The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Season 4, Round 5

Team: Pride of Portree

Position: Chaser 3

Prompt: "If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited; there are hardly any of us left."

Optional Prompts:

5. (restriction) Not using a '?'

9. (word) Dangerous

13. (phrase) 'Under lock and key'

Word count: 1035

Pureblood Responsibilities

Lucius Malfoy, head of the prestigious and highly respected family, sat in his study in the magnificent Malfoy Manor, deep in thought. Even though the weather was warm - edging on unbearable - the inside of the manor was kept pleasantly cool due to the ancient cooling charms contained in the family home's very foundation. Yet the pureblood patriarch was in no position to appreciate his ancestors thoughtfulness at the moment, lost in thought as he was.

He had a most important task to complete, one he had been putting off for far too long already, and it was about time he took a proper look at the problem. Finding a suitable wife for his only son and heir. At the speed he had been going lately, he was going to be dead and buried before he got a chance to see the next generation of Malfoys.

It was one of the most difficult and important decisions he would ever have to make. It was a complicated puzzle, and even just one single piece of it not fitting properly could cause his son, and family as a whole, a lot of trouble in the future. It was a responsibility that could not be taken lightly. Lucius had heard more than a few horror stories through his own father, of cases where the wrong choice had led to circumstances that were downright dangerous for the families involved. So, after spending an adequate amount of time in contemplation, he had decided to proceed in his task to find his son the perfect bride by using the process of elimination.

He started the whole thing by making an alphabetical list of all of the pureblood names still in use, before beginning to cross names off of it. The first ones to be crossed out were many of his old classmates, family friends and close acquaintances; Avery, Crouch, Lestrange, Rosier, all of whom did not have any children at all at this point in time. This fact annoyed him to no end, and had for quite some time. Apparently, some people did not seem to know or care that they had a responsibility as pureblood wizards to make sure the Wizarding World would go on for generations with proper leadership, instead of being run down by blood traitors and Mudbloods. Procreation in pureblood families was the key to keep this from happening, but somehow they all seemed to ignore this fact in all their talk of pureblood supremacy.

He could practically feel his fair hair turning gray already at the strain the task was putting on his head.

Then there was the Carrow family. Even though they were two grown people of that name - which had been rather rare in pureblood families as of late - neither one had either spouses or children. And, unfortunately, neither of the two seemed to be in a hurry to rectify the situation any time soon.

Crabbe, Flint, Goyle and Nott all had to be crossed out as well. They all had their heirs already, and his subtle probing into the subject had uncovered that none of them had any plans to add more children to their names. As Goyle had put it; One snivelling infant, screaming for his parents' attention at all hours of the day—and night—was more than enough.

The Greengrass or Parkinson families were a possibility, but he was unsure as to whether or not he really wanted to have them so closely related to his family. They were not the most prominent of families in their society, and their political views were dubious at best. And if the Parkinson daughter took after her mother in any way, things could become unpleasant very quickly.

The last name on the list had been crossed out almost before it had been written down. Weasley. He curled his lip in disgust at the mere mention of that name. That family was completely out of the question. The only reason it had even been put on the list in the first place was because Lucius prided himself on being meticulous in all his tasks. Plus, he had felt a certain amount of pleasure by scratching the name off of the list with a few heavy strokes of his quill, almost tearing a hole in the paper, as he imagined it to be Arthur Weasley's freckled face.

Slamming his papers down on his desk, not caring if half of them slid off it to spread out over the floor in the process - after all, a simple summoning spell would take care of the mess in seconds - the always presentable Lucius Malfoy slouched in his chair and raked his hands through his platinum blonde hair in frustration. If it weren't for the fact that he was all alone in the study of his own home, with no one to witness his actions, he would never have allowed himself to lose his composure in such a way.

A knock on the door made him straighten up in his chair, make sure not a hair was out of place, clean up the mess that were his notes on the subject, put all of his frustrations under lock and key, and allowed a mask of being calm and collected to take over his face, before calling for whoever was at the door to enter. He had not been expecting any outsiders that evening, but one could never be too careful when it came to one's pride and reputation.

It was his beautiful wife, Narcissa, suggesting they retire for the night. Leaving his nerve-wracking duty for yet another day, he followed his wife down the hall to the master bedroom. Before settling into bed for the night, he bowed over the cradle in the corner of the room to wish his son and heir a good night with a lingering kiss to the young one's brow. He had certainly been lucky when it came to the choice his own father had made many, many years ago. Women like Narcissa were not easy to find, and he could only hope one of the little pureblood girls would grow up to be half the woman their little Draco deserved.