When Bellatrix had finally left the manor, Narcissa immediately sought answers from her husband.
"Lucius, what were you trying to tell me?" she asked, returning to the parlor where he was still seated.
Her husband glanced up at her. "What are you talking about?" He sipped his drink, looking away from her again.
"When Bella was lecturing me. You were restraining yourself from saying something. What was it?"
Lucius glanced up at her again, then finished off his brandy. He sat the glass down and rose to his feet. Narcissa had all but given up on him answering her, but he began to speak as he offered her his arm. "You should not have made such a statement in the presence of your sister," he said as she took his arm and they began walking. "She may be protective of you, but she will not hesitate to reveal all to the Dark Lord."
Narcissa frowned slightly, but said nothing. She could think of no response. Bellatrix was her sister, and she no more wanted Bella back in Azkaban than she wanted Lucius locked up. The statement had been directed at both of them. Especially since... "I didn't know that Harry Potter was involved in this mission."
Her husband smirked slightly. "Come now Cissa, any fool would link the Dark Lord and a prophecy with Harry Potter."
She bowed her head slightly. "And how are you luring him into the Department of Mysteries, may I ask?"
"Well, actually..." He stopped walking and turned to face her. "I suppose I should give you your credit where it is due."
"What do you mean?"
Lucius lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles. "It is entirely thanks to you that we have a plan to lure Potter into the Ministry. You recall that your aunt's old house elf came to you at Christmas?"
Narcissa nodded slowly. "Kreacher, yes. But he couldn't tell us anything of interest."
"On the contrary, he gave us some very important information – for instance, that your traitor cousin Black has become very close to his godson, Harry Potter." Lucius smiled, a bit nastily.
Slowly, Cissa's forehead uncreased. "You're using Sirius as bait?" This was getting completely out of hand. So many parts of this plan could easily go wrong...
"Even better." He raised his chin a bit, clearly proud of their ingenuity. "Potter will merely think that we have Black, and he will come running to his rescue. All the suspected Order members have been removed from Hogwarts, and Kreacher will make sure that Black is out of the way, so no one will know of what Potter's trying to do... until it is too late."
Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "And how will you make Potter think that you've captured Sirius?"
Lucius was silent for a few moments, then raised his eyebrows slightly. "I've told you enough." He turned and began to ascend the stairs, towing her along behind.
"If I already know this much..." she trailed off.
He did not turn back to her. "You already know too much, Cissa. It's not just about protecting you if we are caught, because I don't expect will shall be. The more I tell you, the more you can form opinions about what I am doing, and the more chance there is that you will let one of your opinions slip in front of the wrong person." Cissa's cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip to keep from retorting. "Besides – you are not a Death Eater, and the Dark Lord has not invited you to take part in this mission."
She remained silent until they reached the top of the stairs, taking the time to collect her thoughts. "Lucius, need I remind you that I have very few living family members, and a good number of them are risking their lives on this mission."
"And need I remind you, dearest, that you and Draco are my only immediate family members, excluding any in-law extended family." He stopped again and slid his hands to her upper arms. Lowering his voice, he murmured, "What do you think I would do if something were to happen to you? To either of you?" Narcissa said nothing, merely looking up at him. He leaned a bit closer. "Surely you can understand my desire to protect you, Cissa."
Narcissa felt her back suddenly pressing against the wall, and blushed as she abruptly became aware of their closeness. Judging by the current look in her husband's eyes, and her quick assessment of their whereabouts, Lucius had been leading her to their bedroom without her even realizing it. She let a small, knowing smile of embarrassment form on her lips. "Oh, I understand all of your desires, Lucius Malfoy."
He smiled lightly as he snaked an arm around her waist. "I'm glad to hear it."
Cissa lay with her head against Lucius's bare chest, waiting for her heart to slow to its normal pace. His strong arms were wrapped around her, and he was idly tracing patterns on her back with his thumb. Her upper body rose and fell in time with his breathing. Despite feeling calmer and better in general than she'd felt in weeks, a terrible dread taunted her in the back of her mind. Unfortunately, she doubted if Lucius was ready to hear more about her worries, and she really was enjoying the comfort of his embrace.
"Lucius..." she said softly, a few minutes of silence later.
A barely listening "Hm?" was his response.
She lifted her head to look at him. "You will be careful tomorrow, won't you?"
He sighed quietly. "Am I not always?"
Narcissa met his gaze for a moment, then lowered her head again, closing her eyes. She was only just back in favor with him. She really didn't want to make him angry, especially not when he needed to be concentrating on his mission. But she had such a bad feeling about this break-in...
"I'm very worried for you," she said, her voice barely audible.
"I'm well aware."
She frowned. He never took her seriously anymore. Unable to impress her concerns upon him, she moved off of him, turning over to lay next to him on her back. "Cissa, where are you going...?" He sat up slightly, supported by his elbows. Narcissa turned her head away from him to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Merlin knows, he'd had quite enough of her crying in the recent past. Despite her valiant efforts, though, tears began rolling down her cheeks. And this time when she cried, there was none of her righteous anger of previous days, nor her desperate hysteria. The tears that now dribbled down her face were the result of helpless, pathetic worry.
Lucius leaned toward her, sliding a hand to her wet cheek. "Lovey, I assure you, there have been missions with just as much – if not more – danger involved. It is nothing that we cannot handle." He kissed her forehead. "Understand?" he asked gently, stroking her face. Narcissa pursed her lips in an effort to repress her sobs, and nodded. Her husband smiled slightly, though it seemed forced. "Now come here." He held out his arms to her, gently enveloping her in his embrace when she moved toward him. "No more tears now, alright?" She nodded, brushing the tears off her face. Lucius kissed her, very gently and affectionately. "This will all be over by tomorrow night, and I will be right back here, and you'll have no more cause for such constant worry."
Silently, Narcissa prayed that he was right.
Very late that night, Lucius lay awake, staring into the darkness. His beautiful wife was nestled close to him, sleeping soundly. Anxieties filled his mind – foremost, that his rash sister-in-law would do something foolish and cause chaos. If he could keep the others under his control, everything would go perfectly smoothly. He had no doubt that the Death Eaters could easily overpower Potter and his little friends... but could they defeat Aurors with such ease? ...Never mind that. There were no Aurors in the plan. They should never get wind of anything until they were long gone.
This was the most important mission of his life – he must not fail to bring the prophecy to his master.
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A/N: Woohoo, two in one week! I hope it was up to par - I always get a bit nervous posting lovey-dovey things. Anywho, don't forget to REVIEW! It keeps the story going! And a big thank you to all my regular reviewers - you're just wonderful! :)�