~*Chapter One: The Meeting*~

Narcissa closed her eyes, feeling herself being twirled to the soft music as she danced with the man of her dreams. She gazed up into the bright silver eyes of Lucius Malfoy and smiled. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her mouth to his in a gentle kiss.
Narcissa felt herself swirling in a pool of happiness, and it took her a minute to realize Lucius was speaking to her. "We should go outside. Where it's private." Narcissa nodded and let him lead her out of the ball room and into the gardens.
"Why do we need privacy, Lucius?" She asked, sitting down on a bench by a large fountain, her periwinkle skirts fluttering around her. She looked up at Lucius with her inquisitive blue eyes.
"I need to tell you…" Lucius began.
"Yes?" Narcissa asked.
"I love you. I always have and I always will."
Narcissa stood up and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you too! Ever since I first saw you! I love you!"
"I want to give you this." He stepped back, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it slowly, revealing a silver heart surrounded by blue diamonds.
"I…I love it!" Narcissa exclaimed. "Can you…put it on me?"
Lucius took the necklace out of the box and fastened it behind Narcissa's graceful neck. "It looks wonderful on you." He said as she admired it. "Everything does."
She smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. He put his hand behind her back, pulling her to him, and their bodies melted together in a sweet kiss.

Narcissa Wells sat up slowly in bed and her hand flew to her neck. Quickly she realized there was no necklace there: Lucius Malfoy loving her had all been a dream. She had always hoped he would declare his undying love to her before they had graduated from Hogwarts, but he had declared it instead to her best friend, Clarissa Renaldi. Needless to say, Clarissa was no longer her best friend.
Narcissa sighed. "It was a wonderful dream. Maybe I can predict the future and Lucius may one day love me!" Feeling much happier, she jumped out of bed and spun in circles, letting her long blonde hair spin around her, making it look like golden rays of sunlight.
She changed out of her blue nightgown and pulled on a green tank top with a silver snake on it (a slightly old shirt from when she was in Slytherin House at Hogwarts) and slightly faded blue jeans. She kept her long hair out of her face with a hand made head band and pulled on her white sandals.
"Excuse me?" There was a knock on her door.
Narcissa opened it quickly and her maid stood in the doorway, holding a pile of blue jeans. "Oh! Marie. I'm already dressed, but you can put those away. Where are we eating today?"
"The Asian garden, miss." Marie replied, stepping into Narcissa's huge room. She looked up at the high blue ceiling, decorated with glow in the dark stars for a minute before turning to Narcissa. "The fastest way is to take the maids' stair and go out the first door to the garden. Your mother is angry with your tardiness." She added in almost a whisper.
"Thank you!" Narcissa said. She ran down the hall, flew down the maids' staircase and went out into the garden. Smoothing her hair and tank top, she walked through a maze of flowers and exotic trees, overflowing with strange flower buds and delicious fruits.
Ahead, she heard the sound of clinking china and low voices and walked toward them. She found herself surrounded by brightly colored flowers and mulberry trees, before reaching an Asian-style gazebo, where her parents sat eating breakfast.
"Narcissa! Darling. Where have you been?" Her mother asked as Narcissa sat down.
"Sleeping." She said softly, digging into the papaya that sat on the golden plate in front of her.
"It's after ten o'clock. You are aware that breakfast is served at promptly ten o'clock. And you couldn't have gotten lost. The house may be large, but you've lived here for all eighteen years of your life." Her mother lectured.
Narcissa said nothing as she sipped her green tea. It was easy to get lost in the Wells' house. They ate in one of the almost twenty different dining rooms every day, and the house and garden were both intricate mazes designed by her "eccentric" great-great grandfather.
"Miss?" A maid asked meekly. "You have a call." She held out a phone on a golden platter, and Narcissa picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Narcissa! I know we're not friends, but you must be over Lucius by now!"
"Who is this?"
"Clarissa, who else dear? I have the most wonderful news to tell you. Lucius and I are getting married in April. I know it's nine months away, butI had to tell you! I want you to be one of my bridesmaids!"
"I'm sorry. I can't." Narcissa hung up quickly.
"May I be excused?" She asked, pushing back her chair and running out of the garden. She ran through the front gate and onto the boulevard, hot tears falling in waterfalls down her face. There was no chance that Lucius Malfoy, the love of her life, would ever love her now. She choked back shoulder-shuddering sobs and ran to the nearby park, where she almost collapsed on a bench.
"Um…excuse me. Miss?" Someone said a few minutes later.
Narcissa looked up into the bright brown eyes of someone she had never seen before. He was tall and muscular with smooth brown hair and brown eyes that were at the moment full of concern. He wore a simple white t-shirt and dark blue jeans.
"Yes?" She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears.
"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting down.
"Why should I tell you? I barely know you!" She tried to sound proper, but another rush of tears poured down her cheeks.
"That's reasonable. I'm Sirius Black."
"Black? I'm Narcissa…" She felt a sob creep into her throat. "Wells!"
"Wells? You live in that mansion? You…you're a witch?" All Narcissa could do was nod as she continued to cry softly. "I'm a wizard! What house were you in? How old are you?"
Narcissa stood up, showing off her Slytherin tank top and the year that she graduated, which was printed in silver on the back.
"You're eighteen? A Slytherin? I'm eighteen and a Gryffindor. Now, back to why you're crying." He said. "What's wrong? You can trust me."
Narcissa felt her knees weaken as she realized that Sirius Black was her true love's enemy's best friend. "No. No, I can't." If things weren't bad enough, accepting help from a Gryffindor would make things worse. She turned to run, and Sirius gently grabbed her arm.
"If this is about me being a Gryffindor and you being a Slytherin, forget that. You are just someone who has been hurt in some way, and I'm just someone who wants to help. Now, can you tell me what's wrong?"
Narcissa sniffled. "O-okay. I'm madly in love with someone, but he doesn't love me. I thought there might be a chance for us, but he's marrying my ex-best friend." She said as she cried. "I'm so mad at her, but I can't stop loving him. He's so sweet and noble and kind and smart and funny and brave and good." She sighed.
"First, stop crying. I bet everyone tells you this, but if he doesn't love you, he's not worthy of your love." Slowly and gently, he wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumb. "Second, I doubt he's all those things. No one is perfect, especially not a Slytherin. Maybe you are, I don't know. He's probably a scared little momma's boy who steals candy from babies. And third, you shouldn't forgive you're friend. That's not helpful, I know, but don't. She didn't have to say she loved him when he said she loved him if she knew you loved him. Don't dwell on the past either, though. Forget and move on. If the guy's really worth your time he'll come to you."
Narcissa felt herself smiling. She nodded, and without warning, flung her arms around Sirius's neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Sirius smiled. "You're welcome. Why don't we get a coffee or tea or latte or whatever you drink at the coffee shop and you can tell me more about yourself."
"Only if you promise you'll tell me about you."
"I promise. Scout's honor."
"You're a scout?"
"No. I'm just promising." He laughed.
They walked down a few streets and stepped into a coffee shop Narcissa had never seen before. There were simple white tables with white chairs, a shiny white counter, and a sign, with an arrow, reading "Restrooms". Sirius walked up the counter and the woman began taking his order.
"One coffee, black with no sugar." He turned to Narcissa. "What do you want?"
"Um….a coffee with milk and sugar?" She said, a questioning tone in her voice.
"That will be $2.87, please." Sirius handed her the money and they waited for their drinks.
"Two dollars and eighty-seven cents? That's it? At the Lakeside Café two coffees are $7.50!" She giggled softly.
"Here you are, sir." The woman handed him the coffees and Sirius led Narcissa to a table.
"And it takes almost ten minutes. The coffees are usually French boiled or Spanish beans or German thickness, too. I've never had a…ugh!" She spluttered as she took a sip of her coffee.
"What? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, handing her a napkin.
Narcissa nodded. "The coffee! It's horrid. How could someone drink that? Are these English coffee beans?"
"American actually."
"Ugh. Americans can not make coffee." She sighed. "So, tell me about yourself."
"I was born in London on February 6th. It was a Tuesday and it was snowing. My mom says she dropped me on my head many times, and I thought it was fun. When I was five I played my first practical joke. I gave my older sister a map and told her it led to buried treasure. She was only seven, so she believed me. When she got there, there was a pit full of fake snakes, covered in extra goo, which I pushed her in. She was mad." He grinned mischievously.
"I went to Hogwarts and became best friends with James Potter and Remus Lupin. We played tons of practical jokes and found all the secret passageways in the school. Oh, there was also Peter Petegrew. He was shy, but still a friend. He wasn't as evil as we were." He smiled, and continued. "James is marrying Lily Evans in April and Remus has a very nice girlfriend. Peter and I are single. I live here, in a large flat. I think that's about it."
Narcissa nodded. "I was born in India on September 14th. My dad was on important Ministry business. I went to Hogwarts and became best friends with Clarissa Renaldi. I got wonderful grades; Mum was so pleased. In my third year I fell madly in love with Lucius Malfoy. Clarissa was in love with Severus Snape, so I thought she had no interest in my Lucius. When he declared his undying love for her, she went off and got engaged to him!
"Now I live with my mum and dad in a mansion designed by a crazy relative. It has about two million rooms and about thirty different places to eat. The garden is amazing. I could spend all day in it, but I'm always being dragged to strange places, meeting, gala events, or foreign countries. I'm a poor little rich girl, and that's all there is to it." She sighed deeply.
"Poor little rich girl? Foreign countries and amazing gardens? I don't think they go together." He smiled at Narcissa. "I'd like to see these gardens."
"Really? We could go now, if you don't have anything to do."
"I don't. That would be nice. As long as you wouldn't get in trouble."
"Oh, I wouldn't! I can do whatever I want!" She smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him up from his chair and out of the café.
A little while later, Narcissa was fumbling with the key so she could open the gate to the garden. At last, she turned the key in the key hole and pushed open the iron gate.
"Woah." Sirius breathed, looking at the tall trees, exotic plants, and strange birds. "This is amazing."
"I'll show you my favorite part. The Australian Garden." She took his hand again and led him through a maze of plants. She pushed open a wooden gate and spun in a circle. "Welcome to the Australian Garden, Sirius Black!" She exclaimed.
"What's this?" He pulled a strange yellow fruit off a tree and took a bite, immediately spitting it out.
"Oh, I call that the Gross Thing That You Never Eat plant."
"It works." Sirius dropped the fruit on the ground and followed Narcissa over to a tall tree.
"This is the eucalyptus tree. The koalas live here. Snip!" Narcissa called into the branches.
A furry ball landed suddenly in her outstretched arms. It peeked up and squeaked at Sirius. "I think it likes you. Give him a kiss."
"Oh no. I don't kiss furry male koalas."
"He really likes you. Please? It will make him happy."
Sirius sighed. "Okay." He bent down and kissed the top of the koala's head, causing the koala to slip out of Narcissa's arms.
Sirius looked up, still bent over, and met Narcissa's eyes. "Guess he doesn't like me?"
Narcissa giggle nervously as she felt her lips move closer to Sirius's. She realized she had stopped breathing as their lips were less than an inch apart.
"OW!" She screeched, jerking her head up so she hit Sirius's chin. "Stupid koala." She snapped, pulling Snip out of her hair. She cradled him in her arms for a minute before setting him on the ground.
"I should go." Sirius said suddenly.
"Do you need me to show you out?"
"I can find my own way. Thank you for showing me your garden."
"Thank you for helping me stop crying." She smiled at him.
"No problem. Bye."
"Goodbye." She waved slowly and, when he had turned the corner, sat down heavily on the dirt ground. "Ugh." She sighed, leaning back against a tree. "What was that, Snip? Why did we almost…kiss? I'm madly in love with Lucius Malfoy!" She looked at the koala, watching his little nose wiggle for a minute. "Aren't I?"