Wrinkles in Life

Chapter Four

       Draco told his mother the morning of their trial. Draco's father had been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban and Narcissa had been holding up amazingly. She and Draco took care of each other and it was the happiest both of them had been in what felt like forever. This morning, though, she was a bit of a mess. They were due at the trial soon and she was almost ready, but her shaking hands had caused her to mess up on her makeup for the last half hour. Draco was sat across the room, looking at his mother's reflection curse at the smudged eyeliner.

      He found himself striding towards her without noticing. "Draco? Are you all right?" she asked. He swallowed and hesitated for a moment. Draco had spent the entire time thinking about correcting Narcissa's makeup and just thought, Screw it. My whole life could go to hell in an hour. Why not? He took the makeup wipe from her hands and gently took all her makeup off.

      Narcissa Malfoy was a strong willed woman who protected the people she loved. She had never wanted to rejoin the Dark Lord and only did it because her husband had already thrust him into her and her son's life. She knew there was no way for her to revolt against it without endangering her son, so she didn't. When she took the risk to save Harry Potter, it was because she knew that whatever happened, Draco could still get hurt in some way and the Boy Who Lived was the best chance of making sure her son lived. She was strong but the past two years had taken a toll on her, and Draco could see it now clearly without the armour his mother put on every day to face the world.

      Narcissa didn't say anything. Draco put on her eyeliner then mascara. He looked at her briefly as he added a little eyeshadow. He took a brush and put on some foundation on her skin. He took out his favourite tube of red lipstick, the same tube that Draco had taken from this vanity from what seemed like a lifetime ago, and put it on her. Draco could feel his mother looking at it but when she started to say something he just said, "You'll mess up the lines," and she stopped abruptly. He then took another paler pink lipstick from in front of Narcissa and dabbed some on her cheeks before blending it in. The mother and son had the same pale complexion and he knew that the light pink lipstick would add a nice, natural looking colour to her cheeks. He combed out her eyebrows and said, "Done," before taking a step back to let her survey his work.

      Narcissa looked in the mirror and in a choked voice said, "I can't believe my own son is better at this than I am." She smiled at him with watery eyes and stood up to hug him. "You aren't as surprised as I had expected you to be," he merely stated. "Well, I'm not," she replied. "You did always like to watch me do my makeup. You are my son, Draco. I would still love you no matter what happened. It is going to take some time for me to adjust if you start looking better than me in my own lipstick, but what can you do?" she joked. "Thank you, Mother," her son said, astonished.

      "And thank you, Draco, for being so honest with me. We will be all right," she assured him with a smile. "So, is there anything else you want to tell me? Perhaps you have more of my lipstick?" she laughed.

      "I like boys," he blurted. Two birds with one stone, might as well, he thought. "I've never been interested in Pansy Parkinson. She's a dear friend, but I could never marry her. Or any of the other women Father introduced to me. Not Astoria or Penelope, any woman at all." Draco took a deep breath. "I hope you'll try to understand."

      Draco's mother pursed her lips but still hugged him again and kissed the top of his head. "Always," she breathed. "I doubt Lucius would be very happy, but you don't have to worry about him," she said in a small voice. "I will always be here for you. It is you and me now, and we will be fine."

      And they were. Thanks to testimony from Harry Potter, Narcissa and Draco left the trial with probation; a large monetary fine - barely a scratch in their Gringotts vault - which would be donated to help rebuild Hogwarts; and Draco had to attend Hogwarts for his eighth year. Draco felt great and tried to shake off some of his uneasiness. He had planned to go back to school, but the prospect of facing people who no doubt hated him for what he did was looking him straight in the eye and he wasn't sure what to do. Draco swore to himself that he would make amends with everyone. The war was over and things were falling into a better slot than they were before. Draco wanted to iron out another wrinkle in the fabric of his life.