Lucius stood beside Snape, fingers balled into fists, as he observed Sirius from across the circle of Death Eaters, bearing his obnoxious, self-assured smirk.

"It is most unfortunate that a member of our ranks was killed by the Order," Voldemort continued, from his position in the middle of the circle.

"However, we will not let his death be ignored. Reparations must be made."

Lucius felt his shoulders stiffen as the surrounding Death Eaters cheered loudly, voicing their agreement.

"As one of my most loyal followers and the brother of our fallen comrade, I feel that Sirius would be best suited to lead this campaign against the Order," Voldemort drawled, motioning for Sirius to step forward.

Lucius bit his tongue, drawing blood. Disgusting. How could he possibly think that Black is a more loyal follower than I? After the years of service I have put forth?

He turned his head to face Snape, whose lips were drawn tightly together, his eyes blazing with hatred as he watched Sirius, who had begun to address the group.

"I wish it had been him and not his brother," Malfoy hissed, barely moving his lips as he addressed the man beside him.

Snape snorted, his lips forming a slight smirk. "Indeed, it was the wrong Black that died," Snape whispered.

As Voldemort cast a glance at the pair, Lucius straightened up, his thoughts racing as he blocked out the sound of Sirius' voice. I can't believe she chose him over me. What in Merlin's name does he have that makes him so special? What does he have that I don't? He frowned, glaring in the raven haired man's direction. He's so arrogant. Look at him, strutting about as if he's the one calling the shots. Pathetic.

Unconsciously, he folded his arms against his chest, glaring menacingly. He gazed across the room, purposely keeping Sirius from out of his line of vision, fantasizing various bloody scenarios in which Sirius wound up dead.

"Are you paying attention, Malfoy?" a familiar voice rang out, mockingly.

Lucius shook his head, glancing about the room for the source of the voice.

"Well?" Sirius sneered, approaching Lucius, pausing only mere centimeters away.

"Of course I'm paying attention," Lucius spat, shooting Sirius a furious look.

"It didn't seem that way," Sirius retorted, taking a step closer still, his face uncomfortably close to Lucius'. "Tell me Lucius, why was it that you were the only Death Eater not in attendance at my brother's funeral?" Sirius asked lowly, accusingly. "Was it because you're glad that his death meant one person out of the way from forcing you further down the totem pole than you already are, or because you're still jealous that my wife chose me over you?"

"Fuck off," Lucius whispered, taking a step back.

"I see," Sirius smirked, his gray eyes blazing with hatred. "That answered that."

"Lucius," Snape hissed, placing a hand on Lucius' shoulder as Sirius sauntered away, returning to Voldemort's side. "Don't. Let it go. It's not worth it."

"I hate him," Lucius breathed, clenching his fists tightly, fingernails digging angrily into his skin.

"Don't make a scene. Let it go and calm down."

"Fine," Lucius huffed, scowling. "I just... I hate him."

Evelyn glanced up from the paperwork shuffled across Sirius' desk, distracted by the sound of knocking at the front door. She'd settled into Sirius' office with the intention of getting some planning done for an upcoming charity event, and had lost track of the time. She rose to her feet, smoothing her skirt down as she made her way down the hall to the front door. She paused a moment, wand drawn, as she peered through the peephole. Sighing, she opened the door a crack, dropping her wand arm to her side. "Hello, Lucius," she said dully.

"Evelyn," Lucius replied warmly, taking a step forward, "it's been too long."

Evelyn forced a smile, opening the door fully. "Indeed," she agreed, stiffly accepting Lucius' embrace.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked evenly, folding her arms against her chest as she stood in the doorway, blocking Lucius from entering the house.

"I came to offer my condolences. I'm so sorry Narcissa and I couldn't attend the funeral... I hope you've been holding up alright, given the circumstances," Lucius replied, offering Evelyn a sympathetic look.

"I'm hardly the one you should be offering condolences to, Lucius. It's my husband who lost his brother," Evelyn retorted, her lips pressed firmly together. "Besides, the funeral was a month ago. Which strikes your condolences as rather insincere, don't you think?"

"I miss you, Evelyn. Why don't we grab a drink?"

"It's inappropriate, Lucius. I'm married. As are you."

"I can't stop thinking about you, Evelyn... I need you. I know you're cross with me for marrying Narcissa, but really... You don't really want to be with Black, do you?" he asked, his eyes widening with desperation. "It's always been you and I, E. You've had your fun, and I learned my lesson, now please. Don't do this to me, anymore."

"I am a happily married woman," Evelyn retorted, anger rising in her cheeks, "and I suggest that you not forget that."

"Evelyn," Lucius started, reaching forward and placing a hand on her waist.

"What are you doing?" Evelyn snapped, nose wrinkled in disgust. "Get off of me," she muttered, roughly peeling Lucius' hand off of her. "I'm not your property, Lucius."

"Evelyn, please. Don't be like this... We were so happy, before Black ruined everything."

"I don't love you, Lucius," Evelyn said sharply, drawing her wand. "I don't want you, anymore. I love Sirius. I suggest you go home to your wife. Who is carrying your child."

Lucius froze, taken aback by Evelyn's statement.

"Don't look so surprised, Lucius, of course I know," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Evelyn-"

"Lucius," Evelyn interrupted, rolling her eyes, "get off my doorstep or I'll curse you off of it."

"And you know I will, too," she added, a dangerous gleam flickering in her eyes.

"You bitch," Lucius growled, reaching for his wand.

Evelyn drew hers quicker, pointing directly at his chest. "If you think I won't kill you, you're a fool," she whispered, her voice low, dangerous. "Go. Now. Or your child will grow up without a father."

Lucius glowered, shooting Evelyn a murderous look before disapparating, leaving Evelyn standing alone at her doorway. She sighed heavily, shutting the door behind her. What the fuck has gotten into him? As if Sirius isn't enough to handle at the moment... Now Lucius, too? She squeezed her eyes shut, running her fingers through her hair. Dear Merlin, help me.

"I can't believe the nerve she had, to point her wand at me," Lucius fumed, pacing before the fireplace.

He'd apparated home to Malfoy Manor and had immediately summoned Snape, who he'd recounted the afternoon's events to.

"Honestly, Lucius," Snape replied in a bored tone, examining his fingernails, "sometimes I wonder if we're even talking about the same person when you discuss her."

"What do you mean by that?" Lucius snapped, shooting Snape an accusatory look.

Snape rolled his eyes, crossing one leg over the other. "What I mean, Lucius, is that none of this sounds surprising. Evelyn has always been a talented witch. With a fiery temper. Of course she'd point her wand at you and make threats... she's never been your standard shrinking violet of a pure-blooded girl, now has she?"

Lucius shrugged, head tilted, as he considered.

" And as I told you already, she's in love with Black," Snape added, rolling his eyes for effect.

"I won't stand for this," Lucius muttered, staring into the fireplace.

"I don't understand your fixation on her," Snape sighed, rapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "You have Narcissa. And your first-born child on the way. Move on. It's apparent that she has."

"I'll put the tart bitch in her place. No one, rejects Lucius Malfoy."

Snape observed the blond for a moment, a single eyebrow raised. "You're not suggesting that you're going to-"

"Why shouldn't I?" Lucius replied huffily, arms folded against his chest.

"She'll hate you. And Black will probably kill you if you do. Don't do it, Lucius."

"I don't understand your opposition to this, Sev. After all, haven't you been telling me to move on? This is my closure," Lucius retorted, shrugging.

"Do you really hate Black so much that you'd do that to her, someone you supposedly love, just to get even with him, or whatever it is you're so desperate to accomplish?"

"It isn't about that!" Lucius shouted, his icy blue eyes shooting daggers in Snape's direction.

"If this is really about your alleged love of Evelyn and not about your intense jealousy of Black, then you're even sicker than I thought you were," Snape noted, clicking his tongue in disgust.

"Watch your tongue, Severus," Lucius warned.

"And why should I?" Snape countered, rising to his feet. "You've no problem voicing your opinions on my feelings towards Lily Evans-"

"Potter. Lily Potter," Lucius corrected, shooting Snape a self-satisfactory smirk.

"Yes, Lily Potter," Snape retorted, through gritted teeth. "And I graciously accept your chiding and incessant remarks that I am foolish for wasting my time and energy caring about her, yet you cannot accept a single word I say regarding your obsession with Evelyn Black?"

Lucius stared silently at the taller man, his upper lip curling upward, forming a snarl.

"Oh, you don't like that, do you?" Snape observed, smirking at the blond. "She is Evelyn Black, just as Lily is Lily Potter, Lucius. It's high time you accept that Black won and move on."

"You're hardly one to talk about moving on, Sev."

"What are you inferring, Lucius?" Severus asked warily, eyeing the blond suspiciously.

"You can drop the act, Severus. I believe you overheard a prophecy regarding the dark lord?" Lucius asked, eyeing Severus expectantly.

"It's uncertain who specifically the prophecy is about. But she's with child. She's due in July..."

"And yet you made another pleading attempt to beg that he spare your precious Lily, didn't you, Severus?" Lucius asked accusingly.

"At least I'm trying to protect the woman I love," Snape replied evenly, scowling. "Whereas you-"

"I want her, Severus. And if she won't give herself willingly, then I'll take it."

Snape frowned, folding his arms against his chest. "Very well, then. You're going to do as you wish, so I won't waste my breath. I'll be on my way, as I want no part in this."

He paused, considering. "Bear in mind, Lucius, that should you go through with this, retaliation is inevitable. I have no doubt in my mind that Black will kill you, if you so much as lay a hand on his wife."

"I'm not afraid of him," Lucius scoffed.

Snape observed the blond for a moment, bemused by his utter arrogance.

"Much as it pains me to say it, Lucius, Black is a force to be reckoned with."

"Are you suggesting that he is a more powerful wizard than I?" Lucius asked coolly, twirling his wand between his fingers, his eyes boring holes into Snape's, silently challenging him to disagree.

Snape remained silent, offering no response save for a single raised eyebrow. "I want no part in this, Lucius."

"You honestly believe that, don't you?" Lucius asked coolly, shooting Snape an icy glare. "You believe Black to be a more powerful wizard than I."

"I feel that you underestimate the rage you would incite in him, to do that to his wife. The woman he loves."

"One would think that you would take pleasure in watching your enemy suffer," Lucius said mockingly, eyeing Severus with contempt.

"I would like nothing more than to witness Black suffer as a result of his own arrogance," Snape countered, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"I suppose you should be going... perhaps to go stalk your red-headed mud-bl-"

"I thought I told you to never use that word in front of me," Severus snarled, drawing his wand and pointing it at the blond.

"You're pathetic, Snape," Lucius sneered, rolling his eyes. "Still pining away over your unrequited love. At least Evelyn actually loves me."

"Loved. As in past-tense, Lucius," Snape retorted, lowering his wand. "And such feelings will soon be replaced with hatred if you go through with what your planning."

Evelyn sighed heavily as she poured herself another glass of gin.My third glass, she observed, shrugging her shoulders. Well, why the hell not? It's not like I've anything better to do, this evening. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Eleven PM. As per usual, Sirius had left the house without giving any indication of when he would return, and she had resumed her usual routine of waiting up for him, like the good wife that she was. She settled onto the couch, tucking her feet under her. She thumbed through an issue of Witch Weekly, pausing only to take sips of her drink. Where are you, Sirius?

Since the funeral, Evelyn had seen less and less of her husband. He appeared to only return home to shower, change clothes, and catch a few hours sleep before disappearing again. She'd considered mentioning Lucius' unannounced visit to him, but had decided against it. He already comes home with enough blood on his hands. No need to throw him into even more of a rage. Indeed, Sirius' mood had changed drastically since his brother's death. He appeared to be worked up into a frenzy, returning home with gleeful accounts of how many muggles he'd killed that day, a nauseating sense of pride in his tone. It took every fiber of self-control in Evelyn's body to keep herself from showing anything but a neutral reaction. Even though every cell in her body was screaming for her to confront him, to shake him until he saw reason and woke up from this spell Voldemort had apparently cast over him.

Several times, she'd nearly caved and owled Dumbledore. She had even gone so far as to write out a letter detailing the change in Sirius' behavior, begging for help, at last admitting that Sirius had certainly been brainwashed by Voldemort. However, she'd burnt the letter, her promise to Regulus ringing in her ears. You have to take care of him. Dumbledore will kill him if he finds out he's turned sides. You promised to protect him... It's up to you to pull him out of this nightmare.

She turned her head as she heard the familiar creaking of the front door opening. "You're awake," Sirius said brightly, entering the sitting room.

"I am," she agreed, placing her magazine and drink aside and turning to face him. "How was your day, dear?"

"Brilliant," Sirius replied, smiling brightly.

Evelyn forced a smile, averting her eyes from the blood dripping off his robes. She made a mental note to scrub the couches the following morning, almost certain that the dripping blood would stain the fabric. "What happened?" she asked lightly, her tone much calmer than she was actually feeling.

"I had a meeting with Voldemort," he divulged, grinning widely. "As his most loyal follower, he feels that I should be actively involved in his most important plans."

Evelyn nodded curtly, biting her tongue and drawing blood as she struggled to maintain her composure.

"We've planned a hit on several Order members."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, silently urging Sirius to continue, as she reached for her drink.

"The Prewett brothers. We've been watching them for a while now, and it seems that they regularly visit their sister... You know the one... she married a Weasley, I believe," Sirius continued, frowning.

"Molly Prewett," Evelyn offered, taking a sharp breath as she brought her glass to her lips, taking a deep sip.

"Yes, I believe so," Sirius affirmed, shrugging. "Anyway, she lives in the middle of nowhere... so we're going to follow the Prewett's there, then attack. Even if their sister and Weasley aren't officially in the Order, they're both blood-traitors. So there's no real loss there, getting rid of them in the process-"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Evelyn asked shrilly, slamming her glass onto the table.

"What's gotten into you?" Sirius retorted, eyeing her critically.

"What's gotten into me?" Evelyn asked incredulously, rising to her feet. "The real question iswhat's gotten into you, Sirius? This isn't you."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked lowly, his gray eyes clouding with anger.

"I mean that I barely even know who you are, anymore. Do you even remember which side you're supposed to be fighting for?" she screamed, gesturing her arms wildly.

"I already told you, Evelyn... Dumbledore was using us! He didn't recognize my skills, my talents... Voldemort does! He sees that I am extraordinary! He is helping me reach my potential!" Sirius screamed, rising to his feet, as well.

"Don't you see that you're being manipulated? Are you really so daft that you don't see that you are nothing more than a pawn to Voldemort, another cog in his machine?" Evelyn retorted, shooting Sirius a furious look.

"Shut your fucking mouth you stupid whore," Sirius growled, menacingly approaching her, his right hand balling up into a fist.

"Oh, are you going to hit me, Sirius? Is that it? Should I be afraid of you?" she taunted, shooting him a filthy look.

"I'm your husband. How dare you speak to me with such disrespect," Sirius retorted, reaching for his wand from his robe's pocket.

"Oh, wait. You're going to curse me instead, aren't you Siri?" she sneered, reaching for her wand, as well. "I suppose that's the logical progression...first you were killing muggles, then blood-traitors, now you're planning on killing women and children, of course I'm naturally the next target, aren't I?'

Sirius gripped his wand tighter, taking a step toward her.

"Which one is it going to be, Siri?" she laughed coldly, pointing her wand at him. "Crucio?" she asked. "I know how fond you are of that one. Or maybe the Imperius... After all, you almost put me under that one all of two weeks into our marriage," she continued, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Evelyn. "He's brainwashed you, don't you see that? This isn't you. The Sirius I know, the Sirius I fell in love with, would never be so weak and pathetic as to gleefully anticipate murdering innocent women and children-"

Sirius grabbed Evelyn by the throat, using brute strength to slam her against the wall. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner," Sirius growled, his eyes gleaming with manic rage.

"I should have gone to Dumbledore immediately, when I saw you changing. You need to wake up and see the writing on the wall, Sirius; you are being brainwashed by that vile excuse for a human being. He's destroying you, Sirius," Evelyn continued, staring directly into Sirius' eyes as he gripped her throat tighter, her expression calm.

Sirius drew his wand up, pointing it squarely at her chest. Evelyn matched his stare, defiantly tilting her chin upward. "Go ahead, do it," she said mockingly, her lips contorting into a snarl. "That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" she continued, struggling to speak as he gripped tighter, still.

"You're the man, right? You have to put your insubordinate woman in her place, don't you? So do it. Go ahead and kill me, then."

Sirius began to mutter avada before sucking a deep breath inward, his eyes widening in realization.

"Oh my... I almost.." he said lowly, dropping his wand to the floor.

He let go of his hold on Evelyn's throat, staring down at his hands, a horrified expression on his face.

"What did I almost do?" he asked, shaking his head.

"You wanted to kill me," Evelyn calmly replied, eyeing him with disgust.

"Evelyn, I'm so sorry-"

"You fucking should be," she retorted, shoving him away from her as he made to pull her into an embrace.

"Fucking arsehole," she added, folding her arms against her chest.

"Evelyn, I'm sorry, I didn't... I'm so sorry..." Sirius continued, watching her helplessly as she stalked across the room, away from him.

"I didn't think you would do it... but you... you almost did," she said accusingly, shakily reaching for her abandoned glass of gin.

She tossed her head back, draining the contents before slamming the glass down onto the coffee table.

"I would never hurt you, Evie," Sirius said lowly, approaching her. "Please. You have to believe me... I wasn't... I wasn't thinking."

"No," Evelyn retorted shrilly, "you weren't, were you?"

"Tell me how I can fix this? What can I do? Please?" he begged, gently laying a hand on her arm.

Evelyn observed him a moment, her features cold. "Make yourself useful and fetch me a gin, neat," she sighed, reaching for his free hand and squeezing it.

"I'm so sorry, Evelyn."

"I know. I know."

Evelyn lowered herself onto the couch, hands shaking, as she observed Sirius from across the room, his own hands shaking as he struggled to pour a glass of gin, spilling a fair amount onto the floor. Evelyn sighed, rising to her feet.

Wordlessly, she approached him, placing her hands gently over his, to quell his tremors. "Sirius," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Evelyn," he breathed, reaching up and lovingly stroking her hair. "You have to forgive me," he started, his lips trembling as he blinked his eyes, forcing back tears.

"It's okay, Sirius," she said softly, closing her eyes and deeply inhaling his scent, ignoring the fact that the blood on his robes was seeping into raw-silk sheath as she pressed her body closer to his, pulling him into an embrace. "I love you, Sirius. Merlin...I... I would have let you kill me, I love you so damn much."

"I could never do that to you, Evie," Sirius whispered, nuzzling against her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Lilac,he thought, pulling her closer to him.

"Nothing else matters except for you, Evelyn. Nothing."