Protection

Tormented

Lucius apparated home early that night. "Narcissa," he called from the front door. She came in from the adjacent room to his left.

"Your home early," she said, giving him a kiss. Her smile faded when she looked at his face. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to go out tonight; the Dark Lord is coming here."

Narcissa didn't argue, she grabbed her cloak and slipped it on. "Contact me when he's gone."

Lucius nodded, sharing a deep and passionate kiss with her; and reluctantly releasing her. Once she had apparated, Lucius relaxed enough to compose himself and waited for the Dark Lord to arrive. It was nearly midnight when he did, and Lucius had almost fallen asleep. He was in the dining room when Voldemort appeared.

"Lucius," Voldemort hissed.

Lucius Malfoy looked up at his Master and bowed deeply. "My Lord," he said. "What is it that you wish?"

"Did you find the prophecy?"

"My Lord," Lucius said, "I have located it. The only problem is that, only the person who the prophecy's about can retrieve the prophecy. And I don't know the exact shelf it's on."

Voldemort sighed; a sign that made Lucius extremely nervous. "You disappoint me, Lucius." He waved his wand and two Death Eater's, Rodolphus and Rebastan Lestrange, brought his wife in. Bellatrix walked in right behind her, then took her spot next to the Dark Lord. Narcissa's face was impassive, but Lucius knew she was scared; he had thought that she was safe, but apparently he was wrong.

"You thought that by sending her away from here that she would be safe from me," Voldemort said, then laughed. "Lucius, you should've known better." There was a tense pause; Lucius was practically holding his breath, praying that Voldemort didn't cast the curse onto his wife. "However, since you have been so useful to me, you shall lead the attack. I'll lure the boy there, and then with his help, you get the prophecy." Lucius exhaled with relief; but he had done it too soon- that was when he heard the Curse. "Crucio!"

"No!"

Narcissa fell to the ground screaming in pain- despite her obvious attempts to suppress them.

"Stop!" Lucius cried, stopping only a few feet from his wife's writhing body. Bellatrix looked like she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue. Lucius knew that she would've let Voldemort kill her sister, despite the fact that they were pretty close to each other. Family didn't matter to Bellatrix when it came to the Dark Lord; but it did to Lucius. "Stop, please."

After a few more minutes, Voldemort lowered his wand, and Narcissa's cries stopped. "Get me the prophecy, Lucius; or the Cruciatis curse isn't the only thing she'll be recieving." As soon as Voldemort and the other Death Eaters dissappeared, Lucius carefully picked her up and took her back to their bedroom. After placing her on the bed, he gently stroked her hair, and took out his wand. "Obliviate," he whispered, wiping the memory of the Cruciatis curse from her mind.

She was too weak to move at all, let alone talk or comprehend anything. When he was done, he kissed her gently. Narcissa mumbled something unintelligible, and Lucius started to cry, lying down next to his love . "I'm sorry," he whispered gently, his tears falling on her beautiful face. "I'm so, so sorry, Narcissa." Lucius knew that if he didn't participate in the battle, that she would be the ultimate punishment. If he lost her, he knew that he would fall apart, and that was the last thing he needed.

He fell asleep next to her, arms wrapped protectively around her- as if he were trying to undo what had happened that night. The next morning, Narcissa groaned when she woke up; waking up Lucius immediately. He had completely forgotten about the after effects of the Cruciatis Curse; it was too late now to try and modify her memory. "How do you feel?" he asked.