Non-Verbal
With one last scream and a push the baby was out and Narcissa collapsed back on the bed. As she lay breathing hard, trying to catch her breath, a house elf was mopping the sweat from her face. A mid-wife tended to the new baby with a smile. “A beautiful girl, mum.” The woman said sweetly as she wrapped up the tiny infant and brought her over to Narcissa. Dobby was a dutiful house elf who was tucking back his mistress’s hair and trying to make her comfortable after hours of labor. She had a tired smile on her face as she looked down to the small round face of her daughter. Her perfect family, pure and true, would be complete.
Narcissa gently moved the blanket to get a better look while Dobby assisted in cleaning up the mess. Her eyes instantly went wide with fear - it couldn’t be. Quickly she covered the baby’s head again, hiding the red fuzz on the little girl’s head. Narcissa’s mind quickly reeled back to the affair. It had been so short – she didn’t love the man – she loved her husband and wanted his attention. And she’d gotten it but in all the wrong ways. There wasn’t a salve strong enough to cover the bruises he’d left on her when he discovered them together.
While Lucius had beaten his wife, he’d done far worse to the man she’d brought into her bed. He obliviated the ginger Quidditch player and planted a story about the man trying to rob them and trying to kill Narcissa – an easy explanation for her beaten body when the Auror’s arrived. The man was sent to Azkaban and would end up dying there for a crime he never committed. Through the whole pregnancy, Narcissa hoped the baby was Lucius’s but she had never been sure. But now seeing the red hair on the baby, she knew.
She reached to the table at her side for her want wand and she aimed it at the mid-wife’s back. “Obliviate” she barely whispered, the woman’s eyes went blank. “Dobby, take her far away from here.” And with nervous nods, the elf took the woman’s hand and with a pop they were gone.
Her voice shook upon the elf’s return – knowing Lucius would be up soon and would surely kill them both once he saw the ginger hair on the baby’s head. “Take the baby, take her.” She held out the infant to the confused but obeying elf. “Find a wizarding family.” She paused for a moment, her nature taking over. “Purebloods. A family that will take care of her as their own.” She tried to maintain her composure as she gave specific instructions to ensure that the elf could never tell a soul about the child’s existence. When she heard the tap of Lucius’ shoes coming down the hall she could feel the panic hit her. “Go. Now!” And the elf was gone with another pop, taking her daughter with him.
Narcissa knew would be punished again as soon as her husband entered the room and he did not disappoint. She tried to tell him that the infant was dead, stillborn, and she’d sent the mid-wife away with the body – but he saw through her attempts.
Punishing his wife was the one thing Lucius did like a muggle. The sound it made when his hand met her cheek seemed to echo through the room. He didn’t want details of the child; he had no urge to find the product of yet another stain on his perfect family. Instead he brutally beat his wife with his hands and the cane that held his wand secure. Only when she was on her knees pleading and apologizing to him did he stop striking her. He pulled her to her feet and pressed her to the wall. “You will never betray me again.” He spoke coldly.
“Never...” She whimpered out - but it wasn’t enough for him.
“Never.” He repeated, his eyes glaring hard into hers as his wand pressing against her stomach. The spell was non-verbal, only the cold look in his eyes gave her an indication it was coming. She was too weak to stop him and could only scream in pain before she crumpled to the floor. Narcissa lay in a ball sobbing - the pain was worse than any child birth, worse even than the Cruciatus Curse. With the single, silent blow Narcissa would never be able to have children again.
Lucius killed more than her womb that night, he killed something else deep inside her and made her go cold. He could hit her, he could sleep with her and tell her he loved her, he could buy her the best of everything, but nothing changed her. Though she could remain courteous and polite, she was empty inside. Only Draco received any love and affection – all she had left went to her only child. He was protected, spoiled and given everything – to Narcissa, Draco was all that mattered anymore.
Ginny Weasley never knew she was an adopted child once left on a doorstep. How could she have known? After all she resembled her family and was accepted by her siblings as their sister, and most importantly she was a Weasley in her heart. Molly and Arthur discussed telling her several times, but there had always been some reason not to. Something would always come up and they would hold their tongues. Eventually they stopped even trying to think of a reason she needed to know. She was their daughter, she was loved, and a decade had gone by and no one had ever come to claim her. The older boys didn’t say anything, and the younger didn’t remember any different than having a little sister.
Narcissa never forgot the small ginger child. She was left with a gaping hole inside where her daughter once was. She made a point never to ask Dobby where he had taken the baby, deep down Narcissa knew that it would only risk their lives. She knew that even know, many years later, Lucius would still kill her illegitimate child without hesitation – and likely kill her as well just for the reminder of it all. Lucius, too, never forgot. His lack of more children, even at his own hand, was a constant reminder. Though he had no doubts that the punishment fit the crime. She’d deceived him and betrayed him and if he ever found that child he’d relish in watching it die.