A/N: So, it's been a while... Sorry about that. Thank you so much to anyone still interested in reading this! :)

It was over a month before Narcissa found herself privy to any of Lucius's work for the Dark Lord. Her husband purposely avoided the subject, and she did her utmost to respect that silence. There came a point one morning, however, when she opened the Daily Prophet could no longer contain herself.

"Lucius," she said, looking up at him from where she sat on the divan, "Broderick Bode is dead."

A particular question burned on her tongue, but she didn't dare ask it. Besides, she feared she already knew the answer. Her husband's back was turned to her. "I know," he replied quietly, emotionlessly, without turning toward her.

Of course, she had known that her husband was capable of killing. The blood-traitors and mudbloods who stood against the Dark Lord were the enemy, and of course they were destroyed when they got in the way. But the idea of her husband committing such crimes made her skin crawl.

Lucius had turned away from the window and was studying her. That his wife had stopped reading the paper, and was letting her tea sit on the tray and get cold were clear indicators to him that something was amiss. "Are you quite all right?"

She seemed to snap out of a daze. "Of course," she replied with a small, unconvincing smile.

He seated himself next to her. Narcissa avoided his gaze, and he slid a hand to her cheek, turning her toward him. "It had to be done," he said quietly.

Narcissa nodded her understanding, but avoided his eyes. "Yes, but...to lose one's sanity, and then be strangled in a hospital bed by a deadly plant... It's ghastly. Undignified."

Lucius had a hard look in his eyes. "Indeed." He sat up a little straighter. "War is not a pretty thing, Mrs. Malfoy."

"War?" She gave him a sidelong glance, one that he did not appreciate. "This was hardly an act of war."

"On the contrary, that's exactly what it was," he retorted calmly. "Bode possessed information that could be a serious detriment to the Dark Lord, had it fallen into the wrong hands."

Narcissa was not sure why she was getting upset, but had little control in the matter. "The Dark Lord is the most powerful wizard in the world - you cannot tell me that he doesn't know how to permanently wipe someone's memory."

"Of course he does," Lucius responded grimly. "And that's exactly what we did."

She cringed with distaste, shaking her head. "We? No, Lucius, it's you. You are now responsible for the murder of a Ministry official, and a pureblood at that."

Lucius's posture became visibly more rigid, and he regarded her with a mixture of surprise and disapproval. "No," he said coolly, "I am not. The first reason being that Bode was a blood-traitor and unfit to be considered a pureblood. The second reason being that although I am privy to the details of our current mission, I am not always the one carrying out the Dark Lord's wishes. So you needn't worry your pretty little head." He rose smoothly, walking away from her.

Narcissa found herself somewhat relieved by that information, despite the clipped manner in which it had been delivered. She realized that it had been quite an assumption that Lucius was personally responsible for Bode's death, though indirectly he probably still was. She followed her husband, taking him by the elbow.

"Don't be angry with me for worrying," Narcissa said softly. "I'm only concerned for your well-being."

Lucius sniffed slightly. "And your own."

She absorbed the blow quickly, and answered, "Should I not be? We are married, Lucius; our souls have been intertwined. If you choose to be careless with your soul it affects me."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I will do what I must do, Narcissa." He turned his head slightly to look at her directly. "And you will do the same." He raised his eyebrows. "Won't you?"

Narcissa slowly nodded. "Within reason," she added.

Lucius smirked slightly. "Of course you will," he said, pulling her toward him to kiss her forehead.

Lucius could hardly keep from hexing his dear brother-in-law, Rodolphus, as the man rambled on and on about the the great power of the Dark Lord, and how he would be able to overcome any security measures surrounding the Department of Mysteries at night.

Contrary to Rodolphus's statements, however, were these simple facts: it would be well nigh impossible for the Dark Lord to enter the Hall of Prophecy, and there was very little that they could do about it.

"That's all very well, Rodolphus, but should something go wrong, I would be trapped in the belly of the Ministry. Since I cannot trust all of you to be free from mistakes..." the Dark Lord looked pointedly at Avery, "...such a plan cannot be put into action."

Lucius felt his frustration boiling. The mission at hand was impossible, but unfortunately, that was not an acceptable conclusion for the Dark Lord. Lucius had been certain that his influence with the Ministry would be a great asset to this mission, but it was proving useless. They needed the Dark Lord to take the prophecy, but many of the security measures were set to trigger specifically by the Dark Lord's presence.

The Dark Lord was certain that the key to defeating Harry Potter was contained in that prophecy. Which made it of the utmost importance that they retrieve it. But it could only be retrieved by either the Dark Lord, or by Harry Potter. And both possibilities were completely impossible.

Or were they? Yes, it seemed completely impossible for the Dark Lord to retrieve it, so that left only one option, didn't it? It was a ludicrous, suggesting that the enemy himself retrieve the prophecy for them, but since their only other option had very little hope for success, and that hope was fading fast...

"My lord," Lucius spoke up. "Perhaps we are coming at the situation from the wrong angle."

The Dark Lord turned his gaze to Lucius. "And what do you suggest, Lucius?"

His stomach jumped a little at being the center of attention, but he answered smoothly, "It seems to me that we have but one option." He swallowed, knowing the absurdity of what he was about to say. "Harry Potter must retrieve the prophecy."

Rodolphus and several of the others snickered at this statement, but the Dark Lord looked at him steadily. "Go on."

Lucius thought quickly. "If we could deceive the boy into thinking he was retrieving it for the Order -"

"The Order is guarding the Hall of Prophecy as it is. You think that he wouldn't mention the mission to any actual members of the Order?" Rodolphus asked.

"Then we must remove his ability to communicate with the Order," Lucius answered swiftly.

"And how would we do that, when we don't know who's in it?" Mulciber chimed in.

"We have suspects," Lucius retorted.

Mulciber leaned forward. "We need to be operating on more than suspicion, Malfoy."

The Dark Lord held up a hand, and the two fell silent. "Mulciber is right," he said softly. "We cannot afford to make mistakes." Lucius grimaced inwardly, ready to explode with frustration.

"However," the snake-like wizard continued, "You are on to something, my friend. Harry Potter is deceived easily enough; it is with those around him that we must concern ourselves. His contact with the Order must be cut off."

Lucius nodded. A warm seed of pride blossomed in his chest - here was his specialty. "My lord, the Ministry has made Dolores Umbridge the High Inquisitor at Hogwarts, for the express purpose of rooting out unsatisfactory teachers. Fudge wants to be rid of those who publicize your return to power. It could easily be used -"

"To our purpose," the Dark Lord finished for him. He seemed pleased. "See that it is."

A/N: Please R&R! Also, if you're interested, I've started a new Malfoy story, "After the Fall." Check it out!