Dusk was falling and Narcissa found it difficult to make out the pages of her book. It didn't really matter; she wasn't reading anyway. She closed the volume with a sigh and set it aside on the table
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Lucius stood at the window of his study, looking out. The room was dark with only a few candles lit, so he could see the shapes of shadows in the gardens. Depression had clawed at him all day, tearing away pieces that he could ill afford to lose. He had made promises to be aware of the darkness within him but it was difficult. No one understood what they were asking.
Occasionally, he dreamed of giving in and allowing it to take him. It would be so easy to let go, easier than falling asleep, easier than falling in love. Sometimes, he couldn't remember why he hadn't. And sometimes, he wasn't sure if he didn't already.
He stood at the window and looked out, letting those dreams slip away, letting his mind go still.
In the doorway, Narcissa paused. "Are you busy, love?" she asked, after only the briefest of hesitations. She moved on into the room without waiting for an answer, drawing her wand and lighting the lamps.
He blinked, remembering how. He blinked again, drawing himself out of shadowed dreams, and slowly turned to face Narcissa. What had she asked?
"Busy?" There was a tiny pause then he remembered to smile. "Not for you."
Moving away from the window, he sat on the plush settee in one corner of the room and patted the cushion next to him. "Come sit with me and tell me what troubles you."
She moved to sit beside him, lowering herself slowly onto the cushion. As she sat, she felt the sharp corner of Bella's letter, folded into tight creases, dig into the front of her thigh. She smoothed the place with her palm and then reached out to take Lucius's hand.
"I heard from Bella today." Not from my sister. Not just now. She glanced up to meet Lucius's gaze and then dropped her eyes to her lap. "An owl arrived late this morning."
At her words, adrenaline flooded his veins and the room came into sharp focus. This was it. The news he had been awaiting. This was it.
But he knew better than to crow. There were tight lines around Narcissa's mouth and she would barely meet his eyes. He knew that she wasn't happy about betraying her sister and he knew that she would do it. There was no need to make this more difficult for her by displaying his disdain for Bellatrix.
He curled his fingers around hers and drew her hand to his thigh.
With a sigh, she turned toward him and let her forehead rest on his shoulder. He smelled warm and familiar, of his favorite soap and simply of himself.
"I know where she is. I've been there. We both have, when we were children. But it's going to be difficult."
"Difficult to retrieve the child or difficult to take this step?" Lucius wrapped an arm around her, tucking her close to his side. Both of them needed the reassurance and he saw no need to deny it. At least to himself.
"Both." She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, remembering warm summer sun on a Cornwall meadow and the cool, still darkness underground. "I know where she is, but not many others will have heard of the place. She'll know I'm the one who's told, if we aren't very, very careful."
She leaned against his side, tilting her chin to look up at his face. "She's in Cornwall, near Mousehole. We had cousins there and we used to play in the countryside, as children. There's a cave, a fogou, and Bella loved it. We all did."
She could remember how it smelled, of cold stone and damp earth and moss. "She has the boy there, I'm certain of it."
He nodded, stroking his thumb back and forth over the cap of her shoulder. Her pain touched him but not enough to offer to let this go; both of them were well aware that they were committed to this course. All he could do for her was remain calm and neutral, and to help her gain some distance.
"A family secret then." He smiled down at her and kissed her temple. "I know about those. Perhaps that could be our opening. You are not the only family she has and there's another sister who is openly set against the Dark Lord's cause."
She pressed her lips together, considering the idea. It had a great deal of merit, and in her heart of hearts Narcissa rather liked the idea of letting Andromeda take the blame.
"How?" she asked, already puzzling over the answer. "I think I can get Bella out of her lair, but when she returns and finds her prey vanished, she's bound to think of me unless we leave her some evidence to the contrary."
"Andromeda threw a halfblood with that husband of hers." Lucius turned the connections over in his mind, looking for links. "She's an Auror, a metamorphmagus." He allowed himself a moment's regret for the waste then continued. "She's likely on the look-out for the child."
Narcissa wrinkled her nose. She avoided thinking of her sister's highly unfortunate marriage as much as possible, and her sister's misbegotten child was an even less welcome consideration. Still, Lucius made an excellent point.
"Likely so, but it will be difficult to implicate her. In any case, she'll know herself that she had no hand in the matter. The most cursory investigation will have the truth, and then we're back where we began."
"True enough. Our alibi must withstand scrutiny from both sides." That was a regrettable side effect of belonging to neither side. His eyes narrowed in thought. "Let us look at it from the other direction. The best scapegoat would be one of the loyal--to diminish His power--but Bellatrix's first thoughts would not go there. Someone who is leaning away from the yoke, perhaps."
He arched a brow as someone occurred to him. "Greyback is known to be in disagreement with Him, and I owe him one, anyway. He's close to an animal. He could track the child to your sister's bolthole if he has a general location to start. And I know where I could obtain a bit of his fur to leave at the scene."
Occasionally, he dreamed of giving in and allowing it to take him. It would be so easy to let go, easier than falling asleep, easier than falling in love. Sometimes, he couldn't remember why he hadn't. And sometimes, he wasn't sure if he didn't already.
He stood at the window and looked out, letting those dreams slip away, letting his mind go still.
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Reply
"Busy?" There was a tiny pause then he remembered to smile. "Not for you."
Moving away from the window, he sat on the plush settee in one corner of the room and patted the cushion next to him. "Come sit with me and tell me what troubles you."
Reply
"I heard from Bella today." Not from my sister. Not just now. She glanced up to meet Lucius's gaze and then dropped her eyes to her lap. "An owl arrived late this morning."
Reply
But he knew better than to crow. There were tight lines around Narcissa's mouth and she would barely meet his eyes. He knew that she wasn't happy about betraying her sister and he knew that she would do it. There was no need to make this more difficult for her by displaying his disdain for Bellatrix.
He curled his fingers around hers and drew her hand to his thigh.
Reply
"I know where she is. I've been there. We both have, when we were children. But it's going to be difficult."
Reply
Reply
She leaned against his side, tilting her chin to look up at his face. "She's in Cornwall, near Mousehole. We had cousins there and we used to play in the countryside, as children. There's a cave, a fogou, and Bella loved it. We all did."
She could remember how it smelled, of cold stone and damp earth and moss. "She has the boy there, I'm certain of it."
Reply
"A family secret then." He smiled down at her and kissed her temple. "I know about those. Perhaps that could be our opening. You are not the only family she has and there's another sister who is openly set against the Dark Lord's cause."
Reply
"How?" she asked, already puzzling over the answer. "I think I can get Bella out of her lair, but when she returns and finds her prey vanished, she's bound to think of me unless we leave her some evidence to the contrary."
Reply
Reply
"Likely so, but it will be difficult to implicate her. In any case, she'll know herself that she had no hand in the matter. The most cursory investigation will have the truth, and then we're back where we began."
Reply
He arched a brow as someone occurred to him. "Greyback is known to be in disagreement with Him, and I owe him one, anyway. He's close to an animal. He could track the child to your sister's bolthole if he has a general location to start. And I know where I could obtain a bit of his fur to leave at the scene."
Reply
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