Narcissa's Choice
Narcissa Black paced in her bedroom wearing a mint green dressing gown made of silk. She had received a letter from her elder sister, Andromeda. It was over six pages long, describing the events leading up to her marriage to the Muggle-born wizard, Ted Tonks. It was the most heartfelt letter Narcissa had ever received from a family member and it left her conflicted. She knew their parents would never accept such a marriage and that Andromeda would be disowned by the week's end, if not by nightfall. However, her sister's bliss ebbed through her written words and Narcissa couldn't help but feel happy for her. Andromeda's depression had worsened throughout the years she lived at home, and while the family never acknowledged it, Narcissa knew her sister would never be content under their family's rules.
Narcissa reread the letter twice before sitting down at her vanity. She removed some parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle from the drawer and sighed, unsure where to begin. If she acknowledged her sister's letter through a response and her family had found out, she would be disowned for consorting with a blood traitor. If she abided by her family's wishes and silenced her response, she would sever ties with Andromeda permanently. However, if she delayed the choice, staring at the parchment paper and the letter, she would postpone the inevitable fate.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the fireplace roar to life and her sister, Bellatrix, appeared. Her head floated in the flames.
"Cissy," she hissed. "Are you alone?"
"Yes, of course," Narcissa said.
"I'm coming in," Bellatrix said before her head disappeared with a small 'pop.' Narcissa nearly knocked over the ink bottle as she scrambled to tuck everything back into her vanity and making sure to hide Andromeda's letter underneath her scented stationary, which she only used for very special respondents.
Narcissa had just shut the vanity drawer when Bellatrix emerged from the emerald flames of the fireplace. Bellatrix was still in her wizard robes, her hair damp from the rain, and a letter clenched in her hand.
"Mother just showed me this," Bellatrix said, shaking the letter. "Our sister married a filthy little Mudblood!" she spat.
"What?" Narcissa said, trying to appear surprised. "How do you know? She couldn't possibly—"
"Here. Read," Bellatrix said, thrusting the papers into her hands. Narcissa read, calmly, as Bellatrix scowled, pacing back and forth.
Narcissa scrunched her nose at the appropriate parts of the letter.
"Turn it over," Bellatrix glared. "It gets worse."
Narcissa complied and forced a small gagging motion as she read about Andromeda's love for her new husband. The letter, in short, was very brief. Andromeda's words to their parents were civil and curt. She told them she was getting married to a man despite their family's predilections and she understood the consequences that would follow her actions. It did not beg for acceptance and read as a sorrowful farewell letter, very different from the warm letter that Narcissa had received; the letter that pleaded her to follow in her footsteps and marry for love, not purity.
Narcissa finished the letter and left it lying in her hands as she stared off, feigning contemplation for Bellatrix's sake. She knew her sister wouldn't tolerate any other reaction that was less than expected of her.
Bellatrix snatched the letter back and gave it another onceover, continuing to pace.
"She couldn't even be bothered to send the two of us a letter—and we were her sisters," she said, her voice wavered slightly, but when Narcissa looked at her, Bellatrix composed herself. "Well, not anymore," she said, coldly, crumpling up the letter and incinerating it with a flame that burst from her palm.
"Bella, no! Not on the rug! It's brand new," she huffed, picking up her wand to vanish the smoldering remains.
"Cissy, promise me you'll never speak to her again," Bellatrix demanded. Narcissa's hesitation almost betrayed her.
"She's our sister."
"She's a blood traitor," Bellatrix corrected and Narcissa looked away only to have Bellatrix swoop over to her, grabbing her shoulders. "Do you want to lose your family, Cissy? If so, you can join her and marry a piece of filth. All of this will be gone," she said, motioning to the luxuries Narcissa had throughout her room.
"I would never marry anyone of Muggle blood," Narcissa glared.
"Muggle blood," Bellatrix mocked, dropping her hands. "Mudbloods, Cissy. Call them for what they are."
Narcissa broke eye contact with her sister. She briefly toyed with the idea that if Bellatrix had been fortunate enough to receive a letter from Andromeda as she had, that she wouldn't be so cross with her now; so hateful. However, Narcissa wasn't an idiot. There was no room for debate with Bellatrix. It was her unyielding view upon the world or nothing.
Bellatrix's fingers found Narcissa's chin, lightly pushing it up so their eyes would find each other's again.
"Have you given any thought to it?" she whispered.
"To what?" Narcissa said.
"To whom you'll choose," Bellatrix said. "Roldophus has a brother, Rabastan. We could both be Lestranges. Sisters by blood and marriage," she said and her face was so soft that in the dim lighting of the room, she almost looked as kind as Andromeda.
"No," Narcissa said, pulling her face away. Bellatrix was offended, but before she could speak, Narcissa cut her off. "No, I want to expand our family's influence further. I want the best," she decided. "Lucius Malfoy, for instance. Equal in wealth, but more influential in Ministry affairs."
"Malfoy?" Bellatrix clicked her tongue. "He's promised to the Greengrass girl. Their family's been trying to marry her off for ages. Her parents are even paying a dowry," she snorted.
"She's not half as pretty as me."
"She's smart."
"She's a spinster in the making and everyone knows it," Narcissa snapped. "She's not even the heir of the Greengrass line. I won't have to worry about her. She'll never see me coming."
"Abraxas will."
"The older a man grows, the weaker he becomes to beautiful women," she said, confidently. "And I always get what I want."
Bellatrix eyed her for a moment and Narcissa could've sworn her sister was mildly impressed.
"Are you sure this what you want, Cissy?"
"Of course," she said. "Mother always said marriage was the easiest decision pure-bloods ever had to make." Because there's so little of us left to choose from, she finished in her mind.
Narcissa and Bellatrix both watched each other. When her sister was satisfied with her decision, they said their goodnights, and Bellatrix left through the bedroom door.
Narcissa pulled out a piece of scented stationary and her quill and began writing a letter to her best friend, asking her if she would like to visit Wiltshire that weekend to visit the shops and perhaps take a lunchtime stroll through the magical village. She kept the letter brief, sealed it, and tucked it back into her vanity. She would mail it in the morning and she knew it would be only too easy to convince her friend to walk past Malfoy Manor. It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful wizarding homes in the country. Mother always said so, Narcissa thought.