Chapter 10

Vulpecula: Sly Cunning

Summer 1992 - Summer 1993

It was 31st July, and Narcissa and Lucius were in the parlour at Malfoy Manor. Draco was out in the grounds practicing his flying, and Lucius was ranting and raving, having just returned from another meeting at Hogwarts.

"- he was lying, Narcissa. I know it! It's utter nonsense - healthy men don't just drop down dead! Whatever happened to Quirrell in that chamber was no accident." Lucius was pacing to and fro as Narcissa sat on the sofa, watching closely as Dobby shakily poured a cup of coffee. A single drop spilled over the side of her cup and she glared at the elf, hissing,

"Punish yourself for that later, elf. I won't have you making a mess in my home."

Dobby bowed, still trembling, and started pouring the second cup as Lucius went on, "Of course the other Governors swallowed his ludicrous tale - they're all in thrall of Dumbledore. But I'll have him - once Mudbloods start dying, they'll have to sack him. I've been reading up on the Chamber of Secrets, and it'll be perfectly safe to have it open again whilst Draco's still at school. He's a Slytherin, and a pure-blood."

Narcissa nodded, sending a Stinging hex at Dobby as he passed her by. The elf yelped and ran out of the room as she said, "And if Draco's right, and the Dark Lord isn't dead, we need to show we've held true to the old ways. If he came back and thought we'd done nothing for the last eleven years -" She stopped, shuddering. "We need to show we're not afraid to act."

"Exactly!" Lucius nodded fervently. "And I know exactly how we can get this book into the castle -"

"Not on Draco!" Narcissa interrupted at once.

"No, not on Draco. What do you take me for? If he was caught, we'd all be for it. No, I have a much better plan." His eyes gleamed as he went on, "You know Arthur Weasley is pushing through his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act? It's got more support than I had anticipated. Fudge isn't overly keen, but he's so spineless, he'll do nothing to stop it without a bit of encouragement... so what if one of the Weasley children was caught with this book? Imagine - Arthur Weasley's blood traitor brats opening the Chamber of Secrets and killing Mudbloods! It'll destroy him for good!"

Narcissa smirked. "You're evil, Luc."

"Why thank you." He smirked back, joining her on the sofa and taking his coffee cup into his hands. "I'll find out when they're planning to go to Diagon Alley. I need to visit Borgin myself, what with all these raids... I want to relieve myself of a few items, just in case... And I promised Draco a new broom."

"I know." Narcissa rolled her eyes. "He won't stop talking about it!"

"I'm hoping it'll motivate him to be top of the year this time..." Lucius face darkened momentarily as he thought about the Muggle-born, Granger, who had had the tenacity to beat his son in every exam. Then he sipped his drink and continued, "Besides, Draco will need a decent broom for when he makes the Slytherin team! I'll speak to Severus about it when he comes over tomorrow - if I buy the whole team new brooms they'll have to let Draco on."

But Narcissa laughed, shaking her head. "Severus won't agree - you know he won't, Luc! He'll want Draco to try out properly. Otherwise, it'll cause bitterness with the rest of the Slytherins. We need people to like Draco, not resent him!"

Narcissa was proven right; Severus insisted that Draco try out for the team: "Should he be successful - which I have no doubt that he will be - after he is made Seeker, should you wish to gift new brooms to the team, I certainly would not object." And so the plan was fixed. Draco was beside himself with glee, and spent nearly every minute of the day zooming around the grounds of the Manor, ducking, diving, and bewitching small objects to fly for him to chase and catch. When he wasn't outside, he was in the library, hungrily reading every book on Quidditch he could lay his hands on. He desperately wanted to be made Seeker, and put his all into training and studying for this position. Narcissa, who did not follow Quidditch at all and found it rather pointless, could not help but be proud of her son as he ran into the Manor for his meals each day, hair windswept, cheeks pink, and chattering away about all the new moves he was learning.

Lucius, after starting a loud conversation at the Ministry about buying new school supplies in a group also consisting of Arthur Weasley, found out that the Weasley family were going to Diagon Alley on the Wednesday in the third week of August. Narcissa had a meeting with the Committee of St Mungo's on that date, so bid her husband and son goodbye that morning. When they returned home, Draco was crowing with delight about a fist-fight Lucius had gotten into with Arthur Wesley, and her husband was sporting the beginnings of a spectacular black eye. "Father punched Weasley in the mouth and his lip bled everywhere!" Draco said proudly, strutting around the hallway. "And you should have seen the looks on their faces, Mum. They were there with the Granger Mudblood and her Muggle parents! I don't think Muggles should be allowed in Diagon Alley - it's our world." Narcissa heartily agreed with her son's sentiments, setting about healing Lucius' eye. He also looked rather pleased with himself, and told her later, once Draco was back outside speeding around on his brand new Nimbus Two-Thousand-and-One, that he had slipped the diary to the Weasley's daughter, who was starting at school that September.

"Perfect!" Narcissa enthused. "Girls love diaries, she'll be writing in it in no time... I assume that's how it works?"

Lucius shrugged. "I have no idea, but I would guess so. I can't wait to see what happens..."

"Luc, what are we going to tell Draco?" Narcissa asked. "He's not the most subtle child... if he knew about this, he'd start boasting to his friends..."

"You're right. We'll say nothing at all. Once the Chamber is open and the attacks start, we can state the facts; tell him the history of the Chamber and that it's been open before, but we'll say nothing more than that."

"And Severus?"

"What about him?"

"Are we going to tell him?"

Lucius hesitated. "No... I think we should keep this to ourselves. The fewer people know, the less risk of it being traced back to us."

Narcissa looked doubtful. "I don't want to lie to him, Luc. He's our friend."

"It isn't lying!" Lucius cried. "Well, not strictly speaking. Besides, it'll be safer for Severus if he knows nothing about it - he'll be under enough scrutiny as it is when the Chamber is opened - as an ex-Death Eater and Head of Slytherin House, Dumbledore will be bound to home in on him and his students. But if we say nothing to him, he'll be fine - he will have nothing to hide and be able to go about his business as usual."

"Ok," Narcissa agreed. "I won't tell him."

On 1st September, Lucius came skidding into his wife's parlour, brandishing a copy of the Evening Prophet. "Look at this!" he cried, looking jubilant. Narcissa caught hold of the paper, seeing the headline 'Flying Ford Anglia Mystifies Muggles.' She scanned the article as Lucius declared joyfully, "It's as if Arthur wants to be sacked! A flying car, Narcissa! First thing tomorrow, I'm going to see the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement - there's no way Arthur will get away with this! He's breached the International Statute of Secrecy!"

Narcissa smirked too. "Good! That blood traitor needs taking down a peg or two. I wonder which of his brats flew it... I'll write to Draco and ask." When Apus arrived a couple of days later, bearing a letter from Draco to his mother, she went straight to Lucius' study to share the news with him. "It was Harry Potter and that Weasley boy who flew the car! Of course, they haven't been expelled. Dumbledore probably gave them a thousand House Points and Special Awards for Services to the School."

Lucius let out a bark of exasperated laughter and stood up from his desk, stretching. "Well, at least Arthur won't get off that lightly. The Ministry are launching an enquiry, searching his home and everything. Sadly it looks as if he'll avoid a sentence in Azkaban, since he didn't fly the car himself, but it looks as if he'll get landed with a hefty fine, so that's something."

"Who's this Lockhart?" Narcissa asked, reading the rest of Draco's letter. "Sounds like a pompous idiot to me. Draco says he isn't teaching them anything in Defence Against the Dark Arts, just acting out his favourite bits from his books."

"Really?" Lucius reached out for the letter and read it quickly. "He's got a good reputation, Lockhart. He was in Ravenclaw, you know, I think he started a few years after us, but I can't say I remember him. The Board all approved of his appointment, and I couldn't see any reason to object... I'll keep an eye on him." His face brightened as he reached the bottom of the letter. "Draco made the Quidditch team!"

"Yes!" Narcissa smiled. "So you'd better order those brooms quickly."

Lucius smiled sheepishly. "I've already got them - I was sure Draco would make the cut. I'll have the elf wrap them up and send them over straight away." He kissed Narcissa as he walked past, calling for Dobby.

It was Sunday 1st November when Narcissa was visited by Severus. Lucius was out, carrying out more negotiations with the oily-mannered Mr Borgin, so she received her friend alone. She apologised that Lucius was out, and he nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable. They sat on the sofa and she offered him a drink, which he declined.

"I cannot stay for long. Narcissa, I need to ask you something. Does Draco have anything to do with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets?" Severus said bluntly.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow as she said coolly, "Can I ask the reason for your question, Severus?"

Severus succinctly explained that a message had been written on the wall of the second floor corridor saying, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir... beware.' underneath which the caretaker's scrawny cat had been found petrified, dangling by her tail from a torch bracket.

"And why," Narcissa asked in her iciest tones, "would my son have anything to do with that?"

Severus looked her in the eye and said smoothly, "No reason at all, Narcissa, except that he was at the scene and called out, 'You'll be next, Mudbloods.' Whilst I am not here to discuss his language, someone uttering that particular word at that particular moment does look rather suspicious. As does the fact you do not seem even remotely surprised by what I have just said."

She glared at him and said haughtily, "I thought you liked Draco." She chose not to address his last comment, kicking herself for jumping to Draco's defence and not thinking through what she ought and ought not to know.

"I never said I didn't like him." Severus' voice was low and serious. "That's why I'm here. Narcissa, if Draco is involved, I could intervene now, before things go any further. No-one has been harmed yet, just a cat, and by all accounts, it will recover. If things escalate, however, the consequences would be severe - it would destroy Draco's future."

Narcissa, realising then that her friend was there out of concern for Draco, not to blame or punish him, gave Severus a genuine smile. "I promise, Severus, that Draco has nothing to do with this. And I'll write to him to tell him to mind his language in public."

Severus nodded, rising to his feet. Then he hesitated, seeming to be wrestling with a decision. "Narcissa, do you -" he began, then stopped as Narcissa rose too, saying firmly,

"Thank you for coming by, Severus. Have a safe journey back." And so the Potions Master was dismissed; he departed without another word.

Draco was bitterly disappointed to lose his first Quidditch match, especially as he was playing against Gryffindor. Narcissa read his sad little letter with an aching heart, and sent her son an extra box of treats to try to cheer him up. Fortunately, Lucius barely commented on Draco's failure, as he was much more interested in the rumours his son reported that none other than Harry Potter was believed by many of the student body to be the heir of Slytherin. He was also thrilled that, at last, a Muggle-born student had been attacked by Slytherin's monster. According to Draco, the victim was 'an annoying little brat with a Muggle camera' named Colin Creevey, and he was lying petrified in the Hospital Wing.

"I thought the monster was meant to kill them?" Narcissa said to her husband.

"Yes... I did too... but it's better than nothing," Lucius drawled, smirking as he handed the letter back to his wife. "I'd better start to stir things up with the Governors..."

In early December, Narcissa wept as she received a note from Draco asking if he could stay at Hogwarts for Christmas: 'Vince and Greg are staying, and I don't want to miss any of the action! Please can I stay, Mum?' he had written enthusiastically. This letter sparked a row between Narcissa and her husband. Lucius was proud that Draco was taking such a "healthy interest" in the eradication of Muggle-borns, and wrote back to his son at once, giving his blessing. Narcissa had never had a Christmas away from her son since he had been born. She loved having him at home at Christmas; they always decorated the Manor together, and she her heart felt full to burst when she heard his laughter on Christmas morning, or saw the look of wonder and delight on his face as he opened his gifts. The school terms were so long, and she missed her baby more than she thought possible. When Narcissa found out Lucius had written back to Draco without consulting her, she shouted at him for a full fifteen minutes, then stormed out of the house. To his credit, Lucius came to find her and apologised profusely, offering to write to Draco, telling him he had changed his mind, and he was to come home for Christmas after all, but Narcissa shook her head. Having a cross, sulking Draco skulking around the Manor for the holidays would be no fun for any of them, so she submitted to her son's wish.

Lucius, feeling bad for upsetting his wife, helped her with Draco's Christmas shopping that year. They spent a very enjoyable day together in Diagon Alley, spending a small fortune in Quality Quidditch Supplies, before visiting Twilfitt and Tatting's, selecting Draco a new matching hat, gloves and scarf set in Slytherin colours, made from soft Alpaca wool. They then turned their attention to books, and bought Draco a boxed set of Quidditch strategy books, with moving diagrams showing each manoeuvre, and a fat book on defensive magic, since Lockhart's lessons had not improved. Lucius also picked up a new silver Potions knife in a soft leather holder, laughing as he said to his wife, "If poor Severus has to put up with Draco - and Vincent and Gregory - over Christmas, we'd better at least send him a nice gift! He could use a bit of cheering up, especially after the fireworks incident. I bet it was that Potter brat." Narcissa agreed, remembering Severus' most recent letter, in which he had lividly written that someone had exploded a cauldron of Swelling Solution in his second-year's Potions class, resulting in half the class having enlarged hands and noses - including Draco. Severus had used up his entire supply of Shrinking Solution repairing the damage, and had had to work into well the night on several evenings to replenish his stock.

Narcissa was very busy herself, organising the Yule Ball at the Manor. As they had last year, this year they were raising money for St Mungo's, and they were going to announce on the evening that the current Chair would be standing down that summer, and that Narcissa was to be appointed the next Chair of the Committee. The Minister for Magic had RSVP'd immediately, as had most of the Heads of Department at the Ministry, and the rest of the Board of Governors at the school. She was busy working on the seating plan (as dull and tedious a task as ever) when Apus arrived, bearing a letter from her son. Narcissa, grateful for the distraction, opened it immediately, gasped, and ran to find Lucius.

"He's a Parselmouth!" she cried, flinging open the door to his study.

"What? Who?" asked her husband, looking up from a letter he was writing.

"Potter!" she laughed. "What if you were right all along, Luc? If he's a Parselmouth, he could be a Dark wizard, couldn't he?"

"But how do you know? What did Draco say?" Lucius pointed to the letter in her hand.

Narcissa spoke in a rush, eager to impart the news fully to her husband, "It was at the Duelling Club, Severus had him use the Snake Summons spell on Potter, and Potter started talking to the snake. It looked like he was trying to set it on a Hufflepuff Mudblood - apparently he denied it afterwards and said he was trying to chase it away - but then the same boy turned up petrified! And a ghost was harmed too. So now the whole school's saying Potter's Slytherin's heir, Luc. Draco's rather put out by it all."

"You don't think Potter somehow got hold of the diary? Instead of the Weasley girl? He was with them in the bookshop..." Lucius said slowly. He smiled a wicked little smile, and said gloatingly, "Now that really would be interesting. The Boy-Who-Lived, attacking Mudbloods. And speaking of interesting developments, I've just heard, Arthur Weasley's being fined fifty Galleons for his flying car. That'll hit them hard."

Narcissa nodded vaguely, reading the end of the letter. "Draco's asking about the Chamber, Luc. Do you want to write back to him? Just the bare facts? And please tell him to keep his head down and not get involved. He's too young, and he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself when he's older."

"Of course." Lucius took the letter, laying it out on his desk. "What are you doing?"

"Oh the usual. Seating plans - my favourite," Narcissa replied sarcastically, kissing her husband on the top of his head. "See you at dinner," she said, as she left the room.

The week before Christmas, Narcissa, alone at home, settled herself in the parlour with a copy of 'Gadding with Ghouls'. She was curious about Lockhart, hearing her son's derisive reports of the man, and was trying to reconcile this opinion with the man as presented in his books. Of course, being autobiographical she was expecting to have to take his words with a pinch of salt, but the disparity between the Lockhart of the books and the Lockhart teaching at Hogwarts was astounding. But that wasn't all; the Lockhart in the books - handsome, dashing, full of clever one-liners, also acted very differently in each volume. He sounded very feminine in 'Break with a Banshee' but in 'Wanderings with Werewolves', he was tough, abrupt and stolid. His books read almost like fiction... but what he did must have been verified, mustn't it? Her musings were interrupted by Dobby, who appeared at the door, announcing the arrival of two Ministry officials. The long anticipated raid... here we go. Narcissa sighed, laying down the book. She glanced at her reflection in the ornate mirror, using her wand to dull her lipstick from a bright to a pale pink. She then combed out her hair, plaiting it neatly with another wave of her wand. Good... that looks innocent and demure. She smoothed her skirts, then taking her time, left the parlour and came gracefully down into the wide hallway. A wizard and a witch were stood waiting for her. Narcissa approached, briefly making eye contact with them. In the witch's eyes, she saw anger and loathing... and a picture of... no, surely not... Frank and Alice Longbottom. She must be a friend... innocent and demure won't get me very far here. In the wizard's eyes, however, she saw something she could work with; admiration. This wizard had most likely been a covert supporter of the Dark Lord's work.

"Mrs Malfoy?" The witch addressed Narcissa with a disdainful air.

"Obviously," Narcissa replied, matching the witch's tone. Her eyes narrowed and she produced a sheet of parchment, saying curtly,

"We have a warrant to search this premises for Dark artefacts."

"So I see," Narcissa drawled, taking the page with the very tip of her thumb and forefinger, and running her eyes over the words.

"Is there anything you wish to declare before we begin?" the witch challenged.

"No," Narcissa replied. "I will just ask you to be careful. We have rather a lot of rare and valuable antiques, which I daresay cost rather a lot more than your annual salary. If you break anything, I will hold you personally accountable."

The wizard chuckled at this, and the witch openly glowered at Narcissa. "If we could make a start?" she said rudely.

"Be my guest." Narcissa smirked as the witch stomped past her into the drawing room. The wizard followed in her wake, giving Narcissa an appreciative look. She smiled her sweetest smile at him, making him blush. Pathetic, she thought, dropping the smile as soon as he had passed. Narcissa returned to the parlour and her book, only moving when the duo came to search that room. By lunchtime, having searched the Manor from top to bottom and found nothing, the witch had to admit defeat. She gave Narcissa a haughty glare as she handed her a formal written apology for the intrusion, and flounced out of the Manor. The wizard had the tenacity to wink at Narcissa before following. Narcissa resisted the urge to slam the door shut, but vented her frustration instead by summoning Dobby and casting a Stinging hex at him, before returning to her research on the many faces of Lockhart.

Christmas was a quiet affair at the Manor, but Narcissa found she enjoyed it more than she had anticipated. The Ball had gone down very well, and once it was over, she and Lucius had a few days to really wind down and enjoyed each other's company. They ate well, played chess, sat together in the library reading, or in the parlour talking. Lucius got out their old gramophone, and they spent Christmas afternoon dancing together.

"We should do this more often," Lucius said, as they sat in front of a roaring fire at the end of Christmas Day. They were drinking wine, and Lucius was stroking his wife's leg gently.

"Yes," Narcissa agreed, leaning forward to kiss her husband. "We should."

At Easter, Draco wrote to ask his parents their advice about which electives he should take. He had to choose two from Care of Magical Creatures, The Study of Ancient Runes, Divination, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. The last on this list was obviously not an acceptable choice, but Draco wrote that he was quite keen to learn more about Ancient Runes. Narcissa and Lucius approved of this choice - Runes was a highly suitable elective for a pure-blood to take, as it would teach him more about his distinguished magical heritage. He was stuck on the last one though: 'Divination and Arithmancy sound dire, they're just fortune telling. Professor Snape suggested Care of Magical Creatures, because it would be useful if I wanted to take Potions to N.E.W.T level, but the older Slytherins say it's a bit of a soft option. What do you think?' Narcissa had taken Runes and Arithmancy, but had not really liked either of them. Lucius had also chosen Runes, but paired it with Divination, which by his own admission, had been: "a real doss - but I want better for my son." So they wrote back to Draco encouraging him to take Care of Magical Creatures: 'Kettleburn's not a bad teacher. And a knowledge of creatures will be more useful to you in later life than the vagaries of tea leaves, crystal balls and numerology,' Lucius wrote. He then asked Draco how Quidditch was going, and Narcissa added her own paragraph, telling her son how things were at home, and asking what he would like her to include in his next treat box.

Just after the Easter holidays, Lucius received word from the school that two more Muggle-born students had been attacked that very afternoon. "This is it!" he said excitedly to Narcissa. "I have the Order for Suspension here, I'll visit all the other Governors, make them sign it, and then I'll head up to the school. I can't wait to see the look on Dumbledore's face! He's out Narcissa! As last!" Lucius gathered his wife in his arms and kissed her hard. "We'll celebrate when I get back," he promised, and left in a great hurry.

He returned that evening, in an even better mood than he had been before he left, declaring loudly and joyfully that, not only had the Headmaster been removed, but the oafish Gamekeeper had been arrested and taken to Azkaban. "Fudge was there and quite agreed with me," Lucius said, carelessly kicking Dobby out of his way as the elf scurried past. "So once the suspension period is complete, we can start the process to appoint a new Headmaster - one who understands the value of blood purity. I was thinking of approaching old Slughorn..."

Draco's next letter had clearly been written on the same day as the attacks: 'It's the Granger Mudblood this time!' He then told his parents that the Professors had 'totally overreacted' and put in a series of new, strict rules. Students were to be escorted between all their lessons, they had to be back in their common rooms by six o'clock, and evening activities, Quidditch matches and practices had been cancelled. 'Can't you do something, Father? Please?' Draco begged. Lucius chuckled, but couldn't be seen to be putting students at risk, so decided not challenge these new precautions. They got another letter the very next day from Draco, begging to know if his father had really been behind the removal of the 'crackpot old fool' Headmaster.

"You know -" Lucius said, looking at Draco's letters. "I admire our son's enthusiasm, but he really needs to learn true Slytherin cunning - if anyone else read these letters, it would be rather damaging to our reputation. I think I'll have to teach him the fine art of subtlety this summer. He's old enough now, too, to start learning about my meetings and making contacts."

"He's still a child, Luc," Narcissa reproved. "Surely we don't need to start that for a few more years?"

"He's our heir, Narcissa. Our only heir. He needs to understand what that means, and the responsibility which comes with it."

And so Narcissa resigned herself to the knowledge that her carefree little boy would start to be shaped and moulded into the next smooth-talking, politically astute and debonair head of the Malfoy family a few years earlier than she would have liked. She used her time to really get down to planning the summer's fundraiser, a key annual event, and this years' was of paramount importance as it would mark her ascension to the position of Chair of the Committee, and set the tone for the direction of the charity under her guidance. She began to research menus, music, lighting and seating. This is worse than wedding planning, she thought. But she was determined to host the most spectacular fundraiser the Committee had ever seen, so persevered, weighing up the pros and cons of different stationary for the invites and various colour schemes.

Just before Draco's exams were due to start, Lucius was contacted by the school again - a child had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. "It's the Weasley girl!" Lucius told his wife, his eyes gleaming with vindictive triumph. "She must have had the diary after all. She's a pure-blood - not that you'd know it, given the way her family behave. The school thinks she's dead. I hope it's true."

Narcissa felt slightly uneasy. As much as she hated the Weasleys, gloating over another mother's child being murdered felt somehow wrong. She pushed this unwelcome thought to the back of her mind, chiding herself. The Weasleys deserve it. It's thanks to people like them we have to live in hiding. "Good," she sneered. "So what happens now?"

Lucius smirked again. "I'll head to the school later this evening. The Head of the Board really should be there to help comfort the grieving parents." He left after dinner, taking Dobby along with him. The elf had been getting under Narcissa's feet all afternoon, and she had threatened to put the full Body-bind curse on him and throw him out of the top floor window of the Manor if he didn't get out of her way. Lucius had found this highly amusing, and decided that taking the elf with him would do more to irk the Weasleys. "It'll show them what they could have had, had they held to the core values of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," he said, before departing.

Narcissa decided to use the evening to look through her clothes. It was a ritual she went through every few months; fashions changed so quickly, and due to the number of society evens she attended, she was constantly needing to update her attire. She was considering a dark blue full-skirted dress, when a huge crash sounded in the hallway. She almost jumped out of her skin, the dress falling from her hands and pooling on the floor at her feet. Another Ministry raid? But no, they wouldn't just burst in... A break in then? Or Aurors? As her mind desperately flew through the possibilities, she looked around for her wand, but froze as she remembered she had left it in the bedroom. Cursing herself, she crept from the dressing room. The sounds were still echoing up from the hall. They're downstairs... I have time. Narcissa sprang forwards, darting lightly across the room, leaping onto the bed and snatching up her wand from the thick eiderdown. As soon as it was in her hand, she felt braver, and tentatively opened the bedroom door. The shouts were louder now, and she recognised her husband's voice.

"Luc?" she called, and ran down the long corridor, coming to a stop at the top of the stairs, expecting to see her husband battling with intruders or Aurors. What she saw, however, was Lucius standing quite alone, as she had never seen him before. His back was to the staircase, but Narcissa could see that his hair and clothing were dishevelled. He was screaming curses and expletives at the top of his voice as he whirled his wand around the hallway aimlessly as furniture, pictures and mirrors were blasted apart. Narcissa cast a shield charm as a curse shot towards her. It was so powerful that it nearly knocked her off her feet, and as she stumbled, one hand shooting out to grip the banister. She cried again, "Luc!" but he did not seem to hear her. He was surrounded by shattered glass, wood, plaster dust and other debris, still shouting. As she conjured another shield, the onslaught of spells suddenly stopped. Lucius lowered his wand, putting his face in his left hand, his body convulsing with sobs. Narcissa ran lightly down the stairs and approached him slowly, glass cracking under her shoes. She came to her husband's side, putting a hand on his left arm. "Luc?" she whispered, but the wind was knocked out of her as Lucius started violently, his arm flinging out as he swiped it away from his face, catching his wife across her chest. Narcissa stumbled into the wall, her arm hitting the jagged glass of a broken mirror. Lucius spun on the spot, looking at his wife with bloodshot eyes. His face was contorted, and she saw shame and self-loathing in his eyes before he turned away from her, charging up the wide staircase. She heard the door to his study slam shut with a crash which echoed all around the Manor. She was left quite alone in the wreckage of the hallway.

"Dobby!" she snarled, expecting to see the cowering elf appear at her feet, but nothing happened. "Dobby!" she called more loudly. Still nothing. Narcissa felt a damp trickle down her left arm, and looked down to see a thin rivulet of blood snaking its way slowly down towards her wrist. She healed the cut with her wand, then stood in indecision. She had never seen Lucius lose his temper like this before. It was usually she who flared up and lashed out, not him. He was usually so calm, so collected - almost detached. What's happened? she wondered, as she slowly picked her way across the floor, and put a hand on the sweeping banisters to the staircase. She stopped suddenly, feeling a prickle of fear. Maybe I should leave him alone, let him calm down... Then she shook her head, face hardening. I will not be afraid of my own husband. She took a deep breath, and walked calmly up the staircase, her head held high. She walked slowly to the solid oak door of Lucius' study, placing her hand firmly on the handle. "Luc? I'm coming in. We need to talk." And she opened the door and stepped into the room.