Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Review Responses:

Bonezz - If I knew where Draco was I would most definitely tell you, or already be there hugging the poor dear myself! Lol! I Love Sev! He's my favourite and I think he just hides his caring side, there are moments even in the books when it does seem like he cares really. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Usako3000 - Draco has indeed seen the error of his ways, it took long enough but finally we have progress! Draco knows he's been in the wrong, he's not about to go and befriend Harry Potter or anything but he's seen through his father. In trying to protect her son Narcissa nearly turned him against her but Sev was there to explain everything. Just one thing, Draco didn't see the girl's body, he saw the cell with the shackles in where she'd been kept that was supposed to be the link back to the events of Wedding Bells and Narcissa's similar eye opening experience. The body of the child was just a random wizarding child, actually I couldn't help thinking that it would have been a good idea to have it be her but it can't be as I wrote the child as being in robes and it's clearly stated in Wedding Bells that she's wearing a cotton dress, I suppose she'd probably still be wrapped in Narcissa's cloak as well but it can't be her. I wish I thought of that when I was writing it though! However, it was important that the child be in robes so that Draco realise that the Death Eaters don't even stick to their own beliefs. How people can not love Snape is beyond me but you liked him in the last chapter so that's a good thing. He'll continue pretty much like that so I hope you can continue to like him a bit. Thanks for the review!

ilovesporks - Glad you found the last chapter moving. Here's Narcissa's reaction but there's no Lucius 'til chapter five I'm afraid so you'll have to wait for him! Thanks for the review!

Luna Project - I love Luna, I think she's the coolest! Sorry, I keep you waiting, I'm fine, the computer's not though! It has to go in again for an unrelated problem! So, I will reply to your e-mail as soon as possible but it could take a couple of days! Draco is very sad at the moment and deeply disturbed, he really did look up to Lucius! Draco can be thoughtful and it was all a bit too much for the poor boy! He'd have had trouble kneeling on one knee with his other knee hurt, otherwise that probably would have been effective. Ah yes, we finally find out that Draco doesn't fall for Narcissa's dumb blonde routine in the same way the rest of the world does, he sees more of the real her than she realises. Draco will realise that it's important to be nicer to his mother and listen to her, he really does want her to be happy! Narcissa probably doesn't now what the word surrender means, lol! Just a joke, I'm sure she does but she's surrendered to Lucy in the past and I doubt she could stomach doing it again. I always thought 'Through the Barricades' suited him, he's been indoctrinated by evil Lucius (but lovely Lucius as well! Or is that just me?) and now what he believes has been torn apart. The poor boy! I love Sev and Draco having a father/son style relationship, they're just so cute! I picked up on that too, I love it that Sev calls him Draco and I hope it means that he wants to help him! Below 20 Celsius isn't that cold here, at the moment it's about 14 degrees, it's evening now though is was probably about 17 or so earlier. As you can see, Britain doesn't really do heat very well! I don't think we see 30 degrees very often! I remember we did something in science and we were told that the average room temp. is 20 degrees Celsius, I'm guessing it's probably higher than that for you! You might find our weather a bit too cold! I'm not actually at University yet, I've got another couple of weeks holiday we don't start back til well after the schools in Britain, some universities don't start until October! I will continue to write, I'm getting very into the idea for my Bill and Charlie fic, but more about all that in my e-mail which will follow soon I promise! The X-files is darned scary sometimes I think! Alright, I scare easily! Glad you enjoyed the chapter, hope you enjoy this one. More Sev!!! Thanks for the review! (Please read the author's note at the end, it's especially for you!)

honest_iago - Ah yes, Draco's respect for Sevvie is wonderful! I do love irredeemably evil men though! Lucy, Dorian, Moriarty, they're all good! It is the end of an era though! I'm kind of sad but it's not entirely finished it still needs a fair amount of checking doing! Narc is a bit preoccupied with the heat in the previous chapter, it's not that she doesn't care! She is a bit schizo though! But it's true that the best people are! I vant to suck your blood! Thanks for the review!

Trillium - Draco may seem to change fast but he's been changing for a while, he has been thinking about the things his mother's said and I think 'bit of a shock' could be a slight understatement for finding dead bodies in your cellar with the idea that your parents had killed them! He's had doubts before but it is quite fast, he has some common sense shocked into him in a way. He's not going to become nice to Gryffindors overnight or anything though. Thanks for the opinion, but it's meant to be fast, it's the suddenness of it all that makes him reconsider perhaps if talked up to them the same ideas wouldn't have horrified him so much. Thanks for reviewing and don't worry about not reviewing last time I know all about computers fritzing! * author groans as she remembers the state of her own computer and it's upcoming trip to the repair shop* lol! (actually, that isn't funny it's just annoying, why do computers have to go wrong?!)

I Found a Little Courage to Call it Off

**Narcissa's Thoughts**

***Severus' Thoughts***

_emphasis_

Chapter 4

Narcissa awoke early the next morning, dressing quickly and apparating into Hogsmeade without stopping for breakfast or even a cup of tea.

Hogsmeade was only just waking up as she stalked through it, she had not slept well and her nerves were in shreds, by the time she reached Hogwarts she had run through at least a dozen horrible scenarios as to what could have driven Draco from the manor, each more horrifying and ridiculously unlikely than the last.

The entrance doors of the school were closed when she reached them and she stood for a moment deliberating whether to knock or simply blast them to smithereens. Eventually it occurred to her to use an unlocking charm, they required quite a sophisticated one but after a few minutes work they swung noiselessly inwards.

She had barely taken three steps inside however before Severus swept out of the great hall, wand upraised, in a black dressing gown.

She held up her hands in mock surrender, "Alright, I'll come quietly!"

He snorted frustratedly, "Why couldn't you knock?!"

She shrugged, "I wasn't sure anyone would answer. Why were you about to blast me to high heaven?"

"Narcissa, you cannot just break into Hogwarts without triggering some alarms!"

"It worked last time!"

"Last time the students were here and the doors were open so you had no need to break in, also there was not a rampaging Dark Lord on the loose!"

"Good point, now where's my son?"

"Asleep, like everyone else in this time zone is if they've got any sense, when I said morning I did not mean half past six!"

"Well I was worried! What, do you think I got here this early purely for the thrill of catching you in your nightshirt?", **though that was an unexpected bonus**, "What's going on?!"

The man sighed and lowered his wand, "Come with me, we need to talk."

"So you said in your letter," she said hurrying after him.

"Narcissa why didn't you just floo here?"

She stopped in her tracks, "I don't know, I always apparate to Hogwarts I wasn't even sure you could floo in unannounced."

"How did you think Draco got here?"

"I really didn't consider it, I was too busy worrying about _why_ he was here!"

Severus left an impatient Narcissa waiting in his study and went to get dressed; Narcissa paced restlessly, muttering to herself until he returned. "Sev, what the bloody hell is going on?! You know the risks of this as well as I do! Why is Draco here, what was so important that you risked contacting me?! If Lucius found out..."

"Damn Lucius!" Severus snarled, interrupting her mid-rant, "And damn you for never leaving him! Do you have any idea of the damage you've done to your son?!"

"What?" she sat down heavily in a chair, "Draco, what's wrong with him? Is he hurt?" she leapt to her feet again.

"Draco is not hurt, he's alright, he's asleep in his dormitory. Narcissa, has Lucius noticed he's gone?"

"No, Lucius is away he doesn't return until tomorrow night. Why? Are you ever going to get to the point?"

"Yes," Severus paused wondering if there was a delicate way of putting it, "Narcissa are you aware of what is underneath your manor?"

"Yes, there's a couple of wine cellars and then you get to the dungeons and there's an old potions lab, but you know all that you've used that lab!"

"Yes I know, but Narcissa do you know what's in those dungeons?"

"What are you implying? Lucius can't still be keeping people down there!"

"No, he isn't. Narcissa, Draco appears to have taken it into his head to go exploring down there. He found some skeletons including one which looked to be that of a wizarding child, unsurprisingly he was decidedly shaken."

Narcissa opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again, shaking her head in horrified bewilderment. She put her head in her hands and for several minutes said nothing until Severus interrupted the silence, "Narcissa, are you alright?"

"No! What do you think?!" she looked up and he could see she had been crying, "Sev, I, oh God!" she whispered and put her head back in her hands.

It was at this time Severus was hit with the similarity of Draco's reaction the night before, the way they both hid behind their hands as though they could block it all out. Only it seemed less acceptable in a thirty seven year old woman who was supposed to be looking after a child, "Narcissa pull yourself together! Are you really surprised?"

"Yes!" she snapped, then added more softly, "How is he?"

"Shaken. But it does seem to have had a good effect in one way, he appears to have rejected his father's ideals in fact he seems pretty repulsed by Lucius right now." Severus found he didn't quite have the heart to tell the woman how Draco had doubted her as well.

"You mean, he thinks Lucius is wrong?"

He nodded.

She sank her head back into her hands, but this time it was through relief rather than despair.

*******

Draco awoke to find his mother and potions master sat on couches in the Slytherin common room. "Mum?" he held back a little as she stood up and turned towards him.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry."

He smiled suddenly and hugged her, "It's alright, Professor Snape explained it all, it's not your fault. I'm sorry I listened to him."

"It's _not_ your fault, I should have done something, I should have got you out of there."

"I wouldn't have gone."

They remained in silence holding on to each other until Severus cleared his throat and the three off them sat back down, "Narcissa we still have to sort out what happens next."

She nodded.

"What do you mean 'what happens next'?" Draco asked.

"Draco I am assuming that you would not wish things to remain as they are?"

"No."

"Well your father is not about to let either of us go without a fight, particularly not you."

"He should pay for what he's done Narcissa, this is not a simple case of running away!"

"I know."

"You want to turn dad over to the ministry?" Draco asked in a small voice.

"I don't want to, but there really isn't another option. Draco, he's done some terrible things and he will continue to do so if he isn't stopped."

Draco nodded before burying his head in her shoulder.

Narcissa slipped an arm round her son's shoulders and looked at Severus as if in askance of what their next move was to be.

"No one is better placed than you are to bring about Lucius' downfall, Narcissa," Severus said quietly, not wishing to upset his Godson.

"Actually that may not be too difficult to arrange," she admitted

Severus raised a questioning eyebrow and Draco lifted his head to stare at his mother.

She continued, "In my study at home is a notebook, in that is the evidence I have spent the last year gathering against Lucius. Information about his finances, a record of his movements, what I remember from what he told me about the Chamber of Secret's episode, extracts from correspondence I found in his study. And I can lay my hands on a lot more than that, though I have to admit he is clever and most of the evidence is purely circumstantial."

"I can't believe you've been doing this! How did you get access to his financial records and correspondence?" Severus asked, shocked at having managed to underestimate the woman again, ***at least this time it's in no danger of costing me my life!***

"There's a passage that leads from his bedroom to his study, I used that to get in while he was out."

"He could have come back and caught you!"

Narcissa was touched at the concern in her friend's voice, "I know."

"What about this notebook, is it safe?"

"It's locked in a draw in my desk and it's written in ancient runes, not a subject Lucius ever excelled at, but it was probably my best subject at school. It therefore has the plus side of Lucius being unable to read it even if he found it."

"I just don't believe you sometimes."

She smirked, "I'm a Slytherin Severus, didn't you expect me to have a back up plan of some kind?"

"No."

"Then you sadly underestimate me, I don't trust Lucius as far as I can throw him and I don't like the idea of being entirely at his mercy."

"So, what? The plan is to go home, grab this book and turn it over to the ministry?" Draco asked.

"I don't think that'll work, the evidence is circumstantial. However, it should grab their attention and we'll need to do that in order to convince them to investigate Lucius as he is not a man to be crossed lightly! Once they raid the manor they can be of no doubt as to his guilt."

"But they've already raided it once and they found nothing!" Draco pointed out.

"They didn't know where to look, but I can tell them how to open the concealed chamber under the Drawing Room, they never did find that though they seemed suspicious about that room at one time, and I think a more thorough inspection of the dungeons should speak for itself."

Draco shuddered at her last words and she squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

"Narcissa, it is imperative that Lucius suspects nothing..." Severus trailed off.

"And if we leave he will suspect everything," Narcissa finished for him, "He's not at home at present and they need to raid while he is there to have any hope of taking him into custody otherwise he'll just disappear and if he returns home to find us gone he will definitely smell a rat!"

"Narcissa, I don't want to ask you to do this but it is the best chance of pulling this off safely..."

"I know," she interrupted him. "If you don't want to be the one to ask me then don't ask. You don't need to, I'll go back."

"You're going to what?!" Draco exclaimed.

"Draco if we are not there when your father returns he will know something is wrong and he will make a run for it or simply destroy the evidence. It is the only reliable way of catching him. Draco, I know you're scared, but this is the only way."

"I'm not going back, you said I wouldn't have to go back," he turned to Severus looking betrayed.

"Narcissa, maybe you could tell Lucius Draco went to stay with a friend, maybe he could really go and stay with a friend we could pick him up again before anything was suspected."

"No! Mum is not going back there alone!"

"Draco I won't let him hurt you, neither of us will," Severus tried to sound reassuring.

Draco smiled at the two adults sat on the green sofas, "I know. I'm going with mum."

"Alright then, I guess that's settled, are you going to inform the ministry for me?"

Severus nodded, "Owl that notebook to me the instant you get home and I'll pass it on to them and I'll send back the details."

"Thank you. Draco why don't you go to the kitchens and ask the house elves to send some lunch in here it's getting on for midday, I'm sure you've discovered the entrance to the kitchens by now."

Draco nodded and set off.

"One more issue," Narcissa started after Draco had left, "Where are he and I going to stay when we leave?"

"Don't you have any friends you could go to?"

"Besides you? Not really, I don't have any friends. I suppose there's always Molly Weasley, she might help, she and I are sort of friends."

"I'm sure she'll help you. I'll contact her and Arthur for you. You can floo there a couple of hours before the aurors are due, I'll meet you there."

"Thank you," inadequate, there weren't words to fully express Narcissa's gratitude so she settled for squeezing his hand and smiling, trying to communicate that she would never forget what he had done for her.

"Narcissa," Severus hesitated, "I told him about Morgana, it came up in conversation last night. I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head, "He's owed the truth."

*******

Narcissa and Draco spent the rest of the day at Hogwarts, it had been decided that Dumbledore would not be informed as Narcissa wanted to keep him out of it and Severus had agreed to remain quiet for as long as possible. As they were leaving that evening Draco turned back suddenly and impulsively hugged a startled Severus, "Thank you," he said quietly. Severus gave the boy a hug, noticing that Narcissa was looking at the two of them with an expression on her face which suggested that she found the sight deeply endearing. Draco released his potions master looking slightly embarrassed.

"Take care," Severus looked up from Draco to Narcissa, "Both of you."

"We will," she assured him, placing a hand on her son's shoulder.

They flooed back into her study at the manor and Narcissa instantly sent the notebook with Osiris.

"What happens now?" Draco asked timidly.

She smiled weakly, "We wait."

*******

A/N: The part where Severus tells Narcissa she cannot just break into Hogwarts without triggering some alarms is dedicated to Luna Project who reminded me that my character's tendencies to walk into the school unannounced and unquestioned was a little unrealistic, I hope this scene with it's explanations covers that up! As for the scene in 'Turning Point' we'll just have to assume Dumbledore was expecting Sev or something. As for Draco, he wasn't armed with a wand or any other kind of weapon so the floo system let him in with no problems, if he'd had a wand on him he wouldn't have got in so easily.

Right, well I have another problem with the computer so it has to go in somewhere else so I'm not sure when the update will be but I have the stuff on disk and if it gets past Friday I'll go down to the local library and update from there so I do apologise if the next chapter's late, particularly with the cliff-hanger but it's out of my hands at the moment. I'm taking the computer in tomorrow so I might have it back quite soon (hopefully) but it might take a little while I'm not sure yet.

Please Review! They keep me going through all the annoying computer difficulties!