Rescuing Darkness
Chapter Four
Narcissa sat quietly at the dinner table watching her family eat their perfectly prepared dinner. To an outsider, their silent meal seemed intimidating, but to the three Malfoy's it was the usual.
She thought deeply about the situation with Harry. The way Draco and Lucius had talked about The-Boy-Who-Lived, it seemed Potter had been a spoiled brat with absolutely no class. Now that she knew the truth, she couldn't help but be a bit angry with her son and spouse.
Of course, it probably wasn't their fault that they perceived Harry to be that way. He fooled Severus along with the entire school, and the boy had even told them that not many people knew about those filthy Muggles.
Narcissa tightly clenched her fork at that. She would never treat anyone like that. Draco was handled with the utmost care. She wouldn't even dare to hurt any of her other family, not even Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora. If Bella or Sirius had had children, she would have treated with the same care as her niece. It was in her nature as an overprotective mother to be hospitable to of all the children of her family.
Well, Harry was technically family. He was in fact Sirius' godson, and the man had treated him like a son. Narcissa always wondered why Harry didn't immediately go to Sirius instead of those horrid pieces of filth. He was after all named Harry's legal guardian in the instance of the Potters' death. Another thing she had to speak to Severus about. He was the one who knew of Dumbledore's plans at that time. She hated that old fool.
"Mother, are you alright?" Narcissa's head jerked just a bit at her son's voice.
"Yes dear, to seemed to be very angry this week." Lucius sounded indifferent, but she knew he was concerned. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh no dears." She put on her motherly mask again. "I was just thinking of that horrible month you had to suffer in that dreadful prison. The Ministry should have known better than to question your position." There. That would keep her husband quiet. It was in fact a horrible month, but the Malfoy money and pureblood status quickly warranted Lucius' release. Draco would not comment on such either.
"If you will excuse me, I have something the Dark Lord needs me to attend to." She stood and watched as a House Elf took her dirtied dishes. She briefly wondered if Harry had been subjected to such tasks, but banished that thought. There was no sense in showing her anger and concern again at the table. This was supposed to be a secret, and besides, she was going to check on Harry again soon.
"You have been spending quite a lot of time in the Dark Lord's service lately." Lucius was ever the suspicious husband.
"My skills have been required," came Narcissa's curt reply.
"Has there been a battle that was not notified about."
"Our Lord wishes me not to speak of it." She wasn't a Malfoy nee Black for nothing. Lucius would be up the entire night thinking about this.
She left the table before any more questions could be asked. Harry would be awake soon and in his right mind. The boy would no longer be so accepting. In fact, she was expecting him to become violent. If she didn't get to him in time, there would definitely be a battle on the horizon. On that was between Harry and the Dark Lord.
Severus sat silently brooding in the Dumbledore's. The Order was having trouble getting into Grimmauld Place for some reason, so they had left the Dursleys' and congregated here. He only stayed for one thing. Mad Eye had retrieved the boy's things from that horrid cupboard and from under the floorboards. The boy was smart for hiding his most valued things there. He only needed to find a way to retrieve those things without arousing suspicion.
That would be harder than he expected, seeing as Dumbledore kept them on his bloody desk in plain sight, and Moody seemed to be watching his every move. The crazy ex-auror had been looking at him suspiciously after he left those Muggles' house. He shouldn't have let his anger get the best of him, but Potter's appearance had reminded him a bit too much of his own childhood abuse.
"We can't just sit here while You-Know-Who does Merlin knows what to Harry. We have to rescue him." Severus slightly pitied Lupin. After the werewolf had sobered, had been trying to raise a campaign to save Potter. Albus refused every time.
"We can't just go marching in to Tom's lair without knowing its location." See? Every time. "And besides, Severus report that Harry is okay at the moment."
He never said that. He said the boy was alive. With his mental and physical state, the boy was far from okay.
Lupin glared at the Potions Master, but Severus just scowled back. He was quite used to such looks.
"Snape should be able to get us in. Please Headmaster. Harry is all I have left. I can't let him be killed because of our negligence." If there was one thing Lupin knew how to do, it was beg with dignity.
Albus lost a bit of his twinkle, Severus noticed, at that comment. Everyone knew now what the old man had subjected Potter to, and now they were a bit skeptical about his decisions concerning the boy. Who could blame them with Potter past record.
"Severus would it be possible to rescue Harry at this point." Okay this would make things a bit easier.
"It would if I had his assets." Severus eyed Potter's wand and cloak with a bit of hope.
"Harry's Invisibility Cloak and wand should be sufficient. Right Severus?" Jackpot. Silly old man.
"Of course, Headmaster." Severus almost risked smirking.
"I want to come." Severus scowled inwardly. The werewolf would ruin everything.
"No that would be too suspicious. Severus must go alone." Or not.
"But what about back-up. Harry would never go with Snape alone. What if he's caught?" Severus resisted the urge to growl at Lupin.
"I assure you that I will be sufficient in such a task, Lupin." Severus retorted verbally. "I am quite competent."
"Yes, but you're still a Death Eater." Lupin was on edge. He had better watch himself.
"That is quite enough." Albus interrupted them. "Severus, you may take Harry's essentials and retrieve him." He handed Severus the cloak and wand without resistance.
Severus took Potter's things and left the office. He would be returning Potter's things, but the boy would not be returning for a while.
A/N: It seems that these chapters are getting shorter, but I had to end it here. I hope you liked these POVS. I always considered Narcissa as the motherly type from the snippets about her in the book. I hope I did Sev well. It's hard to get his character right.
Once again, thank you to all my reviewers. I can't name you all right now since it's four thirty in the morning, and I'm about to fall asleep on the keyboard.
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