There were two dead bodies in Narcissa Malfoy's home - and they would soon start to stink. Narcissa didn't have time for these pesky aurors and their bloody snooping antics.

Narcissa Malfoy was fuming, as she strode over to the Potters she couldn't help but overhear Lord Potters startled exclamation 'Sirius!'.

So the great shaggy dog was indeed her cousin - thought Narcissa with grim satisfaction.

And to think, today was her wedding day. A few hours earlier, Narcissa had been getting ready for her sister's marriage, and now she herself was Mrs Malfoy. This day was vying of the spot of the craziest day of Cissa's life -and that was saying something - considering she had dating a Malfoy, that too in secret.

The events of the morning were floating like ghosts in front of her eyes. Her husband's vile brother had made the colossally stupid mistake of threatening a Black in the Black mansion, and the elven powers in the room containing the severed heads had crushed him to death. Her now deceased mother in law, had trained her wand on Andy; they had narrowly averted a large scale catastrophe by summoning the headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the nick of time, who with a flick of his wand had stopped the disintegrating of Azalea's wand. The elven powers, even if they couldn't break Azalea's wand, had still crushed her to death in vengeance on their master's behalf. Narcissa's father, Orion Black seeing his long standing business deal disintegrating before his very eyes had immediately pounced on the fact that Lucius loved Narcissa. Her father had given Lucius an ultimatum - either Lucius would marry Narcissa today, or Narcissa would get engaged today to Vincent Crabbe.

Narcissa shuddered at the thought . Vincent Crabbe had been her classmate at Hogwarts, and he was so dim, that all the professors at Hogwarts had long since given up the hope that he would ever learn anything. His father's deep coffers were what had kept him for seven years at Hogwarts.

Narcissa suspected he didn't even know how to read.

With his eldest daughter bringing in the Malfoy money, Orion Black had been eyeing the Crabbe money to fuel his illegal dark creatures import business. Narcissa had been next in line to be sold as meat to the Crabbe's . As soon as Lucius agreed to marry Narcissa the same day, Andromeda was asked to take Narcissa's intended, and get engaged to the Crabbe heir. Obviously, Orion Black didn't care which of his daughter married whom, as long as he got his galleons, thought Naricissa with a sneer.

Andy had paled and hearing that she was to get engaged to Vincent Crabbe. Throwing her sister one fearful look , which had made Narcissa hate her father even more, Andy disapparated along with her servita - hokey, and no one had seen her since.

Of all the grievances Narcissa had with her parents, this was probably the biggest. Her beloved sister Andy could not attend her wedding. Narcissa would never forgive the Blacks for this.

That Sirius Black was cavorting around her house, thinking no one would find out, angered her even more. She was about to call out Lord Potter when the Lady Potter let out a grunt of pain. Lord Potter lunged at his lady and tore a chain off her neck. Narcissa could see very well that the chain that had burned Lily potter, and now was scalding James Potter's hand. Despite the fact that James ,Lily , and Sirius were attending their wedding under false pretences, Narcissa felt her respect for James Potter grow. He had reacted instinctively to protect his wife , Narcissa could smell the locket scalding his palm, but he didn't let go. The locket was straining to get back to Lily Potter's neck, but James was not about to let go, and by the fumes coming from his wrist, Narcissa could make out that James's watch was burning him too.
-x-
Lily potter was staring horrified at the scene before her. Her linking charm had backfired badly. Something dreadful was happening to Frank, and because his watch glass was linked to all of their life forces, all of them were in mortal peril. Lily was desperately trying to unlink the objects, however the sight of her husbands scalding flesh was very distracting. If she couldn't do this in time, James's sure was going to die.
Lily was distracted by a warm splash of something, she looked down and saw her husband convulsing on the floor and herself drenched with blood. She gazed transfixed at the red blood pulsating out of the vein on James hand that he wore the wrist watch on. The watch had eaten away flesh and hit a vessel. Lily felt her lunch coming upto her mouth. It wasn't that she hadn't seen blood before, but Lily never thought she would see the day her husband bled to death, as she looked on helplessly.

Somehow, it seemed days later , Lily regained focus. A Malfoy elf was slapping her, repeateadly. As her head cleared she saw the elf look at his master, and Lucius gave him a small nod. The elf dissaparated with a pop. The loud crack of disapparation, made Lily even more alert. She saw Lucius Malfoy bent over James's wrist muttering an incantation that sounded like vulnera saneatuer.

Lilygother wits together, Lucius Malfoy was healing James's vein just as fast as the linking spell was rupturing it. She didn't have time to undo the linking spell, and Lucius was bound to get tired soon. Lily though about sirius and his collar around his neck, and shuddered. She didn't even want to think about what was happening there. She looked around helplessly and started combing the room in hope of fining anything that would help her. Carpets, chandeliers, portraits, vases flowers, trinkets, swords, shields with coat of arms, candelabras.

Lily's gaze was drawn to the sword, not knowing what was pulling her. She bounded over to the far wall where it was hung , dragged out a chair and got the sword down from its mount. Lily could feel as if some kind of haze surrounded the area around it. This blade looked goblin made. A mad idea, or maybe a stroke of inspiration struck Lily. She picked up the sword, and turned to Lucius. He gave an imperceptible nod. If Lily could do it right, the magical field around the sword, would completely change the draining dynamics of her spell. The sword had much more magical energy flowing through it, if she could somehow link the sword in her spell, instead of draining Sirius and James, the spell would start draining the sword. The sword, being goblin made, was probably infused over the generations - how and when Lily did not know. But if the power she was sensing actually resided in the sword, it would be like a battery to Frank.

And James and Sirius, but Lily tried not to think of that right now.

Lily took out her wand and started performing complicated turns and taps. She took out her secret aurors hand box that moody insisted they carry. It had among other things, four vials of polyjuice potion. Polyjuice potion was the transformation potion. It was very complicated to brew, and disastrous if you got it wrong. Very rare ingredients like boomslang skin, powdered bicorn horn, Lacewing flies were needed to brew it. It also needed a part of the person that you wanted to transform into. Since it captured the essence of a person, it would do very well for adding a fifth element into the linking spell. Each of these polyjuice potions contained hair, from all four of them. Lily drew a square on the ground with her wand, and placed the four poly juice vials around it. She then drew a circle inside the square with the vials and placed the sword in it. Lily, took a deep breath and whispered - 'Vinculus' and moved her wand as if it was tracing the inside of a spring. She felt a rush of blood in her face and hands, it felt very much as if the spell had worked.

Lily was afraid to look up, if the spell did not work, James and Sirius would be dead by now. Lily didn't think she could bear to go on without James.

-x-

Lucius Malfoy was sealing James Potter's vein again and again. And it was very hard work. Not to mention - messy. Lucius had always hated the anatomy class back at Hogwarts. All the dead animals in the practical gave him the Jeepers. Lucius had an aversion to blood, and gore and anything that resembled anything that was supposed to be under any kind of skin. Unfortunately for him, James Potter had collapsed in front of him, and his innate sense of honour had compelled him to jump in to help and his wife had gone to help her cousin. He had just sealed James Potter's vein for the hundredth time today , and still that damn spell was hell bent on killing the bloke. As he was sealing James's wrist Lucius felt James's magic was just evaporating and Lucius could not sense where it was going. Something clicked in the back of his mind - James's and Sirius's life forces were being drained! It dawned on Lucius that there were at least four uninvited guests at Malfoy Manor today, and one of them was in mortal peril draining the other two - and they were barley keeping each other alive.

There was a surge of magical field from his right. James's muggle born wife, was performing a spell, the likes of which he had never read about at Hogwarts. Although, the Malfoy library had books that mentioned a similar spell. Lucius strained his memory, he had read about a class of spells called the 'Vincula'. If Lucius remembered right, it was dark magic, requiring blood sacrifice. Lily Potter, the Gryffindor poster girl was dabbling in the dark arts, Lucius thought smirking to himself - Gordic Gryffindor was probably turning in his grave .

The pressure on James's vein suddenly stopped.

Lucius looked down, James's vein was no longer getting torn open. But he still looked on the verge of death. He had lost a lot of blood.

Lucius raised his wand , clearly imagined his room's secret potion store, and whispered 'Accio sanguinem implerenta'.

The blood replenishing potion zoomed out of Narcissa's potion kit into Lucius's hands.

'Drink this' Said Lucius harshly , getting the flask to James's lips.

Despite his inebriated state, James did not trust him - even after Lucius had sealed the bloke's veins a hundred times. Some enmities ran too deep thought Lucius with a sinking heart. This was what the Malfoy name was, no one trusted a Malfoy! Lucius scowled and was about to get up from the floor, when a hand shot out and weakly gripped the flask.

Lucius's heart soared, James Potter had gulped down the potion.

James's Potter opened his eyes instantly alert. After having his lost blood replenished, he looked infinitely better. He looked around, saw his wife standing over Salazar's sword, and whispered.

"Lily..."

Lily potter looked up and stared onto her husband eyes. Even though they did not say anything, it seemed to Lucius, that they were having an entire conversation . Lucius started to feel awkward, as if he was encroaching on a deeply personal moment. He got up and suddenly remembered, Cissa had gone to save her cousin , Sirius.

Before he could turn to go to his wife, an elf apparated at his feet.

"Grogg failed Master!"wailed the elf, beating his head on the floor; punishing himself so badly, that it was impossible to understand what he was saying.

Lucius had never agreed with the pureblood belief of torturing house elves. But his mother had always believed that elves should be punished regularly. Lucius felt James and Lily's reproaching looks burning holes in the back of his head. The Potters probably sung lullabies with their elves regularly, Lucius thought sneering.

Lucius cried "Grogg I forbid you to punish yourself anymore" Grogg immediately stopped moving, he lay limp on the floor panting. Grogg turned around and looked at Lucius straight in the eye-

"The intruder got into the Chapel."

Lucius's heart was not good

"Narcissa?"

"Mistress Cissa be with dog man -Mistress Cissa healed dog man" , Grogg cried - Lucius felt an overwhelming sense of relief - Cissa was safe.

"Dog man" Thought Lucius with the trademark Malfoy smirk. Grogg, might be a lousy watchman, but he sure knew how to invent killer names.

Looking at grogg again made Lucius think about the problem at hand - One of the Aurors had got into the chapel.

"We have a problem" Lucius turned to Lily and James Potter.

-x-

Narcissa Malfoy nee Black was in a sticky mess, while Lucius was taking care of James Potter, she was attending to Sirius Black. He impulsive cousin had really done it this would be dammed if she would let him die on her doorstep on her wedding day.

Sirius's dog collar was red hot, and blood was pouring out of his neck to the collar. It looked like he had minutes left, rather seconds, Narcissa amended, staring at the blood oozing out of her cousin's neck. Narcissa held out her palm, and hovered it over the dog's collar. It was obvious that Sirius's magical essence was leaving him. However it appeared to simply evaporate , which was contradictory to everything Narcissa knew about magic. Narcissa quickly figured out that there was a link that was acting as a drain, of magic - and in Sirius's case - of blood. She raised her hand and made a summoning gesture, using both wand less and non verbal magic, the blood replenishing potion zoomed out of the Malfoy apothecary and Narcissa applied it directly on the collar.

It reached a state of stasis...

The blood replenishing potion was generating blood, almost as fast as the linking spell was draining it.

Narcissa administered more of the potion, and the effect was immediate. Where seconds before lay a dog, now lay her battered cousin, breathing shallowly, as if every breath was a war with death - that both the Blacks were fighting.

Brother and sister looked at each other- black eyes met blue. One worried, and the other defeated; One resigned, and the other praying for a miracle.

Suddenly, the draining stopped. The blood replenishing potion started working in earnest. Narcissa saw colour returning to her cousin's face, and the flush of life coming back. Sirius's cheeks filled out, his eyes got back their twinkle, in fact Narcissa could have sworn, even his hair got shinier.

As if he needed anything to enhance those handsome features of his. Sirius had inherited the Black's trademark aristocratic nose, and full lips, that made girls swoon.

"So dear brother, what a marvellous way to gatecrash your cousin's wedding. Although if I distinctly remember you actually had an invitation" Narcissa looked at her cousin exasperatedly.

Sirius snorted "I don't think you heard Cissy, I was recently blasted off the family tree".

Narcissa gasped "What?..."

"Not that I was doing any good sitting there- Mind you... I was the most non-conforming black in the history of our family. You know the business with Gryffindor and all that.." Sirius replied with a smirk "And Black that name never settled with me..."

Cissa had always prided herself in seeing beyond the front cover people put on, and what she sensed now was that her cousin was more hurt than he let on. Narcissa thought it was best she did not pursue the topic further.

"Anyways Cissa, we had orders to search the Malfoy mansion undercover, now that our cover is truly and spectacularly blown, it doesn't matter if I ask you directly - you wouldn't know anything about the Malfoy Chapel would you?"

"Malfoy Chapel?" Asked Narcissa, the first stirrings of unease starting in the pit of her stomach. "Why?"

"The fourth member of our team is in the Malfoy chapel, and looks like he is in trouble"

"He is in the chapel? How did he get in there? I put up charms to prevent that" Narcissa gripped her brothers arm. "Sirius, if indeed your auror is in there, it's not good!" Narcissa was wringing her hands with worry "Quick! We have to find Lucius".

The urgency in his cousin's tone was enough to jolt Sirius into action.

Before they could take a step, a snake patronous soared to Narcissa and spoke in Lucius's voice.

"They have risen - a sacrifice has been made"