It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me
It was a few weeks after the meeting. Things at the Manor had gone back to an almost weary normal. With Draco still gone for the year, she and Lucius had resumed their previous routines. But neither of them spoke of what was discussed at the dining room table. She couldn't tell if he just wanted to not think of it or if he didn't want to terrify her. Late one particularly cold evening, Katherine sat at a candlelit desk in the library, scribbling a response to a letter she had received from Professor Snape the day prior. She was wearing her nightdress, planning to go to bed right after she was finished.
Miss Farrington,
I informed Professor Dumbledore of your situation as a precaution in case things go awry. He and I, as well as the rest of the Order, know about you. I urge you to stay vigilant and smart about the upcoming mission. Do not speak of anything to Lucius. Elowen is doing fine, she did very well in her potions O.W.L. You should be proud to have such an intelligent sister.
Regards,
Professor Severus Snape.
P.S: Included is a photograph of members of the Order. Know you can trust them.
She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her sister was alright and that at least Dumbledore knew she wasn't a traitor. She and Snape had regular correspondence, he would inform her of important things going on and she would give him any insightful information she had obtained through Lucius. It made her feel better knowing that deep down she was doing something good in spite of the bad cards she had been dealt. Just as she was finishing up her letter, she heard the doorknob turn. "Come in!" she called, fanning the wet ink with her hand.
The door creaked open and in waltzed Lucius. He was in his plush bedrobe, his hair pulled to the side to drape over his shoulder. Katherine quickly folded up the letter at his arrival, sealing it with the hot wax she had prepared on the desk.
"Good evening, Luci." she hummed, hiding the letter underneath a spare book. Lucius stepped behind her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"What are you doing up so late, dove. You know we have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow." He murmured quietly, moving his large hand to gently run his fingers through her soft hair.
Right. Tomorrow was the day the Death Eaters were storming the Ministry. She let herself lean into his hand, closing her eyes with a soft sigh. "I can't sleep. I'm just a little nervous that's all. What if things go wrong? Lucius, you could get caught and get sent away to Azkaban, or even worse you could be killed. And then what will I do? I'd be all alone." she whispered, turning her head to look up at the man behind her. He paused for a moment before taking her hands in his.
"Katherine, that will not happen. You underestimate the power of the Dark Lord. I can assure you everything will go according to plan." he cooed, pulling her hands to lift her up so she stood before him. "And if it does, you will be safe here with Narcissa and Draco. You truly are one of us now, a part of my family. But please trust me. Do not worry your pretty little head." He pulled Katherine into a gentle hug, and she nuzzled him smiling to herself.
"Can I sleep with you tonight? I doubt I'd get any sleep alone in my room," she mumbled into his chest. He gave a small sigh, hesitating before nodding his head.
"I do not see why not. Get the desk cleaned up and blow out the candles, I will be waiting for you in my bedroom." Katherine pulled away from him as he turned to head out of the library door.
Sitting back down at the desk, she grabbed the letter she was writing before. There was a small tapping at the door, and she waved her wand to open it so a large tawny owl could fly in. She had named him Archimedes, a gift from Snape so she could discreetly send her letters to Hogwarts. He perched himself on the edge of the desk, Katherine rubbing his head gently.
"Hello, Archimedes. Can you deliver this letter to the Professor, please?" she asked, holding the sealed letter in her outstretched hand. The owl blinked before snatching the parchment out of her hand, wings flapping as he headed out of the window and into the night.
Katherine arose from the chair, licking her thumb and index finger before using them to burn out the candle. The flame fizzled away, leaving her in darkness. "Lumos," she whispered, her wand lighting up as she waltzed out of the library to make her way to Lucius's bedroom.
The manor was freezing cold despite it being the summer months. The floorboards underneath her creaked as she made her way up the familiar ornate staircase. Finding Lucius's room was second nature to her, and she had memorized its location and the way you had to turn the golden doorknob just right in order to enter. She stopped right in front of the elegant door for a moment, and it just hit her, the fact that this could very well be the last night she will spend with him. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked into the master bedroom.
Lucius was sitting on his bed propped against a stack of pillows, his glasses-tipped nose buried in a large book. Katherine recognized the title as a muggle book she had to read during her Muggle Studies class in school. "Dracula by Bram Stoker. Luci, are you reading a muggle book?" she laughed, sitting herself down at the edge of his bed. Lucius glanced up with a look of slight annoyance.
"For your information, Bram Stoker was a muggle-born wizard. He just chose to live a muggle life. Either way, it is a very good novel." he answered shortly. Katherine rolled her eyes and climbed into bed with him, crawling over to his side. The covers and blankets around her instantly warmed her up, and she grabbed one made of black fur to wrap around herself as she leaned into him.
"Do you want to read to me? It might help me sleep better," she said softly, letting her head fall on his lap. He stiffened as she curled up next to him, his hand finding its comforting place in her silky hair again. She let her eyes close as Lucius began reading aloud to her.
"It will be pleasure and delight if I may serve you as a friend, as a friend, but all I have ever learned, all I can ever do, shall be for you and those you love. There are darknesses in life, and there are lights. You are one of the lights. You will have a happy life and a good life, and your husband will be blessed in you..."
Early the next morning, Katherine woke up to the sun shining through the sheer maroon curtains. She and Lucius had moved positions throughout the night, and she had somehow ended up curled up in his arms with his chin resting ever so lightly upon the top of her head. Letting her eyes take a moment to adjust to the bright light, she waited for a few seconds before sitting up against the bedframe. Lucius was still sleeping next to her, his face now resting on top of a silk pillow. She took a second to sit there and admire him, the way even in sleep he was still handsome. His chest rose and fell with each breath, and for the first time in forever, he seemed peaceful and content. Her hands moved to brush a strand of hair away from his face, his eyes slowly opening as he felt her fingers against his cheek. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty." she teased, and Lucius groaned as he rubbed his face with the palm of his hand before sitting up as well.
Katherine moved to run her fingers through his bedhead hair, a soft smile crossing her face as she leaned over to press a soft kiss on his cheek. Achilles, who had been sleeping at the foot of the bed, eagerly hopped on the mattress and began licking Lucius's cheek.
"Ah, Katherine, good morning. I do hope you slept well last night. You had fallen asleep right as I was finishing the chapter." he said in a grumbled morning voice, pushing the dog off him. Yawning, he stretched his arms before hopping off of the bed. Katherine quickly followed suit, grabbing one of his silk robes to wear as the manor was even colder in the mornings.
The two of them made their way downstairs and into the dining room. Narcissa was awake, and she immediately grabbed two mugs of fresh coffee to hand to the two of them. Katherine smiled in thanks, her hands immediately warming up from the heat of the ceramic. Taking a sip, she hummed as the warmth filled her body. Narcissa turned to Katherine, and she could tell something was bothering her. "Katherine, may I speak to you for a moment?" she asked quietly, adding a quick "alone" once she noticed Lucius would protest. Katherine nodded as she followed Narcissa out of the dining room and into the kitchen.
"Is something wrong, Narcissa?" she asked. Narcissa took a deep breath, reaching to take Katherine's hand in hers.
"I know very well that things may go wrong today. Frankly, I am nervous about Lucius and if he will be alright. And you, you shouldn't have this on your shoulders but I beg of you, please make sure he gets home to me in one piece. Draco is getting to the more difficult teenage years and he needs his father with him. Just-just promise me you'll try to keep him safe." Tears welled up in her eyes, and Katherine reached out to wipe a stray tear that had fallen.
"Narcissa, I can only assure you that I will do everything in my ability to keep him safe. But at the end of the day, he's responsible for himself. If he fucks up it's on him. But I will make sure that he at least makes it out alive. That's all I can promise." Katherine responded, resting her hand on Narcissa's shoulders. What she said was true-she could only protect him the best she could. But Lucius was headstrong and stubborn and definitely wouldn't respond kindly to her protecting him. After a few moments of silence, Lucius walked into the kitchen and set his mug down on the counter. "Katherine, go upstairs and get ready. It's almost time," he said coldly. She nodded and gave Narcissa one last sympathetic look before turning to head upstairs. Narcissa looked up, her eyes were still glassy with the remnants of tears. Lucius noticed and sighed, pressing a kiss to her lips before following Katherine out of the kitchen. She stood alone now, and she took the two mugs and began washing them with tears running down her face.
-
"Here is how this is going to work," Lucius explained as he and Katherine stood in front of the fireplace. Abernathy held a dish of floo powder in his hands waiting for the two of them to leave. Lucius had on a set of fancy ornate robes, and Katherine was dressed in a high-neck top, a pencil skirt, and stupidly high heels she tried not to wobble in. He continued talking as she stood in silence next to him. "We will arrive at the Ministry and begin walking to the Department of Mysteries. If anyone asks, we are there on secret business. Once we are inside the Hall of Prophecies, I will tie you up and you will wait quietly for Potter to arrive. Remember, he also thinks his godfather is with you. Once he frees you, tell him that you know where Black is and that you can take him to him. Lead him to the location of the prophecy and let us do the rest. If you mess this up, the consequences will be devastating. Do you understand?" Katherine nodded, and she and Lucius each took a handful of powder and tossed it into the fire. They stepped in, and she took a deep breath as she felt the warmth of the flames envelop her.
After a few seconds, they stepped out into the large entrance to the Ministry of Magic. She looked around, holding on tightly to Lucius's arm. She felt like everyone was staring at them, wondering what he was doing there with her. Continuing to walk down the hallway, she heard Lucius make a few remarks to people passing by. After what felt like an eternity, they finally headed down an even more mysterious hallway which led to a concealed door.
"Ah, good day Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy's guest." said a guard in front of the door. Lucius just nodded before whipping his wand out, pointing it at the guard.
"Imperio." The guard's eyes turned glassy, and Lucius just stared as he opened the door to the Hall of Prophecies. Katherine's eyes widened as he pulled her inside, gawking at the room. There were shelves that reached all the way to the top of the blue-tinted ceiling. On the shelves themselves were thousands upon thousands of glowing crystal globes, each one seeming to whisper dark omens. She was totally entranced, and she stopped to stare before Lucius pulled her away. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped at a small clear spot at a cross-section of hallways. Lucius turned to her, taking her hand and leading her to the center.
"Here, sit down. Unfortunately now is the time I tie you up," he said quietly. She obeyed and sat down on the cold concrete below her, her body illuminated by the blue light of the room. Lucius kneeled to her level and took her hands together, tapping his wand on her wrists so that ropes appeared to bind them together. He did the same to her ankles, looking almost sympathetic as he did so. She didn't mind the feeling of the cold ropes on her skin, in fact, she thought the prospect was kind of hot. Once he was finished, he stood up and ran his finger through her hair to mess it up. "Are you at least slightly comfortable?" he asked with slight concern. She nodded as a giant smirk crossed her face.
"Don't worry, I like it." Lucius raised an eyebrow before chuckling to himself. "Noted. Now I must leave you for a little. Do not forget what I said. The prophecy is right down that hallway. I will see you soon." he responded, leaning down to kiss her cheek before disappearing into the darkness.
Katherine sat there for what seemed like hours. The room, though beautiful, still terrified her especially since she was totally alone. Every slight noise, every whisper, caused her to shoot up and be on alert. The ropes began to itch and scratch at her bare skin, and she winced in discomfort as she hoped that soon she would be freed. Eventually, she heard footsteps and very real human voices approach her.
"There, there she is!" yelled a familiar voice. Her head shot up as she saw Elowen running towards her. She was followed by 6 others, a girl with long blonde hair, a tall ginger boy, and the most recognizable of all: Harry Potter. Elowen raced to her side, quickly tapping her wand to free her sister from the ropes. Katherine stood up, Elowen immediately hugging her.
"Elowen, why are you here?" she asked, Elowen responding quickly. "Harry said he saw you and Sirius being tortured in his vision. He wanted to save you himself, but we all decided as a group to come together. There is safety in numbers." This wasn't supposed to happen. Lucius said it would be Potter alone, an easy target. But here he was, with a small army of teenagers, one of them being her sister. Katherine turned to her, squeezing her tightly before pulling away. She had a job to do, one that she hoped would ensure her sister's safety.
"Katherine, where is Sirius Black?" she heard Harry ask concerningly. Katherine turned her head, pointing down the hallway Lucius told her to lead Harry down.
"The Death Eaters took them down there. I think I know where they could be. Follow me." she said as she and the group began running down the hallway. After a few moments, Katherine told them to stop right in front of the prophecy. "Here, this is where I think they took him." she explained. Where was Lucius? Shouldn't he be here? She saw Harry reach over and grab the prophecy, and suddenly she saw a group of Death Eaters appear. Her arm was twisted behind her back as one of them grabbed her, pulling her over to their side. Lucius emerged from the shadows, not even glancing at her.
"Give me the prophecy and no one will get hurt Potter." he cooed. Katherine watched as Harry began arguing with them, mocking them. She could feel something terrible coming, that the plan in fact was not going to work smoothly. And that put herself, Elowen, and Lucius in danger. Her sister stood behind the blonde girl, and she shuddered as she saw the terrified look on her sister's face. She glanced at Lucius, who was still trying to convince Harry to hand over the prophecy. Suddenly she was blinded by a blue light that was followed by a loud crash. The shelves began to sway, and she knew now was her chance to run. Stomping on the foot of the Death Eater that held her, she escaped his grasp and ran to grab Elowen, slipping her heels off as she did so.
"Come on, let's go!" She yelled, pulling her sister away from the group. Her sister pulled and tugged to try to get out of Katherine's grasp.
"Kat, where are we going? We have to help Harry!" she yelled. Katherine kept running, keeping her sister in her grasp.
"Ellie, we're getting out of here. Harry has 5 other people with him, I'm sure he'll be fine." Elowen shook her head, stopping and grabbing Katherine's arm.
"Come on. We can't just leave them. I know you run away from things but you need to fight this time. For me." she begged, gasping for air. Katherine took a deep breath before agreeing. At least she could help Lucius if he needed help. Almost immediately, a bright blue light flew past them, the prophecies beginning to topple over. The two started running again, but in the midst of the light, Elowen was snatched away, disappearing as the light faded.
Katherine cursed to herself, turning to run again before she was blocked by Lucius standing in front of her, gasping as she watched him walk towards her. "Dove, why are you running? It's not over until we get the prophecy. Come on now, do not be scared. This will all be over shortly." he purred, shifting so he was right in front of her. His face was cold, glowing in the blue cast of light that surrounded the room.
"Lucius, I did my part. My sister, she's innocent, I'm innocent. I just want to get out of here." She pleaded. Lucius narrowed his eyes down at her, grabbing her arm tightly.
"You silly girl. If you do not see this mission through you will be killed, understand? Now let's go." Katherine glanced up at the glowing orbs before she was suddenly whisked into another room.
In the center of the room, there was a large mirror with what seemed like smoke slithering over the reflection. She was being held back by Lucius, who had one of his hands covering her mouth, and she squirmed in his grasp as she looked across the room to see Elowen and some of the other kids being held back as well. She saw Harry with a glowing orb in his hand. Bellatrix had a nerdy-looking boy in her arms and was threatening to use the Cruciatus curse on him if Potter didn't give in. But Katherine was in such a dazed stupor she couldn't register anything anyone was saying until Lucius spoke behind her, his arm digging into her skin uncomfortably. "Potter, just give it to me. Everything will be alright. You and your friends will return safely, Mr. Longbottom will not be tortured, and Miss Farrington will not have to watch her older sister die." he coaxed, Katherine's eyes widening as she struggled. Obviously, she knew Lucius was lying to hide the fact that she was a part of the plan, but she couldn't help but stand in fear. Just as she saw Harry move to hand over the prophecy, more light filled the room as a group of other wizards appeared.
The Order of the Phoenix had arrived.
Katherine recognized everyone easily from Snape's postcard. There was Kingsley Shacklebolt, Sirius Black, the Auror Alistar Moody (someone who she had respect for ever since her Defense Against the Dark Arts course), and Remus Lupin, who stood next to a woman not on the postcard but Katherine knew anyways, one of her old friends Nymphadora Tonks, the pink-haired woman's eyes widening as she spotted Katherine. "Katherine?" she yelled from across the room. "Tonks?" she yelled back. Tonks was a year younger than her and friends with Victor, which is how they met during their school years. Though they had drifted apart after graduation, Katherine was still in shock. She didn't even notice Tonks stun Lucius, who let go of her as he fell on the floor beneath him. She saw Harry running away with the prophecy and decided it was now or never. She ran towards the other side, before running into Tonks. She began firing spells at Katherine, the woman returning with a defense.
"Katherine, it's surprising seeing you here. I know you're undercover, so just keep blocking what I'm sending at you okay?" Tonks explained. Katherine nodded and kept fighting, the two backing themselves against one of the walls. Then, Katherine noticed Lucius out of the corner of her eye. He had a smug grin on his face, the Prophecy glistening in his hand. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Lucius had finally succeeded, forgetting to cast a countering spell, and she found herself toppling on the floor. Her eyes were glued to Lucius as Tonks left to battle another Death Eater. Peace was short-lived, however, as she saw Lucius topple over, the prophecy smashing on the floor.
That was the end. Katherine knew they were going to lose. She scrambled to get to her feet, ignoring all of the chaos around her. Lucius had been stunned to the ground and was laying on the floor. Going against her best judgment, she ran to his side and kneeled next to him. "Luci, come on. We have to go before anyone else comes," she begged. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dumbledore appear, and they made eye contact and she could've sworn she saw him wink. Lucius noticed Dumbledore's presence as well and allowed Katherine to help him to his feet.
"We have to run. This is very bad indeed," he said as he drew his wand pushing Katherine behind him, the two slowly backing away towards the exit of the room. She saw Elowen staring at her, a look of disappointment and confusion on her face as she and Lucius fled the room. The last thing she heard was Harry Potter screaming that Bellatrix had killed Sirius. Without a chance to even register guilt, she and Lucius were running away from the battle.
Katherine was sick of running. She and Lucius dashed through the Ministry hallways, officials and off-duty Aurors following them, casting spells and dodging any counterattacks Lucius sent at them. Finally, they reached the fireplace they came in through, and Katherine snatched the floo powder throwing it in the fireplace, pulling Lucius into the flames with her as she shouted "Malfoy Manor!" as they did.
Big mistake. As she and Lucius toppled out of the fireplace and into the living room, they immediately saw a distressed Narcissa. "Lucius, Katherine-what on earth happened!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair. Lucius immediately ran to her, grabbing onto her shoulders and shaking her.
"Narcissa, get upstairs. We lost. We got caught. We have to get out of here!" Katherine stood by the fireplace, staring at Lucius. He seemed angry, upset, stressed. She had never seen him like that before. As she went to place a hand on his own shoulder, her hand was batted away. "Not now, Katherine. Please," he said softly. Just as she was about to argue, she saw the doors to the Manor being blasted open. In came a group of Aurors along with Lupin and Tonks. They stood in the door frame, their wands pointed directly at Lucius and her.
"Lucius Malfoy, you are under arrest. Hand over the girl and come quietly."
But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true
And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win
A/N; i'm so sorry for publishing so late! this chapter just took forever to write since it's a much longer chapter than usual. also dracula is literally one of my favorite books i had to include a quote