I got a picture of you, I carry in my heart -- 15 December 1998

When Draco replied, I was hurt but I didn't let it show. I probably deserved it, I did nothing to protect them from Lucius their whole lives and here they were, just as scared of him as I was. When Lucius took a step forwards to defend me, I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Lucius." I didn't want him to hurt either of them on my account. He brushed it off though and started towards the babies. "Lucius." I tried to get him to come back but it was no use. When Juniper put a hand on his chest, I knew it probably won't end well. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

When Father took a step towards Draco, I pushed my brother back gently so I was in between them. If he wanted to hurt someone, it would be me. I wanted to look back at Lincoln to see if he was okay but I had to be content knowing I would protect him. "Don't talk about Lincoln that way!" I defended too quickly. It would be obvious to everyone that I cared about him but right now, I just needed Father to leave. "Lincoln is here for me Father, I asked him to come to be with me while I waited." It was a lie of course, I had sent him a owl to let him know Pansy was in labour and he had just come. I tried to get him to go home but he insisted. I had to get the attention off everyone but me. That was a challenging task since there was five other people in the room. I was good if it was just me and Draco, but I had to try. "Don't pretend to be interested in Lincoln Father, it's me you're interested in. I'm the disappointment, I'm the one you can use to make sure Draco does what you want him to. Draco's made up for his 'mistakes'." I used air quotes on mistakes. When he took a few steps into the room, I knew I had to do something more.

I place my hand on his chest to prevent him from getting closer. "Don't you dare take another step into this room, Father." I said as darkly and slowly as I could, all but spitting the last word. I matched his ice gaze as best as I could. I may try to be better then the Malfoy reputation I was barely expected to uphold, but in the end, I was still a Malfoy and I taped into that as much as I could at that moment. That was just another of many reason why Lincoln should just stay away from us. Would Father hit me? Possibly, especially since he was already worked up with what Draco had said. Did I want to see everyone's reaction if he did hit me? Probably not, but right now, that was the further thing from my mind. Right now, all I cared about was taking the attention away from everyone else in the room and protecting everyone in it, even if I had to get hurt in the process. "I won't let you hurt any of them." I added with the same tone. I just hoped Draco would be too shocked by what I did to do anything until it was too late.

<< June just tapping into her Malfoy side a bit....we'll just have to see how this all goes....let me know if you want me to change anything >>

<< I Love it! >>

"Oh, the things I know about him and his kin would make your skin crawl, Juniper," I snapped at my daughter when she spoke of the boy.  I glanced back at him and a sneering smile spread across my lips.  I could tell that he finally placed who I was.  The color had drained from his face.  I turned back to my children, knowing that Draco would come to Juniper's aid quickly once she stepped between us.  "I will see my grandchildren... so get out of my way, Juniper," I said darkly, gripping the silver head of the snake handle of my cane.  I was going to pull it out to just move her to the side when I saw stars in my eye and pain on my cheek.

I was not going to let Juniper get hurt.  When she pushed me back gently, I knew what she was trying to do.  This was my fight -- my children to be protecting.  It was not her job.  Her tone made me more worried for her than ever before.  I was glad that she was finally standing up for everything on her own, but I knew Father all too well.  I saw his hand tighten over his wand and I completely forgot all about magic.  I moved around Juniper quickly and easily and punched Father square in the jaw.  "You're going nowhere near any of them," I warned, glaring at him and happy to see that I had split Father's lip with a single punch.

<< I was not really expecting Draco to flat out punch Lucius... but someone was going to get hit and the two guys were not about to let it be Juniper lol >>

When I heard Lucius speak more, I recognized the voice.  He was older now, but he still basically looked the same.  I felt the color drain from my face and I handed Pansy her son.  I knew something was going to go down and I would not let him hurt Juniper the way he hurt me.  She had never said it was anything physical, but still.  I had a feeling it was about to get to that point when Draco beat me to it -- he punched his father.  I put my hands on June's shoulders and pulled her back, knowing she would want to get involved.  I felt like my grip on her shoulders was a little rough, considering, but I was having a hard time not taking revenge on him.

<< Let me know if you want me to change anything  >>

I had both of the twins who had woken up with the voices -- no one was really yelling... it was a deadly calm with anger and hatred laced in their words, though things did get a little crazy when Draco punched Lucius.  I knew there were issues there -- Draco would not tell me what, though -- but I could not believe that he had just hit his father.  I tried to calm the twins down in my arms.  There was really nothing I could do.  "I think everyone needs to calm down," I suggested, though I was not sure if anyone heard me or if they would even listen to me.

<< well, June doesn't want to be taken away from the fight but she'll find a way back I love it!! Narcissa's not really sure how to react so let me know if you want m to change anything....>>

I watched the scene unfold in font of me and was happy that Draco and Lincoln were both making sure Juniper wouldn't get hurt, although I was sure she would find a way back into the middle of everything. I was concerned for Draco though, I was sure my husband wouldn't let him off easy after punching him but he had just been protecting his sister. I wanted to point this out, to maybe calm Lucius down if i could, when Pansy spoke up. I nodded I'm agreement. "I agree, everyone needs to calm down." I hoped they heard us but whether they would listen or not would be another story.

I was prepared to get hit with Fathers cane when Draco moved around me and punched him. "Draco!" I cried. I was about to push him out of the way again when I felt hands on my shoulders and was guided away. I looked back and saw it was Lincoln. Where was Ian though? I took a quick glance at Pansy and saw she had both twins and I sighed in relief. Looking back at Lincoln, he looked rather pale and had a rougher grip on me then usual. I was slightly suprised that my Fathers words had that affect on him, usually he could brush things off quite easily, but I understood. This was yet another reason he should stay away, he heard enough of that when he had lived at home, he didn't need to hear it from my Father as well. "No matter what you tell me about him, it won't change how I feel!" I retorted to my Father. I knew I was admitting I liked him but I didn't care, I had to make sure Draco was out of fathers way before he recovered from his punch. Once we stopped, I turned to Lincoln and put my hands on his shoulders, "I'm sorry." I said sincerely, but whether if was more for what my Father said, or what I was about it do, I wasn't sure.

I turned back to my brother and Father and ran over before Lincoln could stop me. I pushed Draco gently back again but this time, turned towards him. "Don't be stupid, your family needes you. Your kids need you. Let me handle this for once." I pushed him back again, gently towards Pansy and the twins, hoping he would go towards them but knowing he probably wouldn't. I turn back towards Father before I could see Draco's reaction. "It's my fault Draco hit you Father. He was protecting me. You don't need to hurt him. It's my fault." This worked well when we were younger, Father hated punishing his perfect son, so it was easy to convince him that it was my fault. Now though, I wasn't sure, Father almost thought of Draco as the disappointment now too. I just hoped that I was more of a disappointment then Draco but I felt I needed to remind him of who I had been my whole life. Who he had made me. "Remember, I've always been the disappointment." I heard both Pansy and Mother say we should calm down, but how could I when Draco was going to get hurt for protecting me?

<< like I said, June would find a way back.....let me know if you want me to change anything?...June wasn't about to let Draco get hurt for protecting her.... >>

<< Oh, that's lovely  But Lucius is definitely pissed off>>

I was livid at the way my children were behaving.  I rubbed at my jaw whilst I tried to regain composure.  "It matters not the reasoning behind why he did such things," I spat at Juniper.  I barely heard my wife's voice and easily brushed it off.  "You need not remind me of that fact, either, Juniper," I added when she spoke of always being the disappointment.  I pulled apart my walking stick and flicked my wand slightly and used the hybrid spell against Draco just once.  Just enough to get him to fall forward slightly and hopefully think about how foolish he was behaving.  I turned to my daughter, but a voice from behind her caught my attention.

I was fighting what I should do.  Juniper was right; my kids and family needed me.  But she was included in my family.  Before I could act, however, I felt searing pain on my chest -- pain that I had felt a little over a year ago; pain that I never forgot.  I knew this was what Aunt Bellatrix had used against Juniper, too.  I had recognized the marks.  I fell forward slightly, grimacing, but trying not to make a sound.  I clutched my chest with one hand and had to use my other to hold onto the foot of the hospital bed in which Pansy was laying to prevent myself from going all the way to my knees.

Before I could stop her, Juniper involved herself back into the mess that had been made.  I knew she would do that, though.  She would always protect her brother.  I hesitated on what to do when Lucius hit Draco with the curse that he had used against me -- I recognized it.  "You son of a bitch," I heard myself say before I could even register what was going through my mind.  Flashes of that day and what he did to me came to the forefront of my mind.  I was not about to stand by and let him do that to someone else; I knew the pain it caused.  And I remembered his words... Be glad your not my child.  A father's love wouldn't have saved you.  Now I realized exactly what Juniper and Draco had to go through constantly with him.  I was not going to let him hurt them -- not today at least.  I took a step forward, not entirely sure what I was going to be doing, but I knew I had to do something... for them... for me.

<< This is escalating rather quickly... Lucius wanted to do something to Juniper, but Linc distracted him.  I was not entirely expecting to have Lincoln speak up like that... but he's definitely going to try to do something.  I don't care if June gets in the way, tries to stop him, etc... whatever you want  I'll go with it! >>

I worried for my daughter when she came back into the fight and put herself in between Draco and Lucius once more but when my husband used that horrible hybrid curse against our son, I had to do something. But what? I couldn't do much with Lucius there but maybe I could get us out of here and leave while most of the group remained relatively unharmed, physically anyway. I placed my hand on his shoulder and was about to suggest leaving when the Matthews boy spoke up. I knew Juniper would try to distract Lucius from him, I just wasn't sure how.

<< it really is, but June has one more trick up her sleeve and she thinks it might work, we'll just have to see just let me know if I need to change anything....I wasn't sure if Lucius ever used the curse against them so if he has, I can change it.....just let me know.... >>

I knew there was nothing I could do when Father used Aunt Bellatrix's hybrid spell against Draco, I was just happy that he had only used it once. That also meant Draco wouldn't be able to defend me anymore. All the better. I saw Father look at me and was prepared for the worst when Lincoln spoke up and Father turned to him. Did I not tell him to not draw attention to himself, no matter what? This was the no matter I was referring to. I knew I would end up getting hurt in the end, and I was okay with that a long as no one else did. I saw Lincoln take a step forward in my peripheral vision and knew I had to intervene.

"Hey!" I said as sharply as I could. I was hoping my tone would make Lincoln stop coming towards me and Father turn back to me. "Father, you and I both know it isn't Lincoln you want to use that curse on. It's not even Draco. It's me, it's always been me." I said as deadly calm as I could. I knew what the curse felt like, Aunt Bellatrix had used it against me when she attacked me in my sixth year to make sure Draco stayed on top of the task he had been given by the Death Eaters. I took a shaky breath but wondered if Father knew that she had used it on me before he had had the chance to. He would be furious if he didn't know that fact and I told him. A small smiled formed on my lips. "Although, Aunt Bellatrix beat you to that a few years ago." I was putting all my luck into the fact that Father didn't know the specifics of my attack, just the Aunt Bellatrix had attacked me, and that she hadn't told him what curses she had used against me. I was hoping that he would be mad that he would never be the first to hurt me with that curse.

<< Nope, it's fine  >>

I really wished they would all stop.  The babies were starting to cry and I almost hoped the healers would come in and intervene.  "Enough!" I shouted when things were really getting out of hand.  How could I get the twins to calm down when no one else was?  I needed to get some help.  Draco would not be able to help now that he was injured... and Lincoln and Juniper were getting awfully close to getting hurt themselves.

I did not want Juniper to get injured over any fo this, but I really could not do much.  I hated this curse... It was so debilitating.  I lowered myself to my knees and I heard our babies crying and Pansy trying to get everyone to stop.  I already knew that Father would not listen.