Narcissa Malfoy x reader

A Mother's Bond

Summary: Narcissa thinks she has been having a hard time connecting with Carina.

Warnings: fluff, light angst, happy ending, insecurity, newborn.

Having a newborn is tough. The only things they do are cry, wee, poo, eat, sleep and occasionally vomit. They cry all the time, regardless if it's day or night, if you're occupied or not. It's just how they are. And it's obviously not so different when it comes to Carina, your perfect baby girl born only a month ago.

Your marvellous wife, knowing how little sleep you had been getting over the last few days, basically forbade you to get out of bed at night to look after your daughter. At first you even tried to protest, saying that Carina needed your milk. At the mention of this, you were extremely surprised when Narcissa assured you that you wouldn't have to worry about it, since she had been to a muggle shop and bought a breast pump (which left you feeling momentarily amused, seeing how astonished she was at this discovery), so you wouldn't have to worry about breastfeeding Carina during the night, you would just use the pump before bed and store the milk in the fridge, and then during the night your wife would take care of everything.

Although you feel immensely grateful for her gesture, there's something Narcissa didn't think about: with her in charge of Carina on the night shift, she wouldn't sleep well, considering she's always had trouble sleeping during the day, so even taking short naps wasn't an option.

Even though you're much more relaxed compared to the first days of your daughter's life, you can't help but notice that your girls aren't well, something that Narcissa tries her best to hide from you.

Your suspicions that something was wrong begin when you wake up in the middle of the night and, when you roll over in bed, realise that your wife isn't there, her side is even cold. This can only mean that she had got up a long time ago, or that she hasn't even rested. You rub your eyes sleepily, trying to wake up properly. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, you get out of bed, not without a brief groan of tiredness leaving your lips.

Walking slowly and quietly, you approach the door of the nursery. You hear your baby's cry coming from the room, and you can't help but wonder why Narcissa hasn't done anything yet. As you get closer, the door is slightly open, enough for you to peek inside without being noticed. You see your wife's silhouette in the dark. She's holding a crying Carina in her arms, her movements are soft and caring, but desperate.

"Why do you keep crying, sweetheart?" you faintly hear Narcissa's voice, a whisper, and you immediately notice her voice is trembling.

Without making a sound, you enter the room quietly, not trying to scare your wife.

As you walk up to her, you gently ask, "Is everything alright?", your voice is low and quiet, as if not to startle her.

Her body tenses briefly, and as she turns to look at you, you notice the hint of tears in her red cheeks. She quickly sniffs, her face a bit flushed.

"Everything is alright." she says, her voice still a whisper but a waver clear in her voice. "Carina's just having a hard time calming down, that's all."

You slowly approach her, seeing how she's on the verge of breaking down. As you get closer, you gingerly reach for the baby in her arms, offering quietly, "Why don't you give her to me, Cissy?"

She hesitates for a moment, her grip on the baby still firm, and mutters, "I don't know... you were supposed to be resting. Did we wake you up?", her eyes flitting between you and the baby.

"No, I didn't wake up because of Carina's cries. Here, let me take her, okay?" you say gently, your voice quiet, and with gentle movements, you carefully take the baby from Narcissa's arms.