NARCISSA JO PART 1
Narcissa Jo Malfoy - 25
Thomas Nott - 26
Athena Malfoy Potter - 27
Albus Potter - 27
November 2033
"Athena! Athena! Are you here?!" Narcissa Jo banged on her sister's front door repeatedly.
She heard a baby cry and swearing before the porch light came on and Albus angrily opened the door in his dressing gown.
"Who the fuck is banging on my bloody door at three in the morning?!" His gaze fell on his sister in law standing on his porch, drenched to the bone. "Bloody hell Cissa Jo! Get in here!"
He pulled her inside and immediately lit the fireplace. He placed a chair next to it and guided her into it. "Merlin's pants, you're freezing! Hold on. I'll grab some towels."
"Albus who was it?" Athena asked as she came down the stairs. "I hope you blasted them off the bloody porch."
She entered the drawing room and saw Narcissa Jo shivering by the fireplace. "Cissy? What's happened? Why are you all wet?"
"Can you take me to St. Mungo's?"
"Right now? I mean Albus can; I'm pregnant, so I can't use the floo--"
Narcissa Jo shook her head. "No. Can you drive me to St. Mungo's?"
"Drive you? Oh, shit do you think you're--" Athena waved her hand. "We don't have to go to St. Mungo's for that. Come with me."
She took her sister by the hand and led her to the guest bathroom. Narcissa Jo stood in the corner while Athena searched the cabinets. She abruptly stopped when she had an alarming thought.
"Wait. If you wanted me to drive you to St. Mungo's, that means you didn't apparate here."
Narcissa Jo shook her head guiltily.
"Then how the hell did you get here? Did you walk all the way here from your apartment?"
"No. I came from Thomas' place."
"Cissy! Are you mad?! That's like two kilometers from here! And it's raining!"
Narcissa Jo's eyes welled up with tears. "I needed my sister and I was scared to apparate and I, I,--"
"Oh Cissy come here," Athena said, pulling her sobbing sister into a hug. "Don't cry. I didn't mean to chastise you."
When Narcissa Jo's tears subsided, Athena hopped onto the counter and stared at her. "Does Thomas know you're gone?"
"No. He was sleeping when I left."
"What's happened? Why did you leave?"
"Well, it started earlier after the fashion show..."
*********************
7 Hours Earlier
"Good evening! As many of you know, I started the Narcissa Fashion House with family in mind. I named my brand after my grandmother, who I was named after. She was known for her poise and sense of style and it is always my goal to emulate that in my designs. I hope you enjoy the debut of the Makayla Collection inspired by my dear niece. This is our fashion house's first line for children. Makayla, sweetheart come on up here."
The audience applauded as Makayla gracefully made her way onto the runway and stood next to her aunt. They were wearing variations of the same outfit. Red babydoll dresses, Makayla's paired with sandals, Narcissa Jo's with sky high stilettos.
"Makayla was very instrumental in the designs that you will soon see as our precious models grace the runway. She shows great promise already at only the age of nine! Makayla, would you like to open the show?"
Makayla nodded and took the microphone. "On behalf of everyone here at Narcissa Fashion House as well as my family, I would like to thank you for being here on this special occasion. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
The show was a huge success among both the muggle and wizard fashion critics who were in attendance and Narcissa Jo was subjected to interview after interview when it was over.
"The show was amazing love," Thomas said as he dragged her away from the reporters and handed her a slice of cheesecake which she promptly inhaled.
Narcissa Jo nodded her gratitude. "Thanks for this babe. I'm starving." She took another bite and felt something hard between her teeth. She frowned in confusion as she pulled the foreign object out of her mouth and wiped it with her napkin.
It was a beautiful white gold engagement ring with a huge princess cut diamond smack dab in the middle.
She gasped and almost dropped it. "Thomas? What is this?" She looked up and saw him down on one knee in front of her.
"Narcissa Jo Malfoy. Years ago, you showed me the stars in a place where nothing could block them. That day, you became my own personal star, shining brightness into my very dim life. I love you and you would make me the happiest man on Earth if you would be my wife."
Tears were streaming down Narcissa Jo's face as she nodded enthusiastically and practically leaped into his arms. The reporters still in attendance quickly snapped photos as the newly engaged couple shared a kiss.
They walked back to Thomas' apartment together, hand in hand, bright smiles on their faces. Thomas could hardly get the door open before Narcissa Jo pounced on him. A few minutes later she was stripped down to her knickers, straddling him on the couch, when all of a sudden she felt a strong urge to vomit. She sprinted from the living room and into the bathroom where she emptied her stomach of its contents.
Thomas came in to check on her. "Are you okay Cissa Jo?"
"Yeah," she said after rinsing her mouth out and reaching for the spare toothbrush she kept at his place. "I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me."
"Oh good," he said blowing out a deep breath. "For a second there I thought you might be pregnant," he chuckled.
Narcissa Jo looked at him in the mirror. "Pregnancy is not the only cause of nausea Thomas."
He raised his hands. "Sorry babe. I meant no offense. I was just saying I'm glad that's not what made you sick."
"Do you not want kids?" She turned around to face him directly.
"Not right now!" he said with a laugh. "We're still so young! You're on top of the fashion world right now, I'm running the business and we haven't even gotten married yet. One day in the distant, distant future, maybe."
"Maybe?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
He shrugged. "Yeah, I mean there are so many things I still want to do. I want to travel the world with you." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. "It's hard to do that with kids."
"Scorpius and Rosie do all the time," Narcissa Jo countered, pulling away from him.
"Wait. I didn't know you wanted kids. You always made it sound like you don't like them."
"I like children," she replied defensively. "Would I have just done an entire line dedicated to kids if I didn't? I just don't want as many as Athena and Albus have."
"Is not having kids a deal breaker?" Thomas asked quietly.
Narcissa Jo nodded slowly. "I think it is."
Thomas was quiet for a few moments then he blew out a deep breath. "I guess I'd be okay with a kid or two. But not now. Maybe in ten years or so."
They stood in awkward silence until Narcissa Jo gasped and leaned over the toilet to vomit again. When she was finished she smiled weakly at Thomas who looked extremely worried. "I'm fine. I think a cool shower will help me feel better. I'll come to bed in a few minutes."
"Are you sure?"
Narcissa Jo nodded and he kissed her on the forehead before leaving her alone in the restroom. Once she was alone, she looked at herself in the mirror and burst into tears. She cast a silencing charm so that Thomas wouldn't hear her and turned on the shower.
********************
"Wow," Athena said when Narcissa Jo finished her story. "So you're engaged? Congratulations!"
"'Thena!" Narcissa Jo whined. "That's not the point!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Here." She handed her a small pink box.
Narcissa Jo frowned. "What's this?"
"Muggle pregnancy test. You open it, and then pee on the little stick and it will tell us if your pregnant or not."
Narcissa Jo stared at her sister in disbelief. "You're kidding."
Athena shook her head.
"That's disgusting!"
Athena laughed. "I know! But it could save us a drive to St. Mungo's so...I'll be outside. Come get me when you're done."
Athena walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her and leaving Narcissa Jo alone with her thoughts.
She followed the instructions on the box and opened the door for Athena to come back in.
"How are you feeling?" Athena asked while they waited for the three minutes to pass.
Narcissa Jo shrugged. "I don't know. To be quite honest, I never really thought about having kids until tonight. And now that I may be...expecting, I think I want to have kids. Sooner, rather than later. Maybe this means Thomas and I aren't meant to be together," she said with a sigh.
"Not necessarily," Athena replied. "It just means you guys have to have some difficult conversations and maybe make some compromises. You know, find some middle ground. That's what marriage is about. Making decisions together."
Narcissa Jo nodded pensively.
"I think the three minutes are up," Athena said quietly after a while. "Do you want to look?"
"Yeah."
********************
"Thomas are you here?"
"Is that you Cissa Jo?" Thomas came sprinting out of the bedroom of his flat and almost knocked Narcissa Jo over in the process. "Oh my God! Why did you do that to me? I was freaking out until Albus' patronus came and told me where you were."
"I just needed some space. Can we talk?"
Thomas was taken aback but nodded and gestured toward the sofa where they both sat down.
"Look, I get it if you don't want to marry me--" Thomas started but Narcissa Jo held up her hand to stop him.
"It's not that." She reached into her bag and pulled out the pregnancy test she had taken at her sister's house, setting it down on the table.
"What's that?"
"It's a muggle device that tells you if you're pregnant or not."
Thomas' eyes widened. "What?! I thought you said you weren't--"
"I'm not!" Narcissa Jo said angrily. "But I wasn't sure, so I went to Athena to figure out what to do."
"So you left here, in the middle of the night, while it was raining, walked two kilometers to your sister's house and stayed there for three days instead of talking to me about it?"
"Well with the reaction you had can you blame me?!" Narcissa Jo stood up and started pacing. "We should have had this conversation long before now."
"What conversation? What are you getting at Cissa Jo?" he frowned
She blew out a deep breath. "I want to have kids Thomas."
"Well someday in the future we might--"
"That's just it! I don't want a 'maybe we will' or an unsure answer from you. And I don't want to wait ten years. I'm twenty-five now; In ten years I'll be almost forty!"
"I don't know what to say to that," Thomas said quietly.
Narcissa Jo sat back down on the couch and took his hands in hers. "I love you Thomas, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But this is a big deal to me. I didn't know it was until the other day and I get that that's not fair to you. So take some time and really think about it."
She slipped her hand out of his and pulled off the beautiful engagement ring he had given her and put it in his hand. She tried to ignore the look of devastation on Thomas' face and continued.
"I want to marry you. I really do. But I need to know that if you do decide that you're okay with us having kids, it's because you really want to, not because you want to please me. So like I said think about it, and if you decide that it's something you want, you know where to find me."
And with that, she stood up and left his flat.
A/N I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I finally updated the family tree! There are no spoilers on it so the mystery remains lol Part 2 may be up tomorrow; It depends on how my final goes :'( As always please vote, comment and follow!