"Lucius," Narcissa approached her husband, her heels clicking lightly on the tile, "We need to talk."

"Not right now, Cissa. Can't you see that I'm busy? The death of the Potters has the ministry going crazy." Lucius barely looked up from the paperwork he was busy writing on, paying no attention to his waiting wife.

Narcissa tossed a letter down on top of his paperwork, prompting Lucius to look up at her. "It's important."

Lucius skimmed the letter, looking back up at her in shock. "Does this mean…"

"This is my way out. And I'm taking it. The young Potter is my only hope, Lucius. I'll be taking Draco with me as well. My sister has graciously offered to let me stay there for a while. I hope you understand." At lucius' look, she continued, "you and I both knew that this day was coming. It's time, love."

He stood from behind the oak desk and took her into his arms, savoring her touch. He was still very much in love with his wife but she needed to be free of him and his ties and he understood that. "Will you let Draco visit every once in a while?" He asked her, pulling away from the hug but keeping his arms around her still.

"Of course. We can work something out. He's your son, I'd never take him completely away from you." Narcissa smiled at Lucius, her hands reaching up to lay around the back of his neck.

"I love you Cissa, I always will" He leaned in to press a kiss to her lips, knowing it would be the last one.

"I love you too, I'll grab Draco and you two can say your goodbyes." She drew herself out of his arms and left the room to grab their sleeping son. She reached his crib and watched him sleep for a second, admiring his peaceful face, so innocent and unhurt. She reached down and pushed pale hair out of his face, watching his face slightly scrunch in his sleep. She was doing this for him. He didn't deserve the fate he would have if she stayed. Narcissa reached into his crib and lifted him into her arms, Draco slowly waking up, his little eyebrows scrunching up. She shushed his mutterings as she adjusted her grip on him and grabbed the bag she had made earlier that evening and the stuffed dragon that he wouldn't sleep without. "We're going to go and stay with auntie Andromeda for a while, okay?" She walked to the door, looking behind her as she went to shut the door. The dark room looked so empty, so devoid of life. She was almost glad to be leaving it behind. She shut the door and walked down the stairs in front of her, Draco in one arm and the bag in her other arm.

Draco reached out to his father as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and yelled "Dada!"

Lucius smiled, slight tears in his eyes as he reached out to take Draco from his wife's arms. "Hi Drake, are you excited to go to aunties?" At Draco's positive sound, he continued, trying not to cry. "You're not going to see me for a while, but just know that your Daddy loves you very much, okay?"

"Okay!" Draco smiled a toothy smile and turned around in his father's arms to make grabby hands at the stuffed dragon in his mother's arms. "Baby" Narcissa handed him the dragon and he cuddled it to his chest as Lucius hugged his son tightly. He cleared his throat as he passed Draco to Narcissa, putting most of his energy towards keeping it together for Draco.

Narcissa smiled at him. "Well, I guess it would be time for us to go, wouldn't it?"

She received a tight lipped smile in return, "I suppose so. The floo is ready to go, I'm going to go and get some work done. I love you both."

"We love you too, Lucius. I'll owl you." Narcissa took a deep breath and started the walk towards the floo, not daring to look back knowing it would hurt too much.

Lucius went back to his study, pouring himself three fingers of scotch and sat down heavily in the chair in front of his desk, waiting for them to leave. He quietly sipped on his scotch, silent tears streaming as he heard the floo activate and their departure. He finished off the glass of scotch and with a sudden sob, threw it across the room, the glass shattering into a million pieces. Lucius pulled his knees up to his chest and sobbed for the first time since he was a child.

Narcissa was also having a hard time dealing with the separation as well, even though she knew that it was the best choice. After greeting her sister and handing Draco over to her, she had left their property and apparated to Privet Drive, keeping to the shadows and casting a disillusionment charm over herself. She stood in an alleyway where she was well aware she wouldn't be seen and while waiting for Harry Potter to arrive she had the time to reflect on the night. She knew that it was the right decision, leaving Lucius. It was best for their son, for when the Dark Lord returns like everyone knew he would. She didn't want him being a mindless death eater, he deserved to be able to make his own choices in life. She wanted the best life for him, and if the only way that could be done was to separate from Lucius, then so be it. While she loved her husband and would follow him through life and death, her son came first. Forever and always. Harry Potter deserved a better life, too. She'd heard so much from Severus about Lily's sister and her family and knew that it couldn't be a safe environment for any child, let alone a magical one. So, when she heard that the boy was to be placed with Lily's sister, she immediately began making a plan. Sure, technically that plan involved kidnapping him but could she really allow a child to be in an unsafe condition? To live in a household where he isn't wanted? She'd seen that in Andromeda, she didn't want any child to have to live through that. It wasn't fair to them.

Her train of thought was cut off by the crack of someone apparating to the street, and after seeing the magical light that was produced and the bright robes, she concluded that it was Dumbledore. No child in sight, though, that was a little weird. Where was he? Did they figure out that she was here? She had seen Minerva in her animagus form and had taken to avoiding it at all costs and staying as far away from her as she could. As a result of that, she couldn't hear their conversation, only the loud humming in the air. She looked up and got quite a shock when she saw that oaf from Hogwarts on a flying contraption land on the street. They were on a street full of muggles in the middle of the night? Did they really think that the muggles wouldn't wake up? Dumbledore really was getting senile, apparently. As she watched the large man get off of the contraption she realised that it was a muggle vehicle. A motor something, she thought. Something was lifted out of the sidecar, and with a start, she realized that that was the child. They let the oaf fly the child who killed the Dark Lord all the way across Britain? What was Dumbledore thinking? Narcissa could barely believe it when the Potter boy was placed on the doorstep then just left there as the adults disapparated. No heating charm, nothing. She was shivering in her thick robes, did they really leave a young child alone on a doorstep with nothing but a note? Ridiculous. As she moved out of the shadows, she crept towards the child, who awakened when she stroked a finger down his face. His eyes scrunched and he looked like he was about to start crying. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms. "Hey, you're okay Harry. You're okay." She stood up, picking up the note they left with him and while she was shushing the boy she scanned him for any tracking spells, finding quite a number on him. "Well," she said, "guess those will have to go, huh?" She muttered to herself as she carefully removed the tracking spells on him and placing them on a nearby stray cat. By the time that they discovered that the tracking spells weren't on Harry Potter anymore, he would already be adopted.

She crossed her fingers and hoped to Salazar that she didn't splinch this child as she apparated to the border of Andy's property. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the smell of tea and she quietly shut the door, slipping her shoes off. Her feet padded against the soft carpeting as she walked to the kitchen where her sister was brewing a pot of chamomile. She leaned against the doorway, saying "Andy, would you mind checking over the young Potter? You always were the better healer. I still think that you should be working at "

Andromeda jumped, turning around clutching her chest. "Merlin! You scared me. Yes, bring him here, I'll make sure he's well." She cleared a spot on the kitchen table for her to set the boy and Narcissa distracted him with a stuffed animal while she waited for Andy to get done checking him over.

"He seems fine, you shouldn't have to worry about much with this one. He's a bit colder than he should be, but that should be okay after a night in a warm bedroom with a blanket." Andromeda looked up at her sister. "Are you sure you want to do this? There's still time to bring him back. He's not your responsibility Cissa." She reached out and grabbed her hand.

"I know," She sighed, watching Harry play with the stuffed dog she had procured. "But I'd hate myself if I didn't. That boy deserves a loving family, and I intend to give him just that. I can't just leave him with those muggles, Andy. Besides, I always wanted another child."

The tea kettle whistled and Andromeda moved to pour them both a cup. "Draco is in bed with that stuffed animal of his, there's another crib in the spare bedroom. You can take him up there for bed. I'll pour you a cuppa."

"Thank you Andy." Narcissa ran into a tired Nymphadora in the hall, her hair a bright shade of purple.

"Aunt 'cissa?" She muttered, confused.

"Nymphadora, look how big you've grown!" Nymphadora sighed at the use of her name.

"I go by Tonks now aunt Narcissa, didn't I tell you tha- wait, did you steal a child?" Tonks cut off in the middle of her sentence when she realised that Narcissa wasn't alone.

"How did you… No I did not steal a child, I simply took him under my wing so to say." She huffed, adjusting the child on her hip. He was starting to get heavy.

"Cool. Can I go back to bed now?"

Narcissa laughed lightly, "yes, you can go back to bed darling. Enjoy your rest, sweet dreams." The child disappeared back into her room and Narcissa carried on down the hall to the last door. She stepped in and cast lumos so she could see to put Harry down. She laid him down in the other crib and pressed a kiss to his head, right over the lightning shaped scar. "Sweet dreams, Harry." She backed away from the crib and with a glance over to the other crib where Draco slept peacefully, she exited the room.

Entering the kitchen again, she sat down across from where Andromeda was sitting in her nightclothes and shed her outer robe. "It's freezing out there, he would have never survived the night." She said as she picked up her teacup and took a sip of the hot liquid, savoring the taste.

"I'll give you two months, then you need to be out of here and in your own flat." Andy said across from her, looking as tired as she felt.

"That's all I need. Thank you for your generosity Andy, I don't know what I would do without you." She took a deep drink of her tea as she locked eyes with her sister.

"You'd still be the wife of a Death Eater" She looked her straight in the eyes. "Your son would have grown up to become a mindless terrorist."

"You know that it was never my choice to marry Lucius, Andromeda. It was an arranged marriage, fair and simple. You can't blame me for the actions of our mother, Andy. That would be cruel." Narcissa finished off her tea, and closed her eyes. "He's not a bad man Andy, he loves both of us, would do anything for us."

"He's murdered people, Narcissa! In cold blood, he's tortured people. And you and I both know that if it were to come down to him choosing between the Dark Lord and you, he would choose the Dark Lord every time. I did you a favor, you're welcome." She got up from the table, and stopped in the doorway on her way out. "I'll talk to you in the morning, get some rest please. You need it."

Narcissa put her head in her hands, tomorrow was going to be a long day.