𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 | | 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕠𝕪

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚

Chiquitita, tell me the truth
I'm a shoulder you can cry on
Your best friend, I'm the one you must rely on

Empty. Completely and utterly empty.

That was how Malfoy Manor felt without Lucius being there. The patriarch of the house was gone leaving a void in the complex system of the house. Every morning Katherine would wake up alone in her bed thinking maybe everything was a nightmare that had finally ended, still reaching over to feel if he was there only to find cold bedsheets and a bare pillow which confirmed the reality. No letters, no updates, nothing. Azkaban was, to her understanding, much more ruthless and strict than Muggle prisons. She didn't even know if Lucius was still alive. Without the head of the house present, Narcissa had taken over, overseeing everything at the manor. Katherine was allowed to stay, serving as emotional support for the poor woman who had lost so much.

But not everything was bad. Katherine and Narcissa still had each other, and they became closer than ever before in Lucius's absence. Every night they would take a walk in the manor's gardens hand-in-hand, Narcissa sharing stories of when she and Lucius were in school, Katherine responding with her own tales of her mischievous school years. Once and a while, Narcissa would turn her head to her side waiting for Lucius to add something on only to be greeted with silence. For the first few nights, Katherine let her sleep in her bed next to her so she didn't have to be greeted by a bare bed as well. Evenings would end with soft goodnight kisses and falling asleep clinging to each other, both of them trying to fill the affectionless void. After a while, they stopped mourning and began trying to move on, beginning to lose hope of Lucius ever returning.

But they were a lonely two, so a few weeks after Lucius was taken away, Draco arrived home from Hogwarts. As he stepped in the doorway with his face expressionless the emotional turmoil that the Malfoys had experienced was obvious. He went over to Narcissa first, embracing her as she had a somber expression on her face. He was tall and towered over, but she still rubbed his back consolingly as any mother would. "Hello, mother," he said quietly, resting his chin on the top of her head. After he pulled away from his mom, he went over to Katherine. And he hugged her too. She was taken aback by it, the fact that despite a year of fighting and arguing and pure hatred for one another, during this trying time they had come together.
"I'm sorry for being so terrible to you," Draco mumbled, and Katherine let out a faint laugh. "All is forgiven. I understand why you didn't like me and honestly, I don't blame you," she responded kindly. Forgiveness and unity, something neither of them expected from the other.

Things were better once Draco was home. Narcissa had her son back, which improved her morale greatly. Draco and Katherine got along for the first time, and she even helped him with his summer assignments. He even seemed less stressed in the absence of his father, which made him more open to showing his emotions with his family. After a while, no one mentioned Lucius at all and he became almost a taboo topic of conversation. He wasn't forgotten, his memory just became painful to discuss. The Malfoys and Katherine all missed Lucius dearly, which was brought them together for the summer. July passed by quickly, and by the beginning of August, they were all laughing together, eating together, trying to shove the looming thought of Lucius in prison into the deepest depths of their hearts.

But they were soon reminded of their more unappealing responsibilities. Death Eater meetings still continued throughout the end of summer, and Draco was an often brought up topic in light of Lucius's arrest. Voldemort wanted him to be a Death Eater in his father's place. He took his father's seat at the table in between his mother and Katherine, and Narcissa seemed even more worried about her son than ever. Katherine felt helpless without Lucius there, and she began hiding during meetings knowing she wouldn't be missed.

One of those days she hid in the library. She had avoided that spot for weeks, not wanting to see Lucius's empty desk with the papers he left still strewn upon it. Her fingers wandered over the dusty spines of books on the shelves, finally landing on a wizard retelling of Rapunzel. Before she had a chance to sit herself down in one of the chairs, she heard a tapping on the window and alongside the flapping of wings. She headed over to the window to open up the glass panes, almost toppling over as Archimedes flew inside, a letter clutched tightly in her beak. She reached over to grab the letter excitedly, ripping off the wax seal before unfolding the parchment inside.