A/N: This is a Narcissa heavy chapter, because she is awesome. It also jumps almost a month in time. The next chapter will return to Hogwarts. Thanks for reading. Much Love! :)
Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to J.K Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.
Welcome to the Dungeons
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Chapter Four
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Narcissa sat at her dining room table nibbling on her scone when Dobby, one of their many elves, popped into the room clutching the mail for the day.
"Master and Mistress yous mail is here," the little elf squeaked.
Lucius held out his hand without even looking at or acknowledging the elf.
Narcissa rolled her eyes at her husband knowing he wasn't paying attention. "Thank you Dobby."
The elf smiled at Narcissa, "Yous are very welcome, Mistress." He placed the letters in Lucius' outstretched hand and popped away.
"You know Narcissa, I really don't understand why you have to be so kind the the elves. They aren't children. They are servants." Lucius drawled to her as he sorted through the mail.
"Because everyone knows, the kinder you are to them, the happier they are and the better they do their jobs. It's common sense Lucius." She reached out her hand when she spotted a letter addressed to her specifically.
Lucius frowned, recognizing his son's writing. "He just wrote to us yesterday. Why would he be writing again so soon?"
Narcissa scowled. "He's just a boy, perhaps he's homesick and wants to talk to his mother." She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to question her.
"But still, Draco informed us that Mr. Potter was sorted into Slytherin, what more could he have to say?" Lucius pondered.
Narcissa opened the letter, she smiled. "A girl." She read further through the letter, frowning. "He was speaking with another first year, a Hermione Granger, apparently of the Dagworth-Granger Family. A distant, secretive line." She frowned. She knew the Dagworth-Grangers, she had been close friends with their daughter when she was a young girl. Before school. She knew there were no secretive lines within that family. They very openly supported half-bloods and muggleborns and muggles, it was one of the reasons she had lost contact with them. Her parents had deemed them unacceptable to associate with.
"The girl was trying to brush up on her pureblood knowledge, the different families. Her parents kept her very sheltered." She continued reading. She hummed. "Draco taught her of the Black Family, and she asked about my cousin, Sirius."
Lucius frowned, he knew the man had been blasted off of his family tree. He remembered the uproar it had caused in the pureblood community at the time. He knew he wouldn't have shown up in the directory. "How does he even know about him?"
Narcissa hesitated. Lucius raised a pale eyebrow. "Well...I informed Draco that Sirius killing those muggles was very out of character from the boy I knew. I had informed him that I thought that Sirius was placed in Azkaban because of his family. Because of his last name." She paused. "I told him that family was important. No matter what. We always stick by our family." She looked pointedly at her husband. "Draco's mentioned that perhaps I could look into his arrest. That maybe there was evidence that Sirius was framed. You know there was no indication that he was a Death Eater. None whatsoever. You were there Lucius. He wasn't. Ever."
"The Dark Lord had spies, Cissa. You know this. He had spies everywhere. In Dumbledore's Order, in the Ministry, everywhere." Lucius argued. "I wouldn't have known about Sirius even if he was with the Dark Lord."
"But it doesn't hurt to look at things a bit closer does it?" Narcissa asked quietly. "I can hire a lawyer, have him look at things quietly. Strictly through me. No one would know. Not until anything was found." She looked at Lucius, pleading. "Please, he is family. The last of the Blacks, surely that must mean something to you."
Lucius exhaled. Thinking. "Fine. Strictly through you. If anyone found out that I was looking into it, my comrades wouldn't let me live it down. I would lose credibility with them."
Narcissa smiled at her husband. "Thank you, dear." She quickly left the table, she needed to prepare before she was to meet with a lawyer.
…
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Narcissa stepped into the lawyers office two weeks after she had first met with an attorney. The letter from her attorney, Stevenson Avery, hinted at something important had been found. That he needed to meet with her as soon as possible. Narcissa nodded in greeting to the receptionist.
"Mr. Avery is in his office Lady Malfoy, he is ready for you." The receptionist informed her as she stood from her desk. She led Narcissa down the hallway to a door. Knocking twice, the young woman opened the door and introduced Narcissa to the room.
"Lady Malfoy has arrived, Mr. Avery."
"Thank you Madeleine, you can go home now, spend time with your family. You needn't stay here this late. I can lock up when Narcissa and I are done with our meeting." Stevenson said to the receptionist.
"Yes sir," Madeleine turned and left the room. Closing the door as she did.
"Have a seat Narcissa. Would you like a cup of tea?" Stevenson asked her as he fixed himself a glass of brandy.
Narcissa watched him. She knew he rarely drank alcohol. And never at work. What was going on? What did he find? "I think I'll have what you're having Stevenson. Something tells me you found something troubling."
"I did find something troubling." Stevenson informed her. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." He handed her a glass of brandy and sat back down behind his desk.
Narcissa watched him. The man was on edge. She could tell that he hadn't slept well recently. His eyes tired, but himself alert. She took a sip of brandy. "What did you find?"
Stevenson exhaled and chuckled lightly. "It's more what I didn't find." He looked closely at Narcissa who was waiting for him to explain. "There is no evidence that your cousin Sirius ever received a trial. There is nothing at all. No paperwork anywhere."
"How —"
"There are records of statements from witnesses. Muggles who were nearby when the explosion occurred. They stated that Sirius had been hysterical, that he had been arguing with Mr. Pettigrew in the street. They stated that Mr. Pettigrew was yelling at your cousin, "How could you? James and Lily," is what they reported hearing." He looked back to the file on his desk. "Then the explosion, Mr. Pettigrew had disappeared completely. Sirius was kneeling in the middle of the road. Laughing. Then the aurors arrived. They arrested him on the spot. He went without a fight." Stevenson paused. "I'm not an expert but it sounds to me like Mr. Black was in shock." He looked to Narcissa. "Then I have one Albus Dumbledore on the record stating that Sirius had been the Potter's secret keeper. That Albus had performed the fidelius charm himself." He swallowed. "That's it. No record of anything else. No trial. No record that Sirius himself was questioned by the authorities. Just that he had been sent to Azkaban with a life sentence."
"He's innocent. He has to be." Narcissa argued, her mind reeling from the information she just learned. "Someone set him up." She frowned, remembering what she had known about the arrest. "They said that they couldn't find anything more of Mr. Pettigrew than a finger. Perhaps he apparated away, splinched his finger off. Muggle witness accounts stated that Mr. Pettigrew just disappeared. It does fit with apparating away."
"You think it was Mr. Pettigrew that set him up?"
"Perhaps." Narcissa conceded. "You need to meet with Sirius. We both do. I need to see him, to find out what really happened. He never had a trial Stevenson. It's been ten years. Ten."
"I've written to the proper individuals with a request for a visit with him." Stevenson told her. "I haven't heard back yet. I told them I was his lawyer. They have to allow me a visit with my client. I should be able to bring you along. There is no reason not to. You are wanting to speak with your cousin. You are family. It is your right."
…
…
Two days later, Narcissa Malfoy and Stevenson Avery were in the waiting room in Azkaban prison, checking in to meet with Sirius. Narcissa signed her name with a flourish on the appropriate line and looked back up to the guard as she handed the form back to him.
"We have your client in an interview room, waiting for you," the guard told Avery. "You may keep your wands for protection, but please do not allow the prisoner to get to your wand. He is a lifer. He is in here for murder. Don't think that just because you're family that you are safe. The prisoners will do anything to break free from this place. Including killing family." He looked pointedly at Narcissa. "Guards are directly outside the door. Knock twice for when the meeting is finished and one of them will walk you back here."
"Are the interview rooms private?" Avery asked. "Attorney client privilege?"
"No one can hear into the room. Attorney client privilege." The guard confirmed with a nod. "Follow me please."
He led the pair down a damp hallway. It was freezing. Narcissa pulled her robes closer to her body in an attempt to fend off the cool air.
"It won't help," the guard told her with a smirk. "One of the side-effects of having dementors here. You get used to it eventually."
Narcissa swallowed without replying to the man. She didn't know why, but she didn't like him.
The trio eventually reached a door with two wizard guards standing just to the side. The guard nodded at them and and one of them opened the door to the interview room. Avery stepped inside the room first. Narcissa followed closely behind him.
"Knock when you're finished." The door slammed shut.
"What a pleasant fellow," Narcissa muttered to herself.
A rough chuckle could be heard in the room. Narcissa's eyes followed the sound. Sitting behind the table was Sirius Black. He was chained up to the floor. Shackles on his wrists and ankles. Magic dampening, Narcissa was certain. He was filthy. He was skinny. His prison robes were torn and thin. She spotted bruising on a shoulder. Tattoos peaking out on his arms. His eyes though were very much alert. Aware of his surroundings. He recognized Narcissa instantly. She gave him a small smile as she sat down on one of the hard chairs. "Hello Sirius," she murmured.
"Cissa," Sirius greeted her. "I'm surprised to see you." His voice was raspy.
Avery conjured a glass of water and pushed the glass towards Sirius. "It's best we get down to business, Mr. Black. I'm not sure how long I am allowed here and I want to be able to get everything completed."
Sirius nodded as he awkwardly grabbed the glass of water. He took a sip. "What is the business. Why're you here? I don't even know who you are, yet the guards informed me my lawyer was here." Another sip.
"Stevenson Avery. Your cousin Narcissa hired me to look into your case. Your arrest, your trial. Or lack thereof I suppose I can say."
Sirius nodded absently, he took another sip of water. He looked over to Narcissa. "How long have I been here? It seems like forever."
"It's the end of September, 1991." Narcissa replied. "You've been here for almost ten years."
Sirius nodded. "Why..." he let the question hang.
"My son asked me to look into your case." Narcissa replied quietly. "I had told him that killing muggles was not the Sirius Black I remembered from when I was younger." Narcissa paused. "I apologize for it taking so long for me to do anything."
Sirius gave her a nod. "It's fine. At least you did something eventually." He frowned. "Harry. Harry should be at Hogwarts by now."
Narcissa nodded. "My son shares a dormitory with Mr. Potter."
Sirius barked in amusement. "Your son's a Gryffindor, how awful."
Narcissa shook her head with a smirk. "My son is a Slytherin, Sirius. As is Mr. Potter."
Sirius just looked at her with wide eyes. Shocked.
"I hate to interrupt but we need to get your statement on what happened, Mr. Black. The sooner the better." Avery told the two. He had gotten his quick quill ready for note taking, the parchment was lined up and ready to go.
The prisoner nodded. "Where do you want me to begin?"
"The Potter's went into hiding," Avery prompted.
"The Potter's went into hiding just before Lily and James had Harry. June I believe it was. June 1980. Albus Dumbledore informed them and Alice and Frank Longbottom that there was a prophecy that implicated both of their unborn children, they were both due at the end of July. I don't know what was said in the prophecy, just that James and Lily agreed to go into hiding. Albus made me the secret keeper for James and Lily. He performed the spell himself. I was secret keeper for just over a year, when I decided it would be a fantastic idea to switch. A bluff if you will. Everyone knew that me and James were like brothers. Everyone knew that I would've done anything for that family. It was my family, too." Sirius stopped talking, his throat tight. He took a drink of water and cleared his throat.
"October 1981, the 25th, I convinced James and Lily to switch secret keepers. I argued that people would come after me, that me being the decoy would keep them safe. We switched secret keepers that evening. Peter Pettigrew was the new secret keeper." He shook his head at himself. "Less than a week later, James and Lily were killed. Harry lost his parents because of my bright idea." Sirius finished quietly clutching his glass of water.
"You confronted Mr. Pettigrew," Avery prompted after a moment.
Sirius nodded. "On October 31st, 1981, I went to check on Peter, to make sure he was alright still. I had been doing it every evening. His place was empty. No evidence of a struggle. Nothing." Sirius swallowed. "I knew something was wrong. It didn't feel right. It didn't sit well with me. I left Peter's place and headed to James and Lily's. I needed to check on them. I arrived in Godric's Hollow to find their place no longer under the fidelius charm. The roof had been blown apart." Sirius paused the story and took another drink of water.
"I entered through the front door and found James lying there on the floor. Dead." Sirius' eyes had gotten watery. "I reached over and closed his eyes. The place was eerily quiet. I thought everyone was dead." Sirius swallowed. "I heard Harry cry out. Wailing. I went upstairs to the nursery and spotted Harry still in his crib. Alive. Reaching out for his mum, Lily, who was lying on the floor. She wasn't alive. The room was covered in rubble. The ceiling...roof had been blown apart. I took Harry out of his crib and began the trek downstairs. I knew I needed to get him to safety. I wasn't sure if the house was going to cave in or not."
Sirius paused again, frowning. "Hagrid was outside. Said that Dumbledore needed to take Harry, to keep him safe. I gave him over. I don't know why I did so. I'm his godfather. But I gave Harry to Hagrid and I left to go after Peter. To hunt him down. No one alive knew he was secret keeper, but me. I needed to capture him. I needed to turn him over to the Ministry." Sirius took another sip of water. "Two or three days later I tracked him down in a muggle neighbourhood. I confronted him right there in the middle of the street. I hadn't slept in days. The little shit got the drop on me and got away. He's an animagus, a rat. He yelled some shit to me. He blew the street apart with the wand behind his back and transformed into a rat and scurried off into the sewer with the other rats."
Sirius snorted. "The aurors arrived moments later. I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't stop. They arrested me and next thing I knew I was here."
Narcissa remained quiet throughout Sirius' explanation of that night. Of all that had happened a decade ago.
"Why was Mr. Pettigrew an animagus?" Avery asked him. "Was he a spy? Was it to get closer to the Death Eaters to get information for Dumbledore?"
Sirius shook his head. "No. Dumbledore doesn't know. Me and James and Peter are all unregistered animagi. We have been since our fifth year at Hogwarts. I'm a dog, James was a stag, and Peter is a rat. We did it to accompany another friend during the full moon. He is a werewolf. Werewolves don't infect other animals. Just humans."
"Which is how you've kept your head in here for as long as you have." Avery stated after he stopped his quick quill from recording.
Sirius nodded.
"Are you willing to testify what you've just said to myself and Narcissa?" Avery asked him. "In front of the Wizengamot?"
Sirius nodded again. "I'll even consent to veritaserum. I'll let them look at my memories. Anything you need. I'll do it."
Avery nodded to him. "It's going to take me a few days, maybe a week. Then you'll be moved to a holding cell at the Ministry to get you cleaned up for a trial. You will have a trial, I guarantee it."
"An unregistered animagus is punishable by law. The sentence is time in Azkaban." Narcissa said to the room. She turned to look at Stevenson.
He shook his head. "I'll argue for time served. Maybe a monetary fine as well."
Narcissa nodded. It sounded like a good plan to her. She went to stand up to leave the room.
"Cissa, wait." Sirius called out before she could take a step towards the door.
Narcissa turned to look at her cousin.
"What's Harry like?" He asked her, his eyes shiny with tears.
Narcissa sat back down. She frowned. "I haven't met him yet. I was going to get Draco to invite him for Winter Break. But from what I've heard from my son I know that Harry is very bright. He can keep up in his classes. He isn't top, but he can hold his own. He is quiet, observant of others around him. Cautious. Draco has written to me and said that Harry meets with the Slytherin Head of House for a nutrient potion every night after dinner. He is quite small for his age. Draco said he looks like he is about eight years old."
"Who's the Head of Slytherin House? Is Slughorn still there?" Sirius asked her.
Narcissa shook her head. "No, he has retired. It's Severus Snape. He's the head of Slytherin."
Narcissa watched as her cousin paled even more than he already was.
"Does he treat Harry alright?" Sirius asked tightly. "James and Snape hated each other at Hogwarts."
Narcissa hesitated. "He gives Harry his nutrient potion every night without failure, but I don't think they get along, no." She paused. "Draco said that Severus chewed him out during their first potions class a few weeks ago. That he asked Harry things that were very advanced...he wouldn't have needed to read about what he was asking until a month or so into the term. A girl, Hermione Granger, stuck up for Harry. She answered some of the questions. As did Draco." Narcissa paused, frowning. "I don't like Severus. I never have."
Sirius nodded. "Why would he need a nutrient potion? Could he just be small?" He frowned in thought.
Narcissa hesitated. "Draco informed me, when I asked him, that Harry told him he was living with his aunt and uncle. His muggle aunt and uncle. I assume one of Lily Potter's relatives."
Sirius nodded. "Petunia is her sister. She hated magic. Hated Lily. If she hurt Harry...neglected Harry because of me. Because of what I've done..." His lip quivered.
Narcissa reached out and placed her hand over Sirius'. "He is safe now. He will be okay."
"We will get you out of here, Mr. Black. You'll be able to look after him soon. I promise you that." Avery said to him. "You are his godfather. You'll be allowed to be his godfather. You'll be allowed to do what James and Lily asked of you. I promise."
"Thank you," Sirius murmured.
"I'll see you again in no more than a week." Avery told him. "I need to get to work." He banged on the door.
The guards opened it instantly.
"Talk to you later Mr. Black," Avery nodded at him in goodbye.
"See you soon, Sirius. Not much longer now." Narcissa said quietly to him. She turned and left the room. Following behind Avery.
