Title: The Other White Sheep

Characters: Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy.

Prompts: Write about a character defending their family (Narcissa protecting Draco by leaving Lucius).

AN: Can be seen as connected to Not Anymore and Moony. I went slightly AU with this one and kind of directed Narcissa in another direction so to speak. Written for the Jurassic Fever [Challenge] held by whitetiger91 at The Golden Snitch Forum.

Warning: Minor bashing of Lucius Malfoy.

Word Count: 2, 510

October 1981

When Narcissa was a child she was often referred to as the other white sheep. All because she laughed when Sirius told jokes and because when everyone else walked away from the boy during parties she approached him; the others didn't know what they were missing. And because of that the other pureblood families didn't look at her quite as much as they did her older sisters. Not until Andromeda performed the worst kind of betrayal she possibly could against the family did the Malfoy's lay their slimy eyes on Narcissa.

From the moment that she looked into Lucius pale grey eyes Narcissa knew that if the dark lord ever fell as would Lucius. Not fall in the same meaning of the word. The dark lord would fall from the high pedestal he had put himself on and Lucius would fall into the darkness where he could proclaim his innocence with his head bowed before the men in power.

On October 31st 1981 Lucius Malfoy came running into their bedroom. Narcissa saw the panicked expression on his face the moment he mumbled lumos and forgot any thought she had about telling him to be quiet not to wake up Draco.

"The dark lord…" he whispered as he tried to catch his breath. Lucius eyes were wide-open and his face paler than usual. "The dark lord has fallen."

Narcissa didn't speak. No words were necessary and she knew the moment that Lucius rested his head in her lap, as the truth seeped into his mind, that tomorrow everything that could be used as evidence that they were once followers of the dark lord would be gone.

Lucius would have it removed because he was a coward.

Narcissa would obey his will to have it removed to protect her family.

November 1981

Bellatrix was taken away. As were Rodolphus. They had both proclaimed how proud they were to serve the dark lord during his time of need. They both swore that they remained supportive of his cause in spite of what would happen to them for saying so. Narcissa realised in the moment she saw her sister vanish out of sight that she would never do something like that. Lucius didn't.

But their reasons were very different. Lucius bowed before the men in front of him because of fear. Narcissa would do so because she realised that family was far more important than this idea that was now the reason for several good people being imprisoned.

Narcissa watched her husband in trial. She sat with her back straight, her head held high and watched as the whimpering mess in front of her proclaimed, just like she knew that he would, how innocent he was. She saw the expressions of disbelief on the faces of the men and women who had been fighting death eaters for years at this point. Those were the faces who were to determine if her husband was going to be taken away too. They, much like some death eaters, wore their tokens from the war like badges of honour. They, unlike Lucius, did not make themselves look smaller or weak. They had pride.

Narcissa couldn't help but feel impressed at the sight of them. Though she had been taught to hate these people, their opinions, she couldn't help but admire their strength. She couldn't say for sure but a part of her believed that if they were the ones on trial they would have stood for their actions; just like Bellatrix and Rodolphus among many had. They wouldn't deny the things they did during the war.

"What do you plead?"

Hesitation. "Not…" his voice broke as Lucius almost dared look the man in the eyes. "Not guilty."

December 1981

Christmas was different compared to the other years. Narcissa put on a brave smile for her son. She didn't know if he noticed the auror that circled the house at night when they thought they wouldn't be noticed. Sometimes there were several of them. She hoped that he didn't but on several occasions, she thought she saw understanding in his grey eyes. Those eyes that reminded her of Lucius, sadly.

In that aspect, Christmas was no different from any other days in the last few months.

Narcissa saw them when she walked into Draco's room that morning. She saw the shadow of someone hiding behind a tree and looked away as if she had never seen him or her. The sound of gibberish being spoken in a rapid pace told her that Draco was already awake. Only when she got closer did Narcissa see his blond hair as he looked at something in front of him while talking loudly.

His eyes lightened up when he saw her and Narcissa couldn't help but smile. "Good morning my love."

January 1982

"All I'm saying is that it's ridiculous."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. She had the words on the tip of her tongue and she was closer to begging her mother to stop talking than she would like to admit but somehow, she managed to say silent. They were surrounded by people, all speaking too loudly for their conversation to be noticed, and Narcissa looked into the windows of the shops they passed.

"I hear you mother." Narcissa replied and glanced down at Draco lying asleep in the baby carriage she was pushing in front of her.

Narcissa listened with half an ear. Her mother didn't need more than that. Nor did she need any other response than the trustworthy; I hear you mother. It wasn't a lie. Narcissa did hear her mother as she continued her rant about how outrageous it was that purebloods were being forced to give away their beautiful artefacts due to them being deemed dangerous.

Narcissa didn't tell her mother that she cared very little, if not at all, about whether she was allowed to keep the artefacts. Some of them were quite dreadful. But those were words not meant to be spoken. Just like proclaiming that she never really believed in the ideas of purebloods being better and that she would gladly abandon the faith if she could defend her family because of it.

Those words were definitely not meant to be spoken.

February 1982

Narcissa realised how little she cared for Lucius on valentine's day. She didn't know if it was the smile or the way he smiled at her. All she knew was that when his fingers touched her skin as he helped her with the neckless he had bought her Narcissa felt a shiver go down her spine. And not the good kind.

Lucius leaned forward; feeling his breathing against her ear sent another shiver down her spine. "Happy valentine's day my love."

Narcissa forced a smile on her face. "Happy valentine's day."

March 1982

With spring approaching Narcissa began opening her eyes. She saw the pureblood society for what it really was; a market. She saw the way people were eying the teenage girls much like she had been eyed when people were still calling her the white sheep.

It made her feel disgusted.

She listened as the boys were pushed into conversations about subjects they knew nothing about. She watched as their fathers glared at them when the wrong words left their mouths; much like she remembered seeing Sirius and Regulus being like those boys and mostly Sirius being glared at.

"Are you enjoying yourself darling?" Walburga Black said as she stopped next to Narcissa with a glass in her hand.

Narcissa had stopped counting when Walburga hit her fourth. The older woman had since long left her best days and the constant drinking since Regulus disappeared didn't make it better. Walburga Black had proclaimed her pride of Regulus at the funeral. No one could see the future she was about to face.

"Yes, very much." Narcissa said and gave the woman a smile.

She did not want to end up like that. She did not want to lose her son because of something as horrible as a meaningless cause. She wanted to be the other white sheep again.

April 1982

Narcissa looked at herself in the mirror. Lucius sat on the bed and she could see his reflection looking at her. His grey eyes were colder than usual and if it wasn't for the way he self-consciously moved the hair from his face Narcissa would have almost been able to take him seriously.

"You fired the nanny."

It was a statement, not a question, but that didn't stop Narcissa from nodding. "I did fire the nanny."

"Why?"

Narcissa shrugged. "Because I am Draco's mother and I should be the one to look after him."

A part of her wanted him to question her. But the much bigger part of her was happy when Lucius did what she thought he would. He sighed deeply but didn't say anything as he laid back down on the bed. Narcissa didn't bother hiding the smile that appeared on her face just before removing the last of her make up. For a moment, she could almost imagine what Andromeda and Sirius felt like when they defied their parents and society as a whole.

She loved the feeling that came from it. Whatever it was.

May 1982

Narcissa decided to stay at home instead of going to a ball. Instead of forming her hair and changing it beyond recognition or pushing herself into a dress that was not made for human beings Narcissa stayed at home with Draco.

She waved Lucius goodbye. He had argued with her for almost an hour before realising that it was a lost cause.

Then Narcissa sat down in front of Draco. Her hair was pushed back in a lose ponytail and she wore loosely fitting clothes that probably had the power to make her mother faint if she saw her daughter wearing them.

"Look at the dragon." The blond woman said with a happy voice as a charmed paper in the shape of a dragon sailed in front of Draco.

The blond boy laughed out loud and moved his hands forward to take it but missed. That didn't stop him from trying again. Several times in a row he tried but never succeeded. His mood was good and his hope in succeeding didn't falter. Narcissa smiled and laughed every time he made a new attempt. Maybe there were something of her inside of Draco in spite of him looking mostly like Lucius.

June 1982

"You are going where?" Lucius looked angrily at Narcissa whom struggled to put Draco's shoes on.

Narcissa blew at the strands of hair that ended up in her face and glared at her husband from underneath the hair that she didn't manage to remove out of her sight. "I told you. We are going to London."

The astonished expression on Lucius face almost made Narcissa laugh out loud. "You are going to spend my son's birthday amongst muggles? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am taking your son to spend his birthday amongst a lot of muggles." Narcissa nodded. Her cheeks had reddened during the struggle but Draco was now dressed and she only needed pull her coat over her thin shoulders. "But no, I am not Sirius. He's my cousin."

July 1982

When the heath came Narcissa decided to cut her hair off. She waited until Lucius was gone and then began the stroll with Draco into town. Narcissa quite liked the muggle parts of the city. She didn't know why she smiled the way she did. Narcissa couldn't tell the woman who cut her hair so that it barely reached her shoulders why she was smiling and crying at the same time.

"Mama." Draco put her hand on his mother's tearstained cheek.

Not trusting her voice to carry Narcissa leaned down and planted a kiss on his head. The merchandise, because that's what she had always been, had changed its appearance. The white sheep had done something her mother would hate her for. And Narcissa had never felt better in her life.

August 1982

Narcissa sat on the bench in the sun. Her eyes were covered by a pair of round sunglasses and she could see Draco sitting in the sandbox just a few meters away from her. She looked around at the children and the mothers. One mother in particular caught her attention.

She had blond hair that reached just below her shoulders, high cheekbones and green eyes with a long neck. She had two boys with her. The blond boy, Narcissa thought without doubt belonged to her, but the raven-haired boy didn't. Narcissa knew exactly who that boy belonged to.

"Dudley, no!" Narcissa looked away from the woman and searched for the blond child. He looked at his mother with an embarrassed expression on his face. "Be nice or else we're going home."

Narcissa hummed. Even as an adult those words sounded odd. She couldn't remember a time when her parents had told her not to do something because it wasn't nice. It was interesting.

September 1982

Narcissa shook as the anger raged inside her body. Lucius glared at her from across the dinner table. "What do you mean I can't write Sirius? He's my cousin."

"He's a traitor." Lucius snarled. His fists clenched and his face were slowly turning red.

"A traitor?" Narcissa let out a loud laugh. "Sirius Black did what he believed was right which is much more than what you did when you were put in the same position. He fought for something worthy of his time. He didn't waste his youth running around with small-minded boys who were spooked by people because they were different."

"What are you saying?"

Narcissa felt the power rise within her. She was barely aware of the sound her chair made when it fell to the floor. She didn't notice the way her hands had wrapped themselves around the table or the fact that she was shaking the table until the first drop of wine hit her hand. Or that she was screaming until her throat felt rough.

"I am telling you that you are a coward Lucius Malfoy. I am telling you that I am sick and tired of this act. Voldemort was wrong and by following him even after his disappearance you are putting my son in danger and I won't stand silently and allow you to continue doing so any longer."

October 1982

October was a month of many firsts. It was the first full month spent living alone in a flat. Narcissa was surprised about how quickly she got over the small size of her new home.

It was the first time Narcissa spread her body across the bed because she could and it was the first time she woke up alone.

It was the first time in years that she wrote a letter to Sirius and October 31st was the first time in many years that she received a letter with her real name written on it; and Narcissa Black was yet again the white sheep.

The end