Voice of Love

32 | Imperius

Narcissa Malfoy entered Courtroom B with her head held high. She didn't look at her husband, whom she hadn't seen in almost two months. There had been a delay in the trial. He had suffered in Azkaban for a long time as a result. She was furious with the Ministry for letting this happen, and Draco was anxious for his father. She had been worried he would forget about Lucius, but it was quite the contrary. He would sit on Lucius' side of the bed every day, waiting for him to come home.

The seats were packed with witches and wizards wanting to witness the trial. What they didn't know was that she had spoken with Bartemius Crouch Sr the night before. She had kindly reminded him of the generous donations the Malfoys had offered to the Ministry of Magic. She had added on to the idea that her husband had been under the Imperius Curse.

It was time for her testimony.

Narcissa met Bartemius' eyes and said, "A grave mistake has been made. My husband is a generous man who has contributed so much to our society, such as his monthly donations to St. Mungos. He has been sitting in Azkaban for fifty-seven days for crimes he committed with no malicious intent before finally being granted this long-overdue trial. What I mean is that he was Imperiused."

She paused to let her words sink in. Narcissa dared a quick glance at her husband, and she almost forgot her well-rehearsed speech when looking at his ruined complexion. Fifty-seven days had done so much to him, both physically and mentally. She could see it in his eyes.

Taking a small breath, she continued as the whispers of her audience started to die down.

"My husband is a very organized and collected person. He never forgets anything. That changed when he forgot about his weekly Quidditch sessions with Draco. Slowly I watched my husband become a lazy version of himself, and that is when I suspected there was something wrong. I decided to follow him and found myself in the presence of He Who Must Not Be Named. He very well knew what I had done and threatened to kill everyone with the surname Malfoy if I didn't swear my secrecy and alliance to him. Seeing as that was my only option, I agreed. I have evidence of everything I just said if there is a Pensieve available."

She was brought a Pensieve, and Mr. Crouch looked at the memory on display. The scene that played was what Narcissa had described, down to the very last detail. She felt satisfied. She had hired professionals to alter the memory, and it had worked seamlessly. Narcissa knew she had convinced the highest-ranking official in the courtroom, Minister Millicent Bagnold, which was a big bonus.

Narcissa finished the final stretch in complete confidence. "On October 31st, as soon as the Dark Lord fell, the Imperius Curse was lifted. I know this because Lucius was attentive again that day. He told me, 'I feel as if I just came out of a trance.' He was taken from the comfort of our home the following day and accused of possessing Dark Artifacts. Please do not see this mistake through. My husband has suffered in Azkaban long enough."

Several hours later, Narcissa Malfoy walked out, head held high, with Lucius Malfoy by her side. Despite his disheveled appearance, he walked with similar grace. She knew much of the public doubted her testimony, but she didn't care. She had won the verdict.

As soon as they were inside the Manor, Narcissa threw her arms around her husband and cried her eyes out.

"Lucius...you had me so scared. I didn't know if they would believe me."

An unsure hand wiped her tears away. She noticed how shaky it was and immediately called Dobby to warm up their bathtub. Lucius had convinced even her that he was well enough to walk, but she finally noticed how weak he was. She quickly guided him to their bedroom and propped him on their bed as they waited for the bathtub to grow warm.

When the water was warm enough, Narcissa helped him take off the grimy clothes. The physical strength he had left of him was completely gone by then. She was surprised by the number of bruises scattered all over his body, but she didn't question him. Once she had settled him in the tub, which was more of a pool, Narcissa climbed in with him. She helped him scrub off all of the dirt and filth. She knew what he wanted most was to be clean again. Her husband valued hygiene above many other reasonable elements, such as a full stomach. With her fingers, Narcissa combed through the uneven, matted hair. It took the whole bottle of shampoo to bring his hair back to its normal silky condition.

Even after he was cleaned five times, they stayed in the warm water.

"I love you," Lucius broke the heavy silence that had drifted upon them. His voice cracked on the last syllable, but she heard it all the same. Those were the first words her husband had spoken the entire day.

"I love you too, Lucius," she rested her head against his neck. "I'm so sorry you had to put up with it all."

They finally decided to get out of the water, and Narcissa spent the next few minutes drying her husband off with a soft towel. She held his hand and led him back to their bedroom and was pleased to see that the house-elves had replaced the dirtied silk sheets with new ones. Lucius leaned against the plush pillows. Dobby popped in with two trays of delicious smelling food, one of them noticeably larger upon Narcissa's request.

Narcissa took note of how skinny her husband was. He looked weaker the more she stared at him.

"Didn't they feed you anything?"

Her husband didn't reply for several moments as he was too focused on his food.

He finally glanced up and replied, "Every three days, yes."

She watched him hungrily gulp down his food. After several more moments, Lucius said, "I...I want to see my son."

Narcissa smiled and carried a sleeping Draco, who had finally grown out of sleeping in their room, onto the bed.

Draco woke up and stared unblinkingly at Lucius as if he couldn't process that he now had his father back. He then let out the loudest scream and flung himself at Lucius, hugging his torso tightly. Lucius' food spilled everywhere, but no one, except Dobby, seemed to mind the mess.

"I'm home, son," Lucius said, stroking Draco's hair. Narcissa stared adoringly at the two of them before Draco looked up, tugged her hand, and brought her into the hug.

And they were finally free.