When the Snow Melts

A True and Loyal Friend

"I can't live like this!" Narcissa shrieked. "Our son, locked up, wasting away. A child being tortured in our dungeon!"

Lucius studied his wife, no longer surprised by her hysterical fits. Her tender heart was being ripped to shreds at the role they were forced to play, at the role he had forced them into to curry favor with the Dark Lord.

"Come here, my darling," he soothed, pulling her into a tight embrace, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. "It won't be forever. We just have to bear this heartache for a little while longer. Draco will come to his senses eventually and that boy will be handed over to the Dark Lord - permanently."

She started to sob in earnest then, clutching at him desperately as if he were the only thing keeping her grounded. He gently stroked her hair, making soft shushing noises to comfort her, but nothing seemed to be working.

"That poor boy," she wailed suddenly, startling him. "If we hand him over, Draco will never forgive us. He'd rather die than be parted from him. I can see it in his eyes. It would kill him."

Lucius let out a frustrated sigh, his heart torn over the heartbreak he was causing his wife and his need to keep his family safe. "You know what it is that you are asking of me, asking of this family?" he whispered quietly, strangely fearful of being overheard. "If we save them, we'll be on the run. We'll have to give everything up - leave it all behind. There's no turning back."

"I know," she cried, her eyes full of tears of desperation. "But I can't live like this."

"Okay," he replied, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'll make the arrangements. You talk to Draco; have him take Farren too. It will be safer for them both to be under Severus' protection."

She smiled up at him and he was shocked to realize that this was the first smile he'd seen from her in over a year. He hadn't realized how much he missed her smile until just now. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, not wanting to do anything that would erase that smile. For once in his life, he was certain he was making the right decision.

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Draco was shocked when he heard the sound of his bedroom door opening and even more shocked at the drawn and pale appearance of his mother. They had always looked strikingly similar and it seemed that similarity stuck with them even in heartache.

"What do you want?" he grumbled in irritation when the shock had finally worn off.

"I have something important to discuss with you," she replied, her words sounding breathy and unsure. "We have a plan - a plan for you and Farren to escape."

His heart fluttered a bit at the word 'escape' but it was short-lived. She'd said nothing about saving Harry. "Good try," he snarled. "But I'm not leaving here without Harry."

"I know," she whispered morosely, a sad look in her eyes. "I just worry that you won't like what you find. He's not really the boy you knew anymore. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

His chest felt suddenly very tight. He was well aware of what Aunt Bellatrix was capable of, but he had held out hope for some sort of miracle, held out hope that Harry would be stronger than that. It was a foolish thought. Reality came crashing down upon him, burdening him suddenly with the painful truth of their situation.

"I don't care about that," he cried. "I have to save him. Even if...even if he's...even..."

Tears began to well up at the thought, a painful lump in his throat choking off his words. It might be hopeless, but he had to try. His mother wrapped him in a fierce hug, the scent of lily of the valley strong in the air around them both.