Narcissa pulled Regalus inside the front door. Before she closed it, she glanced around to see if they were being watched. You could never be too careful, the Dark Lord's spies were everywhere and most would turn you in without thinking about it, especially to curry favour.

"Narcissa, I…" he started to explain, but she silenced him with a finger to her lips. If Lucius were to return she certainly didn't want him to overhear this conversation. She wanted to keep him out of it. Even the walls had ears at Malfoy Manor. It wouldn't put her husband in a good light if he were known to be harbouring a fugitive, and much as she loved Regalus she wasn't about to put the rest of her family at risk.

She led him upstairs to her private study, where she was certain that they wouldn't be overheard. When they arrived she had the chance to have a proper look at him. His face and robes were splattered with blood and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Scourgify" she cleaned the blood away for him, and he immediately looked better. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded angrily, "do you have any idea what the Dark Lord will do when he catches you."

He nodded, his eyes widening.

"For Merlin's sake Reggie, why on earth would you do something so stupid?"

She didn't really know what he was going to say to explain this; she certainly didn't expect the response she got. Regalus burst into tears. Narcissa paused, she didn't know how to deal with this, she'd never seen Regalus cry, not even when he was little. He'd always been so young and carefree. But now, looking at him closely Narcissa was shocked. He looked so tired, and scared.

"Oh god, Cissy" he panted, tears still leaking from his eyes "their faces… and the screaming. I didn't know that's what it would be like. I can still hear their screams, their begs… And the others… they enjoyed it… it was supposed to be fun. And then he, The Dark Lord, he almost killed…" He suddenly dove behind the desk and wretched into the waste-paper basket. As he stood, Narcissa cleaned it up with a wave of her wand and a sigh.

"I'm so sorry Cissy" he sighed "I just couldn't do it anymore" he sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him. "I never meant to be such a burden to you, I just didn't know where else to turn."

"Hush now, we'll work something out" she told him soothingly, but in truth Narcissa had no idea what they were going to do. From the stories that Bella had told her, and the tiny hints dropped by Lucius, the only way of leaving the death eaters was death itself. There would be nowhere he would be safe, there was nobody who would take him in… Unless… The thought itself was the ultimate betrayal of the Dark Lord's cause, but Narcissa didn't see any other option.

"You have to go to Dumbledore" she told him in a low voice. "There is nowhere else that you will be safe Regalus. You don't have a lot of options here."

"I doubt that I will last long enough" he replied bitterly. "I know what I have to do Narcissa" he looked terrified. "Just look after Mum for me, she won't understand."

"Of course Reggie, but what are you going to do?" Narcissa's eyes were wide with concern.

"I think that it's for the best if you don't know."

Shortly after their conversation he left Malfoy Manor as quietly as he had arrived and was never seen again.

The search for Regalus had now been going on for a week, there was no trace of him to be found and Narcissa was starting to become desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Narcissa was wearing a neat chocolate brown skirt and robes, belted to emphasise her tiny waist. She had chosen the colour, mainly because it was dark, she wasn't in mourning, not yet, but she didn't think that it would be far off. The most important feature of the outfit was the wide-brimmed hat that was perched on the top of her head, shielding her identity from passers-by.

The house which she stood outside of was in a well-to-do part of London, it was by no means Grimmauld Place, but still, Sirius was obviously doing well for himself. Even still, before she knocked she glanced around to make sure that nobody was watching her.

She waited patiently on the doorstep, but before long, the door was yanked open by a tall, attractive, dark haired man, who looked at her with contempt.

He eyed up the blonde on his doorstep for a moment before speaking, "I never imagined that you would ever come knocking at my door Narcissa."

"Sirius." She greeted him coolly, despite the fact that she had sought him out; she knew she would find little pleasure from his company. "Can I come in?" she asked, desperate to be inside, safe, out of sight.

"Be my guest" he replied, though his tone was uninviting. The door was swung open for her widely, and she passed him and into the narrow hallway. "This way…" he overtook her again, and led the way to a cosy, small sitting room, with a squat looking sofa and a fire burning merrily in the hearth.

"Take a seat" he offered sarcastically, Narcissa ignored him, he didn't want her here any more than she wanted to be here. "So Narcissa, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he asked her coldly.

"It's about Regalus", she replied, but she was interrupted before she could finish.

"I haven't seen Regalus in years, you should know that" said Sirius.

"He's been missing for over a week" she finished.

Sirius paused for a few moments, obviously considering whether or not to tell her what ever he knew, she wasn't concerned, he would tell her, he was a good person and they always did the right thing. "He sent me an owl" he told her finally "it made no sense. Here," he handed her a piece of parchment that sat on the mantelpiece "see if it means anything to you."

Narcissa could barely read the scrawled handwriting, but she recognised it instantly, it definitely belonged to Regalus.

Sirius,

I know that we never got along very well, and I guess it's too late now. I'm so sorry for what I said to you last time we met. By the time you are reading this, I will be dead, and I want you to know that I have done all that I can to bring the Dark Lord down.

I will destroy the locket.

R.A.B

Narcissa sat down in the previously offered chair heavily, her face very very pale. She was shaking her head, the letter was senseless.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" he asked "What locket?"

"I don't know" she stared at the letter hard; as if this would make it mean something "I have no idea." Narcissa choked back a sob.

"What's going on, Narcissa?" Sirius asked, "Why are you really here?"

"I told you, Regalus has gone missing."

"But why would Regalus come here?"

"He came to me, last week." Narcissa had kept her last conversation with Regalus a secret; she hadn't wanted to get Regalus into trouble. "He told me that he was going to leave the death eaters. He was so scared."

"And what did you do?" Sirius accused her, "Did you run and fetch Voldemort?"

"I would hardly be here asking you where he was if I had" Narcissa replied coldly. They both knew what would happen if the Dark Lord found out he had been betrayed. "I told him to go to Dumbledore."

"The stupid boy" Sirius cursed, "the idiot never should have signed up." He turned on her suddenly "and you never should have let him!"

Narcissa Malfoy may have been having a moment of weakness, but she certainly wasn't going to take the blame for this. Not when the finger was being pointed by her younger, foolish, blood-traitor of a cousin. "Why do you think that he joined in the first place Sirius Black?" she gave as good as she got "to prove that the Blacks were a family with pride in our blood. That we weren't a bunch of blood-traitors, no better than the Weasleys" she practically spat.

"Bah" replied Sirius; he'd heard the same thing a hundred times before, from a dozen different family members. "Well if I'm such a blood-traitor, why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here! I have to find Regalus. He's family."

"Since when did that matter to you?" he mocked.

"Family is the only thing that matters" she replied passionately. Sirius understood nothing of family loyalty, he never had. But to Narcissa there was nothing more important in her life, even the Dark Lord came second to the Blacks and the Malfoys in her book.

He made no answer to this statement; there was nothing he could say. He did feel for his cousin, and despite outward appearances he cared deeply about his brother, and his parents.

"Would it help if I were to call by Grimmauld Place?" he asked.

"No" she answered a tad too harshly, and she offered no explanation for her response, Sirius knew as she did, that he was the wrong son, his parents wouldn't want him back just because their beloved boy was gone.

"Do you think he's still…" he let his question trail off, he didn't want to be the one that said it.

The pain in her eyes should have answered his question, "No," she shook her head, and to his surprise there were no tears, but he should have known better Narcissa Malfoy would never cry in front of the enemy.

"You should take this" he offered her the piece of parchment again.

"No, Burn it", she replied hoarsely. His parents were so proud of him for joining up. There was no need to spoil the illusion for them. He did as she requested throwing the scrap of parchment onto the fire and she watched as the flames licked at it, and eventually there was only ash.

Without another word to her cousin she stood up and left, once she was outside the front door, not bothering to look to see whether or not she was being watched, she apparated. And found herself in the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, she practically ran up the stairs until she was in her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her, sank to the floor, lowered her head onto her knees and began to cry.

She hadn't sobbed this hard since the day her mother died.