the Black family’s business and finding it rather embarrassing publicity. Still, it is worth having her sister at home with her where she can keep an eye on her and reunite her family.
What plots would you like to pursue with this character? What short and long-term goals does the character have for his/her future? I am very interested in involving the Black family as a political plot point for the Malfoys. Only two members of that family fought in the war against Voldemort under that name - Sirius and Regulus- and they both ended up fighting on the ‘light’ side. I think it’ll introduce some interesting interplay among the sisters and some brand new political angles. Also, I’d like Narcissa to start some sort of ‘children first’ advocacy group among young well-to-do pureblood wives. This can also involve Millicent and her view of Narcissa as a role model. I know that many people want to start introducing marriage for Draco, and I think that Narcissa will be up for this on the surface but very hard on the women who attempt for his hand.
Once you start playing the game and get a feel for your fellow players and characters, assuming the interaction is favourable, how long could you anticipate staying with this character and this game? What is your usual pattern of longevity in role-playing games? Next fall I start college and my participation might decrease a little bit as my time is effectively tied up. However, I stay in roleplaying games until I either feel I have nothing left to offer them or they fizzle out. Or, and this has occasionally happened, the quality of the players does not meet my expectations.
What is your usual pattern of availabilty and play-time for a character and game which you enjoy? I’m on for the longest periods of time in the evening and late night (eastern standard time) and I try to check my replies each time I sign in so I know what requires my attention. Be aware that it does take me a little while to reply as my posts are usually long and require thought.
Sample Journal Entry:
In a few years, I’m sure that the History of Magic class at Hogwarts will teach about how much things changed after the Second War. They changed on paper, I think, the laws changed and the politics, but daily life stays the same. Today I bought three bouquets of flowers - one for the kitchen, one for Bella, and one for my and Lucius’s chambers - and talked to the old woman selling them about the weather. She knew who I was but expressed only her admiration me and my family, as it should be.
I also stopped into the Leaky Cauldron today, which I haven’t done in awhile because it gets suspicious if I’m there too often. You’d think it’d be more difficult to get someone to ask me if I’d like to get some tea or perhaps some lunch since the cold weather does not offer as many reasons to be outside by myself. Today I stood outside the apothecary and browsed the potion’s ingredients that they were storing outside to keep chilled. This also gave me a perfect excuse to look pensive, no doubt attracting all sorts of kind men who wanted to know what was troubling me.
Soon enough, sniveling Carter Johnson came up and asked me, “What is a lovely woman like you among these vile concoctions?” I told him my prepared story about wanting to make a potion that would take Lucius’s mind off his latest troubles. Johnson - and, oh, I laugh now as I even write this - told me, “Lucius has his pretty wife slaving over a hot cauldron to relieve him of a little worrying? He obviously doesn’t know how to treat such a creature.” I actually had to turn my head away in ‘embarrassment’ to hide my laughter. Wait until I tell Bella! I’m certain she’ll find it just as pitiful and amusing as I do.
Anyway, beggars can’t be choosers, and I told him that it was the responsibility of all wives to make our husbands as comfortable as possible while they tried to find their places in this newfangled government, and that I feared that I might be incompetent at it as I could not for the life of my remember whether it was mugwort or sage that helped with mental ailments. He ‘gallantly’ offered to help jog my memory about properties of these plants over lunch. I didn’t offer my true feelings about the matter and say that I would rather kiss Fenrir Grayback after his latest meal than be seen with him in public. Instead I smiled and admitted that it was probably warmer in the Leaky Cauldron than it was outside.
After and hour of drudgery, I truly feared that I had been eating burnt food and drinking weak tea while Johnson attempted ineffective passes for naught. My hope was soon renewed, however, as a group of workers from the Registry Office came in - I recognized one who had implemented the device on Lucius - and I instantly focused my eyes on Johnson and pulled up the hood of my cloak.
It really amazes me that all of these ‘advanced’ wizards think that a simple silencing charm is sufficient protection against eavesdroppers, especially after all they have seen in the war. They can be so easily breached with any number of spells that I had learned by time I was in my preteens to spy on my sisters with.
From what I gathered, most of them don’t believe that the tracking devices can be removed, but some of the younger ones fear that their signals can be interfered with during unusual events. An interesting tidbit, but not directly useful and certainly not worth the hour I spent in the company of Carter Johnson.
Nevertheless, I will be making a trip to the Manor’s library to see if I can find some more information on magical interference.
Sample Third Person Writing:
All the while that Lucius had been attempting to convince St. Mungo’s to schedule Bella’s release, Narcissa had been attempting to convince the older woman to come stay with them for a week or so while she got back on her feet. In her opinion, she’d had the more difficult task.
She had been victorious, however, with the application of tears and complaints about how hard things were on her being the only female in the house and how much she missed her sister. None of it was a lie, though maybe exaggerated a bit to win Bella’s sympathy and agreement. She felt as she had when she had first been married and preparing to show her sister what she had done with her new home. Admittedly, she had not had things as together back then as she did now. The houselves scoured the entire house except for the second master bedroom that Narcissa insisted on fixing up herself.
This was the room she had insisted on having her honeymoon suite in and had pleaded with Lucius to make their permanent bedroom. There was an elongated skylight in the ceiling and she could see all of the constellations with reasonable privacy since it was located in one of the towers. Lucius needed absolute darkness to sleep - what had her mother once said? “No rest for the wicked but what of those who hunt them?” - and had told her that she’d be equally happy in one of the other bedrooms. That being said, she still fell asleep here on nights when she needed to see the freedom of the sky.
It would be difficult to arrange the room. Narcissa knew she must look through her sister’s eyes to see if there were any slights that she could perceive. She bought orchids - melancholy, but not to the point where she would take it as mocking - and made the bed down with green sheets and a black comforter. From one of the storage closets, she retrieved a photo album from when they were children and carefully removed any pictures of Regulus, Andromeda, or Sirius so she would not get upset. Sirius and Andromeda had been well-loved in their childhoods and certainly left a hole in the photo history.
When she had done all she could, she still felt restless and accepted the fact that this would be one of the nights she spent sleeping in here. She removed all of her outer robes and clothing until she was simply in her underwear and buttoned white blouse. Without bothering to pull back the covers, she stretched herself out on the cool surface. Her thoughts wandered, and she wished she felt the presence of her sister’s surprisingly warm skin and suffocating hair as she had so often in childhood.
Name: Chas
Character's Name: Narcissa Black-Malfoy
Email: jocelinhayden@yahoo.com
AIM: RowanM176
YIM jocelinhayden
AGE: 18 (03/08/1989)
Past Rpg Experience: Extensive. I have played Narcissa Malfoy and Xiomara Hooch on Tabu (Greatest Journal) and Luna Lovegood on Through Glass (Greatest Journal.) Although I don’t particularly care for them, I have also done forum RPGs including Hogwarts AU Reflections and Dark Times. Original characters were used for both of the aforementioned forum games.
Where did you hear about our RPG? comm_central
The following situations may or may not arise over the course of the game. You, as a player, are never required to participate in anything you do not wish, but the situations might arise around you. This is an adult game set in a fantasy world where there are definite bad-guys out there.
Having said that, please tell us how you feel about:
Het, slash and femmeslash: I have written all three of these relationship types and enjoy the spin they can put on canon events. Being female, male slash is shaky ground for me when writing, but I give is a good shot and it does not make me uncomfortable.
NC-17 material: In excess, I think this rating can take away from plot and character development, but I realize that in order for roleplaying to be true to life, this rating is sometimes necessary. Again, it doesn’t make me uncomfortable when it is warranted.
Violence: I’m not particularly squeamish about violence, either. While I can play the victim of violence quite convincingly, however, I’m not very good at writing violent actions from my own character.
Part Two- Character Info
Character Name: Narcissa Black-Malfoy
Age: 47
Birthday: 12/15/1955
Wand: 9 3/4 inches, oak, unicorn hair core. Rigid. Good for charms.
House in School: Slytherin
Bloodline: Pureblood
Political View: Narcissa knows the mistakes that the Death Eaters made during the war, and that was allowing warm blood to control their actions. Since youth, she has always been frigid both in mind and appearance, and she knows that future action has to be controlled and well thought out even if blood status is a topic that incites strong feelings. She believes in the absolute superiority of purebloods, but isn’t particularly given to the idea of exterminating all of them. Mudbloods and Muggles could be quite useful as a lower class, for how else does the upperclass maintain their status if they have no on to lord over? Half-breeds have unusual strength and endurance and would make a wonderful working class. She sees no reason to waste all of that man power that can be used to build an empire. That being said, she is uncomfortable giving these opinions to people as she feels out of place in the political arena. Most of her ideas are deferred to her husband whom she trusts to be the face of their policies and lead them to power.
Appearance
Height: 5'6'’
Weight: 130 lb
Build: Slim, delicate bone structure.
Eyes: Light blue.
Hair: Naturally blonde. Very light, almost platinum, with none of the dirty yellow color so common in blondes of mixed parentage. Long and straight.
Dress style: Conservative. Narcissa does not feel the need to wear revealing or particularly flashy clothing and looks down on those who do. Generally, she considers revealing clothing a mistake of the young and flashy clothing a mistake of ‘new blood.’ She knows that she is stunning in simple dress, and doesn’t care to wear anything that will take attention away from herself. Although, being a Black, she knows plenty of the strength of women, she does not believe it comes from wearing pants. Therefore, she is nearly always in full dress and robes, appearing formal, intimidating, and very old-fashioned.
Discerning Marks: The classic sharp bone structure in her face that is so common to her family. Her voice is soft and feminine, but captivating and rememberable nevertheless.
PB: Julia Roberts
Sexuality: Straight. Still, she is well aware of the effect she can have on women of certain orientations and is not above wielding it as a tool of manipulation. There isn’t much in the way of history since she married Lucius at a fairly young age and was encouraged by her mother to protect her reputation and virtue.
Psychology
Introvert/Extrovert Introvert. Certain social duties are expected of her, and she does those with grace, but she really prefers to be alone, stemming from a childhood that was spent with very few people outside of her nuclear family.
Boggart is? Herself, having lost all the beauty of youth, her hair is dull and gray and her skin is wrinkled. Her beauty has always been her greatest asset, pulling people toward her so that she may state her opinions when her weak personality may have caused her to be otherwise overlooked. This weighs particularly heavy on her mind as the age of fifty approaches.
Patronus-- A single white dove. It is connected strongly to her own feelings of having so much expected of her. Though small, her patronus is still quite effective in warding off dementors.
Personality
Strengths: A generally nonthreatening appearance and personality that lead to people trusting her. Charm that even aurors have a hard time resisting. The ability to look at a situation objectively and know that sometimes instead of taking a step forward or backward, you have to take one sideways.
Weaknesses: A dependency on other people in her life; first on her sisters and now on her husband. Narcissa has a tendency to see herself as the victim in any given situation and has not yet accepted her darkest corners, leading to a difficulty with offensive magic and a general lack of confidence in physically combative environments.
Outlook: She has a generally positive, though sometimes unrealistic view of the world. Believing in the validity of her opinions, she has a deep-seated belief that nothing bad can happen to her or her family and for the most part has been proved right. Her home is her sanctuary from the harshness of the real world and she spends her time filling it with fresh-cut flowers and new furniture.
Family
Parents: Druella Rosier-Black and Cygnus Black. Both have been deceased for quite some time.
Siblings: Bellatrix Black-Lestrange, Andromeda Black-Tonks
Family dynamics: Narcissa has complete devotion to her older sister, her husband, and her son. Recently, she has been forced to take on more responsibility for everyone in her attempts to clear her husband and sister of any ill charges brought up by the Ministry, and she manages to hold back resentment of this fact by assuring herself that when she gets the problems taken care of, everything will return to normal. (She is good at doing what she has to, but not much more.) Too much is changing! Especially her grip on her son who seems to be slipping away from her with every passing day. She is struggling to reinvent a past that exists only in history. Lately the idea has come to her that she should reconnect with her sister Andromeda and her half-blood daughter. In their day, no one could make things happen like the Blacks, and she believes the reappearance of the old bloodline will help present her family’s pureblood politics in a cleaner view, especially considering the recent championing of her cousin, Sirius Black.
Lifestyle
Occupation: Wife and mother.
Residence: Malfoy Manor. Wiltshire, England.
Financial Status: She doesn’t handle such matters, but it’s safe to assume that she is well-off. As her husband is on rocky ground at the moment, she has been slowly peeling back the legal layers of the Black family account so there is money to spare should something go wrong.
History from student days at Hogwarts to the present time:
Immediately following Hogwarts, Narcissa briefly lived with some relatives in France to expand her horizons. These were happy times when Voldemort was still going the political route and her side of the family was still holding strong. When she returned home, her older sister Andromeda had experienced a falling out with the family and ran off to marry her Muggleborn boyfriend. Worried about any effect the girl might have had on Narcissa, Druella immediately began looking for a proper suitor for her youngest daughter. Knowing that her eldest daughter, Bellatrix, would be attracted to power more quickly than to marriage, she decided to make due with the one girl she knew she could have achieve her dreams.
Lucius Malfoy was quickly selected as the son of a pureblood family that was not terribly close in blood relation. The young couple hit it off better than was to be expected in an arranged match and it was every bit the fairytale romance that Narcissa expected for herself. Despite Druella’s urging from the background, it was a year before they were finally married in a traditional pureblood marriage ceremony.
Though she often found herself jealous of the time her husband spent away from home, she supported his political ambitions with the Death Eaters. She grew uncomfortable, however, at the growing conflict of ideologies and requested that Lucius retire from the organization. His refusal enraged her, even though he tried to explain his reasoning, and she finally decided it was time to honor their duty to their lines, hoping a child would bring his attention back to the home front.
Unfortunately, having a child only seemed to make him more determined that he had to work with the Death Eaters to secure his family’s place in the new order that would form upon Voldemort’s victory and make the wizarding world a better place to raise his pureblood son. Narcissa grew more content with a son who needed her so completely and did not seem as intent on abandoning her as the rest of her family. It stung, nevertheless, when Lucius continued to seek Voldemort’s resurrection after his downfall.
She remained close to her son even after Lucius’s return to her, grudgingly admitting that the Dark Lord was gone and fearing the flurry of trials that were taking place, and kept him at her side until he left for Hogwarts. This was very difficult for her and she made a conscious effort to make him depend on her and tried to make him feel guilty at every opportunity.
Draco showed an interest in the rumors that were floating around at Hogwarts that the Dark Lord was attempting to return. Narcissa squelched all of them whenever he spoke of them to her, insisting that people did not come back from the dead and that her son should be thinking about less morbid matters. Her husband seemed as given to these rumors as she was, and she believed deeply in her soul that he didn’t remember accurately what things had been like when Voldemort had been around.
When the Dark Lord rose during her son’s fourth year, Narcissa pleaded with Lucius not to go but to no avail. Later in the year, Bellatrix was released from Azkaban and Narcissa quickly recruited her to her side, trying to prove to Lucius that she didn’t need him. Upon her husband’s incarceration, she felt a twinge of regret that grew sharper as she discovered exactly how unforgiving both the Death Eaters and the Order could be to an unprotected pureblood woman.
The second war provided the same dullness that the first one had for Narcissa who spent a good deal of her time trying to protect her family and heal those wounded among the Death Eaters. Upon Voldemort’s defeat, she felt a deep relief and used her lack of involvement in the war and natural charms to protect those she cared about from being punished by the zealous government.
Events
Harry Potter and his victory over Voldemort? Harry Potter is a child. She finds his youth unsettling and pities him to a certain degree due to his status as an orphan and all of the responsibility he must bare. Still, she has no intention to help the boy since she has her own problems and her own child to worry about. She is thankful for his defeat of the Dark Lord - who did more harm to her family’s ideologies than good - but does not believe that should give him any future authority.
Dumbledore and his murder by Severus Snape? Dumbledore was as ineffective to his ideologies as Voldemort was to his. Personally, she thinks that the light side should be happy to see him go so they can get someone in his place who is better equipped to see things from both side. She isn’t impressed by the feat that Snape accomplished, for killing an old man hardly has any glamour to it.
Lucius Malfoy's pardon and book publication? She is relieved about the pardon and proud of her part in accomplishing it. The book publication leads to hours of amusement for her and her new favorite pastime seems to be teasing Lucius, quoting his book, and pulling the more outrageous fan letters he has received for her own reading. There is also some relief that he’s finding a nonviolent way to further his political career.
Snape's pardon and appointment back to his old job at Hogwarts? Narcissa thinks Snape is a coward and hiding under the Order just as he did during the first war. Teaching adolescent brats at a school ran by one of Dumbledore’s contemporaries hardly seems like a reward, however, and she hopes it’ll bring him every ounce of pain he deserves.
The Registry? A clever tactic by the so-called good guys to make the citizens feel as though they are completely protected and a Dark Lord will never rise again. She will be amused to see it corrupted and turned against the very people it is mean to protect.
Werewolf Remus Lupin's job at Hogwarts? Disgusting that they would let the filthy beast teach impressionable children. Being a mother and one of the most prominent pureblood wives, she makes her opinion known often about this, often swaying the opinions of young women who are sending their children to the school. More often than not she focuses on his ill-timed transformation during Draco’s third year and alludes to his relationship with Severus Snape. No, she’s not beneath playing off homophobia and the fact that people like that are teaching children . . .
Bellatrix's capture, insanity defence, followed by her "cure" and release from St. Mungo's? She was quite angry of her sister’s treatment when she was captured and the way that they presented Longbottom as a ‘hero’ attacking a woman like that. She often wonders aloud how that affects the views of other pureblood boys because her baby was taught from the sandbox to keep his hands to himself. The insanity defense is something that she is weary of, not wanting people prodding into the Black family’s business and finding it rather embarrassing publicity. Still, it is worth having her sister at home with her where she can keep an eye on her and reunite her family.
What plots would you like to pursue with this character? What short and long-term goals does the character have for his/her future? I am very interested in involving the Black family as a political plot point for the Malfoys. Only two members of that family fought in the war against Voldemort under that name - Sirius and Regulus- and they both ended up fighting on the ‘light’ side. I think it’ll introduce some interesting interplay among the sisters and some brand new political angles. Also, I’d like Narcissa to start some sort of ‘children first’ advocacy group among young well-to-do pureblood wives. This can also involve Millicent and her view of Narcissa as a role model. I know that many people want to start introducing marriage for Draco, and I think that Narcissa will be up for this on the surface but very hard on the women who attempt for his hand.
Once you start playing the game and get a feel for your fellow players and characters, assuming the interaction is favourable, how long could you anticipate staying with this character and this game? What is your usual pattern of longevity in role-playing games? Next fall I start college and my participation might decrease a little bit as my time is effectively tied up. However, I stay in roleplaying games until I either feel I have nothing left to offer them or they fizzle out. Or, and this has occasionally happened, the quality of the players does not meet my expectations.
What is your usual pattern of availabilty and play-time for a character and game which you enjoy? I’m on for the longest periods of time in the evening and late night (eastern standard time) and I try to check my replies each time I sign in so I know what requires my attention. Be aware that it does take me a little while to reply as my posts are usually long and require thought.
Sample Journal Entry:
In a few years, I’m sure that the History of Magic class at Hogwarts will teach about how much things changed after the Second War. They changed on paper, I think, the laws changed and the politics, but daily life stays the same. Today I bought three bouquets of flowers - one for the kitchen, one for Bella, and one for my and Lucius’s chambers - and talked to the old woman selling them about the weather. She knew who I was but expressed only her admiration me and my family, as it should be.
I also stopped into the Leaky Cauldron today, which I haven’t done in awhile because it gets suspicious if I’m there too often. You’d think it’d be more difficult to get someone to ask me if I’d like to get some tea or perhaps some lunch since the cold weather does not offer as many reasons to be outside by myself. Today I stood outside the apothecary and browsed the potion’s ingredients that they were storing outside to keep chilled. This also gave me a perfect excuse to look pensive, no doubt attracting all sorts of kind men who wanted to know what was troubling me.
Soon enough, sniveling Carter Johnson came up and asked me, “What is a lovely woman like you among these vile concoctions?” I told him my prepared story about wanting to make a potion that would take Lucius’s mind off his latest troubles. Johnson - and, oh, I laugh now as I even write this - told me, “Lucius has his pretty wife slaving over a hot cauldron to relieve him of a little worrying? He obviously doesn’t know how to treat such a creature.” I actually had to turn my head away in ‘embarrassment’ to hide my laughter. Wait until I tell Bella! I’m certain she’ll find it just as pitiful and amusing as I do.
Anyway, beggars can’t be choosers, and I told him that it was the responsibility of all wives to make our husbands as comfortable as possible while they tried to find their places in this newfangled government, and that I feared that I might be incompetent at it as I could not for the life of my remember whether it was mugwort or sage that helped with mental ailments. He ‘gallantly’ offered to help jog my memory about properties of these plants over lunch. I didn’t offer my true feelings about the matter and say that I would rather kiss Fenrir Grayback after his latest meal than be seen with him in public. Instead I smiled and admitted that it was probably warmer in the Leaky Cauldron than it was outside.
After and hour of drudgery, I truly feared that I had been eating burnt food and drinking weak tea while Johnson attempted ineffective passes for naught. My hope was soon renewed, however, as a group of workers from the Registry Office came in - I recognized one who had implemented the device on Lucius - and I instantly focused my eyes on Johnson and pulled up the hood of my cloak.
It really amazes me that all of these ‘advanced’ wizards think that a simple silencing charm is sufficient protection against eavesdroppers, especially after all they have seen in the war. They can be so easily breached with any number of spells that I had learned by time I was in my preteens to spy on my sisters with.
From what I gathered, most of them don’t believe that the tracking devices can be removed, but some of the younger ones fear that their signals can be interfered with during unusual events. An interesting tidbit, but not directly useful and certainly not worth the hour I spent in the company of Carter Johnson.
Nevertheless, I will be making a trip to the Manor’s library to see if I can find some more information on magical interference.
Sample Third Person Writing:
All the while that Lucius had been attempting to convince St. Mungo’s to schedule Bella’s release, Narcissa had been attempting to convince the older woman to come stay with them for a week or so while she got back on her feet. In her opinion, she’d had the more difficult task.
She had been victorious, however, with the application of tears and complaints about how hard things were on her being the only female in the house and how much she missed her sister. None of it was a lie, though maybe exaggerated a bit to win Bella’s sympathy and agreement. She felt as she had when she had first been married and preparing to show her sister what she had done with her new home. Admittedly, she had not had things as together back then as she did now. The houselves scoured the entire house except for the second master bedroom that Narcissa insisted on fixing up herself.
This was the room she had insisted on having her honeymoon suite in and had pleaded with Lucius to make their permanent bedroom. There was an elongated skylight in the ceiling and she could see all of the constellations with reasonable privacy since it was located in one of the towers. Lucius needed absolute darkness to sleep - what had her mother once said? “No rest for the wicked but what of those who hunt them?” - and had told her that she’d be equally happy in one of the other bedrooms. That being said, she still fell asleep here on nights when she needed to see the freedom of the sky.
It would be difficult to arrange the room. Narcissa knew she must look through her sister’s eyes to see if there were any slights that she could perceive. She bought orchids - melancholy, but not to the point where she would take it as mocking - and made the bed down with green sheets and a black comforter. From one of the storage closets, she retrieved a photo album from when they were children and carefully removed any pictures of Regulus, Andromeda, or Sirius so she would not get upset. Sirius and Andromeda had been well-loved in their childhoods and certainly left a hole in the photo history.
When she had done all she could, she still felt restless and accepted the fact that this would be one of the nights she spent sleeping in here. She removed all of her outer robes and clothing until she was simply in her underwear and buttoned white blouse. Without bothering to pull back the covers, she stretched herself out on the cool surface. Her thoughts wandered, and she wished she felt the presence of her sister’s surprisingly warm skin and suffocating hair as she had so often in childhood.