A/N: Originally posted on Granger Enchanted as part of a fic exchange, for minervasrevenge. Her prompt was detailed and exciting, and produced one of my favourite stories. I am, rightly or wrongly, very proud of this little tale.

None of the characters are mine, they belong to the author. I'm merely playing with them.


Prologue

THE two men, in their long, brown trench coats, struggled to hold onto the spitting and struggling hell-cat. Each had an arm around the wild and bucking figure, ducking flailing limbs and biting teeth. The black and white streaked mane of hair was dishevelled and stuck out in all directions, as if the owner had taken a bolt of lightning to the crown. Clumps of it were missing, as if torn out.

"Get her out of here!" The man across the room, wiping a thin trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, was furious and yelled again at the struggling Aurors. "I want her out of here and thrown into the darkest cell you have!"

The woman kicked furiously at her captors and the Aurors held firmer as she began to shriek again. Her screams grated against their ears but they were unable to retrieve their wands without loosening their grip; their previous attempt to do so had resulted in the Lord of the Manor bleeding.

"You will always be mine, Lucius! You're mine, you fucking shit. You are mine, not that scrawny cunt's! Mine. Miiiiiiine!" Spittle flecked the former Lady Malfoy's lips; her eyes were wide and staring with the light of insanity in them. Her mud stained fingers dug into the Aurors' sleeves, the ring finger on her left hand conspicuous by its absence, now merely a scarred stump. Her clothes, whilst still fine, were ripped and torn, with dirt staining the hem.

She resembled, more than ever, her late sister, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"GET HER OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU IMCOMPETENT FOOLS!" Lucius roared, just as one Auror finally managed to level a crushing elbow to the side of Narcissa's head. The crazed woman sagged, crumpling like a marionette with its strings cut. Both Aurors sighed and shared a glance over the unconscious body. Shifting their grips they lifted and held her more securely before leaving the Manor, stepping over the body of a house elf. The elf had tried to defend his Master and Mistress and had paid for his loyalty with his tiny life.

Lucius Malfoy breathed a sigh of his own, flicking his long blond hair out of his eyes and moving to his son, helping the young man to stand. Tilting his head upwards with a firm hand he examined Draco's eye. "No doubt that will bruise nicely in a few hours, my boy. We'll see if the medi-witch can do something for you when she has dealt with her charge."

Lucius paused, looking across the dining area to where a medi-witch was examining the only other occupant of the room. Beyond the professional's form he could see the curly, bushy mane of hair of his wife on one side, her twisted legs on the other. The medi-witch was knelt in a spreading pool of blood and Lucius grimaced and swallowed the fear in his throat. Narcissa had managed to get a number of vicious curses off before she had been subdued… not to mention the damage she had caused with Bellatrix's knife. It was a wonder the woman was still alive after suffering such a brutal attack, he thought to himself.

As his father turned to join them, Draco touched his face gingerly, wincing as he encountered the tenderness around his eye. "Father. What will happen to mother now?"

The normally controlled man rounded on his son, his hair almost snapping like a whip. "You will never refer to that woman as 'mother' in my presence again! Any sense of obligation we may have had to her has been destroyed by this attack, and she is to be no part of our lives, do I make myself clear?"

Draco swallowed, taken aback at his father's breach of decorum and obvious vehemence. "Yes, sir," he stammered.

The elder Malfoy turned away, looking up at the ceiling and attempting to rein in his emotions once more. He didn't look back at his son but spoke in a calm and collected manner. "As for what will happen? Whatever the law will allow me to have in payment for the damage caused to my wife." Stepping away he joined the medi-witch and gave her instructions to convey his wife to their chambers.

At his words a small elf popped into existence, eager to serve and help bear her Mistress to her rooms. Lucius turned away, watching out the window as the Aurors passed through the burning and blackened gardens. Eventually the two men passed beyond the savaged boundaries of Malfoy Manor with their charge. Beyond the destroyed and twisted remains of the once beautiful gates they turned on the spot and Disapparated.

What was to be done with the dangerously insane Narcissa Black, indeed? Lucius mused.