A Grave Mistake

Narcissa was trembling uncontrollably as Lucius took her home by side-Apparition. They landed just outside of Malfoy Manor, and he brought her inside quickly. Her knees felt weak and began to buckle, but Lucius steadied her. She looked up at her husband, ready to sink into his arms, but the expression she saw on his face came as a complete surprise.

His face was red, positively seeping pure rage. "Have you gone completely mad, Narcissa!?" he growled at her, gripping her arms too tightly. Before she could answer he continued, "When did you become a loud-mouthed fool no brighter than your sister!?" He shook her, hard. "Well!?"

She struggled to form words, but spit out "Draco is a child; he has no business-"

Her words were cut off with a "crack!" and a burning flash of pain. Narcissa brought her hand to her cheek, slowly realizing that her husband had just hit her. Hard. Fear began pounding in her chest as she looked back up at him.

"How could you be so stupid!?!" he roared. She tried to get away from him, but he held on to her unforgivingly. "Do you even realize what you've done!?!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I didn't-"

He struck her again, twice. This time she cried out, and scrambled away from him. He caught her in less than two seconds, wrapping his arms completely around her and, when she struggled violently, pulling her down to the floor with him. Lucius pinned her on the floor, leaning over her. "You have thrown us out of favor, Narcissa! How could it ever occur to you to speak to the Dark Lord like that?! Do you understand what you've DONE?! Any protection we might have had is gone! He has Draco in his clutches now and we can do nothing! And you..." Here he hiccuped, and his expression became even more strained. "...You are lucky to have escaped with your life, do you understand that?! Were it not for your sister and I, he probably... probably would have killed you on the spot... my Cissa..." A choked sob escaped him, and his face screwed up in agony as he eased his hold on her and tears began flowing freely down his cheeks. He slid his arms around her torso and lifted her up, hugging her tightly. Feeling completely distraught, Narcissa returned his embrace, clutching him against her.

Trying to choke down his sobs, Lucius brought her up into a sitting position, with his face still buried in her white-blond hair. "Cissa, you can't do this to me," he croaked.

Narcissa was still trembling, both from the fear and adrenaline of this confrontation with her husband and from the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse. "I'm sorry, Lucius," she whispered as tears leaked down her face.

He kissed the side of her head. "I could not go on without you." He pulled away slightly so that he could see her face. "I can't afford to lose you now, do you understand?" A fresh wave of tears flowed down her cheeks, but he continued. "If you want Draco and I to go on living, you have to keep yourself alive." His voice carried huge amounts of pain.

"We cannot afford to think of right and wrong anymore, Cissa. We just have to survive."