The Thunder Rolls

Lucius smiled grimly as the Dark Mark rose in the air, frightening to everyone - except the Dark Lord's supporters. Feeling a sense of contentment from his nightly work, he wandered through the wreckage that was once a wizarding town, his black cloak billowing out with every strong gust of wind. Absently tossing a lock of silver-blonde hair away from his eyes, he knew without a doubt that his son, who looked so much like him, would follow gratefully in his footsteps. His blue eyes narrowed and a sneer developed on his classically handsome face. His son had best follow in his footsteps if he knew what was good for him - and the Malfoy name.

Looking off to the west, the sneer became a smirk as a jagged strip of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a low rumble of thunder. He Apparated towards the west - towards Malfoy Manor - into the storm, just as the first raindrops fell on the still smoking ruins of houses where families had gathered.

Every light is burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' it's the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Narcissa wearily rubbed her temples as another roll of thunder shook the panes of the window. Her aristocratic face was creased with a mixture of worry and fear. Lucius had said that he would not be back until late - important work for the Ministry, he said. But no kind of Ministry work takes until three-thirty in the morning to complete.

She sighed, and was grateful that Draco slept undisturbed in his room, a number of Silencing charms placed on the windows so he wouldn't be jolted out of a sound sleep by little nuisances like the weather - or a common fight between his parents. Once again she looked out the window and wondered...

No, Narcissa, he wouldn't. He promised that he would never do that again, for Draco's sake.

By Merlin, please don't let me be right, she prayed.

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls

Her mouth soured as the storm seemed to grow in intensity, echoing faithfully the turmoil in her heart. If she were given to extreme vanity, as her name would suggest, she would think that she was controlling the storm. A hysterical giggle escaped her lips before a lifetime of training stopped that unseemly behavior. But still, she had to wonder... especially as the storm grew as the clock slowly ticked minutes off.

She's waitin' by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Looking out the window once more, she gave a strangled cry of relief when she saw her husband suddenly appear on the front porch. Running to the door and flinging it open, she practically leapt into his arms. She wasn't surprised or even hurt when his arms didn't come up to encircle her in a return hug. Burying her face into his black robes, she shook with laughter at her earlier assumption. It was all just a silly fear, she told herself. Letting go of him, but not retreating, she smiled up at him, not fazed by the cold, shuttered look on his face. "Lucius, I was so worried -"

The wind gusted once more, bringing a strange scent to her nose - the scent of death. Her smile dropped off her face, and as the lightning flashed once again, she could feel the echo deep down in her soul. Backing away from him a pace, her mouth formed a straight, solid line, and her eyes, the only thing she had passed on to her son, resembled solid steel. Pulling her arm back, Lucius didn't even have time to react as her fist swung at his face and connected solidly with his jaw. Stumbling back a few paces, he managed to keep himself from falling off the porch.

"You bastard," she seethed. "You promised..."

"Times change," he replied as the back of his hand slapped her face. "And since you seem to be so reluctant to change with them..." He punched her twice, just for good measure, before he drew his wand. If he killed her quickly enough, the bruises wouldn't show, and he could further his Master's agenda by portraying a grieving widower raising his son alone, his wife killed by a mysterious Death Eater.

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls

But Narcissa was fast. Running back into the house, she didn't even bother to slam the door behind her. Dashing up the stairs, she looks over her shoulder a split second. Not raising her foot up high enough, she inelegantly tripped on the stair, having enough presence of mind to catch herself with her hands. Turning around, she saw Lucius pointing his wand at her, with a cold, distant smile on his face. Her muscles tensed in anticipation of what was to come next -

"Adava Kedavra," he muttered, a sick, green light spilling from the end of his wand, shooting towards where his wife lay helpless on the stairs. He growled in annoyance as she rolled to her side and continued her mad dash up the stairs, finally making it to the second floor.

She runs back down the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
He won't do this again
Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's been

Bursting through the door of the bedroom, she ran to the trunk resting at the end of the bed, and felt behind it desperately. Her heart rate shot up even more as her probing fingers connected with a smooth column of wood. Jerking on it to free it from the confines it was trapped in; she paid no mind to the dull pain in her fingers as she broke more than a few nails trying to get her wand out. With one last great tug, her wand, eleven inches of oak with a unicorn hair core, fell into her hand. Looking in the mirror, she vaguely noted that there was no trace of the polished Narcissa Malfoy present, only a trembling, furious woman with a bruise starting to bloom on her jaw.

"He'll never do this again," she swore to her reflection. Pointing her wand at the door, she knew that she would never have to wonder about Lucius Malfoy's whereabouts again.

She could hear his footsteps echoing just outside the bedroom door, and knew that this was the moment of truth.

Stupidly, he didn't bother coming into the room with his wand pointed at her first, and received a cold shock when he saw his wife standing there, wild-eyed, with her wand pointing directly at him. His start of surprise kept him from reacting as quickly as he could have, and he heard the last two words of his life spoken by a woman he had vowed to break.

"Adava Kedavra." The green light sped towards him, and then Lucius Malfoy's world died to black.

-End-