Title: Cissarella
Chapter: One-Shot
Characters/Pairings: Lucius/Narcissa, Draco
Spoilers/Warning: R
Summary: Narcissa tells her son a bedtime story; Lucius interjects... A lot. Lucius/Narcissa
Disclaimer: Not authorized, prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any other individual or entity associated with the Harry Potter books or film. All Harry Potter logos, trademarks, names, characters, and related indicia are the property of Warner Bros., J. K. Rowling, and/or their respective owners. I do not claim any affiliation with those who own Harry Potter and would like to make it clear that no copyright infringement is intended in the publication of this story
Author's Note: I've pretty much had no muse for the past year and it's been extremely difficult for me to write anything (in any of my fandoms) at all. But finishing this has really helped me to get past some of the blocks I've been experiencing. It's silly and cute and fluffy, but I think it might just be the push I need to get back into writing again. Please let me know what you think.

* Narcissa's story is in italics

Narcissa is just getting to the good part in her book when her husband suddenly appears in their bedroom with Draco tucked snuggly, but upside down, under his arm. She raises an eyebrow, amused, as Lucius crosses the bedroom and unceremoniously dumps their small son into the middle of the rather large bed.

Draco giggles and looks up at his mother with wide, toothy grin. "Hi Mama," he greets and waves at her with his chubby little fingers.

"Hello Darling," Narcissa returns, smiling as she places her book page-down on her lap. With a sigh, she runs her fingers through Draco's fair hair and asks, "You weren't tired?"

Draco shakes his head. "I want to hear a story."

"You want to hear a story?" Narcissa asks, glancing at her husband as he slides into the bed beside Draco. Lucius only shrugs in response and pulls a copy of The Prophet off his bedside table. Cocking her head, Narcissa smiles indulgently down at her son to tell him, "I think your old mum can manage a story."

Draco's grey eyes instantly alight with excitement.

"You'll want to get comfortable," Narcissa advises and helps Draco get situated under their thick, white comforter. Once the boy's wiggling stops, she asks, "Now what kind of story would you like to hear?"

"Dragons!" Draco shouts without hesitation. "Hippogriffs! Crups!"

Narcissa frowns. "How about a fairy tale?"

"Will there be dragons?"

"No."

"Hippogriffs?"

"No."

"Crups?"

"No."

Draco weighs his options for a moment. On one hand, the story will probably be filled with fairies and princesses and other yucky girl things; on the other, he'll be put back in his room without any story at all. And to him, any story is better than no story. "Ok."

"Excellent." Narcissa claps her hands together and leans back against the headboard. "I'm going to tell you the story of Cissarella."

Lucius snorts.

Narcissa shoots her husband a brief look of annoyance before turning her attention back to Draco. "Now how do these things begin? Oh yes. Once upon a time there was young girl whom many believed to be the most beautiful in all the land and, with her hair the color of freshly polished gold and her glittering blue eyes, it was very much true. Her name was Cissarella and while most would die for her beauty, Cissarella wanted nothing more than to be as plain as the rest of the girls her age. To her, beauty was nothing but a curse.

The reason behind her hatred of her beauty was her two sisters-

"Bella-T-Rex!" Draco shouts out gleefully.

- Bella-T-Rex and-

"Andrometron," Lucius supplies before he can stop himself. He looks up at Narcissa sharply, surprised at himself for even saying the words aloud but she only smiles affectionately at him in response and continues,

-Andrometron. They envied Cissarella's looks and took every opportunity they could to humiliate and ridicule the poor girl. But as much as they mocked her, Cissarella always kept her head held high just like her beloved father-

"Orion was most definitely not loved," Lucius mumbles. "The old bastard."

- who loved Cissarella above all else, told her to do.

One day, Cissarella was following her father up the long walk leading from the great house, as always, when something terrible happened. Her father stopped suddenly and, his hand clutching at his chest, he fell forward onto the ground. Cissarella screamed and ran to her father's side but it was too late-

"He was already dead," Lucius interjects, eyeing Draco dramatically to make the boy giggle

Narcissa raises an eyebrow. "May I continue?"

"Oh yes," Lucius says sweetly and snaps his paper, "please."

After her father's death, Cissarella's life steadily grew worse and before long her envious sisters began treating her like a common house-elf. Poor Cissarella was forced to cook them their favorite meals every day and even had to clean the house from the very top to the very bottom.

The years passed by and still Cissarella was forced to do her sister's bidding. But just as she was losing hope something amazing happened. You see, at the top of the great hill in the heart of the city lived a king and his handsome son. The king-

"Braxasauras!" Draco yelps, happy to be contributing.

Braxasauras III, was holding a ball in two days time and all of the maidens in the land were invited in the hopes that his son, Prince-

"Luscious." Lucius looks up from his paper and runs his fingers through his silky blonde hair. "Yes, the prince is most definitely Luscious."

Narcissa rolls her eyes.

- Luscious, would find a wife.

As the invitation was intended for all of the ladies in the house, Andrometron and Bella-T-Rex were obligated to allow Cissarella to attend and so she worked for hours straight until the house was spotless. While she was working the seamstress came to the house to fit her sisters for their gowns and once she had finished she allowed Cissarella to keep the scraps of fabric. From these scraps Cissarella was able to craft herself a suitable dress for the ball.

When the time came for the girls to leave for the ball Cissarella hurried to the front room where her sisters were waiting for her impatiently. At the sight of her gown, the sisters flew into a rage-

"Quite normal for 'ol Bella-T-Rex," Lucius mumbles under his breath.

- and tore poor Cissarella's dress to shreds. Once her wicked sisters had gone, Cissarella gave into her tears and sat down upon the sparkling marble floor to cry. Unbeknownst to her, her cries of anguish were heard by her Fairy Godmother.

"Is that what you're calling Severus these days?"

Narcissa huffs in annoyance.

"What is the matter my child?" The Fairy Godmother asked as she abruptly appeared in front of Cissarella.

Cissarella, too distressed to ask who the woman was, answered through her tears, "My sisters ruined my dress and now I'll never make it to the ball."

The Fairy Godmother looked thoughtful for a moment and then she took her magic wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at Cissarella. Suddenly, the tattered remains of her dress wiggled and twisted, mended and hemmed. Why, she even changed the color!

"Ooh," Lucius whispers mockingly at the same time Draco whispers "ooh" excitedly.

Once the transformation ended Cissarella looked down at herself and gasped. The gown she wore was the most beautiful she'd ever seen; the color even matched her icy blue eyes! The bodice laced elegantly up the back and gave way to a full, silky skirt that stopped just high enough for the tips of the most beautiful glass slippers to peak out from under the hem.

Cissarella looked up at The Fairy Godmother and exclaimed, "Oh thank you! Thank you so very much!"

The Fairy Godmother bowed her head in response and, pointing her wand out the open front door at a small pumpkin, said, "And now a beautiful coach for a beautiful lady."

And suddenly the pumpkin began to grow and grow until a full grown person could sit inside. Four wheels sprouted from the sides of the pumpkin (which had taken on an ethereal glow) and with another swish of The Fairy Godmother's wand two field mice transformed into coach-hands before Cissarella's eyes.

"Rodents." Lucius shivers uncomfortably. "Grimmauld Place was crawling with them."

The Fairy Godmother quickly shooed Cissarella into the coach and told her, "The spell only lasts until midnight. Once the clock strikes twelve all will go back to as it was before. Understand?"

Cissarella nodded and before she knew it she was on the way to the ball.

Meanwhile, Prince Luscious was having a terrible time at the ball. His father was continuously parading eligible maidens in front of him-

"Like that cow Violet Parkinson," Narcissa grumbles spitefully. They may have been married for ten years, but she'll never forget the ridiculous way some women threw themselves at Lucius during their engagement. "Or Georgiana Goyle."

Lucius looks up at her, surprised.

"It's true," Narcissa retorts. "You know it is."

- in the hopes that one would catch the Prince's eye. But none had! Every single one had been much too bland for Prince Luscious and none could turn his head. He was just beginning to lose hope when something amazing happened.

"What?" Draco asks as his eyelids begin to droop ever so slightly. "What happened, Mama?"

"I'm getting there, Darling," Narcissa smiles. "Be patient."

A great silence suddenly befell the crowded ballroom as a young woman was announced to the Hall. With hair the color of polished gold and an ice colored dress to match her glittering eyes, she was easily the most beautiful woman in the room… In the world, Prince Luscious thought.

She pauses a moment, waiting for Lucius' unnecessary commentary, but it seems he has none. "No rude comment?"

Lucius shrugs. "It's true."

Now King Braxasauras III was a very perceptive man and he could see that this young woman had caught his son's eye. He quickly ordered one of the servants to bring her to the Prince for an introduction and a moment later the dazzling beauty was standing before them.

There was a quick introduction and before the King even knew what was happening, his son was leading the young woman to the dance floor where he took her into his arms and began twirling her expertly around the dance floor. She matched him perfectly and those who had been dancing slowly backed away to allow the couple more room to perform elegant loops around the dance floor. Once the first song came to an end Prince Luscious quickly placed his hand on the small of her back and steered Cissarella (for it was she!) out a pair of chic French doors leading to a grand balcony.

Not a word was spoken over the next hour as they danced together on the balcony. Not a word, that is, until the clock began signaling Midnight's arrival. As the clock began counting down the seconds Cissarella pulled away from the Prince.

"What's wrong?" Prince Luscious asked, confused by her sudden skittishness.

"I…" Cissarella stuttered. She glanced over her shoulder at the French doors and then down at their entwined fingers. "I must go!"

Draco gasps.

"But why?" The Prince asked.

"I just…" Cissarella tugged her hand away from him regretfully. "I just have to."

"But I don't even know your name!" Prince Luscious cried. "Please, don't leave."

"But I must!" Cissarella gave the Prince one last look full of longing and then dashed from the room. "I'm sorry!"

"Wait!" Prince Luscious yelled as he rushed after Cissarella. He followed her through the elegant French doors and the surprised crowd, up the grand staircase and down the hallway leading to the coaches. "Wait!" He shouted miserably as Cissarella's coach sprung into action. "Please! Your name at least?"

But it was too late. Cissarella was already long gone by the time the words left his lips and even farther gone when the Prince turned dejectedly to go back to the ball. As he turned, however, he found something of upmost interest. There, in the middle of the long red carpet leading to the entrance of the castle, sat a single glass slipper.

"I should think glass slippers to be dreadfully uncomfortable," Lucius interrupts thoughtfully. "No arch support or padded inserts."

This time it's Draco who glowers at him. "Shush, Daddy."

The next morning Cisserella was listening to her sisters gossip about the mysterious woman who managed to capture the heart of the Prince while she dusted when there came a knock on the door. It fell to her, of course, to receive the guest and, upon answering the door, she was surprised to see a footman carrying her glass slipper on a plush, red pillow. She was so surprised, in fact, that she stood with her mouth agape until the footman cleared his throat and asked to be let in.

At that, Cissarella quickly nodded and ushered the man into the sitting room where her sisters were waiting. They looked up expectantly and, at once, their greedy eyes fell upon the slipper.

"Greedy and batshit crazy," Lucius scoffs.

"I have been asked by the King and the Prince to fit every woman in the kingdom with this slipper," the footman said pompously. He looked down his long, thin nose at the three women in front of him and then pointed to Bella-T-Rex. "You first."

Bella-T-Rex fanned out her skirts and took a seat on the settee. The footman crouched down in front of her and eyed the large foot she waved in his face warily. Even without trying the slipper on her foot he could tell it would never fit. Her foot was much too large and the shoe was much too dainty. His assumption was proven correct when she tried to cram her foot into the shoe and failed miserably.

Narcissa charges on before Lucius has a chance to comment.

Next, he sat Andrometron onto the settee. She kicked her foot into the air instantly, almost knocking the poor man backwards-

"I love kicking the help," Lucius muses aloud.

- and smiled nastily at him. The footman sighed and, again, knew this girl's foot would never fit this shoe. While the slipper was small it was in no way as short and thin as the foot he was presented with. Nevertheless, he pushed the shoe onto Andrometron's foot.

"Perfect!" Andrometron trilled even though the slipper was hanging an inch or so over her heel.

The footman shook his head and was turning to leave when Cissarella quietly cleared her throat and asked imploringly, "May I try?"

The footman eyed the dirty rags Cissarella was wearing and grimaced as Bella-T-Rex and Andrometron-

"Hags."

- fell into each other with laughter. He may have agreed with their disbelief that this priceless slipper could belong to a maid, but his explicit instructions had been to fit every single young woman in the land and fit every single young woman he would.

Cissarella took a seat on the vacated settee and gracefully crossed one leg over the other as her sisters howled with laughter. "Cissarella, the Prince's mystery woman?" "Can you imagine?" "She must be joking!"

The slipper, as it turned out, was a perfect fit.

"Wow," Draco murmurs dreamily, trying desperately to stay awake until the end.

Cisarella was immediately taken to the castle where the Prince was waiting for her. The Prince looked at once into Cissarella's crystal blue eyes and, with a relieved smile, kissed her so sweetly it could only have been described as one of the best kisses in the history of kisses.

Narcissa looks up from her son to find Lucius staring at her adoringly. After a moment, he leans over Draco to place a tender kiss on his wife's lips. Narcissa sighs happily as Lucius softly finishes the story for her,

And they lived happily ever after.