'Sirius Orion Black, infamous Death Eater, charged with killing the honoured Order of the Phoenix member Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles, will have his trial on the 8th of November, at 4 pm. Due to the notoriety of the accused, the trial will be open to the public.'

Narcissa read and reread the notice in the Daily Prophet - she had recently taken up reading both the Daily and Evening Prophet, scrutinising every page, reading every article hoping for the absence of any news of the Lestranges, for that must mean they are still successfully hiding. She gazed fixedly at the picture of Sirius Black; his hair was matted, and he was laughing as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. The battle between curiosity and family duty waged inside Narcissa, with family duty finally vanquished; she wanted to see what her cousin had become, a blood traitor turned secret spy; so secret in fact, that the Dark Lord's inner circle did not know. Lucius was at Hogwarts, in a governors meeting, and Draco was at Theodore's birthday party, consequently, Narcissa managed to convince herself that this was merely a distraction for her ennui.

Sirius was brought in by two aurors, and accompanied by four Dementors. Narcissa pulled her cloak tighter around her body, shielding herself from the biting cold, whilst the Wizengamot members, in their silk plum robes, shuddered as the cold hit them. He was as handsome as Narcissa remembered; he had the same high cheekbones and sharp jawline as Bella, and his blue eyes were like a reflection of her own. It had been six years since Narcissa properly saw her cousin - it was during the Christmas holidays of 1975, when they were in their fifth year Hogwarts, Narcissa and her parents had been invited to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, as Bellatrix was spending the holidays with her new husband, and Andromeda was never to be spoken of again. Sirius and his mother Walburga had had another one of their fiery rows, and Christmas lunch was fraught with tension. On that day, Sirius packed the few belongings he treasured and left, and on the same day, Narcissa saw her aunt blast Sirius's name from the family tapestry, and he was never spoken of again. To be sure, they saw each other at Hogwarts, but being in different Houses, and keen to avoid each other, they merely caught sight of the backs of each other's heads, certainly, they never spoke to each other again.

'You are Sirius Orion Black, yes?' Barty Crouch asked, but his tone suggested that it was more of a statement.

Sirius did not deign to reply, instead his smirk grew wider and he let out a harsh laugh.

Perhaps he is a Death Eater, Narcissa thought, his utter disregard for the trial suggested he was more alike with Bellatrix than Narcissa gave credit; he obviously did not care whether he is found guilty, evidently he was willing to go to Azbakan for the Dark Lord just like Bella.

Crouch, angry at Sirius' visible disregard for his authority, slammed his fist onto the table in front, and ordered the metal chains wrapped around Sirius's body to be tightened.

'Sirius Black, you are charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles as well as being a spy You-Know-Who which led to the deaths of Lily and James Potter!'

'I am, aren't I? I was never no spy, but the Potters were my dearest friends and I killed them, and that filthy piece of scum Pettigrew? He deserved to die.'

The reactions were instantaneous; some cursed and shouted, others of a more sensitive disposition gasped and almost fainted at Sirius's lack of remorse.

'That is enough!' Crouch shouted, until the courtroom was silent once more, his face turning a peculiar shade which matched his robes.

'Sirius Black you are sentenced to life in Azkaban!'

Narcissa felt a slight pang of sadness, despite everything, Sirius was still her cousin; the boy she had fought with over whose turn it was on the toy broomstick, and who she shared her worries about starting Hogwarts. Now he was to live a life no better than death, he was lucky to survive twenty years, and ten of those as a sane man.

By the time Narcissa returned home, Lucius had already returned, having picked up Draco along the way, and he was currently trying to teach the young child how to ride a broom.

'Lucius! We said we would wait until he's older! He can barely walk, let alone ride a broomstick!'

'He's fine, he has my blood, and you know how fine a flier I was in Hogwarts,' replied Lucius, grinning and looking proudly at his son.

Narcissa placed a spoonful of the beef stew into her mouth, it felt as if she was chewing leather. She forced herself to swallow it, but she could not manage another morsel of food – even the wine tasted sour.

'You are not eaing.' Lucius observed.

'This beef is dry. The wine is sour.'

Lucius consequently, also ate some of the beef and took a sip of the wine.

'No, it's not, Dobby has been making this stew since I was a child, it has never been dry. And the wine, I bottled this myself and I can assure you - my darling, what is the matter?' Lucius noticed the vacant and downcast expression on Narcissa's face. He had only seen her look like this once before; when she found out about the death of her younger cousin Regulus.

'What? Nothing's the matter. I'm fine. And what's the matter with you? Why are you calling me darling all of a sudden?'

'I'm worried about you, clearly something's wrong. You have the look on your face.'

'The look? I don't have a look. My face betrays no emotion.'

'Did something happen today? Is that why you're-' Lucius stopped as realisation dawned, 'today was Sirius's trial wasn't it?'

'They didn't even give him a proper trial, Crouch, it was as if he decided Sirius's guilt beforehand, what if it is the same –'

'You went to his trial? Is that why you were out? You should not be go to those places Cissa, you know it does not do us any favours for you to be seen associating with convicted Death Eaters.'

Narcissa threw down her knife and fork onto her plate with a loud clang, she did not ask to be scolded like a little child as though she had done something wrong.

'He is not just a convicted Death Eater, Lucius, he is, he was family. It could be Bella, or even you, sitting where Sirius sat in the future, do you expect me to just sit at home whilst you're being condemned to a half life? No need to worry, I made sure I wasn't seen, lest your pristine reputation is soiled.'

Lucius poured out the last drops of wine into his glass and drank it in one go; Narcissa was angry at him and he was going to need all the help he could get.

'Narcissa, I didn't mean to berate you for caring about your family, of course I do not mean to prevent you from seeing them. Please do not think think that I doubt your judgement – you should do what you think is best, for you and your family.'

Narcissa glare at her husband for a few seconds, as if judging the sincerity of his apology.

'You are right, I know that it would not help our case if I was seen to be close with people like Sirius – I shall be more careful in the future. However, I am not worried about him, I am worried about you. Crouch does not give people trials, people he suspect do not have a chance to defend themselves - Sirius's trial was a mummer's farce- I do not wish to see you dragged away to Azkaban on his mockery of justice.'

'I swear in the name of Salazar Slytherin himself, I will not allow myself to be sent to Azkaban Cissy. I won't leave you and Draco alone - I love you both too much. Besides, they have no evidence against me, and even if they do, I have the trust of the Minister herself, a word from her, and Crouch won't dare arrest me,' said Lucius, softly clasping his wife's hand. 'Now finish your dinner Cissa, you look exhausted, Merlin knows you need some energy,' he ordered sternly, although not unkindly.

Whenever possible, Narcissa liked to spend time with Draco, and when Lucius was otherwise unoccupied, he would join them. This evening, they were sitting in one of their larger drawing rooms, to provide Draco with ample room for his flying practice. In the space of a few hours, he has proved himself to be a sound flier; already able to fly three feet in the air and to catch the small soft Quaffle whenever it is thrown at him. Their pleasant family evening, however was cut short, when Croesus Nott's head unceremoniously erupted from the fireplace, causing Draco to tumble off his broomstick, and Narcissa running to comfort him.

'What in Merlin's name are you doing? You ought to tell us prior-'

'Shut up Malfoy. We need to go. Dolohov has just been taken by Moody. Hurry!'

A/N: Firstly I would like to thank you all for reading my story. This is the first fanfiction I've ever written so frankly I'm surprised even one person has read it. As it is my first, I would greatly appreciate reviews of any sort - good, critical and even bad, really, I don't mind if you just write that you don't like it. I mean, obviously I would prefer positive reviews, but I am looking more at improving so critical reviews are highly would also be nice to know what you want to read, which parts you enjoyed and which parts you didn't so I know what to focus on in the future. and again, thank you so much for taking the time to read!