A/N: Hope you like chapter seven! Thanks to everyone for the reviews and for all the 'favorites' and 'follows' :)
It happened too fast: the connection between Harry's and Voldemort's wands, the chosen boy moving around the cemetery, taking hold of the portkey and disappearing with Cedric Diggory. It took only seconds for Voldemort's rage come to surface.
"How did this boy managed to run away from Lord Voldemort? You are a bunch of incompetents, all of you!" The Dark Lord shouted with his Death Eaters, using them as a target to direct his anger.
"But Milorde, you asked us to back off, sir… you said you would do the job with Potter… We… we just did what you ordered… Please, forgive us all." Most probably, Goyle forgot the he wasn't supposed to contradict his master or the man was stupid enough to think Voldemort wouldn't take his insubordination as a reason to discount His fury.
"Crucio" Goyle was thrown in the air by the force of the curse, his body contorting in every way possible, his shouts filling the cemetery until he collapsed on the floor, still screaming and pleading for mercy.
Lucius, who was watching the scene completely astonished, didn't have much time to comprehend anything before the Dark Lord summoned him to the middle of the circle, right next to where Goyle laid unconscious. "I think here we have the next volunteer to be punished. Lucius, Lucius, Lucius, you always had a huge impression of yourself, always thought you were superior then everyone. Let Lord Voldemort teach you something: you're nothing, Lucius. I command you! You do what I wish, you are who I tell you to be, and you should've come find me. After all, you had the prestige, you had the money, you had influence to hide almost everything, it wouldn't be so hard to find your master…. But what did you do? You feigned to be under an Imperius, you cleared yourself and forgot about your lord. What a shame, Lucius, what a disgust you are! And I was naïve enough to think you were one of my best servants. You're a weak man, Malfoy, you should've learned something from your sister-in-law, who was, and I know, still is, a true devoted servant. But never mind, Lucius, your punishment is coming now. CRUCIO!"
Lucius' session of torture was much longer than Goyle's. The Dark Lord used the Cruciatus Curse for many times, until the blond man couldn't move anymore, having some bones broken and cuts all over his body. Almost unconscious, Lucius watched his colleagues being punished, one by one. Some with more vigor, some with more indulgence, but no Death Eater escaped from the Lord's attack of fury. Some time later, eyes half open, Lucius Malfoy saw another man apparating at the cemetery. He could hear the man's long cloak rustling on the grass, the voice was low but still very recognizable: Severus. What would the Dark Lord do to him? Before Lucius could think of it, all went black, and he felt nothing but the fatigue over his body.
"Lucius, LUCIUS! Wake up!" Severus Snape was tapping Lucius Malfoy on the arm, trying to make his friend regain conscious. For the environment, the teacher could see that Lord Voldemort took his rage out by punishing his servants, and that Lucius' punishment had been one of the cruelest. Other men had already woken up and disapparated, only few remained there. Severus had a long talk with the Dark Lord, explaining the "job" he did in Hogwarts all those years, excusing himself for the failures and, in return, for Merlin's sake, he avoided any kind of torture.
"Lucius, please, I have to carry you home before returning to Hogwarts, wake up!" The word home took its effects on Lucius. The man slowly regained some conscious, opening his grey eyes with some difficult, but quite aware of where he was and what had happened just hours before.
"Severus?"
"Yes, Lucius, it's me, thank goodness you're fine. Now, I know you're weak, but try to make an effort for us to get off here the quicker we can, right?"
"Fine. How is Draco? Did anything happen to my son in that damned school? And Narcissa? You know about my wife?"
"Calm down, Malfoy! Draco is perfectly fine and I can assure you the boy has no idea of how complex this whole situation is. As for Narcissa, I know nothing, but she's probably home and worried sick with you. That's exactly why I insist: let's go out of here". Saying that, Severus took hold of Lucius by the waist and helped him getting up. Doing a side-along apparation, they were, in seconds, in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. Lucius unlocked it with his wand and both men walked slowly to the front door, which was immediately opened by a startled Narcissa.
"Lucius! What happened to you, love?" Narcissa hugged him carefully, afraid of breaking more bones or aggravating his pain. Suppressing a sob, she took hold of his shoulders and helped him to a nearby couch. "Stay here, don't move, I'll be right back. You'll be fine."
Severus watched his old friends; he felt a trace of compassion but a little jealousy too. Lucius would always have Narcissa by his side to comfort him, even at the hardest times and he couldn't say the same for himself, since he never had a real chance with his Lily. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Narcissa, her voice cold and harsh. "Severus, come and help me with the potions, please."
When they were out of the living room, Narcissa let her rage be clear and caught Severus off guard.
"What happened to my husband? Who did that to Lucius? It was Him, I bet. That horrid man. So he's back, fabulous! Now my life will get all troubled again, Lucius arriving home all injured, Draco in danger. SAY SOMETHING, SEVERUS!"
Snape's face couldn't be more confused. He had seen Narcissa out of herself a few times before, but always preferred not to deal with her in such state. But this time he had no choice, her friend needed answers and Lucius was way too weak to explain anything. "Narcissa, breathe. Yes, the Dark Lord is back. With the assistance of Wormtail he now has a 'new body' and depends on no one for living anymore. He attracted Potter to the cemetery he was doing the ritual of dark magic and the boy managed to escape, once again. This got the Dark Lord enraged, you can imagine, and he decided to punish the Death Eaters for their absence during the years he disappeared. It was obviously the perfect excuse for him to take his rage on someone."
"I understand. But why aren't you injured as well, Severus?" Her tone was sarcastic.
Severus didn't get offended with her 'accusation'. He understood Narcissa's despair at that moment and also her need of any kind of information about the whole situation. "I wasn't there the time he tortured the other men, including Lucius. I needed to be at Dumbledore's side, Narcissa. When I arrived, I explained to the Dark Lord my position as a spy for all those years and he valued the information I could provide him, I think that's why I wasn't tortured."
She just nodded. They now were at a small room, full of cabinets where Narcissa kept the potions, medicines and other items related to health care. She quickly got a vial of a pain killer potion and essence of dittany. Next, the woman heated some water in a pot using her wand and grabbed a piece of fabric to clean Lucius' cuts. She didn't want to just vanish the blood doing the Tergeo spell, since her husband preferred the non-magical way of cleaning injuries, his organism always had awful reactions to that spell.
"I'm sorry, Sev." Her eyes were filled with tears she fought to restrain. "It's not your fault and I'm acting like a crazy person treating you so bad. Thank you for bringing him home."
"It's alright, Narcissa."
"No, it's not. You're here to help me and I'm being terrible. Don't get upset, please. The fact is that I don't know what to do! It hurts me so much to see Lucius in that condition. I thought I'd never have to heal these injuries again, I thought it had ended. I believe in the cause, don't misunderstand me. But I don't have the heart to see my husband like this anymore, I'm older, I'm more fragile, I fear the Dark Lord involving Draco on his plans and knowing my son, he'll think this is an honor. I just can't deal with this all over again, Sev."
"Shh." Severus took hold of her hands. He was never good with that kind of contact, but she needed some comfort, and that was all he could do for his friend. "Narcissa, you're one of the bravest women I ever met. I'm not recognizing this weakness you're showing. Held you head upright and be strong for Lucius and for Draco, they will need your support. And please, do not mention any of this to anyone. If the Dark Lord hears any of the things you said, the punishment can be even more severe. And if I can give you an advice, Occlumency will be very much needed from now on."
"Thank you Severus, for all. Now I'll go take care of Lucius, he needs me."
"That's the Narcissa Malfoy I know. I'm going, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Of course, thank you again. And Sev, please, keep an eye on my son. Don't let him get into trouble and say more than he's supposed to."
"I'll talk to him, Narcissa. Send my best wishes to Lucius."
Narcissa knelled next to the sofa Lucius was laying on and gently brushed her fingers on his face, an attempt to wake him. "Love, it's me…We have to heal these injuries." He woke and sat upright, not without some "ouches" due to the broken bones in his arm and ribs. She kissed his lips before giving him a dose of the pain killer potion. Wetting the piece of fabric with the warm water, Narcissa gently removed all the dried blood from his cuts and made some incantations to stop the bleeding in some of them. With the essence of dittany, she healed all the cuts. Lucius flinched, but did his best not to scream; his wife was being so careful not to hurt him that he didn't want to show that, despite everything, it was still hurting considerably.
"Lucius, I think it's better to go to St. Mungus now."
His eyes widened. "No, Cissa, no way. It will be suspicious, imagine if some other Death Eater had the same idea? Potter probably already spread the news of the return of the Dark Lord, he was there, the boy, I need to tell you what happened!"
"Severus told me a part of the story; we'll talk about this later, love… For now, just let me take you to see a healer, I'm afraid of doing the wrong enchantment on your bones".
Lucius gave her an encouraging smile. "I trust you to do it. You've already done it other times, Cissa, it's not too complicated and you are a really talented witch. Do it for me, I don't want to create suspicions around us."
Taking hold of her wand, Narcissa did the spells she knew that were necessary to emend the bones. In minutes, the job was done and the woman thought Lucius was alright again, or at least, she hoped so. He promptly stood up and hugged her carefully.
"See, love, I'm fine. You did it perfectly, like always."
oOoOoOoOoOo
Lucius and Narcissa were at the King's Cross Station waiting for the Hogwarts Express for fifteen minutes now. Wearing elegant muggle clothes, they stood on the other side of the barrier, outside the Platform 9 3/4. The couple just wanted to pick their son and go straight home. The return of the Dark Lord was going to bring huge transformations and Narcissa pretended to keep Draco the more distant she could from Him, which Lucius had agreed to be the best course of action. They needed to assure the boy wouldn't say more than he was supposed to, avoiding to cause suspicions evidences about Lucius' position as a Death Eater.
Molly Weasley was there too, probably waiting for her bunch of children, but the Malfoys didn't change a single glance with her. Lucius and Narcissa just stood there, her arm linked in his, both wearing the same cold and unaffected expression. They could say the train had arrived because several familiar faces were coming to meet their families: that awful Parkinson girl, the mudblood, Potter and many Weasleys, although they saw no sight of Draco… Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, his loyal doormats, were nowhere to be seen too. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy looked at each other, both comprehending something unsaid between them: something must be wrong.
When they transposed the barrier, the Hogwarts Express was still there, few students gathered at the platform, saying their final goodbyes before the summer vacation. Narcissa and Lucius entered the train, searching for any signs of their son in the cabinets.
"Draco!" Lucius and Narcissa called him repeatedly just to have no answer in return.
Narcissa and Lucius had checked many compartments when they heard someone moaning. Quickly, the coupled walked in the sound's direction and found what they were looking for. Draco, Vincent and Gregory were on the floor, apparently starting to recover their senses, their whole bodies covered with boils, tentacles and other disgusting things, probably the effect of a combination of jinxes.
"Dear Merlin, what is this?" Narcissa looked at the boys in disbelief. Who dared to do that to her son? Draco was disfigured! Of course, that wasn't something she and Lucius couldn't solve with some spells to revert the jinxes and vanish all the weird signs in his body, but still, it was unbelievable! Withdrawing their wands, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy undid all the damage made on the boys.
"Enervate" Lucius did the spell on Draco first, making the boy return to a state of consciousness. Seeing his parents in front of them, Lucius with a face that showed nothing but disappointment and Narcissa visibly worried, Draco felt really ashamed. How he would explain for great Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy that he was knocked down by Potter, Weasley and the mudblood?
"Father, Mother, how did you get here?"
Lucius rolled his eyes and answered his son's question with a hint of impatience on his voice. "Well, we tried to only wait for you outside the platform, just like normal people does, Draco. But after waiting for almost fifteen minutes and seeing no sight of you, we decided to come and look… that's when we found you and these two morons on the floor with tentacles and other anomalies on your bodies. How despicable, Draco."
Narcissa looked at Lucius and sighed. That was not the time or the place to discuss the matter, their prior need was to gather the boys and go home. "Slow down, Lucius! Just do the enervate spell on Vincent and Gregory and give the boys a help, I'll be on charge of Draco. Come, son." She passed her arm around Draco's shoulders and helped him since he had little strength to walk alone. Lucius was helping both Crabbe and Goyle to move, which made him stay considerably behind his wife and son. When the group exited the train, Mrs. Goyle and Mrs. Crabbe were already on the Platform 9 3/4, probably searching for their sons too.
"Antonella, Bridget." Narcissa, her tone clear and cold, directed herself to the women standing on the Platform. She couldn't understand how two mothers waited for so long to go looking for their sons. Well, of course they wasn't very gifted with discernment and intelligence to completely comprehend how complex the atmosphere on the Wizards' society was becoming, but Narcissa hoped they had at least a stronger mother instinct.
"Ladies, if you don't mind to be in charge of your sons from now on." It was all Lucius Malfoy managed to say without being disrespectful. Damn it, those boys were as heavy as cows, and he didn't have the obligation to carry them forever, they had parents for that.
Antonella Goyle and Bridget Crabbe went forward to help their sons, both with questioning gazes and confused faces. Seeing the other women confusion but knowing that Lucius' presence was intimidating and probably they wouldn't ask what was on their minds, Narcissa decided to give a short explanation. "My husband and I found your sons with Draco on Hogwarts Express, the boys were hit by various jinxes and unconscious. We just controlled the damage, but they're still weak. Now that everything was said, we better go."
"Oh, thank you, Narcissa, Lucius." Mrs. Goyle and Mrs. Crabbe said almost in unison and started moving with Gregory and Vincent. Lucius took hold of Draco and Narcissa walked by their side. Outside King's Cross Station, a luxurious car from the Ministry was parked, waiting for them. Of course that being a very influent Ministry official, Lucius had some privileges.
At Malfoy Manor, the family went to Lucius' study. The parents needed to know exactly what happened to Draco, since the situation he was was very peculiar. Lucius poured himself a dose of firewhisky and sat on his chair, behind his desk. Draco was sat across his father and Narcissa preferred not to sit and went to stand behind her husband, her hands resting on his shoulders, an attempt to keep him calm while talking with Draco.
"So, Draco… Can you explain for us that ridiculous scene we saw on the train?" His voice was cold, a tone Draco knew too well, the one that showed his father disappointment. Lucius always expected only the best from his heir and that made him act a little too harsh with the boy sometimes, despite the fact he actually was a loving father.
"I'm sorry, dad. I mean, father."
"You should be. But I didn't ask if you were sorry, I just asked what happened." Narcissa pressed her fingers on his shoulder. She didn't like when Lucius treated Draco like that.
"Yes, father. I went to Potter's compartment with Crabbe and Goyle to mock him a little. You know, with the return of the Dark Lord I had to remind him that he chose the wrong side of the battle. I said that since he refused to be on our side, he and his friends will be one of the first to get vanquished."
Lucius smirked. At least Draco had inherited his sense of pride and blood honor. He would never protect the scum of the Wizard community; the boy was a real pureblood. "And? What happened next?"
"Well, Potter got a little nervous and, with his friends and the Weasley twins, shot several jinxes on us, we didn't have time to protect ourselves."
"Unbeliavable, Draco! You don't have the competence to do simple shield charms!"
"Lucius!" Narcissa tried to stop him. Humiliating Draco wasn't going to make things better, in fact, the boy being beaten by Potter wasn't what made her worried. What was annoying her the most was Draco's suggestions about their involvement with the Dark Lord. Of course everyone knew the Malfoy family was strictly bound to blood status but they managed to deny any kind of involvement with Voldemort during the last years and she wouldn't let her naïve son say more than he was supposed to. But before Narcissa could say any of this, she felt Lucius tensing on the chair.
"Lucius? Are you fine?"
"Yes, Cissa. It's just Him calling. I have to go now." Standing up, he gave her a kiss on the temple and whispered sweet nothings on her ear, trying to comfort her and to attenuate her preoccupations. Directing himself to where Draco was sat, Lucius said: "This conversation is not over, Draco. For now, I have other commitments to attend, but we will discuss later your lack of attitude."
Draco seemed not to hear a word from his father. The simple mention of a meeting arranged by the Dark Lord turned him too excited. The boy couldn't avoid to question, he needed to try, at least. "Father, can I go with you? I'd love to be a new member to the force! Please!"
"NO WAY, DRACO! Don't even mention this nonsense!" Narcissa's voice was high and irritated. She wouldn't let her boy be a part of that horror. He was just a child after all. "Lucius, my love, you may go. Let me talk with our son, and please be careful, right?"
"Always, Narcissa. I'm always careful. See you two later." Lucius conjured his hood and black robes before apparating into thin air, leaving his wife and son alone in his study.
"Mom, why can't I go with father? I appreciate the cause, I want to be a part of it."
Breathing a few times, Narcissa tried to get calmer, she hated to be out of herself, but her son was starting to cross the line! "Draco, you will listen to me at least this time. I know I raised you to be a spoilt boy but you can't have all you want every time, are you getting it? Being a Death Eater is not like training duels with your friends, son. It's a serious matter that involves risking your life… You would never imagine the horrors your father passed doing his tasks."
Impatiently, Draco went on, he had his mind set on being a Death Eater and he wouldn't allow his mother to treat him like a child. "Mother, I can take care of myself. I know various curses and father can teach me the unforgivables and any other I need to learn to be one of them!"
Narcissa couldn't help but laugh. An acid laugh, to be true. "Oh, really, Draco? You know how to protect yourself… Just like you did today on Hogwarts Express, right? Come to your senses, boy. You wouldn't last a day; you can't even defend yourself from a bunch of school boys, imagine if you had real enemies!"
"MOTHER, YOU ARE BEING CRUEL!"
"Don't use this tone with me. Low your voice now!" Narcissa's voice was colder than ever. How she hated to be rude with her darling, but Draco sometimes needed a severe talking to comprehend he was just a fourteen year old, that he didn't have Lucius' strength and needed to behave accordingly to his age. "I'm not being cruel, I'm only being realistic. Now you'll go to your room. Take your time to reflect about the awful behavior you had today and why I'm not allowing you to take the Dark Mark. At seven, I'll send Chilly with your dinner, tomorrow morning, I want my loving son at the breakfast table and not this rebel teenager I just dealt with, are we clear?"
"Yes, mother."
After Draco ascended the stairs, Narcissa threw herself in a nearby couch, staring fixedly at the ceiling. Voldemort was back to their lives for less than a week and it had already coast the peace in her house. She was awful with Draco, she had just humiliated the boy, on the same way she always reprehended Lucius for acting.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Later that night, Mrs. Malfoy was laid on her side of the four poster bed in the master bedroom. Lucius was still out in some unknown task to the Dark Lord and because of this, added to the prior fight she had with her son, she couldn't sleep. The woman heard a noise coming from the first floor, the door closing. She startled. "No it's just Lucius… I hope", she thought. When she heard footsteps approaching, she called, with the sing-song tone she always used to greet her husband.
"Love, is that you?"
"Yes, Cissa." When he answered, Lucius was already entering the bedroom, his hood on hand, still dressed in the black cloak. Placing the hood at a center table near the fireplace, he headed to their bed, placing a sweet kiss on his wife's lips. "Why aren't you sleeping, love?"
Caressing his face with the tips of her fingers, Narcissa decided she would say the truth. Apparently, Lucius didn't have quite a hard night, since she was not seeing any evidences of injuries. "I couldn't. I was worried with you and also… Oh, Lucius, I had a terrible fight with Draco earlier and I'm feeling so bad about it."
"Sh… calm down, love, I bet you had your motives for that." Kissing her temple, Lucius tried to soothe her, he knew how awful Narcissa felt when she had some problem with Draco; she overly protected the boy and had a tendency to spoil him, and because of that, his wife tended to suffer harder with any confrontation. "I'll take a bath and change this robes, wait right here for me and we'll talk, I don't want to see you so sad."
"Right. Thank you, Lucius, for your patience with me."
"It's not patience, Narcissa, it's simply love." Winking for his wife, he entered the bathroom. She chuckled and felt some tears beginning to fall, she would never understand the impact Lucius had over her, a mixture of love, trust, confidence, strength…with his mere presence at the house, things already seemed to be a little better.
Wearing his silver silk pajamas, Lucius laid back against the pillows and embraced Narcissa, letting her head rest on his chest. "Now, what happened between you and Draco, love?"
Sighing, she moved her left hand to caress his abdomen and started to explain the events that took place after his departure. "Well, you were still here when he asked to come with you to the meeting, love. Apparently our son fixed on his mind that he wants, or has the obligation, to become a Death Eater. He asked me why he couldn't and I tried to argument calmly, exposing the danger he would be inflicted to, I tried to dissuade him, but he kept saying he wasn't a child, that he could defend himself."
"Defend himself? Like he did on the train?" Lucius spat disdainfully. Narcissa flinched to the simple mention of that, it was exactly the point in her discussion with her son that things turned a little more aggressive. "What, Cissa? I'm sorry, I should have controlled myself."
"No, Lucius, I did the same as you did. I told him that! I told him he wasn't even able to defend himself from school boys today on the train an that he wouldn't last a day on the Dark Lord's service. And I think it was too much, he got offended, I humiliated him, it's not right!"
"And what was his reaction?"
"Well, he shouted at me, accusing me of cruelty. I got even colder with him and order the boy not to leave his room until tomorrow morning." A long pause was settled. The couple stood there embraced, just reflecting.
"I'm an awful mother, Lucius. I shouldn't be that cruel to him, he's just a boy, he doesn't know what he says. I think I don't have limits with Draco, you know? Sometimes I spoil him too much and other times I'm nothing bot cold and rude, saying things he does not need to hear, making him feel underrated. I just hoped he understood why I'm not going to let him throw his life away with the Dark Lord. We both know he does not have the personality to attend to this Death Eater meetings, but how can I tell my son this without being a total monster?"
Lucius held her chin and inclined it to make her eyes link with his. "Don't ever say you're an awful mother, Narcissa, because if you're not good I don't know what to say about me." She swayed slightly her head. He was a good father, too much severe sometimes, but his love for his son was something undeniable.
Lucius continued, never letting their gazes broke apart. "Look, angel, we'll never be perfect, but I can assure you that you're almost there. Your love for Draco is the most beautiful thing I ever saw and this fights are so common, Cissa… he's a teenager, it's a complicated phase. Besides, the boy adores you. I bet tomorrow morning everything will be fine between you two."
Her mouth opened to say something but he covered it with a finger. "You don't even have to ask. I'm at your side on this decision: Draco is not joining the Death Eaters, at least during the time he's under our custody. I don't think it will be of any good for him to be a part of it. He's too young, too naïve and really doesn't have the nerves that the job requires."
She just nodded. It was all she needed to hear, Lucius agreed with her and she knew her husband would do everything in his power to protect their son from the Dark Lord and from His potential influence. "Now let's talk about you, Lucius. How did it go today? It was a mission?"
"No, it was just a planning meeting, Cissa. The Dark Lord has so many ideas this time; I'm really impressed on how he thought about everything. There's a whole scheme to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic, to conquer the confidence of giants and other creatures… And, love, he's talking about plans for Azkaban too…"
"What do you mean, Lucius? Plans for Azkaban?"
"He plans to have the Dementors on our side too and with that, he's hoping to set your sister and the Lestrange brothers free."
"Bella? Out of Azka… WHAT, Lucius?" Narcissa removed herself from his embrace and sat on her knees, waiting to listen more about that new information about her older sister.
"Narcissa, be calm. I was strictly told not to mention this to anyone, okay?" She put on a bored face that showed him that the last line was obvious information, she would never comment any of the things she heard from him about the Dark Lord's plans, of course. "It's only a part of his plains. He pretends to have full control of the Wizard Society, what includes commanding Azkaban, for sure. And if he gets to that, he's probably setting Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan free. He considers your sister to be his most loyal servant, and, well, he's right, you know that."
"Well, at least one good thing this man will do for our family."
"Cissa, don't say that."
"What can I say, Lucius? What did he do for us, until now, that can be considered good?"
"Things will change, love, you'll see. Now, come back to my arms, Cissa… Let's sleep, I'm tired and I bet you are too. Goodnight, love."
"Goodnight Lucius." Saying that, Narcissa took her usual position, head in his chest, their legs intertwined. In five minutes she could sense he was already asleep. She wished she could just sleep calmly like that, but Narcissa Malfoy's head was spinning and she couldn't relax. The woman was starting to think about all the tribulations that were still to come to her family.
A/N: So, THE GLOBLET OF FIRE IS DONE! Next chapter, OOTP!
