Chapter 28
November 10, 1981, Hogwarts
Narcissa Malfoy saw the Dark Mark through the window of the Headmaster's Office and swallowed heavily. Midnight had passed two hours ago and soon after that the attack on the castle had begun. This was shaping up to be one the worst nights of her life. There were people she cared about on both sides… and she had the sickening feeling that once it was done and the dust was settled, she would have to mourn someone.
She looked at the two cribs Dumbledore had conjured for Draco and Harry. The boys were sleeping, blissfully unaware of the carnage that was raging at the courtyard. Narcissa's throat felt raw and constricted. Lily is fighting there, and probably so is Lucius. The only thing she hoped for was that both of them would come out unscathed, but she knew that this was a fool's hope.
Narcissa glanced at Albus Dumbledore. The Headmaster had not paid her and the children much attention once the battle started. He stood in front of a window, his hands crossed behind his back and his blue eyes drinking the sight of the battle that whirled below him.
Once the Dark Lord's voice had boomed across the whole castle and the Dark Mark had glowed green and menacing against the black sky, Dumbledore turned from the window and wordlessly left the office. Narcissa heard the door lock after him. He is going to face the Dark Lord, she realized. A part of her, a part buried so deep that she only recently found it within her heart, a part that she would never give a voice to in front of Lucius, hoped that Dumbledore was going to kill that lunatic once and for all.
It was not like she supported Dumbledore and his cause… Narcissa was still a pureblood and she still believed that the Wizarding World needed a different, stronger rule. But she also remembered Sirius, and how their family had disowned him for siding with mudbloods and muggle-lovers. And I remember Andromeda, too. Sometimes Narcissa wondered how her sister was faring. Would the House of Black consider her a blood traitor too, if they knew she prayed for the Dark Lord's death? Narcissa had been surprised at how little she cared. It was one thing to adhere to the old traditions… but what was happening outside was nothing but pure madness. When did we become a madman's playthings? she wondered. Was it a single moment that had passed them over without them paying any heed, or a gradual descent that nobody noticed because they were always too busy to plan the next step of the dance that was going to make the Wizarding World theirs as was their right? Or did it went deeper and further in time, to their parents and their parents before them? Both she and Lucius were raised within a circle that had pledged itself to the Dark Lord long ago, long before her husband was branded with the Dark Mark. Did we ever have a choice?
Sirius had believed that they always had a choice. He had made his without even considering the alternative. He paid for it with his life and died an outcast. So had Andromeda who married a mudblood, and was forever banished from their home. But is it worth to live in luxury while being the slave of a monster? She still shuddered when she remembered all those months when the Dark Lord had dwelt inside Malfoy Manor. Sharing her home with him, knowing that he was under the same roof as them, cold and cruel, and plotting nothing but death and destruction, having to plaster an eager smile on her face every time he spoke to her…
Narcissa shook her head, trying to make those memories disappear. She went to the cribs and watched her son sleep. If the Dark Lord survives, Draco will grow up to be his slave, just like me and Lucius, Narcissa realized, her heart heavy with sorrow. Her pale eyes glanced at Harry. And he will not grow up at all. How could she hope for anything else but for the survival and the happiness of those children?
Suddenly a flash of bright, fiery light made her turn her gaze towards the windows. An explosion? Then the deafening thunder of the shockwave boomed into the night, shattering the glass in all the windows inside the Headmaster's Office. Narcissa screamed and instinctively moved in front of the cribs to shield the two infants from the flying shards of glass.
She swayed, feeling dizzy and her ears ringing. She could faintly hear the boys crying, woken by the terrible blast that had rippled across the courtyard. Merlin, what happened? She hoped that Lily and Lucius were alive down there.
Narcissa turned to the crying children, raising her hands to take them and comfort them and she noticed blood dripping from the sleeve of her pearl-white dress. The silk was covered in wet red spots that bloomed bigger as she took a breath. The cuts weren't that serious so she immediately looked at the children, forcing her blurry vision to focus. Thank Merlin, they're alright, she sighed, then drew up her sleeve and examined the damage to her arm. A few sharp pieces of glass were embedded in the flesh but she managed to pull them out easily, hissing from the stinging sensation and cursing the fact that her wand was sitting back at the Manor, completely useless. She looked at her other sleeve and quickly ripped off a portion of the cloth, making a shoddy bandage. She didn't want her blood to drip over Draco and Harry.
"It's alright, little ones," she whispered softly as she leaned over the cribs. She reached and took Draco in her arms and started stroking his pale blond hair to calm him down. Once he had stopped wailing, she did the same with Lily's son.
She was breathing heavily, feeling light-headed. When will this end? she wondered. But, shaken as she was, she still realized that the more important question was how it was going to end.
Then she heard a metallic clacking and turned to look at the door of the Headmaster's Office. It's… unlocking… she realized. The handle turned on its own, as if possessed by some invisible will. The door slowly opened, its hinges moaning and creaking, and Narcissa felt as if a cold hand had caressed her lungs.
Her older sister was standing at the doorstep, her dark hair disheveled and her eyes gleaming madly.
"Cissy," Bellatrix murmured. "What are you doing here?"
What are you doing here? Narcissa gulped. Bella had always unnerved her, even when they were little. Lucius had been mildly surprised, back in the early days of their marriage, when she had confided in him just how relieved she was that she didn't have to share a roof with Bellatrix anymore, now that she was a married woman and lived at the Manor. He was an only child and had heard that siblings loved each other fiercely. He never knew just what a toxic bog the House of Black is. The childhood squabbles between the Blacks had slowly grown into full-fledged feuds, fueled by the previous generations' ambitions and slights both imagined and real. To an outsider the only obvious conflict had been between Sirius and the rest of the family… but that was far from the truth. Sirius and Regulus had been bad enough, as was the scandal that was born out of Andromeda's decision to marry that muggle-born man, but Bellatrix was the worst. She had become so unhinged as she grew older that Narcissa had began to find her company almost as repulsive as the Dark Lord's. Narcissa has always been so happy that the family she had built with Lucius was unlike the one that she grew up into. And yet the Dark Lord tainted even that.
Narcissa composed herself. There was only one reason for Bellatrix's presence. The Dark Lord's forces must have managed to enter the castle. And she's here to kill Harry.
"I have been here for some time now," she said, lowering Harry into his crib and moving to stand between her sister and the children. "Ever since the Dark Lord left the Manor."
Bellatrix smiled. Despite her beauty, the sight was somehow disquieting. "Then I'll rescue you, little sister," she frowned, then she giggled, "I think I killed our Herbology teacher on my way up."
"What is going on, Bella?" Narcissa asked, desperately trying to buy herself more time until Dumbledore or one of the others came. She once again cursed the lack of her wand. What was she to do against her sister without a weapon?
Bellatrix tsked with her tongue, "The Dark Lord is busy. Dumbledore came." Narcissa knew that already, but if she managed to get her sister to ramble, there was a bigger chance that help would arrive. Bellatrix giggled again, "So I came here to find Harry Potter. I figured that Dumbledore would have him close at hand," her sister's dark eyes shone hungrily as she eyed the cribs.
"Where is Lucius?" Narcissa asked.
Her sister shrugged. "Somewhere around. I saw him fighting down at the courtyard before I got inside the castle." Bellatrix edged closer to the cribs. Narcissa clenched her small fists and tensed. That made her sister frown. "What are you doing, Cissy?" she asked. "Don't you see?"
"See what?"
"You've got the Potter child," Bellatrix whispered excitedly. "When we kill him, the Dark Lord with shower us with his gratitude!"
Narcissa took a deep breath. The very thought of the Dark Lord rewarding her sister for murdering a baby was so terribly wrong that she felt sick to her stomach. Maybe it was because, unlike Bella, she was a mother or because, unlike Bella, she was sane… but she realized that she couldn't allow it to happen. Participation had been out of the question ever since Bellatrix entered the office but now Narcissa knew that even if no help came in the next few moments, she would do whatever it took to thwart her sister's plan. She remembered Sirius again. Long ago, her cousin had made his choice. And now Narcissa made her own. Damn it all to Hell, I could really use a wand right now…
But she had no wand. All she had was her wit. She was a Slytherin and a Black. She knew how to use it as a weapon. So she straightened up and raised an eyebrow as she looked her sister in the eye. "Do you really believe that?" She snorted. "The Dark Lord always said he wanted him for himself. If you steal what he wants, the only reward you'll get is a Cruciatus in the face."
"What do you know of the Dark Lord's plans?" Bellatrix sneered derisively. "You don't even have the Mark." That was true. Narcissa was not a Death Eater, and there wasn't a day when she wasn't grateful for that. But Lucius had unwittingly let things slip from time to time, and before Lily had departed to prepare for the battle, she had confided in a hushed voice that Harry was the real prey the Dark Lord was after, begging Narcissa to watch over him until she returned. But the most important thing here was that Narcissa had managed to raise her sister's ire. Good. That will make her sloppy. Bellatrix wasn't as dangerous when she got angry because then she had the tendency to lose even the small amount of rational thought that still remained inside her mind.
"Do you deny it?" Narcissa asked.
"Cissy, stop being a brat and move away from the little whelp," Bellatrix hissed and pointed her wand towards her sister. "Or I'll make you."
Instead of answering, Narcissa lunged forward, grabbed Bella's wrist and twisted her arm, making the dark-haired witch screech in surprise and pain. Bellatrix's other hand jabbed into Narcissa's face. The blonde immediately bit into the flesh, hard. She heard Bella hiss and felt blood spurting into her mouth. The thick, coppery taste choked her. Bellatrix twisted her body wildly and the two Black sisters toppled on the carpeted floor.
Narcissa could hear the boys crying loudly and cursed when her sister's sharp nails dug into her wounded arm. She was still gripping Bellatrix's wrist, holding her wand at bay. Bella shrieked in fury and managed to free herself, despite Narcissa's efforts.
Next thing she knew, a searing wave of pain washed all over her body. Narcissa screamed. Her sister had hit her with the Cruciatus.
"I've always hated you, Cissy!" Bellatrix hissed as she released her from the Unforgivable Curse's grasp. "Always so snotty, so arrogant… Thinking that you're something more than the rest of us because you got to marry Lucius!" She laughed. "After I kill Harry Potter, I will have the Dark Lord's gratitude. He will love me. Rodolphus is dead. The Dark Lord will take me as his. You won't take that away from me! I won't let you! Crucio!"
Narcissa writhed on the carpet, screaming in agony. Draco… Lucius… someone… help…
Then a male voice shouted "Avada Kedavra!" and Narcissa glimpsed a flash of green light as Bellatrix narrowly dodged a blast of the Killing Curse.
She whirled, her black robe billowing, and hissed, "Lucius."
Lucius? Are you really here? Narcissa groaned in pain, feeling on the verge of losing consciousness. She scrambled to get up on an elbow and saw her husband standing at the office's doorstep, an expression of murderous fury on his handsome face.
"You will never harm her again," Lucius hissed and sent another Killing Curse at Bella. Her sister levitated one of the chairs that stood in front of Dumbledore's huge desk and used it to block the emerald ray. As the chair exploded in a greenish mist of charred wood, Bellatrix screeched and sent a ball of yellow fire at Lucius.
Narcissa saw her husband ducking and jumping out of harm's way. She struggled to stand on her feet, to help him. She was too slow, still dizzy from the explosion earlier and the effects of the Cruciatus. Her own body betrayed her and she stumbled down.
Lucius moved towards Bellatrix, showering her with hexes. Casting shield charms, she was retreating towards the broken window, the wind rustling her black clothes and her dark hair.
"How did you even get here?" she hissed, her voice dripping with hatred.
"I followed you, you crazy bitch," Lucius shot back. "Flipendo!"
Narcissa saw her sister flying back when the blue blast smashed into her chest, her slender body hitting the window frame. She gripped the wood with both hands, dangling over empty air. Her eyes widened and her mouth curled into an evil snarl. If she was to let go, she was going to fall. Narcissa's heart soared. Lucius had her. He stepped forward and moved past the desk, closer and closer to Bella, wishing to see the defeat on her face.
Then Bellatrix looked at her little sister and a chocked cackle escaped past her lips. She released the broken wooden frame with one hand and pointed her wand at Lucius just as he was making to cast another Knockback Jinx.
"Incarcerous!" Bellatrix shrieked as she lost her balance and swung out of the window, still holding to the frame with her other hand.
Narcissa watched in horror as the magic rope shot itself from her sister's wand and twisted and tightened around Lucius' throat and torso. He stumbled forward, surprise etched on his face.
"NO!" Narcissa screamed hysterically, desperately trying to get back on her feet. Her legs betrayed her once more and gave out under her. She fell on hands and knees.
Bellatrix laughed again and let go.
She fell from the window, still gripping her wand. Lucius wavered for a fraction of the second, lost his balance and lurched forward, trapped by Bellatrix's rope. Then he, too, was gone.
