The Long Night

Malfoy Manor

As soon as he passed the borders of Hogwarts's grounds, Snape spun about and Disapparated. The familiar sensation of compression eased after a moment, and Snape opened his eyes to find himself outside the ornate wrought-iron gates of Malfoy Manor. He glanced around quickly to check that no one else was in sight. The gates parted before him with a loud creak as he waved his wand and then closed behind him. He strode through and continued at a jog up the graveled walkway that led from the gates to the imposing front entrance to the manor.

The way was lit only by starlight; no light from inside shone through the tall leaded-glass windows. Snape hoped that this did not mean that the manor was deserted. If Draco had not Apparated home, Snape had no idea where else to even begin looking for him. Approaching the heavy double doors of the main entrance, Snape flicked his wand at one of the massive brass doorknockers, causing an echoing clang. To his relief, a small window opened in the left-hand door, then, as Snape stepped up onto the portico, the door opened slightly.

A very pale, anxious Narcissa Malfoy beckoned Snape in.

"Severus! Come in, quickly," she whispered.

She closed the door hastily as Snape came in. The foyer was lit only by the dimly glowing tip of Narcissa's wand, which she gripped tightly in her right fist. Her immaculately cut robes were somewhat rumpled and looked slightly askew, as if hastily retrieved from the laundry pile and pulled on haphazardly, and her long blond hair lacked some of its usual sheen.

"Is Draco here?" Snape asked.

Narcissa nodded. Snape breathed out softly, relieved.

"What has happened?" she asked fearfully.

"It is done," replied Snape savagely. His raised voice sent echoes bouncing off the vaulted ceiling. "We need to get out of here, quickly," he continued more quietly. "The place will be swarming with Aurors soon; they will come here first."

"So..." Narcissa's breath caught. "Draco...killed him, then?"

"I did," Snape replied curtly. His lip curled as he reflected that he must work on his delivery of that line. This was his crowning achievement as a Death Eater. Narcissa opened her mouth as if to say something, but then seemed to think better of it. She regarded Snape silently for another moment.

"Follow me," said Narcissa, turning away as her wand tip flared up to better illuminate their path. Their footfalls were muffled by the thick Oriental rugs that covered the floors, and a heavy silence settled on the house.

She led Snape through the grand entrance hall, its high ceiling lost in the gloom, and along a corridor that led to a large oak door. The door swung soundlessly open to reveal a flight of steps leading down into the cellars, and swung shut again as Snape and Narcissa climbed down. They passed a room Snape remembered from earlier visits as Lucius's wine cellar, as Narcissa led the way deeper into an older, less frequently visited portion of the cellar,. Abruptly, Narcissa stopped in the middle of the low corridor in front of a faded old tapestry, which might once have been a representation of the Manor with a dragon flying overhead. Hastily Narcissa waved her wand at the tapestry, which rolled itself up to reveal a rough-hewn stretch of stone in no discernible way different from the rest of the hallway. As Narcissa touched her palm to the wall, a previously invisible door slid open.

"It is I, Narcissa," she hissed into the dark below. She motioned for Snape to climb down the spiral staircase that led into a stone-floored, windowless pit of a room lit dimly by greenish magical torchlight. Bellatrix stood warily in front of the staircase, wand at the ready. This sunless hole must be where she had recently been staying, Snape thought. Her skin looked far paler than was her wont, and this pallor added additional years to her appearance beyond the premature grey in her hair, the legacy of her long stay in Azkaban. Draco sat on a sloppily made bed against the far wall, head in his hands. As Snape walked in, the door above banged shut.

"The tapestry, Narcissa?" Snape reminded her.

Narcissa cursed in a most unladylike way and reopened the door a crack to restore order to the hallway above with her wand.

"Home, sweet home, Bellatrix?" Snape surmised.

Bellatrix nodded, her heavily lidded eyes regarding him with distaste.

"Where does that door lead?" he asked, jerking his head at the only other visible exit.

"Into an underground passage which ends in a shed on the grounds beyond the range of the Malfoys' anti-Apparition jinxes," Bellatrix replied.

"Good. We can leave quickly when the need arises, then."

Draco twitched at this remark, and looked up nervously at Snape.

"Why would we need to leave in a hurry?" he asked, his voice quavering slightly.

"Potter was on the tower, Draco, presumably under that Invisibility Cloak of his. He will certainly finger you to the Aurors. He may be talking to them as we speak."

Snape turned to Narcissa.

"Narcissa, I have done as you asked. The task is complete. Draco is safe. Release me from the Vow."

"As you have done what she asked, what need is there?" inquired Bellatrix with a sneer.

"The second clause, Bellatrix, did not end with the completion of the task. I signed on to protect Draco from the old man, his meddling Order, and the incompetents of the Ministry while he pursued his mission. I have neither the ability to protect Draco from the Dark Lord-"

Narcissa gasped. What little color had remained drained from Draco's face. He looked as though he might be ill in a moment.

"-nor the desire to oppose his will," Snape finished.

"Surely, after tonight's success-" said Narcissa, sounding less than convinced by her own argument.

"Draco's plan was crucial to the success of the mission, it is true," Snape agreed. "Draco carried it out well. And so I will tell the Dark Lord."

"Don't believe him, Narcissa!" said Bellatrix. "If you free him now, he'll take all the credit for the deed, and steal Draco's glory."

"Narcissa, I killed Dumbledore before the others could say Draco had failed. I was the last to leave, to cover our escape. I have protected him as well as I could. You can trust me in this." He regarded her steadily, willing her to believe.

"Well, as he points out, he had no choice!" replied Bellatrix heatedly. "The Vow is the only reason he did not slither out of action again, Narcissa. Don't make the mistake of letting him off the hook."

"If the Vow forces me to act on Draco's behalf, Narcissa, the Dark Lord will wish to know why. I cannot refuse to answer anymore than I could deceive him,"

Snape warned her. "The Dark Lord always knows when somebody is lying to him. We will all be better off if he never learns of it. You as well, Bellatrix, you are just as guilty as we," said Snape, turning towards her.

Narcissa looked indecisively from Snape to her sister.

As Snape cast about for an additional argument, he felt a sudden searing pain in his left forearm. Judging by their reactions, Draco and Bellatrix, too, were receiving the Dark Lord's summons.

"No time to argue now, Snape," said Bellatrix with a triumphant smile. "Narcissa," she continued, "we've been summoned to appear before the Dark Lord."

As she spoke, she strode to the door and threw it open.

"Come on, Draco!" she urged, as she swung a hooded cloak, which had been hanging next to the door, around her shoulders and affixed a mask to her face.

"You can't stay here, Narcissa," said Snape, steering her towards the door behind the others. "Do you have any other place to go to?"

Narcissa closed the door behind them. "No. I think Bellatrix knows a spot...," she replied.

"That's right, Narcissa, I do," said Bellatrix, turning her head back for a moment to speak to her sister. "But I can't take you there until after the meeting. Snape is right, though. You'll have to come with us, I suppose."

They walked quickly down the long passageway. Soon, the floor began to slope upwards towards the ceiling, forcing even Narcissa to crouch down as she walked. They reached a dead end, where Draco opened a trapdoor. He pulled himself up with the agility of a natural athlete, and then helped his aunt and mother up. Snape pulled himself out last.

"Where to, Bellatrix?" asked Narcissa.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know. It doesn't work that way, Narcissa," explained Bellatrix. "We don't actually know where the Dark Lord is...when we Apparate in response to the summons, we travel to the right place. Here, I'll bring you along," she said, proffering her arm to Narcissa, who grasped it tightly. With a sharp crack, the sisters Disapparated. Draco and Snape both followed.