The battle was over. Lord Voldemort had been defeated once and for all, Harry Potter had triumphed for the second time and the wizarding world was in shock. Amidst the chaos and confusion, there was a family. The Malfoys had all survived a fight they thought might be their last and switched sides at the final moment. They stood, united once more - Narcissa, Lucius and Draco. Narcissa was almost dizzy with relief; the battle was over, her family no longer needed fear for their lives and they had made it through without major injury. Her precious boy was alive and safe, her husband may have aged greatly in the two years prior, but he too was alive and safe. As her relief and delight sunk in, she remembered someone. Someone who she couldn't see nearby, someone who would surely be making a nuisance of herself at the outcome, someone who would very possibly be facing her return to Azkaban only this time, no one would be breaking her out.

Bellatrix.

As thankful as Narcissa was to have her husband and son, she suddenly felt a note of panic rising in the pit of her stomach. Where was Bellatrix? Why hadn't she been heard mourning or at least trying to avenge her master's death? If she had kept quiet it was most unlike Bellatrix, in fact it was definitely not what Bellatrix would have done. So where was she? Narcissa was clearly distracted and disorientated as she broke away from her family in search of her elder sister.

She paused in the Entrance Hall, looking out at the grounds and saw the rounding up of the Death Eaters. Was Bella there? She hoped not. Bella was, after all, her sister and despite the atrocities and crimes she had committed and her unhinged state of mind since Azkaban, she still cared about her as she had done since they were children. She hated the thought of her sister returning to Azkaban, although she doubted Bella would recover from the loss of the Dark Lord for a second time. She must know that this time he couldn't return?

The thought that Bellatrix could have fallen in the fight never crossed her mind, perhaps because she wouldn't allow it or maybe because out of all the Death Eaters, Bella was the Dark Lord's favorite, his best. She was the safest of them all, surely? Had she stopped to seriously consider the evidence in front of her, Narcissa might have realized that Bella was more likely to be dead than alive. Her arrogance and assuming nature was more than capable of attracting dangerous situations and there was no way Bella would have let her master die without at least making a scene.

Narcissa took a few steps outside and saw a man she recognized as an auror, someone she would normally have sneered down her nose at and avoided before now yet she felt the urge to ask about her sister. As she was about to however, he passed her, his eyes lingering on her for a moment or so with a harsh dislike clearly radiating from them. She changed her mind. Would he have mentioned to her if Bellatrix had been captured? A small voice of optimism within her said 'yes' but reality still drew up a blank. Where was Bellatrix?

Agitation took over as the situation around her sank in; Bella was nowhere to be seen, the Dark Lord was dead and the aurors were already at work capturing the remaining Death Eaters. If she was going to find her sister, she would have to do so quickly. But then what? Her family was already facing inevitable trials and questioning as had happened at the end of the last war. They had redeemed themselves in the last moments and that would guarantee their freedom. Perhaps. But not Bella's. Bella had taken too many lives and her pride was such that she would never renounce the Dark Lord or be remorseful for her actions. Narcissa knew her sister too well to fool herself into thinking that she even stood a chance in convincing her otherwise. Bella would probably wish the numbing madness of Azkaban on herself rather than admit that her Dark Lord had truly been vanquished. She would be in denial, she would most likely spend the rest of her days thinking through ways that he might return or convincing herself that he would return. It had been easier the last time, she was sure. This time was different.

She didn't dare call out for her sister – if she was nearby, the aurors would be there in a moment and she would lose her sister once more. Narcissa Malfoy was becoming increasingly aware that time was very much, of the essence and the longer she waited, the less likely she would be to discover the whereabouts of her sister. For all she knew, she could have already fled the site. She sighed heavily and resolved to find her sister in the castle or at least find someone who could tell her where she was.

As she crossed the Entrance Hall to enter the Great Hall, she saw her son walking swiftly toward her and stopped to face his direction.

"Mother, what are you-" he was promptly cut-off by an agitated Narcissa.

"Return to your father, Draco. I must do this by myself."

Before he could protest any further, she proceeded to the Great Hall, only to find that food was being served and people were sitting down and beginning the long process of recovering from the battle. Narcissa was stationed between the same doors she had passed through as a small, timid yet outwardly noble eleven year old on her way to be sorted. This memory forced her eyes to roam to where Bellatrix and Andromeda had been sat that night, watching their little sister go through the same process that had landed them at the Slytherin table. In the back of her mind, she knew it now. Her eyes glazing over Harry Potter told her everything; she was certain he couldn't be so relaxed if he believed Bella to be still a threat to the peace that was expected to follow. This left two options now and neither were welcome thoughts. Either Bella had been captured and taken back to Azkaban or she had been slain.

Narcissa felt sick to her stomach as she retraced her steps and passed a couple tearful people departing from a chamber close by. She assumed that was where the bodies had been laid out and was the next place to check for Bella. Tentatively and very shakily, she walked in, a hand clasped to her mouth at the sight of all the fallen. Her eyes danced fleetingly from random faces as though her mind half wanted to stop looking in case they fell upon Bella but half wanted to continue for the very same reason.

Her eyes stopped searching to rest on one face.

A sudden, sharp intake of breath.

A restrained sob.

Silent tears.

Bella.