Narcissa heard her door open. She heard stomping of feet on the marble steps and immediately, she knew it was her sister. It amazed her, how even after all this time, she could still recognize her step. Some things never change.
"Get out." Narcissa ordered. She didn't even bother to turn around. Instead, she kept her eyes on her parchment, trying to pretend that she was unaffected. The footsteps halted suddenly.
"Cissy." Bellatrix hissed, frustrated and pleading at the same time. Her sister had many moods, some worse than others, but what Narcissa hated the most was the pleading. It brought back too many memories. It unhinged her.
"I thought I made it perfectly clear last night that I don't want you in my house." Narcissa forced her tone to remain cold as steel. She couldn't afford to show weaknesses. Because if she did, Bellatrix would pounce like the ruthless predator that she was.
"Cissy, don't be like that." There were rushed footsteps and suddenly Bellatrix was there, standing right behind her. Narcissa could feel her breath on her neck. She felt a hand tentatively touch her shoulder. Narcissa's eye watered. It was unbelievable, the urge she had to simply spin around, throw her arms around her sister and tell her that everything was going to be alright. She had done it so many times, it was almost an instinct. Fighting against it, Narcissa closed her fingers over Bella's wrist and threw her hand away. There was a sudden intake of breath.
"Cissy, for Merlin's sake, stop this!"
"Stop what?" Narcissa coolly flicked the page of her book. She fixed her eyes on the dancing letters in front of her.
"You know damn well what, Cissy!" Bella yelled. She was loosing her temper again. Good. As long as she wasn't pleading, Narcissa could maintain control. "I'm you're sister! I've got a right to..."
"You don't have a right to anything." Narcissa stated as firmly as she could. Merlin, they had exchanged only a few words and already she was tired of this. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to have a normal sister, not a homicidal maniac. "You stopped being my sister the moment you murdered those people."
"I didn't kill them."
"Yes, you only tortured them to insanity. How very magnanimous of you." Narcissa's upper lip curled in distaste. She felt sick every time she thought about that family. A mother and father turned into empty, useless shells. A boy left worse than an orphan. And all this had been her dear sister's doing.
"It needed to be done! I did it to serve my Lord." Bella was standing in front of her now. Her shadow fell on her page. It flickered back and forth like some wild beast prowling restlessly. "I had to do it! I didn't like it but..." Narcissa lips widened and she laughed mirthlessly. All her bitterness bubbled out of her in that insane laugh.
"You can lie to all the world, even yourself but you can't lie to me, Bella." Finally, Narcissa looked up and stared at her sister's wide black eyes, too wide and fiery to be normal. "I know you, remember? I know that you loved every second of it. I know that you watched their distorted faces, heard there pleading voices and you soaked it all up, enjoying every second. It turned you on, didn't it? All that screaming?"
"Shut up!"
"What? Don't like to hear the truth? Don't like to hear what a sick freak you are!" Narcissa yelled. The words surprised even her. She had been thinking that for years but she had never voiced her thoughts aloud. No matter how perverted her sister's desires were, they couldn't be helped. Bellatrix was simply born that way, completely mad. And so Narcissa had made excuses for her, encouraged her, told her that she was only a little ill and that she'd get better soon. It'll all be okay, she'd said. No matter what happens, I'll stand by you. I'll help you. Those were her words but that was in the past. Bellatrix crossed the line the day she tortured the Longbottoms.
Her sister's face trembled with fury. Narcissa knew what was coming but she didn't do anything to stop it. Bellatrix slapped her across the face so hard, she staggered backwards, her back hitting the wall. Pain exploded inside her. She felt warm blood dribble down the corners of her mouth but she didn't cry out. She didn't whimper. She lifted her head proudly and stared her sister out.
"As you can see, we're done here. Kindly show yourself out." Bellatrix was still trembling but the anger faded from her face. It felt her by degrees, leaving only the sadness behind. She took a deep breathe but it turned into a hiccough half way through. The tears started pooling around her eyes. She reached out a trembling hand and softly touched Narcissa's broken lip.
"Why do you have to always do this?" Bellatrix pleaded. The tears started dribbling down her face, rapidly racing each other to the floor. Her nose was running and she wiped it on the back of her hand, like a little child. "Why do you have to push me past the limit. You didn't used to be like this. You used to let me hug you and brush your golden hair. You used to not care that I'm weird. Remember how it was when we were kids. How you nestled into my arms even when I was covered with blood?"
"I'm not a kid anymore, Bella. What you did to the Longbottoms was unforgivable!" Oh Merlin, she was starting to crumble. Narcissa couldn't stop staring at her sister's face, reading the pain and despair written in her eyes. She could hear her voice becoming less stern. Narcissa gulped, truly afraid now. If only Bella got angry and started yelling at her again, it would be so much better than this.
"What did you expect after what you did, Bella? That I'd welcome you with open arms? That I'd let you sob on my shoulder and tell you that everything is alright? Two people, a mother and a father are in the Janis Thickley ward right now and you put them there! Their son was left worse than an orphan and you want me to forget all that?" Narcissa's words rushed out of her. She forced herself to not care about the sobbing and the tears. She tried not to see the pleading in her sister's eyes but it was getting harder and harder. She felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside. "Once, you attacked people in the street, ripped stray cats and dogs into pieces, laughing at their agonized shrieking. And then, after that was all done, you'd come to me, pieces of flesh still clinging to your fingernails. I let you touch me but I was so disgusted..."
"No, you weren't... You said it didn't matter... you said that..."
"I lied! I only said these things because you were my big sister and I didn't want to upset you but you disgusted me so much!"
"That's not true, you're lying!"
"When you sang to me at night, my ears were filled with the way you shrieked with laughter when you massacred those animals. I wanted to run away from you and crawl into bed with Anna but I didn't. I stayed there in your arms, trying not to vomit!"
"Stop it! Stop it! You're lying, stop it!" Bellatrix shirked hysterically. Narcissa could feel her shields crumbling. She could feel the sobs welling up inside her but she plowed on, relentless, merciless.
"After you left the room, I vomited, remembering how you touched me with those hands, hands that had ripped living flesh." With the shriek of an angry animal driven to madness, Bellatrix pounced on her, pinning her to the floor. Narcissa tried to fight but she had no energy left. She knew it was a loosing battle. Bellatrix had a madwoman's strength and it was no match for her. Her sister attacked every inch of her. Punching her face, clawing every inch of skin she could find. Again and again she punched her. Pain shot through her at every fresh wound but she jammed her teeth together and refused to cry out. She would not let her win, not this time. After what felt like a lifetime, Bella's attacks become less frequent, less forceful. Slowly, the wild mad anger was flaring out of her. Finally the attacks stopped but she still had Narcissa pinned to the floor. Her chest heaved up and down as if she had just run the hardest race of her life. She was staring at her, her too wild eyes burning, too shocked to register what just happened, that she had once again hurt her beloved baby sister.
"Are you done now?" Narcissa sneered over her bloody lip. "For the last time, Bellatrix Black. Get. Out." Without a word Bellatrix rolled off her. She half crawled, half walked to the door, her expression still completely blank, unfocused. Only when the door slammed shut behind her did Narcissa allow herself to draw her knees up to her chest, bury her face in her hands and sob her heart out, sobbing for the sisters that despite everything, she still loved.