CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
Autumn, 1980 – Spring, 1981

"Shit… shit…"

Bellatrix's lips were parted, a light sheen of sweat glistening in the dip between her heaving breasts. Narcissa's hair was beginning to stick to her forehead as she continued to move within her, watching the pleasure etch itself across her sister's face with every thrust. They had been fucking for the better part of an hour, with Narcissa being the one to do most of the work for once. She figured she owed Bellatrix that though, as she had been so patient ever since she had Draco.

And considering that 'Bellatrix' and 'patience' never went hand-in-hand, that definitely was an accomplishment worth rewarding. Besides, the other woman seemed a bit stiffer than usual, and Narcissa worried that if she made her do all the work she might accidentally hurt herself. It seemed Bellatrix was coming back with more and more injuries lately, but, then again, this was a war.

Narcissa just didn't understand why she never healed them fully anymore, but she also knew better than to ask. When Bellatrix wanted to tell her, then she would be told.

Bellatrix grabbed onto her then, fingers curling and nails digging in to the supple skin of the blonde's waist as she began to tense. Narcissa smiled, loving the way her sister looked right when she was about to come; it was one of the few times in her life that she had ever seen Bellatrix look vulnerable. It elicited some deep desire to possess something rare and precious and so Narcissa grabbed her face, claiming her with heated kisses as she felt desperate, uneven breaths dust themselves against her lips.

…And then a loud wail was heard from the next room.

Narcissa noticeably froze.

Bellatrix's eyes popped open then, her chest still heaving with unfulfilled desire, realization beginning to dawn on her as she finally began to pay attention to what was going on. "No, Cissy—come on, I was so fucking close."

Narcissa's lips pursed in apology as she looked down at her, knowing Bellatrix wasn't going to be pleased with her priorities. "I can't just ignore my son, Bella. I'm sorry. It won't take long," she told her as she gently slipped the phallus she was wearing out of her sister, unclasping the harness so she could comfortably throw on a nightgown to check on Draco.

Bellatrix exhaled the most dramatic sigh, her eyes nearly rolling to the back of her skull as she looked up at the ceiling. "This is such shit. It would have been five bloody seconds."

Narcissa shot her an amused look. "You had four orgasms already; you'll live."

"That's not the sodding point!"

Narcissa just rolled her eyes though as she headed into the nursery in the adjoining room. Draco was crying in his crib, having woken himself up, and Narcissa gently shushed him as she picked him up and checked his diaper. It was clean. Her eyebrows knitting, she wondered if he was hungry. But he couldn't be, could he? He had just eaten before she put him down for a nap, and every book she had read said that she should be feeding him every three hours. It had only been an hour and a half.

Did she forget to burp him? Was he having gas pains?

No, of course she didn't. Bellatrix had insisted she take a shower before they did anything solely because of the tiny bit of spit up in the blonde's hair. Maybe he was just being fussy, or didn't like that he woke up alone. Her lips creasing down into a frown, Narcissa gently rocked Draco in her arms and kissed the top of his forehead, ensuring him softly that she wasn't going anywhere.

Which, of course, was going to be a problem as far as Bellatrix was concerned.

"What the fuck are you bringing him in here for?" Bellatrix asked as Narcissa reentered the room with a half-asleep infant nestled into her neck as Draco quickly began to settle down. Maybe he really was just lonely. Narcissa shot her sister a look of apology though, knowing Bellatrix wasn't going to like this.

"I'm sorry, but Draco's fussing. I think he woke up and saw I wasn't there and got upset. I'm going to try to feed him again though just in case he's still hungry, but I think he just wants to be near me right now," Narcissa explained, feeling awful for having to interrupt their time together like this, especially considering they don't have much of it anymore. Her eyes sweeping over her sister's attire – or lack thereof – Narcissa's face scrunched up a little as she requested, "And can you please put some clothes on? I really don't want my son to know what you look like naked." A beat. "Or even that we get naked together."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Bellatrix swore, sitting up in a frustrated huff as she grabbed the strap on that Narcissa had been previously wearing that she had tossed haphazardly on the bed, throwing it straight into the wooden closet door. The loud bang woke Draco up again and he started to wail, causing Narcissa to cup his head in a protective manner as she shushed her son and gave her sister a dirty look. She understood that this wasn't ideal, but did she really have to start throwing things around?

"Christ, this is so…" Bellatrix began in an irritated tone, however didn't seem to know what to classify this situation as, or at least didn't want to say whatever it was out loud for some reason. Instead she just shook her head as she grabbed her robe, violently tying it around her waist, slightly wincing from whatever ailment was currently bothering her. "You know he's a fucking infant, right?" she snapped instead. "He's not gonna remember me naked, he's not going to remember if you don't jump up right away every time he decides he wants attention; and honestly, if you really think he's not gonna grow up to suspect something's fucked off between us like literally everyone else in our sodding lives, then you're fucking delusional."

Well that was just… alright, probably very accurate considering the track record in their lives, but regardless. Let her have her delusions; at the very least, they save her sanity.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to ignore him when he needs me, Bella," Narcissa tried to explain, this swirling feeling of guilt making it's presence known in the pit of her stomach. She had promised Bellatrix that they would spend time together today, yet already she was fucking it up. Perhaps she should have hired a temporary caretaker, or maybe did it on a day Lucius was home so he could watch Draco in her stead.

Crossing the space between them, Narcissa reached out and gently cupped her sister's cheek with her free hand. "I'm sorry, I really am. I swear to God, next time I'll have Lucius watch Draco or something so we can spend some alone time together. I know you've been waiting, and I planned this poorly." Softly dragging her thumb across the supple skin of her sister's bottom lip, Narcissa gave Bellatrix her best adorably helpless look and asked in a small voice, "…Are you angry with me?"

Bellatrix just stared at her for a long moment before she exhaled a frustrated huff and averted her gaze. "No," she told her, even though it was clear that, on some level, she still was. It made Narcissa love her more though, as she could tell how much Bellatrix hated having her time taken away from her by Draco. She loved Narcissa though, and knew how much Narcissa loved her son, so instead of screaming at her and storming off like she usually would, she was trying to deal with it.

Narcissa wished she could go down on her right now for it, but Draco was still fussing now that Bellatrix had woken him up again and so instead she gently bounced him up and down in her arms as she leaned in and placed a soft kiss against her sister's lips. "I owe you," she breathed. "And I promise you will very much enjoy collecting that debt."

"Oh, you better fucking believe that, love."

Narcissa smirked softly before stepping away from her sister, settling herself back down on the bed so she could have a better angle to feed Draco at. She doubted he was really hungry, but she still felt obligated to check. As she withdrew her breast from her robe and tried to coax Draco to take it in his mouth, she asked her sister, "You're not leaving, are you? I know our fun was interrupted, but we might get some more time together before Lucius comes home."

"What else do you think I have to do?"

Narcissa looked pointedly down towards her sister's left forearm, causing the other woman to rub it protectively over her robes as she sighed softly. "You haven't said anything in a while," Narcissa reminded her, voice careful. "About the prophecy. About the child."

"Lucius hasn't told you?"

Narcissa shook her head. They didn't talk about the war anymore; Narcissa knew she bore the news better when hearing it from her sister, even if Bellatrix wasn't always the most delicate when it came to delivering it.

Narcissa shifted, taking her breast out of Draco's mouth when she felt him begin to drift off again. She watched her sister bite the inside of her cheek in frustration before running her hands through her tousled hair. "Not much to tell," she admitted. "We still don't know who the fuck it is. We have a list of names, but somehow the Order found out and all of the children have been hidden. The Dark Lord believes there will be a 'tell' of sorts though, and has instructed us all to wait. He thinks the Order knows who it is, and that our mole will eventually get the name. I lack faith, however. That boy is as useless as he is fat, and his beady little eyes scream mistrust. Only an idiot would confide in such a person."

Narcissa didn't know who their mole was however, despite having been told the name before. She had never met him, so she didn't know how he looked from a hole in the wall. Still, regardless of his apparent size, Bellatrix didn't seem to think that waiting was the proper way to play this. And Narcissa was surprised that she also did not seem to just blindly agree with Voldemort anymore, although she still doubted that it would change much. In the end, Bellatrix would do each and every thing that was ordered to her.

"Did you tell him that?" Narcissa inquired, curious. She knew Bellatrix wouldn't ever defy him, but it wouldn't have been the first time that she voiced her opinion either.

Bellatrix looked at her like she was being thick. "You're honestly asking me that? What do you think I'm keeping myself in pain now for, my bloody health?"

Narcissa blinked heavily, not understanding for a moment. And even when she did get it, she still didn't get it completely. She knew Bellatrix was at least sore,for whatever reason, as she was a little stiff whenever they made love earlier, but she didn't think it would be classified as real pain. It barely even looked like it bothered Bellatrix.

"What do you mean?" Narcissa asked, the confusion evident in her voice.

Bellatrix looked at her like she had to be stupid before she silently turned around and allowed the robe to fall downwards towards the middle of her back. Narcissa noticeably gasped. Her sister's back looked like it had been badly burned, and Narcissa didn't understand how she hadn't noticed before. Bellatrix had been topless, but had she ever turned around? She must not have, because that wasn't something Narcissa would just ignore. It looked awful and it turned the blonde's stomach as she quickly placed the sleeping infant that was in her arms down in the middle of the bed and rushed over to her sister's side.

"Oh my God," Narcissa breathed in horror, her hand gently hovering over the raw flesh on her sister's back. She was afraid to touch it. "You just… you just laid there while I… while we were—Christ, Bella, why haven't you bloody healed this yet? How is it not bothering you?!"

She knew her sister had a high threshold for pain, but this was just beyond…

"I'm leaving it as a reminder to myself to just shut the hell up sometimes," Bellatrix responded, her tone a little defensive as she raised the robe back over her shoulders. "So yes, to answer your question, I did say something. I shouldn't have. I'm trying to do that whole… learn and grow thing you always babble on about."

Narcissa's heart sank. She knew Voldemort hurt them sometimes as his rage was unmatched except by Bellatrix's herself, but wasn't she supposed to be his best lieutenant? Did she truly have no real voice? It was so terribly sad as Bellatrix worshipped the man, but then again, Narcissa wasn't surprised. Lucius had come home in worse shape than he left more often than he used to, but Narcissa always attributed it to the war, and not the Dark Lord's anger that things weren't going the way he wanted them to. Now, Narcissa wondered if his followers were simply becoming outlets for his rage, and that made her frightened for her sister and husband's wellbeing.

She didn't know how to express that though, at least in a way that would be received well, and so Narcissa just softly told her, "Bella… this is going to scar."

"Some scars are good," Bellatrix told her, looking down at the long scar in the middle of her palm that matched her sister's.

"But these ones aren't," Narcissa tried to rationalize, despite knowing it was doing about as good as it would if she just screamed aimlessly at a brick wall.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Narcissa hated that answer, and what's more was that Bellatrix knew that, but at the end of the day, she knew she couldn't separate Bellatrix from the thing that was slowly killing her. God knows she tried. So instead she just sadly pursed her lips, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her sister's shoulder.

It was a small comfort to be sure, but at the moment, it was the only one she had.

[x]

Gregory Goyle spit up into his mother's hair.

"Oi, not again…!" Cassandra exclaimed with a frustrated sigh as she put her son down and got up from the circle in her parlor of infants and their mothers. "I swear, I don't even know why I bother with the bloody cloth to burp 'im. 'E still turns his head every time, doesn't 'e? Lil' bugger."

"Little Vincent won't even burp," the other woman in the room, Ursula Crabbe, interjected. Her tone was more of a snooty drawl, and in all honesty Narcissa couldn't stand the sound of it. This was Cassandra's gathering though, not her own; therefore, she really didn't have much control over the guest list. "It all comes out the other end."

Narcissa curled up her lip at that, knowing that certainly was not normal. She didn't know the woman though, and therefore decided to not interject. Instead she removed her breast from her son's mouth and straightened the burping cloth on her shoulder. After only a few gentle pats he burped easily, causing the two other women to turn towards Narcissa sharply.

"Figures," Cassandra said with an exaggerated sigh, still in the midst of cleaning the sick out of her hair while her son lay in the bassinet before her. "Course you get the perfect one, yeah? Perfect son, perfect 'usband, perfect life." She didn't really sound jealous per say, but Cassandra definitely sounded a tad bit defeated about that.

Narcissa was about to assure her that she certainly was not perfect, but she didn't get a chance to.

"You think she has the perfect life?" Ursula interjected, sounding a little amused. "Cassandra, darling, you and I both know you've heard the rumors."

"Excuse me?" Narcissa shot back, placing Draco back in his bassinet as she stared at her friend's 'friend'.

"Oh, don't make such a fuss," Ursula brushed off, like Narcissa was silly to take offense to the fact that there had been rumors about her. "We all know how rumors are in our society, darling, but we also know they come from a seed of truth. And if even one of your seeds are true, dear, you're certainly nowhere near perfect. I'd say that's a good thing though; perfection, after all, is so very hard to maintain. It sounds rather exhausting, if you ask me."

Narcissa was expected to be insulted, and maybe she still was, but she really wasn't entirely sure on the matter now. The way Ursula talked, it was like she was talking down to you, but in a way that wasn't entirely mean. Was she making fun of her for the amount of effort she put into trying to make her life appear put together, or was she honestly telling her that it was okay not to be perfect? Narcissa honestly had no idea, and she really didn't like it.

God damn Cassandra for making her socialize with this dreadful woman; she really didn't like her one bit.

She knew Cassandra had this dream of all their children, who are so close in age, growing up together and being best friends, but the chances of that were slim. Their children were merely infants now, who knows what kind of people they would grow up to be? They may not even like one another. Of course Narcissa did hope that at least Draco and Gregory would get along, but she could take or leave the Crabbe child. Just because Cassandra was attached, didn't mean she had to be.

"Excuse me for a moment, dears; I need go to powder my nose. Cassandra, darling, you'll watch Vincent for a moment, won't you?" Ursula asked as she rose from her seat, handing her child over to Cassandra, who had only just finished getting most of the sick out of her hair. She looked a little taken aback for a moment but did take Vincent into her arms as Ursula strode out of the room like she was trying to walk on bloody air.

Narcissa shot her friend a 'you have got to be kidding me' kind of look. "Where the bloody hell did you find her?"

Gregory started to fuss in his crib, so Cassandra exhaled a small sigh and picked up her son, holding him in one arm while her other was firmly around the other boy. Her hair was all in disarray and she looked like she hadn't had a good night sleep in days. Narcissa felt a little bad; Draco was such an easy child, but that also made her wonder if that meant he'd be more difficult when he was older. She hoped not.

"Leave 'er be; think she's just nervous, bein' 'round you an' all."

"You mean she doesn't normally talk like a pompous arse? Shocking," Narcissa noted dryly. She wasn't surprised; many socialites trained themselves to talk that way. It was usually reserved for the older crowd though, and Narcissa was only twenty-five, which made Cassandra and her little friend twenty-three.

Still, it wasn't as though Narcissa hadn't gone through that phase herself. When she had gotten out of the hospital after she had gotten married, she had been trying to teach herself to speak and act more refined. In the end though, Bellatrix had snuffed that out really quick by constantly making fun of her. Some of it still seemed to linger, but perhaps that was just her naturally growing into an adult. Narcissa was uncertain, but what she was certain about was that Ursula was far too young to be talking like her Aunt Walburga.

"But I still don't see why she should be nervous around me," Narcissa continued as she stood, extending her arms so she could take Gregory from Cassandra. She looked a bit overwhelmed, and Draco was already fast asleep in his bassinet. "Here, let me."

Cassandra looked noticeably relieved as she passed her son over to her friend. The child was still fussing and Narcissa held him to her chest, gently bouncing him in her arms as she quietly shushed him. Gregory had his mother's eyes, but the rest of him was most certainly his father. It was unfortunate, but Cassandra seemed to love the little thing, so she refrained from commenting.

"'Cause you're my best friend, Cissa," Cassandra responded like it was obvious. "She feels outta place, y'know? I've talked 'bout you a whole lot, but we've never 'ung out. Lotta pressure for her; the first time."

"Yeah, well, she'd make a much better impression if she didn't sound so fucking snooty all the time."

"'Er mum's like that," Cassandra explained as she watched little Vincent begin to chew on his teething ring in her arms. "All prim an' proper an' the like; tells her she needs to be like that if she ever wants respect. 'Sides, its 'ow she won over her 'usband, after all."

Narcissa's upper lip curled at that, but she didn't have a chance to respond as that was when Ursula reentered the room. Still, that didn't stop her from silently wondering what kind of man would want their young wife to sound in her late fifties. She knew Vincent Crabbe Sr, but she didn't really know know him. Lucius still hung out with him and Peter Goyle to this day, but Narcissa made a point to never be around. She didn't really like them.

In all honestly, she didn't really like any of Lucius' friends. Even Severus, who wasn't really a bad man per say, just rubbed her the wrong way sometimes. Mostly it was due to her (possibly) irrational fear that Severus was in love with her husband. She knew Lucius didn't believe him to be gay, but when Severus was a child he followed Lucius around like a puppy. Why else would he do that, unless there was an underlying sexual or emotional desire?

Because hell, look at Cassandra and her.

It, to be entirely fair, didn't go very far or anything between them, but it could have. Narcissa was very into the fact that Cassandra worshipped her, and the other woman was obviously very physically attractive. If not for the fact that they both ended up pregnant and starting families, it probably would have gone as far as actually sleeping together, and that worried Narcissa a little. Not just because of her own apparent lack of self-control, but because she didn't know how much Lucius and Severus had.

But maybe she was just projecting.

Maybe she was just jealous that Lucius didn't want to spend every single waking moment with her, and actually entertained friends.

Who knew. Either way, Narcissa didn't like it, and so she purposely stayed away when Lucius was with 'the boys'. Out of sight, out of mind. Besides, Lucius used to make a big fuss about gay people when he was younger, so it was probably doubtful that he was even the slightest bit bisexual.

Or at least she hoped… despite how terribly hypocritical that sounded.

[x]

"I swear to God, if I have to spend another bloody day with that woman, I'm going to scream."

"Then don't go," Bellatrix told her, sounding bored with her sister's whining over Cassandra's invitation, that no doubt included Ursula's presence. "Good Lord, some of us have actual bloody problems, and yet here you are complaining about having tea with some socialite prat." She waved her wand in the air, emitting an array of colorful sparks that caused Draco to squeal with delight and clap his hands. The child reached for his aunt's wand then, causing Narcissa to sit up straighter in her chair.

"Don't!" she warned her sister, not wanting her to be foolish enough to let Draco touch it. "The last time he got ahold of Lucius' wand, he nearly blew a hole in the sodding wall."

"Least you know he's not a squib," Bellatrix rationalized, but did as she was told and kept it out of her nephew's reach. And while yes, that did end up making Narcissa feel infinitely better considering that meant Draco at least had some magic inside of him, she wasn't quite keen on having to remodel another part of the house.

"Honestly though, I'll never understand how your little circle can just carry on like the whole bloody world isn't falling to pieces around you; I'd say it's impressive, but it's probably just ignorance," Bellatrix continued, standing up from her spot on the floor in front of Draco, making the boy cry because he didn't get her wand, or his way. He was oddly attached to Bellatrix, and truth be told, Narcissa was endlessly glad that now that he was getting older, her sister had at least found some weird entertainment in him. She liked to do frivolous glamour spells to make his eyes light up, but she also got bored with him just as easily.

Like now.

Narcissa sighed softly and got off her chair, gathering her son in her arms. "Draco, darling, you'll have your very own wand when you're older, I promise, but that one is Auntie Bella's."

"Muhhh!" Draco yelled through his tears, which was his way of saying 'mine'. It was his first and only word thus far, which was a tad bit disappointing. Narcissa had really hoped that it would have been 'mama', but it wasn't as though she could control these things.

"He has your sense of entitlement, at least," Bellatrix commented with an amused smirk as she flopped into the large armchair in the corner of the parlor, causing Narcissa to shoot her a sideways glare.

"Perhaps, but I am not ignorant," Narcissa told her whilst trying to calm her crying son with one of his favorite toys that she picked up off the dresser. Draco just threw it to the ground though and continued to wail harder, causing Narcissa to gently sigh. "I just refuse to allow my son to grow up in a world that's full of violence and chaos. He doesn't need to know what's going on outside of these walls. Cassandra feels the same way."

"Well, if precious Cassandra feels that way…" Bellatrix drawled with an exaggerated eye roll. Narcissa didn't dignify that with an answer though, as Bellatrix had already been told countless times that her jealousy of her was irrational.

Even though it wouldn't have been at one point, but she definitely did not need to know that.

"Ugh, how can you stand that sound? Honestly, his voice is about as annoying as Lucius'," Bellatrix exclaimed before she waved her wand, effectively stealing Draco's voice. Narcissa rounded on her in horror.

"Bella! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Saving us both from a migraine," Bellatrix responded carelessly, idly twirling her wand between her fingers as she stared her sister down with both brows raised, as if daring her to oppose her decision.

Draco looked panicked now that he wasn't making sounds despite his best efforts, and he kept swinging his arms as his face began to turn red. He was trying too hard, and it was scaring Narcissa. "Give him his voice back!" she screeched at her sister. "Can't you bloody see he's terrified that he can't hear himself anymore?! Bella!"

"Christ, fine; you don't need to bloody shriek at me," Bellatrix responded with a huff, allowing her wand to twirl once more as she did another nonverbal spell. Draco's voice came back with a piercing shriek, but it seemed to scare the hell out of the boy as he automatically shut his mouth, unable to fathom what had just happened. His eyes were as wide as saucers. "Well, I guess that was one way to do it."

"Oh my god, you are horrific sometimes," Narcissa seethed, turning her back on her sister momentarily as she tried to comfort her son. "It's okay, my darling boy, you're okay… Auntie Bella was just playing a trick on you, but she won't do it anymore, I promise…"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"You smother him; some space would do the boy some good," she mentioned, as though she were in any way qualified to comment on anyone's style of parenting. "If you don't let go a little, Cissy, he's gonna turn into a huge spoiled prat, mark my words."

"He's nine months old, Bella!"

Draco was still a baby; it wasn't as though she were breathing down his neck when he was nine years old. He needed his mother right now, and she would be damned if she let Bellatrix get into her head about it. What did she know anyway? She couldn't have kids of her own, and thank goodness for that, if this was the bloody result!

"Smothering is smothering, Cissy."

Narcissa turned on her heel, facing her sister with an irritated look on her face. "Are you here for an actual reason, or would you like to leave? Because I could be alright with the latter."

"Ohhh, touchy," Bellatrix responded, sounding as though she were poking fun at her. It infuriated Narcissa even more. Still, she had more important things to attend to now and placed her son back in his playpen. He still seemed kind of rattled and so Narcissa bent down and gave him Mr. Niffler, hoping that the stuffed animal would comfort him. Draco sniffled a few times as he gathered the toy into his arms, the tears on his cheeks beginning to dry.

Thank god. She didn't need Bellatrix scarring her child for life.

"I… actually need a favor."

Narcissa turned her head so suddenly she nearly got whiplash. Her sister's voice was no longer mocking, but sincere and serious, which nearly made Narcissa laugh. She had the audacity to ask for a favor after that?

"And I need you to leave; guess which one is actually going to happen?"

"Narcissa, I'm serious," Bellatrix responded as she got up from her seat, using her sister's whole name this time to indicate just how serious this actually was. Narcissa barely cared though. "This concerns Lucius; or rather, the company that he keeps, which you know can end up damning him just the same."

Alright, now she was caring a bit more.

Glancing down at Draco in his play pen and seeing that he seemed involved in his toy for the moment, Narcissa turned back to her sister and stood, meeting her sister's gaze. "You have two minutes."

"I expect he told you that Snape recently got a teaching position at Hogwarts."

Narcissa stared at her sister, not understanding why this was important. "Yeah, so?"

"Do you know why?"

Narcissa shot her sister a look like she was being thick. "I can hazard a guess," she responded dryly, because of course she understood why; she knew that Severus was a Death Eater and that Dumbledore was rumored to be part of the Order. It seemed obvious that he was sent to spy, although why the Dark Lord didn't provide a more suitable candidate, Narcissa wasn't sure. Severus was academically useful, yes, but he didn't seem cunning enough to pull off deception of that magnitude.

"Well I don't trust him," Bellatrix told her bluntly, sounding legitimately concerned. "I don't think he has the bloody stones to pull this off, and you and I both know how smart and conniving Dumbledore is. If he turns him against us, we're fucked."

Narcissa's brow rose. "You honestly think he might?" She didn't think much of Severus, but she did at least believe him to be a loyal person.

"I don't know, I may just be paranoid," Bellatrix admitted, which was actually kind of big of her; Bellatrix never liked admitting that she was uncertain about anything. "This whole bloody war's got my head on backwards; I tortured Pettigrew not too long ago because I thought he turned against us, which was why the Order knew to hide the children. He didn't break though, and the prat doesn't have much of a spine. If he had done it, I would have gotten it out of him."

"Bella… I may not know much about Severus personally, but I do know that he practically worships Lucius," Narcissa told her, trying to ease her worries. "I really don't think he'll turn; if not for the Dark Lord, then for Lucius. They've been friends forever."

"I know the kid practically sucks your husband's cock day in and day out; that's my point, and why I need you to keep an eye on him when he's around."

Narcissa nearly choked on her own breath at her sister's description of her husband's relationship with the other man. "Jesus, ew—Bella, don't say things like that; it's not funny!" Bellatrix, however, smirked a little at the blonde's reaction.

"You're actually a little afraid that he has before, aren't you?"

"No!" Narcissa firmly exclaimed, nearly stomping her foot in protest. "Lucius isn't a fag, Bella—"

Bellatrix looked at her pointedly. "Harsh words coming from someone who hated being called a 'dyke'."

Narcissa swallowed the rest of her words, her cheeks turning pink in shame as she looked away from her sister. Perhaps that was uncalled for. "All I'm saying," Narcissa responded, her voice much too level now, "is that Lucius isn't into men, no matter what I'm afraid that Severus may or may not want from him. Regardless, that isn't the point. I don't know how you expect me to keep an eye on him when I'm never around when they spend time together."

"Then be around," Bellatrix demanded, making the pit of Narcissa's stomach swirl with unease. She didn't like spying; she didn't like to be involved. "Please, Cissy, this is important. I have far too much on my plate right now to do this myself, and if you'd like a swift end to this war so your son can grow up in peace, then I need you to do this. In the end, it may just be my own paranoia; but I have to know. Do you understand?"

Of course Narcissa understood, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She just really hoped Bellatrix was wrong because if she wasn't, this war was going to start spilling into the safety of her own home, whether she liked it or not.

TBC…