BEAUTIFUL DISASTER

By Alexa Johnson

Summary: "He was born for a purpose, Severus, not for love." Hints of unrequited Severus/Narcissa. Rather dark.

Disclaimer: If Harry Potter were mine, I'd have no reasons to be writing Fanfiction, now would I? Heh heh. Apologies made in advance if this story bears any similarities to other works—this fandom is enormous and there are bound to be likenesses among stories just by sheer coincidence, and writing is something I love to do—what is the point to plagiarize?

A/N: This short piece was conceived as a birthday present for V.M. Bell, who is also an author on the net—I love you dear! She wanted Narcissa/Severus, and while Narcissa and Severus are the main characters, there isn't any real romance. It's quite twisted, actually, and is more about Severus' relationship with Draco. That being said, I hope you all enjoy this short one shot! All reviews will be greatly appreciated!

The birth of the Malfoy heir should have been a joyous occasion.

The Daily Prophet claimed that the new child would "be a proud successor to a name that had renewed prestige of what it meant to be a Pureblood and brought light and happiness into Malfoy Manor"—Lucius could have bribed the Prophet to write that Voldemort was just misunderstood and wanted to fill the world with love and happiness if he so desired— but Severus Snape knew better.

Lucius Malfoy had enough room for the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord alone, and all others served as decorations to add to his status. Even his marriage to Narcissa Black had been an arranged one, and Severus knew that one of the only reasons he had been appointed godchild of Draco Lucius Malfoy was because of his high place by the Dark Lord.

The babe had been taken to the Dark Lord practically the moment he was born, and his destiny seemed to already be set in stone. Bonds to the Dark Lord were not easily broken, especially if you were the son of Lucius Malfoy. Lucius had already locked up Draco's future and would hold the key in an iron fist, of that Severus had no doubt.

Severus was in the nursery of Malfoy Manor now, having been invited to see his godchild for the first time, and the child's innocence and beauty pulled at some distant place inside him, a place he'd forgotten was still partially functional. At the sight of the unfamiliar face, baby Draco had started crying from the crib, his quiet sobs becoming louder and more pronounced. Knowing as much about caring for children as the Dark Lord did about love and happiness, he stood helplessly by, casting an appealing look to Narcissa from where she stood next to the huge window in the nursery, as still and cold as ice.

With a lazy flick of her wand and a look of untroubled boredom on her face, Narcissa cast a Silencio and the screaming suddenly stopped. Draco worked his mouth soundlessly, little eyes bulging with terror at the sudden disappearance of his voice.

"He is only a baby, Narcissa!" Severus snapped, his insides twisting with horror beneath the mask of calm and indifference that was always glued to his face. An innocent!

"Leave him be, Severus," Narcissa warned, turning to face him from where he stood over the crib. "I never wanted this child. This was for Lucius, who wanted an heir not only for himself but for the Dark Lord as well. I do not want the boy being coddled—he will be strictly disciplined, so we may as well begin now so he can start to learn exactly what it means to be a Malfoy. He was born for a purpose, Severus, not for love. He had better get used to it."

The temperature in the room seemed to become even colder after her frigid speech, but Severus thought he had seen a hint of regret trapped in her eyes of ice. "Do you ever wonder what things would have been like if our situation had been…different?" Severus ventured, wondering if he had perhaps made a mistake with the question. Well, it was too late to take it back now.

"Things are what they are, Severus. I was meant to marry Lucius—our marriage had been planned even before my conception. I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I think it wise that you find yours."

Her answer had surprised him, although Severus did his best to school the unwanted emotion away from his expression. Had she sensed the changes that had been slowly taking root within him, that his 'loyalty' to the Dark Lord was no longer what it was?

Tensing slightly as she walked towards him, he eyed her warily as she approached the side of the crib to gaze at the flushed cheeks of her son, his tiny fists punching the air in frustration.

"Finite Incantatem," she said, her long blonde hair hanging over the bars of the crib as she leant over it.

"Just for tonight," she told Severus sternly, refusing to linger over her son. "I know he is your godchild, but do not try to make things any easier for him. He needs to start learning now what his place in this world is so he will be completely at ease with it later. All questioning and doubt lead to is pain. Draco will do better without all that."

Severus stood stiffly by the crib watching Narcissa, who seemed determined to block out Draco's remaining subdued hiccupping sobs. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a few moments Severus, I have to go check up on Lucius to see if he needs anything. Feel free to stay as long as you wish, and you are more than welcome to see yourself to the door."

She glided to the door of the nursery and left without looking back.

Sighing heavily, Severus turned to look at Draco, who was making gurgling noises and tugging at the edges of his thick dark green blanket with his tiny fingers. To some extent, he agreed with Narcissa. If he could really suppress his feelings, he wouldn't care that Draco was going to have a hard, cold life ahead of him, wouldn't care that he was being raised by someone like Lucius, wouldn't care that he'd have years of servitude to the Dark Lord ahead of him. He would be able to go in peace without worrying about a boy who wasn't even his own.

Not that Severus would know anything about how to nurture a baby, but he didn't want Draco to grow up in the abusive, broken home he had. There was no doubt that the Malfoy heir would be pampered and spoilt like a king, but material possessions couldn't ever replace love.

But you couldn't miss what you didn't know, could you?

That had held true for Severus until he'd arrived at Hogwarts, when he'd first had some inkling that parents were meant to love their children. Severus had no doubt Draco would come to the same conclusions, just as he knew no one else would bother themselves with him. One, Draco was a Malfoy, two, he would without question be a Slytherin, and three, others tended to strongly dislike Malfoys and Slytherins.

Sometimes he wished he could be the block of ice Narcissa had evolved into. Yet somehow, despite his upbringing and everything he'd gone through, Severus still had a conscience and his feelings had not frozen over completely—not yet, anyway.

Cautiously, Severus put his hand into the crib, and quick as a simple swish and flick, Draco's tiny hand wound itself around his thumb, smiling happily, his earlier unease that Severus had aroused forgotten at the attention.

"You won't understand what I'm saying to you, Draco, but I promise to you that I will do all that is within my power to protect you. I lost my life a long time ago, but I'll see to it that you won't suffer the same fate."

Draco had pulled Severus' hand closer to him and cuddled against it, completely oblivious to the fact that his life had just been sold to the Dark Lord. A one way ticket to hell.

Severus' face hardened into a grim mask of resolve. Somehow the little blighter had reminded Severus he still had a heart. Severus figured he would be punished for this later at the rate his miserable existence was going, even if Albus Dumbledore had deemed him worthy of a second chance, but he was determined not to let Draco's existence be nothing more than a beautiful disaster.

Draco was not going to be a carbon copy of Lucius, another mindless little minion of the Dark Lord's who couldn't make his own choices.

Not if Severus could help it.

FINITE INCANTATEM

This is the first time I've ever finished something…sh, I know it's a one shot! I don't know quite what I think of this one—it is extremely hard to be original in this fandom, but I wanted to give some kind of reason for Severus' blatant favoritism of Draco and provide a kind of loose character sketch for Narcissa. There were obvious hints as to the events in HBP as well, mainly the Unbreakable Vow. I apologize if Severus seemed a little out of character. This took place right after he turned to Dumbledore—I don't know how he's going to turn out in canon, but my Severus is not purely evil. I believe characters should be more complex than that.

But anyway, enough of what I think—I want to know what you think! So please make my day and review (you too, lurkers!)—all reviews will make Baby Draco happy (and me of course)! I swear sending a review will only take perhaps .01 of your time…that's not that much, is it? So please please REVIEW, and I hope everyone enjoyed it!