For the Ultimate Patronus Quest (chimpanzee- Write about exhausted parents trying to get their child back to sleep)

"See, Cissa," Lucius says as Narcissa rocks their screaming son. "I told you we needed an elf to deal with these things. But no. You insisted on being stubborn and doing this yourself, like some sort of servant."

Narcissa narrows her eyes at her husband. She wants to snap at him, but she knows she needs to stay calm so that she doesn't upset Draco. Besides, she can hardly fault Lucius for being grumpy. It's the third night in a row that they've been up late into the night with a crying infant.

"I'm not interested in what you have to say, Lucius," she says dryly before making shushing noises at her screaming son.

"Just trying to be helpful," he says, pushing a hand through his hair.

Narcissa wonders if he's tempted to grab hold of the strands and rip them out. She's come close to pulling her own hair out after countless futile attempts to soothe Draco to sleep.

"If you want to be helpful, do something useful like fetching a bottle," she says.

Lucius shrugs and exits the room, mumbling under his breath. Most of the words are too low, but Narcissa catches "elf" in the jumbled string.

Draco's cries grow louder. Narcissa bites the inside of her cheek. She wants to cry right along with him.

"Hush, my little love," she says, rocking him gently. "Hush, my sweet boy."

She remembers the elf Kreacher caring for her cousin Regulus while her aunt and uncle enjoyed their lives. As rough as the elf was, he was so gentle with Regulus. He could soothe her cousin to sleep within minutes.

Narcissa had been raised the same way until she was old enough for her parents to find interesting. She remembers how lonely it was, wanting so desperately for her parents to spend time with her, always pushed to the side for more important things.

She had wanted better for her son, and she still does. She doesn't want Draco to question for a moment whether his parents love him.

"Here," Lucius says, handing her the bottle.

She puts the nipple in her son's mouth, and his fussing dies away. He's a sweet little angel again. Narcissa breathes a sigh of relief.

It takes nearly an hour, but Draco finally settles down for the night. Narcissa places him gently in his cot, smiling down at her sleeping son. He's so beautiful, so perfect. But he's so much work.

"We're going to the agency first thing in the morning," Lucius announces. "We are wearing ourselves out, Narcissa."

It isn't the way she wants to raise him, but she can't help but to agree. She can't remember ever feeling so tired in her life. The exhaustion seems to sink all the way down into her bones.

…

Narcissa watches as Dobby gets Draco to sleep within minutes. One moment, her baby is fussing, the next, he's sound asleep. She wonders if elves have some sort childcare magic that witches could never harness.

"Dobby will be watching Master Draco until he wakes," he reports.

Narcissa shakes her head. She doesn't want him to do everything. She is still Draco's mother, and she wants to care for him as well. "I will stay with him, Dobby," she says. "Go prepare dinner now. Lucius will be home, and he will expect a meal."

The elf gives a quick bow before disappearing.

Narcissa sits beside Draco's cot. She wonders if she's somehow failed as a mother. She can't get him to sleep, and yet some creature can.

But she feels it in her heart. She is doing the best she can. She loves her son and one day, when he's old enough to understand, he'll know that she's done what's best for him.