Can't believe this is almost over! But wait! There's more...

Lucius smirked as he read the morning paper. They loved it—they loved him. They adored his reaching out to Narcissa with the hope that she was alive. The public was beginning to change their minds about him, albeit ever so slightly. As long as this steady increase in positive public opinion continued, it was only a matter of time before he and his lawyer could release that it was Narcissa that faked the whole kidnapping, and that he was being framed. Oh, what a wonderful day that would be.

A well-groomed dark owl fluttered gracefully over to the table, where it landed in silence. Lucius removed the envelope from its foot. The parchment inside was no doubt expensive. Thick and creamy, there wasn't a question in his mind as to who this came from.

Spectacular show, mate. Working on some bombshell statements now. I'll let you thank me for saving your arse when I come by later to discuss them.

~R. Zabini

Lucius smirked. As much as he hated having to give the credit to someone else, he knew he never would've agreed to an interview all on his own like that—not to mention have such insight into what he should and should not specifically say in order to turn the public's mind. He was a Slytherin, but Zabini was a Slytherin in law. Therefore, he had a few more tricks up his sleeve. Lucius took a sip of his tea. Before that interview, he'd taken a significant amount of time to focus on himself—doing the things that would make him feel more confident and more like the man he was before the war. Narcissa was clearly pulling this to make a point to him; that she didn't like how he'd changed. So if he reverted, or at least pretended to, she'd make a breakthrough. She might even dare to show her face. Or maybe she'd create a new goosetrail leading to some shocking fake crime scene again but where someone else was framed and he looked like the hero. He knew his wife. She thought he didn't, but he did. Inside and out.

So the first thing he did in preparation for the press conference was get rid of the Narcissa doll.

Ever since he found it hanging in the basement, it caused him inexplicable yet undeniable rage. She was teasing him. Letting him know that she had planned everything precisely and he was done for. So he used a fire-starting charm on it and threw it out into the woods. He decided that if he ever did see her face again, he probably would kill her for everything she'd put him through. Not having the doll around made it much easier to pretend he loved her. Simply because he didn't have to look at any part of her.

Lucius tossed the paper aside carelessly, feeling much lighter and happier than he had in weeks. He felt free from Narcissa and her expectations, her false game-playing—because now he was getting back at her. He was going to show her and the world that she wasn't this poor, frightened little girl that was murdered by her husband. He was going to show them she was a lying, thieving bitch that deserved to be hung upside down until all the blood rushed to her head and burst out her ears. A loud knock reverberated through the large house. Zabini arrived early, Lucius reckoned. The statements must've gone well. He got up and walked slowly over to the door, striding, as he used to do before the family's fall from grace. Oh, he had his grace. That was for sure. "Open up, Malfoy—it's the Auror Investigation Team." a loud, gruff voice shouted from the other side of the door. Lucius sighed in frustration. Them. What could they want? But before he could even get the door open, it burst forward, letting in sunlight, cool air, and about ten Auror officials. They surrounded him. "What on earth are you doing in my house?" Lucius snarled. Brade stepped forward through the ring, pinning Lucius's arms behind his back. Dora stepped forward too. "Lucius Malfoy, you are under arrest for the murder of Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. You have the right to remain silent. Keep in mind anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law." she recited. His eyes widened. "Murder? I didn't murder them!" he shouted. "I had nothing to do with it! I told you that! You have no proof!"

"Mr. Malfoy we have all the evidence we need. It's incriminating and it all points to you."

"Let me speak with my lawyer! You can't arrest me until I see him!"

"Lawyers will do nothing for you now, Mr. Malfoy. You're beyond any help. We have proof from all directions."

"What 'proof' do you have against me?!"

Dora knelt down in front of him, as Brade had worked him down onto his knees. "Loads," she said softly. "Narcissa's diary—it points out clear abuse of the physical and emotional nature you inflicted upon her for years; your wand—you thought we wouldn't find it, that we wouldn't check its spells. You used a Full-Body Bind curse. Wouldn't that be extremely useful if you wanted to tie someone up? Bind them to a bed? Force them to commit to your will? Both Narcissa and Draco's wands were last used for a protection spell and a failed stunning spell. Why would they need to use those? And we can't forget about all the testimonies—Molly Weasley, Andromeda Black-Tonks, Harry Potter. All three had similar responses. Consistent responses. Responses that showed what you really were. And then…we stumbled upon another careless Lucius mistake. A doll. In the woods. Smoldering. Your fingerprints were all over her, Malfoy. The thing was broken and smashed and burned—seemed pretty violent and raging. It's coincidental it looked exactly like your wife."

"…That was a mistake! She left that for me to find here!"

"Lucius, we'd already found the doll and found your fingerprints on it and on the rope it was swinging from in the basement. Do you really think we wouldn't check down there? We left it to see your reaction—we knew you'd find it sooner or later. And what do you know. As soon as it's discovered, it's immediately found in the woods by our dogs, charred from being lit on fire and battered."

"I only did that because I was upset!"

"Hmm…what other stupid things have you done when emotions take over?"

The handcuffs clicked onto his wrists. "Take him outside," Dora commanded the Aurors. As a group they all moved, escorting Lucius out of his own house and towards the property boundary, where they would all Apparate to the Ministry for a trial set-up. "You can't do this!" Lucius shouted. "It's all circumstantial!" Dora whipped around, halting the marching party of Aurors. "There is nothing circumstantial about this case, Lucius. While you've been thinking we weren't giving it enough attention, while you were out playing innocent boy for the media, we were checking and rechecking our claims. You can't counter. The evidence is all there, and there's nothing you can do about—"

"Lucius?"

Everyone looked in all directions, wondering where the source of the small, faint voice came from. It came from the woods. A thin figure was seen staggering out from it, slipping down and landing weakly in the grass. The Aurors ran towards it. Towards her. Narcissa. "It's her!" a man shouted. Dora strode over quickly, eager to be sure it wasn't so she could still hold Lucius accountable. But it certainly was Narcissa, her blonde hair a tangled mess, her dress ripped and torn and filthy. The Aurors helped her stand and supported her. "Where's the boy? Is he with you? Where did you come from? What happened?" a thousand questions were fired off at once. Narcissa looked bewildered. She let out a cry of anguish that silenced them all. "Draco…he's so, so weak. Weaker than I am. He must've fallen in the woods. Please…please find him for me. I can't believe I didn't look behind me. I just heard my husband's voice and I had to—oh, I'm a terrible mother!" she sobbed. Dora actually began to take pity on her. She reached out and put her hands on Narcissa's shoulders as three young Aurors ran into the woods to find the boy. "You're not a bad mother," Dora assured gently. "You were only trying to save yourselves." Lucius stepped forward, hands still bound. Oh, he could kill her right now. To show up like that, all distressed and ragged. What a liar. What a snake. She raised her big blue eyes. "Lucius…" she breathed. Dora went around and unlocked the handcuffs. It was like she was testing Lucius—would he snap and end up being the bad guy, or would he behave when let off the leash? Lucius hesitantly stepped forward, thinking quickly, breathing slowly. He had to make this look convincing. Again. "Narcissa…my beautiful wife…." he sighed, catching her up into a strong hug and holding her head close to his lips. "You bitch," he whispered. But she smiled. To the rest of the Aurors, it looked hopeful, relieved, assured. But to Lucius it held cockiness. Nothing but pure pride. "I love you too," she whispered as if he'd said it first.

The Aurors stepped out of the woods, a tiny figure cradled in their arms. "We found him!" they shouted. Draco's blonde head rested against the biggest Auror's chest. His eyes were shut. He was bloody. Now that he looked down at his wife, Lucius saw Narcissa was bloody too. How'd she fake this one? But he couldn't think like that. Not here. Instead, he opened his arms, wordlessly asking for them to let him hold his son. He clutched the emaciated boy close to him. Bruised, battered, bloody. Was this really fake? It was so convincing. Eerily convincing. "We need to get both of you to St. Mungo's." Dora said, taking Narcissa's arm. She looked over at Brade. "Notify the press. Get in contact with the chief editor right away." She then turned to Lucius. "Are you coming to the hospital too?" she asked. He nodded. A forced eager nod. "I need to be with them. I just want to make sure they're safe." he faked. Zabini would be proud.

Within the next few hours, it was determined that Narcissa had been beaten brutally and starved, and Draco had wounds that were consistent with rape. That hurt Lucius the most. However Narcissa managed to make that happen….she would pay if it hurt Draco. The boy was also stricken with a nearly deathly infection that he'd contracted a while ago and spread quickly. It had gotten to the point of life-threatening. Once they were resting in their hospital beds, Dora and the Aurors wanted to ask them some questions. "P-Please…" Narcissa whispered. "Don't…ask Draco yet. He's so broken….he needs to heal." Dora nodded sympathetically. "We understand. We want you two to feel safe. That's the most important thing. Now can you tell me what happened that day? The day you went missing?" she asked, getting a quill out to go with her parchment.

"I was taking care of Draco that morning—he was having a panic attack before Lucius left for the trial—and I heard the front doors bang open loudly. So I thought Lucius had forgotten something and was rushing back in to get it. I yelled where we were. Oh…oh…I must've encouraged it…I gave us away…." she cried, tears spilling over. Some of the Aurors sighed in pity.

"No, dear. No. Don't feel like you brought it on yourself. Nothing could've stopped what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"…Thank you. You're all very kind. Now…where was I…oh, the front doors banged open, and a little bit after, he showed up in the doorway. I tried to use a protection charm, but he disarmed me before it could hit."

"Could you tell us what the man looked like? If you didn't manage to get his name?"

"I got his name. I knew him from before. That's how he knew how to get into the house—where to find us."

"Can you tell us who it was? You're being so brave, Narcissa. This is a very valiant thing of you to comply with."

"Thank you. It was…a former Death Eater….someone that used to come here when the Dark Lord was in power. It…it was Yaxley."