Chapter 10
Narcissa was a beautiful woman. All the genes she had gotten from her parents seemed to have weeded out the bad ones. All except her obsessiveness. She knew her son had inherited the trait. Merlin, help the poor soul that catches her dragon's attention. Her heart was crushed when her eldest sister first ran away and almost started a blood feud with the Malfoys. Her firm, responsible, perfect sister wasn't so perfect and suddenly was disowned by their family. Bella had already been engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange, so she couldn't rectify the disaster that Andy had left behind. Her father had offered up Narcissa as a prize and a hefty increase in her dowry. She came from the perfect blood status, political clout, and perfect family; on top of that, she went with the equivalent of two dowries. Narcissa became the ideal bride and was head over heels in love with her new husband. She had always been afraid she would end up married to some schmuck who wouldn't appreciate all she came with beauty, talent, political boosts, and financial backing from the family Black. Instead, she got to marry the one person she had always wished she could. Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. She had been infatuated with him since her father announced her eldest sister's engagement. He would give her a good home, life, and a baby for her to love, plus he was pretty.
She had always loved pretty men. First, there was her music teacher before she went to Hogwarts; he played the piano like no other and would spend hours singing to or with her. Then there was her arithmancy professor; he was young, and all the girls loved him. He had the highest rate for arithmancy taken as an elective in three centuries. Then, in her fifth year, she met Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, and she knew right then what her next obsession would be. She had been in love with him until her precious dragon was four. He had come crying to her, repeating what Lucius had said to their child. Just like that, all her love for him vanished and was replaced with bitter hatred for the man who shared her bed. It had taken Lucius close to three months to notice his wife had moved out of their room. His only reaction was to tell her he would be warding his room and not to try getting inside anymore. She had moved herself to what the Malfoys called their glass palace. It was a beautiful guest house made of mostly glass. The kitchen was open to the back garden, but the upstairs three bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms attached, remained hidden behind iridescent stone and intricately carved metal. It had initially been commissioned for a greenhouse until the Malfoys created weathering wards, and now all the plants grow at the exact temperatures needed to flourish. The palace was her's, where she spent most of her time if she wasn't out and about. She had brought plenty of fun inside. It was one of the stipulations in their contract. 'Both parties may start, maintain, and end any relationships outside the marriage, provided the relationships remain anonymous and discrete.'
Her latest obsessive love cycle had started when Draco turned seven. Severus had been there many times before that; however, he had always shown up in work attire or messy robes. She had always thought he was pretty, but he didn't know how to dress himself. This time, however, he was in a three-piece robe set in charcoal grey. It was tight around his chest and showed off his slight but built figure. She had no idea he had such a slutty man's waist. His undershirt was made of silk, and it was a dark purple colour. It complimented the vest's charcoal grey nicely. He wore plain but tailored trousers that hugged his calves and accentuated his lean frame. Black was always so slimming. His outer robe was open and sleeveless. A flicker of candlelight caught the outline of small delphiniums and water lilies. Those were her birth flowers. She knew flower symbolism better than most and knew it was also important to him. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and flowers were tattooed along the faded dark mark. If somebody didn't know better, it would have looked like a beautiful piece of artwork, and to her, it did. He had washed out the potion that protected his hair when brewing, so it fell in faint, soft-looking curls. His face wasn't as gaunt looking. He must have slept better recently. If she was being candid, he looked like a snack, and she craved something sweet.
Just as she was about to speak, Draco ran into the room and jumped into Sev's arms. The man had caught the little boy and hugged him tight while rapping his tiny legs around the man's waist. Draco loosened his grip a minute later and turned slightly to look at his mother.
"Hi, Mommy."
"Hello, Draconis, my dear." all thoughts of the beautiful man before her evaporated as she took in her small child's appearance. He was wearing very similar attire to the man. Were they going somewhere?
"Are you two headed out today?"
"Yes, I promised young Draco here I would take him to see a muggle play. There is a beautiful theatre in central London. Lucius is…away for the weekend, and I thought it would be an opportune moment to spend with my godson." The smile Sev sent towards Draco was enough to make her melt. He genuinely cared about spending time with her son… not even his father did that. She had made the best choice in offering Severus as an option just before Draco was born. At the time, she wanted to keep him close because he was important to her sister, and her sister was vital to her.
"I see; well, you boys have fun. I'll have tea made for when you get back." She would have loved to go but couldn't intrude on such a nice bonding moment with her two favourite boys.
"Umm…, Cissy, we wondered if you wanted to accompany us. I bought three tickets and planned to take you both to dinner before the show. Perhaps that would be something you'd be interested in? I know it's muggle, but it is their closest thing to magic." He sounded nervous, and to Cissy, gods, she loved that nickname; she had found his slight anxiousness adorable. How could she say no when her boys wanted to take her with them?
"I would love to! Can I have, say, an hour to get ready? I have a gown and dress robe in that exact shade of Purple and charcoal. "He smiled and nodded. She practically ran up the stairs to change. She knew she had that colour of dress. Plus, she had just bought a casual dress robe to accompany it the other day.
Severus had been extremely nervous about this little outing before he bought the tickets. He knew he was sneaky, and getting the same fabrics and colours as something she had bought recently was more than a little creepy. This was, however, for her birthday, and he was determined to impress her. He was a Slytherin, after all. He knew how much she loved men who dolled themselves up, so he had put extra care into his presentation tonight. He had taken Draco and bought them accompanying robes in a boutique he knew she liked in France, one he knew she had just been to the other day. He collected her birth flowers on his robes, hoping she could catch the minor detail. By the time he stepped through the floo that evening, he was ready to bail. He knew he couldn't; this was important for both Cissy and Draco. Severus was painfully aware of how neglectful Lucius, as a father, was. Draco had cried and spent the evening at Spinner's end enough times to know that Draco was sorely missing in the after department. That's when he had pointed his studious godson towards the medical journals he kept on hand. He needed Draco to realize that how his father was treating him was wrong and that he deserved better. As did his beautiful mother, but that would be a thing for later.
Now, it was later, and Severus was panicking. The two adults had stared at each other for probably thirty seconds already, and while Cissy always looked beautiful, he couldn't help but think she looked even more stunning with her hair up in a messy bun and her comfy evening robes on. He wished he could see her like this all the time. She had no makeup on, and she was just authentically herself… he couldn't stop watching her brain work as she took him in. Would she think he looks silly? Would she laugh and tell him to stick to teaching robes? He glanced at her face, and all his doubts disappeared. She looked hungry. Her eyes were hooded, but he could see the flash of possessive want when she trailed her eyes back up his body. He felt a little naked if he was being honest. He relished in her attention. He had wanted her to look at him and see him as a man since before she had graduated from Hogwarts. Then she married Lucius fucking Malfoy, and his hopes washed away down the drain. A few years after that, however, he was asked to be her son's godfather. Something that would tether him to her family…to her for the rest of his life. He didn't complain. He took what morsel of love she would give him and relished in the small mercies she afforded him. If he was being frank, he had become obsessed with her beauty, brain, and love. He hoped she would see just how much he cared for her tonight. How much he loved her and how much better she deserved than Lucius Fucking Malfoy.
He watched as she almost sprinted up the stairs to get ready. He was excited to see what kind of dress she had gotten. Glancing down at his godson, he had a mischievous little smile.
"What makes you smile like that, buddy?" Draco's smile only widened, and he glanced back at the staircase.
"Oh, nothing…except you love my mom."
He would have spat it out if Severus had had water in his mouth. How on earth did this seven-year-old child see right through him?!
"Don't worry, I will keep your secret, but you must tell her soon. Oh! And you can't love her more than I do; I am already mommy's favourite. You can't take my spot!" Gods, his son was so cute. Severus loved Cissy, but he was sure he loved Draco even more.
"Don't worry, Dray, you are not only mommy's favourite but also my favourite."