~ The Twenty-ninth ~

Arthur and Molly were sitting on the couch after coming back from visiting Percy at St. Mungo’s in the afternoon.

Narcissa had tactfully left with Harry and Hermione when Arthur had rushed into the kitchen during teatime, telling his wife that Percy had been badly injured in an accident at work. They both hadn’t had much time to think about it, but now, finally, the impact of what had happened slowly settled in.

“He could have died...my son could have died...”

Despite her own worry, Molly had to smile. It had been years since Arthur had called Percy that.


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~ The Thirtieth ~

“Thank you.” Narcissa, who had just returned from visiting Draco, collapsed on the chair and took the cup Molly had filled with tea. “If I had known that woman would be there as well, I doubt I would have gone. What was Draco thinking when he invited me?”

“Who was there?”

“Petunia!” Narcissa made a most un-ladylike face.

“Oh.” Molly nodded sympathetically. “Was she so hostile?”

“No. Just…exhausting. Hard to get used to.”

Molly smiled. “You have something in common, then.”

The other woman looked indignant – only to burst out laughing after a second.

“I guess you have a point.”


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~ The Thirty-first ~

They had brought Percy home this morning, and even though he was better already, his pale, drawn looks still made Molly want to cry more than once in the course of the day.

She pulled herself together, though, and it was only in the afternoon, as she watched Arthur make his son drink tea from a cup Percy was still too weak to hold, that she wasn’t able to hold back her tears any more.

No one saw Narcissa watch from the doorway before she left for her room, and no one was there to hold her as she cried.


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~ The Thirty-second ~

After a long talk with Percy and some sleepless nights, Arthur had gone to visit Ron.

Meanwhile, there was little Narcissa could do to calm Molly down, who was fussing with her cup so nervously that she finally dropped it. They ended up on the couch, with Narcissa patiently listening to Molly’s list of reasons why it wouldn’t work.

“…they’ll never admit – “

Molly fell silent as Arthur appeared in the doorway. He looked exhausted, his eyes suspiciously red. But there was a smile on his lips, and Ron tightly held to his side.

At that moment, Narcissa hated them.


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~ The Thirty-third ~

Narcissa had gone back to the kitchen to get Percy’s cup, which they had forgotten there, to the living room.

Pouring her own tea, Molly suddenly heard a strangled outcry, then a heavy “thud”, like from a body hitting the ground. Within seconds, she was in the kitchen, only to find Narcissa unconscious on the floor, together with the Daily Prophet, which had been lying in a corner unread since morning.

The headline next to the picture of a haggard, black-haired woman was printed in red, covering almost the whole front page:

BELLATRIX LESTRANGE: CAPTURED AND BOUND FOR DEMENTOR’S KISS!
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