After reading the contents of the letter, she felt desolate, as if her world was about to fall apart, and it was.
She sat in an elegant and expensive armchair.
Her thoughts ran wild, as a born Black. She understood her destiny since before entering Hogwarts. She was nothing but an expensive commodity, which would be traded for alliances or resources for her family. She accepted her fate and married Lucius Malfoy.
Feeling the weight of her body in that warm cozy armchair only made her feel more lost.
"Lucius, I loved you despite everything, I wanted our family to be happy, I put up with your faults, and I denied myself for the good and future of our family, for the sake of our children." His tone lost passion with every word that she said "But you betrayed me, you betrayed us, you will pay!"
Narcissa felt a cold tear run down her face. She felt betrayed and desperate. With that tear she oozed all the respect, affection, and love that she already felt for Lucius.
"You've met the best version of me, the good wife, now you'll meet my hell" her voice turned icy, determined and cold.
The worst part was that her situation was almost helpless. The clauses in these marriage contracts were terrible for women.
She should be faithful to her husband.
She should behave and obey her husband.
She was supposed to follow all her husband's orders.
She could never use violence, or any underhanded means that could harm her husband, an almost endless list of increasingly restrictive little clauses. That breaking the clauses would have a more terrible punishment than breaking a perpetual vow.
And all he had to do in return were lighthearted clauses.
He should give her housing and security.
He should respect her, not use violence, allowed if she deserves it.
He should disinherit any children. Unless the heirs are unfit.
….. All light clauses, or beneficial to him.
In short, she was a good, brood mare with the sole purpose of bearing children to House Malfoy.
She looked at her two sleeping children and said "it's okay, everything will be fine.".
…..
Morning of the following day.
Lucius woke up with a throbbing pain in his neck, realizing he had fallen asleep in his office. His wife had ordered him out of his room. Normally he wouldn't take such an affront. But he knew that he had treated his daughter very badly, and that Narcissa was not okay with it.
These days have been difficult in his marriage, his wife "One of the most beautiful and noblest ladies of British magical royalty". Limit, but everything was going to change. He decided, if his wife got in the way, he would punish her accordingly. What good would an unruly trophy be.
His eyes went back to a list he had discussed with his friend Snape last night.
Strong memory altering potion. "snape will"
Live unicorn. "Avery Purchase".
Dried Naseva Root… "Diagonal Alley."
…..
He steadied his gaze, resolved. He, he'll do what it took to house Malfoy.
He walked into the large bathroom, removing his robes with magic and then an ironing spell and leaving it on a used clothes hanger. Practiced movements of his wand, cleansing spells, his body felt refreshed and invigorated.
Seeing her reflection in the mirror, a tired look, slightly reddened eyes, 'these days are killing me'.
A noble and elegant robe flew from the wardrobe towards him, when it was all over. Only the dignified appearance a Malfoy should have was left.
He stopped by the fireplace, holding a mound of floo powder and said in a loud voice, "Avery Manor."
…..
Lucius entered the elegant entrance hall of the Avery mansion, admiring the tasteful decorations. As he looked around, his eyes fell on an elegant flag hanging above the fireplace. The flag was a dark shade of gray, and featured a majestic unicorn in the center. The unicorn stood tall, and imposing, its horn pointing skyward like a spear. Above it, written in Old English script, were the words "Wæccan, Lædan, Wislice".
Lucius felt a sense of familiarity at those words, as if he'd heard them before. He approached the flag, studying it intently. The unicorn seemed to come to life before her eyes, its eyes gleaming with fierce intelligence.
"Wæccan, Lædan, Wislice," he muttered to himself, as if the words held some special meaning. He repeated them again, his voice getting stronger with each utterance. "Stay awake, lead wisely."
As he admired the flag, Lucius heard footsteps tapping on the wooden floor and turned his attention to the stocky man approaching him.
"Mr. Avery, I'm very grateful to have me," he said. "I don't want to take up too much of your time so I'll get straight to the point. I need a unicorn
Io for nine days from now, when the moon is in its new moon phase."
Avery arched her eyebrows. "A unicorn, on such short notice? It's going to be expensive."
Lucius wasted no time. "Three thousand gold galleons."
Avery shook her head. "You know, Lucius, I spend a lot on smugglers, bribes to the Ministry, mercenaries to hunt them down. And unicorns are increasingly rare these days. Three thousand Galleons is too low a price, even for friends. I can do is nine thousand galleons."
Lucius squeezed Avery's hand. It was a fairly high amount of Galleons, but he knew that a high-quality unicorn wouldn't be cheap. "Okay, but I want a high-quality product."
….
Narcissa clutched an iconic coin. Her hand shook. The owner of that coin informed her of a great misfortune.
As a noble and sensible side, she wouldn't believe anything she heard out there.
But she sensed in her magic, a clause of the contract was broken, as this unfair contract. He doesn't directly punish Lucios, an almost perfect slave contract.
Almost. But Lucius himself created a flaw, by breaking the contract...
Her situation was difficult. Facing her husband was not possible. The marriage contract prohibited her from raising her hand against him. Directly, betraying him is unlikely. Also, the contract stated that she must be content with him and that she is isolated. Her only possible ally, Bellatrix, is too insane to be of any use.
She would act according to the sender's wishes for the time being, holding back from being tricked and betrayed again.
The hidden silver safe opened to reveal a pile of papers. Her greatest weapon at that moment, information that could and will cause an apocalypse among the nobles of the magical world.