"Dad?"

Cassie watched as her father fell backwards through the death veil, desperately trying to get to him, but never able to reach him.

A scream ripped from her throat…

She woke with a start, unsure if she had actually been screaming out loud.

Sparky appeared by the bed. "Master wishes to know if you are alright?"

"I'm fine, Sparky." Cassie swung her legs out of bed and planted her feet on the floor. "Is the pantry stocked?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Good. I feel like baking." Cassie pulled on her dressing gown and headed down to the kitchen.

One good thing about living at the manor was the kitchen. It had everything she could possibly need to bake. It was her adoptive grandmother that started her love of cooking and baking. When Sirius was alive, she would teach him how to bake, although he was absolutely useless at it, she treasured the time they spent together. Baking was a way of feeling connected with her father.

She listened to the radio, humming along to the latest Weird Sister song as she dropped a slab of dough down onto the sleek marble counter before rolling it flat with a rolling pin. So focused Cassie was that she didn't notice that she was being watched.

"We have a house elf to do that."

Cassie jumped at the soft rumbling voice of Lucius. "Seriously?"

"Sparky will make anything you want." He pushed himself from the doorframe he was leaning against to see what she was doing.

"I like to bake. It reduces my stress levels." Cassie closed her eyes when he stood behind her, his chest just barely touching her back. "Want to help?"

"No." His breath tickled against her neck, sending tingles down her spine. "I'm due at the ministry."

"Shall I have your dinner on the table when you get back?"

"That would be a way of making yourself useful." He remarked as he left the kitchen.

"Don't worry. I wont poison it this time." She called out just before he left.

Lucius arrived at the Ministry 9am sharp for his day in the Treasury department. The Treasury was one of the most prestigious departments in the Ministry and responsible for all the money collected from taxes, fines etc. It also provided funds for Hogwarts and other public services.

When he got to his office, he found a note on his desk telling him to go down to the cells. He wasn't sure why his presence was needed but he nevertheless went down there.

The very moment he got down to the cells, the torture began. This time, he was victim. The pain of the cruciatus curse torn through him repeatedly. It was Yaxley that tortured him, with the help of others. This was punishment, although he couldn't be certain what it was for.

He felt blood pooling in his mouth, starting to dribble out of the corner of his lips. His whole body ached, and he felt sick. When a reprieve finally came, he gained some clarity. He had been there when that curse was used on others. Was he finally what those victims felt? Is this what they did to Narcissa?

"It didn't have to come to this Lucius, but you need to atone." Yaxley sneered.

"For what?" Lucius croaked out.

"If you need to ask that, then my work is not done."

"No!" Lucius cried out in pain when he was hit with the cruciatus curse again. Two fellow Death Eaters crowded him, no doubt to mete out more physical punishment.

Cassie was sat in the library, doing some school work that Lucius had managed to get hold of, when Sparky appeared looking stressed.

"Sparky, are you ok?" She asked as she put the work aside.

"Mistress, the Master needs your help."

She left the library quickly and rushed to his study. A scream almost escaped her when she caught sight of Lucius leaning heavily against his desk. He was covered bruises and his blonde hair was streaked with blood.

"Lucius!" She rushed to him, just managing to catch him as his legs gave way. "What happened?"

"Leave me." He struggled to say.

"No chance. Sparky?" The House elf appeared in the door of the study. "Can you run a bath? Don't make it too hot and get any healing balms you can. Some pain relief too."

"I'll be fine." Lucius closed his eyes and leant heavily on Cassie.

"Shut up." Cassie scolded as she led him out of the study. "We need to get you cleaned up."

Every step to the bathroom was agony for Lucius. There wasn't one inch of him that didn't scream in pain. All he wanted was to sleep, just close his eyes and not wake up.

There came an awkward moment where they both realised that Cassie had to undress him and neither of them were quite sure how to feel about that. Like most hot blooded men, Lucius would normally enjoy being undressed by a beautiful woman, but he was almost delirious with pain that he really couldn't summon up any feelings on the subject.

Cassie tried her hardest not let emotions stop her from she was doing. Yes, it feel weird to have her hands on Lucius, undoing his trousers. He might be her husband but neither had expect or even considered a sexual element to their marriage. They were doing their very best to muddle along together until they could divorce. Now she was stood before him in shorts and a vest, as she stripped him naked. Thankfully, any stirring feelings quickly disappeared.

"I'm sorry about this." She mumbled as removed his underwear, trying to maintain Lucius' dignity in the process. "Ok, lean on me and lift your right leg."

He used her to support his weight as he stepped into the bath, carefully lowering down into the water using Cassie's guidance. He hissed in pain as the water hit the numerous bruises and cuts that marred his body. He sat there, head slumped as she washed the blood off his skin, taking extra care not to cause him more pain.

"Close your eyes. I need to wash the blood out of your hair."

He felt so weak and vulnerable. His father would be horrified to see the pitiful state that he was in. Emotions were weakness to a Malfoy. You showed nothing and you gave nothing. A Malfoy never openly loved his family, that was private.

Yet here he was, naked and bared for Cassie to see.

He felt her compassion as she carefully washed his hair. She could hate him. She should hate him, but he couldn't feel it. There was no judgement, no pity, no shame. All he could feel was her caring nature, something he didn't deserve.

The strain of the situation he found himself in hit hard and the tears tore out of him in heart breaking sobs. He was coward and deserved no sympathy.

Cassie wrapped her arms around him as he sobbed into her chest. She hated to see someone in so much pain, especially emotional pain. The enormity of his decisions had now come home to roost. His wife was killed, his son could very well be next.

He was a coward, selfish and arrogant.

He saw the destruction and pain that his master and followers caused, yet he turned a blind eye to it, probably anticipated in some it. Yet he was so arrogant that he believed he was untouchable. Now he knew that wasn't true.

Maybe there was redemption in this revelation.

Cassie knew that people were rarely inherently bad. Her uncle Regulus was a prime example for that. He joined the Death Eaters believing in a noble cause, but once he realised at what cost, he changed his mind.

Perhaps Lucius could be saved or maybe it was just foolish thinking on Cassie's part.

Once his sobs had subsided, Cassie helped him out of the bath and onto the bed. Once Cassie had managed to get clean underwear on him, she began to work on his cuts and bruises, gently rubbing in a healing balm.

He hissed when she touched a deeper cut on his stomach. "Sorry."

"It's fine." He groaned. "Why are you doing this?"

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?"

"I don't deserve your pity."

Cassie frowned out him. "Not pity. I just don't like seeing someone in so much pain. Compassion."

"I don't deserve your compassion either." He watched her carefully as she rubbed balm into a rather large bruise on his thigh. It wasn't often he saw genuine tenderness from another person. He was so used to people being intimidated by him, even scared of him. But Cassie never feared him. She challenged him and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Those should be healed in the morning. How's the pain?"

"Like I fell from a great height."

She picked up a cup and pressed it to his lips. "Drink this to ease the pain."

He quickly drunk the liquid and settled his head down on the pillows. "It was punishment."

"For what?"

"For keeping you away."

Cassie ran her fingers through his long blonde hair. "I appreciate your efforts, just remember how much worse it would be for me if they killed you."

"You deserve better."

She smiled before pressing a kiss on his forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner."

Lucius watched the moon as glinted in sky, full and proud. It was his only companion he had, and he found comfort in it. Cassie has been in twice to check on him, but she never stayed long. He wanted to ask her to stay, but he didn't feel he had the right.

He thought of Cassie and Narcissa. He was fortunate, that even though both women were different, they both had a caring nature. Everyone thought of Narcissa as a prim, ice queen but she wasn't like that with him or their son. They had a loving relationship and they treated each other with kindness.

Cassie was different. She radiated kindness and compassion.

It made him uncomfortable when she treated him with such care, care that he didn't deserve. Resisting would have been pointless though. She was a Black, and they were notoriously fierce and determined. She also had the famed beauty that ran in her family.

It was as if she knew that he was thinking about her because she entered his room. No doubt to check on him again.

"I'm off to bed. Sparky can get me if you need anything."

Now was the time to ask her to stay with him, but he just couldn't find the words. "Goodnight." She lingered briefly before she turned to leave. "Stay." That word fell out of his mouth, as if it were independent from his mind.

There was a moment that Cassie considered leaving but she couldn't leave him in the state he was in. Instead, she climbed into the bed.

She was close to him, but there was still a distance between them. The urge to touch her was strong but he resisted the urge. She had shown him a great kindness and didn't want to repay that kindness by crossing the line.

Her calming presence was enough in that moment.