Narcissa drew the silk shawl tighter around her shoulders, her pale blue eyes fixed on a point somewhere over Orion’s shoulder. She looked like a woman pulling ghosts from a very dark, very securely locked cabinet.

"The designation of godparents," Narcissa began, her voice a quiet, instructional murmur, "is, as you likely know, a Muggle tradition. It was adopted into the Ministry’s official documentation shortly after its creation, primarily for customary guardianship purposes. It wasn’t a widespread practice among the Sacred Twenty-Eight. It was a simple bureaucratic backdrop that no one truly cared for, much like how we adopted Christmas, alongside the traditional yule celebration, from the non-magical world."

Orion nodded slightly. He wasn’t shocked by the sociological history; he had read about the blending of customs in the library. He didn’t interrupt her. He knew she was building the context for the nightmare.

"However," Narcissa continued, her voice trembling slightly as she transported herself back thirteen years. "A war was happening. A terrible, bloody war. The Dark Lord was at the absolute peak of his power. And I was... terrified."

She looked at Orion, her maternal vulnerability laid bare.

"Lucius was deeply entrenched in the war effort. He was the Dark Lord’s trusted in political circles. When I became pregnant with you and Draco, the reality of our situation became inescapable. People were dying every day. Entire families wiped out. I feared that if Lucius and I were killed—either by Aurors or by the Dark Lord’s own displeasure—there would be no one left to take care of you. You would be orphans in a war zone, heirs to a massive fortune with targets on your backs."

Narcissa took a shaky breath.

"That is why I insisted—I begged Lucius—to have the magical guardianship documents registered with the Ministry. Silently. Discreetly. We needed a failsafe."

"And Father agreed?" Orion asked softly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"He was hesitant," Narcissa admitted, a faint, bitter smile touching her lips. "Admitting vulnerability is not in Lucius’s nature. But he understood the logic. He, too, was worried about the safety of the family legacy. Initially, his plan was to ask the Greengrass family to become your godparents."

Orion’s eyebrows rose. "The Greengrasses? Perhaps, due to their neutrality."

"Exactly," Narcissa nodded. "As a neutral faction, they only provided minor, financial assistance to the Dark Lord. They were out of the immediate fighting and largely off the Ministry’s radar. They were safe."

She looked down at her hands, twisting a silver ring on her finger.

"But I was hesitant. I didn’t want ’safe’. I wanted guaranteed survival. So... I convinced him to choose Severus."

Orion nodded, he was now learning of the politics behind the actions of the past.

"I was a closer friend to Severus than Lucius was, back then," Narcissa explained, a fond memory softening her features. "He was my junior in Slytherin, yes, but we understood each other in some way. Lucius did not want to use a half-blood as your godfather, initially. He was adamantly against it, even if he trusted Severus as a political ally and a friend."

Narcissa’s eyes hardened, showing the steely resolve that lived beneath the Ice Queen exterior.

"But I was unyielding. The reason being... I knew that Severus was a spy."

Orion’s eyes widened slightly. "You knew?"

"I am a Black, Orion. We see the shadows," Narcissa said simply. "I was always more attentive of these details, than others. Even back then, not many trusted Severus. But, I knew he had his feet in both camps. More importantly, I knew that he was closer to Albus Dumbledore than anyone else in the Dark Lord’s inner circle realized. It was a calculated bet."

She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a fierce whisper.

"I reasoned that if the Dark Lord won the war, we would have no problem; Lucius’s standing would protect us. But if he lost... which he did... and Lucius and I were killed or sent to Azkaban, I wanted you two tethered to the one person who could protect you from the ’Light’ faction. I wanted Severus to use his influence with Dumbledore to keep you out of an orphanage."

Orion stared at his mother. The sheer, breathtaking, manipulative brilliance of the plan was staggering. She had orchestrated a political insurance policy using the most dangerous spy in the war as the premium.

"Lucius agreed, after much deliberation and argument," Narcissa sighed, the memory clearly exhausting. "We drew up the magical contracts for guardianship. We were prepared to sign them."

Her expression darkened, the terror returning.

"However... when the documents were being magically sealed in Lucius’s study... she arrived."

Narcissa closed her eyes.

"Bella. We had no idea she was going to arrive on that day."

Narcissa opened her eyes, and Orion could see the visceral fear his mother held for her older sister.

"She is a Black, Orion. Thoroughly and entirely. The Black family madness—that obsessive, fanatic intensity—was evident in her since we were children. But the Dark Lord amplified it into something monstrous."

Narcissa reached out and took Orion’s hand. Her grip was tight.

"When you were born... when she first saw the two of you... she dismissed Draco almost immediately. He was blonde. He was Lucius. She never cared for Lucius to begin with anyway. But when she looked at you... she saw it. She saw the same fire in your eyes. She saw the distinct difference you possessed from the Malfoy line. The black hair. The quiet observation. She saw the Black heritage."

Narcissa’s voice dropped to a trembling whisper.

"She knew of the customs. She knew what we were doing with the papers. And she wanted you. She was of the absolute, fanatical belief that she could bring out the ’true Black’ within you better than anyone else. Better than me."

Orion felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The image of the psychotic witch staring at him in his crib was horrifying.

"She didn’t ask," Narcissa said bitterly. "She overpowered Lucius. She took the papers by force. She drew her own blood and signed her name on the magical contract, designating herself as your godmother. She stated, flatly, that you belonged to her."

"And you couldn’t stop her?" Orion asked quietly.

"Once the blood touches the parchment, the magical contract activates," Narcissa explained, tears shining in her eyes. "And... it was an ironclad contract, Orion. We had drafted it specifically so that it could not be broken. We didn’t want anyone from the Ministry, or any rival Death Eater, to be able to alter it or challenge Severus’s claim after our deaths."

She let out a choked sob, wiping her cheek quickly.

"It backfired. Once she sealed it, we were out of options. The magic was bound. Severus was registered as the godfather and primary guardian for Draco, but his claim on you falls secondary. Bella holds the primary claim. All we could do was pray."

Narcissa looked at him, her heart breaking.

"All we had hoped for... was that the day never came when we lost you to her. And then, she went to Azkaban. We thought it was over. We thought you were safe."

She let go of his hand, covering her face.

"But now she is out. And she might come looking for her godson."