Stronger Than Silver

A Lesson from a Cold Mother

Trigger warnings: Child Neglect, Mention of Suicide

(Author's Note: I read a fanfiction somewhere where Lucius's mother was Morgana Malfoy, so I didn't think up that name myself.

The text discusses the topic of suicide rather seriously. It may be triggering.)

Growing up, his mother had never been close to him. Morgana Malfoy was a forbidding but emotionally stable mother who had many ambitions and much experience in her life. Although she was cold and emotionally unavailable, Lucius preferred her over his father in a heartbeat. Unlike his father, Morgana did not inflict scars on her son that he could never recover. 

Morgana lived a difficult life. Her father had died at his own hands when she was only twelve, and she had to marry Abraxas when she was twenty. Just one year later, Morgana had Lucius. Many obstacles stood in her way throughout her life, but she bludgeoned her way through like a true warrior would. She was a slender woman with a snowy white complexion, shining sapphire eyes, and a svelte figure. Her long, straight blonde hair flowed down her back like a waterfall. Some of her classmates at Hogwarts gossiped about her appearance behind her back, throwing in words such as "as cadaverous as a corpse" to mock her. Others would call her a deviant for her lack of empathy. However, Morgana treasured her beauty. She valued her coldness. Morgana was self-confident but not vain. She did not care too much for jewelry and material possessions but wore them regardless to look fancy. Morgana was what people would call a practical woman. Logic ruled her mind rather than her emotions. Fast, clever, and sharp. That was his mother. 

Like her son, Morgana was an overachiever. She had graduated from her fifth year at Hogwarts with nine O.W.L.S.

Just months after Lucius had started attending Hogwarts and beginning his training in witchcraft, Morgana gave him a piece of advice. 

"It is time that you learn a lesson," Morgana muttered when the two were alone in the manor library.

Lucius nodded, taking his eyes off the history book he was reading. It entailed something about "Grindelward's War." He swallowed, anticipating hearing his mother's lecture. 

Morgana's sapphire eyes gazed straight ahead. "The world is a cruel place, child. It is an insanely cruel place. You'll often find yourself lost in life. Lost without a purpose..." 

The Slytherin boy leaned slightly closer to catch onto his mother's words. 

"However, if you want to survive in life, you must learn one thing. You ought to learn; never grow attached," Morgana continued, her eyes still staring, emptiness in them. "Never grow attached. To anyone. To anything. It's how you avoid getting hurt." 

He nodded again, trying to meet his mother's gaze. "Oh...?" 

"That's right, Lucius. Life can be a devil sometimes. Inevitably, those you love the most will eventually abandon or betray you. For this reason, it is so important to avoid attaching yourself to others."

Lucius set his book back on the shelf and looked at his mother with a flummoxed expression. "Are you saying you'll abandon me?"

"Well, one day, I will die." 

A blank facade took over the blonde boy's nutrient-starved features.

"My child, you must see," Morgana smiled flatly. "We will all have to die one day. It's the way life is. Loved ones die, little ones grow old and die, and someday, you will die," she explained. 

Why try to live if we are going to die anyway? Lucius wondered to himself.

People all die anyway. Whatever legacies they leave behind or what goals they had accomplished during their lifetime, they all dim when none is left but a grave.