The Dark Lord will never forgive this.
The Dark Lord will never forgive this.
Lucius Malfoy felt hollow. His mind was trained on the consequences of his actions. It was true, after all. The Dark Lord would never forgive this. He was ruined. It was only a matter of time before the Dark Lord appeared to take not only his life, but the lives of his son and wife. Every Death Eater was intimately aware of the Dark Lord's power and Lucius was no exception.
He was no exception.
The Dark Lord will never forgive this.
"Lucius?" a voice said, a familiar, loving, angelic voice. He raised his eyes ever so slightly to gaze at the worried expression currently rooting itself on his wife's face. His heart pounded in his chest and his breathing paused for a moment.
Her sister stood beside her, the sister no one ever spoke of, the one everyone tried to forget existed. This woman had done the unthinkable, she married a Muggle-born, disrupting their family line. Time had aged Andromeda, tearing away the joyful gleam which used to accompany her.
The pounding in his heart subsided. He strode over to Narcissa and took her hands. "I was worried for you," he admitted.
"You've aged."
He was sure he had. He felt older, a hundred years older than the last time he saw her. His blond hair was replaced by a stressed grey. His face was covered by a grey stubble. He was battered and tired, the image of a man who lost everything.
"We're safe here," Andromeda said.
"Nowhere's safe," snapped Lucius. "He can find us anywhere." And then he'll kill us all. His grip on Narcissa's hands tightened.
Silence met his words. Tears filled Andromeda's eyes as she nodded, admitting the truth to his words. Lucius recalled learning something of Ted Tonks, Andromeda's husband. The man allegedly fled. He was found dead not too long ago.
There was no such thing as safety in a time of war.
The Dark Lord will never forgive this.
"The Order will protect us," insisted Narcissa. "We will be free."
Lucius did not mention how naive he found his wife to be. The Dark Lord had great power, which both of them had witnessed for themselves. He would win in the end and come for them. They could hide all they wanted, but he would find them just the same.
And if Voldemort did not come himself, Bellatrix certainly would.
-----
Draco clutched Hermione's hand in his own. Gently, he pressed a kiss to her hand, as though this action would cause everything to be okay. She was sleeping now, had been since they reached Shell Cottage. And Draco wanted nothing more than for her to wake up and talk to him.
He sat next to her on the bed, waiting for her to wake up, to show him she was fine and not destroyed by what his aunt had done to her. His eyes fell on her new scar. Mudblood. He should have protected her, should have stopped his aunt.
Harry was pacing the hallway, periodically sticking his head into the room to check on Hermione. As always, there was something on his mind. The weight of the world was on his shoulders. Ron and Draco were there if Harry needed someone, but they both knew he would not speak until he was ready.
Or until he acted irrationally because of his thoughts.
"Harry," Draco said, "you're driving me mad. Just sit down and stop wearing a hole in Weasley's floor."
YOU ARE READING
The Brave at Heart
Fanfiction"He could only imagine what his father was going to say when he heard. Oh, he had really done it this time. His father had once told him he was a disgrace to the Malfoy name and now he really was. It wasn't supposed to have gone this way. He was sup...
