CHAPTER 1:
Narcissa's POV:
Finally she could see. The blindfold spell had been too strong for her to break wandlessly and it had driven her mad, not that she had shown it out of course. She blinked rapidly at the sudden light flooding her vision and fumed when she realised who had kidnapped her.
The bloody group of fried chicken had taken her when she had been doing her Yule shopping. The morons, she would make them pay.
"My my look at how she frowns." A condescending voice grated on her nerves. Who was this person, he was an auror judging by his robes.
"Damn right Kingsley, that bloody Malfoy got lucky didn't he." Another voice added, this time it was a smelly short fellow who looked like he belonged in the depths of Knockturn. She had not thought that Dumbledore would keep company like this.
"Enough of this nonsense, let's just finish this then get rid of her." Mad eye Moody, she knew this person , he had been trying for years to get Lucius. How dare he speak about her that way, if only the silencing spell would fade she would rip him a new one.
"We can't remember, her Lady ring will prevent Veritaserum from working." The blood traitor daughter of her ex sister, Nymphadora, what a waste.
"Well, how long before she will wear down. We cannot keep her for long, the wards wont hold." Moody growled, there at least someone amongst these lunatics was worried that she would be found.
"If we leave her for a few days without anything, the magic in the ring will move towards keeping her alive and at that time if we administer the serum we stand a chance." Tonks said. Narcissa turned her famed poison glare towards her making the clumsy witch cringe.
"Now now, Mrs Malfoy, is that any way to behave." Albus Dumbledore. She did not glare at him instead she smirked, she smirked the patented Malfoy smirk that sent any person cowering to the woods. It had been one of the first things that Lucius had taught her when they first got married.
It was enough to make all of her captors back off for a little bit before they shook themselves of and glared at her. They were so pathetic and they had the gall to kidnap her. Just wait till she got out, she would, they would regret the fact that they even laid eyes on her.
"Very well then. Now that we know what we are going to do, let's get on with it." Dumbledore was the first to speak, taking charge as usual. "We will leave her alone for three to four days, she should be more cooperative by the end of it."
"Headmaster, how long will the wards hold?" Kinglsey asked. Narcissa hoped that the old coot would answer, that would atleast tell her for how long she had to sustain herself at the maximum and how long she had before she could escape.
But he didn't, he just shook his head, "I will tell you all of those details upstairs. Come now, Molly just finished making lunch."
That concluded the end of that session, the order ambled away leaving Narcissa alone. She thought back to what she had been doing that day, she had been shopping for Yule. It was one of the only times she ever left the manor without company and she had paid the price for it. Lucius was going to be unbearable once she got out.
Luckily she had shrunk her purse and tucked it away inside her robes or those fools would have gotten their hands on a lot of the Malfoy money. She had lost her wand though, that idiot female auror had taken it from her. Her beautiful wand was in the hands of that peasant, blasphemy. She would get them all back.
How had she gotten caught in the first place, she had been careful?
LINE BREAK
"Kids lunch is ready." Harry sighed as Molly's scream rang through the house. He did not want to go down, he did not want to do anything.
He got up and stretched, over the holidays he had taken up solace in Sirius' old room. His godfather was no longer around and Moony was unable to handle that and so he was not around much as well. He was mostly left to his own devices.
He sighed once more and cast the glamours that would turn him into the boy the people downstairs would recognise. He did not look like the speccy scrawny little boy anymore instead he looked like a Black, it had been Sirius gift before he had been taken away from him.
Once he was done applying the glamours Harry went downstairs. He was greeted by the sight of the entire order including Professor Dumbledore. That made him curious, the headmaster only came if the meeting was going to be an important one. Well, he always had his cloak on him, he might as well sit in on this one. Not like he had anything better to do.
"Harry dear why don't you sit down." Mrs Weasley called pointing at the chair next to Ron.
Harry inwardly grimaced, no matter how many years passed, Ron's table manners always put him off his food. On the Ginger's other side sat the know-it-all. Draco had been right, some wizarding families were better than others and he had been a fool to refuse help. What could he do now though, he had made his bed now he had to lie in it.
Lunch was a crazy affair as it always was, onion soup, bread and a lot of pumpkin juice. As soon as they were done they were thrown out so that the 'adults' could have the order meeting. Harry whipped out his cloak and slipped back inside the room just as the door closed. He had been one of the first few to leave the table and so had had a few minutes to pull on his cloak and wait in the corner while the others moved off.
"Well, is she talking?" Molly started. Harry was confused, who were they talking about?
Dumbledore shook his head, "She wont talk, she will never give away her husband. The only chance we have got is to wait for her to become weak and then dose her." Who were they talking about?
"And how long will that take, I am not happy about having a Malfoy in my house." Her house, ha the only reason she was still there was because he could not afford to give himself away yet. And what was this business about Malfoy.
Moody answered his question, "Narcissa Selene Malfoy, notorious for her loyalty towards her family and to the dark. She is a formidable dueller and her glare can freeze ice. I can't wait to break her, it will be the culmination of my career."
Harry was unable to grasp this, Narcissa, Draco's mother. Were they insane, if they were found out they could kiss their sanity and lives goodbye. He would have to do something, they could not hold a lady like that captive. Forget Lady like that, he was the Black Lord, a lady of his house had been kidnapped and was being kept Lady Magic knew were.
"Well, she can't leave the basement at any rate." Thank heavens that Tonks was an idiot. "A few days without anything and she will sing like a bird. Not if he had anything to say about it.
"Well then, now that the matter is settled can we move on." Molly snapped, she had been very grumpy lately.
"What matter Molly?" Dumbledore asked confused.
"The matter of the boy's vaults, I have been promised money and so have my children and yet we have not received anything these past few months." Harry had to stop himself from cackling. That had been another thing that Sirius had done for him.
The goblins had been only too happy to take back all the money that had been stolen from him with a hefty interest. Molly did not know it now, but in a little while she was going to be completely penny less. He could not wait.
"I have told you already Molly, the boys accounts have been frozen since the time Sirius died. No matter what I do the Goblins are not willing to open them for me, you have to wait."
"I knew that killing Black was a bad idea, now both the boy and that wolf are mostly catatonic." What did Kingsley just say. They had killed Sirius.
"I agree, did you have to do that Dumbledore. I thought it was unnecessary too." Tonks agreed. What the hell?
Dumbledore sighed, "We have spoken about this matter as well, the boy has to hate the dark side. The best was to make sure that it happened is to kill someone he loved and blame it on the Dark. Bellatrix Lestrange presented me with the perfect opportunity."
Harry saw red, all this time, all this time he thought that Bella had done it. He had been confused and so very upset. The Black family had rules, while they could hurt each other they were under no circumstances to harm each other enough for death. He had been wondering how to punish that woman when all this time she had not even done it.
He had to let her know, there had to be some way. She would have been punishing herself everyday since that day. The poor woman, he would find a way to tell her. He just would.
"Well, that concludes todays meeting. Now remember, no one must go near Narcissa Malfoy for another three days, we need her as weak as possible." Dumbledore concluded and the order nodded their head solemnly.
"Dumbledore one last thing." Moody stopped the headmaster just as he was about to floo off. "How long do we have with her?"
Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully, "The wards I have erected will hold for a week. They will however start unravelling by the fifth day. So by then we must gather the necessary information."
Harry stored that information away for later. He now had to take care of Mrs Malfoy for the five days when the wards were strongest. After that he could have Kreacher pop her out.
With that plan in mind he waited for someone to leave before quietly slipping out after them. He went straight back to Sirius' bedroom to wait for a little bit. He would wait and just after dinner he would go and see Mrs Malfoy and explain his plan. By then the silencing spell would have worn off and so would have the binding spell.
LINE BREAK
It was difficult to keep track of the amount of time she had spent in the basement. There was no window and she was in no position to cast a tempus. This was bad, she should be able to keep time, else how would she plan her escape.
Just then the door opened and she frowned, she was not supposed to have any visitors for three days, she was sure that so much time would not have passed so who could it be. She curled up a bit tighter and focused herself, she would get some information out of this person no matter if she had to do it while being silenced.
"Mrs Malfoy." A soft voice called out. Whatever she had been expecting she had not expected Harry Potter's messy head to show up in her vision.
"Mrs Malfoy, are you okay all things considered. The silencing spell should have worn off for now." He said again, his voice remaining soft.
Narcissa still did not say anything, she needed more information. She watched a she slowly crept into the basement and looked around. He grimaced at the dust and grime she supposed and was proven right when not even a moment later he whipped out his wand and began casting cleaning charms. He cast a few air cleansing charms as well and put his wand down.
"That should make this a little better, anything is better than filth." He turned back to her and smiled. Narcissa continued staring, her glare had lessened somewhat but she had not let her guard down.
He came closer and sat down in front of her. "Lady Malfoy, I am not going to hurt or harm you in any way. In fact I want to help you get out of here." Narcissa inwardly gaped, she did not know whether this was some gimmick or if he was being serious. Well he said the silencing spell would have worn off by now,
"Prove it." She whispered, her voice sharp.
Harry nodded as if he was expecting that. "Will an oath do?" he asked and she nodded.
He pulled out his wand and held it in front of him, " I Harry James Potter-Black hereby swear that I mean no harm to Lady Narcissa Malfoy and have come here with only good intentions. I wish to help her escape and with her cooperation I will do so, so mote it be." He finished and cast a lumos to prove that he still had his magic and by that proving that what he had said was true.
Narcissa relaxed slightly and gave him a small smile.
"May I cast a cushioning charm, the floor cannot be the comfort you are used to." When Narcissa nodded he swished his wand and the place she was sitting immediately became more comfortable. She sighed softly and relaxed back into the cushioned wall.
She looked straight at the boy in front of her, he did not look impressive in the slightest in fact he looked quite boring and yet there was a sort of power around him. Curious.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked finally.
Harry shook his head, "I will tell you before you leave Mrs Malfoy, but for now please eat and relax. I have to explain your escape plan before we can talk about anything else."
Narcissa moved to protest but just then an elf popped in with soup and pieces of fresh baked bread and she could not say no. Having come from the family of Blacks and then Malfoys, she had never known any discomfort all her life. So suddenly not being able to eat exactly when she wanted to was a shock to her system.
Even then she accepted the food with grace and placed it on the table that Harry conjured for her. Before she took the first mouthful though she gave Harry a meaningful look.
He chuckled, "There are no extras that have been added to it. I made it myself before I came down and had Kreacher plate it for me. Please eat, I am sure you are hungry."
Narcissa did not know whether or not to be shocked that he knew how to cook or be shocked that he was so caring and different from what she had expected him to be. From what Draco said, she had been expecting an obese, mean and selfish little boy worth not even an ounce of respect. He was quite different indeed.
She took a sip of her soup and had to hold in a moan, it was so much better than she was used to and that was saying something, it was warm, rich and packed with flavour. The bread was no slouch either. Somehow he had managed to bake perfect baguette just crisp around the edges and soft and fluffy every where else.
"I hope it is to your taste, My Lady." He asked once she had eaten a few mouthfuls. She nodded her head since her mouth was still full.
"It is wonderful, where did you learn to cook like this, even my elves can't cook this well." She exclaimed and delighted in the soft blush that had spread across the boys face.
"That is also a story for another time Mrs Malfoy. Please eat now. We have much to discuss and not much time." He was making her so curious and not giving her any information what so ever, it was annoying her.
"How about you explain what you have planned while I eat." She suggested. Harry looked thoughtful before he nodded, "Very well."
"The order plans to keep you here until you tire and become more susceptible to the truth potion, which should about three days by their calculation." He started and she nodded, she already knew this.
"There are wards around this room preventing you specifically from leaving. Anyone else can come in and out as they please but you wont be able to. These wards last for a week before they have to be renewed. The order wants to have gained information by then. What they plan to do with you after they have not spoken about yet but knowing them I don't think I want to know." He stopped there and waited for her to nod to show that she had understood and then continued.
He made himself a little more comfortable on the floor and sat cross legged, "In another three days they will come down to check if you can be given the serum yet. Clearly you will not be and so they will leave you for another day. That is when the wards will begin weakening and I will have Kreacher take you back to Malfoy Manor. You will have to hold on till then My Lady." He finished and sat back.
By then Narcissa had finished eating so he called Kreacher back to take the plates away and to bring back tea and water.
"I am agreeable with your plan Mr Potter." She said after a bit. Her voice was a lot warmer now that she had some idea of what was going to happen.
Kreacher popped back in with the tea left immediately. He and Harry had come to an understanding after Sirius's death and they got along much better.
"How do you like your tea Mrs Malfoy?" he asked as he poured himself a cup.
"I think Narcissa or just Cissa is fine dear and I would like mine with just a little sugar." She answered after a beat. The answering smile that she got from Harry confirmed that she had made the right decision in trusting him.
"Then please call me Harry." he said as he gave her the cup of perfectly made tea.
The two spoke for a little while longer while sipping their tea. They ironed out the details of how she was going to escape.
A little while later Kreacher popped in to tell them that the order was searching for master Harry. It was time for dinner.
"Narcissa, I will see you later with dinner. Please don't accept anything anyone gives you." He said and Narcissa nodded.
"Yes of course. I will be waiting." She said smiling.
Harry nodded and left with Kreacher. Time to deal with a bunch of morons and pretend he was the biggest one of the lot. Joy.
LINE BREAK
Ugh that had been just as bad as usual. Nothing good ever came out being in the company of so many idiots, well almost always. Harry smirked once he was back in his room. He had found out where Narcissa's wand was, Molly Weasley had it.
It was so simple, all he had to do was ask Kreacher to take it and replace it with an identical duplicate. Keep it simple, the more complicated the more difficult it was to pull off. And thank Lady Magic for house elves.
With that thought in mind Harry slipped into the shower, he would get ready for bed and nap a little before going down again to make dinner for his guest. He would not have to wait long, the Weasleys all went up by ten and Mrs Weasley shut the kitchen down not long after. He just had to wait an hour or so and then go down.
He would probably take a few books down with him as well, it must be very boring down there all by herself. He kept thinking as he washed himself off, how to make the stay of his guest as comfortable as possible for a few days.
He finished quickly and jumped out and wrapped a towel around himself. Sirius really had given him a gift when he blood-adopted him. He looked so much healthier now. No longer pale and unhealthy looking with a rats nest for hair.
He now was slim with lithe muscles and just the hint of abs. His hair had become healthy and glossy and he had taken a hair growth potion so that it hung down to his hips. His face had become softer and more defined. Pink pouty lips and his eyes sparkled just like they had in the photo of him as a child. He looked more beautiful than handsome but he did not care in the slightest. He was happy.
He tied his hair back into a braid and dropped down on his bed, maybe he would drop his glamours for his guest, just maybe. He dropped down on his bed and set an alarm that would wake him when it was time. He then drifted off.
It felt like he had been dozing for minutes when his alarm went off. He groaned and got up, he had things to take care off. He quickly got up and got ready and made his way down. A little while later armed with fresh bread and a warm bowl of stew he made his way back down to the basement.
Narcissa was curled up in the same corner he had seen her last, but she looked much better. She smiled as he walked in and he returned the smile.
"I brought stew and bread this time. It is an original recipe so I hope you like it." He said softly as he conjured the low table again.
" I am sure I will." Narcissa said as she began eating.
Harry watched her take a few mouthfuls and swallow, he then got up and recast the freshening charms and a few warming charms around the basement. He also cast a soft lumos and re did the cushioning charms. This was the most comfortable he could make the place for Narcissa.
"Thank you Harry." She Narcissa said suddenly.
Harry sat back down and looked at her questioningly, "Why thank me?"
He received a confused look in response, "What do you mean why?" she asked him. At Harry's blank look she sighed, "I meant thank you for taking care of me. You didn't have to."
Harry smiled at this, "It was my pleasure and it is the lest I can do considering the fact that you were kidnapped so close to Yule."
"Not just that, you took care of me even though I am the Mother of your enemy." Narcissa added softly.
Harry sat up straight and shook his head violently, "Narissa please, Draco is not my enemy. I never saw him as such."
Now Narcissa was confused. "What do you mean? From what Draco has told me, and he has told me a lot, he and you do not get along at all. In fact he painted you in a completely different light." She asked.
Harry nodded, he had expected that. He was going to have to explain a lot sooner than he had thought. "Well he has good reason. Draco sees me as his enemy because that was the impression that I gave him. It was accidental, I really did not mean it. It grew to a point where I could not rectify it and now I don't know what to do."
Narcissa shook her head so violently Harry was afraid she would have whiplash. "Harry dear, forgive me if I am a little slow in the intake but could you please elaborate on what you just said. I am afraid that without context it is difficult to follow."
Harry nodded, that was natural. Well, if he had to tell someone better be someone he would probably never see again.
Author's Note:
I personally feel that Narcissa Malfoy is truly an underrated character and so this story will pay her due respect. She is also a mother who sacrificed during the war and she deserves that respect.
Thanks I hope you like it.