Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again.
A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone
Man has created death.
-Death by William Butler Yates

Narcissa Malfoy sat in the parlor, working on her needlework, just as she did every night. She was nearly finished with the Manor landscape.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and the announcer's voice came over the speaker of the Wireless. "We interrupt tonight's program to bring you an important public service announcement. We have just learned that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been defeated once again by Harry Potter."

She dropped her needlework as she felt the blood drain from her face. Crossing the room, she knelt in front of the Wireless. If this had indeed been the final battle, then it meant that Lucius and Draco had been there. The news report had her undivided attention.

"We are still waiting for more details, but initial reports indicate that there were a large number of casualties on both sides. Flames and smoke are visible from Hogsmeade. We still don't know how the Death Eaters entered the Hogwarts grounds. Aurors rushed to the scene as soon as word of the attack was received. Preliminary reports indicate that many of the students were evacuated as the fighting began. Currently, Ministry officials are searching through the battleground for survivors.

"As soon as names are confirmed, survivor and casualty lists will be published by the Daily Prophet. Again, we can confirm that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been defeated by Harry Potter at a battle that just took place at Hogwarts. We do not know if Potter has survived this battle, but The-Boy-Who-Lived has already survived one attack by You-Know-Who, and, and so we all hope that he survived this attack likewise.

"Please, stay tuned for more information."

The music started up again, and now it was very celebratory music.

She started crying, wanting desperately to turn it off, but then, she didn't want to miss any follow-up reports. "Atta!" she screamed. When the elf popped into sight before her, she said, "Go to Diagon Alley and wait outside the Daily Prophet office. As soon as they publish the casualty list, get a copy and bring it straight here."

"Yes, mistress." The elf bowed and disappeared.

She stood up and paced nervously back and forth, wondering how likely it was that she would hear anything about her family. She knew that the Death Eaters would be a secondary concern to the Ministry officials. They would be more concerned with their own and with the students.

When Lucius had first become involved with the Death Eaters, she had begged him to sever his ties, but he had gently explained that the Dark Lord was the future, and supporting him would someday place them in a position of extreme power. As things had turned violent, she had begged him to be careful. She was afraid of what would happen to him, but she knew better than to insist that he turn away from the Dark Lord. She knew that would be fatal.

After the Dark Lord was defeated the last time, she had feared for their future. She didn't want to raise their son alone, and she feared that the Ministry would seize their assets, leaving her destitute. Thankfully, Lucius had made several large donations to various Ministry concerns, and the authorities were quite sympathetic to his assertion that he had been acting under the Imperius Curse. Her sister and brother-in-law had not been so lucky.

She had pleaded with Lucius to find a way to keep them out of Azkaban, but he had explained to her that for him to make any such attempt while Bella insisted on so vehemently declaring her loyalty to the Dark Lord would only jeopardize his own freedom. He simply could not spare Bella and Rodolphus and still maintain his respectability in society. Reluctantly, Narcissa had agreed with his reasoning.

When the Dark Lord had returned, the old fears had come back with him, stronger than ever before. Lucius had insisted that it would be different this time, that they were going to find the prophecy that would allow them to rise to power and control the wizarding world. Pure-bloods would be returned to the prominence that only they deserved.

She had listened to his ruminations with trepidation. All she could think of were the many people who had gone to prison the last time, and how she feared that Lucius would not be so lucky again if the Death Eaters did not succeed this time around. He reassured her that there was nothing to worry about, that the Ministry was in full denial, and that by the time they admitted the reality of the situation, it would be too late.

Her greatest fears had been realized when he had been captured at the Ministry. She had begged him not to go that night, but he had insisted that Potter and any of his friends who dared to openly support him would never be a match for fully trained wizards, especially those versed in Dark Magic. She had paced nervously that entire night too, anxious for his return.

When Bella arrived in the wee hours of that next morning, her heart had sank. She knew that something had happened to Lucius. Hearing that he had been captured had devastated her. She thought that nothing worse could happen.

She had been wrong.

When the Dark Lord had called on Draco to atone for his father's mistakes, she could see it all starting anew. She could not bear to lose Draco, too. For that reason, she had insisted on seeing Severus and pressuring him to take an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. He had done so reluctantly, and it had been the only thing that allowed her to get any sleep.

Draco had been punished for his failure to kill Dumbledore, but at least he had survived. She had seriously considered taking Draco and fleeing the country. She knew enough about Dark Magic to allow them to start life anew, even though under reduced circumstances, far from the Dark Lord's influence. At least they would live.

On the eve of her departure, the unimaginable had happened. Lucius had been rescued from Azkaban. He had been thinner then when she had last seen him, and his luxurious hair had been cut short, but his eyes were still the same. She did not think that she had ever been so happy.

From what he told her about the Dark Lord's plans for the future, she knew that he would never leave, that he and Draco would faithfully serve their fearsome master to the end. Knowing how important this was to him, she had done her best to not let him know how upset she was. She was the dutiful wife who supported her husband.

Now, it was entirely possible that both of them had died for their master.

As she waited for news from the Wireless or Atta, she continued to pace restlessly. None of the reports had anything of interest for her. As she had expected, they concentrated on providing news about Ministry forces, though they did give the names of a few Death Eaters. She collapsed in tears as they announced that her sister had been killed. The newscaster seemed positively joyful as he announced it.

She collapsed in tears. Her sister had made mistakes, but she was still family. No one deserved death, and no one deserved her death to be a reason for celebration.

Finally, she could no longer stand the cheerful tunes, and she turned off the Wireless. Deciding she needed something to calm her nerves, she crossed to the sideboard and poured herself a large measure of Scotch. She didn't care for it, but it was convenient. The liquid burned as she gulped it, but she could feel her breathing and heartbeat relax.

"Mistress? Atta is having the list," the elf announced.

She snatched the paper out of the creature's hands and scanned it. Other than Bella, Walden Macnair was the only other Death Eater on this list of casualties. None were listed on the survivor's list. "Go back and wait for the next update," she ordered. She wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not. Some of the Death Eaters had to have survived, not all of them would have been killed. The Ministry loved trials, and the Aurors were always told to bring back their victims alive. And she had to believe that Lucius was a well-known enough man that the Ministry would have to gloat over his death. He was alive. She had to believe that he was alive. She could not go on without him.

Hours passed and the lists that Atta brought back grew longer, but still, there was no Malfoy on either of the lists. One of the elves had brought her food, but she was too nervous to eat.

She had no idea how much time had passed, but she jumped in fright when she felt a hand on her knee.

Lucius was kneeling before her, sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry, my love. I tried... to protect him... but... I..." He pulled her into his arms.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him, hardly daring to believe this was not a dream. "Lucius? You're alive!"

"Yes, my love."

She said quickly, "We have to get out of here. The Ministry will be looking for you. I have made preparations..."

He interrupted her by placing his fingers on her lips. Softly, he said, "No, they won't. I told them of the attack. You were right. I was wrong to ever ally myself with the Dark Lord. And now..."

She could tell that something was wrong. He had tried to tell her something when he had arrived, but she had been so excited about seeing him that his words had not registered. "What is it?" she asked nervously and pulled back so that she could see his eyes. She was shocked to see that his cheeks were wet from tears.

"I tried to protect him, to remove him from the battle, but I was too late. Darling, Draco..." He could not finish, could not bring himself to say the words.

She placed her hand over her mouth and shook her head, denying the truth of his words. "No. It's not possible. He can't be. He is so young." Tears streamed down her cheeks. She could not believe that her beautiful boy was gone.

Lucius used a handkerchief to dab her tears. "I know. It's not fair. But at least he died a hero. At the end, he too, saw the light. He refused to leave, not wanting to show cowardice."

"Draco... gone..." She collapsed in Lucius's arms, trying to draw comfort form his strength, but she could feel that he, too, was crying at the lose of their son. The next thing she knew, he was carrying her upstairs and placing her in bed. He held her tightly against him, neither of them saying a word.

Tomorrow, they would have to adapt to the new world, but tonight, they would mourn their son.

*********

A/N: As always, thanks to ever wonderful nota for betaing this latest bit of insanity. I know I have other projects I should be working on, but the muses have spoken.

At this point, I'm not sure if the story is over or not. It's open ended so there could be more, but it does end at a good stopping point. I guess it depends in part on what you, dear readers, want. :)