Chapter 3

1981

The Fall

There was a flash of blinding light outside the darkened window, followed almost immediately by a great roar as if a dragon was circling the Malfoy mansion. It made Narcissa almost leap out of her chair with surprise, but she quickly composed herself, as if there was someone else in the room with her. She focused on the fire crackling merrily in the grand fireplace, but it was being drowned out by the constant drumming of rain against the window, as if thousands of tiny fists were trying to break their way into the room. Despite the huge fire, Narcissa felt cold and she wrapped a shawl tighter around her shoulders.

This damn weather will be bound to wake Draco soon, she thought to herself, glancing out the windows, but the rain obliterated everything from sight. She didn't want to go to Draco's room and disturb him, it had taken her hours that night to try and get her child to sleep, but at the same time she didn't want to leave him alone in the storm. There was no sound of crying however, which meant the storm wasn't disturbing him so far, and she told herself to check on him in a few minutes if the storm didn't lessen.

What Narcissa was more worried about however was the fact that Lucius was somewhere, out there in the storm. She didn't know where he had gone or how long he would be, but she would stay up all night if she had to, just to make sure her husband came home safely. She was bitterly annoyed Lucius hadn't told her where he had gone, she would be much more comforted if he had given her more information, but whenever he did something for or connected to the Dark Lord, it was often shrouded in mystery. The more people who knew, the more dangerous his mission could become, and that included his wife.

Another blinding flash of lightning and huge rumble of thunder. This was the worst storm Narcissa had experienced in years, everyone had known something big was coming, the unusually warm weather was being taken over by dark storm clouds, growing and growing every day until they were at the point of bursting. They had chosen tonight to release all their power.

Narcissa glanced around the room, trying to think of something to do to put her mind off the raging thunderstorm and her missing husband. There were a pile of old, faded books close by her armchair, but her mind felt too distracted for reading. She glanced up and observed the portrait of an ancient Malfoy, wearing the finest black robes with a constant frown on his face, but he was currently sleeping quite happily through the storm and Narcissa knew he would not be happy if she woke him up just for some company.

Narcissa was just about to force her stiff and tired body out of the chair so she could go and check on Draco, when there was another crack, not from the thunderstorm outside, but in the room. She jumped up immediately, wand at the ready, sure that someone apparating into her house at this time of day with this weather would be up to no good. But it was only Lucius.

Narcissa was about to breathe a sigh of relief and chide her husband for coming back so late, when she saw the look on his face.

Lucius was standing there, his cloak soaked through, his hair was dishevelled and dripping water onto the floor. He was more pale than usual, and his eyes were wide with shock. He opened his mouth once or twice to try to say something, but no words could come out. Narcissa noticed his hands were shaking. She had never seen her husband scared before, but tonight he was standing before her, absolutely terrified.

"What is it?" She asked quickly. The rain outside was still pouring down, but it seemed to quieten, as if it too was waiting for an answer.

It took a while for Lucius to answer, he cleared his throat several times before murmuring, in a voice that sounded parched with thirst, "The Dark Lord, he's, he's...gone."

"Gone?" Narcissa repeated with a snap, already losing her patience. She had spent long nights and days taking care of her baby, and then spent this one sitting up worried and alone about her husband, who had returned to give her nothing but a cryptic message. "What do you mean, gone?"

Lucius shrugged, it seemed he didn't fully understand it either. "He's just...gone." He repeated helplessly.

"He's not...dead, is he?" Narcissa dared to ask. She felt a strange jolt in her stomach, because such a thing was not comprehensible. Everyone thought the Dark Lord was indestructible and he was becoming more powerful than ever, there was no wizard on Earth that could kill him...or was there?

But Lucius shook his head. "I...I don't think so. But he's," he swallowed, the next sentence seemed very difficult for him to say. "He's been destroyed."

There was a terrible pause. Lightning flashed outside the window once more and the thunder grumbled angrily as the rain continued its merciless attack on the window. Narcissa realised she was sitting back in her chair, but she didn't know how she had got there, she stared up at her husband. "How, how could he be destroyed? That's not possible!" She finally managed to say.

But Lucius just shrugged hopelessly. "I have no idea. Last thing I heard, he had found out where the Potters were, and he was going to find them. Then I just heard news that he's disappeared. He's lost all his powers Narcissa, he's lost everything apart from his life and he's fled. Nobody knows where, no one knows what to do."

Narcissa didn't know what to say to this, she was too busy battling two very strong emotions inside her. One of them was fear. They had lived their life under the Dark Lord, lived to serve him, hiding safely in his shadow and bathing in the sun of his glory. They saw no future in front of them apart from one that involved the Dark Lord, and then in one night that had all been destroyed. They were completely at a loss without him, without his orders and without his security. They didn't even know if he was alive or dead, the whole world would turn against them now he was gone.

But the other emotion Narcissa was feeling, was relief. There was no denying it, whether you were on the Dark Lord's side or not, he was terrifying. One mistake and he would have you rolling around screaming in agony while he laughed, or he would just kill you without even thinking twice about it. Narcissa had seen it happen, and she was grateful that maybe she never would again. She was also relieved for Draco, she did not want her son to be brought up in the middle of a war, and even though it was their side which lost, at least it was over. Of course Narcissa would never admit it to anyone, but deep down she knew she was glad the Dark Lord had gone.

However that didn't mean the Malfoy family was out of trouble, if they didn't play their cards right they could end up in Azkaban, and Narcissa would not let Draco lose his parents. Fear for the future overtook the feeling of relief as Narcissa thought this.

"What do we do now?" She murmured, her voice could only just be heard over the thunderstorm, her throat had suddenly become very dry and it was difficult to talk. She didn't know how long they had been standing in silence while she battled with the conflicting feelings inside her head.

Lucius thought for a moment, then came to a conclusion and tried to wipe the fear from his face. "I will return to the Ministry. We will pretend we were another innocent family caught in the Dark Lord's merciless web and have only now been able to break free. Plenty of wizards have already fled back to the side of Mudbloods and Muggles, claiming they were under the Imperious curse. We can do the same."

Narcissa couldn't help but pull a face, the one that made her look like there was dung floating just under her nose. She hadn't considered that escape from the Dark Lord's net would mean going back to the world where Mudbloods were treated as equals and Muggles were accepted. Since she could remember she had been taught how the world would be a much better place if these two types of people were crushed into the dirt. Only Andromeda thought otherwise, and she paid a heartbreaking price for taking the side of a Muggle.

Still, it was worth it if it meant Draco would grow up in a world at peace.

"Do you think we can be convincing enough to be believed?" She asked.

"No," Lucius admitted, he looked a little calmer now their future seemed a little clearer. The fear had disappeared from his eyes but the worry had not. "I think they will be foolish enough to believe us."

There was a pause. Narcissa nodded as she pictured her new future falling into place. This was how it would be for them now, her husband working in the Ministry, right under the nose of the Minister, pretending they were a normal family living a normal life. It was a risk, but they could pull it off, after all, what choice did they have? Her only thought was now on the wellbeing of her son, and if this protected Draco, that was good enough for her.

At that point, there was the sound of crying from upstairs, the two of them glanced silently up at the ceiling where Draco was lying in his cot.

"I better go and see to him," Narcissa said quietly, turning and making her way out the room.

The storm was calming a little as she made her way upstairs. Narcissa knew it must be nearing midnight now, soon tomorrow would come and a new day would dawn for her family, she just didn't know what it might bring.

So I decided to look at the Malfoy's reaction to Voldemort's downfall. I thought it would be interesting to know how a Death Eater would react - fear, panic, anger, maybe even relief. What do you think?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, next one will be Draco's first year at Hogwarts.

Please review :)