Blossoming

Authors notes: I wrote this fic because I absolutely love the second chapter of HBP. I feel that it is the first time that the Death Eaters are portrayed not just as the evil supporters of Voldemort, but also as humans with feelings of loyalty and, most importantly, love. I therefore tried to convey this is the following fanfiction. I also just love this ship and I hope I can convince you to as well.

Blossoming

The night was dark and a chill wind swept through the streets of London. High above clouds masked the pale moon so that the only light in the street was provided by a couple of old and dim street lamps. One woman, dressed in a black cloak and pointed hat, was glad of this as she made her way quietly up the dingy street. About halfway along she stopped and looked behind her, scanning the darkness carefully with over-bright eyes, before continuing on her journey. She pulled her cloak more securely around her in an attempt to protect herself from the harsh wind confronting her and hastened, snake-like, along the road and to the very last of the decrepit houses of Spinner's End. There she knocked on the door, once and then, after glancing around her, again, more urgently this time. The door opened slightly, and then the person behind it, whom the woman could not see, took the chain off and opened it fully, admitting her entry. She moved in swiftly and shut the door behind her, a sigh of relief escaping her. It was only after removing her cloak and hat that she turned to the man positioned slightly inside the front room. He looked drained and weary, as if he had taken on a great burden. He was thin and his hair hung limp and lifeless around his pallid face. Despite his worn appearance, he smiled at the woman in a comforting way and, silently, indicated the sofa for her to sit on. She did so and watched as he poured out two glasses of wine from a dusty bottle. In the light it was clear that this woman was even paler than the man, with long blonde hair and handsome features. Her eyes, the man noted, which were normally so full of life, spoke of shed tears, symbols of her pain and sorrow.

The man set the glasses on the table and sat next the woman, taking her hands in his.

"You should have come to me sooner, Narcissa," he said as he rubbed her hands to warm them. "We haven't spoken since the night he ran away."

"I know, but I did not want to drag you into this. No, don't look at me like that, Severus, it's true and you know it! My husband blames me and Dark Lord is so angry with Draco and my family that I didn't want it to look as if you had anything to do with it. If he were to find out about the Unbreakable Vow-- oh, I don't even want to think about it! But I couldn't bear it anymore, so I had to come. I am so worried about him, have you heard anything?"

"No, I'm sorry. I have been looking and listening but it's not very easy when both the Ministry and the Order are after my skin." Tears threatened to leak from her eyes but she didn't seem to notice them. "The Dark Lord hasn't found him; of that we can be thankful. And if anything dreadful has happened we would have heard. Just be patient, I'm sure-- I'm sure he's fine." But Severus was not convinced that the boy was fine. He had seen him the night of Dumbledore's death. He himself had half-carried half-dragged him back Malfoy Manor, as the boy shook with shock and fear. And he had received Narcissa at his house not two days later, when she recited her son's disappearance, and had allowed her to weep on his shoulder and had given her more comfort still, so that when she left in the morning he felt as if a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. But it had returned because, due to other unfortunate events, Narcissa had not visited again.

A sound jolted Severus back to the present and he saw that Narcissa had drunk her wine in a few, hurried gulps. He smiled and poured her some more. "I never took you to be a big drinker," he said, attempting a joke.

"I wasn't, until recently," she said, as she began to sip from her second glass of wine, more slowly this time.

Severus looked at her sadly. "How is Lucius?"

She laughed a shallow, mirthless laugh that made Severus cringe. "Oh, Lucius is-- well, he's not been in a very good mood lately. He's singing your praises to be sure, and that I don't disagree with, but he's not best pleased with me. Apparently I should have tried to stop Draco leaving, you see. And what's worse is that he's thrown himself into Death Eater activities and doesn't seem to realise, or doesn't want to realise, that Dr-Draco nearly d-died and..." She blew her nose heavily with a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, before continuing, "and that we should never have been treated that way."

As soon as the words left her mouth, he started. That sounded close to treachery, and Narcissa, recognising this also, looked up into his face, suddenly shocked. "I shouldn't have said that! Forget I said anything of the sort. Oh, promise you won't tell the Dark Lord, promise!"

She was at the point of hysteria so Severus, acting on impulse, gripped her shoulders firmly and locked her eyes with his. "I won't say anything, Narcissa. Look at me. I won't say anything. Calm down, my dear, calm down." She choked back her sobs as best she could and gulped for air. The man handed her her wine glass and she drunk from it greedily, before nodding at Severus, who was still holding her shoulders as if worried she would to go into another fit of frenzy. He released her and turned away, suddenly embarrassed that he had just witnessed a bout of such fear and distress in the woman he had known for so long as his friend's wife and, more recently, as a friend herself too.

"I hate him!" she screamed, so suddenly that it made Severus jump out of his seat and draw his wand, looking around for some sort of intruder. Instead he saw Narcissa looking unexpectedly angry, her eyes fixed on the table in front of her and her pale fingers gripping her glass so tightly Severus was afraid it might break. "I hate him for hating me! I hate him for preaching the Dark Lord! I hate him for breaking out of that stupid prison!" She turned her fierce eyes towards Severus, who was standing beside her looking stunned. "I wished he had stayed there! I wished he had stayed there and rot and I could..." She broke off and quickly diverted her gaze from Severus' face, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "I wanted him so much last year, when this all began. Now I wonder why I did," she said a lot more quietly. The woman took another sip of her wine, not looking at Severus. He sat down slowly next to her, watching her warily, as she stared at the table with distant eyes and drank her wine in contemplating silence.

Minutes passed, but to Severus it seemed like hours. He was just about to say something, anything, to break the uncomfortable silence, when Narcissa spoke.

"That's not the only reason I came, you know, to ask about Draco." Severus could feel his heart quicken.

"No?" he managed to ask, in a poor attempt to sound casual when he could feel sweat on his palms and his heart was beating so hard against the his ribcage he thought that it might burst out of his chest.

"No," she said, looking up at him again and meeting his eyes. "You are... what you've done for me... well, compared to Lucius..." She spat the name as if it was something disgusting and vulgar, but she couldn't finish the sentence. Blacks were not supposed to show their feelings, and despite already breaking this rule numerous times tonight, this was too much for her to express in words without perhaps crying again or running out in fear. She was saved, however, from having to convey the emotions she had stored up for so many weeks - and perhaps even longer- to the man sitting next to her as suddenly he leaned across the short distance and pressed his lips to her own. Warmth flooded her body and her heart seemed to uplift so that she felt contented for the first time in what felt like so long. The kiss was brief, however, and Severus pulled away, just slightly, to look into her eyes, searching for conformation that that was the right thing to do and that she wasn't angry, or shocked, or sad or anything other than pleased. She smiled at his anxiety and to reassure him, because words were beyond any point now, she leaned forward and kissed him. She felt his tongue pressing against her lips and allowed him in whilst he pulled her closer with one arm and stroked her hair with his other hand. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging to him tightly, and could feel his heart, beating almost as fast as hers, against his chest which was pressed against her own.

The kiss was long and blissful and when they finally broke apart, both were panting, but smiling broadly into the one another's face. Narcissa laid her head on Severus' shoulder and he rested his cheek on the top of it, stroking her soft hair with his hand. They sat like that for a long time, thinking about nothing but the warmth of the other and the peaceful enjoyment of being in another person's arms. Eventually, Narcissa was the one to break the silence.

"Thank you," she whispered, "thank you for making me so happy. Thank you for making me come alive."

"You were already alive, my love," Severus replied in a soft voice, "I just made you blossom."

~ The End ~