'Temper, temper, my dear,' Lucius said smoothly. 'I swear you sound more like your mother with each passing year.' He Levitated the chair over to the window, then untied her left hand with a flick of his wand. 'Eat, drink and be merry, Narcissa,' he said. 'You must recover your strength before the Dark Lord admits you into his presence.'
Narcissa turned very pale. 'The Dark Lord is here?'
'Naturally,' Lucius sneered. 'It was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who commanded me to retrieve you and bring you here. He has plans for you. Do not worry, my love. Once he is done with you he has promised to turn you over to me, and we can resume our lives of wedded bliss.'
His wife tried to spit at him, but she didn't have nearly enough saliva to manage it.
'Tut, tut, Narcissa,' Lucius said disapprovingly. 'That's not very lady-like. The wife of Lucius Malfoy must maintain her dignity at all times.'
'You can do what you like to me,' Narcissa replied in a cold voice, 'but as far as I am concerned you are no longer my husband.'
Lucius shrugged. 'The Imperius Curse may yet change your mind,' he said. 'We will be a family again, Narcissa. One way or another.'
The witch's pride made her want to refuse the bread and water Lucius had brought, to throw them back in his face, but her empty stomach and parched throat persuaded her otherwise. She drained the cup in a single draught, then began nibbling at the bread. When she had finished, Lucius flicked his wand again, freeing her feet and tying both her hands behind her back. He forced her to stand, then led her down a dark corridor to a musty room, lit only by a small fire.
There, sitting in a high-backed armchair, was the Dark-Lord-possessed former Defence master.
Narcissa thought fast. Once again her highly-developed Slytherin instincts did battle with her pureblood pride, and once again her wish to survive won out. Narcissa decided to do what she knew best. She dropped into a low curtsey.
'My lord,' she said in a docile voice. Even with dishevelled hair and both arms tied behind her back, the witch cut quite an impressive figure. Lucius looked at her strangely. The cold cackling that Narcissa knew all too well emanated from the back of Quirrell's head.
'"My lord", Narcissa?' Voldemort replied. 'I was under the impression that you were now consorting with my enemies.'
Narcissa laughed, doing her best to imitate her eldest sister. 'My lord, I am afraid that Lucius has lied to you. I am as loyal to your cause as my unfortunate sister. Had Lucius made even the slightest effort to persuade me by more gentlemanly means, I should have flocked willingly to your banner.'
'Lies,' Lucius growled. 'My lord, I told her that it was at your orders that I gave the Black brat the diary.'
Narcissa sniffed. 'And why should I believe you under such circumstances, Lucius?' she said, her haughty voice dripping with the scorn that only a Black could summon. 'I know that you have always been jealous of your nephew's power.'
Lucius looked at his wife with a mixture of disbelief and amazement.
'Yes,' Voldemort said, cutting in. 'Let's talk more about the boy. He is, after all, the reason I have brought you to my late father's house.'
'What does my lord wish to know?' Narcissa asked, bowing her head.
When the Dark Lord responded, his hoarse voice sent tremors up the witch's spine.
'Everything.'
....
In the library at Grimmauld Place, Harry fell to the ground screaming. He clutched desperately at his forehead.
'Aries?' Draco asked anxiously. 'What's the matter?' When his cousin made no response, he summoned the house elf. 'KREACHER!' he shouted, and the elf appeared with a pop. 'Master Aries has taken ill,' Draco said. 'Has Master Sirius returned yet?'
Kreacher shook his head. 'No, Master Draco,' he croaked. 'Master is still out searching for Miss Cissy.'
'Then kindly fetch my Aunt Clytemnestra and bring her here.'
The elf bowed and vanished, and moments later the Squib came rushing in.
'Great Merlin!' she exclaimed at the sight of Harry writhing on the floor. 'What happened?'
'I don't know,' Draco said. 'We were just doing our homework, and it was like he had a fit or something.'
With Kreacher's assistance, Clytemnestra and Draco managed to get Harry upstairs to his bedroom. The Squib took a wet washcloth and used it to cool Harry's forehead. He was burning up, and there was a strange, fiercely-red patch of skin just beneath his hairline.
After a few moments, Sirius ran into the room, still wearing his Muggle clothes. Remus, Abraxas and Cassiopeia followed close behind.
'What happened?' Sirius demanded. 'Kreacher told us Aries was ill.'
Draco shook his head. 'I'm not certain. We were working on our homework in the library, and he suddenly put his hands to his head and started yelling.'
Sirius sat down on the bed next to Harry and took over the washcloth from Clytemnestra. After a few minutes, Harry began to stir. His eyes shot open and he sat straight up in the bed.
'I saw Aunt Narcissa!' he exclaimed. 'She and Lucius were with Riddle. Riddle said they were in his father's house.'
Sirius and Remus exchanged a meaningful look.
'It looks like we have independent confirmation of your theory, Moony,' Sirius said. He turned back to Harry and tried to lay him back down. Harry resisted.
'No, we need to go rescue her!' he protested.
'You're not doing anything,' Sirius said sternly. 'You're going to stay here and rest.'
'I don't need rest,' Harry snapped. 'I'm fine. I just had a vision.'
'You passed out, Aries,' Clytemnestra said. 'I think that hardly qualifies as fine.'
Sirius ran a hand through his son's hair. 'We'll take care of this. I promise. Did you see anything else that might help?'
.....
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