It was now the beginning of March. February had come and gone, school just as stressful as ever. Draco and I had gotten into the routine of visiting Narcissa every other weekend to see how she was doing.
It was a normal Wednesday night, everyone either studying or in detention since classes were done for the day. I was alone in the library, all of my friends in their respective common rooms doing their own thing.
I was falling a bit behind in potions and had decided to use the time to try and get my grades back up, lest Snape give me more shit than he already did.
Suddenly I noticed my right hand feeling a bit odd. It felt.. warm? I glanced down and realized it was the ring Cissy had given me. She needed me.
I wasn't exactly sure how to go about this but I knew I had to get to the manor ASAP. I quickly packed up my stuff, shrinking my bag and dropping it into the pocket on my robes before hastily walking out of the library trying my best not to look suspicious.
I walked as quickly and quietly as I could down to the main floor, sneaking out the front door and onto the grounds without running into any adults. I used the shadows to my advantage as I raced down to the front gates, slipping between the bars and booking it towards the forbidden forest before someone spotted me.
I was out of breath and panicking as my ring was still burning my skin, indicating that Narcissa was either in danger or needing me desperately in some way. "Shit." I paced in a circle gripping my hair in my fists as I contemplated exactly what I was doing.
I could be suspended or even expelled for this. Dumbledore surely had wards up telling him that someone had left the grounds. I had to act quick if I was going to act at all.
We had begun learning apparition a couple of weeks ago but I still hadn't mastered it. I could very well splinch myself and die wherever I ended up. But I didn't exactly have another option right now.
"Fuck my life." I let out a huff of air and focused all of my energy on the image of Malfoy Manor. I wanted to appear just outside the gates in case their were alarms I would set off by apparating directly onto the property.
I took a deep breath, accepted whatever happened happened, and spun on the spot. I felt myself get sucked through a tiny invisible tube and focused as hard as I could on getting there in one piece.
I landed face first on the pavement, my head spinning like mad. As soon as I could see straight I sat up and looked around, inspecting my body to see if I was missing anything vital.
"Hell yeah." I mumbled as I quickly got to my feet and started walking towards the gate. I spider crawled my way up the stone wall and launched myself over, landing none to gracefully on the other side.
I ran all the way up to the house, letting myself in and running around the large mansion looking for Narcissa. I didn't want to call out her name in case she was being held hostage or something. My mind was running wild with every possibility imaginable and I was beginning to really panic.
I stopped outside the door to the living room as I heard crying coming from within. I quietly walked in and looked around but only saw Narcissa sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands. She didn't know I was here yet but she appeared to be alone.
I silently walked over to her and sat down on the sofa, laying a hand on her back and startling her out of her breakdown. She stared at me wide eyed for a moment. "H.. how. Why are you here y/n? I mean I'm glad you are but.." She was stumbling over her words as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
I silenced her by cupping her cheeks in my hands and wiping them away for her, pulling her into my arms. She sank into me, allowing me to rub her back as she cried.
I whispered words of comfort and just held her. She clearly needed this and I knew I'd get to the bottom of it eventually. "Shhh love. I'm here, it'll be alright. I'm right here with you."
Once she sat back sniffling I placed a comforting hand on her thigh and gave her a sorrowful look, silently asking what happened.
"Lucius has escaped Azkaban. The guards sent me a letter a little while ago. I know he's on his way here and I'm.. scared. I thought I was finally free y/n." She was beginning to get hysterical again and I grabbed her face, forcing her to look me in the eye.
"Cissy I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you. I won't let him hurt you ever again. We'll get you somewhere safe and he will never know where you've gone."
"Where?" She sounded defeated, not actually believing the promise of safety from her ruthless husband.
"Come back to Hogwarts with me and we'll figure it out from there. Dumbledore knows he isn't a good man. Hogwarts can protect you until we find another place. You need to get out of this house before he gets here Narcissa."
"Fine. Fine! Anywhere is better than here. I need to grab a few essentials. I don't know how long I will be gone from the manor." She took my hand and pulled me along behind her, not wanting to be alone or leave me alone just in case he happened to show up in the next few minuets.
"Now do you want to tell me why exactly you're here? I'm grateful for it, but how did you know I needed you?" She glanced back at me as she folded a few clothes to stick in a bag with an extension charm on it.
"The rings. Mine was burning my finger letting me know you needed me." That made her hesitate. "I knew the warmed up when the other person was in danger physically, but I didn't know they did that due to mental instability as well."
I placed my hand in the small of her back and gently rubbed up and down, offering her any comfort that I could.
"Merlin I need to tell Draco as well. He's in just as much danger as I am with Lucius on the loose." She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "You will both be just fine my love. He can't do shit to either of you so long as you're on Hogwarts grounds. And if the headmaster knows he poses a threat I'm sure he will be more than happy to help us."
She nodded as she choked back more tears. I turned her around and placed the skirt she was holding into the bag before pulling her close to me and kissing her. I tasted the salty tears running into her mouth but she relaxed into the physical contact.
I pulled back and she smiled, kissing my forehead and returning to her packing.
"Thank you.. y/n. For not leaving." My heart broke at her words. The fact that she believed there was a chance I wouldn't stand by her side through thick and thin pained me.
"I'm not going anywhere my love. That's a promise."
/ / / /
I apparated us outside the gates of the school and we quickly walked up the headmaster's office to be greeted by a furious professor Snape and a rather calm Dumbledore.
"You have a lot of explaining to do Miss y/l/n." I swallowed nervously and looked down at my feet, suddenly conscious of what I had actually done.
"Let the girl explain in peace Severus. You can make her scrub pots and pans later, but right now I would like to hear this story." Dumbledore sat back in his chair and folded his hands, nodding at us to take a seat across from him.
Narcissa was the first to speak. "It's my fault professor. She was trying to help me. You see, my husband has escaped prison and is now on the loose. I was afraid he would hurt me once he returned to our home. We have a connection through these rings and she was summoned to me by my distress." She showed Dumbledore the rings we shared.
"How very interesting. I haven't seen these in quite some time. You two care very deeply for each other." He smirked and I once again swallowed nervously and kept quiet.
"Y..yes. She is my son's best friend. I wanted to keep her safe but the rings go both ways sir." At this point Narcissa was fiddling with her fingers nervously as the headmaster just gave us this little smile I didn't understand.
"Of course. I know of what Lucius has done and I can promise you that you will be safe until he has been caught. Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home Narcissa." She looked relieved that he didn't send her away and I couldn't help the small sigh that escaped me as well, unfortunately drawing the attention towards me.
"Now, we will set you up in a room in the dungeons while Severus here deals with Miss y/l/n" Dumbledore was staring me down and I knew I was in for it.
I felt a hand on the back of my neck and was roughly pulled from my seat and towards the door, throwing one last look in Narcissa's direction.
/ / / /
"You left Hogwarts grounds unattended. Miss y/l/n while you are legally an adult you cannot just leave the school whenever you please. Not to mention the fact that you have just began learning apparition and could have DIED."
Snape was furious and I figured sitting quietly with my head down would get me the benefit of the doubt in my current situation.
"You will be receiving a month of detention. Everyday after school you will report to different professors, depending on who has time to watch you. Do I make myself clear Miss Y/l/n?"
"Yes professor." I swallowed nervously but was honestly relieved. The punishment was much better than I expected it to be.
"Good. You will start tomorrow. Now get back to your dorm." I opened my mouth to ask a question but bit my lip to shut myself up, too afraid of making the feared potions master even more angry.
"What?" He glared at me. "I just.. is Na.. is Mrs. Malfoy alright?" My gaze flickered between him and the desk, afraid he was going to blow up again.
I was surprised to see his gaze soften a tiny fraction. "She will be just fine. I'm sure you will be able to see her very soon. Tell Mr. Malfoy she's here while you're at it."
I gave him one swift nod and made my leave, scurrying back to the Slytherin dorm and to my room. Everyone was already asleep and I got in bed myself, vowing to deal with this whole situation tomorrow.
/ / / /
I hadn't seen Narcissa all day or even knew where she was being kept. I had told Draco as little as possible and he thankfully didn't ask too many questions, saving them for his mother when he got a chance to see her.
I was on my way to my first detention of the month with Hagrid. He would go the easiest on me and I hoped I would get detention with him as much as possible this month.
"Hey there y/n. Heard ya took a little trip to Malfoy Manor last night. Professor Snape sure wasn't too happy with ya. We're going to be collecting ingredients for his classes down by the lake today."
I spent the afternoon knee deep in the Black Lake, trying to avoid thinking about the giant squid or the mermaids grabbing me and dragging me under.
Hagrid let me go just before dinner, unlike the rest of the professors who would keep me until all hours of the night, and I made my way to the Great Hall. I found my seat next to Draco and Pansy and dug in, hungry from my afternoon adventure digging in the mud.
"Hey Draco, do you know where your mother is? I never heard where Dumbledore sent her."
"She's got a little room close to the dorm rooms. I went to visit her after classes ended."
I finished up dinner quickly and made my way down to the dungeons, intending on finding out where Narcissa's room was.
I had just turned the corner and saw a door I didn't recognize. I spent the majority of my time down here and would have known if it had been there previously. I debated knocking but was afraid it wasn't her and I didn't have an excuse made up yet.
I stood there debating back and forth when said door opened, revealing the person I had been dying to see all day.
"Y/n! I was wondering when I'd get to see you again. Get in here." I quickly scurried into the room, shutting the heavy door behind me and hugging her tightly.
"I didn't know what they did with you. I haven't had a chance to find you until now." She cupped my face and pulled me in for a kiss, my stress instantly melting away at her touch.
"I'm perfectly fine love. I'm staying in this room until they catch Lucius. I guess we'll be able to see each other more often now." I bit my lip to hide the smile creeping up my face. As much as I hated this whole situation, it did mean being closer to the love of my life.
"I'll visit as often as possible. Did you tell Draco?" I looked at her a bit nervously, not knowing what exactly she told him.
"Yes. I told him his father is on the loose and Dumbledore is protecting me. As far as I know he doesn't know you were involved." I sighed in relief. I wanted him to know eventually but didn't want to ruin our friendship just yet.
"Alright. It's good to know you're safe Cissy. And not stuck in that house alone." She kissed my forehead and pulled me towards the sofa in front of the fireplace.
"Well, tell me all about your day y/n."