A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the bsp;to vote on the dire of the story!

  Things move fast when people know what they want~

  -x-X-x-

  “I want… I want to know more. Please Bel… tell me more.”

  She means it too. All her life, Narcissa Malfoy has fought so damn hard for trol. If it isn’t ohing, it’s been another. From being the you of three sisters, to being used as a pawn by the family, to marrying Lucius and being his wife.

  Narcissa didn’t hate Lucius Malfoy, but she didn’t love him either. Being Lady Malfoy had opened many doors for her and offered her more freedom than being Narcissa Bck had, but it was still little more than a gilded cage. And being marked by the Dark Lord… well, that too had limited her and Lucius’ options quite a bit.

  Worst of all, if the Dark Lord still lived, Narcissa k would only be a matter of time before he came back to full strength and demahey reheir allegiao him once more. That wasn’t something that she or Lucius could dee even if they wao… and she could only think of one way that they would be able to pcate Lord Voldemort for daring to disavow him after his defeat.

  … He would want their son. He would want Draarcissa couldn’t allow that to happen. Even if Draco was being distressingly simir to Lucius by the year, she couldn’t afford to risk his soul to the Dark Lord’s clutches.

  Smiling wickedly, Beltrix sits down in a chair o Narcissa, giggling softly.

  “You’re afraid of the Dark Lord, aren’t you? You’re scared of what he’ll do to you, Lucius, and Draco if he regains his strength.”

  Narcissa scowls, her lips f into a thin line as she grimaces at the truth of Beltrix’s words. Her sister is right on the money, after all.

  “And why shouldn’t I be? You might be free of him Bel, but I’m not. Your new Master might protect you, but he certainly hasn’t sworn to protect me. What would it take? What would it e to get the same sort of thing you’ve gotten?”

  Her eyes dart down to Beltrix’s arm again. The Dark Mark, covered in s, is no longer exposed… but the sight of it is burned into Narcissa’s eyes.

  “Oh, not much. Your loyalty, of course. You would owe your new Lord your devotion ay. But he wouldn’t ask for much out of you. Not much at all. Just your support… and probably Lucius’ life.”

  Wait, what? Narcissa blinks at that st part, as casually said as the rest. She stares at Beltrix, nonplussed.

  “His… life?”

  Beltrix just grins and she realizes that as much as the other Ban has gotteer at hiding it, Bel is just as insane as ever.

  “Maybe not even that much. But yes, you won’t be just betraying the Dark Lord. You’ll almost certainly be betraying your Lord Husband as well. Do you think you could do that? Do you think you could sacrifice Lucius if it meant your freedom?”

  It sounded more like Beltrix was to trade o of shackles for another. After all, Bel’s Dark Mark wasn’t go was covered in s. Freedom? Don’t make Narcissa ugh. Ahere is somethiing about the idea. Draco wasn’t old enough to bee Lord Malfoy yet. He also loved his dear mother with all his heart. It was the one way in which Drad Lucius had always differed and would hopefully tio differ.

  … Of course, there was every possibility that the older Draco got, the more he would ge. Especially with Lucius putting ideas in his head. There could eveime when Narcissa’s darling son no longer cared for his mother. Unless, of course, Lucius was removed from the picture and Narcissa became the defacto head of House Malfoy, about to keep Dra the right path until he came of age and took over as Lord Malfoy.

  Yes, there was quite a lot of possibility in that idea. It was even enough t a smile to Narcissa’s face. Sure, she would have to swear to a new Lord. But she’d already foolishly given her soul over to one Dark Lord when she was younger. Her and her husband would either wind up kneeling at the feet of Lord Voldemain, forced to give him their son to pcate his rage and fury over their cowardice… or Narcissa could take the opportunity that had just been dropped into her p.

  “There’s no such thing as freedom in this world, Bel. Not for witches like us. We’ll always belong to this wizard or that wizard, won’t we?”

  Beltrix blinks, looking surprised by Narcissa’s words.

  “I… I suppose you’re right, yes. There’s no esg that.”

  Nodding, Narcissa raises an eyebrow.

  “So then tell me true… is your new Lord better than the old? Is he worth sacrifig my husband?”

  To her credit, Bel doesn’t just straight up say ‘yes’ at least. Instead, she leans forward, eyes suddenly i.

  “That depends, Cissy. What do you want? What do you truly want out of this deal?”

  Narcissa’s breath hitches as she siders that for a long moment. What does she want? Well, si’s just her arix, she might as well go for brht? Bel always tell her if she o adjust her expectations downward.

  “I want nominal trol over House Malfoy and its wealth until Draes of age. I handle an order here and there to help this mystery Lord with whatever he desires, but I want to be the one making the day to day decisions. I also want Draco to be spared. I’m sacrifig Lucius for Draco’s sake, not solely for my own selfishness. If I just wait for the Dark Lord to e back, then it’ll be Lucius and I sacrifig Dra in order to save our own skins. That’s the thing I want to avoid the most.”

  She narrows her eyes then, staririx down.

  “How do you think he would respond to such demands? Will he allow me to rule House Malfoy my way? Will he let me proted raise my son on my own terms?”

  The Dark Lord certainly wouldn’t have ever agreed to such a thing. Lord Voldemort would have put Narcissa uhe Cruciatus Curse for daring to suggest that Draco be spared the Dark Mark. Narcissa might not ever be able to be truly free, but the same couldn’t be said of Draco. Even if it cost her everything, even if she had to sacrifice Lucius to do it… she would be willing to risk it all to ensure Draco’s freedom.

  Beltrix is quiet for a few moments, mulling over Narcissa’s requests. At least it’s not an immediate reje, though the sileill means that her sister thinks there might be something objeable in her demands. Finally…

  “I would your words to my Lord to be absolutely certain, Cissy. But… I don’t think he would be opposed to your demands, necessarily. He likes his servants to be capable and indepe from what I’ve seen. So long as you did not stand against him, he probably wouldn’t pull too tightly on your leash.”

  Narcissa opens her mouth to speak, only for Beltrix to cut her off.

  “However… that would go for your son as well. I do not believe my Master wishes for Draalfoy to die as of yet. On the face of it, he wouldn’t have any problem sparing your sht now. However… Draco is Lucius’ son. He’s been raised as your husband’s heir, the s of House Malfoy. Do you really think he won’t bee just like Lucius, one day?”

  The other Bck witch sounds legitimately curious. Narcissa frowns. She doesn’t like to think about it too hard… Draco was so cute as a boy. But the older he’s gotten… the more like his father he’s bee. Still, he’s not toone. She has to believe that.

  “If Lucius is removed from the picture, then I fully believe I steer Drato the right path. I make him a better man than his father. He’s not toohere are years left where I help him.”

  Beltrix tilts her head to the side… and then shrugs.

  “Well. The possibility is still there. Obviously, my Lord would keep fidentiality with you. None would know you serve him, and your son would never have to learn that you were behind his father’s… removal from the board. However, if your son grew up to oppose our Lord anyways, you would not be in a position to save him then. Draco would be on his own… and I will admit now, Cissy, the Master doesn’t have time for mercy.”

  Doesn’t have time for it. Not ‘doesn’t have the patienor ‘fresh out of it’, but rather, doesn’t have the time for it. What does that mean? Narcissa feels like it means something, but she ’t quite put her finger on it. Still, it’s a better offer than she’ll get otherwise now that she knows the Dark Lord is still around.

  Betting on Lord Voldemort never ing back to life and terrorizing them all again is a crapshoot. As far as Narcissa see, the only way to get half of the things she wants done… is by taking this offer before the Dark Lord return and make their lives a living hell again.

  For Draco. For herself. Narcissa lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

  “What… what are our steps if I agree, exactly?”

  Beltrix’s smile is blindingly bright and a little insane as she cps her hands together.

  “You meet with him, of course! Tell me, does Lucius still not care about your… indiscretions?”

  Narcissa blushes but doesn’t let Beltrix get to her.

  “Of course not. So long as it doesn’t result in any bastards, he could care less about what I do with my body. He has his heir, after all. He only ever wahe one child.”

  Of course, Narcissa was a witch with needs. Fortunately, she was able to take care of those needs while Lucius turned a blind eye.

  “Good. Then book a suite like you usually do. But don’t pick up a friend for the night. Just wait for the Master to arrive and the two of you finish hashing out the details then.”

  Merlin, was she really going to do this? No, more importantly… wasn’t she in too deep to back out now? Narcissa gives Beltrix a sharp nod to show she uands… and then watches as her sister fades from view. After a moment, she hesitantly calls out.

  “Bel?”

  But there’s no ahen, she draws her wand and casts a revealing spell… nothing. Did it even really happen?

  Except… the server that Bel had to stun and obliviate is still unscious in a chair. Eyes narrowed, Narcissa points her wand at them.

  “Ee.”

  With a startle, the server es back to life, eyes flying open as they look around and then realize where they are. Jumping out of the chair and to their feet, they whimper in fusion.

  “L-Lady Malfoy?! I… w-what happened?”

  Narcissa could have been nice… but that would have been more suspicious, really. So instead she just sniffs haughtily.

  “I stepped out for a moment to wash up and when I came back, I found you asleep in that chair.”

  Looking horrified, the server wrings their hands.

  “I’m so, so sorry Lady Malfoy. P-Please, I don’t know… I’ve never done something like that on the job before. I swear I-!”

  “Get out of my sight.”

  “Y-Yes ma’am! Right away, ma’am!”

  As they leave, Narcissa looks back at the table, at the chair Beltrix had occupied. Then, pulling up her own sleeve, Narcissa looks at the incredibly faded outline of the Dark Mark on the inside of her arm. Maybe it’s just her imagination, but as she ruhumb over it, she feels a distant sort of pang of pain. Was any of that versation real? It had certainly felt real. And in the end… there was one way to find out.

  Leaving the room behind, the Lady of House Malfoy sets about herself a suite at the fa magical hotel in Diagon Alley. A fair bit of a step up from the Leaky Cauldron, of course, somewhere she wouldn’t be caught dead in even on her worst day. However, just like Beltrix said, Narcissa doesn’t bother arranging for pany for the evening this time around.

  Instead she would either spend the night alone… or she would meet this new Lord that had freed Beltrix from Azkaban and stolen her from the Dark Lord. And maybe, just maybe… she’d let herself be stolen as well.

  -x-X-x-

  Harry didn’t know how to feel about Beltrix’s success. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a ce t Narcissa Malfoy into his stable of witches and bind her magic to his own. In fact, the idea held great appeal, truth be told. Not just because Narcissa was beautiful, but also because having her under his thumb would also give him access to Lucius Malfoy.

  In the same way Harry had taken Rodolphus’ magic by way of his magical marriage bond to Beltrix, Harry would also have the ability to turn Lucius Malfoy into a muggle… if he didn’t decide to just kill the man ht. Needless to say, that was very, very tempting.

  The problem was… Beltrix had ma all so damn quickly. He’d barely given her permission and she had already arranged a meeting with him. To be fair, Harry had made sure to peruse her memories of the versation she’d had with Narcissa.

  He was actually quite proud of how Beltrix had ported herself. Stunning and obliviating the server rather than killing them, making no promises to Narcissa that she couldn’t back up without talking to him first, and ultimately making sure that the other Bck Witderstood what she was getting into, but not giving away too much about Harry and his methods.

  All in all, Beltrix had proven that she could be trusted more thahought she could. While at the same time making him feel a little ie given how many slow burns he had going with other witches. Here he was, still not having sealed the deal with Rita Skeeter of all people, while after one versation with Beltrix, Narcissa Malfoy retty much ready to sign oted line.

  Still, there was one small thing Harry had to decide as he found himself standing invisible and uable in Narcissa Malfoy’s hotel suite, watg her pace bad forth across the floor while waiting for him to show up. The hour was already rather te, so he wouldn’t keep her waiting much longer.

  However… did he wish to hide his identity from her until after their deal was cluded, like he had with Amelia so far? Or should she kly who he is before they tinue?

  -x-X-x- The Vote: [ ] Appear to Narcissa as the Shadowy Figure - 32%[X] Appear to Narcissa as himself - 68%

  -x-X-x- If you'd like to read more of my work not seen on this website, check out Hentai-Foundry. and QuestionableQuesting. where I have over a thousand stories!

  If you'd like to tribute to funding my writing at all, check me out on Patreon./Cambrian

  Thanks for reading!