Confrontations

Disclaimer: Nope...don't own it yet...even less likely to gain it now the series is over hehe

Sorry this took so long for peeps who may or may not have been waiting for it. But I'm baaaack!

"That was bloody brilliant!" Blaise yelled in the changing rooms after the match, hugging Phoenix until she choked. The rest of the team nodded eagerly. Phoenix shrugged.

"Calypso's goals helped," she said, shrugging. Blaise nodded.

"Yeah. Excellent work, Hermas." She smiled. "Hey, how pissed off was Draco when he found out you were Seeker?" Phoenix's eyes widened.

"I never actually told him!" she giggled.

"Wish I'd been in the stands with him at the time," Blaise muttered.

"But then you wouldn't have been able to save those goals," Daphne pointed out.

"What saves? I did a Weasley, I'm ashamed to say!" Blaise admitted.

"Oh come on, you saved about six of the Weasley girl's shoots, and she's definitely the best Chaser out of the bunch. Did you see Calypso, though? Weasel couldn't save one of hers!" Calypso smiled modestly again.

"Great work, everyone!" Blaise announced suddenly. "Beaters, nice job, except for Goyle trying to beat my head off – twice! Fabulous work from our beautiful Chasers, and Nott," he grinned, receiving a glare off him. "The best works coming from me, of course," Blaise grinned again. Daphne gave him a hard shove.

"Prick. Loved the catch, Phoe!" she said, smiling. "How did you manage to stay on your broom? I'd have gone straight to the ground!"

"I nearly did! I'm never doing that again!"

Blaise gasped. "What?! Come on, Phoe, you're what Slytherin needs!"

"Yeah. I wouldn't say that to Draco, or you might end up where he is," she smiled, pulling on her normal Slytherin robes. Blaise shrugged.

"Think I'll say it anyway, just to piss him off," he grinned again, exiting the changing rooms.

Harry went up to the Gryffindor tower in an extremely disappointed, not to mention nervous, state. He knew it wasn't his fault, but how would Gryffindor react to losing to Slytherin? After five years worth of victory against them? With a replacement Seeker on the team?

"Proudlove," he muttered when he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"As it should be," she muttered, swinging open, to reveal a surprisingly empty Common Room. He'd guessed there'd be some Gryffindors too angry to even face him, but the completely empty Common Room was ridiculous!

"Hey, Harry," Ginny greeted from an armchair.

"Hi. I thought it was empty," he muttered, taking the seat opposite her.

"Yeah, well, the rest of the team'll be up here in a minute, I guess," she shrugged, gazing into the fire. They sat there in silence, not even looking at each other. All that could be heard were the gently crackling flames from the fireplace. "I bet that stand-in Seeker's really popular now," Ginny remarked.

"She was already in with Malfoy's lot," Harry explained.

"How do you know?"

"I've seen them together, with Pansy Parkinson and everyone else." Ginny nodded. She looked extremely down. "I'm sorry," he muttered. She looked up.

"Did Seamus say something?" she asked suddenly. Harry frowned.

"No, I meant for missing the Snitch. Why, what's going on?" She looked back down towards the fireplace and shook her head.

"He's gone off in a mood," she mumbled. "Said you'd done a shit job today, and got all stroppy when I said you couldn't have done anything. Then he got all possessive, saying crap like 'have you been cheating on me with him?'. That was so ridiculous, I just had to laugh, you know? Then he was all 'you fucking whore' and stormed off!"

"He called you a what?'"

"Harry, you know as well as I do he can be a real bastard when he wants to be," Ginny smiled weakly. She looked at him sadly, smiling slightly. He smiled back.

"Ginny-" he began.

"Harry! There you are! I've been looking all over the castle for you!" Hermione gasped, bursting into the Common Room.

"What's up?"

"Harry, I think I must be going crazy! I-" she saw Ginny. "Can we take a walk?"

"Er, I guess," Harry shrugged. "Will you be all right, Gin?"

"Harry, I don't get suicidal over a break-up!" she laughed. "Go on, I don't care." He smiled at her, and followed Hermione out of the Common Room.

"What's up, then, Mione?"

"I'm going mental, Harry! I don't know what's going on!"

"Calm down, Hermione! Start from the beginning," Harry coaxed. She breathed heavily.

"At the match – I – I couldn't see you. At all!"

"Hermione, I was flying about on a Firebolt, I'm easy to miss!"

"No! That's not it! It was like I could see the broom, but not you! And yesterday, I never told you this, but in Transfiguration, I didn't have a clue where Malfoy was! He always sits right behind us!"

"Malfoy wasn't even in Transfiguration yesterday! I know for a fact, Phoenix told me in Defence on Thursday." She breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Okay, so the Malfoy thing was a false alarm, but what about you? And Dumbledore the other week?" He could see her eyes were prickling with tears. "What's going on, Harry?" Harry looked at her desperately. He didn't have a clue why she suddenly couldn't see people.

"Try a book?" he suggested weakly.

"I have! I must have searched the entire library! God, I even searched the Restricted Section! Not one of them says anything about people's sight going mental for no reason!" She sniffed, and wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Have you asked Dumbledore?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Harry, I can't exactly see him right now!"

"I thought that was just once!" he protested.

"I don't know! I've been deliberately avoiding him! Just in case I couldn't see him when he was there! I was too scared." Harry looked at her sadly, and pulled her into a hug.

"We'll figure this out, right? I promise, we'll figure it out," he soothed.

"But what if we don't, Harry?"

"We will. You're the smartest witch I know! If there's anyone who can figure this out, it's you."

"Raise your goblets to...Blaise Zabini! For being such a great temp coach!" Daphne laughed, holding her goblet up.

"Hear hear!" Blaise shouted, taking a long gulp of his Firewhisky.

"And Calypso Hermas, for being such a damn good Chaser!" Jessica Parkinson added.

"And maybe Phoenix Melody, for making a much better Seeker than I ever would?" drawled Draco from behind her. She blushed.

"Hey, cousin," she greeted nervously, starting to giggle. Blaise choked down a laugh.

"Zabini, how come you never told me that my own cousin was going to replace me?" Draco drawled again. Blaise shrugged.

"Well, you know, you'd have got all...you," he grinned. "You'd have been all-'what?! How could a seventh year newcomer take my place as Seeker on Saturday? You wait till my father hears about this!'" Everyone except Draco roared. "Oh, come on, Malfoy, I'm only kidding!" Blaise laughed. "I know you wouldn't report your own cousin!"

Th rest of the team laughed merrily, and even Phoenix couldn't suppress another small giggle.

"Hey, Malfoy, are you sure you should be down here in your condition?" Blaise joked.

"Even Madam Pomfrey can't stop me celebrating a Quidditch victory," Draco replied.

"Yeah, I guess. Just a shame it's not actually your victory!"

"Blaise, you are drunk!" giggled Daphne, taking his goblet from him, and pouring it over him.

"I'm gonna get you for that, Greengrass!"

"How? By slurring a curse at me?" Blaise frowned, and went off in mock huff into the corner. "If he thinks that's gonna work, he doesn't know me at all." She turned to Draco. "Anyway, Draco, can we be expecting you back to annoy Longbottom and Potter in Potions soon?"

"Haven't you been pissing them off enough for me?"

"Well, Weasley doesn't look like he wants to hex our arses off like he does you," Daphne said.

"I'm disappointed," Draco grinned. "Now, if my dear cousin was a little less prejudiced and a little more like me-"

"Draco, I am not hexing Harry! I am not making Neville's cauldron blow up! And I am not going to make Hermione cry again!" Phoenix cut in.

"Ooh, on first name terms with the Gryffindors, Phoe?" Daphne teased. Phoenix shrugged. "Whatever. Draco, we need you back."

"For what? I think you're doing okay at Quidditch."

"For classes! And not that we don't want you, Phoe, but we do need you back at some point, Draco!"

"Oh, I don't know! Ask Pomfrey!"

For the remainder of the party, all everyone could talk about was the match. Under normal circumstances, Draco wouldn't mind, but he really wished they'd stop going on about Phoenix's save. It hadn't been that spectacular!

'You're just jealous,' he told himself. 'As much as I bloody hate to admit it, it was a good save!'

"You all right?" asked a Mediterranean girl. He knew it wasn't Calypso, because she was over by Blaise and Daphne with Jessica Parkinson.

"Who are you?" he demanded rudely.

"Soreda Hermas. Calypso's sister," she explained. He shrugged in a 'do I really care?' manner. "It's a shame you couldn't play today," she remarked after an awkward silence.

"Why? Wasn't Phoenix good enough?"

"Oh, she was brilliant, that wasn't what I meant," Soreda said hurriedly.

"And what did you mean, exactly, Selina or whatever your name is?"

"Soreda."

"Whatever! What did you mean?"

"Nothing, just that – I'm sorry you couldn't play because of your back."

"Who told you that crap?"

"Phoenix did."

Draco cringed. "And why would she tell you?"

"We talk sometimes. I heard from my sister that she was Seeker for the match, I asked why you weren't playing, she told me." Draco shrugged. "Was she lying?"

"No, she wasn't lying! I was! Why do you care?"

"I was just wondering. Are you always this moody?"

"What?"

"You're just getting stroppy for no reason. Do you want me to leave you to it?"

"You do that." She shrugged, and headed towards Phoenix who was talking with Pansy. Pansy's nose scrunched up as Soreda approached, but Soreda appeared not to notice. Draco shook his head, half in amusement, half in despair. He couldn't believe Pansy's immaturity sometimes.

"Hi," said someone behind him. He turned and saw the fifth year smiling down at him. He knew who she was instantly. "You look stressed," she remarked.

"I am very tense," he muttered, smirking again. She giggled, and he saw her eyes move to the boys' dorm. He knew it probably wasn't a coincidence. "I could do with relaxing.

"Now?" she gasped.

"Why not? No-one'll notice."

"And if someone's in the dorm?"

"We'll go somewhere else. Come on, you brought it up! You started it, you finish it!" She shrugged, and got up. He led her up to the boys' dormitories and closed the door behind them.

"Colloportus,' he muttered, locking it. A small shiver went down the girl's spine. "You cold?" he drawled. She shrugged. "Maybe you should climb under the sheets. Warm you up."

"Will you be doing that?"

"Reason we're here," he drawled again.

She was in a corner, trying to snatch glimpses at her Ancient Runes book whilst also trying to 'join in' the conversation.

"Why are you doing work now?" Blaise whinged. "You've given us a victory, Phoe! You're the one who should be partying the most!"

"Blaise, as much as I like you, and as much as I'd love to go around people and hearing them talk about my 'great save' and all that jazz, if you interrupt me again, I will hit you over the head with my book. And I warn you, it's a heavy hardback," she warned.

"Oh, come on, seriously, why you doing work? And Ancient Runes of all subjects?"

"Because, Blaise, Ancient Runes is the first, not to mention hardest, of my exams."

"They're not till June," Blaise protested.

"The N.E. aren't till June, no, but I'm not doing them."

"There are no other exams!"

"The O.?"

"What about them?"

"That's what I'm revising for," she said irritably. 'Bollocks,' she thought furiously. She shouldn't have said that. "Fucking Dumbledore insisted I do them. Make sure I'm up to standard."

"But you were at Beauxbatons!"

"I know, but he has his suspicions."

"What about? What did you get up to?" he smirked.

"Nothing. He's just not sure that I so much left voluntarily as was thrown out for crap grades. It's only the O., I can handle them."

"So quit being a geek, and come join us!"

"Sorry, Blaise, as easy as I should find this, Ancient Runes is hard!"

"You've got all of tomorrow!" he pointed out.

"Yeah, like you're not gonna drag me either to the Pitch to relive my 'finest moment' or up to the Hospital Wing to piss off Draco that I'm a 'much better Seeker' or whatever crap you've been saying!"

"No," Blaise muttered, looking mock guilty. She laughed.

"Sorry, but I have to do this," she smiled, turning her attention back to the Runes book. Blaise gave her a sad puppy-dog-eye look. She pulled the book right in front of her face, so as not to see it. Blaise smirked, knowing his face was working.

"Come on, Phoe, can't I tempt you with a cauldron cake?" he drawled.

"No," she said uncertainly, peering from her book. Blaise grinned.

"You know you want one," he said in another drawling, almost begging tone.

"Leave me alone," she whined. Blaise gave her another puppy-dog-eye look. "Okay, but just one!" she warned. "And then you let me get on with this for the rest of the night – weekend!"

"Absolutely!" Blaise promised, with a suspicous glint in his eye which clearly said 'like, right!' "Cauldron cake?"

"Nah, but I'll have some Firewhisky," she replied, holding out a goblet. Blaise nodded.

"Atta girl," he smirked.

"Hey, if I get a hangover tomorrow-"

"I will personally fling myself of the Astronomy Tower to save you the trouble," he promised.

"No, don't" she said.

"Aaw, you mean you can't live without Blaisey?"

"No, you're just robbing me of what I've been looking forward to," she smiled. Blaise gave her a mock look of surprise and gasped.

"That hurt, Phoenix."

"Well, it was meant to." Blaise huffed and puffed slightly. Phoenix giggled. "You do a great Pansy," she laughed. Blaise shrugged in an 'I know,' sort of way.

"Hey, Zabini, have you been filed for a harassment suit yet?" drawled Draco from behind Phoenix.

"No, you see, I just need to get her drunk first so she won't remember a thing," Blaise replied in a serious tone, keeping a straight face. Phoenix on the other hand couldn't suppress a snort. Draco sighed at the pair.

"Just don't get too drunk, cousin," he warned.

"Aaw, you getting all protective of me?" she joked. "That's so sweet!" She jabbed him really hard in the ribs for emphasis.

"Um, ow," he remarked. Phoenix shrugged.

"You know something crazy," she began. "I think – I might already be a little drunk!"

"You reckon?" said Draco sarcastically.

"No, seriously, you know, I think I have gone a little insane! Ooh, hey, I love this song!" she burst out, running into the middle of the Common Room.

"Isn't this the latest Weird Sisters song that, like, no-one's heard yet?" Blaise checked.

"Yeah," Draco nodded, watching his cousin, who'd now started dancing really obviously, and attracting a lot of attention. Not that her moves were unco-ordinated. In fact, a lot of people had started joining in. "Blaise?" he began.

"Yes?"

"Is there even the slightest possibility that you had anything to do with her drink being spiked?" Blaise looked shocked.

"I thought Firewhisky wasn't meant to be as strong as that," he muttered.

"Was it anything to do with you, Blaise?" Draco repeated.

"No, I swear! Bloody hell, Draco, you know I save that for the second years who've never seen a bottle of Firewhisky before!"

"Blaise?!"

"I didn't spike her drink, I promise." Draco sighed, and went into the crowd of dancers reluctantly.

He came out again looking extremely dishevelled, and supporting Phoenix, her arm over his shoulders.

"What you gonna do with her?" Blaise asked. Draco shot him a look. "No, no! Not like that, you prick! I meant, y'know, where you gonna put her?"

"Dunno. Without this wanting to sound wrong or 'suggestive' or anything, I think our dorm would be best."

"Draco, I haven't finished yet!" Phoenix protested. "There was this one move I wanted to try. Well, again actually!" she snorted, laughing. "Last time it happened, I was at the top of the stairs, and I kinda broke my ankle! Hurt like hell, but it was freakin' funny!" She burst out laughing again.

"Yeah, cousin, I have a better idea-"

"Yeah, right. Tell me, cousin mine, what could possibly be more fun than staying here?! Or are you saying we go outside? Ooh, yes, let's do that!"

"I'm thinking, we leave that till tomorrow," Draco suggested.

"No, that's boring! You don't wanna be boring, do you?"

"Not really, no, which is why I have a better idea! We go upstairs and – Blaise help me out here?"

"Uh, right, uh, we play-"

"No playing!"

"You chat?"

"Chatting? That the best you got, Zabini?" Draco mocked.

"No, that sounds fun! You can tell me your deepest, darkest secret!" she announced, jabbing him again, and heading for the girl's dorms.

"Shall we just let her go to bed, or-?" Blaise began. Draco shrugged.

"Yeah. She's already found the right staircase," he agreed. "Right, shite! I'd better go back to the Hospital Wing! Later, Blaise!"

"See you, Malfoy!"

She fingered the dress lightly. It felt so soft, so perfect, so-right. That's what she'd thought when she'd first seen it.

She'd been in Diagon Alley with Hannah Parkinson (except back then, she was Hannah Greaves), who she was 'best friends' with, you could say. At the time, they'd only been nineteen, and had been out of Hogwarts for a year or so.

"But he's so wealthy, and very high up in the wizard hierarchy! What would he ever see in me?" Narcissa moaned, as they walked down the street.

"You're Narcissa Black! Bloody hell, if I could get a guy as successful as that man to even look at me, I'd know I must be dreaming!" Hannah sighed sadly.

"I don't know. Don't take this wrong, but you don't look like a 'Greaves," Narcissa commented.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you look like you're too good to be one. Meanwhile, I'm Narcissa Alfia Ambrose Black, I have...expectations to live up to. Bellatrix and Andromeda would never see the light of day again, they'd be so overshadowed by me if I were to marry him."

"Steady on! Don't get too keen! You've had one conversation with the man!"

"So? My father always boasted about how he'd charmed my mother into marriage with just a look," Narcissa remembered, smiling. "Of course, her version includes him getting into a spot of trouble with the Aurors, and her bailing him out. Personally, I believe neither, but it makes you think."

"What about?" Hannah questioned, frowning.

Narcissa shrugged. "No idea, it just sounded good at the end of the sentence. And excuse me, but we danced as well!"" Hannah gave a small chuckle, and looked up. She gasped. "What?" said Narcissa.

"Isn't that him? That's him, isn't it? Oh my God!" Hannah squealed excitedly.

"What are you – oh!" Narcissa gasped as she realised. Ahead of them was the subject of their discussion-Lucius Malfoy. She looked away, shielding her face. Hannah nudged her sharply.

"Now is not the time to get all coy and giggly!" she warned. "Act, um, indifferent, cool." Narcissa nodded, and looked up, a small smile plastered on her face. "And get rid of the smile!" Narcissa frowned. "Makes you look moody." Narcissa sighed exasperatedly and marched forward almost defiantly.

"Miss Black," Lucius greeted politely, smirking slightly.

"Mr Malfoy," she replied nonchalantly, pretending to look in a shop window, and acting as though she'd never even seen him.

"Without wanting to sound too, uh, forward, Miss Black," Lucius began. Narcissa spun round. "But you would look sensational in that." He winked and walked on. Narcissa frowned, and muttered "what-". She turned and saw that she'd been looking in the window of a bridal shop!

"Oh God!" she gasped, coming over all red.

"Blimey, you look like someone who's squirted tomato sauce all over you," Hannah giggled, seeing Narcissa's blush. "Nice wedding dress, by the way. You have good taste."

"Do you have the remotest idea what just happened?" Narcissa asked, cringing still. Hannah shrugged. "Lucius Malfoy just...he must have thought I was really odd! He saw me looking at these bloody dresses! And it was obvious from that smirk he knew I wasn't engaged! I am so humiliated!" She slumped down against the wall.

"Well, this is helping your image," Hannah muttered. Narcissa glared. "Did he at least say anything, or just walk off?"

"Hannah, he is one notch below royalty!"

"So he just walked off?"

"No! They have a habit of never leaving without having had the last say."

"What did he say?!" Hannah gasped. Narcissa smiled. She blushed again.

"He said I'd look sensational in it."

She smiled at the memory. Oh, that day had been so perfect! There was the garlands of lilies in her hair, her beautiful dress...it was such a beautiful ceremony.

"What are you thinking?" came Lucius's voice suddenly. She quickly closed the wardrobe door.

"Nothing of importance," she replied hurriedly, looking down, inpsecting for invisible mess.

"Narcissa, I have known you long enough to know when you are lying," Lucius grinned. "What's the problem?"

"There's no problem. I was just reminiscing."

"Yes. About our wedding day apparently." She looked at him shocked. "I saw the dress," he explained. She smiled.

"It was a beautiful day," she said. "It was perfect."

He nodded. "The honeymoon was all right, too," he said vaguely. She laughed.

'You know what I thought of the honeymoon!" she teased. "I have to say, though," she began. "You certainly have a way of ripping one's virginity from them."

"My dear, you make it sound like I raped you."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I do. Do you remember the struggle we went through trying to conceive?"

"Oh, yes," she smiled. "You thought I was infertile, when as it turned out, it had actually been you all along!"

"No need to add salt to the wound," Lucius said coolly.

"I was just joking," Narcissa sighed. "Besides, we were able to conceive naturally. We have living proof." Lucius nodded. "He was a beautiful baby," she remarked.

"And a total disappointment of a son," Lucius muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Let's not go pretending he's the perfect heir, Narcissa. You know quite well I see more flaws in that boy than I would a 'T' marked O.W.L!" Narcissa's smile fell off her face.

"You never accepted him just because he wasn't a mirror image of you, Lucius," she pointed out.

"I'm not asking for a clone, Narcissa, just a wizard! A son!"

"He is a wizard! He's our son!"

"Then why do I feel like this? You know I've tried to give him chances, Narcissa, but the little pisser just has this way of-" he sighed in exasparation.

"You never gave him a chance," Narcissa whispered sadly. "Even when he was younger – bloody hell, one wrong move resulted with a whack round the head! Why were you like that? Why are you like that?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's irony," Lucius muttered.

"Try me, Lucius. There was one time when it was me begging for your attention. Now, I'm asking you to pay Draco a little less attention, or at least act like a father to him!"

"What do fathers do, Narcissa? From what I've gathered, they prepare their sons for an inevitable fate – adulthood!"

"Oh, so you're saying that Draco's likely to be hospitalised by relatives more often?"

"I've apologised for that, Narcissa! Things just...got out of hand!"

"And who suffered for it? Oh, guess, our son! Again!"

"Well, if he wasn't such a useless fucking shit-I...! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me, Narcissa?"

"No, oddly enough, I don't. Stupid of me really, you're not the one terrified of their father."

"I was! He beat the crap out of me, and, I grew up hating him!"

"So why are you making the same mistake with our child? You're not Abraxas, Lucius, despite what you seem to think. Or what your birth certificate says." Lucius said nothing, just looked out the window. He now had his back turned to her, and she was standing by the bed. She sighed. "You know, there was a time when I couldn't wait to have children. With you," she added, giggling slightly. He turned. "Maternal instincts kicked in shortly after our engagement. The day I discovered I was pregnant, I was delirious, ecstatic even! The thought of being a parent with you was just...I couldn't have asked for more."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Lucius, when did all this stop? I never noticed before, but when Draco was born, you grew distant. Why? You were there for the birth, but, after that, it was like you didn't want to know us. You only spoke to me when you wanted something or to say good-night. Hell, you only spoke when you needed something! And the only reason you paid any attention to our son was when he'd done something wrong! And even then, you punished him so fucking harshly, I'd started to wish-"

"I'd really prefer it if you didn't use such a profanity, Narcissa, it's un-lady-like," Lucius said monotonously. She sighed exasparatedly, and made to storm out the room.

"One last thing," she began. "What did you do when you went up to Hogwarts the other week?"

"What makes you think I did?"

"Bella told me. She said you visited him one afternoon to pass on a message for her, and then again the next morning. Why were you there, or more to the point, what did you do?"

"What would you do about it if I told you I'd cut our son's back open with my toughest belt?" Lucius smirked unpleasantly. Narcissa gasped.

"You did?" she whispered, tears prickling her eyes. Lucius nodded casually. Narcissa gasped again, and turned away.

"You know, one day you're going to realise, Narcissa," Lucius began, coming up behind her. "That there's nothing you can actually do. You might have doted on him when you were younger, but let's face it, when it comes to maternal instinct of protecting the child, you're pretty crap." He exited smoothly.

Narcissa sank onto her bed, and started crying softly into her soft, satin pillow.

'Why am I such a shit mother?' she thought sadly, remembering Draco's hurt and confused face the Christmas she visited him at St Mungo's. It hadn't gone well. She felt too guilty about everything to do much, and he felt too hurt to do much. Lucius hadn't even bothered going with her. 'What sort of mother can't even protect their own child?'

She started sobbing properly, thinking about Lucius' earlier words "what would you do about it if I told you I'd cut our son's back open with my toughest belt?"

'He must have been so alone,' she cried quietly in her head. 'Why did I have to marry such a bastard?! Why couldn't I get someone-someone-someone like-Rodolphus?!'

"What in the name of hell do you think you're doing, man?!" she heard Lucius bellow below.

"Don't you talk to my husband like that!" Bellatrix snapped angrily.

"Keep out of this, Bella!" Rodolphus shouted. Lucius smirked unpleasantly.

"Tut, tut, Rodolphus, needing a woman to fight your battles for you? Oh, the shame!"

"And just what is so shameful about it?!" Bellatrix demanded. "Or are you seriously telling me that Narcissa doesn't ever stand up for you?"

"I, Bellatrix, am able to maintain my friends' loyalty. Narcissa has never needed to jump to my defence. Not that she could. That woman is weaker than than that uselss trap of a son of mine."

"Do not talk about my sister like that!" Bellatrix whispered dangerously, drawing her wand. "Or you might just literally find it to be the last thing you say!"

"Bella! What are you...what are you doing here?" Narcissa interrupted, reaching the staircase.

"Didn't you even hear what he just said about you? Your son?" Bella asked indignantly, lowering her wand.

"Answer my question." It was a simple statement, not demanding, not forceful, not aggressive, just a simple statement.

"I followed Rodolphus here," Bella eventually replied, looking back to her husband. "I don't know what he came here for."

"To discover just what is going on in your life right now," Rodolphus replied simply.

"So you talk to me about that, Rodolphus, you don't go breaking and entering into my sister's house and start a shouting match with her husband!!"

"You should watch your tone, woman."

"Oh, stop trying to be Lucius, it's not you!" Bella snapped.

"Bella, I have to 'be Lucius' as you put it, because you seem to have lost your respect for me!"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"The way you talk to me, argue with me over the slightest little thing, this little secret you're very obviously keeping from me...it's just not on, Bella!"

"Well, maybe I have good reason to!"

"Which is precisely why I have to get it from a different source!"

"Rodolphus, I've told you, they're not going to betray my trust."

"Well, let's test that, shall we?" Rodolphus smirked. "Narcissa, perhaps you'd care to say what's going on in your sister's like right now?"

Narcissa said nothing. She just looked away uncomfortably. Rodolphus sighed.

"Tell me, Lucius, how's Draco?" Narcissa looked up. Lucius shrugged.

"A little sore, perhaps," he smirked unpleasantly

"Yes, I trust after the escapade at Hogsmeade, you were displeased with him about something?"

"Whatever gave you such an idea?"

"My wife. I know she communicated with your son at Hogwarts two weeks ago!"

"How do you know about that?" Bella cut in.

"House-elves, darling," Rodolphus smirked. "Lucius, tell me, what was it Draco did to displease you so?"

"He failed to protect-"

"Lucius!" Narcissa hissed, seeing Bella's expression change to one of horror. Lucius halted, and concluded "Pansy."

"Who's Pansy?"

"Hannah Parkinson's girl," Bella filled in. Rodolphus sighed exasparatedly again.

"I know you're covering for her. Who did he fail to protect?" Rodolphus pressed. Lucius stared him in the eye. Most men would have backed away by now, but Rodolphus was adamant. "Who did he fail to protect?"

"Phoenix," Lucius replied shortly.

"Thank you! Now we're getting somewhere! Lucius, just exactly how did you punish the boy?"

"Rodolphus, what does that –?"

"Shut up, Bella! Unless you'd care to tell me who 'Phoenix' is?!"

"That's her business," Narcissa interrupted coolly, seeing Bella grow panic-stricken. "And you – how dare you come here and interrogate my husband over your affairs? Have you no pride? I thought you were different! At one time, I thought Bella was lucky having married you, who wasn't so forceful and possessive over his wife! Now I can see you're just like the rest. A pity, I was growing to like you." Rodolphus said nothing, and Lucius was looking at Narcissa as though in a new light. "Forget about this, Rodolphus," Narcissa said in a less harsh tone. "It wouldn't do you any good to know."

"I will find out," he vowed, looking around at everyone disgustedly. He turned to Bella. "I promise you, I will find out!" He exited swiftly through the door.

"Thank you, Narcissa," Bella broke down. "God, this is getting so hard! And she isn't even here!"

"Come on, Bella, shall we have some tea?" Narcissa offered gently to her sobbing sister. She nodded gratefully, and allowed herself to be led by Narcissa down to the lounge.

Lucius was almost in shock. That was the most forceful he'd seen Narcissa in-years. In fact, the last time she'd gotten so stressed and aggressive was when he'd fractured Draco's skull. She screamed the place down!

The one time he wouldn't forget, though, was when she'd discovered Andromeda's lover was a Muggle. If possible, her reaction was scarier than Andromeda's parents'!

'She's no weakling,' Lucius silently admitted. If he was at all like the man Narcissa had married, he would have gone and said that to her. But it was like Narcissa had said to Rodolphus-he was just like the rest of them-he was the 'rest of them'.

"I'm sorry about this," Bella said as Narcissa conjured a pot of tea. "I don't normally get this-emotional." Narcissa smiled, and Bella sniffed through a laugh. "I just-I just don't know what he's capable of."

"Do you ever really know what anyone's capable of?" Narcissa pointed out, sitting down beside her.

"How do you mean?" Bella looked up.

"Would you have thought Andromeda capable of betraying our family with that Muggle?" Bella nodded in understanding. "Would you have thought me capable of losing it like that when I did?"

"You? The shy, mild-mannered one? Probably not," Bella smiled. "Are you saying that Rodolphus is capable of anything as well? Including betraying my trust?"

"From what I gathered, he had no trust from you to betray." They sat in silence as Bella took in what her sister had just said.

'She's right,' she realised. 'What could he do about it really? Except-'

"What if he goes to the Dark Lord?" Bella whispered panicked.

"Even if he did, what would he tell him?"

"I don't know-he'd find something. Rodolphus can be unusually persuasive. He could say something like-I don't know-like he was keeping something from the Dark Lord as well as himself. Which, as much as I hate to say it, is true!" Her head sank onto her lap.

"What are you keeping from the Dark Lord that you're keeping from Rodolphus? Call me naive, but I've never thought there'd be such a connection-" she faltered. "Wait, are you talking about-"

"Phoenix? Yes," Bella admitted.

"Why would the Dark Lord have any interest in her? As far as I'm concerned, she's no more important than Draco."

"Probably for the same reason he set up the attack on her home, with her being brought to him alive and preferably unharmed as the outcome." Narcissa gasped. "I told you this already, Narcissa, the night I brought her here and the morning after. He's after her."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I can't imagine why he'd possibly be interested in someone who's been living as a Muggle for literally all her life! Except for that Potter, of course." Narcissa smiled.

"He seems to have developed a taste for Muggle-raised pure-bloods, hasn't he?" Narcissa commented.

"Well, it's comprehensible enough why he wants to kill Potter, but why would he want my daughter? What's she ever done?" Bella burst into tears again. "I let her live with those bloody Muggles because I thought she'd be safe! Growing up away from all this shit! Away from-me."

"Why would you want that?"

"I didn't want it, it was what was best! Or so I thought! Never in my worst nightmares at Azkaban did I think that she only had sixteen years before she would be in danger!"

"Bella, why do you assume she's in so much danger?"

"Who's the last person the Dark Lord wanted to see personally – alive and preferably unharmed – who came out alive?"

"I take your point," Narcissa agreed. "But she'll be safe at Hogwarts."

"Really? Then how come she was tortured in that fucking raid on Hogsmeade of all places?!"

"Hogsmeade? That's a bit risky, even for the Dark Lord."

"It wasn't his command. It was like the outburst at the Quidditch World Cup. Badly planned and reckless."

"And absolutely pointless?" Bella nodded, smiling slightly.

"Cissa?"

"Yes?"

"What do I do if Rodolphus finds about her?"

"What could he do even he did find out?"

"Tell her father." Narcissa looked up.

"I thought you weren't sure?" she recalled.

"I was always sure, Cissa, I just didn't want to admit it. If I could have, I'd have passed her off as Rodolphus'."

"Why couldn't you?"

"We were under extreme pressure from the Dark Lord to find out where the Potters and their child were, do you really think we had time to start planning a family of our own? Besides, he's never shown any interest in having a child."

"It could have been an accident."

"That's just what it was, Cissa. An accident. Just not Rodolphus'. Don't look at me like that, I don't regret having her...well I do, but only because I'm so concerned for her wellbeing." Narcissa raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. "I do care about her!"

"That I don't doubt. What I do doubt, however, is how far you'd go to protect her."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Bella, if it came down to saving your life or hers, tell me honestly, whose would you save?"

"Hers, of course," Bella replied indignantly. 'Where's this suddenly come from?" Narcissa shrugged, and shook her head.

"I know this will seem another bolt from the blue," Narcissa began. Bella looked up. "But...who is her father?"

Think you can guess?