The manor was unbearably quiet for several weeks. Lucius barely spoke to his wife, who in turn, remained quiet most of the time. Even the portraits offered very little in the way of conversation since witnessing the blow-up between the couple. The silence was deafening, and Narcissa was not sure how much more of it she could take.

So when she heard voices coming from the first floor, Cissa was immediately curious. The voices were muffled, but she followed the sound down the stairs and to the door of their first-floor parlor. The door was slightly ajar, and Narcissa peered through the narrow opening furtively, doing her best not to make a sound.

She could see Lucius was seated easily in an armchair, with brandy-glass in hand. Pacing slowly around the room was the dark figure immediately recognizable as her sister, clearly unable to sit still – this was nothing new. Narcissa moved to stand against the wall outside the room so that she couldn't be seen, straining to hear their conversation.

"Potter will not want to hand over the Prophecy without a fight, but we must not allow the situation to become a brawl."

"Fight? He's nothing but a baby."

"He's fifteen years old now, Bellatrix, and he takes every opportunity to flaunt his so-called 'bravery.' How would this plan work if he were otherwise?" There was a slight pause. "He's a headstrong fool. It'll be difficult to keep him from lashing out like the imbecile that he is."

"Perhaps a bit of fighting would do him some good. Teach him what real power is."

"Perhaps you should remember to keep your wand under control, Bella, and let me decide our course of action. The Dark Lord will handle Potter; our mission is that Prophecy," Lucius's voice interjected smoothly. "Remember that you'll be following my orders, not letting loose the moment you set eyes on them."

"The world could do with a few less Mudbloods."

"Indeed, my dear sister, and I am certain that the Dark Lord will not deny you the pleasure of lowering their population... but all in due time. Tomorrow we must only think of our mission."

Tomorrow. Narcissa bit her lip. Sooner than she'd expected – though the two seemed confident enough, so Lucius must have found a more useful contact in the Ministry. She closed her eyes and sighed. Bellatrix was not the person she would have selected for a mission that required secrecy and discretion, though she was a very powerful witch.

Bringing her attention back to the present, Narcissa realized that they were no longer speaking. She listened harder for a moment, then heard someone heading for the door. Before she could get away, Bella threw open the door and came out. "You know, Cissy," she said with a jeering smirk, "usually when people eavesdrop they try not to sigh too loudly."

Cissa closed her eyes in frustration for a moment, cursing her continual bad luck.

Her older sister moved out of the doorway. "Please – join us. There's no need for you to stand with your ear against the door."

Cringing at what her husband's expression must have been at that moment, Narcissa moved toward the doorway. "Thanks for inviting me into my own parlor, Bella," she muttered as she walked past her. As she came through the doorway, her eyes locked with Lucius's, and her stomach flip-flopped. His expression was unreadable, which made her more anxious than if he'd been furious. She walked into the center of the room, standing before her husband silently.

Bella closed the door and came over to them, walking directly between the two to get to the sofa, even though there was plenty of space to walk behind Narcissa. Lucius and Cissa continued to stare at each other, until their sister broke the silence.

"So, Cissy, what do you think of the mission?"

What a brash, obnoxious question. Narcissa turned her head slowly toward her sister. "To be perfectly honest, I think it's downright mad."

Bellatrix snorted. "You would." She looked at Lucius mockingly. "Perhaps if you practiced dueling a bit more, Cissy wouldn't be so frightened for your life."

"Let me know the next time the Dark Lord lets you lead a mission," Lucius replied without breaking his stare at his wife. "Besides, I'm certain Cissy would worry even if I were as powerful as the Dark Lord himself."

Cissa turned back toward him and arched an eyebrow. "Indeed." Of course she would. The Dark Lord was sending them on a very foolish mission, and it made her question the Dark Lord himself.

Bellatrix crossed her arms, frowning at the two of them. "We're taking a prophecy from a bunch of brats. What's to worry about?"

They both turned to look at her, and Narcissa piped up immediately. "You're breaking into the Ministry of Magic. The Aurors will be on you within minutes – then ask me what there is to worry about!"

Lucius looked up at her sharply and started to say something, but Bella cut him off. "Aurors?" she laughed. "You think the Aurors are stronger than us?"

Narcissa did not appreciate her sister's flippant attitude. "They're strong enough!" she countered.

Bella stood up and swaggered toward her. "The Dark Arts will always be more powerful than anything the Aurors have, and we have learned them from the Dark Lord himself. You're suggesting that a few Mudbloods and blood-traitors are too much for us to cope with?" Her expression had become a bit maniacal.

Cissa began to retort, and Lucius interrupted her. Undaunted, she raised her voice and continued arguing with her sister. "What I'm saying is that you have every reason to be cautious, Bella – something you've never understood!"

Her older sister's eyes widened slightly. "Beside the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters are the most powerful wizards in the world! Even in a tight situation, what need is there for your 'caution' when it's much easier just to overwhelm the enemy?"

"You make it sound so easy, don't you, but as I recall, it took the Dark Lord himself to get you out of your last 'tight situation'!"

Lucius stood sharply. "That's enough," he snapped. Bellatrix was looking murderous, but he ignored her and faced his wife. "I believe you were warned rather firmly not so very long ago to keep your thoughts to yourself," he said icily. His eyes clearly told her to shut up. Narcissa was fuming, but his reminder of the Dark Lord's threat stopped her from saying any more. She crossed her arms over her chest and kept her eyes focused on her husband, refusing to look at her sister – who was likely thrilled that feisty little Cissy had been silenced with a single sentence.

Wordlessly, Lucius gestured for her to sit down. Narcissa clenched her fists tightly, but obediently moved over to the love seat and sat, giving him an angry stare.

Bellatrix laughed.

Narcissa's cheeks flushed with frustration, but she did not react to her sister.

Lucius began to speak, and his voice was softer than she'd been expecting. "This mission will require more caution and stealth than dueling skills. We will take the prophecy from Potter and then dispose of the little brat and his friends quietly." He held Narcissa's gaze for a moment longer before turning his head to Bellatrix. "If we do our job correctly, we shall be in and out with the prophecy before anyone even notices something amiss." The dark woman crossed her arms, looking slightly annoyed.

"And you think that Harry Potter won't fight back?"

The two Death Eaters turned away from each other and faced Narcissa. "Fight back!?" Bellatrix exclaimed.

Lucius glanced at her sideways, a bit irritated, before once more regarding his wife. "We must dissuade him from fighting," he explained smoothly. "He is easily manipulated."

"Even if he were to attack us – do you honestly think he'd pose any sort of threat? A little boy!?" Bellatrix scoffed.

Narcissa gritted her teeth at her sister's flippancy. "He has escaped the Dark Lord in full body twice now."

Her sister rolled her eyes. "Luck."

"He has learned a few spells, surely, from the Triwizard Tournament, but I do not think that he will overcome an entire team of Death Eaters," Lucius said, glancing from Bellatrix to Narcissa.

There was no talking sense into them. Why they could not see that they were walking into a Devil's Snare, she could not fathom. Bellatrix was beyond fanatical, and Lucius seemed to be buying right into it. Narcissa lowered her gaze to the ground. What did she want her husband to do, anyway? It wasn't as though he had a choice.

She shifted uncomfortably, not making eye-contact with either of them. "I don't want you to do this," she said quietly, knowing that she shouldn't be saying it. But there. She'd said it. And she'd meant it.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then Bellatrix stepped closer. "Cissy, what are you saying? The Dark Lord requires that prophecy; of course we must go retrieve it!" She spoke to her little sister as if the latter were completely insane. "You want to help the Dark Lord achieve his rightful glory, don't you? Of course you do, Cissy! You have to be strong – he won't stand for weakness among his followers. No more talk of this foolishness. He'll punish you again, and he won't hesitate to hurt you, if you don't control your anxiety!"

Lucius remained silent, letting his sister-in-law have her say.

"Don't be such a coward," Bella continued. "Completing this mission for the Dark Lord will bring our family all the closer to him; it will please him immensely. You cannot say you don't want that for your family. Cissy?"

Narcissa slowly nodded, for her sister's satisfaction and nothing else. True, she wanted to please the Dark Lord, and she wanted prestige for her family, but she didn't want her family in unnecessary danger, either. However, Bella accepted her nod as agreement.

Cissa glanced up at her husband. His silence confused her – did he agree with Bella, or did he have an opinion that he would not share in front of Bella? Or, was he just so tired of his wife that he left the scolding to someone else? When her eyes met his, however, she saw that he'd put on his 'Malfoy' face. He was hiding something – a thought, an emotion, ...something. Hiding it from Bellatrix, not her, because if he'd wanted to hide it from Cissa he wouldn't have gazed at her so intently.

Before Bellatrix could notice their connection, Lucius turned away from both of them and returned to his armchair. Picking up his brandy glass, he said, "We're retrieving the prophecy tomorrow, regardless of what any of us want. If the Dark Lord decrees it, it must be so."

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A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to everyone for being so patient!!! Hopefully, the wait for the next chapter will not be so long. I got my hands on a copy of OotP, and it seems to have inspired me. As always, please review!! And again, sorry for the looooong wait! :)