When the Snow Melts

Unyielding

An anguished wail abruptly awakened him from dark and turbulent dreams. His eyes fluttered open, catching sight of a small woman with shoulder-length platinum blond hair kneeling over Draco's body.

She turned hateful blue eyes on him, her body trembling. "This is all your fault," she shrieked. "You led him astray. If you had just stayed away from him..."

She threw herself at him, hitting him repeatedly as she hysterically sobbed. His heart was breaking all over again knowing that her anger was not misplaced. He had been warned, but he had chased after Draco anyway, chased after the idea that he was allowed to have some small amount of happiness. Now there was nothing left for either of them and it hurt too much to bear it.

"Kill me," he begged, wanting the nightmare to end. He hoped that in her anger she might grant him this.

She paused, startled, her eyes going wide as she gazed at him. "Why?" she asked, "Why him? Why my baby?" Shame and anguish twisted his stomach, forcing him to look away from her intense scrutiny.

A vision of a windswept Draco, turning back to flash him a dazzling smile as they chased one another across the Quidditch pitch came to the forefront of his mind. He choked back a sob, his chest tightening painfully at the thought that all he had were memories now.

"I don't know," his voice was raw with emotion. "It just happened."

He sat, shivering against the damp and the cold, his whole body aching while her accusing eyes bore into him. He wanted to say something more, but there was nothing to say. She'd never get to see her son alive again and it was all his fault.

The angry creaking of ungreased hinges startled them both and as one they turned wide eyes towards the door.

"Ah, Cissy," Bellatrix crooned, a malicious smirk on her face as she took note of her sister's presence in his cell. "Come to take out the trash? About time really. It was beginning to reek."

Narcissa grit her teeth, her body trembling with barely contained fury as she faced her sister.

Harry's feelings mirrored hers, he felt an intense flash of anger at the thought of this woman treating Draco's body as it were just trash to be thrown out. Draco was his everything and this woman...this woman.

He launched himself at her, his fingers reaching out in anticipation of wrapping around her delicate throat before he was halted mid-stride by the chains connecting him to the rafters of his cell.

She took a small step backward, her gaze growing cold as she flicked her wand in the direction of the winch. With a surprised yelp, his arms were wrenched behind him, pulling him off his feet and dragging him to the center of the floor to dangle above the ground.

"Such a rude little pet," she remarked, turning to smirk at her sister in amusement, completely unphased by the glares being directed her way. "Pity. It seems my nephew failed to teach him any manners."

Narcissa's mouth was a hard, straight line, her eyes cold and smoldering.

Harry was taking in ragged shallow breaths, shaking with rage as he remembered his reasons for fighting. If it were the last thing he ever did, he would kill that woman. That was a promise. His eyes briefly met Narcissa's as if they were sharing the same thought.

She stood and walked away, picking up Draco's body and taking it with her when she left.

Defiance burned in the wizard's bright green eyes as he held her gaze.

She shuddered briefly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Such a scary face. Have you already forgotten what I taught you?"

She slowly circled around him, eyeing him for weaknesses. "I suppose it can't be helped. I'll just have to repeat the lesson," she announced, jabbing her wand into the soft spot right next to his shoulder blade.