On the Edge

Summary: Lucius prepares for the Cruciatus' sting, but Lord Voldemort has found a way to hurt him so much more. So when Lucius fails once more, can Voldemort break him by leaving his life in balance on the edge? Lucissa hurt/comfort romance.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise doesn't belong to me. Anything you don't does.

How could he have let him escape?! He had the Potter boy and his friends right within his grasp and he let them get away. The Dark Lord was coming and he would not be happy. He may grant Bellatrix a reprieve for all her loyalty, but the Malfoys had not even the remotest chance.

Lucius walked out into the entrance hall to find his wife and son sat on the lower steps. Draco was crying, his entire body being racked by sobs. Narcissa had wrapped her arms around Draco's shoulders, kissing the top of his head. She wasn't crying at the moment, but she had tear tracks making inroads in her light make-up. She was trying to be strong for his sake, and Draco's, and that was one of the many, many reasons that Lucius loved Narcissa Black-Malfoy.

Lucius walked over to them and bent down. He was about to wrap his arms around them when the 'pop' sound of several people Apparating echoing from the drawing room. He snapped into action, shooing Draco straight up the stairs, which he took two at a time. Lucius turned to his darling wife.

"Narcissa?" he prompted. The woman in question had barely noticed the tears that were now flooding down her face. Lucius sighed and hurriedly wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and kissing her head, just as she had done for their son mere moments earlier.

"It'll be alright, Cissa, I promise it will. I'll take the rap."

"Lucius, not Draco. I don't care who else, just not Draco. You've had the Cruciatus, you know how to cope with it. I don't care if it's me, just not him. He's too young."

"Cissa, you've never had the Cruciatus either, it'd be just as bad for you-"

"Not that you know of, no."

Lucius stopped and pulled away from his wife to look her in the eye, his hands resting on her upper arms.

"What do you mean? Darling?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. You have to go, or the Dark Lord will be furious."

"Go upstairs and don't leave your bedroom until I call for you."

"I'll be in Draco's room. I love you."

"I love you too." sighed Lucius, pulling his wife closer for a chaste kiss, but it was all they needed. Mere seconds later, Narcissa was in her son's room, trying to comfort him, and Lucius was in front of the merciless being that was his master. Lord Voldemort.

When he entered the room, a group of Death Eaters were assembled, among them Severus Snape, the Lestrange brothers and, of course, his sister-in-law, Bellatrix.

"Ah...Lucius." hissed the Dark Lord, his soft, gentle tones barely concealing the venom hidden in his voice.

"My Lord." breathed Lucius, barely louder than he had done before the first attack on the Potter boy the previous week.

"Lucius, I took your wand from you, was willing to let you rot in Azkaban and still you fail me. It simply isn't good enough. You never seem to learn, so I will have to make you. Dolohov, Rodolphus, as discussed." directed Voldemort, gesturing to the two men closest to the door, who bowed out of the room, the sound of their footsteps on the stone echoing into the spacious room.

"Now, Lucius, your own pain seems to have no affect on your ability, so it is useless to pursue it. I overheard your conversation with your darling wife as I arrived and I appreciate your need to protect your heir. Spineless as he is, the Pureblood lines must not be allowed to die out. So I have devised a solution."

As if on cue, Rodolphus and Dolohov returned, dragging a figure robed in black, with a matching shawl covering her head and obscuring her face, while Lucius watched, restrained by Rabastan and Snape, Bellatrix holding her wand to his neck for good measure. As Lucius stared at the figure, he noticed several things about the woman they were restraining. The way the fine midnight silk clung to her figure, the well-manicured hands trying to prise the men away...the platinum blonde curls escaping from the shawl and tumbling over her shoulders as it was pulled from her head.

"NARCISSA!" he screamed, fighting against Snape and Rabastan as Bellatrix dug her wand further into his throat, restricting his breathing a little more. He could see the pure terror on his wife's face. She had, of course, insisted that should the choice fall to her or Draco, he shouldn't think for a moment about choosing their son, but he would never have chosen his darling wife either. As soon as she had caught sight of Voldemort, she stopped trying to struggle, feeling his crimson eyes boring into her own sapphire ones.

"Well, well, well...Narcissa." he hissed, dismissing the two men, who took over Lucius' guard, leaving the other three to join the ranks of the remaining Death Eaters.

"Yes?" she breathed. Even though she was clearly terrified, Narcissa still refused to show weakness in front of her husband and sister, never mind Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Your husband has failed me once again, Narcissa, and so he must be punished." He turned to Lucius. "Your own suffering seems to have no effect on your behaviour, so let us see how you react to hers."

Before he knew it, the flash of green light was flying across the room. It seemed to fly ten, twenty, even thirty times as slowly as in reality and Lucius could barely stand to watch as it hit his darling Narcissa.

The first scream was the worst. The pain ripped through Narcissa's body like a thousand knives and the sound tore through Lucius' heart just as much. He had no choice but to watch, his captors were forcing his face towards Narcissa, cursing his eyelids not to close. It was agony, watching his darling wife writhing in pain on the floor, unable to block out her piercing screams. Again and again and again and again.

Suddenly, the screams stopped. Lucius looked up from his lap to see that Voldemort was glaring at him, his crimson eyes boring into his very soul.

"Maybe now you will think twice about failing me. Come along. Let us leave Lucius to grieve."

And with that, Voldemort swept towards the door, kicking Narcissa's face as he did. His Death Eaters soon followed, Bellatrix attempting to make a sympathetic look towards Lucius as she left. Once the final followers had dispersed, Lucius looked up to the clock as it chimed. Midnight. Narcissa had been under the Cruciatus for an entire half hour. Lucius could barely stand it for five minutes and had been in bed for twelve hours afterwards. How could she survive it?

He snapped out of his thoughts and ran to his wife's side. The first thing he did was clasp her hand, which was as cold as a December morning. Tears were sliding down her cheeks from under her closed eyelids. He could see blood pooling on the floor, seeping through her dress, due to the severity of the curse.

"Oh, Narcissa, what have I done to you? What have I done?" cried Lucius, kneeling over her. He very carefully slid one hand under her back and another under her knees, gently lifting her off the ground. Her body was terrifyingly limp and she felt far more delicate than usual. He moved as fast as he could to their bedroom, taking the stairs two at a time. He didn't even take notice as Draco poked his head around the door, his mouth dropping open as he saw the bundle in his father's arms.

Lucius gently laid Narcissa down on their bed and Summoned some bandages and other supplies. He gently cleaned every one of her wounds and bandaged them tight so that the bloodflow would stop. Suddenly, the door burst open and Draco stumbled in, running over to his mother's side.

"Father, what happened?" he cried, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

"I disappointed the Dark Lord, but he said that my own suffering didn't have enough effect on me...so he tortured her instead." Lucius could barely get the words out without sobbing himself.

"Oh my God. Mum." cried Draco, looking anxiously at his unconcious mother.

"Draco, I think you should leave your mother to rest, don't you?"

"Yes." agreed Draco in a miniscule voice, kissing his mother's tear-streaked face and leaving the room. Lucius sighed and sat by his wife. With her wounds tended to the best of his ability, all that Lucius could do was wait. Clutching Narcissa's hand to his chest and lying down beside her, Lucius fell into a deep sleep.

He was awakened violently to find Narcissa thrashing around in her sleep. She was whimpering softly and her movements suggested that she was trying to fight someone off her. He was brought to his senses by this and began to gently shake her shoulders.

"Narcissa. Narcissa, baby, I'm here. It's alright, I'm here, it's just a dream." He was growing desperate as his wife continued tossing and turning. Suddenly, she sat up, screaming and crying. Instinctively, Lucius wrapped his arms around her, whispering soothing words in her ear. She leaned into his embrace almost immediately, wetting his shoulders with her tears. She calmed after a few moments, holding onto her husband.

"Are you alright now, darling?" Lucius had broken the silence, stroking his wife's cheeks to wipe away the remaining tears.

"I'm sorry, Lucius, I was just being so stupid. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't even think about apologising, darling, it's not your fault. You're perfectly alright. It's fine. What were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing. It really doesn't matter, it's silly."

"You may have been wrong to apologise, but you should still tell me."

"Lucius, I'm-"

"Tell me." he implored, his strong yet comforting tone suggesting to her that she didn't really have a choice. Narcissa took a deep breath and began.

"I was dreaming about when you were in Azkaban, when the Dark Lord summoned Draco to him. I've never trusted the man, so I followed him down and hid by the door. He started talking about things that you had done, how you had failed Him, and I remember thinking that He was making it all up to spite you, which He was, so I kept listening. Then I heard Him say that..." Narcissa's strong exterior was cracking slowly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Lucius wiped it away, then urged her to continue.

"He said that Draco deserved to suffer for your ineptitude. That was when I knew I had to run. Half of me wanted to run upstairs and hide, not to come down for weeks, months, years even. The other half wanted to leap in front of him, to take the pain from him. The other half won, and I ran into the room, jumped in front of him just as He cast the curse. It only caught him on the sleeve, but it hit me full blast. I yelled at Draco to run, and he did. But the Dark Lord didn't stop. I kept an eye on the clock as He was cursing me. One hour went by, then two, then three and He didn't stop. I thought I was going to die." Narcissa stopped, breaking down in sobs, as Lucius drew his arms around her again.

"It's alright, darling, you're safe. You're safe, I'm safe, Draco's safe, we're all alright and we're all here, together."

"It's just that...Lucius, it wasn't just a nightmare. It was true!"

Narcissa lay sobbing in her husband's arms all night, her tears soaking into her husband's shirt through her nightmares. Lucius lay awake all night, stroking his wife's hair and kissing her cheek every few minutes, willing to drive her nightmares away with these tender gestures.

It was clear to him that Narcissa was just on the edge, but he would never let her fall.

A/N: Another Lucissa one-shot, I just think that hurt/comfort works the best for me for this pairing, because it brings out their true love for each other. Please review!