After breakfast Narcissa went to her private study and warded the door against visitors; only her personal house elf would be able to get in. Once the door was warded she looked around the room and smiled in contentment; this was the only room in the entire manor that she had decorated purely for her own satisfaction, and she always enjoyed coming in here. When decorating the rest of the manor she always tried to take in to account what the other people using the room might like, but this room was all hers. Instead of the dark, rich colors found in most of the manor Narcissa decorated her study in icy blues and lilacs, with the walls a soft neutral grey to tie it together.
The furniture was made of white ash with delicate scrollwork on the edges of the desk and bookcases, the desk chair had a soft blue cushion, and the two armchairs and the loveseat were a silvery grey with ice blue and lilac pillows. The desk was in front of a window looking down upon her favorite garden, with a mirror-spell woven into the glass so that-even with her back to the room-she could see anyone who entered. On top of the desk was a collage-style photo frame with pictures of her wedding to Lucius, a picture of a two-year-old Draco, another of Narcissa and her two sisters at Andromeda's Hogwarts Graduation-Andromeda was seventeen, Bellatrix thirteen, and Narcissa was eleven. There were other photographs decorating the shelves, and on the wall she had a portrait of her mother, which was currently empty, another of Rowena Ravenclaw-a relative on her mother's side of the family-and a set of silver curtains firmly drawn with a locking spell on them. The closed curtains were on the wall next to her desk, and she cancelled the locking spell as she sat down in the chair; it was with disappointment that Narcissa saw the decorative silver frame was empty, but she knew that the inhabitants would come back eventually-there couldn't be too many other portraits of them around.
With a soft sigh Narcissa turned her attention to one of the bookcases, and a quick summoning spell brought down a small box wrapped in protective spells. The box was made of ebony and rowan fused together by magic and set with carnelian and tiger's eyes-stones known to have protective properties. Narcissa stroked the lid gently with her fingertips and felt the soft hum of protective magic; it wouldn't hurt her, of course, as she was the one who had woven the spells. After simply looking at the box for several moments Narcissa cancelled the protections on it and slowly lifted the lid.
Like many other items in the wizarding world, the inside of the box was bigger than it appeared. The box contained many items from her past and Draco's childhood-a memory book she made before going to Hogwarts, a lock of hair from Draco's first haircut and the first tooth he lost, letters from when Lucius was courting her and-way down at the bottom of the box-there was another, smaller box. She lifted it out and carefully set the silver box in front of her, hesitating a moment before opening it.
This box was an item she had forgotten about until a couple of days ago-until Hadrian had come into their lives and Severus had given them all back their true memories. A few months before they had been caught in Dumbledore's devastating trap, Narcissa, Lily, Elena, Alice, Bella and Artemis-Artemis Lovegood neé Lefae-had met here, in this very room, to hold a secret conference. The six women all feared that the headmaster was up to something terrible, and they felt that they should safeguard their memories and secrets in preparation for the worst. The box contained memories and heirlooms from all six families, as well as letters from each of the women to their offspring. Narcissa had been selected to keep everything safe, and so she had placed it in the warded box and hidden it in her study; upon her death, the box would have been sent to Gringott's, and the Goblins would have been tasked with distributing the contents to the appropriate persons. After that horrible night in the Great Hall she had completely forgotten about the box, and never paid it any attention even when she opened the ebony chest.
Now, Narcissa opened the box and carefully sifted through the contents, smiling wistfully as she set aside photographs of the children playing together, until she came to the stack of letters at the bottom. There was one she had written to Draco-thankfully unnecessary-Artemis's letter for Luna, Elena's letter for Hadrian and Aracely (which she was undecided about giving to Hadrian, as Elena was not yet lost to them), Lily's letter which she would have the boys pass on to Ginny/Lillian, Bella's letter to give to her daughter Helena, and two letters from Alice-one for Neville and the other for Augusta. Narcissa's smile turned triumphant as she located the letter addressed to Augusta; Lucius and Tom would likely be upset at her for not consulting them, but she was not about to ask their permission for every little thing she did, and this could best be settled between her and Augusta. Narcissa placed the letter on top of a silver tray on the corner of her desk and nodded in satisfaction when the letter vanished, before turning back to the silver box.
"The years we missed," she said softly, looking at a picture of the children. The photograph showed Hadrian, Aracely and Draco taking turns throwing toys at the protective bubble around the play area, trying to find a weakness, while Helena-a few months older than the other children-frowned at them, and Neville smiled happily, eagerly passing the three trouble-makers new toys to throw. Off to the side a bit Lillian and Luna slept soundly, not in the least disturbed by all the commotion. The picture ended with the children managing to make a hole in the ward; Hadrian and Draco raced for it and reached it at the same time, smiling triumphantly before the hole sealed and they were magically-and gently-transported back to where Neville sat laughing at them.
Narcissa set the picture down with a scowl; if only Dumbledore hadn't appeared their children could have grown up together happily. Instead, all the children grew up with false memories, Hadrian grew up with abusive Muggles who kept him ignorant of his true place in life, and Helena-Hermione-and Lillian-Ginny- were taken from their rightful families. All of their lives were disrupted by that meddlesome fool, and Narcissa made a promise to herself-
"He will pay for what he has done," Narcissa was startled to hear her own thoughts spoken out loud and raised startled eyes to the portrait beside her desk, which was no longer empty.
"Lilly! James!" Narcissa smiled, "I feel terrible that you have been isolated all this time-"
"It isn't your fault Cissa," Lily interrupted firmly, "We both know who's to blame, don't we James?"
"Of course," James agreed with a scowl, "It's that idiot Dumbledore; he manipulated all of us, and destroyed so many lives…Did you know the manipulative bastard had our portrait painted and hung in his office? He thought that he could get us to spy on our friends and family."
"Not very bright, not matter what his opinion of himself is," Lily snorted, "Like we would do anything to help the man who organized our death."
"To be fair, he probably thought that the memory charms he cast before your deaths would still be in place," Narcissa said calmly, "Dumbledore never did spend much time studying subjects that had to do with death; he always felt himself above such nonsense. I must say I am glad to finally have my memories back, and young Hadrian is finally safe with us."
"Yes," Lily scowled, "Once he realized he couldn't manipulate us Dumbledore taunted us with information about what he did to the children; about a year after our deaths he couldn't take the guilt anymore, so he removed his memories and promptly forgot about us. Tell us, Cissa; how is our daughter? Is she being treated well?"
"She is being raised by the Weasley's," Narcissa replied, "They spoil her, as she is their only daughter, but Hadrian said she does not truly fit in with the family; she is a bit more wild than Molly would like."
"Of course she is," James smirked, "She is a Potter after all." The three old friends shared a smile, and then James became more solemn; "Cissa-can you tell us what your plans are now that you have your memories back?"
"Lucius, Severus and Tom are planning most of it," Narcissa began, "However I will be glad to tell you what I know and get your input. When Lucius and Severus return this evening, you can speak to them as well." Narcissa settled more comfortably in her seat and prepared to bring her friends up to date on current events, glad that she was able to speak to them again, even if they were technically just memories.
"…so, it hasn't been too boring," Lily concluded a few hours later, "Only we could never get any information about what was going on here."
"I understand," Narcissa nodded, "So that is where James went? To visit your other portrait?"
"Yes," Lily confirmed, "We promised that we would let him know as soon as anything changed over here, so James went to speak to him. Not everything is going well, and so you will likely have at least one new guest arrive in the next couple of weeks. You have a letter Cissa." Narcissa looked down at her desk and saw that there was indeed a letter resting on the silver tray; when she picked it up she saw that it was from Augusta Longbottom.
"It's from Augusta," she told Lily, "I sent her Alice's letter. Please, excuse me a moment while I read it."
"Lady Malfoy,
Thank you for sending me Alice's letter; I did various tests and I am certain of its authenticity, which is the only reason I am replying to you. In her letter Alice said many things that I find hard to believe and, as I know he visited Harry at your home two nights ago, I spoke with my grandson. Neville has confirmed much of the information in Alice's letter, but he is merely going by what Harry told him. If indeed you have memories to prove the truth of what happened I would like to see them. If you are unable to produce the memories within two days I shall show this letter to Dumbledore. I await your invitation to view the memories.
Madame Longbottom."
"Augusta wants to view the memories," Narcissa smiled at Lily, "I believe I shall invite her over for tea; after she views the memories would you like to speak with her?" She pulled out a sheet of parchment and wrote a short note, sealing it and then placing it in the silver tray for the house elves to deliver.
"I would like that," Lily replied, "Now, in all of this you have yet to mention Sirius; since James is not here will you tell me what happened?"
"Well, I am certain Dumbledore already told you that Sirius had been arrested on suspicion of betraying you to Voldemort?" Lily nodded so Narcissa continued, "In Hadrian's third year at Hogwarts Sirius managed to escape; Severus said that Sirius was innocent, and Pettigrew was the one who truly betrayed you, which is true enough. After he escaped Dumbledore helped hide him from the ministry, but last year there was a battle over the prophecy and Sirius fell through the veil."
"You can't mean-?" Lily looked horrified when Narcissa nodded, "The veil in the Death Chamber? Oh, poor Sirius!"
"Actually, there may still be hope for him," Narcissa said, "Lucius told me that one of Dumbledore's memories showed him casting a spell just as Sirius fell; Lucius believes-and Severus agrees-that it is likely Sirius was banished somewhere and is still alive. I think that they may even have an idea of where he is being kept, but they have not shared that information with me."
"And that's another thing you have to try and correct," Lily shook her head, "So much of Dumbledore's actions need to be undone…I don't see how you'll ever be able to right all of his wrongs."
"We won't be able to fix everything," Narcissa agreed, "The lives he took…those we will never be able to get back. As for the rest…Severus has a list." She shared a mischievous smile with Lily before the red-head started giggling.
"Severus and his lists!" Lily said, "I remember those from school…James thought I was bad when it came down to finals-until he saw Sev's study schedule. You have to send him in so we can catch up! Is he seeing anyone right now?"
"Not that I am aware of," Narcissa replied, "He hasn't shown much interest in dating not since…" she trailed off and Lily nodded her understanding; "I will send him in here when he and Lucius return; they are working on the translation for the horcrux ritual today."
"Poor Hadrian," Lily said sadly, "Draco hasn't reacted to that yet?"
"They have not been told yet," Narcissa admitted, "The Veela bond is too new and we did not want to put too much strain on it this early on."
"You should tell them soon," Lily urged, "With Hadrian's birthday coming up soon you will need to prepare."
"I know," Narcissa sighed, "I will speak with Lucius and Tom about it tonight. For now, I should go check on the boys and get everything ready for Augusta's visit. I will be back to visit you again soon."
"I will be here," Lily laughed, "I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else now that things are beginning to get interesting." Narcissa laughed softly and shook her head before bidding Lily good-bye and going in search of her son.
****Riddle Manor
"I believe I know how we can get to Black," Lucius announced, looking up from the spell book he had been reading, "I was studying my memories of the Battle at the Ministry, and the spell Dumbledore used as Black was falling towards the veil looks familiar…"
"Have you identified the spell?" Severus inquired, not bothering to look up from the potion he was brewing; Tom had translated the potion for removing a horcrux and Severus had immediately begun working on it.
"It was a transporting spell," Lucius said, "We just have to figure out where Dumbledore sent him."
"Perhaps a locating potion would work," both men looked up as Tom entered the drawing room at Riddle Manor, "Dumbledore may have most locator spells blocked, however a potion that relies upon a blood relation should work; you keep some on hand, do you not Severus?"
"I do," Severus confirmed, "I have several stored in my cabinet against the far wall. It should work with a drop of blood from either Narcissa or Draco, however then we shall have to devise a way to prevent Dumbledore from realizing we rescued him."
"Fake his death," Lucius suggested, "Severus should go spend more time with the headmaster to make sure he still has Dumbledore's trust, and when we locate Sirius we can have a house elf slip him some Draught of the Living Dead. Once Sirius is declared dead we will remove his body and Severus can revive him."
"It has to all be done within 48 hours," Severus cautioned, "Once he takes the draught we have 48 hours to give him the antidote or he will never awaken, so it must all be planned very carefully."
"We also need to make sure his true memories are returned as soon as possible," Tom added, "Otherwise he will attempt to fight us."
"We will make sure Hadrian is there when the mutt wakes up," Severus said, "We can possibly have the wolf there as well. Which reminds me, I am planning to have Hadrian send the wolf an invitation to the manor; when should he ask Remus to come by?"
"Narcissa is taking the boys to the ministry on Monday," Lucius mused, "and I have a meeting with the Board of Governors on Tuesday, so set it for either Wednesday or Thursday. We should also tell the boys that Hadrian is a horcrux; it will not be much longer before Draco can scent the contamination and he will be less violent if he is prepared for it. We can sit the boys down after dinner tonight."
"Very well," Tom nodded as he got back to his feet, "I merely came in here to see what the two of you are up to; I have been meeting with small groups of Death Eater's all day and I suppose I have let the latest group's anticipation build up long enough. Will you still be here in a few hours?"
"I was planning to speak to Narcissa about her plans," Lucius said, "I know she had ideas on what we should do next, and I realized I should speak to her so that we do not wind up working against one another by accident. I will actually be leaving in a few minutes."
"I have another half hour left on this potion," Severus announced, "Once it is done I will check back in with Dumbledore; I have a potion that will mimic the after-effects of the Cruciatus which should be enough to convince him that you are still evil, and I am still on his side."
"Then I shall see you both at dinner," Tom said and turned to leave, but he was halted by Lucius.
"I almost forgot, Hadrian wishes to speak with you Tom; he did not say what it was about, although he did say it was not urgent."
"I will go to see him after I speak with this group," Tom said, "I know I am an evil dark lord, but it occurs to me that I should spend some time with my son if I don't want him to kill me at an early age in order to take over my position."
"Don't worry about that yet," Severus smirked, "Draco has enough common sense to make Po-I mean Hadrian-wait until after you defeat Dumbledore to kill you; less work for them." Lucius laughed, and Tom glared at his two friends as he swept from the room; he was starting to think that things had been better when Lucius and Severus had feared him.