She sat huddled close to her son, her husband looking crestfallen to her right. All around her cheers of elation could be heard, the sound of families rejoicing and hope lingered in the air. The dark lord was dead, finally dead this time. Destroyed. All Narcissa Malfoy could feel at that moment in time was relief, undiluted relief running through her veins. No longer would she be riddled with fear or a prisoner in her own home. Images ran through her mind of family dinners round the table, watching her husband and son bond with a fondness in her eyes. Of course in reality these images were simply mythical but for Narcissa the future now looked bright.
She gazed around her surroundings, only then did she notice how tired her fellow witches and wizards looked and how their numbers were significantly reduced than mere hours ago. It surprised her considerably to feel the heaviness in the pit of her stomach and the feeling of uneasiness wash over her, if she didn't know herself better she would've swore she felt the signs of guilt.
"Lucius," Narcissa murmured as if suddenly aware of were she was, "We shouldn't be here, we need to leave"
Her Husband rose his head slowly, as if riddled with fatigue, only then was it apparent that his face was more lacking in colour than usual and his eyes bloodshot giving the appearance of great mourning. The look he gave his wife was one of pure distaste and he spoke as if it pained him to do so, "You leave Narcissa, but I am staying, I wont leave until my lord rises again" He paused and looked at his son, "Take the boy and leave, I will not fail my lord again, Bellatrix is gone but I will not leave." As he spoke his words became more desperate and he wore an expression of failure, never before, thought Narcissa had she both pitied and despised her husband like she did now.
She rose cautiously, herself feeling worn down by the mornings events and took a final look at her husband without saying a word, she knew she would never see him again, that was always to be the way, the only thing binding their marriage was fear and obligation, that imposed by the dark lord. Now she was free. Freedom. A whole new concept.
On her way out of the Great hall she felt her shoulders collide into another, she mustn't have been watching were she was going, her eyes after all being used to looking solely at the ground. She rose her head to find the Granger girl dusting herself down, almost about to scowl away she stopped herself, she herself had helped Potter, there was no sides any more, no one would be watching her to make sure of her loyalty. She took a deep breath, "Thank you" she said truthfully to the bewildered young witch before making her way outside into the morning sun.