Prisoner of an Empty House

Summary : Narcissa Malfoy lies awake in bed, pondering how Azkaban changed two major people in her life, Bellatrix and Sirius and wondering how it would have changed Lucius. Most people think of her as cold-hearted, but there was nothing colder than her empty bed. But will that change? Also, Narcissa is a lot younger than her siblings and cousins. Present, Flashbacks.

Disclaimer : These awesome characters belong to the equally awesome plots of the possibly more awesome JK Rowling. I just enjoy messing around with their emotions.

Silence. Not one sound could be heard through the large, echoing halls of Malfoy Manor. To the ears of any visitor, the silence would be quite blissful, but not for the woman lying unmoving in the master bedroom. For Narcissa Malfoy, the silence was painfully loud.

The blonde woman was the lone person in the Manor. Draco was at school, Bellatrix was on some mission for the Dark Lord, and Lucius...

Lucius had been imprisoned and tried for support of the Dark Lord just a week earlier, yet she had relived the moment every night since.

He looked so awful, sitting there, flanked by two Dementors. He briefly looked up at the public box to see only his wife and son sitting there. Draco looked fine, thank goodness, but Narcissa. She looked as if part of her had died. Unable to bare her overly pale face, Lucius turned his face to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Are you Lucius Abraxas Malfoy?"

"Yes, I am." Lucius replied, desperate to retain his stature, but his voice coming out in a pained whisper.

"Son of Abraxas and Annietta, father of Draco, husband to Narcissa?"

"Yes."

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, you are charged with the support of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named under the express wish of being a Death Eater. How do you plead to these charges?"

"Guilty."

"No! NO! You can't!" The scream was terrifying for Lucius, but it ripped his heart in two when he saw Narcissa leaning over the barrier, tears streaming unstopped into her still open mouth. Draco stepped forward to try and pull her back, but she fought him off and started shouting again.

"You promised me, you promised you'd never leave me again!"

"I'm sorry, Narcissa, I'm so sorry!" he yelled, as he was lead through the barred grate to Azkaban prison by the Dementors. After he disappeared, Narcissa collapsed onto the seat, while Draco put his arms around her.

Narcissa sat up screaming, fighting her way through a cold sweat. She reached to her left side and felt...nothing. Her husband wasn't there, just the ice cold silk where his body should have laid.

Still it haunted her. Draco's arms wrapped tightly around her, Lucius' confession to his crimes, her own screams still echoing in her ears. She wondered if she should send a Patronus to Bellatrix, who had permission to return from meetings to see Narcissa, as she had made the excuse that Narcissa was ill, which to a lesser extent, she was.

Bellatrix, another person that Azkaban had changed. Believe it or not, Bellatrix actually used to be a decent person before she was incarcerated in Azkaban prison. Actually, since she she first met the dashing Tom Riddle, who later turned into the dangerous Lord Voldemort. Narcissa allowed herself a moment to remember the old Bellatrix, the true Bellatrix. Her Bellatrix.

Narcissa was running through the endless gardens of Black Manor, trying to escape from her cousin, Regulus, who was attempting to capture and hurt her for trashing his bedroom, which of course had not been her, but Sirius. Regulus was hot on her heels, so she decided to scale the large maple tree in the garden, where Regulus would not be able to follow her, seeing as he was three years older than her and a lot heavier. Once she had reached the top branch, she let her guard down, not noticing Regulus whip out his wand.

"Stup-"

"Expelliarmus!" came a voice from behind and Regulus' wand went flying straight into Bellatrix's hand. Upon seeing his eldest cousin, Regulus went running off in the other direction.

"Cissa? What are you doing up there?"

"I was hiding from Regulus. He thinks I trashed his room, but it wasn't me, it was Sirius!" she whimpered, then let out a scream as the branch began to creak and lower.

"Okay. Cissa, can you do something for me? Can you just hold on, just until I get Mummy?"

The terrified eight-year-old nodded, which prompted the fourteen-year-old to run into the house.

"Mum, mum, mum!" screamed Bellatrix, hurtling through the house, right into Druella.

"Bellatrix, what have I told you about running and screaming?" yelled a furious Druella, getting even more angry when Bellatrix ignored her and carried on speaking.

"It's Cissa! She climbed the maple tree to get away from Reg, because he was chasing her, but it's not safe and the branch is going to break! She's going to fall!"

Immediately, Druella's anger turned to shock and terror. She and Bellatrix went hurtling into the garden, towards the tree, just in time to see the branch crack and go tumbling five metres to the ground, carrying a screaming Narcissa with it.

"No! Cissa!" screamed Bellatrix, dropping to the ground beside her sister, who was pale and unmoving in the slowly expanding pool of crimson.

"Bellatrix, go and get help! Now!"

"No! I'm not leaving her!"

"Bellatrix, we don't have time to argue!"

"You go! I've told you, I'm not leaving her."

"Alright, stay with her. Don't leave her until I get back, promise me."

"Promise."

Druella took one last look at her youngest daughter, then ran straight into the house, leaving Bellatrix holding Narcissa's hand, tenderly stroking it.

"It's alright, Cissa, I'll make it alright, like always, yeah? Please don't die, Cissa, please. I love you."

Narcissa actually had no memory from the moment she fell from the tree until she awoke in her bedroom three weeks later. The recollection was one of a few memories that Bellatrix had given her before she went to Azkaban, as she didn't want them to be taken by the Dementors. It was only then that Narcissa began to understand why. It was slightly unfair that that had actually occured to the small girl, because she had not done anything to Regulus. It was all Sirius.

Sirius, another person that had been taken into the Dementor's clutches. Also, another person that had been blamed for something he hadn't done. He had been blamed for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, which, despite popular belief, had not occured, as Lucius had told her that Peter was present at the Dark Lord's return.

Despite what everyone thought, Lucius' incarceration wasn't the only thing that Narcissa cried for that night. Sirius' death hit her like a blade through her heart, and Lucius' incarceration sent her over the edge into despair. Despite their differences, Sirius was always her favourite cousin. Even though their houses mutually despised each other, the elder lion was the youngest serpent's best friend. Mind you, Sirius' friends were horrible to her. She remembered when they had been bullying Severus once, and they turned on her...

"What you gonna do, Snivellus?" sneered James at the hook-nosed boy hanging by his ankle from the tree, basking in the admiration from the friends he had dubbed 'Moony' and 'Wormtail'.

"Oi! Leave him alone!" screamed Narcissa, hurtling towards the boys at full speed and aiming her wand at Severus.

"Finite Incantatem!" she yelled and Severus went tumbling from the tree, landing crumpled on the ground.

"Go on then, Snivellus, run along! We'll deal with your little girlfriend." taunted James, picking up the boy by the scruff of his robes and throwing him towards the castle. He then turned to Narcissa.

"Why'd you save Snivellus, then? You got yourself a little boyfriend, have you, Blondie?"

"Yes, I have got a boyfriend, but he's not Severus. I saved Severus because he's my best friend and you shouldn't bully him like that!" yelled Narcissa, taking a bold step toward the elder boy, then an involuntary step towards the castle as the elder boy rounded on her.

"Oh? And what are going to do about it if we do, Blondie?"

"I'll tell Professor McGonagall." At this point, all three were laughing hysterically, Peter actually banging his fist on the tree trunk to stop himself.

"Ooh, I'm scared! Come on boys, let's make a run for it!" cried James, in an extremely high pitched voice, still laughing. Then he stopped, suddenly deadly serious. His next words scared Narcissa more than she could say.

"I think you need to be taught not to mess with the Marauders, Blondie!"

They began to walk in a semi-circle, before James took a few nifty steps towards her, while she stumbled a few steps in retreat. They went on this way until Narcissa tripped over a tree root and fell, her back colliding with the tree trunk as she collapsed to the floor. James raised his wand towards her as she looked up at him, no longer attempting to hide the terror forming in her eyes.

"We picked this one up from your little boyfriend, Blondie, so you might be familiar with it. Sectumsempra!"

The screams echoed across the grounds before another spell sounded over it.

"Expelliarmus!" The voice was Scottish and James froze in terror who the voice belonged to. He turned slowly to see three people running over. 'Snivellus' and Professor McGonagall both looked furious, but the surprise in James' face was not short lived as he saw Sirius' livid face. The next thing he saw was the ground, the blood seeping down onto his shirt from his still throbbing nose. He slowly made his way to his feet, staring as his best friend cradled the small girl in his arms.

"Cissa, talk to me, please. Come on, Flower, please."

"Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew, go to my office and wait for me there. Mr. Snape, go and fetch Professor Slughorn, tell him to go to the Hospital Wing immediately. Mr. Black, can you manage to carry her to the Hospital Wing?" said the Transfiguration Professor, her tone changing from furious to urgent to sympathetic.

"Yes, Professor." answered Sirius, gathering his young cousin in his arms and following his Head of House to the Hospital Wing.

When Narcissa's Head of House arrived, shock overcoming him as he and Professor McGonagall discussed Narcissa's condition with Madam Pomfrey, Sirius did not move. He merely turned his back as Madam Pomfrey changed Narcissa's dressings, not wanting to invade her privacy, but not wanting to leave her for a moment either. Even when Narcissa's own mother, his Aunt Druella, arrived, her eyes red-rimmed and glistening with tears at her daughter's condition, he did not leave. When he was alone with Narcissa, he climbed onto the bed with her and held her close.

"I love you, Cissa, and I'm going to protect you forever. I promise."

Another former Azkaban resident, another lost family member. Another broken promise. Narcissa clung to her pillow as she decided to attempt to return to sleep. Her attempts failed as she bolted upright again in the night, though this time she was screaming for her husband.

She was still partially asleep, she noted, but was drawn from her slumber as she felt warm arms encircle her, soft lips kissing her head and a low drawling voice soothing her. She smiled as she realised that it was not her son who had returned to comfort her from her nightmare, or her sister. It was her husband.

"You came back for me." the younger blonde breathed over her husband's shoulder.

"Of course I did, my baby girl, I love you. I'll never leave you again, I promise."

True, Azkaban and the Dementors had taken her cousin's freedom and what remained of her sister's sanity, but it hadn't taken her husband from her and it would never touch her family again.

Even though she was a prisoner in her own house, she was imprisoned with him and he was all she needed.