Wind of Change [Lucius]

Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell

It was nearly midnight in Wiltshire. All the lights were long gone, leaving only the moonlight shining through the windows to guide her ways. The woman’s long blonde hair was not tied up as usual but hanging down, covering her upper back. She came to a stop as she reached a nicely designed double-door. She pushed it open, revealing a wide balcony. It was then the moon light casted over Narcissa Malfoy. Her normally beautiful face was now full of exhaustion. There were dark marks under her eyes and some bruises, the result of many sleepless nights and the Dark Lord’s tortures days ago. However, beneath those physical damages, her expression was that of calm and relief, unlike how she appeared just a day ago.

Mrs. Malfoy walked across the balcony and put her hands on the railing. She let out a sigh of relief. She could finally enjoy the marvelous view from the manor’s large balcony after two long years. The war was over. Finally, it was over. No more fears. No more anger. No more torments. Her family was now free.

The past war had brought the Malfoy nothing but trouble. Unlike the first one, which she actually did not have anything to complain about because nothing went against her will, the Second war was a nightmare. One disaster came after another. First, it was Lucius going to Azkaban. Then Draco was forced to become a Death Eater. So many things had happened. Therefore, finally being able to relax again was truly a blessing. But the most important thing was: Every one of her family members made it out alive. They all had scars, physically and mentally, but alive. Draco was still traumatized and locked himself in his room most of the time. Fortunately, he was showing good signs of recovery, as she could see from the look on his face. About Lucius, well, she was not so sure. Her beloved husband was pretty good at hiding his feelings, even her couldn’t guess one hundred percent of it. But from the looks of things, she was assured he would make it through.

As for herself, she was far from alright. Surviving the war was fortunate, but what would be next? After the interrogating, they were allowed to go home with some Aurors following behind, awaiting the actual trial. The Ministry did not seem to trust that they did not participate with the Death Eater in the latest battle. The Aurors were now guarding in and outside their manor. No further information was provided. The Malfoys were left in the fog, not knowing what was going to happen. Many thoughts went through Narcissa. She wondered what would be the sentence for them. Despite the fact that they did not kill anyone the night before, her husband was involved in a lot more murders. There would no doubt be some kind of punishment. And her son too, he was responsible for the incident surrounding Dumbledore’s death. “What if both of them would be sent to Azkaban?” was the question which had been keeping her up so late at night. She was so tired of it and went to find some fresh air.

Suddenly, there were footsteps coming from the hallway behind. She slightly turned her head toward it. Narcissa was aware that her husband had not gone to bed yet. He was still in his study when she went to check earlier. He had been sleepless like her also. Maybe he was looking for her. Though, it might have been one of the Aurors. And there was one way to find out. “Is that you, Lucius?” She asked. Her clear voice sounded pretty loud in the middle of the night although she was using the normal volume.

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Sleep up until the Dark Lord returned had always been easy for Lucius Malfoy. But ever since then, especially after his year spent in Azkaban, Lucius had rarely been able to sleep easily. And now that the Dark Lord had been defeated just the day before, one would think that he would be able to sleep, relief that the nightmare that had become his life was over. But it wasn’t over, not yet. He and his family had been interrogated for hours and there was still the trials. The Aurors had taken them home and were now inside and outside the Manor, likely making sure the Malfoys didn’t try and run.

But Lucius was currently fighting his exhaustion with his fear of what he might dream should he fall asleep and also needing to go through various paperwork to see what he could offer to keep the consequences of everything from being too bad. He had glanced up when she had checked in on him but that had been hours ago and as the clock in his study chimed midnight he figured he would see if she was asleep and maybe try to get some himself, not that he had high hopes for that happening.

His steps were light, not wanting to disturb anyone, not even the Aurors. It was odd that the defeat of the Dark Lord meant instead of getting rid of unwanted guests, they were simply swapped for different still unwanted guests. Merlin, did he simply want his home to himself, well to himself and his family. He couldn’t help but frown as he searched for Narcissa. His son, and likely his wife, blamed him for putting their family in this position, something he didn’t really disagree with. Yet His return put him in an awkward place and he did the best that he could to deal with what was going on. He rubbed his neck where he could feel the Azkaban brand. The Aurors would not tell them anything and Lucius silently vowed that he would do everything in his power to keep his wife and child out of that hellhole, even if that meant going there himself. He would do it for them.

His first stop was the master bedroom, which was empty. So he started to look for her in places that were common for her, until he saw an open door that led to one of the many balconies. He could see his wife and he felt his breath catch as it usually did when he saw her. He managed a smile, one that was reserved for her that was full of warm and love. Her voice rang out, asking if it was him, and he got closer so she could see him. "It is." His smile changed briefly to amused before he gave her a concerned look. "You're still up, Cissa. Is everything alright?" His eyes were soft and concerned as he regarded her, before his arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell

Narcissa returned her husband an equally affectionate smile. She was relieved that it was him, rather than the Aurors. She knew she probably would not be able to keep her composure if they were to ask her what she was doing so late at night. She disliked the idea of some strangers just had the right to question her in her own home. She would not mind reminding them where they were truly was, yet her manner refused to let her do so. Besides, if she were to do so, maybe it would be an excuse for them to make her family’s state worse.

As he put his hands around her waist, Mrs. Malfoy moved her hand away from the railing and placed her arm on his with a gentle chuckle. Like it always been, there was an electrical sensation as their arms touched. It felt like forever since they ever had time together. “I’m alright. I just don’t feel too tired.” The blonde woman replied, eyes still fixed on the view in front of them. ”So I figured some fresh air would be nice. She wondered if she told him the truth that she could not sleep, and that she was worried sick about their fate, would he be more worried? She decided not to mention it. Unless Lucius felt it suitable to remind her of what all of them had been worrying about, she did not want to stress him even more. Instead, he leaned back so that her back was resting on his torso. Either it was the midnight breeze, or it had been so long since they really hug each other, that made her feel such warmth. Narcissa ignored any concern about the Aurors might walk in on them cuddling each other. It was a blessing she even let any of them walked into their home. She let herself enjoy it for a moment before turning her head to look up at his face.

Poor Lucius. The handsome face and well-combed hair she once knew were all gone. What was left was an exhausted and hollow face. There was a little more color to his skin, but it would take a long time for him to regain his old look. She tried to save his appearance before, after his return from prison, to no avail. The stress both of them had to endure had resulted in their current ungraceful looks. She missed the time before the Dark Lord returned. Happiness was frequently present on their faces. Many were jealous of their wealth. Now, they were nothing in anyone’s eyes, even humiliated. The incident hurt their pride. Still, it was the least of the problem.

Narcissa raised a hand to caress his cheek, or rather, feeling the scars on his face. His pain was hers. “What about you?” She held back a sigh and asked him, despite already knowing why. “You need more sleep than I do.” The later was said in a worried tone mixed with empathy.

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Her smile always did something to him, his wonderful, beautiful wife. Just one smile from her could make him relax and momentarily forget about the Aurors were lurking about his home. She seemed relieved that it was him and he assumed that she had thought he was an Auror for a moment. "Thought I was someone else, love?" His eyes glittered with humor and his voice was warm and affectionate, something that was reserved for her and her alone.

She placed her arms on top of his though her chuckle was a bit surprising. He didn’t think it was that funny that he was holding her. But he also didn’t truly think that that was her reason for laughing. "Is there something funny, my dear?" His lips were close to her ear and soft, but full of amusement. He listened to speak about her not being that tired and that some air would be good. "I don’t think any of us have gotten much sleep lately, Cissa." He didn’t think that she needed to be reminded about what was going on in their lives. But despite everything he had to give a slight chuckle as his wife leaned against him. it had been a very long time since they had been able to do like this.

Maybe after the trial, if everything went well, he could maybe take them somewhere. He knew that he wasn’t exactly put together but right now he had far more important things: namely keeping his family safe and out of Azkaban. He was sure that his son blamed him for everything and he was fairly sure that his wife blamed him for a lot of things as well. He also knew that he has messed up big time and pressed a kiss to her hair, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Cissa, for everything that I put you and Draco through." He didn’t really like to apologize but he knew when it was needed and this was a time when an apology was needed.

Her fingers touched his cheek and he leaned gratefully into her touch. She asked what he was doing up and he breathed in sharply before giving a heavy sigh. "I was getting documents ready for the trials." He did however smile at her worried tone as she said that he needed sleep. "I know, I do, lovely. But…I've having trouble sleeping." He normally wouldn’t show weakness but she was safe to be weak around. He knew that she wouldn’t judge him or think he was weak if he showed her that he had some weakness. Merlin knows that she knew he had many weaknesses and likely had them filed away for when he was annoying her. He did want to know something. "Perhaps we can both see if sleep will come?" And stay without nightmares. That would be marvelous if he could get some sleep without nightmares. Or else, he might need to start taking dreamless sleep potions, something he had been trying to avoid so he wouldn’t form an addiction to it, but he was so close to start using them.

Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell

As he asked her what made her laugh, she shrugged lightly. ”I’m not sure. It’s been awhile since we could be alone together, I guess.” She smiled mischievously. She felt so at ease at this time, now that he was here, holding her in his arms. This moment should be embraced entirely.

Her smile faded as Lucius apologized to her and mentioned he was doing paperwork for the trial. Narcissa turned around so that she was now facing him but still allowed his arms to be around her. She raised both her hand and placed them on his cheeks comfortingly. ”No, honey.” She shook her head in disapproval. ”It wasn’t entirely your fault. If He hadn’t returned, none of this would have happened. You did all you could.” Mrs. Malfoy assuaged her husband. ”I hate seeing you like this.” Her eyes looked down, cheeks blushing as she confessed her feeling, something she always tried to hide. She didn’t mind if he looked a little less noble, but seeing him apologetic was one of the things she seldom see and it made him appear weaker than he really was.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed or angry at him. It was his eager to rejoin the Death Eater that got them back to the dark side, his failure that got them to where they were. Draco was dark-marked to punish him. The home was ruined by the Death Eaters was also because of him. She did blame him for all that. But she never told him nor showed it. She understood his difficulty. Being his wife, she made it her life mission to be there for him, support him, were anything bad happened. After all, she wasn’t the one going out to the battle field, risking her life to save the family honor and to keep them all alive. Also, she believed he himself felt responsible for it. And she was right.

“At least… we free now.” Narcissa moved closer and placed her lips on his for a soft kiss. As their lips parted, she leaned her head on his chest. Probably, saying “free” was too soon, seeing they still had a big trial going on soon. On the other hand, they weren’t taking anyone’s order anymore, not until the Ministry announced the punishment for them. Finally they could live their own life. Nobody knew how long had she been waiting for this day. Supposed she wasn’t an adult and wasn’t disciplined by a strict family, she would jump with joy already.

“But …” She breathed deeply with her head still leaning on him. “I’m… still scared.”She admitted. Her eyes attempted to get watery already. She breathed again to calm herself down. Despite admitting her fear, she didn’t want Lucius to see her all teary, having always tried to show him how strong and confident a woman she was. “What will happen to us?”

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