Silver hair and a broken smile

"Bloody Padfoot," James muttered as it started raining. Making his way across the sodden grass James glanced wistfully at the clouded sky. He couldn't help but wish it was the full moon again- before remembering the bottle of firewhiskey he had retrieved from the shrieking shack.

Making his way past the lake James stopped as he noticed a figure in the distance. Squinting through the downpour he tried to make out who it was. It was definitely a girl he decided, but what was she doing out here in the middle of the night? Edging closer he finally saw who it was- Narcissa Black, and she looked upset.

Cursing his own gallantry James pulled off his invisibility cloak and walked towards the lone slytherin.

"Narcissa, are you alright?" He shouted before realising what a stupid question it was.

No answer

"Narcissa?" He asked uncertainly

This time she seemed to hear and turned towards James, moonlight reflecting off her pale skin. He almost gasped, this wasn't the confident girl he was used to seeing at the slytherin table. Her skin seemed ghost like, he eyes bloodshot and her normally golden hair was soaking and plastered to her face.

"Leave me alone Potter." She finally choked. However by this point James could tell something was wrong, and was too much a Gryffindor to let her freeze to death.

"You need to come inside," he pleaded, "You'll get ill if you stay out here any longer." If she wasn't already he couldn't help but wonder, why else would someone sit out here in this weather.

"I don't care" was the whispered reply, "everything has already gone to hell."

Ignoring the dampness James sat down next to her . Glancing over he couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was. She is so fragile, he couldn't help but think.

"I'm sure its not as bad as you think," was the only response he could think of, knowing how lame it sounded even as he said it.

She glanced at him, poison in her eyes, "My sister has just left home with some muggle born idiot," She said, "My parents went crazy, now shes been disowned and I've been forbidden from contacting her."

"Do you always do as you're parents tell you?" he replied mockingly, "I thought slytherins were supposed to like breaking rules."

That was supposed to earn him a smile, but instead Narcissa dissolved into a flood of tears.

"I owled her twice since she left but heard nothing. She's my sister, MY SISTER, and yet she left without even saying goodbye."

James couldn't help but shift on the grass. Dealing with hysterical females was something Lupin was better at. He just seemed to make things worse. As if on cue Narcissa started sobbing harder.

"Maybe shes afraid you'll try to convince her to return home? Or will disapprove of her boyfriend."

"Shes knows thats not true!"

"Really?" came James' surprised response. Sirius had always portrayed his family as muggle-hating psychos, and Narcissa never seemed to be exempt from that description.

Glaring at him Narcissa responded, "I am not my father, or my aunt, Potter. Andromeda could be with a muggle- as long as she was happy- I wouldn't care."

"Maybe you should talk to someone about it," James suggested, "Your sister, or a friend?" She certainly seemed to have enough James noted.

"My friends wouldn't get it, Bella might...if she wasn't so wrapped up in this death eater stuff." She spat that last line out, as if disgusted at the idea of Voldemort. Which maybe she was, James mused, she certainly seemed far less evil than Sirius described.

"Maybe you could talk to Sirius..." His voice trailed off as Narcissa gave him a scornful stare.

"Are we talking about the same Sirius here? My cousin? The boy who acts as if I'm evil incarnate whenever I try to talk to him, just because I dared to be sorted into slytherin, like the rest of our family."

James nodded, even he couldn't argue against that. Shifting slightly closer he realised the ice princess was frozen, literally, she was shaking. Taking his other cloak off, James wrapped it around Narcissa, accidentally touching her hand in the process. It was ice cold.

"Please let me take you inside, Narcissa, please," He begged.

Narcissa turned her ice blue eyes round, meeting his brown ones, "Why wasn't I enough for them ? Why couldn't I stop Andy from leaving, or Bella from turning into a monster?"

Without turning away James put his arm around the slytherin girl, " Its not that you couldn't save them, its just...sometimes people need to make their own decisions, and learn from their own mistakes."

That sounded suitably Dumbledorish that James couldn't help but be pleased with himself.

"Now, if we are staying outside in the pouring rain," James decided, lifting his bottle of firewhiskey, "Perhaps we should do it in style."

"No you're right, we should go inside." Narcissa said, shaking herself. As they both stood up, she leaned over and kissed James on the cheek, "Thank you...and maybe a rain check on that firewhiskey." She smiled as she said it, and then walked off towards the castle.

"Women," James muttered, marvelling at the retreating figure.

That night was the first he dreamt of silver blonde hair, and a broken smile.