October 31, 1981
It wouldn't do to be holed up in Malfoy Manor on a night like this– not if the Malfoys wanted to retain their appearance of neutrality in the aftermath of the war's end. At the first flare of pain from Lucius' mark, Narcissa had bundled Draco up and floo'ed to Andromeda's cottage, leaving her husband to go to the Ministry. The standings of many would be in question tonight, and Lucius was determined to come out on top, no matter the cost.
Narcissa was not about to expose their young son to the threat, nor would she remain alone with him in that cursed manor, knowing the wards had not been altered to deny entry to some of the more unsavory death eaters. She'd gone to her sister instead, knowing that her niece would also enjoy watching over Draco for a few hours. The boy was enamored with his cousin and her method of entertaining him by changing the color of her hair, and even morphing her features to make funny faces at him.
In the meantime, she and Andromeda could speak of the future and hope their sister would get through the night unscathed.
It was a surprise when she stepped through to be initially greeted by her brother-in-law, Ted Tonks. Not Edward– Ted, Andromeda had pointedly corrected her sisters when they first asked. Bellatrix had rolled her eyes and muttered some choice words under her breath, but Narcissa had taken the instruction in stride.
"Hello Ted," she smiled politely. "I hope you don't mind we came without any notice–"
Ted shook his head. "From what we've been hearing, it's a good thing you came. Better safe than sorry," he said wryly.
"A muggle phrase?" She asked, agreeing with the sentiment but curious to its origin.
Ted nodded. "Yeah, describes all of this–" he gestured around them– "pretty well. Come on in, Andy's in the other room with Dora. We've explained the basics to her, but I think her cousin will be a good distraction for her." He held out his arm, gesturing for her to go first while he closed the floo connection. No one else was wanted tonight, and if Bellatrix did manage to stop by, they all knew she would apparate.
She entered the sitting room to find Dora curled into her mother's side on the leather couch, the two of them listening to the cacophony of voices coming through the radio. Narcissa had never heard the hosts act this way, clamoring over each other in a mixture of laughter and tears. Many were celebrating tonight, and the elation was likely to last weeks.
"Meda," Narcissa softly spoke to announce her entrance, not wanting to spook her sister. Still, she saw Andromeda's hand twitch, ready to slide her wand out of her sleeve before she registered who had spoken.
Dora, however, perked up like an excited puppy and jumped from her seat to greet her aunt. "Aunt Cissa! Did you hear? The war is over!"
Narcissa smiled at her niece and bent down to lightly kiss the crown of her head as the girl's hair melted from black to blonde in a mirror of Narcissa herself." I did hear that, darling. How do you feel about it?"
Dora pulled her shoulders back, attempting to seem older and wiser than her eight years. "They said the Dark Lord is dead," she proclaimed, the title she used a side effect of Andromeda being raised in Black Manor. "But… they didn't say anything about how he died."
Narcissa's gaze flickered up to her sister, who watched them with guarded grey eyes. "You bring up an excellent point, Dora. Have you told your father yet?"
"Nope! Can I take Draco and go tell him?" She gave big doe eyes and held her hands out expectantly, knowing her Aunt Cissa would never deny the two their bond.
She gently placed her sleeping son in Dora's arms, brushing a white lock of hair off his forehead before she pulled away. "No running," she reminded her.
Dora pouted. "Don't worry, Auntie. I would never do that while holding him. Come on, Draco," she whispered, before carefully padding out of the room.
With her gone, Andromeda rose to stand before Narcissa, both of them holding their breaths as they observed the other. While Andromeda looked most like Bellatrix, she shared her temperament with Narcissa. A million thoughts and feelings flitted between them in the span of a heartbeat, and both of them refused to break the spell first.
"He attacked the Potters," Narcissa finally murmured, afraid that speaking louder would still manage to summon the man who had been haunting her life since she was a child. "Lucius' mark has faded, but not vanished."
Andromeda nodded slowly. "Dumbledore sent out an alert to the Order. Emmeline said he sent the Longbottoms into hiding."
Narcissa felt her marble mask finally crack as a gasp broke free from her lungs and she staggered forward, her fingers gripping her sister's shoulders. "Meda, he's not dead. The mark– it would've faded if he was– but i've heard some of what he's said to Abraxas, that horrible man, I can't have him anywhere near Draco, oh Merlin…!"
Andromeda cupped Cissa's face in her hands, shushing her gently but keeping her from hiding away. "Shh, Cissa. Your family is safe, and he's still gone for now."
She let out a choked laugh. "My family? What about yours, Meda? If he resurfaces when Dora is older–"
"Then I know at least she'll be able to defend herself, because we'll prepare her." Andromeda's voice turned to granite. "We'll prepare all of them."
"Yes, I know," Narcissa sighed. It is far easier to say that now though, not knowing what they will be faced with later on. She released her sister to swipe at her eyes and erase evidence of the tears that had leaked free and dotted her lashes like dew drops. She wouldn't feel truly safe to let all her guards down until she saw the dark lord's body and could feel his lack of heartbeat for herself.
At the moment, though, there was nothing she could do and they both knew it. Narcissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, straightening herself back into the perfect pureblood princess she displayed herself to the world as. She slid her wand into her hand and silently spelled her hair to fix the frizziness caused by her magic in her panic.
She opened her eyes to find her sister staring at her in surprise. "It's slightly terrifying how you do that."
"Do what, precisely?" Narcissa asked, raising a delicate brow.
Andromeda smirked dangerously. "Hide in plain sight."
Narcissa raised her chin and sniffed imperiously. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're speaking of."
As soon the words left her mouth, she felt a presence enter the room behind her. Andromeda must've as well, seeing as they both drew their wands within milliseconds of each other to point it at the unannounced newcomer.
Bellatrix wiggled her fingers at them in greeting as she faced them at wand point, hair as wild as her laughter. "Is that how you greet your favorite sister?"
"Bella, you're our only sister." Andromeda sounded distinctly unimpressed.
Bellatrix waved her words away. "Unimportant. Do you happen to have any dittany 'round here, Meda?" She staggered forward and collapsed on the couch, at first from what Narcissa assumed to be exhaustion. It was then that she caught sight of the way Bellatrix was pressing her left arm to her side.
"Oh, bloody hell," Andromeda swore as she darted forward to check Bellatrix's wound. There were slash marks all the way up and down her forearm, and even with her lack of healer training Narcissa could see that the blood flow had greatly reduced, likely as a result of a few minor healing charms. After their ritual the previous year, Andromeda had insisted on Bellatrix learning a few rudimentary spells, saying she had to think of Hermione now.
Unsurprisingly, it worked. Narcissa knew that the little girl was also likely behind Bellatrix's arrival in one piece tonight.
"That idiot husband of mine went after the Longbottoms," Bellatrix hissed as Andromeda cut away the remainder of her sleeve, pulling the bits that had dried and stuck to the wounds as well. "I tried to tell them it was better to follow dear old Lucy's lead– no matter how prissy he is," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. She glanced at narcissa and gave a half-hearted shrug. "I'm not sorry, Cissy."
Narcissa sat next to her, sliding her fingers down Bellatrix's good arm until their fingers laced, just as they'd done when she was a child and afraid of the dark. "Your apology is not necessary. I'm aware that Lucius has a… flare for drama."
"If by 'flare' you mean 'absolute need,' then yes," Andromeda scoffed.
"Excuse me," Bellatrix snapped her fingers impatiently. "Focus on me while you're patching me up!"
"Just finish the story."
"Fine. I told Rodophus we needed to gather our resources. The Dark Lord clearly isn't dead," she nodded at her arm and the marred but pale mark on it, "but he's… just gone. The Longbottoms and Potters were close, so they've gone to find out what they know." She paused. "And I suppose to have a bit of fun." She sneered at the last word.
Andromeda stilled briefly. "We have to pass that on as a warning. If we lose another bloodline of the Sacred 28, and right at the end of the war, too–"
"Yes, yes, I know. You say that as if I didn't do the research into the rituals myself," Bellatrix snarled. "I got this," she gestured at her arm, "for trying to tell them no. If he and his brainless brother ruin this for us, there is no place they'll be able to run from me."
"There's always divorce, '' Narcissa pointed out.
Her sister's mood changed as quick as lightning. "But then I won't get all his money," Bellatrix pouted. "All those years managing not to kill him? I think I deserve it."
"And if he's caught…" Narcissa's expression cleared with understanding.
"We know Lucy is going to be claiming innocence under the Imperius, and I'm definitely a better actor than him," Bellatrix confirmed her train of thought. She began to cry, overemphasized tears rolling down her cheeks. "Me, one of the Black pureblood princesses, married to Rodolphus Lestrange for over ten years with no heir because he refused to warm my bed, and then entrapped under the Imperius curse to fulfill his bidding?"
Andromeda and Narcissa openly stared at the woman.
"Oh, you're good." Andromeda sounded impressed.
The tears and sobs abruptly stopped and Bellatrix flicked her thick curls over her shoulder. "I know. So, Meda?"
The middle sister sighed and leaned back. "You should still have full range of motion. Lucky for you, the curse missed the major tendons… and that it was something mentioned in the pages of the Lestrange Grimoire you copied."
"I cannot wait to see Rabastan at his trial. I'm sure he'll expect me to have died."
"Maybe you shouldn't," Narcissa spoke up. "Shouldn't see him at the trial," she elaborated at their stares. "We know this isn't all over, and we need you to remain sympathetic to the dark faction."
"Oh, don't worry, Cissy." She shot them a sharp grin. "Not even Azkaban will keep Rabastan safe from what he did to me, and afterwards? No one who followed the Dark Lord will ever think about crossing me."
Narcissa watched as Ted rocked her son to sleep just steps away from where Nymphadora had fallen asleep holding him on her bed. It pained her to admit that he was better with Draco than Lucius was, but she was not blind to the family she had married into.
Ted was humming a soft tune that she didn't recognize– likely Muggle in origin. When she heard of Andromeda's marriage to the muggleborn, she never thought they'd be in the same room, let alone that she would ever allow him to hold her child. How the world had changed since they'd learned of the existence of Hermione Jean, and it had in ways Narcissa never dared to dream of.
Her sisters were by her side and in agreement (most of the time). They were primed to return the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to the height of power it had once held. She had a husband who loved her, despite his faults, and a healthy son and heir.
And after so many years, there was no immediate threat of the Dark Lord hanging over her head.
"Narcissa." Ted's voice broke her free of her thoughts. She smiled warmly at him this time, seeing how inherently Draco trusted him. Her son refused to rest any time his magic could not settle, but Ted had calmed him and kept him sleeping.
"I came to check on the children," she said, "and update you."
"I'm all ears."
Narcissa took that to be in the affirmative. "The Dark Lord has… vanished, but not died. My husband's mark and Bella's have both faded, but only partially. The Potters are dead, and the Lestrange brothers are hunting the Longbottoms out of a twisted attempt at vengeance."
He nodded slowly, absorbing the summary she'd given. "Do the Longbottoms know?"
"They are already in hiding, but Andromeda's contacting a neutral party now to warn them."
"And how do we know the Potters are… dead?" His voice broke on the last word, and Narcissa felt terrible for not realizing earlier the significance of the news.
"You knew them," she breathed.
Ted paused in his rocking motions to look at her. "Not well, but…"
"But Lily Evans was a muggleborn," Narcissa finished for him.
"We had to stick together," he agreed. "There were so few of us."
"I understand," Narcissa said. She truly did; it was part of why Slytherins were so much closer than other houses. House business didn't leave the common room, because even before the dark lord had been conceived and Grindelwald graced the halls of Hogwarts, Slytherins had been set apart from the rest of the student body as different. As evil.
She'd seen first years hexed for the family they were born into, and for the green and silver tie they were sorted into. It was equally prejudiced for all the wrong reasons.
"Dumbledore informed his Order of their deaths when he ordered the Longbottoms into hiding," Narcissa finally answered his question.
"And when did Malfoy's mark fade?" He refused to call her husband by his given name, something Narcissa couldn't fault him for.
"Only a few minutes before I came here… perhaps not even an hour ago?"
Ted slowly approached her, not breaking their gaze. "Narcissa… then how did Dumbledore know the Potters were dead so quickly?" His eyes flickered down to the blond boy in his arms. "And in all this, what happened to Lily's son?"
Lily Evan's son.
"He said the Potters' were dead…"
Ted frowned. "Already we received two owls about how the 'Potters defeated them' while you were speaking to your sisters, and a patronus came through a few minutes ago rambling that the 'Potter boy' saved us all."
"Oh Merlin," she gasped. "But he's younger than Draco…"
"We can't trust Dumbledore's words right now," he said firmly. "None of this makes any sense."
"I'm sure Bella will be thrilled to hear that," Narcissa attempted lightheartedly as the gravity of what Ted had revealed fully hit her. In the chaos of the war's abrupt end, the details of Dumbledore's actions would be overlooked. She doubted anyone else would be able to recall the exact order of events well enough to question the undisputed might of the magical British Isles. "Give me Draco," she ordered. "I'll watch over the children while you go tell Andromeda and Bellatrix."
"Under normal circumstances I'd prefer you there as a mediator," he joked. While it had been true the first few months of the sisters' reconnection, Bellatrix had now grown used to Ted's existence. Oh, they would never be friends, but Narcissa was sure that she would choose to protect Ted if he was targeted.
Narcissa laughed quietly as he slipped her son back into her arms. "Don't worry. After today, you'll be the least of her concerns."