Hello guys, some of you might recognize this story from a little while back. I am reworking this story, and while the same idea will be the same there will be a lot of things that will be different. Of course, the previous version of it won't be deleted for those of you who want to read it. I am actually really excited about this story, and I know many of you will find it even more interesting than the previous one.

SPOILERS**So this story is going to be a dark Harry AU, where things didn't go quite as they were meant to. But mostly apart from a dark Harry au, this will be a conflicted Harry story, where he doesn't quite know where he fits in yet. Furthermore, there won't be any Weasley, Hermione or Dumbledore bashing. I try to write every character as canon, and realistically as possible. SPOILERS END***

Anyways I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it, and thank you for reading.

Chapter 1

A sombre night

Darkness dominated the night. The moon, usually above in the sky illuminating everything was absent. Even the stars, with their small brightness, were missing making everything appear more sinister and eerie. Birds that looked so innocent and harmless during the day appeared almost monstrous in the darkness. Small critters scampering around the ground in search of food could be easily mistaken for snakes or equally undesirable creatures. Not a sound was made, especially not when no one dared go outside, preferring the comfort of their warm homes. As with anything, of course, there was one exception.

Upon first sight, it was obvious to make out the man's personality, and attitude by just observing the way he walked. He walked with authority, and with an air of confidence, his long blond hair swishing from side to side. He was a tall and elegantly refined man that gave off the appearance and the presence of a gentleman who was used to commanding others, and getting what he wanted. His clothes were made of the richest material, not a speck of dust on them, nor a hair out of place. Lucius Malfoy's appearance has always been impeccable, even if he was to go on an excursion for the ministry or go on a raid to do his Lord's bidding. He always made it his responsibility to dress to impress, even if no one was around to appreciate it. And indeed no one was outside, not even the usual animals that roamed the manor. Even to him, one who is accustomed to the dark, it was difficult to even see where he was going. Any wizard would have been afraid of walking outside, in such unwelcomed conditions, but not to him. Manors tend to be dark places, and having lived one all his life he conditioned himself for the lack of visibility. He was thankful for that, otherwise, he would have been stumbling down the path to his family's manor, something that he would never have tolerated, even if no one was around to see it. But though he was not stumbling, he was having a bit of a hard time staying on the path, since it was fully covered in thick mist. The manor, which was probably gleaming with light, was equally covered by said mist so much so that he couldn't make out the faint outline in the distance, or anything resembling a manor for that matter.

As he walked the mist seemed to be getting thicker, almost making him wonder if someone had cast a spell. For a moment he was tempted to bring out his wand to light the way, as any wizard would. But he suppressed the urge, and kept walking, using his familiarity with the path to stay on track. It proved to be a challenge but he managed it. In no time he could make out gleaming lights in the distance, and the closer he got the more the mist dissipated the manor standing proudly before him.

Satisfied that he had finally reached his destination, Lucius sighed softly and walked up the marvel stairs to the manor. Finally arriving at his house after such a long day of work, Lucius made his way towards the unopened door. He didn't make a move to open it, nor even so much as noticing it was even there. He kept on walking, almost as if he fully intended to ram through the door. Of course, Lucius Malfoy would never do something so unrefined. As if on cue the door magically swung open.

Unfazed, as if this was a normal occurrence Lucius walked through, where he was greeted by one of the family's many house-elves.

"Master, we have been awaiting your arrival. We just finished cooking a warm meal for you, and-." Lucius barely looked down or acknowledged the house-elf as he walked on, barely missing him as the elf quickly moved out of his way. It went without saying that he would have been greatly displeased if he had hit the bloody elf, and even more so if he had caused him to stumble.

"Is my wife home yet?" he barked as he kept walking down the well-lit manor, keeping his gaze trained ahead. Even though he wasn't looking down at him, he knew without a question that the elf was still following behind, as silently as he possibly could.

"Mistress Malfoy has not arrived yet, sir. She ordered me to tell you that she will be out longer than expected and that Master Severus Snape has come to watch over young master Malfoy, sir."

Lucius gave a soft, barely audible huff of acknowledgement that another witch or wizard wouldn't have picked up. And yet he knew that the elf would hear it, and absorb it like a sponge. He barely acknowledged any of the various house-elves they had, much less praised them, but of course, he was always there when they needed correction or discipline.

Proving his suspicions, the elf stopped and gave a small squeak of excitement, and left with a loud pop not caring that he had not been ordered to leave. Lucius had certainly not done so, even though he had nothing more to say to it he was certain to punish him for it later. He merely took note of it and kept on walking down the familiar and luxurious Malfoy manor.

Passing aimlessly by various ancient portraits who's eyes followed him, he was still unsure as to where he was heading. He wondered if he should go see Severus who was no doubt in the library, or to go check on Draco at the nursery. Of course, the decision should have been simple. A good host would always choose his guests, even if said guest is an old friend, over his own son who he knows is well taken care of by the house-elves. However, as a father and a newly turned father no less, he found himself leaning towards going to see his young son and make sure he's alright.

He headed towards the exit of the hall and up the stairs that would take him to Draco. After taking the stairs it wasn't long before he was right in front of the doors of his son's nursery. He kept telling himself that any other day he would have gone to see Severus, but this night was different. Lucius found himself right in front of the doors staring at the dark wood, all the while debating whether to go inside, or turn back around and go greet Severus, and of course, thank him for coming in to watch Draco. His brows knit together, thinking how absurd he must look, standing just outside a door, debating whether to go inside or not. Surely a lord of Malfoy would not be stopped by such a mundane decision. He shook his head and made to turn until he heard a loud pop of apparition, and a small cry coming from inside the room.

Lucius' heart skipped a beat.

Naturally, the first thing he thought was that someone had broken in somehow, even though that was unlikely given the many wards protecting the manor, but that did not come to his mind at the time.

Not wasting any time, Lucius hurriedly took out his wand from a holster he had hidden on his wrist and slammed the doors open with his wand. Being a well-seasoned dueller he quickly detected the enemy and pointed his wand at the intruder with a curse at the tip of his tongue ready to kill if the need arises. Of course what came later was something he did not foresee, or expected.

"Do not point your wand at me Lucius!" shouted Narcissa from across the room. The shout alone, was enough to snap him out of his shock before he could send out the curse.

Lucius's eyes widened, as he really looked at the intruder realizing that it was indeed his wife. She was standing by the window with their wailing son in her arms, trying to cradle him and calm him back down, while she gave him a very crossed look. Quick to see his mistake, Lucius gave her an apologetic look, and quickly lowered his wand, and put it back inside his holster, feeling slightly unnerved that he had been very close to cursing his wife and son by mistake.

"My apologies, I thought an intruder had broken in."

Lucius gave her another apologetic look, and even though he wanted to get nearer to greet them he could see that she was still not convinced enough to allow him to. He may be the head of the house of Malfoy, but he would never dare cross her in any way so he opted to stand his ground.

Narcissa sent him another disapproving look his way. From where he was he could see the exhaustion in her face, made evident by the dark shadows under her eyes. He knew that wherever she had been it had fully exhausted her, just as he was exhausted from the day's work. Both of them stared at each other, all the while Draco continued to wail in her arms.

"As much as I want to hex you for giving me a fright, I accept your apologies."

She turned away from him, and looked down at Draco, making soft hushed noises to calm him back down.

Finally not having his wife scrutinizing eyes on him, Lucius deflated and slumped his shoulder slightly, relaxing while still maintaining the appearance of a pureblood. His eyes landing on Draco he wanted to approach them, but he knew that he couldn't, not while Draco was still crying. He already knew that it would take a long while to calm him down seeing as he never had any luck with putting Draco to sleep. The child would just cry harder when he took him in his arms, no matter how much he tried to soothe him. So naturally, he expected her to have the same response. But instead, Draco quickly quieted down and made gurgled sounds that sounded like happy baby sounds to Lucius. Looking at the tender way his wife smiled at their son he was a little shocked. Clearly she's got better skills at these types of things than him. Either that or Draco liked frustrating him to no end.

She slowly put their son back in the cot, careful to not wake him up again, then leaned down and planted a small kiss on his forehead. Only after she was certain Draco was properly asleep she looked up at him, her expression different from the one before. Instead of anger, she was giving him a forgiven almost knowing look. It was them that Lucius knew he had the go-ahead to approach her.

With confidence, he gladly walked towards his wife and son. Once in front of her, he gave her a less guarded expression which few people, if any, ever got to see. Seeing her hardened eyes change to ones akin to love, Lucius bent down slightly and gave her a soft kiss. The kiss itself lasted a while longer than a little peck on the lips, and Lucius even found himself leaning into it more. Unfortunately, however, his efforts to apologize were met with resistance, as Narcissa slapped him softly, yet firmly on the cheek.

He bit his tongue to stop himself from giving out an unrefined yelp.

Lightly shocked, Lucius reeled back, much too unsophisticated for his liking, and looked down at his slightly shorter wife surprised.

"That is for nearly giving me a heart attack Lucius Malfoy!" she berated him, putting her hands on her hips and staring him down even though he is taller than her.

"I assure you it won't happen again." He said softly, as it was the only thing his startled mind could come up with.

Narcissa nodded approvingly, only to lift her hand to stroke the cheek she had just slapped with a loving caress. For the billionth time since he had married her, hr wondered once more about the nature that governed the actions of women. He understood politics, understood magic, understood how to expertly run a business, but he could never understand his wife. It simply made no sense how someone could turn from forgiving, to angry, to back to forgiving in matters of minutes.

Lucius' train of thought came to an abrupt stop when Narcissa stopped stroking his cheek, lowered her hand and turned away from him. He watched her, still confused as she walked to the armchair near the lit fireplace, and sat down upon it with all the elegance of a Malfoy, and a pureblood.

His eyes landed on the armchair beside hers and he made his way towards it. Without saying a word or even making any sound, Lucius sat on the armchair, folded his legs in a more masculine manner than his wife and turned his head ready to listen to Narcissa's recount of her day. He didn't even realize that every thought and idea of going to see Severus was thrown out the window, as he made it his priority to speak to his wife instead.

"I take it you just arrived."

Narcissa nodded in affirmation. Softly, she patted her dress as if to rid of any particles of dirt even though there wasn't any and she simply performed the action out of habit.

"Yes, I was with Bella making last-minute preparations."

Lucius frowned in confusion. He had not expected Narcissa to be out with Bella, especially when Bella had a mission of her own this very evening, one of great importance, or so she said. Of course, when it came to Bella, every mission given to her by the Dark Lord is always one of utter importance, so he could not possibly know if this one was truly that important, but it appeared to be since she needed her sister's help.

"I was under the impression that she had everything prepared weeks ago," he declared, allowing a slight bit of confusion to go through his voice.

Narcissa nodded, before explaining further.

"She was mostly ready, but we had to make some last-minute checks on the Longbottoms's house."

Lucius nodded his understanding this time, even though Narcissa made it sound like she had helped for her sister's own good, but he knew better. The reason why Narcissa was so adamant to make sure Bella was fully prepared was that she worries for her sister, and to appease her overprotectiveness over her, something that had manifested after her sister Andromeda betrayed them.

"I see." That was all he said on the matter, not wanting to tell her that he knew the truth about her intentions. He just wanted her to be happy with helping her older sister, something Lucius had never felt, being an only son.

Narcissa looked at her dress, noticing the slight crease on it, and began to smooth it down. Lucius knew his wife was looking for a way to breach a conversation she wanted to have with him, a conversation he knew she was dying to speak about. And while Lucius would have just brought up the topic himself, he found himself giving his wife more time to say it instead. After a while of waiting, and her patting down her dress, he thought that she wouldn't bring it up, until she took a deep breath, and looked up at him once more.

"How about the Dark Lord? Has he gone to the Potters?"

And finally, as if a bubble of uncertainty had broken, Lucius shifted on his seat, his back straightening as he slid a mask of coldness and assertiveness over his face.

"I'm not sure," he looked at the fire, concentrating on the way the flames danced. "He told us that he will kill the Potter tonight but did not mention anything else, nor did I ask."

Silence penetrated the nursery as they both looked at the flames. He knew that they must be thinking the same thing. Narcissa shook her head and folded her hands on top of her lap.

"What a waste." She muttered softly, turning her head to look out the window and at the darkness that was the outside.

Lucius raised a brow, intrigued that she had voiced her true feelings on the matter. However, seeing as she had admitted what she was thinking he found himself doing the same, especially when in the privacy of their own home. .

"Indeed," he sighed, looking at his wife who was still looking out the window. "Tonight two old and powerful families are to be wiped out of existence. Not to mention that the blood purity of the Longbottoms has always been undeniable, it truly is a waste."

At his words Narcissa turned her head away from the window and looked at him once more, anger clear in her eyes. He was not angry that she felt this way. Narcissa being a mother would know that the idea of losing her son, or a loved one is horrible, especially when their son is the same age as the two boys being put to death this very evening. He knew that she found it difficult to not sympathize with them.

"You don't suppose our lord thinks the same way?" she asked, showing her uncertainty more clearly, all the while Lucius kept his mask in place as he shook his head.

"One can never be too certain when it comes to our lord's way of thinking. But in this case, I am certain that he too will see the waste of spilling such pure magical blood… at least in the Longbottoms case." He looked down at his trimmed nails, attempting to look as uncaring as possible. "Despite the waste, we must do what we must, and so must our lord. If disposing of the Potters and the Longbottoms allows us to win this war, then it must be done." His voice rang over the quiet nursery room causing Draco to make a whining sound from where he lay on his cot.

Narcissa turned her head to look at their son. Like any mother, she could not help herself but look at her son to make sure he was ok. As she turned her head and allowed the light of the fireplace to shine upon her face, Lucius looked at her. What he saw there was what he already suspected. Uncertainty, sadness, as well as determination. Of course, she knew as he did that whatever happened today is for the greater good.

His wife shifted around her seat once more, and unfolded her hands, laying them limply upon her lap. "For the greater good." She declared.

Lucius straightened his back and was about to say words of reassurance, when a sharp, burning pain emanated from his wrist, stopping him.

He rarely voiced his pain but found himself unable to stop himself as he gave out a low hiss. His hand instinctively went to grab at his wrist where the dark mark rested, and where the pain was coming from. The mark of his lord burned ferociously as if threatening to burn through his wrist. Never had he felt it burn so strongly. Lucius looked down at his arm, pain written all over his face, as well as worry. With the hand that was holding his wrist, he brought his robe's sleeves up revealing the dark mark. The inky skull and snake was pitch black, and the pink skin around it a bloody red.

Another pulsating burn caused his wrist to twitch, and him to hiss again in pain. Beside him, he barely noticed his wife shoot up to her feet to kneel beside him. He felt her put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, which helped, but wasn't making the pain go away, he knew very well that there was only one way to get the pain to go away.

"What's wrong? Is he calling you?" she asked unsurely, and with clear worry in her voice.

Lucius looked up at her and nodded.

"Yes, all of us," He stuttered softly, after a particularly painful spasm overcame his arm, making his wrist feel like it was being stabbed by millions of knives. If it wasn't urgent before it was now. He needed to get to his lord this instant unless he wanted to be killed by the mark.

Lucius shot up to his feet, the nastiness of his action almost caused Narcissa to stumble back. Lucius managed to shoot her what he hoped was an apologetic look, but was more of a worried frown. He whipped out his wand once more, and without wasting any more time than he already did, he flicked it. Instantly, his mask and robe appeared from thin air, covering his identity.

"Something must have gone wrong," he growled concerned and angry, making his way to the open area of the nursery. He turned to face his wife, concern clear in her eyes. For a second he faltered but then his wrist gave out another spasm and he knew he had no choice on the matter. "Don't leave the manor until I return, and don't let anyone in," He hissed through gritted teeth, as the pain worsened.

Lucius made the familiar wand motion to apparate, and before he did he heard his wife whisper from where she stood.

"Be careful." That was the last thing he heard before he was pulled from the room and onto the battlefield.