Death Eaters

Family ties

Lucius slowly stroked his wife's hair as she laid against him on the couch; she was dozing off as he read a book. He smiled as she sighed drowsily in his lap. "Kept you up too late?" Lucius purred, kissing her on the lips.

"Always," Narcissa giggled, kissing him back. "But I do enjoy myself."

"Good," he whispered, kissing her forehead before turning back to his book. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Just tired," she smiled, turning her head a bit as she closed her eyes. "We're not expecting... yet."

He smirked and returned to his book, his free hand continuing to stroke her hair. He flicked his wand and put away the book, when he was done. "Father!" Draco called, coming in from an outing with his grandfathers.

Narcissa shifted in her sleep. "In here," Lucius replied, trying to keep his voice low enough so he wouldn't wake her up. "Quietly," he said firmly, glancing down as he continued stroking her hair.

"Why is she tired?" Draco asked, sitting down across from him.

"Passionate night," Lucius replied lightly. Draco made a face and Lucius smirked. "You asked, son."

"Why does she and my grandfathers not get along?" Draco asked after several moments.

"Your grandfathers are stuck in the past," Lucius sighed, pointing his wand at her throat to lower the volume of her gentle snores so they could talk. He then continued stroking her hair. "You have to understand that most pure-blood marriages are not made out of love; they're out of duty. To keep the line pure... or as pure as possible in our case. You will find the occasional third generation (or further generation) half-blood on my side of the family; not so much with your mother's— but that doesn't mean the Black family is perfect. After the marriage scandal, Papa Cygnus was adamant that she be put with a strong pure-blood husband. The other options for her were... less than desirable."

"Why?"

"Her other suitors were some of my cohorts. Not many understand how to love, let alone care for their wives properly. Thorfinn Rowle, who's had his eye on her since her first year... and believe me when I say the plans he was contriving were less than dignified; Macnair is cold hearted and cruel, and Travers was just going to use her as a woman of the night."

"Isn't that what you do?"

"It's a bit different," Lucius smiled looking down at her as she twitched in his grasp. "I make sure she's happy and comfortable; she does the same for me. If she says she's not in the mood, I respect that from her; she does the same for me. None of her suitors would do that for her."

"But why doesn't she get along with Grandfather?"

"Because she hasn't... fulfilled what my father believes is expected of her," Lucius said slowly, hoping Narcissa would stay asleep. "Your mother has had trouble bearing children— through no fault of her own. My father greatly disapproves. He believes that is all a wife is used for... and yes, that is how he treated your grandmother before she passed."

"Because of duty?"

Lucius nodded, smiling as Narcissa shifted a bit. Her pale skin seemed to glow a bit in the firelight, making her more beautiful as he noticed the relax smile on her lips. "Your mother and I were very lucky to have fallen in love; not only are we able to please our families, but we're in a far better relationship than either of our parents were in."

"Why is that?"

"My father was rather controlling of our family," Lucius murmured. "Particularly of my mother because of the times they grew up in. After Aunt Dawn was born, he gave up having more sons and sought... other means of satisfaction. I didn't want to live my life that way; proud only in public, I wanted pride in everything. My wife, my children..." he smiled at Draco. "Not a cold relationship that he was in. I won't go into detail on your mother's home life, but she was very happy to leave when we married."