The third and final child of Cygnus and Druella Black, Narcissa was born mid-October, coming exactly on her due date and setting the tone for the expectations placed upon her for the rest of her life. As a young child, Narcissa looked up to her older sisters and would follow their lead in most situations. Their parents hired tutors to educate the sisters on social etiquette and Narcissa took to these lessons like a fly to honey. Being the only blonde in the family, paired with her exceedingly posh manners, Narcissa was showered with compliments at what a lovely young lady she was. She took to the compliments even more than to her etiquette lessons.

Several years behind her eldest sister, and a fair few behind the middle child, Narcissa followed in her family's legacy of being sorted into Slytherin House upon arriving at Hogwarts when she was eleven. The sorting hat had wanted to place her in Hufflepuff, claiming she was truly loyal and honor bound like the house of the badger, but Narcissa pleaded with the hat that she needed to be a Slytherin, she would do whatever it took to be a true Slytherin if only the hat would give her the chance. In the end, Narcissa got her chance and worked hard to prove to herself, her family, and her peers that she belonged there.

As a young lady of a certain social standing, Narcissa and her sisters were often guests at formal events with other pureblooded and wealthy wizarding families. It was at one such event during the summer holidays when Narcissa was twelve that she first noticed a handsome boy, several years older than her, with glorious blonde hair to match her own. For all the confidence the little witch had, she felt instantly shy at the mere sight of Lucius Malfoy. Her pretty pale cheeks would flush and she would find herself hiding behind her friends or parents as she peeked out to watch the Adonis on the opposite side of the room.

She fancied Lucius Malfoy for years but he never knew. She never spoke to him. In time the butterflies he created in her stomach became common place in his presence around the Slytherin common room, but Narcissa was able to distract herself from his handsomeness with other good looking boys. She had her first real boyfriend at fourteen, and that lasted all of a month. Her relationships rarely lasted beyond a few months, sometimes ended by her, other times by him. They were all very typical teenage romances; they burned brightly for a short while and fizzled out quickly, but she always bounced back easily enough.

In fifth year, by some stroke of fate, Narcissa's grades began to slip and her Charms professor arranged an older student to tutor her. It was Lucius Malfoy and her heart was a twitter at the idea of spending some one on one time with him. By this time she had become accustomed to the swooning sensation he gave her, and she had some experience with boyfriends, so she was much more relaxed, bubbly, and warm than she would have been had they been together when she was younger. They spent much of her fifth year together (his seventh) and she cried as he left Platform 9 3/4 with his father at the end of the school year. Her return for her sixth and seventh years seemed dimmer without Lucius walking the halls, but she kept in touch through owls and on holidays she would insist on attending any and every event that his family would possibly be invited to. They would meet up for a cuppa and a stroll through the gardens but the holidays were never long enough and soon she would be back at Hogwarts without him.

After graduating, she and Lucius began dating properly and the night he proposed was the happiest moment of her life up until that point. They would lay on a blanket under the stars together as she would point out all the stars and constellations they could use to name their children. They would have several of course. Narcissa wanted a big family, loads of little blonde babies running about. Lucius promised her everything she wanted, including their little blonde army, and she was happy. They began trying almost immediately after the wedding but their bliss soon turned to sorrow. Try as she might, Narcissa could not bring a child to full term, and with every lost love a little more of her heart broke. She would lock herself away in her chambers for days on end, sobbing until her tears ran dry and then she would paint.

Family holidays were difficult for Narcissa. Her mother constantly bombarded her with suggestions for improving their odds of having a child, and she felt the pressures of making up for the lack of traditional role as a wife and mother that her oldest sister Bellatrix showed. Her other sister, Andromeda, had a child but they saw nothing of Nymphadora or her muggleborn father. Even the loss of that child from her life was a difficult one, despite Narcissa's firm believe that her sister had betrayed their family by marrying a muggleborn wizard. Finally, when Narcissa thought she was past all the hardships, when she was pregnant to the point her belly had begun to swell and she and Lucius could feel their child wiggle about in her stomach, the presumed end of all their suffering was shown to be an illusion. Narcissa delivered a stillborn baby girl nearly four full months early and then locked herself away from her husband.

For three months she retreated to her chambers, allowing Lucius to be in her presence but only speaking with her mother and her sister, Bella. Druella encouraged her youngest daughter to pick herself back up, and reminded her that she was of the most ancient and noble house of Black. She was damn near royalty and she needed to present herself as such. In March, Narcissa finally heeded her mother's words and put herself together, emerging for the first time from her chambers. She refused to speak of her daughter, even with Lucius but she could see how her silence on the matter hurt him. She didn't want her husband to feel even an ounce of what she was feeling but she simply couldn't bring herself to speak of Carina. Narcissa has walked on eggshells around Lucius for the past few months, trying desperately to bring back any semblance of their former relationship but fearing what would happen if they were to get pregnant again. She ventured out of the house now, though rarely alone.