All the Galleons in the World (Harry Potter)
Narcissa Malfoy stared at her reflection in the mirror with an air of elegant grace though her reflection was sighing at her in an unsophisticated manner, clearly showing how she really felt about the evening. She had spent the last two hours getting ready for the evening: showering, styling her hair, applying her make-up, and every other tedious action that made her look the vision of beauty that she was. Tonight was the evening of yet another Ministry of Magic benefit where both she and her husband had to make an appearance, seeing as how Lucius was to donate 1,000 Galleons to the Ministry. Every benefit was the same; Narcissa stayed attached to Lucius' side, serving as his beautifully exquisite, charming trophy wife while he charmed the most socially and politically powerful witches and wizards of the age. It didn't bother her all that much. She knew that it was beneficial to have as many connections as possible with that crowd so she never complained once. Also, she knew it meant a lot to Lucius for her to accompany him, maintaining the image of being the perfect man with the perfect marriage.
After lacing herself into the corset-like top of her dress and making sure that the bustle of her skirt was straight, she walked elegantly down the stairs, keeping her back straight and her nose pointed high in the air. At the foot of the stairs she saw her husband waiting for her with a loving smile on his face.
"Why Narcissa, you look exquisite as always," he said charmingly. He held out his hand as she took the final step off of the stairs and began to escort her across the Entrance Hall.
"I should hope so. After this much effort, I would expect no less," she said coolly. "By the way, darling, exactly what time is this benefit?" Before Lucius could respond, their house elf Dobby came running toward them with a sense of urgency.
"Master! Mistress! Young Master Malfoy is taken ill! Retching everywhere, he is," the elf squeaked in a high-pitched gasp
"And you've left him alone you ruddy elf?!" Narcissa shrieked. She instantly set off for her son's bedroom at a surprisingly fast pace for a woman in three inch tall high-heels, yelling to Lucius over her shoulder. "Take care of that dreadful house elf!"
She had heard the elf's scurrying footsteps behind her but they stopped instantly as she heard Lucius' calm yet stern voice. "You are to stay here, Dobby, until I've dealt with you properly for your idiocy," Lucius said with disgust. As Lucius and Dobby disappeared from her view, she heard a loud banging noise below followed by a single shrill yelp.
Narcissa continued to walk quickly down the hallway until she reached the outside of her son's bedroom. She opened the door slowly to find him lying in bed, his face as green as the Slytherin House tapestry that hung on his wall, surrounded by his own sickness. With a low gasp she pulled her wand from a hidden pocket in her dress and gave it a wave, cleaning up the mess her poor son was surrounded by. She stepped further into the room, sitting on the side of Draco's bed as she began stroking his hair lovingly.
"How are you feeling, my little dragon?" she whispered.
"Mummy, I don't feel good," he moaned, his lips quivering slightly as he spoke. From out in the hallway she could hear footsteps coming down the hall meaning Lucius had finished punishing Dobby for his carelessness. She kissed Draco gently on the forehead and stood, giving his hair a final stroke.
"Mum will be back soon, darling," she said soothingly. "I just have to talk to your father before he leaves for the benefit tonight and then I promise I'll be back to take care of you." He gave her a thankful smile, his poor lips still shaking slightly. She stepped out of the room to find Lucius just feet away from the door.
"Well, how is he?" he asked.
"He doesn't look well, love," she said with concern. "I think I'm going to be staying home this evening to look after him."
"Darling, you have to at least make an appearance tonight," he said as though the mere idea of her staying home were ludicrous. "How would it look if I arrived unaccompanied? People would talk."
"Then let them talk, Lucius!" she said defiantly, raising her voice slightly. "If the pompous arses at those benefits don't have anything better in their lives than gossip then I don't care to be in their company anyway."
"Narcissa, really, you're overreacting. The boy's six years old now. He's old enough to survive without his mother for one night." Lucius tried to rest a hand on her shoulder but Narcissa shrugged it away, her eyes narrowing at him, hardly believing that he was not as worried as she was.
"Age has nothing to do with this," Narcissa growled. "Our son is sick and you act like it's not a big deal!"
"It isn't a big deal!" Lucius said in a raised voice. "Children get sick all the time and you being here isn't going to make him any better. You're coddling the boy and he needs to learn that his mother won't always be there to look after him." Any trace of a smile had left Lucius' face by now and he looked quite stern, looking down upon her over his nose as though she were a misbehaving child.
"What if he gets worse? What if he needs something?" she asked in a stern tone, not backing down for a second.
"Darling, he's not going to be alone! I've ordered Dobby to keep a constant watch on him and to-" Lucius began speaking but was cut off before he could finish.
"Dobby isn't enough!" she interrupted. "What if Draco wants his mother? If you were sick wouldn't you want a loved one to care for you instead of a ruddy house elf?"
"Are you trying to shoot down everything I say because you're really doing quite a job of it," he said with a scowl. "Narcissa, dear, I've given Dobby strict orders that he is to keep a constant watch on Draco, give him proper treatment, and to notify us immediately if Draco's condition should worsen. I even threatened him with extra punishment if we should arrive home and Draco is not satisfied with the care he received. What more do you want me to do?"
"I want you to be a man and go to your damned benefit by yourself and let me be a mother to our sick child, Lucius!" she yelled. She withdrew slightly after she spoke, taking a few steps away from Lucius. He never liked having his manhood called into question and she had not only just done that, but she also tried to make him feel guilty by requesting for him to allow her to be a mother to their son.
Lucius was silent for a moment, apparently unable to find a suitable argument to come back with. Narcissa could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thought hard about something to say in response but after almost a minute, no response came. Instead, Lucius merely sighed and turned around, walking back down the hall until he reached the staircase.
"Lucius, dear, where are you going?" Narcissa asked innocently, trying to hide the triumphant smirk on her face. He didn't appear mad and instead, appeared defeated.
"It's almost time to leave and I still haven't even put my cloak on," he said casually. "It's bad enough I'll be arriving alone but I would hate to also arrive late. That would be horribly in bad taste." Though he still looked somewhat defeated, she could see the corners of his mouth curl slightly upward in a very small grin.
"Thank you for letting me stay," she said lovingly, walking over to her husband's side.
"I'm not letting you stay," he said. "Merlin knows you'd have stayed anyway even without my approval. You hardly need my permission for anything, Narcissa."
"I know, Lucius. And thank you for that." She kissed him tenderly on the cheek, reaching a hand up to smooth his hair as she did so. "Now you'd better get going, love, or you'll really be late."
With one last affectionate kiss and an exchange of "I love you," Lucius walked swiftly down the stairs and disappeared from sight. Narcissa walked back up the hallway and into Draco's room again where he was lying down looking exactly as she had left him.
"Your father's just left, darling. He'll be going to his benefit alone tonight and I'll be staying here with you," she said softly, resuming stroking his hair. Draco smiled weakly up at her and nodded, opening his mouth as if to say something. Rather than words coming out of his mouth, he sat up and retched violently all over his mother's lap. For a moment Narcissa wore an expression of horrified disgust but a second later she gave Draco a sympathetic smile, guiding him back to a lying position.
"Don't you worry, darling. Mum'll take care of everything." Narcissa smiled warmly at her son, standing up as the mess on her gown began to seep through her many layers. It was likely the dress was ruined though at the moment, she hardly cared. Despite the mess on her gown, the rotten smell in the air, and the hours of playing nurse she had ahead of her, she knew she would never trade this for the benefit for all the Galleons in the world.
After lacing herself into the corset-like top of her dress and making sure that the bustle of her skirt was straight, she walked elegantly down the stairs, keeping her back straight and her nose pointed high in the air. At the foot of the stairs she saw her husband waiting for her with a loving smile on his face.
"Why Narcissa, you look exquisite as always," he said charmingly. He held out his hand as she took the final step off of the stairs and began to escort her across the Entrance Hall.
"I should hope so. After this much effort, I would expect no less," she said coolly. "By the way, darling, exactly what time is this benefit?" Before Lucius could respond, their house elf Dobby came running toward them with a sense of urgency.
"Master! Mistress! Young Master Malfoy is taken ill! Retching everywhere, he is," the elf squeaked in a high-pitched gasp
"And you've left him alone you ruddy elf?!" Narcissa shrieked. She instantly set off for her son's bedroom at a surprisingly fast pace for a woman in three inch tall high-heels, yelling to Lucius over her shoulder. "Take care of that dreadful house elf!"
She had heard the elf's scurrying footsteps behind her but they stopped instantly as she heard Lucius' calm yet stern voice. "You are to stay here, Dobby, until I've dealt with you properly for your idiocy," Lucius said with disgust. As Lucius and Dobby disappeared from her view, she heard a loud banging noise below followed by a single shrill yelp.
Narcissa continued to walk quickly down the hallway until she reached the outside of her son's bedroom. She opened the door slowly to find him lying in bed, his face as green as the Slytherin House tapestry that hung on his wall, surrounded by his own sickness. With a low gasp she pulled her wand from a hidden pocket in her dress and gave it a wave, cleaning up the mess her poor son was surrounded by. She stepped further into the room, sitting on the side of Draco's bed as she began stroking his hair lovingly.
"How are you feeling, my little dragon?" she whispered.
"Mummy, I don't feel good," he moaned, his lips quivering slightly as he spoke. From out in the hallway she could hear footsteps coming down the hall meaning Lucius had finished punishing Dobby for his carelessness. She kissed Draco gently on the forehead and stood, giving his hair a final stroke.
"Mum will be back soon, darling," she said soothingly. "I just have to talk to your father before he leaves for the benefit tonight and then I promise I'll be back to take care of you." He gave her a thankful smile, his poor lips still shaking slightly. She stepped out of the room to find Lucius just feet away from the door.
"Well, how is he?" he asked.
"He doesn't look well, love," she said with concern. "I think I'm going to be staying home this evening to look after him."
"Darling, you have to at least make an appearance tonight," he said as though the mere idea of her staying home were ludicrous. "How would it look if I arrived unaccompanied? People would talk."
"Then let them talk, Lucius!" she said defiantly, raising her voice slightly. "If the pompous arses at those benefits don't have anything better in their lives than gossip then I don't care to be in their company anyway."
"Narcissa, really, you're overreacting. The boy's six years old now. He's old enough to survive without his mother for one night." Lucius tried to rest a hand on her shoulder but Narcissa shrugged it away, her eyes narrowing at him, hardly believing that he was not as worried as she was.
"Age has nothing to do with this," Narcissa growled. "Our son is sick and you act like it's not a big deal!"
"It isn't a big deal!" Lucius said in a raised voice. "Children get sick all the time and you being here isn't going to make him any better. You're coddling the boy and he needs to learn that his mother won't always be there to look after him." Any trace of a smile had left Lucius' face by now and he looked quite stern, looking down upon her over his nose as though she were a misbehaving child.
"What if he gets worse? What if he needs something?" she asked in a stern tone, not backing down for a second.
"Darling, he's not going to be alone! I've ordered Dobby to keep a constant watch on him and to-" Lucius began speaking but was cut off before he could finish.
"Dobby isn't enough!" she interrupted. "What if Draco wants his mother? If you were sick wouldn't you want a loved one to care for you instead of a ruddy house elf?"
"Are you trying to shoot down everything I say because you're really doing quite a job of it," he said with a scowl. "Narcissa, dear, I've given Dobby strict orders that he is to keep a constant watch on Draco, give him proper treatment, and to notify us immediately if Draco's condition should worsen. I even threatened him with extra punishment if we should arrive home and Draco is not satisfied with the care he received. What more do you want me to do?"
"I want you to be a man and go to your damned benefit by yourself and let me be a mother to our sick child, Lucius!" she yelled. She withdrew slightly after she spoke, taking a few steps away from Lucius. He never liked having his manhood called into question and she had not only just done that, but she also tried to make him feel guilty by requesting for him to allow her to be a mother to their son.
Lucius was silent for a moment, apparently unable to find a suitable argument to come back with. Narcissa could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thought hard about something to say in response but after almost a minute, no response came. Instead, Lucius merely sighed and turned around, walking back down the hall until he reached the staircase.
"Lucius, dear, where are you going?" Narcissa asked innocently, trying to hide the triumphant smirk on her face. He didn't appear mad and instead, appeared defeated.
"It's almost time to leave and I still haven't even put my cloak on," he said casually. "It's bad enough I'll be arriving alone but I would hate to also arrive late. That would be horribly in bad taste." Though he still looked somewhat defeated, she could see the corners of his mouth curl slightly upward in a very small grin.
"Thank you for letting me stay," she said lovingly, walking over to her husband's side.
"I'm not letting you stay," he said. "Merlin knows you'd have stayed anyway even without my approval. You hardly need my permission for anything, Narcissa."
"I know, Lucius. And thank you for that." She kissed him tenderly on the cheek, reaching a hand up to smooth his hair as she did so. "Now you'd better get going, love, or you'll really be late."
With one last affectionate kiss and an exchange of "I love you," Lucius walked swiftly down the stairs and disappeared from sight. Narcissa walked back up the hallway and into Draco's room again where he was lying down looking exactly as she had left him.
"Your father's just left, darling. He'll be going to his benefit alone tonight and I'll be staying here with you," she said softly, resuming stroking his hair. Draco smiled weakly up at her and nodded, opening his mouth as if to say something. Rather than words coming out of his mouth, he sat up and retched violently all over his mother's lap. For a moment Narcissa wore an expression of horrified disgust but a second later she gave Draco a sympathetic smile, guiding him back to a lying position.
"Don't you worry, darling. Mum'll take care of everything." Narcissa smiled warmly at her son, standing up as the mess on her gown began to seep through her many layers. It was likely the dress was ruined though at the moment, she hardly cared. Despite the mess on her gown, the rotten smell in the air, and the hours of playing nurse she had ahead of her, she knew she would never trade this for the benefit for all the Galleons in the world.