A/N – Sorry for the delay in updating, but as I'm sure most of you know fanfiction had a major problem with e-mail alerts not being issued for new chapters. For those who may have missed it I did post chapter 12 last Tuesday, but this is the first update since then.
I promised bonus updates and since I've missed 2 updates there will be a bonus chapter posted for the next 2 Wednesdays, to accompany the normal Tuesday and Thursday updates.
Now we're back to normal, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and what's still to come in this story.
Narcissa quietly moved through the master bedroom that had once been hers. The room had changed little since Narcissa had last called it her room, but then she already knew that. Even though it had been over two years since she had lived at the manor and resided in the bedroom on a permanent basis, she'd still spent time in the room. Her role as Lucius's loyal wife had often led to her spending the night with her husband in their marital bed. Narcissa had never minded going to bed with Lucius at any of those times, as she'd still loved her husband, however the thought of sharing his bed now repulsed her.
Despite the arrangement they'd come to in the last few years, Narcissa had never stopped loving her husband. She'd always secretly hoped that once Voldemort was vanquished for good, she would get her husband back. The years where Voldemort had been gone had been the best of Narcissa's life, and she would give anything to go back to that uncomplicated time. Sadly, Voldemort's return had changed everything, including how involved Lucius was with the Death Eaters.
Narcissa had never kidded herself about Lucius's dark side, and if she was honest in the early days of their marriage, she'd found it rather appealing. He'd actually been a Death Eater when they'd married, but Voldemort had never really played a major part in their lives. Lucius's Death Eater activities had always been something that didn't encroach on the family. Even so, by the time Voldemort had vanished when Draco was just a child, Narcissa had been glad. She'd always feared that the longer Lucius was involved with Voldemort, the more he would be sucked into the darkness and it would seem her fears had finally come to pass. Since Voldemort's return, Lucius was in deeper than ever, and now the entire family were paying the price for his association with The Dark Lord.
Trying not to think about the tyrant that was staying in one of the guest rooms, Narcissa wandered into the bathroom and ran herself a bath to try and soothe her anxieties. As she sank into the large tub, filled to the brim with rose scented bubbles, Narcissa's mind turned to her granddaughter. It had killed her watching Lyra in so much pain earlier, and she just prayed that her little granddaughter was more settled now she was back with Hermione. She also hoped that Hermione was strong enough to cope with what was to come. Narcissa was in no doubt that dark times lay ahead for them all, especially Draco, and they would all need to be strong to survive.
Not that everyone had survived, and as she thought of the life lost, Narcissa began to cry. While she'd only really gotten to know Tonks over the last few months, she'd became very fond of her niece. It broke her heart to think that her beautiful, vibrant niece had lost her life protecting her and Lyra. It also broke her heart as she thought about what her sister would be going through. Despite being in touch with the Order and Tonks, Narcissa hadn't actually spoken to her sister. It had always been something that she'd planned on doing, but looking after Lyra had taken priority. Now she really wasn't sure if Andromeda would ever want to see her. For all she knew her sister blamed her and Draco for the death of her daughter.
Narcissa lay in the bath, quietly sobbing, until the water began to get cold. Wiping her tears away, she dunked herself under the water for a couple of seconds before getting out and getting dried. Finding an old pair of satin pyjamas in her drawers, she pulled them on and wrapped herself in a large woollen bathrobe.
Sitting herself down at the dressing table, she stared at her reflection, trying to recognise the haunted woman looking back at her. It seemed as though she'd aged several years in a few hours. Normally Narcissa would have used creams and make-up to get herself looking beautiful again, but quite frankly she had no desire to pamper herself. She didn't care if she looked depressed and downtrodden, after all that was exactly what she was.
Despite making no effort to sort her appearance, Narcissa remained sitting at her dressing table, staring into the mirror and wondering if they could have done anything different to avert the situation they found themselves in. She was still sitting in the same place when the door to the bedroom opened and Lucius entered. Even though she didn't turn around or acknowledge Lucius, she watched him through the mirror as he stripped off his clothes and wandered into the adjoining bathroom.
When he returned to the bedroom fifteen minutes later, with just a dark green towel wrapped around his waist, Narcissa had turned around so she was facing him. Normally Narcissa would have appreciated the sight of her half-naked husband. He may have been in his forties, but he was still in cracking shape, and Narcissa knew the goods that were hiding behind his towel could put most wizards to shame. However all she felt was revulsion as she watched Lucius slip on a pair of dark grey silk pyjama bottoms, leaving his pale, toned torso on full display.
"If you've got something to say, just say it," Lucius finally demanded, his grey eyes boring into Narcissa.
"How could you?" Narcissa asked in a quietly controlled voice as she elegantly got to her feet. "How could you just stand there and torture your son like that?"
"No-one laid a finger on Draco," Lucius retorted with a shrug.
"You know that is not what I mean," Narcissa said. "I was talking about Lyra. Your granddaughter."
"I have no granddaughter," Lucius snapped. "That filthy brat is no connection to me."
"Even you can't believe that, Lucius," Narcissa said with a cold laugh. "You may not approve, but Lyra is your granddaughter."
"Stop saying that," Lucius yelled, banging his hand down on the top of the chest of drawers he was standing behind. "That child is not a Malfoy, she's a stain. A filthy stain, I plan on removing."
"You would really kill an innocent child?" Narcissa asked, searching her husband's face for some sign the wizard she loved was still in there.
"I don't need to, The Dark Lord will do it for me," Lucius replied with a smirk.
"And you really think Draco will differentiate between the two of you?" Narcissa questioned with a shake of her head. She could now see that Lucius had been totally corrupted by the dark, and the chances of getting through to the humane side of her husband were slim. "It doesn't matter who deals the final blow, in his eyes, you're both to blame. You do this and you'll lose your son forever."
"No. I do this and I save my son," Lucius corrected.
"Save him from what? Love?" Narcissa scoffed. "Are you really so brainwashed that you can't see that your son is happy? Draco loves Hermione, and he loves Lyra. He will fight for them both, and he will never be what you want him to be Lucius."
"Yes Narcissa, he will," Lucius said in a low voice. "I think you're the naive one if you ever thought a mudblood would be allowed to taint the Malfoy name. I will get rid of the mudblood and her brat, and Draco will toe the line. Sure, he might be upset at first, but he'll get over it and when the time is right, he can marry a nice pureblood girl and have the son and heir the family needs to continue."
Narcissa shook her head sadly as she turned away from her husband. "What happened to you, Lucius? What sort of a man puts a wizard like Voldemort ahead of his own family?"
"I am doing this for my family," Lucius snarled, stalking around so he was standing back in front of Narcissa. "I've been weak and I let my love for you overrule my senses. I never should have let you take Draco, it was a mistake."
"And my mistake was not going far enough," Narcissa whispered. "I should have left completely. I should have taken Draco and left the country years ago."
"Yet you didn't," Lucius said with a smug smirk as he reached up and ran a finger down the side of Narcissa's face. "And do you know why you didn't? Because you still love me. You still want us to be a family."
"And what if I do?" Narcissa asked, reaching out and taking Lucius's hand that was on her face and wrapping it in her smaller one. It was a long shot, but she wasn't going to give up appealing to her husband's lighter side. "What if that is what I truly want, Lucius? What if all I want is for us to be a family again?"
"That can happen, Narcissa," Lucius whispered, sounding sincere. "Just stay strong and it will happen. You, me and Draco, we can be the family we once were."
"We can't if you destroy Draco's family," Narcissa replied. "If you carry on down this path, you're going to lose everything Lucius. Draco will never forgive you, and neither will I. If Lyra dies, you lose your family for good."
"It won't work Narcissa," Lucius spat, pulling out of his wife's grasp with such force she almost went stumbling into the bedside table. "My mind is made up. The mudblood and her brat are gone."
"Have it your way Lucius," Narcissa said as she regained her balance and stood up with her head held high. "But I can promise you this, you've lost your family today. Draco and I may be here physically, but our hearts aren't here. Our hearts are with the other two members of our family, Hermione and Lyra. They're our family, and our family is going to survive. Throw what you want our way, we'll survive it, and we will be reunited."
"Keep deluding yourself, Narcissa," Lucius shot back with a bitter laugh. "We've got the upper hand, and you and Draco will fall into line if you know what's good for you. You never know, maybe if you're good, I'll persuade The Dark Lord to let the mudblood and her brat live. Granted, you and Draco would never see them again, but they would survive."
Refusing to be sucked in by Lucius's hollow promises, Narcissa turned away from her husband and picking up her brush she began to brush her hair. If she thought Lucius was serious about letting Hermione and Lyra live, she might have begged for their lives, but she knew it was just another tease. The conversation with Lucius had revealed far more than her husband had meant it to. It had shown her that the man she loved had gone for good. There was no point appealing to Lucius's good side, because he no longer had one. He'd allowed himself to be corrupted by the darkness, and Narcissa knew there was no way back for him.
She and Draco were on their own, and the only way for them to survive was for Lucius not to. If their new family was to be reunited, her husband would have to be well and truly out of the picture. Even a few weeks ago, Narcissa would have been devastated at the thought of anything bad happening to Lucius, but now bad things couldn't come soon enough for her husband. He'd tipped his hand and shown just what sort of man he truly was, and Narcissa wanted nothing more to do with him. As far as she was concerned, her marriage was over, and her priority now was getting Draco through the tough times and back to his family. Her son was all that mattered, and Narcissa would do whatever it took to ensure that Draco would be reunited with Hermione and Lyra. Any other outcome just wasn't worth contemplating.