Prompt #537 – Fall – Togetherness – slashluv18 – Harry Potter

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Title: Togetherness
Fandom: Harry Potter
Prompts: #537 – Fall
Warnings: Miscarriage
Pairings: Narcissa/Remus
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 974
Summary: They stick together when the unthinkable happens.

Narcissa stared out of the window. There were butterflies right outside her room, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from them. They seemed so happy, flapping their colorful wings, fluttering around each other without a care in the world.
She sighed. Their happiness and freedom was in such contradiction to what she felt right then. She wondered if she would ever feel that kind of joy again. It didn't seem likely.
Tears pooled in her eyes. Narcissa had a privileged upbringing. Her biggest crisis had been dealing with her family's reaction to her choice of husband, and by then, she was ready to follow in Andromeda's footsteps and simply walk away.
She still had one of her sisters, her cousin, his friends, and her future husband. She knew she didn't need anyone else. She was strong enough and would survive her parents and Bellatrix turning away from her. Especially since she had more people on her side instead of against her.
And now this happened. Maybe it was her punishment for choosing a werewolf over the Pure-blood husband her parents had picked out for her. Surely, if she had married Lucius, this would never have happened, right?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the door slowly opening and a familiar man walked in, his own steps slow and halting, as if he struggled to simply put one foot in front of the other.
Their eyes met, and guilt overwhelmed Narcissa for her treacherous thoughts. It hadn't been Remus's fault. If anyone was to blame, it was Narcissa. She hadn't been careful enough. She didn't stay in bed like she should have. She took too many risks, and –
Sudden sobs wracking her body caused her thoughts to stop, and she covered her eyes.
Arms wrapped around her, pulling her aching body into an embrace that Narcissa wanted to bury herself in and never come out of its safe cocoon.
There weren't any whispered words of comfort. There wasn't anything that could possibly be said to bring comfort, and Remus knew that better than anyone.
"It's not fair," Narcissa brokenly sobbed. "It's not fair! I want my baby girl! I want my baby!"
"I want her, too. I want her, too," Remus chanted.
Narcissa tilted away and looked up at his grief-stricken face. "I feel so empty. There's a part of me missing, and I'll never get it back, no matter how much I search for it."
Remus leaned down and pressed his trembling lips against hers. She continued crying as his body shook with his own tears, as he did his best to comfort her.
She clutched his shoulders, ignoring the door opening as Andromeda, Ted, Sirius, James, and Lily walked in. All she wanted was her daughter, but if she couldn't have her innocent baby that never got to experience life, she's take Remus and his warmth.
~
A week passed, and Narcissa barely slept. She was finally allowed to leave the hospital, but the change of scenery didn't help her grief. She and Remus didn't sleep. Remus attempted to sleep, but Narcissa never even tried going to bed. After the second night, Remus discovered her in the library, and he stayed with her.
They didn't talk. They simply stared at the fire. Narcissa didn't say it out loud, but she was grateful that he wasn't pushing for conversation. Remus liked to talk about feelings, but he seemed to understand what she truly needed was silence.
One day, after what felt like endless days with the no discernible difference, Andromeda and Sirius came.
"We have something to show you two," Andromeda slowly said.
"Come with us," Sirius ordered.
"We're not going anywhere," Narcissa dully rebuked.
"Go away," Remus ordered, holding tightly onto Narcissa's hand.
Sirius and Andromeda shared a look.
Sirius nodded.
Andromeda crossed her arms. "You're coming with us, and we're not taking no for an answer."
Narcissa thought about fighting them, even if it was only to see how serious they were about not taking no for an answer, but in the end, it was just too much effort.
Remus and Narcissa stayed side-by-side as they followed Andromeda and Sirius.
When they arrived at a park Narcissa always went to while she was pregnant, Narcissa's legs almost buckled. Remus caught her, and he harshly asked, "What's the meaning of this?! Why bring us here of all places?!"
Andromeda pointed to an out-of-the-way spot, and that's when they saw it. A grave marker in the shape of a wolf, surrounded by stars—the perfect symbol for Remus and Narcissa.
Narcissa swallowed. "Andy?"
"There might not be a body, but we thought you two might like to have a spot to visit, and we couldn't think of a better place than this location."
Together, Remus and Narcissa moved closer and nearly fall down in front of it. They knew there was nothing buried, but to have a special place to visit, it brought a sense of peace they neither had felt since that horrible day, when all of their dreams came crashing down around them.
From behind them, Sirius asked, "Did you have a name picked out?"
Remus didn't hesitate in his answer. "Alexandria Hope Lupin." The words appeared on the wolf in a cursive scrawl.
Narcissa cried as she pressed her lips against her fingers, and then pressed her fingers against the wolf, running them along the name.
Remus looked up at the sky that was peeking through the tree the hung over their spot. He could just make out the beginnings of a rainbow, and for the first time, in nearly three weeks, hope began stirring in his heart. Maybe, just maybe, they would survive this.
He laid his hand on Narcissa's lap. All that mattered was he had Narcissa and one day, they would have the family they both desperately wanted.