Bound

Chapter 31

"The Blacks and the Malfoys weren't always on good terms, and when Lucius and I wanted to get married, they refused because there was trouble between the two families. I was supposed to marry someone from my family, probably my cousin or niece, it didn't really matter to the House of Black. Lucius was supposed to marry a Parkinson, though I don't know who. I was afraid of defying my parents, because of—"

"Andromeda." Hermione said, and watched as Narcissa gave a curt nod.

"Yes. Andromeda was the bravest of us three. She managed to defy my family and marry a Muggleborn. I was afraid to get disowned, and Lucius didn't want my family to do anything drastic, so he took it upon himself to defy both of our families. When he proposed to me in school, our families had no choice but to marry us, seeing that it is apparently 'shame' to break an engagement of any sorts, even if it was the muggle sort."

"Lucius proposed to you in a muggle way?!" Hermione inquired, her eyes widening at the thought of Lucius Malfoy falling on one knee and proposing to Narcissa.

Narcissa chuckled and nodded. "Yes, he did. It was wonderful. It was even better when my dear cousin and his friends cheered for us. They hated Lucius, and him proposing to me in the Great Hall in front of everyone was apparently something to be reckoned with."

"You mean Sirius? Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter?" Hermione lifted an eyebrow as she asked.

"Yes. It was kind of sweet if I say so myself." Narcissa remarked before continuing. "Anyways, Lucius and I ended up getting married, even if both of  our families were furious. Lucius had more control over his family than I ever had over mine. And slowly, his family accepted me and I would go as far as say that they actually preferred me over Parkinson, whoever she was."

Hermione smiled, but she felt that her question was still left a bit unanswered. Narcissa continued on, answering Hermione's question more thoroughly.

"What I mean is that Draco wasn't there when Lucius and I were young and had years in front of us. Draco didn't see the good that my husband did, he only saw the bad that his father did. He only paid attention to how Lucius treated him, because it was easy to outlook the good and notice the bad,"

That sentence particularly hit Hermione. Outlook the good and notice the bad. She felt guilty for those years when she judged Draco by the bad things that he did, but to her defense, Draco didn't do anything good. Visibly, he didn't do anything good visibly.

A drunken conversation suddenly flew to the forefront of her mind.

"Remember that paper? The paper that had everything you needed to know about the basilisk?"

She nodded her head in remembrance, "Yes, Harry and Ron thought that I was the one who tore it from a book, but I wasn't—"

She paused and her eyes widened.

"You?!"

He smiled slightly and nodded, "Me."

Hermione hid a smile and listened to Narcissa speak.

"If Draco paid more attention to Lucius, he would have noticed the times that Lucius got me my favorite kind of flowers, he would have noticed Lucius massage my feet after a long day, he would have noticed the way Lucius looked at me when he thought I wasn't looking," Narcissa gave a small smirk at that, and Hermione couldn't help but smile as the Slytherin in Narcissa Malfoy made itself present.

"Draco would have noticed how good of a husband Lucius was. Lucius may not have been the best father, but he did what was done to him. He taught Draco what was taught to him. He took the time of the day to have Draco sit with him in the library and read him books. He did everything for Draco, even if his idea of everything wasn't all good. He even tried to change Voldemort's plans; tried to discourage him from officially marking Draco. Even if his efforts didn't work, he still tried his best. But of course, Draco—"