Trigger warning for drug & alcohol abuse and drug overdose in this chapter.
"Cissyyyy," Bellatrix whined. Narcissa was glad that they were talking on the phone, rather than in person, because it allowed Narcissa to roll her eyes at her sister's dramatics. "Come on, one night. One party. It's a small thing, I promise, Cis, just come along. Get out of that tiny room."
"For your information," Narcissa replied as she dodged a group of preteens on the semi-busy street, "my accommodations are not tiny, they're… compact… and I do get out. Daily, in fact, because I actually attend my classes." Under her breath, Narcissa added, "Unlike you, when you were at university."
"I dunno what you just muttered, but I doubt it was pleasant. So, you coming willingly or do I have to kidnap you?"
"I wouldn't put it past you to actually kidnap me, so I'll come." There was no arguing with Bella Black, especially when she wasn't sober, which she rarely was.
Bellatrix cheered. "Yes! Wear whatever, no one cares about dress code. I'll pick you up at ten tonight!" Bellatrix actually sounded excited, rather than her usual bored.
"Well, I don't want to look stupid. What are you going to wear?" Bellatrix had hung up by the time Narcissa finished her sentence. Narcissa huffed as she slipped her iPhone back into her purse.
Andromeda Black, 6:38pm – Cissy r u kidding? Bella's parties are worthy of a Tarantino film
Narcissa Black, 6:38pm – Bella wouldn't bring me to anything dangerous
Narcissa Black, 6:39pm – Anything TOO dangerous
Andromeda Black, 6:40pm – r u sure? Bella's our sister n I love her but she's becoming more…
Narcissa Black, 6:41pm – Unstable?
Andromeda Black, 6:42pm – I wasn't going to say it but yes
Narcissa Black, 6:43pm – We need to do something. She won't listen to only one of us
Narcissa Black, 6:52pm – Andy?
Andromeda Black, 6:58pm – sry Cis, Ted was trying find a rhyme for orange
Andromeda Black, 6:59pm – he wouldn't accept that there are only slant rhymes
Andromeda Black, 6:59pm – he's going to an open mic night in a couple days n he wants a new song for it
Andromeda Black, 7:00pm – u don't particularly care do u
Narcissa Black, 7:02pm – I do care, just not enough for you to keep telling me about it
Andromeda Black, 7:03pm – thank u for ur honesty
Andromeda Black, 7:03pm – so u were saying something abt needing to do something? like an intervention for Bella?
Narcissa Black, 7:05pm – Definitely. She's going to join the 27 club if she doesn't clean up
Andromeda Black, 7:06pm – I think u could have worded that better, but u have a point
Narcissa Black, 7:07pm – What? I got to the point, didn't I?
Narcissa Black, 7:07pm – We can deal with the intervention tomorrow. What should I do about tonight?!
Narcissa Black, 7:07pm – Andy
Narcissa Black, 7:07pm – I've been to 3 parties in my life, and 2 of them were parent supervised. The 3rd was Sirius's 14th birthday party when his parents got so drunk in the morning that they fell asleep before the party had officially begun
Andromeda Black, 7:08pm – ah fond memories
Andromeda Black, 7:08pm – anyway
Andromeda Black, 7:08pm – don't drink any of the punch! don't let ur drink out of your sight at all, not even for a second, and don't talk to any of the death eaters unless they talk to u first. even then, keep it short and don't reveal any information abt urself
Andromeda Black, 7:08pm – do u know why they're called death eaters?
Narcissa Black, 7:09pm – No, but I don't imagine it's pleasant
Andromeda Black, 7:10pm – the drug cocktail they all take at their parties, they call it death bc it gets u so high u feel like you're dying. they drink it, but death drinkers didn't sound as cool I guess
Andromeda Black, 7:10pm – also ppl have died from it. like a lot of ppl
Narcissa Black, 7:12pm – Holy shit
Andromeda Black, 7:12pm – yeah
Narcissa Black, 7:13pm – And Bella does this? KNOWING it can kill her?
Andromeda Black, 7:13pm – anything for the high I guess
Narcissa Black, 7:14pm – Jesus Christ
Andromeda Black, 7:16pm – and another thing, keep ur phone on u at all times. anything happens and u feel uncomfortable or unsafe, call me or Ted and we'll come get u (and Bella) immediately
Narcissa Black, 7:17pm – Thank you so much
Andromeda Black, 7:17pm – anytime Cissy
Andromeda Black, 7:17pm – and ur welcome
Narcissa Black, 7:19pm – One more thing: I think Lucius hangs around with the Death Eaters
Andromeda Black, 7:19pm – Lucius as in that boy you like? the one who sometimes ignores you and sometimes worships you?
Narcissa Black, 7:20pm – That's the one
Narcissa Black, 7:20pm – And, for your information, he doesn't worship me. He likes me. I think
Andromeda Black, 7:21pm – well tonight you're going to find out if he really is a death eater
Andromeda Black, 7:22pm – if he is, then you'll have someone there that you know
Andromeda Black, 7:22pm – and if he is, I suggest cutting off contact after tonight
Narcissa Black, 7:23pm – Clearly
Narcissa Black, 7:26pm – Okay, before I start getting ready for Bella's party, I need to work on a paper for a bit, so I'm gonna go
Narcissa Black, 7:26pm – Oh, but before I go, what should I wear?
Andromeda Black, 7:27pm – black probably, if u want to fit in
Andromeda Black, 7:27pm – do u even own any black clothing or is everything in ur closet pale tones and pastels
Narcissa Black, 7:28pm – Yes, shut up
Narcissa Black, 7:28pm – I do occasionally need to dress up for black tie events FYI
Andromeda Black, 7:28pm – ok go work on ur homework, relax a bit
Narcissa Black, 7:29pm – I'm relaxing as much as I can, knowing that I'm going into what is basically an opium den or some shit tonight
Andromeda Black, 7:31pm – everything will be fine and u can call me if it isn't
Narcissa Black, 7:32pm – Thank you, Andy
Narcissa Black, 7:32pm – I love you
Andromeda Black, 7:33pm – love you too Cissy
Narcissa examined herself in the mirror on the inside of her closet door. She wore a tight, black, sleeveless crop top with a neckline that just barely revealed her collarbones, a pair of dark, high-waist jean shorts she'd had to borrow from the girl across the hall, sheer black tights, and her white Adidas Superstars. If she had to make a quick escape for some reason, Narcissa wanted the correct footwear.
Bellatrix let herself into Narcissa's dormitory without knocking and immediately fell back onto Narcissa's bed, rumpling the sheets.
Narcissa rolled her eyes and ignored her sister for a moment longer as she quickly applied a layer of light pink lip gloss. Finally, she turned to her eldest sister… who had put her grimy Doc Marten boots on Narcissa's bed. Narcissa picked Bellatrix's feet off of the bed, then grabbed her hands and pulled her to stand up. Bellatrix swayed for a moment, before righting herself.
Bellatrix moved out of her sister's reach and went to the mirror. She pulled the bottom of her grey, mid-thigh length, babydoll dress down slightly, then hooked a few loose strands of dark, curly hair back into her disheveled topknot. Her makeup seemed to have already been rubbed in every direction, like Bellatrix had been wearing it for multiple days and never bothered to wipe it off, only adding more as she needed.
Or maybe that's the style, who even knew anymore?
Bellatrix, following Narcissa's lead, applied a new layer of a thick, deep purple lipstick. After making sure her Cupid's bow was outlined adequately and there were no lipstick marks on her teeth, Bellatrix slipped the lipstick into her purse, very nearly slammed the closet door, and turned back to Narcissa. Yet again, she swayed for a moment before leaning against the closet door and smiling at Narcissa in a decidedly cocky manner.
"Ready, Cis?" Bella asked. Not waiting for a reply, she turned and strode out the door.
"No," Narcissa replied, half to herself. She shoved her cell phone into her right front pocket and her wallet into her left front pocket, then followed Bellatrix out the door, locking it behind her.
Once Narcissa and Bellatrix left the campus, the walk to the fancy building where the party was being held took about fifteen minutes, with Narcissa and Bellatrix walking briskly, which Narcissa found disconcerting. She didn't like the idea of a Death Eater– assuming that the flat they were going to belonged to a Death Eater and not, say, someone the Death Eaters had killed (or, ahem, made to disappear)– living so close to her university.
The building was high-end, the kind of place that Narcissa's parents would approve of. Bellatrix linked her arm through Narcissa's and led her through the near-empty lobby. The boy at the front desk glanced at them briefly, then yawned and looked away. Narcissa yawned as well; Bellatrix pinched her, presumably to wake her up. Narcissa thought about shaking Bellatrix off, but she realized that she really wanted Bellatrix's emotional support and that Bella probably needed Narcissa's physical support, judging by how heavily she leaned on Narcissa.
They rode the elevator up to the top floor in silence. With Bellatrix pulling Narcissa, they stumbled out of the elevator together, recovering as they meandered down the hallway. Bellatrix muttered the numbers on each of the doors as they passed them. Music and the muffled roar of people talking sounded as if they came from every room on the floor; Narcissa asked Bellatrix about it.
"Oh, he rents the whole floor out," Bella explained. "The penthouse is his though, and only his closest followers are allowed there." She smiled proudly with the knowledge that she was a trusted follower. Narcissa frowned.
"Who is 'he'?" Narcissa inquired.
Bellatrix stopped and looked at Narcissa in the way the one generally looks at a child who has just asked a particularly ignorant question.
"Voldemort," Bellatrix replied, offering no explanation. What a stupid-sounding alias that was, Narcissa thought, although she'd had enough French lessons in school to know that "mort" meant "death," which only further worsened Narcissa's nerves.
Bellatrix gripped Narcissa's arm tighter when they came to the end of the hall and faced a burly blonde man who stood in front of the door to, presumably, Voldemort's suite.
Bellatrix leaned closer to Narcissa and whispered to her, "Don't say a thing," then stood straight again.
"Amycus," Bellatrix smiled falsely at the guard.
"Bellatrix," Amycus replied in the same manner. He kept eye contact with Bellatrix and nodded at Narcissa. "Who's this?"
"My baby sister, Narcissa," Bellatrix replied. "Doesn't talk much. You know how it is, anxiety's in these days." Bellatrix rolled her eyes with faux superiority, and Narcissa wondered how Bella had failed that drama class she'd taken in year eleven when she could act this well now.
Amycus chuckled and let his eyes rake over Narcissa. Narcissa suddenly found herself wishing she'd worn jeans. After a moment which seemed to stretch as Amycus's eyes made their way back up to Narcissa's face, Bellatrix and Narcissa were let into the suite, where the party seemed to be in full swing. Narcissa found herself holding in a coughing fit due to the smoke in the air, and she knew her face was flushing a vivid red against her pale skin.
Bellatrix extracted her arm from Narcissa's and turned to face the younger woman.
"You can't hang onto me all night," Bellatrix said with a slight squint of her eyes. She began to slowly back away, leaving Narcissa in front of the now closed door. "Have a drink, talk to someone. I'm sure your precious Lucius is here somewhere."
Narcissa felt lightheaded, what with the smoke in the air, which smelled of cigarettes and pot and something else entirely, and the confirmation that Lucius really did run with the Death Eaters. She sighed. This was all such a mess.
Narcissa saw someone in her peripheral vision, then felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Lucius Malfoy, a tall boy with long, blonde hair who seemed to always been in the library during her days working there. She'd been on two rather informal dates with him, not enough to really call their relationship anything in particular, but he'd become distant lately, and it had made Narcissa confused.
Lucius held a small glass of red wine out to her. "You look nervous," he said with a slight smile. His hair was french braided neatly, and Narcissa wondered if he had done it himself. He wore a black dress shirt, black jeans, and a pair of shiny black brogues. Narcissa thought he looked rather pretentious, as she normally saw him in tee shirts and blue jeans around campus.
After a moment, Narcissa scoffed and summoned all of the confidence she had in her. Her heart pounded. She took the glass from his hands. "When have you ever known me to be nervous?" She rolled her eyes with a slight smile. "I just don't want to be here, honestly. I could be writing an essay, but nooooo Bella just had to pull me away and drag me along to," Narcissa surveyed the room with superiority that wasn't entirely faked, "this mess."
"You call this a mess?" Lucius asked curiously, with a tilt of his head.
"Well, what would you call it?"
"Hmm," Lucius glanced around the room. "Not a mess, definitely not. This is all carefully… controlled, I would say." He leaned towards Narcissa to whisper in her ear, "by You-Know-Who."
"You-Know-Who? You mean Vol–"
Narcissa was silenced by Lucius's lips on hers. She let the soft kiss go on for a few seconds, then pushed him away lightly with the hand not holding her untasted wine. Narcissa was surprised her blush hadn't deepened, but no one in the room seemed to be paying all that much attention to them.
Lucius leaned close to her ear again. "He's always listening. Doesn't like it when we say his name. He'll know if you say it, and he'll approach you about it. You don't want that. Now laugh as if I've said something rather funny."
Narcissa smiled, rolled her eyes, and laughed easily. "You take yourself too seriously, Lucius."
Lucius smiled at her in return. "And you take few things seriously, or so I've found."
Narcissa's eyes fell on Bella, taking a shot of something dark with a few skinny boys at the bar.
"You'd be surprised," she murmured finally, before taking a small sip of the wine. She made a face after swallowing.
"Did you bring me cheap shit, Malfoy?" Narcissa asked bluntly. She gave him a small smirk to let him know for certain that she was mostly teasing.
Lucius took the glass from her hands and tasted it himself. He gave no reaction. Nonetheless, he put the glass down on a nearby table and reached into one of his back pockets and produced a silver flask with his initials engraved in it. He took a swig of that, then handed it to Narcissa.
Without asking what was in it, Narcissa took another small sip. Her eyes watered and she grunted softly, then handed the flash back to him.
"Firewhiskey," she said with a slightly hoarse voice. "Good stuff."
Lucius looked at Narcissa curiously. "You've not had alcohol much." It was a deduction, not a question.
"Not really, no. Champagne at weddings, wine at family gatherings, firewhiskey on a few occasions, but other than that," Narcissa shook her head and shrugged.
Lucius tucked the flask back into his left back pocket. "As much as I think it would be hilarious to see you drunk, we'll save that occasion for another night. Look after your sister, hm?" With that, Lucius pressed a kiss to Narcissa's forehead and walked away, disappearing deeper into the party and leaving Narcissa alone again.
Narcissa stood straight, awkwardly observing the numerous illegal activities taking place, for almost a minute, before she felt her phone vibrate in her right front pocket. She dug it out and found a text from Andromeda.
Andromeda Black, 10:35pm – r u in the snake den?
Narcissa Black, 10:35pm – Yes. And shouldn't it be the lion's den?
Andromeda Black, 10:35pm – death eaters' symbol is a snake
Andromeda Black, 10:36pm – everything alright?
Narcissa Black, 10:36pm – I saw Lucius, talked to him
Andromeda Black, 10:36pm – so he's definitely w the death eaters
Narcissa Black, 10:37pm – He kissed me
Andromeda Black, 10:37pm – w h a t
Andromeda Black, 10:37pm – omggg cissy! that's ur 1st kiss isn't it? omg
Narcissa Black, 10:37pm – Yes, it is. Shut up. I can hear you screaming from here
Andromeda Black, 10:38pm – brings me to my next pt, where r u? is everything alright? what's bella doing?
Narcissa Black, 10:39pm – I'm in the flat of the leader of the Death Eaters. Kind of terrifying. Not exactly sure of the address, track my location and find out please
Narcissa Black, 10:40pm – Bella's drunk, she showed up to my place already drunk. I think she was high when she called me earlier, she had a different pattern of speech than when she's drunk.
Andromeda Black, 10:40pm – ok I have ur address
Andromeda Black, 10:40pm – do u want me to come get u? r u both safe?
Narcissa Black, 10:41pm – I'm fine. IDK about Bella, but people seem to like her, so I figure she's safe as well
Narcissa Black, 10:41pm – Everyone's leaving me alone
Narcissa Black, 10:41pm – Don't know how long that will last though
Andromeda Black, 10:42pm – Ted's w me and we'll come get u as soon as u tell us too
Narcissa Black, 10:43pm – Thanks, I'll let you know
Narcissa tucked her phone back into her pocket and looked up at the party again. A few people looked at her out of the corner of their eyes. Narcissa decided that if she was to blend in in the snake's den, as Andromeda had called it, she needed to work harder.
Narcissa exhaled, then made her way over to the bar. She ordered a glass of the most expensive wine she saw and made sure to carefully watch the bartender as he opened a new bottle and filled the glass halfway. Narcissa took her glass when she was sure it hadn't been tampered with and sat at the far left end, next to a large window overlooking the street below.
Narcissa turned away from the bright lights of the cars passing by on the street in favor of watching the party. She felt more bored at this party than she did when she had a substitute teacher for her literature classes. She put her elbow on the bar, rested her cheek on her fist, and huffed. She then took a small sip of her wine. This was going to be a long night. And where had Bellatrix gone?
Narcissa pulled her phone out, scrolled through the newly posted pictures on Instagram for almost a minute, then looked around for Bellatrix again. Still no sign of her. A few people Narcissa had noticed Bellatrix hanging around were missing as well. Narcissa drafted a text to Andromeda and stared at it for a moment, trying to decide whether to send it or whether she was just being paranoid. She impulsively pressed send, took a longer sip of wine, and waited. She waved the bartender away when he came to refill her glass.
Narcissa Black, 10:49pm – Bella's disappeared, not sure where she's gone. Could be into the back of the flat. I don't think she's left.
Andromeda Black, 10:50pm – what's ur plan?
Narcissa Black, 10:51pm – Find her? IDK
Andromeda Black, 10:51pm – want me to come now?
Lucius suddenly appeared beside Narcissa and pressed a firm hand to her back, sliding her off the chair she sat on.
"Hello again," Narcissa smiled slightly. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and abandoned her wine glass.
Lucius wrapped an arm around Narcissa's waist and led her through the crowd of people towards the back hallway. He bent towards her ear.
"Don't react," he muttered. "Something's happened to Bellatrix."
Narcissa's heart pounded in her ears. Were it not for Lucius's arm around her waist, she would have needed to sit down.
She and Lucius broke through the thick crowd of people and into the wide hallway. Few people loitered around, and those who did loiter seemed to be so high that they probably had no clue what they were even doing there. Lucius took his arm from around Narcissa's waist in favor of walking in front of her and leading her down the hallway by her right hand.
Narcissa felt her phone vibrate angrily every few seconds in her pocket. Andromeda was probably having a heart attack. She might actually be on her way, Narcissa realized. The hallway was long, and Narcissa pulled her phone out.
Andromeda Black, 10:51pm – cissy
Andromeda Black, 10:51pm – narcissa
Andromeda Black, 10:51pm – Narcissa Cassiopeia Black I swear to jesus christ himself if u don't text back w/in the next 5 mins I will bust down the fucking door of that party
Andromeda Black, 10:52pm – IS BELLA OK
Andromeda Black, 10:52pm – R U OK
Andromeda Black, 10:52pm – CISSY PLEASE
Ted Tonks, 10:53pm – Narcissa, Andy is abt to have a panic attack, pls text back as soon as you see this
Narcissa typed a quick reply to Ted.
Narcissa Black, 10:53pm – Get ready, I'll tell you when to come
Ted Tonks, 10:53pm – Be careful and stay safe
Narcissa absentmindedly thought that it was sweet that he cared, but she wouldn't let him know that she thought that.
Lucius opened the last door on the right side of the hall and five darkly dressed people rushed out of the room. Narcissa didn't catch their faces before Lucius had pushed her into the room.
The room was grandly decorated, though unused– it was likely a guest's room– and Bellatrix laid limp on the king-sized bed in the center of the room. All breath rushed out of Narcissa's lungs. She rushed to her sister. The floor was littered with crushed pills, used plastic cups, and various bottles of alcohol– some empty, some with liquid still seeping into the dark green carpet. Narcissa kicked everything in her way aside.
She carefully climbed onto the bed and knelt beside Bella. Lucius stood on the other side of the bed, leaning towards Bella. He pressed his fingers to the pulse point on her neck, then bent over her so that her partially open mouth almost touched his cheek.
"Shallow breathing, erratic heartbeat." Lucius looked up at Narcissa. "She was still conscious when I left her, I promise you that. She told me to get you."
Narcissa nodded once in response. Looking down at Bella, she briefly assessed her eldest sister's state, also taking the time to steady her own breathing.
Bella was normally quite pale, but now she looked sickly. Her lipstick had been smeared away, revealing lips with a slight blue tinge.
A harsh sob wracked Narcissa's body before she forced it back down. This was not the time to panic.
She pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Andy and Ted.
Narcissa Black, 10:55pm – SOS
"What did she take?" Narcissa asked clinically as she dialed Andy's number.
"Death," Lucius replied, eerily calm. Narcissa supposed he must have seen drug overdoses before. She wondered if he had tried to help the people overdosing, as he was doing now, or if he hadn't gotten involved. Lucius started to explain what 'Death' was, but Narcissa held up a hand to silence him.
"I know what it is. Drug cocktail, extreme high, may cause death."
"She's had a lot of vodka as well," Lucius added. "Probably firewhiskey too, though I can't be sure."
The call connected.
"Cis, what's going on?" Andy's voice was tense and higher pitched than normal.
"Bella's overdosing," Narcissa reported. "I'm worried that if I call an ambulance, carnage will break out. I'm willing to wager that a lot of people here are armed."
"Ted and I are close. We've run three red lights and are going so far over the speed limit that we're likely to gain prison sentences if caught, so just hang on. Is she breathing?"
"Shallowly, but yes." Narcissa vaguely registered Lucius forcing Bella's eyes open to shine his phone's flashlight at them.
Narcissa heard Ted request the phone, then a bit of movement as Andromeda handed the phone to him.
"Can you possibly get Bellatrix outside by the time we get there? It'll save a bit of time than if we came upstairs to meet you."
Ted spoke loudly enough that Lucius heard. He put his phone away and, without much trouble, hoisted Bellatrix over his right shoulder. Her dress was short enough to reveal her underwear, but luckily she had on a pair of spandex shorts under her dress. Not that Bella would have particularly cared but– still.
"Yes, we can meet you outside," Narcissa confirmed after receiving a quick nod from Lucius.
"Excellent. See you very soon."
Narcissa hung up and led the way out of the room. On the floor by the door, she saw Bella's heavily cracked iPhone. Narcissa pocketed it, then continued out the door.
The main room of the flat was more crowded than when Narcissa had left it, but everyone parted for her. Perhaps they saw Lucius carrying an unconscious Bellatrix and let them through for that reason, or perhaps they saw Narcissa's unadulterated rage and realized that she would not hesitate to shove people out of the way. Narcissa didn't particularly care for the reason, only that they were out the door quickly.
Amycus cackled as Narcissa strode by. "Hope you enjoyed your stay!" Amycus called out. Narcissa flipped him off and continued on.