Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs solely to Jo Rowling 
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Leaving
Chapter 2 - New
Chapter 3 - Quidditch
Chapter 4 - The Letter
Chapter 5 - The Other Letter
Chapter 6 - Diagon Alley
Chapter 7 - September
Chapter 8 - Durmstrang
Chapter 9 - Detention
Chapter 10 - June 1992
Chapter 11 - October 1994
Chapter 12 - The Tryouts
Chapter 13 - Off to Hogwarts
Chapter 14 - Hogwarts
Chapter 15 - Beards, Books and Beanies
Chapter 16 - Winter at Hogwarts
Chapter 17 - Yuletide
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The Eighth Horcrux
Gorgeous banner by GoldenSnake
Prologue Three people stood waiting in the dark outside the front door of Malfoy Manor. A woman, with long straggly black hair, her arms crossed and her gestures impatient as she rang the bell, a tall man with broad shoulders and a slightly hunched posture, and a little girl. She was no older than three, and despite it being the middle of summer, it was strangely cold and she was only wearing a short-sleeved polka-dotted dress. She was shivering, but her parents did not seem to notice.
They heard someone approach the door and ask who was calling.
‘It’s me, Cissy!’ whispered Bellatrix. ‘Let us in, it’s urgent we talk!’
There was a sound of wood on wood, a click of a lock and the door opened to reveal a woman with shining pale hair and an equally pale expression on her face.
‘Bella! Is it true, what they’re saying? That the Dark Lord’s—’
‘Close the door before you say anything, Narcissa!’ Bellatrix hissed, hastily entering the entrance hall, her husband and daughter following suit. They went into the living room, where a man with long blond hair was sitting in front of a roaring fire, clearly deep in thought, but as soon as the four entered, he seemed to come out of his reverie and got up, making his way towards them.
‘Ah, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, what a pleasant surprise—’ he started.
‘This isn’t a time for warm welcomes, Lucius,’ Bellatrix cut in, rather angrily. ‘You know perfectly well why I’m here!’
There was a short pause as Lucius stared, rather taken-aback at Bellatrix’s way of saying hello. ‘Let’s sit down,’ he suggested.
Rather reluctantly, Bellatrix sat down at the oak table and after they had accepted a glass of wine from the family house-elf she looked expectantly at her sister and her brother-in-law. They didn’t speak, so she got straight to the point.
‘It is true that the Dark Lord has lost his powers,’ she said darkly. 'He's disappeared.'
‘So are you saying you’re going to look for him?’ said Lucius. He was trying to hide the uneasiness he felt.
‘Obviously,’ spoke Rodolphus.
Another pause.
‘Well? Are you coming?’
Narcissa shot a look at Lucius, who after a second replied, ‘Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying this out of disloyalty, but don’t you think it’s best if we lie low for the time—’
‘Exactly the answer I’d have expected from you, Lucius,’ snarled Rodolphus, scowling menacingly.
‘Yes, Lucius, Narcissa, I’d have thought better of you. We’re not—’
‘But think about it, Bella,’ Narcissa spoke quietly, ‘Ministry officials will be everywhere now, they’d do anything to get their hands on us now that Dark Lord’s – well, he can’t help us, can he?’
Bellatrix had a glint of madness in her eyes which never meant good news. ‘Are you meaning to say that you are only Death Eaters as long as he’s there to save you?’ growled Bellatrix. ‘We strive to follow his path even if it gets us a cell in Azkaban! Isn’t that right, Rodolphus?’
He nodded grimly. Lucius and Narcissa couldn’t think of anything to say after that. The little girl had been silent all the while, sitting obediently next to her mother.
A few tense minutes passed.
‘So be it.’ Bellatrix downed the last of her wine and got up; everyone else did the same. ‘But we still have one favour to ask. We may not be back for a while, so I must ask you to take Amarantha under your roof for the time being.’
‘Bella, you can’t be serious – what if you get caught?’ said Narcissa, her voice quavering slightly.
‘I think we have already made ourselves clear,’ huffed Bellatrix, in a voice that ended the matter. ‘Goodnight.’
They left without another word. The girl, Amarantha, sat still on her chair, staring curiously at her aunt and uncle’s furniture, and didn’t realize that her parents had left without as much as a goodbye.
*
A few days later, as Narcissa Malfoy had been right in predicting, the Ministry had already rounded up a large number of Death Eaters and most of them were being sent off to Azkaban without as much as a trial.
When the news that her sister had been arrested arrived, along with her husband and two other Death Eaters, it didn’t take Narcissa by surprise; she had been constantly worrying about when it would happen. A trial was to be held a few days from now, but how could she ever hope that her sister would be let off? There was proof enough that she’d tortured two people into insanity, and her record wasn’t exactly what you’d call clean.
Predictably, when the Daily Prophet arrived a week later, the front page bore the news that they had been sent to Azkaban, and in the meantime a few other Death Eaters had been caught. Narcissa sat down in front of the living room fire, her head in her hands, watching her one-year-old son playing on the carpet with a toy wand and making the fire turn different colours. Her husband had found a job at the Ministry and so far they hadn’t been convicted of anything. A swift lie and a few sacks of galleons – and the Minister had believed them.
Her niece sat, barely visible, on the other armchair, watching her cousin change the fire from red to blue to black and making little gasps of surprise every time. She was still wearing the same dress she’d worn the first night there, but her raven hair looked shinier and she looked considerably happier.
She’ll have to go soon, though, thought Narcissa, shifting her gaze and now staring at Amarantha.
What if they found out? Lucius and Draco, they can’t know...
The front door opened and a cold breeze came swooping in, making the fire in the grate dance. Narcissa got up and went into the entrance hall.
‘Lucius,’ she greeted her husband, pecking him on the cheek.
‘How is Draco doing?’ he asked, taking off his travelling cloak. ‘I suppose he’s gotten over that little disagreement with his cousin this morning?’
‘Oh, he’s perfectly fine, yes,’ said Narcissa. She shifted her weight. ‘Listen, Lucius. I was thinking – the girl, she – well... do you think we should send her away? To St Nicholas’s?’
‘Yes, I was thinking about that too,’ mused Lucius. Narcissa looked positively relieved at his words. Lucius made his way into the living room and called the house-elf to get him a glass of wine after seating himself at the oak table. ‘She’s too much of a bother, if you ask me, and we already have our own son to take care of. But do you think Bellatrix would be happy about it?’
‘Well, it’s not like she really cared for the girl,’ said Narcissa briskly, as she followed him and sat down opposite at the oak table. The reminder that her sister was in Azkaban made her agitated. She lowered her voice so that only Lucius would hear her. ‘Amarantha doesn’t have any godparents, and, well,
she probably won’t be back for some time too...’ She sighed heavily.
‘I understand how you may feel about your sister, Narcissa,’ he said, then paused to take a sip. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, ‘But it was unwise of them to do that. They should have—’
‘Don’t talk about Bella like that!’ Narcissa suddenly snapped. Then she let out a little gasp as if she couldn’t believe she’d just spoken that way.
‘I guess we should do as we said, then,’ he continued. ‘Tomorrow, take the girl to the orphanage and after we might as well go on with our normal lives.’
Narcissa nodded in agreement. It would be an enormous relief to get rid of another load of trouble. The past few weeks had drastically changed her life, and she was ready to do anything to go back to living quietly.
----- A/N: So this is my first go at a Harry Potter fanfic. I'll be honest, I'm kinda nervous to see what people think of it, and I'd really appreciate any comments. I hope you liked it!