This is for the 'I Write Too Much Dialogue Challenge' at HPFC, so some of the lines of dialogue are not mine.
As a general rule Narcissa Malfoy did not run. She had taken her mother's lessons to heart and she agreed running was unbecoming and only suited to muggles and uncivilised rot.
However, she was now running.
Her slender legs were pumping under her powder blue robes as she turned the corner and attempted to avoid skidding on the woollen rug as she rushed down the stairs.
There was already a woman waiting for her.
Smiling at something Narcissa would never understand, Bellatrix tilted her head to observe her progress. "Why the rush, Cissy?"
"Bellatrix," she practically growled as she descended the steps. Her pace had slowed down; she had found her target. "Where is my son?"
Narcissa's nose twitched in confusion, but Bella did not back down. She only smirked in contentment. "In the Sitting Room. Why are you so curious? You sound almost as protective and possessive as our mother."
"I have every right to ask you that question," she snapped reaching her sister's side. She barely resisted rushing in the direction of her son. "You take me for a fool. I know you have taken Draco somewhere and, just because you have returned him does not mean you are innocent."
Bella grinned exposing several yellow and cracked teeth. "When have you ever known me to be innocent?"
"Stop playing around. What have you been up to?"
"You have no reason to fear, Cissy. Draco's destiny is a great honour."
As soon as Bella's words left her mouth, Narcissa froze. There was only one thing that would make Bella speak of honour. She remembered her as a young teenager when she was obsessed with Prophet Articles and then, when she was older, when she was overjoyed to reveal the black mark upon her arm.
"Bella please!" she moaned, completely panic stricken. "You cannot mean he will take the mark."
"Of course," Bella replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I have not taken him to the Dark Lord, but I will. He is interested in Draco. It is a great honour to serve the Dark Lord. There is no greater honour."
Ever since her sister had been released from Azkaban, her obsession with the Dark Lord had grown to unprecedented and frightening levels. A conversation would never go by whenever she did not mention him and, from the way she stared off into space, she doubted a moment did not go by when her sister did not think about him.
It chilled Narcissa to her core.
However, it was one thong for her sister to be obsessed, but to involve her son...
She had already lost Lucius. She could not lose Draco too.
Lucius had been beside her one morning and the next night she had been informed he had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. Bella had told her the Dark Lord would free him soon, but it was not enough to calm her.
She knew he was furious. Bella had let slip that the Dark Lord was infuriated at Lucius because of the failed mission where Bella had narrowly escaped and Lucius had been captured. She suspected the Dark Lord would want to punish Lucius and if he could not get to Lucius...
She shuddered and tried to think positively and to not let the full spectrum of her thoughts be revealed to her sister.
"But what honour is there in enslavement?" Narcissa asked after a moment's pause. "The Dark Lord may be-"
"You've no idea the powers the Dark Lord possesses," Bellatrix interrupted her eyes aflame. Her previous good mood disappeared and her jaw stiffened. She should have known better than to question the Dark Lord in front of her fanatical sister. "It is an honour to serve him. Yes sacrifices must be made, but it is for the best. Do you not support the cause?"
Her sister did not understand. She doubted Bella could ever love anyone let alone feel something resembling the love she felt for Draco. "Of course, Bella," she began trying to keep her voice calm and to fight down the rising panic. "But he is only a boy. He is barely sixteen. He is not qualified or prepared for such action. When he is older. I just can't bear to lose him. Draco is my only son."
"I am well aware of that," she snapped back her eyes like hard stone. "But he will be fine. You must have spoken to Lucius about this before, what did Lucius say about this?"
Narcissa smiled to herself. Bella must have assumed her and Lucius' marriage, like her marriage with Rodolphus', was filled with ups and downs and opposition, but she did not understand; she and Lucius' loved each other and they were a united force. They may have had minor disagreements, though they worked so well together because they agreed on most things; including the welfare of their son.
"He says even if Draco is not a Death Eater, he is still loyal to the cause," she said proudly as she stared at her sister directly in the eye. "This is not about disloyalty or anything you may assume Bella, but it is about the welfare of my son. When he is ready he may join, but not now when he will only get himself killed."
Her sister's expression softened, though only slightly as she shook her head. "You don't understand, Cissy it is not our choice. As I said the Dark Lord knows of Draco and he plans to recruit him. It is only a matter of time."
Cissy's heart caught in her throat and, before she could stop herself she grabbed her sister's hand. "No!" she cried breaking all her composure. "Bella please! He is just a boy."
She almost expected her sister to back hand her, but, instead, she squeezed her hand lightly. "I will not go against the Dark Lord," she murmured softly but almost kindly. "I would never consider such a thing. If the Dark Lord desires him to join it will be an honour and I will assist him, but I promise you I will protect him if it's the last thing I do."
Narcissa did not know if it made her feel better or worse as she collapsed into sobs on her sister's shoulder.
Please not Draco. Please not her son.