Author's Note: This takes place in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after Harry and company had escaped from Malfoy Manor. There is a line of dialogue from my fic "Don't Speak, Just Accept," and there is also a brief reference to my multi-chapter fic "The Lost Baby."
Additional Author's Note: This fic may be disturbing to some readers, but there is nothing too graphic.
Lucius woke up on his and Narcissa's bed, an unknown time after he had been tortured into unconsciousness by the Dark Lord.
Lucius noticed that Narcissa and Draco were sitting on the bed beside him, their faces pale and worried.
But as long as they had not been hurt, all the pain that Lucius had suffered would have been worth it. Lucius had certainly tried his best to direct the Dark Lord's attention to him and to him alone.
"Are you two all right?" Lucius asked his wife and son.
Neither spoke.
Lucius blinked several times. The room was dark, and he was still regaining his bearings.
But as soon as Narcissa's and Draco's faces finally became clear to him, Lucius could see that they were not all right. Their faces were covered with bruises.
Lucius felt like he wanted to be sick. This had happened to his wife and son while he had been unconscious, unable to do anything to protect them.
He had failed to keep them away from harm.
But along with Lucius's feelings of guilt, there was also anger. How dare anyone touch his wife and son like this.
"The Dark Lord had not meant to torture you into unconsciousness," Narcissa finally spoke in a hollow voice. "He had wanted you to watch him punishing me and Draco. He was very angry when that didn't happen."
"He's still here, isn't he?" Lucius spoke in weak voice.
Narcissa nodded her head. "He doesn't want you to win this twisted game of his. He's right outside this room. Now that you're awake, we're supposed to go get him."
Lucius sat up slowly, but it was a hard, painful task. He was still very dizzy and disorientated.
"The Dark Lord will be even angrier if you don't do as he says," Lucius said in a defeated voice. "He's going to do whatever he wants to us, regardless of what we try to do. I'm so sorry, Narcissa, Draco. I had wanted to keep you two away from this."
"I know," Narcissa whispered. "I don't blame you at all, Lucius. I have never blamed you. I better go get him now."
Narcissa turned to look at her son. Draco's face was as bruised as hers, and the terror was clear in his eyes.
She knew that Lucius felt like he had failed them. But she had failed as well. She had also failed to protect Draco.
Narcissa placed a gentle hand on Draco's shoulder and managed to give him a weak smile, but she knew she had done nothing to make anything better for son. She was just as helpless as Lucius when it came to doing anything to make Draco's life at least a little better.
"It's okay, Mother," Draco spoke in a soft, barely audible voice. "It's not your fault either."
Narcissa gave her son a sad smile before getting off the bed and walking over to the bedroom doors. She took several deep breaths before opening them.
A curse immediately hit Narcissa. She shrieked slightly, and she felt rather than saw Lucius and Draco flinch from the bed.
The Dark Lord then entered the room. He grabbed Narcissa's arm and dragged her towards her husband and son.
The Dark Lord then turned his attention to Lucius.
"You thought that you keep me away from your wife and son, didn't you, Lucius," the Dark Lord taunted. "You thought that you could make me forget about them. But punishing you alone is clearly no longer effective. You just can't keep yourself from failing me. It's clear that you need to be taught a better lesson."
Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but the Dark Lord held up a hand.
"No, Lucius, you aren't going to try to distract me again. You're going to watch what I do to your wife and son. You're going to realize just how much of a failure you really are. You're going to be unable to do anything but watch. But don't worry, your turn will come after theirs, and then they can be the ones who get to watch."
The Dark Lord then turned and slapped Narcissa hard across the face. She cried out in pain.
For a moment, Lucius forget who it was that was in the room with him and his family. For a moment, all that Lucius could see was some bastard who dared to touch his wife, to harm his wife. His Narcissa. His regal, elegant Narcissa. His sophisticated Narcissa. His Narcissa who was never meant to be treated like this.
Lucius got up, not feeling his dizziness in his anger, and reached for the Dark Lord's throat.
The Dark Lord was taken by surprise, but he was stronger than Lucius. After a brief struggle, he was able to easily knock Lucius down to the floor with his fist.
In the commotion, though, the Dark Lord lost his grip on Narcissa's arm. She made for Draco, shielding him as best as she could with her body.
By this point, the Dark Lord had drawn his wand and had it pointed at a crumbled Lucius on the floor. The Dark Lord, however, looked up long enough to meet Narcissa's and Draco's eyes.
"You dare to defy me," the Dark Lord snarled. "Well, now that I know how much you hate me touching your wife, you've just made things worse for her. As for you, my dear Lucius, you just stay there on the floor where you belong until it's your turn."
Lucius made to grab the Dark Lord's leg, his face reflecting both his anger and his desperation. But he was stopped by the pleading look in Narcissa's eyes.
Don't make things worse, Narcissa's eyes said. Just let the Dark Lord do to me whatever he wants. He's going to do so eventually anyways, no matter what you try to do.
There had been few times in Lucius's life when he had wanted to cry, but now was one of those times.
But he wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to give the Dark Lord that much of a victory.
Lucius had not cried when Ara had died. He had not cried when Narcissa had suffered all the miscarriages afterwards. He had not cried when Draco had been deathly ill when he had been younger.
And he would not cry now either, no matter how much he wanted to.
No matter how helpless and pathetic he felt.
He was the head of the household. He was supposed to protect his family, not watch them be beaten right in front of his eyes.
Narcissa once again shot him a pleading look, as if she was reading his thoughts.
The Dark Lord yanked Narcissa off Draco and threw her onto the floor. She landed beside her husband.
"The son first, then," the Dark Lord spoke. "The son who is so pathetic and so much a failure that he makes his father look like a success." The Dark Lord put up his wand. He wasn't even going to bother with using magic. He was going to punish them as if they were some common Muggles.
Narcissa whimpered, but she was also trembling with anger. She couldn't just watch the Dark Lord beat her son.
After the Dark Lord had tortured Lucius into consciousness, the Dark Lord had taken his anger out on Narcissa first. She had been barely conscious when he had begun to beat her son.
But this time, the Dark Lord intended for her to be fully aware of what was happening to her son.
Narcissa made to get up (forgetting for a moment that she had indicated to her husband just moments ago that they should not try to interfere in any way).
But then Lucius grabbed her hand.
Husband and wife looked at each other.
"It will be worse if you two don't watch," the Dark Lord hissed.
Lucius and Narcissa turned to look. Their grips on each other's hand tightened with each blow that Draco received.
Lucius and Narcissa could see Draco's eyes roll to the back of his head. This seemed to finally satisfy the Dark Lord. Now finished with Draco, he turned his attention to husband and wife.
Lucius did not lose his grip on Narcissa's hand as the Dark Lord beat her, and Narcissa did not lose her grip on her husband's hand as the Dark Lord beat him afterwards.
Draco had recovered slightly by the time that the Dark Lord finally got around to his father, and he could only lay there on the bed and watch with horror, too weak and too terrified to do anything.
After a while, though, the Dark Lord was finally satisfied. He gave Lucius one final kick in the ribs before leaving the room, not even bothering to say anything. He left the doors open behind him.
For several moments, none of the Malfoys spoke. They just couldn't find the strength to do so.
"This is all my fault," Draco finally said. "I should have just confirmed that it was Potter. I knew it was Potter, but I was just too scared to say so."
Not that long ago, Lucius would have been angry with his son. But now, he couldn't bring himself to feel any anger towards Draco. Lucius didn't fully understand Draco's reasons for not speaking, but he wasn't angry at Draco. No, his son had already suffered more than enough for his actions.
"I will make up for this, though," Draco continued. "I will find a way to redeem us in the Dark Lord's eyes. I promise."
"No, Draco," Lucius breathed. "When you return to Hogwarts, you're going to just go to your classes and do your homework. You're not going to do anything to draw attention to yourself."
"But the Dark Lord will eventually kill us if we don't do anything," Draco cried.
"I won't allow that to happen," Lucius promised.
"How?"
Lucius didn't have an answer to that question.
Lucius then felt Narcissa squeezing his hand in encouragement. He turned to look at her. There was fear and pain in her eyes, but there was also determination.
Despite everything, Narcissa was still fighting.
Lucius would continue to fight as well, as best as he could (even if his best wasn't really that much anymore).
"Your mother and I will find a way," Lucius finally said to Draco. "Just promise us that you won't put yourself in danger. It's not worth it, not anymore."
Draco looked straight into his parents' eyes. His eyes reflected his terror, but his eyes also reflected a determination that was very similar to his mother's.
"Draco," Narcissa pleaded.
"I'll try my best to stay out of trouble," Draco responded, clearly moved by his mother's desperate plea.
Lucius and Narcissa, however, didn't believe their son. But all they could do was hope that Draco would not try anything too reckless or foolish in order to finally prove his worth to the Dark Lord.