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Lily panted against the press of a palm over her mouth, the pressure lifting the adrenalin in her blood, but she fought down the urge to fight or flee. The cool line of a wedding band pressed into her cheek each time she drew in a breath.
In the next room she could hear as James spoke with Narcissa's husband, Lucius, the low tone of their voices making it hard to pick out individual words. She still wanted to scream against the hand holding her but if she did then she knew that he would come. And they couldn't have that.
"Stop struggling, I don't want to hex you," the Lady Malfoy said, relaxing her grip slowly while Lily regained her breath. The swoop of unexpected Apparition away from a crumbling Godric's Hollow while Harry struggled in her grip was still making her dizzy.
Harry. "Where is he?" Lily demanded as the palm left her mouth. Her voice was a forced whisper through clenched teeth. She still couldn't turn around to face the woman holding her tightly.
"Safe. With Draco." When Lily didn't relax further, Narcissa added, "They're both sleeping in the nursery beyond those curtains.
What Lily had believed was a large tapestry along the far wall were truly a set of massive velvet curtains. She resisted the urge to rush to search behind them for the servant's door to the nursery beyond, instead twisting to face the blonde aristocrat still keeping her close. "Why did you save us?"
Narcissa arched a brow and offered no response. Her hands moved slowly to cup Lily's trembling arms, helping to support her weight by gripping the muggleborn's elbows. Using the grip, she moved the shaking witch to sit on a nearby chaise, silently thankful that Lily's wand was safely tucked into a pocket of her robes and she was still too shell-shocked to make any rash movements or decisions, while calling for a house elf to bring them tea. James and Lucius were likely close to shouting in the next room and she would need to get Lily calm and into the nursery before that happened, so she could help her husband calm the Potter scion.
"Right now you need to eat and drink, and I'll take you to Harry once you do. We are leaving. All four of us, we're going to France." Naricssa held up a hand to stem any questions about to fall from Lily's parting lips. The redhead took a sip of tea instead, and Narcissa sighed as she revealed a bit more than she wanted. "The unaddressed letters these last few weeks have been from me, delivered by my sister Andromeda. Lucius believes he discovered a bit of damning evidence to the Dark Lord's...changing visage and unhinged actions."
"You want me to believe you both are revoking your beliefs-"
"New information changes everything, Evans." Narcissa looked down her nose at her seated guest, cheeks flared pink for a moment, and voice cold. Settling onto a chair opposite, she sighed and pinched her nose before continuing. "Our sons are in danger, and though it is not my first choice, saving them both is easier than trying to save just one."
Lily's eyes narrowed and she set down her teacup. "Tell me everything. From the beginning."
Narcissa summoned her own teacup over and glanced briefly at the clock, calculating how much time they had left. Twenty minutes. She could give Lily enough information to trust her in that time, and explain the rest at the chateau. "There was a prophecy made to Lucius about our sons by a Seer named Pandora Lovegood..."
