The way home from the train was quiet for Draco and Narcissa. They didn't speak until they arrived at Malfoy Manor.
"We're alone for now, but the Dark Lord will come over tonight to discuss your future. Your father's failures have understandably upset him, but he's merciful. You've been very useful and smart about things, he won't punish you." She warned her son who simply nodded.
She had warned him a week ago, in a letter, that they would never truly be alone at home, that the Dark Lord would have people come over to watch them, maybe even portraits or his snake. Because of this, they had to be careful about what they said. They couldn't speak about anything that would hint to their betrayal before they were out, in safety. They had to act like they were being watch every single second, because it could be the case.
Draco went in his room, and placed his chest at the foot of his bed. He didn't open it though, he had to be ready to run away as soon as possible. Instead, he opened the small vault he had there and took the small savings he had before he added them to his chest. It wasn't much, but if his mother couldn't go to Gringotts or come with him, then he'd be able to use them to buy at least some of the things he'd need for his 6th year. He also took his key. He had his own vault after all, so he needed to be able to get to it if he ran away.
Of course his father had never bothered telling him how much he had in his vault, he took care of finances and refused to let his son know how much he owned. Drago new that some family members had left him money when they had died, and this was something his father had no power over. He didn't know if his father had thought of placing money in his own vault though, so he better be prepared, which is why he had taken the allowance money he had saved.
After that, he changed into more comfortable summer clothes, placing some of them in his chest as well.
He didn't know how his mother had prepared, but she had to be well prepared because unlike him, she'd have to stay in hiding wherever Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore would place them. He'd get to go back to school, she'd have to stay in one place for who knew how long, maybe even several years.
How long would it take the Dark Lord to guess that Draco and his mother had switched sides? Would they be able to hold on and stay safe until the Order managed to kill him?
What if Hermione fell in love with someone and decided that she wanted out of things, would he still be able to convince the Dark Lord that he's a useful spy, that he's still playing along? She did tell him that she no longer felt anything romantic for Ron Weasley, but if he suddenly started to feel romantic love for her, would it awaken her old feelings or not?
Who could he push in Ronald Weasley's arms to ensure Hermione remained free to play her part with him?
He shook his head, now wasn't the time. He needed to stay focused and to keep his mind tightly closed.
.
The Dark Lord didn't show up that day, neither did anyone else and the mother-son duo was able to rest and prepare discreetly.
It was 10 the next morning when he arrived, followed by his large snake Nagini. They were both advencing in Malfoy Manor like they owned the place. Nagini seemed to love sliding on the living room carpet, in front of the light chimney. Draco had awlways hated it, it was dark, scary, and rough on the feet when you walked barefoot on it. He decided here and there that, once it was all over and they could come back home, he'd destroy this carpet.
"Draco, welcome back home! I hope you're not too sad over your father's arrest?" Voldemort asked him.
Draco had been prepared for this kind of questions and he new what to say.
"My father was weak enough to get caught, he deserves to be in Azkaban as punishment. I'm more sad over my Aunt Bellatrix' death, she will be greatly missed." he lied easily, pleasing his mother and the Dark Lord.
"Well spoken, son. Bellatrix was a very capable and faithful lieutenant. I had plans for her, something that only she could have done but now, I guess I'll have to find someone else to replace her... She cared a lot about you. She believed in you, and in your future by my side. I'm sure we'll be able to see her vision come true." The Dark Lord spoke while his snake went by the fireplace in the living room like she owned the place.
"I'm dedicated to make it happen, my Lord." Draco replied dutifully.
"I know you are. Now, why don't we talk about your marking? I trust your mother brought you up to date. I agree that you should pretend you ran away before I could mark you and continue to serve me from afar. You've proven that you did a good job with the last information you got me. You'll just have to send your reports directly to Severus Snape, he'll send them to me. Then, when the Potter Twins are finally dead by my hands, I'll mark you in front of the ones you spied on." Voldemort decided.
"That's a good plan My Lord." Draco nodded.
"Now, I know your aunt has warned you, but what are your feelings for the Granger girl you're using?" The Dark Lord asked.
"I wouldn't have a problem leaving her behind, My Lord. She's smart and good company, powerful too, but I'm not in love with her. I've made sure not to let myself feel too much for her. Friendship is all I feel, and I have no problems turning my back on her if necessary." Draco replied, knowing that this was the type of answer that was expected.
"Good, but like Bellatrix must have warned you, if she proves smart enough to want to join us, if she's truly that smart and powerful, we'll welcome her among us." Voldemort assured Draco.
"I'll make sure she knows it when the time comes. When she's starts to change, I'll let her know that, no matter what she wants, I'll be there for her and make sure she's fine. It should help convince her that we're on the right side." Draco nodded.
"Good, now, we'll decide on a date. You'll warn them that we want to mark you and that you want out, that you're ready to go. You'll add that your mother just wants you to be safe and is ready to follow you, that she doesn't agree with Lucius' choices and that Bellatrix's death shook her a lot." The Dark Lord decided and Narcissa nodded, agreeing.
"I've already started dropping hints about all of this." Draco nodded.
"Good boy, Draco. Let's set the date at... Yes, in one week. You should run the day before, saying people will be there the previous days to prepare you. How will you get in touch with them?" The Dark Lord decided.
"Black said that if I needed anything, I'll be able to contact Remus Lupin at the Wealsey twin's shop in Diagon Allay. They won't open until the 12th of July, but they'll be there setting things up every day after the 5th, and Black said he'd be there helping out with Harry and Rose." Draco replied.
This part was the truth.
"Good, make sure you're seen, everyone needs to know that you've switched sides. Only the most faithful and higher ranked Death Eaters will know the truth." Voldemort nodded with what was probably a smile on his face.
"We'll be ready, My Lord. I've already gone to Gringotts to get enough money to survive and handle Draco's expenses for the year to come." Narcissa explained.
"It's good that you're prepared. I'll go now, planning an escape from Azkaban takes a long time now that the dementors have been removed." Voldemort told them before he turned around and left, Nagini following after him.
They waited until they were sure he was away, then Narcissa motioned for Draco to follow her in her bedroom, one of the only places she was sure they wouldn't be overheard.
"What's the plan Draco? How do we handle this?" Narcissa asked her son.
"Just like I told him. We grab our things and run to Diagon Alley, number 93. That's where the Weasley's joke shop will be. We'll find them easily. Sirius gave me a magic double way mirror to contact him in case of emergencies, but it should be kept for emergencies only. The default "all is well" plan is to go to the shop on Diagon Alley and 'ask' for help." Draco explained to his mother.
"Are you sure that this is what you want, son? There will be no turning back once we do this."
"I am, Mother. I'd understand if you changed your mind but I don't want this life. I don't want my father's life. I don't want to be marked and to serve this... Psychopath. I don't love Muggles, and I probably never will, but as long as we both stay on our side of things, I don't see anything wrong with it. As for Muggleborns, well, their powers come from somewhere, maybe they exist so that wizarding families can have children with new people, so that there is no consanguinity... I've researched it a bit with Hermione, and consanguinity leads to several illnesses, it can make crazy people, or cause sterility... It's known widely and has been proven in the muggle world by their scientists, maybe muggleborn exist to prevent that." Draco replied honestly, surprising his mother.
"This is an interesting point of view... I'll follow you wherever you go, Draco. No matter what I think, I won't act against you, I won't do anything that could kill you or hurt you in any way. You're my only child, and I love you, more than you know. But I want it clear that if anything happens to you while you help the Order of the Phoenix, if you die, I'll turn on them as revenge, as any mother would do." She replied honestly.
"I love you too, mother." Draco replied before they parted ways to grab a few useful or valuable objects around the manor.
They didn't know how long they'd be on the run, they didn't know who would look for them and how things would turn out, but it was possible that they wouldn't be able to get back into this manor before a long time, years maybe, so they thought better to grab anything they could think of.
.
Narcissa was always the discrete one.
First among her sisters, in her family, she was the one nobody noticed, the one who kept quiet. Then she got married and there too, she was discrete, though it didn't stop her from being smart, and to be able to think effectively for herself. She knew Voldemort would still use her home for meetings, it was handy, had a dinning room with a table large enough that he'd be able to hold his meetings there, and the house elves kept it clean. They also had old but still effective cells in the basement that he was able to use whenever he wanted to interrogate someone. He had his father's home of course, Riddle manor, but it wasn't as big or grand as her house, and it definitely wasn't kept in good shape.
She was standing in this room now, more precisely, she was starring at a painting which was presently empty. It was a portrait of Armand Malfoy, the first of the line to settle in Britain. He had come with William the Conqueror and had started this great and noble family line. She was looking at him because there was a second portrait of him in her bedroom. He wasn't in them often though, he seemed to prefer to stay in his portrait at the Ministry of Magic. She suspected that he wasn't a big fan of Voldemort and his Death Eaters and thought that, maybe, if she took the portrait from her and Lucius' bedroom, she'd be able to convince him to spy for the order. He wasn't able to speak to anyone about what he saw in Malfoy Manor because he couldn't betray his blood, but if it helped preserve it, if it helped save Draco, then surely he'd do it.
Smiling, confident that it could help, and that her cousin, her sister and Dumbledore would protect her and her son more if she brought something to help, she grabbed the painting and placed it inside her trunk.
Her trunk was full and she was glad for the magical extension it had because she had placed inside absolutely everything she owned or loved. Jewelry, books, clothes, gold, even a few pieces of furniture... Lucius would notice it all gone once he came back, but she didn't care. He had done this. He had placed them in this situation, she didn't care how upset it would make him to see all the hidden gold gone. He should have handled things better, he failed to protect their son, now she was doing what she had to do.
.
As she walked in the corridor of the manor, Narcissa looked at all the paintings. If Lucius came home, he'd notice the missing painting, but maybe she could make it look like she had done some redecorating, and so she started moving paintings around. Changing their placed and even placing permanent sticking charms on some of them, her favorites, so that they couldn't be taken off. He'd think, maybe, that she had placed these charms to make sure nobody stole them. They had discussed it together a few months ago, they had spoken about placing these charms to make sure that the lower class Death Eaters didn't try to steal from them.
.
When the owl came to deliver the Daily Prophet in the morning, another, unexpected one, came to stand in front of Draco.
"What is it, Draco?" Narcissa asked him.
"It's from Gringotts. It's about Aunt Bellatrix' inheritance. Since she didn't have an heir, she tried to make a will to make me her heir but she was a criminal when she made it and it made her will ineffective. Your older sister Andromeda inherited most of it but I still get a fourth of it. It's explained but it's legal talk, I barely understand it. I think it's because I'm the last male heir or something. They state that Aunt Andromeda selected a fourth of Aunt Bellatrix's fortune and had it placed in my vault, at the condition that I can't use it until I'm graduated from Hogwarts. They also say that she added a clause preventing father form touching this money." Draco explained, showing his mother the letter.
"They explain that Andromeda added this clause herself. She wanted to protect you, in case your father ended up giving all of our fortune to the Dark Lord and his cause. I'll have to thank her for it, she made sure you'd be fine for the years to come, no matter what." Narcissa whispered, folding the letter back and handing it back to her son who placed it inside his pocket.
I hope you liked this.
Can you try to guess what was the "special mission" Voldemort had for Bellatrix? It will be brought up later, and he'll be looking for someone to replace Bellatrix. Can you guess what it is? I'm not sure yet if it will happen or not... Maybe...
Review please?
Lorelei Candice Black