It pained him to see her there, sitting beside him. She hadn't spared him a glance all evening, keeping her eyes on everything and everyone else but him, save from the initial look of shock that had crossed her face when he had walked through that door beside Bellatrix.
He hadn't failed to see it, and the look of pain she had tried to mask from him the moment she had seen him. He would have stopped and said something, if it wasn't for the fact that Lucius Malfoy was by her side.
He had pressed on, trailing after the dark haired witch who hadn't even bothered to stop to greet her sister and brother in law. A wry smile had toyed on his face at that. Bellatrix despised the man as much as he did after all.
He had been seated opposite the blonde witch, a torment he could have happily done without. The Dark Lord was either oblivious to the tension in the room, or he simply did not care. Adolph was more willing to put his money on the latter of the two.
He excused himself from the table, pushing his chair out, catching sight of Bellatrix looking at him. He paid the dark haired witch no mind, however, leaving the table, and the other Death Eaters, knowing he had no fear of retribution from the Dark Lord.
The house was quiet, or at least the hallways he chose to wander were. But it suited him, for he wasn't sure he could take another moment of Malfoy's grovelling.
There was the sound of footsteps behind him, and he paused, stepping from the middle of the corridor further into the shadows.
The scent of familiar perfume filled the air and he bit back a groan, instantly recognising who it was without ever seeing her face. As she drew level with him, he stepped forward. He must have startled her, because she spun around, colliding with his chest.
His hand gently slid over her mouth, preventing her from letting out a alarmed yelp, as his other arm snaked around her waist, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, a mixture of shock and fright clearly written in them.
"Relax Cissa," he mumbled, his lips brushing lightly against her ear, feeling her relax against him as he spoke. "It's only me."
His hand dropped from her mouth then, and he would have taken a step back from her, if her hands hadn't caught a hold of his shirt, her fingers clutching at it.
It was difficult to breathe with her so close to him, flooding each and every one of his senses. It would have been so easy for him to slip back into old habits with Narcissa, as if no time had passed between them at all.
"Adolph...," she breathed out, causing him to tense slightly. "I'm sorry... I was just... I was..." She trailed off, unable to find the words to lie to him.
Narcissa had never been able to lie to him, even when she had wanted to. He had always been one of the few people who had known when she was lying, even when they had been kids. It hadn't changed, not even after all these years apart.
He brought his hand up, the tips of his fingers running down along the side of her face, watching as her eyes closed under his touch. Losing her, giving up the life they could have had, had been his only regret after he had been sentenced to Azkaban.
"Don't apologise Cissa," he murmured to her, knowing she had nothing to apologise for. He did not blame her, did not hold her responsible for what happened. It was not her fault any more than it had been his. "I love you, Narcissa Black. Just remember that."
His fingers came to rest under her chin, tilting her head up slightly, and her eyes opened, meeting his. He leaned down slightly, pressing his lips against her forehead, hearing her breath catch in her throat.
His hand dropped back down to his side, and he moved away from her, noticiing the tears in her eyes and a lump formed in his own throat. Adolph turned away from her, heading back down that lonely corridor, not daring to look back. Perhaps if he had of, he would have seen her mouth the words 'I love you'.
Bellatrix would no doubt call him a fool when she heard that he had let her go again, he noted to himself ruefully. She had always been more interested in having him as family than the man Narcissa had married. But Adolph would not force her into anything. He respected her too much for that.
Her choice was her own to make, but whatever it may have been, Adolph would be there for her, just like he had been for her entire life.