Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. This is purely for my own enjoyment, please don't sue.
Crossroads
By: Nightingale
Prologue
Narcissa Malfoy sat down heavily in the wing back chair in front of the fire. "What?"
"He's gone, Narcissa. The Dark Lord is gone."
She stared blankly into the flames. "How?"
"We're not sure. All we know is that when he went to the Potters, he killed James and Lily, but he couldn't kill their son. Harry's alive." He paused for a moment. "Narcissa, you can come home now."
She looked up at this. "Is Lucius…?"
The figure in the fire shook his head. "He's alive."
She looked over at the bassinet holding her son and closed her eyes as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. "I can't. If I take Draco, he'll hunt me down and kill both of us, and I will not leave my son."
"We can hide you and Draco. We can just—"
"No!" Narcissa cut him off. "I'm bound to him. No matter what you do, no matter what spell or potion, or anything, he can find me. I knew what I was going when I got into this. I—I have to stay."
"Narcissa—"
"Please, don't. Just promise me…promise me, if something happens to me, you'll watch out for Draco."
He nodded sadly. "I promise."
"I do love you, Severus," she sobbed. "I will always love you."
Severus Snape looked at her one last time. "I love you too."