A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thanks to all who have reviewed! To those of you who read the old story, some of this might seem familiar. :) Enjoy!
"Father!" Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway of Severus Snape's office, looking quite surprised.
Lucius rose from his seat when his son entered the room. "Draco," he greeted him, as warmly as was appropriate. The young man glanced quickly at Snape, who was seated at his desk, and seemed to assess the situation. "Thank you, Severus," Lucius addressed the potions master. "If you have no objection, Draco and I shall take a turn about the grounds?"
Snape nodded his assent, and the two Malfoys swept out of the room. After Draco stopped quickly into his dormitory to fetch his coat and scarf, they headed outdoors.
Lucius intended to remain silent until they were well away from the castle, but his son apparently could not wait that long. "Is something wrong, Father?"
"Everything is fine," Lucius reassured him.
"Mother is well?"
Narcissa was still angry with Lucius, but he doubted if that affected her health. "She's quite well," he said smoothly, surveying their surroundings surreptitiously. No other students seemed to be outside, but then it was a week night. A thin layer of snow covered the grounds, and it was nearing sunset. He glanced over at his son, and found Draco studying him with a look of slight concern. Lucius suspected that his son feared that he'd gotten wind of whatever mischief the boy had been up to recently. Smiling slightly to himself, Lucius trained his eyes on the path ahead. "How are your classes?" he asked amiably.
"Good," Draco answered quickly, a little too quickly.
"Getting top marks, I hope," Lucius commented, displeased with his son's reaction to the previous question. Couldn't hurt to make the boy squirm a little; perhaps it would make him work harder.
Draco did not answer, and Lucius let it go. Recalling his son's slightly rumpled appearance when he had arrived in Snape's office, Lucius remarked, "Forgot to comb your hair this morning?"
His son's cheeks flushed slightly. "No," he replied, "I was just, uh, napping, just before I was called down."
Lucius knew his son better than to believe this story, for the young man had seemed very awake when he'd first seen him. Quite energized, actually. He was almost certain that hair only became ruffled as Draco's had been when someone's hands had been running through it for a while, and not in a calm manner. "Still seeing the Parkinson girl?"
Now very red in the face, Draco answered, somewhat embarrassedly, "Yeah."
Although he enjoyed making sure his son knew just how little he could get away with, Lucius decided he had better get to why he was here. The sun would soon be going down. He put an arm around the young man's shoulders and spoke, keeping his voice low. "Draco, a few days ago we met with Him," he said pointedly, not daring to be more open while on Hogwarts grounds. From Draco's expression, it was clear that he understood. "He mentioned briefly that in the near future he may request the service of the younger generation," Lucius continued.
Draco looked up at his father hopefully. "You would let me, wouldn't you, Father? I'm better than any of the others!" he boasted excitedly, referring to the children of the other Death Eaters.
"I should hope you are," Lucius replied. "Your mother is not too keen on your becoming involved," he went on, and Draco opened his mouth to argue. "However, I'm sure that she can be persuaded."
"You approve, then?" Draco asked, very pleased.
Lucius hesitated to give that much, just yet. "We shall see," he answered. "Part of my reason for coming was to determine if He had contacted you already." Secretly, Lucius was relieved that the Dark Lord had not bypassed him and gone directly to his son, or used someone else to pass the message to him.
Draco shook his head. He was clearly bursting to ask more questions, but Lucius spoke before he had the chance. "You must not speak of this to anyone, Draco, do you understand?" His son nodded, but Lucius repeated, "No one. Not Vincent, not Gregory, especially not Parkinson," he added disdainfully. "What's her name?"
"Pansy," his son told him, a little discomfited.
"Right," Lucius acknowledged off-handedly. "Women talk, Draco. Never tell them anything unless you want the entire world to know." The young man smirked slightly. Lucius sobered a bit. "If you are contacted, you will immediately owl me," he instructed firmly. "If for some reason you cannot reach me or your mother, which, I can't imagine why that would be, but if the situation did arise, I would expect you to tell Professor Snape."
They had reached a split in the path, and Lucius chose the one that looped back up toward the school. Draco seemed immensely pleased with the news he had brought him, and Lucius was glad to see that the boy wasn't shrinking away from his duty.
"Father," Draco began inquisitively, "Is it true that the Dark Lord's forces..."
Lucius immediately hushed him, cutting him off. "For Merlin's sake, Draco, use a bit of discretion!" he berated him in a restrained voice.
The younger man was appropriately chagrined. "Sorry, sir," he apologized. "But... is it true that... his group is growing?" He seemed afraid to speak, afraid that Lucius would reprimand him again. "I read in the Prophet about..." Draco lowered his voice to a whisper, "...about the breakout. Have they joined him, then?"
Lucius had nearly forgotten that his son had been in school during and ever since the mass breakout from Azkaban. "I believe so," he answered carefully. "I assume you noticed that your aunt and uncle were among them?"
"Of course," Draco nodded. "Didn't you tell me she was a bit of a nutter?"
Lucius winced inwardly. He had honestly never expected to see Bellatrix again, or he would not have said that in front of his son. "I wouldn't mention that to her, if I were you."
His son's eyes widened slightly. "Then you've seen them?"
The boy was asking too many questions, and Lucius had just about had enough. "We're bound to eventually," he lied. He did not need Draco going about the school telling everyone that his father was fraternizing with wanted criminals.
Bellatrix had been a school chum of his, but the woman was barking mad these days, in Lucius's opinion. But she was Narcissa's only remaining sister (since Andy had betrayed them all those years ago), and his wife was somewhat fond of her. "You should forget that I called her that, Draco," Lucius instructed firmly, "She is your aunt, and your mother would not be pleased to hear us insult her."
Draco voiced his understanding, and Lucius became silent. Mention of Narcissa only made him uncomfortable – she was at once a source of anxiety and vexation, and Lucius did not want to be plagued by either feeling.
"I've joined the Inquisitorial Squad," Draco piped up, interrupting the silence.
Lucius pursed his lips. "Is that so?" he drawled, as they headed back up toward the castle.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Narcissa had been pacing the halls of the Manor all afternoon, not at all pleased that her husband had disappeared without even saying farewell. It came as no surprise though, since they had not been on good terms for several days, now.
She was livid that Lucius would not tell her what he was up to. Of course, she had never been told directly what the Death Eaters did on their missions for the Dark Lord, but almost fifteen years of his absence had made Narcissa fully appreciate knowing exactly what her family was doing at all times. She had no desire to return to those days when Lucius would disappear for sometimes weeks at a time, leaving her alone to worry that he might never return.
Relief, quickly followed by annoyance, coursed through her when Lucius swept through the door at nearly ten o'clock. By the time she got down the stairs, he had given his heavy cloak and gloves to Sukey and the little elf had disappeared.
"How very kind of you to return," Narcissa greeted him darkly.
Lucius chose to ignore her huffiness and kissed her forehead. "How are you?"
"I've been worried all day," she answered reproachfully. She would have liked to slap him, but of course that was not acceptable behavior for a pureblooded witch of her status.
Her husband did not seem perturbed. "I'm sorry to have troubled you," he said lightly, heading toward the parlor.
Narcissa followed, fuming. Lucius paid her no mind, seating himself in a chair and picking up the Daily Prophet off the end table. She sat on the love seat opposite, cursing the day she fell for this man. "May I ask," she began through clenched teeth, "where you have been all day?"
Lucius lowered the newspaper slightly to look at her. Just then, Sukey appeared with a tea tray, clattering it slightly as she sat it on the low table between the two. Irritated, Narcissa snapped, "Be careful, would you?"
The elf bobbed a quick curtsy, looking terrified. "Forgive me, mistress!" she squeaked, then disappeared.
Narcissa felt herself blushing when she realized how Lucius was staring at her, as if she had just done something fantastically amusing. Well, he yelled at the house elves all the time, why was it such a crime if she lost her temper? Still, she was a witch of good breeding, and should not have lost control like that. Ignoring his stare, she moved to pour the tea.
"Since you must know," she heard him say, and she could tell he was still smirking, "I made the long journey out to Hogwarts this afternoon, to check up on our son."
With a rattle, she sat the teapot down rather suddenly, looking up at Lucius. "You visited Draco at school, without me?" she reiterated, as disappointment flooded her.
"Narcissa," Lucius replied in a very placating tone, "I needed to discuss the Dark Lord – "
"So he is recruiting him!" she cried, cutting him off.
Her husband finally showed some annoyance. "No, he isn't, Narcissa, if you would let me speak. I went to make sure that the Dark Lord hadn't contacted him through someone else, and he hasn't. That should make you and your nerves ceaselessly happy."
Narcissa took this in, relieved at the news, but irked at Lucius and his attitude. "Why did you go without me?"
"Because," he explained impatiently, "I needed to speak to him privately. Besides, we don't need the rumors going around that Draco had an unprecedented visit from both of his parents. What would we say, that we happened to be in town?"
She was not accepting this. Jealousy was overtaking all other emotions. "But you couldn't even tell me that you were going, so that I could send along a note or some sweets?"
Lucius spread his hands. "You could owl him those things!"
"It's not the same," she retorted, going on bitterly, "Didn't even bother to say 'Mother sends her love,' did you?"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, the boy knows you love him!" he bellowed, throwing down the paper.
Furious, Narcissa stood and left the room, unable to stand the sight of him any longer.
For several weeks, it went on like this. Lucius would disappear at strange hours, and give her very little explanation when he finally returned. Narcissa was dying to know what he was doing, but he gave her no opportunity to ask about it, and if she asked when unprompted, he became incredibly cross with her. "My directives from the Dark Lord have never been any of your business, Narcissa. Why should that suddenly change?" he said to her when she was exceptionally persistent. In addition to all this, he had developed the irritating habit of ordering her to "go help Sukey make supper, or find something useful to do" whenever he tired of her presence. (This, she felt, was exceptionally rude and un-called-for; suggesting that a witch of her breeding would cook for herself!) Not that it mattered about supper, because he hadn't been at home to eat at the usual time for almost a week.
Finally, though, there came an evening when Lucius was actually home at supper-time and they could dine together. Not surprisingly, it took all of three minutes for them to get on each others nerves. It was miraculous, really, the way a simple "how was your day?" could spark a conflict.
"You could respond with more than just 'fine;' that might make me happy," Narcissa replied to her husband's rhetorical question.
Lucius regarded her calmly. "There are no more words to describe it," he said simply.
"Very well then. Since you will not elaborate on the quality of your day, we will sit here in silence, since I clearly may not ask you what you did today."
Her husband sighed. "I met with your sister today, if you must know."
Narcissa glanced up at him, surprised that she was getting any explanation at all. "Really. Why?"
"Now that's the part you can't know," he told her with a neutral expression, though Narcissa was certain she could detect a pompous smirk showing through.
She put down her silverware noisily, sighing in aggravation, and reached for her glass of wine. "Honestly, Lucius, you're enough to drive a witch to distraction," she said, frowning.
"Or to drink, apparently," he commented smoothly. In mid-sip, Narcissa glared at him over top of her glass, and then downed the entire thing. She was about to ask him how it felt to be replaced by a bottle of wine, when he suddenly winced and grabbed his arm.
Narcissa shook her head – this was exactly how she'd expected the meal to end. "Doesn't the Dark Lord ever have supper? Is he not human enough to recognize proper mealtimes? Of course not," she muttered bitterly.
Lucius remained cool, despite her hostility, and rose from the table. As he moved around his chair, he drew his wand and muttered a spell. Immediately, Narcissa's chair pulled away from the table and swiveled to face him. Placing a hand on either arm of the chair, he leaned down so that his face was directly in front of hers. "I suggest you get your attitude in order. Hmm?" he said calmly, staring her down. Narcissa's eyes were brimming with tears despite her best efforts, and so she looked away. Apparently satisfied with this, he cupped her cheek gently for a moment before leaving the room.
Trembling with anger, Narcissa stared at her lap. This was ridiculous. If Lucius didn't want her to know what he was doing, he could at least do a better job of hiding it so she wouldn't have to worry! It was as though he was doing this on purpose, just to drive her mad! Well, she'd had enough. When he got home, she would demand to know... but Narcissa knew that it would get her nowhere. Seething, she slammed her hand on the table, making the dishes clatter.
Immediately, their house elf appeared beside her. "Can Sukey help Mistress with anything?" the little creature asked, clearly a bit frightened of Narcissa.
She looked down at the elf, her face flushed and eyes wet. Narcissa nearly dismissed her without thinking, but then said slowly, "Yes, Sukey... ...bring me the rest of this bottle." She held up her glass to indicate what she meant.
Sukey seemed anxious. "Master is not liking it when Mistress drinks too much..."
"Do it now!" she shrieked at the creature, no longer even slightly controlling her rage. The elf scurried back into the kitchen, and returned quickly with the bottle.
"Mistress," Sukey squeaked as she handed the wine to Narcissa, "You are knowing that Master becomes angry when Mistress does this..."
Narcissa ignored her warning and poured herself another glass. "Yes, well "Master" isn't here, is he?"
The little elf lowered her eyes and sadly left the room.
Ignoring the little creature, or at least trying to, she drank down another glass. What else could she do? Everything was spiraling out of her control, and there was nothing she could do about it. The tears that streamed down her cheeks burned with frustration and shame. She was the mistress of this house, yet she no longer had control of it! Lucius would sooner tell his darkest secrets to Bellatrix than his own wife! To Bellatrix, who had only been free from Azkaban for a month, if that!
This was ridiculous. Lucius was her husband. This was her home. She had a right to know what was going on, especially since it was happening right under her nose!
The grandfather clock chimed, startling Narcissa. Eight o'clock. Who knew what time Lucius would be home? Usually he didn't reappear until at least eleven or twelve. Off getting himself into Merlin knows what, she thought bitterly, and all I can do is wait for the bad news.
Or ...could she? He wouldn't be back for quite a while. There was plenty of time to get into his study... but that was madness. If Lucius found out that she'd been snooping around his private things, he'd be furious. He'd be worse than furious. He'd be absolutely livid. ...Oh, grow a spine, Cissy! she thought to herself. He didn't need to know. There would be no reason to tell him. Besides, she had every right to know what he was hiding from her in there. It was her life on the line!
Knowing that if she didn't do this right away she'd never get the courage again, Narcissa rose from the table and walked bravely toward his study. With each step her heart raced faster. She drew her wand from her pocket and stopped in front of the door, trembling slightly with adrenaline. "I have to know," she breathed aloud, clenching her jaw. She raised her wand, pointing it at the lock, and froze there for several seconds. "Alohomora," she whispered finally.
The lock sparked, and the door fell slightly open. With a sick feeling in her stomach, she entered the room.
For a moment she looked around. His owl was not on its perch – probably out delivering some secret messages, she thought bitterly. With more confidence, she walked over to his desk, surveying the immaculate top. There wasn't a single piece of parchment there. Unperturbed, she opened the top drawer, only to find various inks and quills, and continued on to the next drawer, in which she found a lot of paperwork regarding the Ministry, their Gringotts vault, and their taxes, but nothing about the Dark Lord whatsoever. A bit nervous now, she opened the bottom drawer and went through every single roll of parchment, finding nothing about which she either cared or was ignorant.
Feeling sick, foolish, and slightly woozy, she leaned back in his leather chair. Of course Lucius didn't keep his important, secret documents about the Dark Lord in his desk. He wasn't that naïve. He either had a secret hiding place for his documents, (which she could look for all night and still never find), or he destroyed the documents as soon as he read them. Narcissa closed her eyes as tears began to swell.
A sudden fluttering behind her made her eyes fly open. Turning quickly, she saw that Lucius's owl had returned and was sitting on the windowsill... with a letter. With her heart suddenly pounding once again, she stood and approached the bird apprehensively. It watched her with piercing yellow eyes, holding the envelope in its beak. She reached out her hand and took hold of the letter, staring at the owl. For a few long moments, it stared at her, not letting go of the envelope. Then, deciding that she was the next best thing to Lucius, it released the letter and flew over to its perch.
Narcissa stared at the letter in her hand for a moment. She shouldn't open it. He'd know. ...But it was sealed with wax. She could easily un-seal it, then re-seal it. He'd never have to know. Then, without thinking any further, she opened the envelope and took out the parchment.
Lucius,
I think the best bet to get the prophecy is Broderick Bode. He is an Unspeakable. I have given the Dark Lord my assurance that this plan will work, and He has given his approval. You are free to proceed as planned. Keep an eye out, though – we've got intelligence that Dumbledore's people are keeping watch.
-Avery
Narcissa read the letter slowly, realizing what it meant. Then, to her horror, the parchment dissolved into ashes in her hands.
A/N: Don't forget to review!! :)
