Narcissa sat as if lifeless as Molly Weasley fussed over her. She felt empty, devoid of life. All of these years, and Remus still had not forgiven her. She knew she should have expected it. She knew she should have been prepared for silence, for hatred, for cold civility. But still, she could not believe it. And she could not believe that she was still in love with him.

Molly had given her a sundress and sweater of Hermione's. Molly was a good few sizes larger and a few inches shorter than Narcissa was – her clothes would never have fit her on any day. But Hermione had grown over the summer, and her things fit like a glove.

"Dumbledore wants you to go into hiding," Molly hesitated, "I think we ought to cut your hair, dear. I don't know how much good it will do, but we might as well."

"Chop it off," Narcissa said dully, "I don't care what you do with it. I've wanted to get rid of it for years, but Lucius never let me."

Molly picked up her scissors and began to snip. "Are you all right, dear?" she asked softly.

"Did I just imagine what happened in the hallway?" Narcissa asked, as if Molly had never spoken, "Was that who I thought it was?"

"If you thought it was Professor Remus Lupin, then you didn't imagine it," Molly replied.

"Professor Lupin?"

"He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts a few years back at Hogwarts," Molly said darkly, "But then Professor Snape sold him out – couldn't get over that old schoolboy grudge, I suppose – and he had to retire."

"Professor Snape?" Narcissa broke in incredulously. "He teaches too?"

"Potions, at Hogwarts as well," Molly replied, clipping slowly and deliberately, "He is still the same, of course. Hated Sirius until he died, that man, and hates Remus almost as much, unfortunately. Still, they all have to work together on the Order – you'll know all about the Order, of course."

"Yes, Dumbledore told me."

"Well, they try and work together. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out for Snape and Sirius. I still hope there's time for Remus and Snape. But we'll see." Molly sighed. "It's a shame about Sirius, poor dear – did you know Sirius Black?"

Narcissa closed her eyes briefly. "Yes. I knew him." She twisted her fingers together, "He was my cousin."

Molly stopped snipping, "Your cousin?"

"Yes. We went to school together, until I dropped out to marry Lucius."

"You dropped out? Of your own accord?"

"Never." Narcissa closed her eyes again, "I would never have wanted to leave Hogwarts. It was the happiest place I ever was. It was the only place I had friends."

Molly turned Narcissa's head to the side to reach a better angle. "But you gave it up anyway? Why on earth was that?"

Someone with a little more tact might have blushed at the impertinent questions Molly was asking. But she did not budge an inch. She had not raised Fred and George to adulthood for nothing.

Narcissa sighed, "I married Lucius in order to keep a secret for someone that I cared very deeply for. He would have hurt this person terribly if I had revealed it. Lucius discovered the secret and told me that if I refused to marry him, he would reveal it." Her expression darkened, "But he betrayed me in the end. And I lost the best person I've ever known."

She did not say anything more, and Molly did not ask any questions. She only looked at the reflection of the sad woman in the mirror, musing darkly to herself.

* * *

"When is she leaving?" Remus demanded of Billy Weasley, two hours later after dinner.

He had originally refused to join the others at the table, saying he would take dinner in his room later. But when Charlie Weasley had told him that Narcissa was holed up in her room watching over her still-unconscious son, he had deigned to come down and join them, slinking in slowly and refusing to meet the eyes of many.

"I don't think she is," Bill confessed, "Dumbledore says she needs to go into hiding. This is the safest place in England for her."

"If she stays," Remus fumed, "I must leave."

"You can't," Bill blanked, "You just can't leave, Lupin. The Order needs you."

Remus felt sick with fury and anguish, "You cannot possibly understand, Bill. You're too young – you know nothing of what I say when I tell you that she is evil, and she will betray us all – she proved herself capable of that at only sixteen years of age."

"Is that what you know?" came a voice behind him, "Or what you want to believe?"

Molly Weasley was standing behind Remus, her arms crossed across her chest.

"Bill, leave us be," she ordered, "This is between Remus and I."

Bill shrugged his shoulders and turned away, walking over to where Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione were all talking animatedly about how on earth Harry was going to react to Draco when he arrived in just a week.

"Come over here, where we can talk alone," Molly went on grimly, "I have to have a word with you."

Remus stared at her for a minute, and then acquiesced. They moved into the drawing room, out of earshot of the others. "Now," he said rudely, "What is it you have to say?"

"I heard what you said about Narcissa," she said, folding her arms across her chest again, "Do you have any basis in fact for what you just said?"

"It is none of your business what I think, feel, or say, Molly," Remus retorted.

"It is when it is completely unfounded and you are assaulting the character of an innocent woman!" Molly stormed.

"Innocent?" Remus laughed ironically, "Narcissa Black – Malfoy – innocent?" He turned away darkly.

"I don't care what she might have done when you were in school!" Molly shouted, running around him to catch his eye, "Or what you think she did when you were in school," she added maliciously.

Remus glared at her, "It's none of your business."

"It IS my business when her heart is breaking and you won't even say anything!" Molly cried, "She's lost her life to a man who beat her cruelly all of his life – she hasn't said so in so many words, but I can read between the lines! And now she's almost lost her son! She's been through a terrible ordeal, Remus. And you will do nothing but condemn her further to the people she's come to, not asking for forgiveness, but merely asking for help, because she has no one else!"

Remus felt his shoulder blades twitch as if stabbed as she spoke. No!

"If you were in position," he snarled, "You couldn't forgive either."

And he turned his back again and walked away.

* * *

In the darkness, Draco felt himself falling away, spinning through nightmares. He was vaguely regaining consciousness, slowly rising up from the depths of his dreams. He felt the familiar hand clutch his – and immediately he was spinning off again, into a lifetime of dreams, of memories, of terrors he had never known existed.

There she was again – the pale, pretty blonde girl from his dream. She was wearing a pale blue sheath dress, her hair piled on the top of her head. She was wearing the star sapphire pendant that he had seen in his mother's jewelry box. Her eyes were wide with terror as she stepped backwards. But not quickly enough. A hand came down out of the blackness and slapped her resoundingly across her beautiful face.

Draco cried out, but nobody heard him. He was an invisible spirit, hovering beside the woman he knew to be his mother, twenty years ago.

"And if you tell anyone, anyone what happened, I will make SURE Remus is killed," Lucius Malfoy's voice snarled. He pushed Narcissa into the fireplace and tossed in a handful of Floo powder. The fire ignited, and the pretty face dissolved in a blaze of fire. Draco's eyes flew open, "No!" he cried, "Mother!"

And suddenly he was locked inside his mother's embrace. She held him, and he could feel her thin shoulders trembling. "Draco," she whispered, "Oh, my God, Draco." She was not crying – this was something beyond tears. She didn't care what happened to her now – it didn't matter. Draco was alive, and that was all that meant anything to her now.

"Mum," Draco whispered, touching her face, "Mum, are you all right?"

"I thought – I thought you were going to – "Narcissa pulled her son to her again, "Oh, God, Draco, I'm so glad you're all right."

Draco felt tears in his eyes, "I didn't want him to kill you. I'm sorry I didn't do enough."

"No," Narcissa shook her head violently, rocking him, "You did more than you should have. I'm just so glad you're alive."

Draco gently shrugged her off, "Where is he? What happened?"

"There's no time to explain now," Narcissa murmured, "You have to relax."

"No, Mum! I just – have to ask you – "

But Narcissa was turning a deaf ear. Draco played his hole card.

"Who is Remus?" he yelled, "Who is he, Mum?"

Narcissa froze.

The door opened behind her, and Remus Lupin put his head in.

"Breakfast is ready," he said curtly.

Draco's eyes widened.

"Professor Lupin?" he asked.

Remus inclined his head and made to back out of the room.

"Remus Lupin!" Draco shouted, "I remember now! And you were the one who gave her the pendant!"

Now it was Remus' turn to freeze. He stared at Draco with his jaw slightly open.

Narcissa's eyes widened, "How did you know about that?"

"Never mind how I know," Draco's mind was working furiously, "And then Father threatened to have him killed if you ever told anyone that he hit you! So you told him," he pointed to Remus, "that you couldn't see him anymore – but the word got out anyway! I remember! Professor Snape told us in third year that he was a werewolf!"

Remus whirled and looked at Narcissa, "Is this true?"

Narcissa was shaking, "What are you saying, Draco?"

Draco fell back on his pillow, "I've always been able to see inside you, Mum. I've always known that you had some sort of secret you were trying to hide. It was this, wasn't it? That's why you married Father. To protect him. But you must have failed, because someone else knew. Someone else must have told Professor Snape. Because he was the one who told us."

Remus was staring as if he were seeing a ghost, "Snape, that night in the Shrieking Shack. He knew! He knew all along – "

He turned to Narcissa, face shell-shocked, "And I thought – you – "

Narcissa shook her head. She turned and fled from the room, leaving Remus and Draco to stare hauntingly at each other.