Disclaimer: Nothing's mine but the plot! Mention of a certain sadistic, miserable old lady in a certain classic story...props to you and tell me in your review if you can figure out where it is and what story it's from! (I had to read it for English so please don't stone me!)

Summary: Narcissa's never known any better, really, and if Lily suffers from it, that just makes it all the greater a victory. Right?

All You're Good For Is This

It was sometime during her seventh year and Lily's sixth- looking back, she couldn't really recall when it was, though it could very likely have been during the holidays, given the slightly lax patrolling of the dormitories.

They were in the Head Girl's quarters, because a Black would not settle for less and the headmaster had been thoroughly compensated for his troubles. It was quite a sight, really, for their positions contrasted their standing- Lily, the commoner and the filth, as any respectable member of the aristocracy would agree, was sitting up, her back erect as she focused on a copy of Hogwarts, A History, and Narcissa, the aristocrat and Black prodigy, was sprawled across the emerald duvet, her arm thrust across her silver eyes as if shading her from the sun- as if there was a sun to shade her from. One leg was stretched across Lily's lap, perhaps suggesting the nature of their relationship- perhaps something more.

But despite the compromising scene, one might notice certain details that suggested otherwise, such as the fact that Narcissa's eyelids kept fluttering, her forehead creased in thought, or the fact that Lily's aged book was upside down.

Now Narcissa had warned Lily from day one that it was going to end- promised her a relationship and, in her own words, 'shagging so brilliant, it'd give the Potter prat wet dreams', but also promised that she wouldn't fall in love. Lily, being the stubborn, driven Gryffindor that she was, took Narcissa up on her challenge, mentally promising herself that if one of them were to fall, it would not be her.

And she had been true to her word and herself, she really had- the pang in her chest whenever Narcissa's foggy silver eyes would meet her own was no more than a minor technicality. They did have a relationship, after all, so it was only natural. But sometimes she found herself botching a potion for gazing at the striking Slytherin from afar, and sometimes she held on for just a moment too long, and sometimes she got so bloody pissed with that Malfoy prick that she had to restrain herself from hexing his bollocks off and letting her own 'boyfriend' do the dirty.

All technicalities, of course.

Beside her, Narcissa's thoughts were whizzing through her brain at a mile a minute, sometimes haunting her and sometimes so sudden that it felt like a slap in the face.

An image of her mother would be replaced with one of Bella a second later, and then one of Lily, leaving her wondering which came first. It wasn't Lily, of course- Evans was just a dirty little mudblood who just happened to be Narcissa's type. Friends with benefits, if you will, though they weren't actually friends, were they? Still, it sounded a bloody bit better than 'Enemies who may or may not have underlying feelings for each other that may or may not compromise their lives outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'.

Narcissa frowned into her soft, pale arm as she remembered the day she had realized that she would never, ever fall in love.

PGBR

"Regulus says you're to wed Lucius Malfoy," Bella taunted, her face breaking into a lion's grin that sent shivers down her baby sister's spine. "Ickle little Cissy, all growed up."

Narcissa fumed at Bella's patronizing tone. "I'll wed who I like," she replied heatedly (stupidly).

"No, you bloody well won't," Bella spat, suddenly millimeters from Narcissa's face. "You'll wed who you're told, Cissy."

And deep inside, Narcissa knew it was true- she had always done what she was told, and that's how she had gotten to be at the top of the Black food chain. Jealous- Bella was just jealous, Narcissa had convinced herself. Jealous because she wasn't the prettiest anymore- jealous because they didn't need her anymore."You'll wed who you're told and you won't care who you step on to get there," the dark-haired girl continued. "That's what Grandmother says, anyway. Says, 'She'll go far, little Narcissa. She'll break their hearts, she will'."

And then Bella was on her feet, lithe as a panther as she reached out and tilted Narcissa's chin up to face her as she herself bent down, her dark, crimson lips pressing against her baby sister's ear. "Break their hearts," she whispered, every syllable stinging like a sharp whip. "Make Mommy and Daddy proud- it's all you're good for, anyway."

PGBR

Slowly, Narcissa removed her arm, arching an eyebrow when she caught Lily staring at her. "Like what you see, Evans?" she asked quietly as she sat up and pressed Lily to the emerald fabric with serpentine agility. "We both know I'm gorgeous, but please keep your fantasies to yourself."

Lily's face turned bright red even as she fumed. "I was just thinking of how much I'd like to throw you into the lake one day," she retorted sharply. "Your ego's so inflated, I'm sure you'd float back up in no time at all."

Narcissa feigned a yawn. "Really, Lily? Reverted to petty insults after all we've been through?" she asked, examining her cuticles in a bored manner. "How anticlimactic."

"At least I'm not a walking cliché," Lily shot back. "Gorgeous, adolescent heiress can't even breathe without consulting Daddy first."

Narcissa flinched on the inside, trying to ignore the stab and see the motive beneath it. "It's not my bloody fault you're in love with me, Evans," she stated disconnectedly, smirking slightly as the girl's blush deepened. "Even if I weren't promised to Lucius, do you really think I'd ever fall in love with someone like you?"

Lily was silent for a moment, and her body jerked with the force of the swallow she had taken as she finally looked straight into Narcissa's eyes. "Normally I wouldn't delude myself, Black," she said in a quiet, determined voice. "But I never thought I'd fall for a frigid, self-righteous, patronizing ice queen, so I guess anything's possible, isn't it?"

Narcissa's eyes clouded over briefly- there was no question left in either of their minds that Lily had just confessed that Narcissa had won, but for some reason, she didn't feel like laughing. "Maybe for you, Evans," she murmured as she maneuvered herself on top of Lily. "You've got the dog...and Remus as well. And you've got James- I guarantee he'll propose before the end of the year. And he can give you the world."

Lily pulled back, her face a mixture between a scowl and that determination that should have annoyed Narcissa to no end but instead she found it strangely endearing. "It's not the world I want," she muttered, turning her face to the side so as not to meet Narcissa's eyes. "He's not the one I want."

And Narcissa ran her long, pale fingers down that God awful red and gold tie, her silver eyes piercing through Lily's jade ones before they finally fluttered down, resting on the Gryffindor's half-exposed, freckled chest. "But he's the one you have," she said coolly, bluntly, and she felt Lily tense beneath her. "Don't love me," she murmured, suddenly pushing off the bed and slipping on her emerald-trimmed robes before brushing the bed curtain aside. "I'll break your heart."