HP fic: Dustland Fairytale (2/7)
Jan. 9th, 2013 05:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flowsoffireTitle: Dustland Fairytale
Author: flowsoffire
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing/characters: Narcissa, Andromeda and Bellatrix Black - light, unrequited Lucius/Narcissa
Genre: Family/Drama
Rating: K+
Word count: c. 3800
Disclaimer: you recognize it, I don't own it. Unless your mind and mine are magically connected. Quite unlikely.
Summary: Narcissa Black grows up, leaves paradise, and still lives her life as a princess in ever-moving kingdoms.
Author's note: Written last year for a mini-NaNoWriMo challenge on a forum over on fanfiction.net: the goal was to make 20,000 words in four weeks.
***************************************************************************************************
Chapter Two: Takes Me Nowhere
Blue eyes, pale skin, fair hair.
Narcissa hadn't taken her eyes off the mirror for about ten minutes when her bedroom door slammed unpleasantly, making her jump.
From the threshold, her older sister stared at her with raised eyebrows.
"Are you ready soon, Cissy?" Meda asked, stepping closer and flicking her hair back.
Narcissa swallowed. "I think I've packed everything."
"Then why is your trunk still open?" Andromeda inquired.
Cissy abruptly whirled around, gripping her sister's sleeve. "I'm scared, I'm so scared," she confessed under her breath. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to go! I don't want to!" Her voice was getting higher and higher, edging dangerously close to hystery.
"Cissy, calm down!" Andromeda exclaimed, alarmed. "What brought this on? You've been pestering us about Hogwarts for ages. Last year you nearly begged me to sneak you in my trunk."
"I'm just scared." Narcissa's lips were trembling. "You and Bella have your own friends, and I really hate Alcyone Nott, and what if I'm not in Slytherin? What if – "
"Cissy! You're more of a Slytherin than all of us put together," Meda interrupted. "If the hat plays coy with you, yell at it and you'll be fine. It nearly put me in Ravenclaw. You have to learn to stand up for yourself sometime."
"I'm a lady..."
"Ladies must stand up for themselves too. Look at Mother, does she look like she'd let anyone walk over her? And God knows she's not my number one role model, but here you go. A hat is a good place to start, really."
"I'm not a baby, Meda."
"Very good, then prove it. Close this trunk – heavens, looks like you've shoved more than enough clothes in there – and rush downstairs. We're running late."
"No, we're not," countered Cissy, glancing at her watch.
Andromeda gritted her teeth. "Trust me, we are. Mother and Father are in a hurry."
As Cissy pushed her door open a few minutes later, she was greeted by the sound of distant yelling. She froze, stunned, until Andromeda just pushed past her and disappeared around the corner. Then she got a grip on herself and rushed downstairs, shocked.
Bella's voice was cut in by her mother's and Meda's before starting all over again, her words barely understandable, and then there was a slapping sound. Cissy winced, and started slowly down the staircase, peering at the scene now. Meda was standing behind Bellatrix on the steps, gripping her shoulders, but she glanced back upon hearing Cissy's approach. Her eyes were wide, and she bit her lip before quickly looking away. Their mother stood at the foot of the stairs, seemingly quite shocked as well. And Bella was trembling, her back to Narcissa, quiet now. Cissy continued her way down slowly, step after step, willing everything to come back to normal, if she could only take long enough. Her mother had never slapped any of them before. She would never – it was rash, unladylike, a gesture worthy of a Muggle. Muggles hit one another. Not wizards. Druella swallowed convulsively, then took two slow steps back, away from her daughters. Narcissa was almost at Andromeda's level by now.
"We are in a hurry," their mother spoke, her voice odd, a bit hoarse-sounding. "It's time for breakfast." She spun on her heel and strode towards the dining room, not glancing back to see whether she was being followed.
Bellatrix leapt down the two last steps, shrugging Meda's grasp off. She turned slowly, white-faced with an angry red weal on her right cheek. Cissy clung to the banister and Andromeda sighed, the sound heavy and weary, reverberating through the sisters' chests.
"We should go," she muttered.
"What happened?" asked Cissy in a small voice.
Bellatrix turned her back. "Father went to work."
Cissy's gasp came one second later, as Bella was walking away, rigid, towards the dining room.
"He's not coming to see me off?"
Meda half-turned and gripped her younger sister's sleeve.
"It doesn't mean anything."
"He isn't even coming!"
"Father has had troubles lately, Cissy. He's distracted." Meda's eyes were gleaming. "Anyway, we're together. Is that right? We're together."
"Girls!" From the dining room, without a stunned, foreign face on it, Druella's voice sounded a little more like normal. Cissy could still sense its edge, its brittleness. Bellatrix had disappeared inside. Meda tugged her forward slightly.
"It's your day, Cissy. It's still your day. It's going to be right... perfect."
Numbly, she followed.
***************************************************************************************************
The wind bit at Narcissa's cheeks, uncomfortably, unseasonably cold. She gritted her teeth and pushed her trolley on, wincing a little as Muggles hurried past her, nearly close enough to touch. Her mother was striding in front of them, her shoulders stiff. Suddenly she half-turned, nodding, and Bellatrix passed her by, disappearing into their platform in a second. Andromeda followed. Narcissa hurried after them, her stomach leaping unpleasantly as she crossed the archway. For the first time, as far back as her memory could stretch, being alone with her mother felt uneasy.
Platform 9 ¾ was so crowded Cissy was immediately got claustrophobic. She rushed towards her sisters, her mother appearing at her back. They all turned to face Druella; the woman straightened up, taking a deep breath.
"All right," she said. "Today you are all going to board this train. I shall next see you at Christmas. I will expect letters to keep both your father and myself updated on your grades, your progresses and any event you may feel like sharing. Bellatrix, I needn't remind you that you will take your OWLs at the end of this year. Study hard and do us all proud. Andromeda, third year is also a very important part of your schooling, make sure to do well in your options. And Narcissa, this is your first year away from home. Make worthy friends in the noble house of Salazar Slytherin, learn thoroughly and keep away from unpleasant company. Remember who you are at all times, girls, and act accordingly – dignified. It is your responsibility to live up to the name of Black. Now, I shall keep you no more."
Reaching out, she embraced Bellatrix first, in a brief, one-armed hug, then it was Andromeda's turn. When the time came for her, Narcissa still savoured the sweet perfume of her mother, the softness of her cloak, as precious things she was going to leave behind for a long time. Druella pressed a small kiss to her brow, and then she was off, and the young girl's siblings were turning away. Cissy hurried after them.
Her trunk was unbelievably heavy, all the more since she had to carry her owl's cage as well, and Narcissa wondered ill-temperedly why they didn't have the right to bring their own house-elves to Hogwarts. Really, it would have been so convenient. Meda half-turned towards her with a mocking smile, hoisting her own truck onto the train. Cissy scoffed.
They made their way along the corridor, glancing into compartments as they passed. Cissy found herself getting edgy. She knew that she should not remain with her sisters; she should go and make ties with the pureblooded future Slytherins of her year. If she wanted power, she ought to be known as Narcissa Black from the start, not just as the third Black sister. She attempted to brace herself, but she was feeling cold and numb.
"Let's get ourselves a compartment," Bella was saying.
"Together?" Meda inquired.
"To tuck those damn trunks away somewhere, at least," Bellatrix sighed.
Cissy's dainty fingers were strongly agreeing with the idea, as was her whole body, actually. She nodded frantically, and Bella chuckled, leading the way.
The compartments were mostly empty, as many people were still down on the platform, saying their goodbyes to their families. The sisters heaved their trunks up on two seats in a corner. Then Cissy collapsed on one herself, sighing with fatigue and stretching her bloodless fingers. Above her blond head, Bella and Meda were seemingly having a glaring contest. She didn't look up. When needed, they would make it vocal.
"I don't see why," Bella growled.
Meda snorted. "Oh yes you do. You very well know why we shouldn't just stick together, Bella."
"Everybody respects us already."
"And what about Cissy?"
Narcissa glanced up as Bella was looking away. "Cissy's a big girl. She'll be the queen of her year before we both know it," she countered.
"Yes, and she needs to start now."
Bella groaned. "Okay, okay. Let's go find our own friends! Personally, I'll check up on mine. Are you taking Cissy along?"
Meda poked her. "Two minutes ago you were pretending to protect her best interests, and now you're foisting her on me already, you selfish, hypocritical nuisance."
"Stop talking about me as if I wasn't there," Cissy spoke.
"Bye, Cissy," Bella said, waving. "Blame miss Goody-Two-Shoes here when we leave you all alone to weep your pretty eyes raw."
"Bella!"
The door slammed after her.
"Our sister is a horrendous, twisted little thing," Andromeda commented, shaking her head. "No wonder I love her the best." Winking at Cissy, she offered her a hand. "Need some help?"
Making faces at her sibling and ignoring the extended limb, Narcissa stood.
"Lovely. If only Mother could see you, little darling," Andromeda snickered. "Let's go. I'll show you around to my friends, and we can find the first-year future Slytherins' den on the way."
***************************************************************************************************
"Hey, Paul. How are you? ...very well, thanks... Oh yes, here's my little sister, Narcissa. Elizabeth, hang on, I've got something to tell you!"
Cissy smiled and nodded at her sibling's friends, feeling quite surprised, though she was careful to keep it inconspicuous. Andromeda, always the quiet, snarky one in their little group of three, appeared to be very friendly with a tremendous amount of people. All of them seemed nice enough, she supposed, although they showed cocked eyebrows and a hint of something wry in their gazes while greeting her, making her worry that Meda had told them about her already, and not quite always in a pleasant way. If the fifth and third-years were picturing her as a spoiled little crybaby, her dense excuses for siblings would pay... As she was pondering this irksome train of thought, something caught Narcissa's eye – a shimmer, white-gold and familiar – and as she leaned slightly forward, she could see Lucius Malfoy, conversing with two other boys, from the slightly-ajar door of his compartment.
Unthinkingly, she stepped forward, and she had almost let herself in when she felt someone suddenly pulling her back.
"What do you think you're doing, Cissy? These are not first-years, and you don't know them," Bella murmured in her ear.
"But I know Lucius." Narcissa attempted to pull free. "I'm just going to say hello."
"Don't be ridiculous." Bella hauled her back like a little doll to where Meda was standing with her friends, staring questioningly at them.
Bella gestured for her to follow them, but she shook her head, raising an incredulous eyebrow. After a second's hesitation, Bellatrix just passed her by, heading back in the direction of their compartment with Cissy in tow. She was looking rather somber, and so Narcissa didn't make any further comments. She only dropped into her seat again while Bella was going straight to the window, watching the countryside flash by. Two seconds later, an irate-looking Andromeda stepped through the door Bellatrix had left open.
"What was that?" she snapped. "We had an agreement! We were supposed to go on our own, all three of us! You can't just fly in, grab a hold of Cissy and expect me to follow like a sweet little puppet, just because you so wish!"
"An agreement," Bella snorted. "Listen to yourself, Meda. It's not the end of the world."
"I was with my friends. And Cissy hadn't even met any first-years yet."
"She'll meet them all tonight. You've seen your boring friends, besides. You have all year to catch up now."
"Not having any friends of your own doesn't give you the right to bash mine," Meda growled.
Bella's lips tightened into an angry line, but she did not comment.
Meda sighed, running a weary hand through her hair and sitting down defeatedly. "Well, I suppose we'll be staying here, since Her Highness Bellatrix so decided. Just so you know, I asked Cara to pop by at some point. Her little sister is a first year, too, and pretty clever. Good company for Cissy."
"Oh please," Bella groaned, "not the Burkes. It's a family of shopkeepers, for God's sake. And they're so full of themselves. If Cissy's head gets any bigger under their influence, I swear I'll use a sword to deflate it."
"Shut up," Meda shot back. "They're not full of themselves, they're subtle. There's a difference, though it's certainly too tenuous for you to understand. And they're my friends."
"Well, I'll have you know that Cissy was about to fly into Lucius Malfoy's compartment to say hello, while you were off with your lovely friends."
Andromeda stared at Cissy, completely side-tracked. "What? No!"
"He knows me," Cissy muttered in response. "It was a perfectly proper approach, thank you ever so much for your concern."
"Oh please. He may very well have been such a gentleman at the manor, but it's not like he's going to make friends with a first-year," Bella sighed.
"Does our wee Cissy have a crush?" Meda teased.
Narcissa reddened. "No! I just think he is... well. He is delightful company, and high-class, right? That's just it."
"Well, he's the only person she knows yet," Andromeda told Bellatrix. "That's pretty harmless."
"I suppose, though we'll keep an eye on our perfect little princess, just in case."
"Too right. We wouldn't be fulfilling our jobs of obnoxious big sisters otherwise."
"Will. You. Two. Stop. Talking. About. Me. Like. I'm. Not. Even. There?" growled Cissy through her teeth.
Bella looked mockingly shocked. "That was scary, Cissy."
"Extremely." Meda yawned. "Shall we pass time filling Scary-Blonde in about the castle?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Cissy swatted them both, feeling rather powerless.
***************************************************************************************************
The compartment door opened, and the house of cards Bella had been carefully building exploded.
"You broke my focus!" she complained, and Meda hit her.
"Quiet, you. Come in, girls!" she called to the newcomers.
Cissy, who had been leaning against the window watching her sisters play Exploding Snap, and then Bella indulge in architectural challenges, straightened up and peeked at the newcomers, interested. Some company at last.
"So, you've heard about my sisters, Bellatrix and Narcissa," Meda told them. "Cissy, this is my friend, Carmilla Burke, and her sister Cassandra."
"Hello," Narcissa chirped, "lovely to meet you."
"Likewise," Carmilla replied, Cassandra echoing, "it's a pleasure."
"Go ahead and sit," Andromeda said happily.
The sisters obliged. Meda immediately steered Carmilla into a conversation, and Cassandra turned expectantly towards Narcissa, as Bella was again busying herself with her cards, looking rather grim.
"We'll be Slytherin housemates, then?" the girl inquired.
"Surely," Cissy agreed. "I'm sure it's going to be delightful."
"I don't see why not. Do you already know some of our likely dormmates?"
"Well, there would be Alcyone Nott. I don't see any other girl yet. Among the boys there are Virgil Greengrass, Cadmus Selwyn and Adrian Travers, but I don't really know them well. I've only met them briefly."
"I see." Cassandra nodded solemnly. "The names are familiar."
There was a beat of silence before she went on, more animated all of a sudden: "My sister told me lots of thrilling stories about our house and its past. About our ghost, especially. Have you heard about this?"
"The Bloody Baron." Cissy nodded, repressing a shudder. "My sisters told me about him, yes. He doesn't seem... much pleasant company, I've heard."
Cassandra laughed. "Certainly not! But did you hear of the way he became so... horrifying?"
Cissy hesitated. "I don't think I have."
"Well, once upon a time he is said to have been a perfectly proper young gentleman. But he was in love with a lady, whom made him suffer ever so – until one day, he killed her."
Cissy gasped. "He did not!"
"Oh yes, he did. Then he became so mad with grief that he proceeded to kill himself. But he did a very messy job, and his soul was never at peace. This is why he still roams the castle where he first met her, bearing his eternal heartbreak and spreading awe and horror all around."
"This is a dreadful story!"
"Isn't it? My grandfather once heard it from the Baron himself. He has ways to get what he wants out of people." Cassandra seemed to hesitate for a second, before she concluded with a defiant look: "This speaks a lot about madness and passionate love, don't you think?"
Bellatrix snorted and Narcissa jumped: she had almost forgotten her sisters.
"It speaks of foolishness. An awful waste, really. Nonsense."
Cassandra shrugged her shoulders. "Does love make sense?"
Bellatrix laughed. "One might choose to give sense to their lives." She seemed to be having wicked pleasure deprecating the younger girl's story, and Andromeda sent her a warning glance, after which she quietened.
"Love," Narcissa whispered, troubled.
"Oh yes." Cassandra was smiling an odd smile. "Doesn't always come with a prince." She glanced outside. "A story for the twilight... fitting enough. Perhaps we should change. Did I upset you, my dear?"
"No, no, not at all. You did not." But Cissy wasn't quite sure she liked Cassandra.
The girl smiled brightly. "Very good."
"Cassie's right. Let us change!" Andromeda stood, reaching for their trunks, and Cissy did the same.
Outside the sky was darkening, its clarity promising a starlit night.
***************************************************************************************************
She was surrounded by chattering students, hurrying and pushing past her in a ruckus beyond belief, yet Narcissa oddly felt like she was suspended in a bubble of silence, caught in the very intensity of the moment. Happy cries and anxious whispers brushed against her without getting acknowledgement, as Bellatrix and Andromeda brushed her arm, her cheek as they passed, before disappearing in the darkness of the masses. There was nothing tangible left but the shadow of Cassandra Burke at her right, also wordless and solemn. They walked towards the castle in an awestruck procession, the long line of the uncertain first-years, they glided across black waters in tiny boats and then they had made it.
Countless shocked gasps resounded within the ranks at the grand appearance of the place, and Narcissa slightly frowned, reminding herself that all of these poorly-mannered, impressionable people were surely not Mudbloods, not that many – they didn't quite have her standing, and that was all. Dutifully, she followed the lead of Professor Slughorn – a man she had heard about quite a little before – and smugly listened to his little speech about houses. Then they were left alone.
"Quite histrionic, I must say," Cassandra whispered to her.
"Quite," Narcissa breathed. She stiffened slightly upon hearing a tiny boy, a ways away from her, wondering aloud about the means of Sorting. Really. Cassandra snickered quietly, and Cissy took a little step back. Fortunately, Slughorn entered soon to lead them into the Great Hall.
The night, as it had been to be expected, was bright and starlit, and Narcissa focused on the skies above as the whole Hall stared at the new students – she found Bellatrix, on the right shoulder of the Hunter, and Andromeda, V-shaped and slightly crooked, but didn't look for faces yet. It was like being an actress on stage, or so she had been told – the students were a silent, nameless entity, spread before her, watching her every move. All she had to do was be perfect. Lucius Malfoy would be among them, it didn't matter yet – until she had joined the other side, the watchful audience of the already chosen. Yes, until then... she was the queen, and they the rebellious crowd.
There was actually room for some improvement of the ever so crucial show, she thought.
Salazar, this hat was ancient.
She had been warned, of course, and so she wasn't startled as said antiquity broke into song...
I was sewn many years ago
In times of chivalry,
Where many worthy wizards lived
Who still haunt our memory.
Those mighty sorcerers as good friends
Shared ambitions and dreams;
And from their sheer thirst for knowledge
Was born this greatest scheme.
Gryffindor said: "Our brave people
Require some teachers
So that value equals courage
Within young sorcerers."
Hufflepuff said: "Our world and ways
Are nowadays unfair;
I want to bring schooling to all,
Unbalance I shan't bear!"
Ravenclaw said: "I deem science
As mankind's greatest goal;
We must spread it and make it grow
Letting it feed our soul."
And Slytherin said, "I see children
Forget their fathers' deed;
I want to restore true heirlooms
And gain fame as a meed."
Together they built this castle
And together they taught;
Their names today are family
Without which we are naught.
Gryffindor welcomes the heroes,
Slytherin the cunning;
Ravenclaws are wise and witty,
Hufflepuffs hard-working.
And before me you wait today
To know where you belong;
Just trust me with your pretty heads,
For I am never wrong!
How vulgar, Narcissa thought haughtily.
It was about time for the names to be called, and Slughorn winked at the students, unrolling his list.
"Alden, Lucy!" he called first.
Narcissa leaned forward ever so slightly as a plain, freckled, insignificant individual was sent to Ravenclaw.
"Black, Narcissa!"
And here it was. Her moment.
Cissy strode out of the ranks with her head held high and the tiniest smirk on her lips, looking straight ahead. Slughorn smiled as he placed the hat on her blond head, and she sat, gracefully.
Another Black, then? a voice chuckled in her mind. Let us see, little one. Um, where shall we...
Don't you dare "little one" me, she thought furiously, remembering Meda's words.
Oh, no need to get so aggressive, the hat snickered. And no need to be worried either. You certainly belong nowhere but in... SLYTHERIN!
Then came the applause, and Cissy stood, praying that her shaky legs would support her – thank you, thank you – before strutting towards her rightful place. First Slytherin of her year, she was greeted with a long ovation, and slid between her two sisters, enjoying the glory. Unwilling to lose her head, she didn't look for Lucius quite yet – but turned towards her siblings.
"How long?" was the first thing she said.
Andromeda grinned. "That was quick, Cissy. Quicker than me, quicker than Bella."
"Welcome home," Bella echoed, not even raising to Meda's teasing tone. "Well done, little snake."
Then the whole table burst into applause again, and as Cissy turned, it was Cassandra they were all cheering for, making her way towards them, pink-cheeked and shiny-eyed, but controlled and proud, smirking without a word. She went to sit next to Carmilla, on Andromeda's other side, and smiled at Cissy, who smiled back.
She then leaned back in her seat, and hoped, without much conviction, for failure and scandal as she eyed Alcyone Nott, on the line she had just left.
She was where she belonged, first, and entirely.
Author: flowsoffire
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing/characters: Narcissa, Andromeda and Bellatrix Black - light, unrequited Lucius/Narcissa
Genre: Family/Drama
Rating: K+
Word count: c. 3800
Disclaimer: you recognize it, I don't own it. Unless your mind and mine are magically connected. Quite unlikely.
Summary: Narcissa Black grows up, leaves paradise, and still lives her life as a princess in ever-moving kingdoms.
Author's note: Written last year for a mini-NaNoWriMo challenge on a forum over on fanfiction.net: the goal was to make 20,000 words in four weeks.
***************************************************************************************************
Chapter Two: Takes Me Nowhere
Blue eyes, pale skin, fair hair.
Narcissa hadn't taken her eyes off the mirror for about ten minutes when her bedroom door slammed unpleasantly, making her jump.
From the threshold, her older sister stared at her with raised eyebrows.
"Are you ready soon, Cissy?" Meda asked, stepping closer and flicking her hair back.
Narcissa swallowed. "I think I've packed everything."
"Then why is your trunk still open?" Andromeda inquired.
Cissy abruptly whirled around, gripping her sister's sleeve. "I'm scared, I'm so scared," she confessed under her breath. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to go! I don't want to!" Her voice was getting higher and higher, edging dangerously close to hystery.
"Cissy, calm down!" Andromeda exclaimed, alarmed. "What brought this on? You've been pestering us about Hogwarts for ages. Last year you nearly begged me to sneak you in my trunk."
"I'm just scared." Narcissa's lips were trembling. "You and Bella have your own friends, and I really hate Alcyone Nott, and what if I'm not in Slytherin? What if – "
"Cissy! You're more of a Slytherin than all of us put together," Meda interrupted. "If the hat plays coy with you, yell at it and you'll be fine. It nearly put me in Ravenclaw. You have to learn to stand up for yourself sometime."
"I'm a lady..."
"Ladies must stand up for themselves too. Look at Mother, does she look like she'd let anyone walk over her? And God knows she's not my number one role model, but here you go. A hat is a good place to start, really."
"I'm not a baby, Meda."
"Very good, then prove it. Close this trunk – heavens, looks like you've shoved more than enough clothes in there – and rush downstairs. We're running late."
"No, we're not," countered Cissy, glancing at her watch.
Andromeda gritted her teeth. "Trust me, we are. Mother and Father are in a hurry."
As Cissy pushed her door open a few minutes later, she was greeted by the sound of distant yelling. She froze, stunned, until Andromeda just pushed past her and disappeared around the corner. Then she got a grip on herself and rushed downstairs, shocked.
Bella's voice was cut in by her mother's and Meda's before starting all over again, her words barely understandable, and then there was a slapping sound. Cissy winced, and started slowly down the staircase, peering at the scene now. Meda was standing behind Bellatrix on the steps, gripping her shoulders, but she glanced back upon hearing Cissy's approach. Her eyes were wide, and she bit her lip before quickly looking away. Their mother stood at the foot of the stairs, seemingly quite shocked as well. And Bella was trembling, her back to Narcissa, quiet now. Cissy continued her way down slowly, step after step, willing everything to come back to normal, if she could only take long enough. Her mother had never slapped any of them before. She would never – it was rash, unladylike, a gesture worthy of a Muggle. Muggles hit one another. Not wizards. Druella swallowed convulsively, then took two slow steps back, away from her daughters. Narcissa was almost at Andromeda's level by now.
"We are in a hurry," their mother spoke, her voice odd, a bit hoarse-sounding. "It's time for breakfast." She spun on her heel and strode towards the dining room, not glancing back to see whether she was being followed.
Bellatrix leapt down the two last steps, shrugging Meda's grasp off. She turned slowly, white-faced with an angry red weal on her right cheek. Cissy clung to the banister and Andromeda sighed, the sound heavy and weary, reverberating through the sisters' chests.
"We should go," she muttered.
"What happened?" asked Cissy in a small voice.
Bellatrix turned her back. "Father went to work."
Cissy's gasp came one second later, as Bella was walking away, rigid, towards the dining room.
"He's not coming to see me off?"
Meda half-turned and gripped her younger sister's sleeve.
"It doesn't mean anything."
"He isn't even coming!"
"Father has had troubles lately, Cissy. He's distracted." Meda's eyes were gleaming. "Anyway, we're together. Is that right? We're together."
"Girls!" From the dining room, without a stunned, foreign face on it, Druella's voice sounded a little more like normal. Cissy could still sense its edge, its brittleness. Bellatrix had disappeared inside. Meda tugged her forward slightly.
"It's your day, Cissy. It's still your day. It's going to be right... perfect."
Numbly, she followed.
***************************************************************************************************
The wind bit at Narcissa's cheeks, uncomfortably, unseasonably cold. She gritted her teeth and pushed her trolley on, wincing a little as Muggles hurried past her, nearly close enough to touch. Her mother was striding in front of them, her shoulders stiff. Suddenly she half-turned, nodding, and Bellatrix passed her by, disappearing into their platform in a second. Andromeda followed. Narcissa hurried after them, her stomach leaping unpleasantly as she crossed the archway. For the first time, as far back as her memory could stretch, being alone with her mother felt uneasy.
Platform 9 ¾ was so crowded Cissy was immediately got claustrophobic. She rushed towards her sisters, her mother appearing at her back. They all turned to face Druella; the woman straightened up, taking a deep breath.
"All right," she said. "Today you are all going to board this train. I shall next see you at Christmas. I will expect letters to keep both your father and myself updated on your grades, your progresses and any event you may feel like sharing. Bellatrix, I needn't remind you that you will take your OWLs at the end of this year. Study hard and do us all proud. Andromeda, third year is also a very important part of your schooling, make sure to do well in your options. And Narcissa, this is your first year away from home. Make worthy friends in the noble house of Salazar Slytherin, learn thoroughly and keep away from unpleasant company. Remember who you are at all times, girls, and act accordingly – dignified. It is your responsibility to live up to the name of Black. Now, I shall keep you no more."
Reaching out, she embraced Bellatrix first, in a brief, one-armed hug, then it was Andromeda's turn. When the time came for her, Narcissa still savoured the sweet perfume of her mother, the softness of her cloak, as precious things she was going to leave behind for a long time. Druella pressed a small kiss to her brow, and then she was off, and the young girl's siblings were turning away. Cissy hurried after them.
Her trunk was unbelievably heavy, all the more since she had to carry her owl's cage as well, and Narcissa wondered ill-temperedly why they didn't have the right to bring their own house-elves to Hogwarts. Really, it would have been so convenient. Meda half-turned towards her with a mocking smile, hoisting her own truck onto the train. Cissy scoffed.
They made their way along the corridor, glancing into compartments as they passed. Cissy found herself getting edgy. She knew that she should not remain with her sisters; she should go and make ties with the pureblooded future Slytherins of her year. If she wanted power, she ought to be known as Narcissa Black from the start, not just as the third Black sister. She attempted to brace herself, but she was feeling cold and numb.
"Let's get ourselves a compartment," Bella was saying.
"Together?" Meda inquired.
"To tuck those damn trunks away somewhere, at least," Bellatrix sighed.
Cissy's dainty fingers were strongly agreeing with the idea, as was her whole body, actually. She nodded frantically, and Bella chuckled, leading the way.
The compartments were mostly empty, as many people were still down on the platform, saying their goodbyes to their families. The sisters heaved their trunks up on two seats in a corner. Then Cissy collapsed on one herself, sighing with fatigue and stretching her bloodless fingers. Above her blond head, Bella and Meda were seemingly having a glaring contest. She didn't look up. When needed, they would make it vocal.
"I don't see why," Bella growled.
Meda snorted. "Oh yes you do. You very well know why we shouldn't just stick together, Bella."
"Everybody respects us already."
"And what about Cissy?"
Narcissa glanced up as Bella was looking away. "Cissy's a big girl. She'll be the queen of her year before we both know it," she countered.
"Yes, and she needs to start now."
Bella groaned. "Okay, okay. Let's go find our own friends! Personally, I'll check up on mine. Are you taking Cissy along?"
Meda poked her. "Two minutes ago you were pretending to protect her best interests, and now you're foisting her on me already, you selfish, hypocritical nuisance."
"Stop talking about me as if I wasn't there," Cissy spoke.
"Bye, Cissy," Bella said, waving. "Blame miss Goody-Two-Shoes here when we leave you all alone to weep your pretty eyes raw."
"Bella!"
The door slammed after her.
"Our sister is a horrendous, twisted little thing," Andromeda commented, shaking her head. "No wonder I love her the best." Winking at Cissy, she offered her a hand. "Need some help?"
Making faces at her sibling and ignoring the extended limb, Narcissa stood.
"Lovely. If only Mother could see you, little darling," Andromeda snickered. "Let's go. I'll show you around to my friends, and we can find the first-year future Slytherins' den on the way."
***************************************************************************************************
"Hey, Paul. How are you? ...very well, thanks... Oh yes, here's my little sister, Narcissa. Elizabeth, hang on, I've got something to tell you!"
Cissy smiled and nodded at her sibling's friends, feeling quite surprised, though she was careful to keep it inconspicuous. Andromeda, always the quiet, snarky one in their little group of three, appeared to be very friendly with a tremendous amount of people. All of them seemed nice enough, she supposed, although they showed cocked eyebrows and a hint of something wry in their gazes while greeting her, making her worry that Meda had told them about her already, and not quite always in a pleasant way. If the fifth and third-years were picturing her as a spoiled little crybaby, her dense excuses for siblings would pay... As she was pondering this irksome train of thought, something caught Narcissa's eye – a shimmer, white-gold and familiar – and as she leaned slightly forward, she could see Lucius Malfoy, conversing with two other boys, from the slightly-ajar door of his compartment.
Unthinkingly, she stepped forward, and she had almost let herself in when she felt someone suddenly pulling her back.
"What do you think you're doing, Cissy? These are not first-years, and you don't know them," Bella murmured in her ear.
"But I know Lucius." Narcissa attempted to pull free. "I'm just going to say hello."
"Don't be ridiculous." Bella hauled her back like a little doll to where Meda was standing with her friends, staring questioningly at them.
Bella gestured for her to follow them, but she shook her head, raising an incredulous eyebrow. After a second's hesitation, Bellatrix just passed her by, heading back in the direction of their compartment with Cissy in tow. She was looking rather somber, and so Narcissa didn't make any further comments. She only dropped into her seat again while Bella was going straight to the window, watching the countryside flash by. Two seconds later, an irate-looking Andromeda stepped through the door Bellatrix had left open.
"What was that?" she snapped. "We had an agreement! We were supposed to go on our own, all three of us! You can't just fly in, grab a hold of Cissy and expect me to follow like a sweet little puppet, just because you so wish!"
"An agreement," Bella snorted. "Listen to yourself, Meda. It's not the end of the world."
"I was with my friends. And Cissy hadn't even met any first-years yet."
"She'll meet them all tonight. You've seen your boring friends, besides. You have all year to catch up now."
"Not having any friends of your own doesn't give you the right to bash mine," Meda growled.
Bella's lips tightened into an angry line, but she did not comment.
Meda sighed, running a weary hand through her hair and sitting down defeatedly. "Well, I suppose we'll be staying here, since Her Highness Bellatrix so decided. Just so you know, I asked Cara to pop by at some point. Her little sister is a first year, too, and pretty clever. Good company for Cissy."
"Oh please," Bella groaned, "not the Burkes. It's a family of shopkeepers, for God's sake. And they're so full of themselves. If Cissy's head gets any bigger under their influence, I swear I'll use a sword to deflate it."
"Shut up," Meda shot back. "They're not full of themselves, they're subtle. There's a difference, though it's certainly too tenuous for you to understand. And they're my friends."
"Well, I'll have you know that Cissy was about to fly into Lucius Malfoy's compartment to say hello, while you were off with your lovely friends."
Andromeda stared at Cissy, completely side-tracked. "What? No!"
"He knows me," Cissy muttered in response. "It was a perfectly proper approach, thank you ever so much for your concern."
"Oh please. He may very well have been such a gentleman at the manor, but it's not like he's going to make friends with a first-year," Bella sighed.
"Does our wee Cissy have a crush?" Meda teased.
Narcissa reddened. "No! I just think he is... well. He is delightful company, and high-class, right? That's just it."
"Well, he's the only person she knows yet," Andromeda told Bellatrix. "That's pretty harmless."
"I suppose, though we'll keep an eye on our perfect little princess, just in case."
"Too right. We wouldn't be fulfilling our jobs of obnoxious big sisters otherwise."
"Will. You. Two. Stop. Talking. About. Me. Like. I'm. Not. Even. There?" growled Cissy through her teeth.
Bella looked mockingly shocked. "That was scary, Cissy."
"Extremely." Meda yawned. "Shall we pass time filling Scary-Blonde in about the castle?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Cissy swatted them both, feeling rather powerless.
***************************************************************************************************
The compartment door opened, and the house of cards Bella had been carefully building exploded.
"You broke my focus!" she complained, and Meda hit her.
"Quiet, you. Come in, girls!" she called to the newcomers.
Cissy, who had been leaning against the window watching her sisters play Exploding Snap, and then Bella indulge in architectural challenges, straightened up and peeked at the newcomers, interested. Some company at last.
"So, you've heard about my sisters, Bellatrix and Narcissa," Meda told them. "Cissy, this is my friend, Carmilla Burke, and her sister Cassandra."
"Hello," Narcissa chirped, "lovely to meet you."
"Likewise," Carmilla replied, Cassandra echoing, "it's a pleasure."
"Go ahead and sit," Andromeda said happily.
The sisters obliged. Meda immediately steered Carmilla into a conversation, and Cassandra turned expectantly towards Narcissa, as Bella was again busying herself with her cards, looking rather grim.
"We'll be Slytherin housemates, then?" the girl inquired.
"Surely," Cissy agreed. "I'm sure it's going to be delightful."
"I don't see why not. Do you already know some of our likely dormmates?"
"Well, there would be Alcyone Nott. I don't see any other girl yet. Among the boys there are Virgil Greengrass, Cadmus Selwyn and Adrian Travers, but I don't really know them well. I've only met them briefly."
"I see." Cassandra nodded solemnly. "The names are familiar."
There was a beat of silence before she went on, more animated all of a sudden: "My sister told me lots of thrilling stories about our house and its past. About our ghost, especially. Have you heard about this?"
"The Bloody Baron." Cissy nodded, repressing a shudder. "My sisters told me about him, yes. He doesn't seem... much pleasant company, I've heard."
Cassandra laughed. "Certainly not! But did you hear of the way he became so... horrifying?"
Cissy hesitated. "I don't think I have."
"Well, once upon a time he is said to have been a perfectly proper young gentleman. But he was in love with a lady, whom made him suffer ever so – until one day, he killed her."
Cissy gasped. "He did not!"
"Oh yes, he did. Then he became so mad with grief that he proceeded to kill himself. But he did a very messy job, and his soul was never at peace. This is why he still roams the castle where he first met her, bearing his eternal heartbreak and spreading awe and horror all around."
"This is a dreadful story!"
"Isn't it? My grandfather once heard it from the Baron himself. He has ways to get what he wants out of people." Cassandra seemed to hesitate for a second, before she concluded with a defiant look: "This speaks a lot about madness and passionate love, don't you think?"
Bellatrix snorted and Narcissa jumped: she had almost forgotten her sisters.
"It speaks of foolishness. An awful waste, really. Nonsense."
Cassandra shrugged her shoulders. "Does love make sense?"
Bellatrix laughed. "One might choose to give sense to their lives." She seemed to be having wicked pleasure deprecating the younger girl's story, and Andromeda sent her a warning glance, after which she quietened.
"Love," Narcissa whispered, troubled.
"Oh yes." Cassandra was smiling an odd smile. "Doesn't always come with a prince." She glanced outside. "A story for the twilight... fitting enough. Perhaps we should change. Did I upset you, my dear?"
"No, no, not at all. You did not." But Cissy wasn't quite sure she liked Cassandra.
The girl smiled brightly. "Very good."
"Cassie's right. Let us change!" Andromeda stood, reaching for their trunks, and Cissy did the same.
Outside the sky was darkening, its clarity promising a starlit night.
***************************************************************************************************
She was surrounded by chattering students, hurrying and pushing past her in a ruckus beyond belief, yet Narcissa oddly felt like she was suspended in a bubble of silence, caught in the very intensity of the moment. Happy cries and anxious whispers brushed against her without getting acknowledgement, as Bellatrix and Andromeda brushed her arm, her cheek as they passed, before disappearing in the darkness of the masses. There was nothing tangible left but the shadow of Cassandra Burke at her right, also wordless and solemn. They walked towards the castle in an awestruck procession, the long line of the uncertain first-years, they glided across black waters in tiny boats and then they had made it.
Countless shocked gasps resounded within the ranks at the grand appearance of the place, and Narcissa slightly frowned, reminding herself that all of these poorly-mannered, impressionable people were surely not Mudbloods, not that many – they didn't quite have her standing, and that was all. Dutifully, she followed the lead of Professor Slughorn – a man she had heard about quite a little before – and smugly listened to his little speech about houses. Then they were left alone.
"Quite histrionic, I must say," Cassandra whispered to her.
"Quite," Narcissa breathed. She stiffened slightly upon hearing a tiny boy, a ways away from her, wondering aloud about the means of Sorting. Really. Cassandra snickered quietly, and Cissy took a little step back. Fortunately, Slughorn entered soon to lead them into the Great Hall.
The night, as it had been to be expected, was bright and starlit, and Narcissa focused on the skies above as the whole Hall stared at the new students – she found Bellatrix, on the right shoulder of the Hunter, and Andromeda, V-shaped and slightly crooked, but didn't look for faces yet. It was like being an actress on stage, or so she had been told – the students were a silent, nameless entity, spread before her, watching her every move. All she had to do was be perfect. Lucius Malfoy would be among them, it didn't matter yet – until she had joined the other side, the watchful audience of the already chosen. Yes, until then... she was the queen, and they the rebellious crowd.
There was actually room for some improvement of the ever so crucial show, she thought.
Salazar, this hat was ancient.
She had been warned, of course, and so she wasn't startled as said antiquity broke into song...
I was sewn many years ago
In times of chivalry,
Where many worthy wizards lived
Who still haunt our memory.
Those mighty sorcerers as good friends
Shared ambitions and dreams;
And from their sheer thirst for knowledge
Was born this greatest scheme.
Gryffindor said: "Our brave people
Require some teachers
So that value equals courage
Within young sorcerers."
Hufflepuff said: "Our world and ways
Are nowadays unfair;
I want to bring schooling to all,
Unbalance I shan't bear!"
Ravenclaw said: "I deem science
As mankind's greatest goal;
We must spread it and make it grow
Letting it feed our soul."
And Slytherin said, "I see children
Forget their fathers' deed;
I want to restore true heirlooms
And gain fame as a meed."
Together they built this castle
And together they taught;
Their names today are family
Without which we are naught.
Gryffindor welcomes the heroes,
Slytherin the cunning;
Ravenclaws are wise and witty,
Hufflepuffs hard-working.
And before me you wait today
To know where you belong;
Just trust me with your pretty heads,
For I am never wrong!
How vulgar, Narcissa thought haughtily.
It was about time for the names to be called, and Slughorn winked at the students, unrolling his list.
"Alden, Lucy!" he called first.
Narcissa leaned forward ever so slightly as a plain, freckled, insignificant individual was sent to Ravenclaw.
"Black, Narcissa!"
And here it was. Her moment.
Cissy strode out of the ranks with her head held high and the tiniest smirk on her lips, looking straight ahead. Slughorn smiled as he placed the hat on her blond head, and she sat, gracefully.
Another Black, then? a voice chuckled in her mind. Let us see, little one. Um, where shall we...
Don't you dare "little one" me, she thought furiously, remembering Meda's words.
Oh, no need to get so aggressive, the hat snickered. And no need to be worried either. You certainly belong nowhere but in... SLYTHERIN!
Then came the applause, and Cissy stood, praying that her shaky legs would support her – thank you, thank you – before strutting towards her rightful place. First Slytherin of her year, she was greeted with a long ovation, and slid between her two sisters, enjoying the glory. Unwilling to lose her head, she didn't look for Lucius quite yet – but turned towards her siblings.
"How long?" was the first thing she said.
Andromeda grinned. "That was quick, Cissy. Quicker than me, quicker than Bella."
"Welcome home," Bella echoed, not even raising to Meda's teasing tone. "Well done, little snake."
Then the whole table burst into applause again, and as Cissy turned, it was Cassandra they were all cheering for, making her way towards them, pink-cheeked and shiny-eyed, but controlled and proud, smirking without a word. She went to sit next to Carmilla, on Andromeda's other side, and smiled at Cissy, who smiled back.
She then leaned back in her seat, and hoped, without much conviction, for failure and scandal as she eyed Alcyone Nott, on the line she had just left.
She was where she belonged, first, and entirely.
