An Andromeda/Narcissa sisterly love story.

Disclaimer: I have published all my stories in the exact same format and now I don't want to change that. But someone has made me very self-conscious of how I do things.

Written for "The Rumours Competition" put on by the lovely WeasleySeeker. I got a little bit off-topic of rumours after I started writing and attempted to go back. I think I did all right.

Rumours

CossetteLune

"Why would I ever have anything to do with that mudblood, Cissy?" Andromeda's voice echoed through all the sleeping chambers of the Slytherin common room. "Seriously, what has gotten into you?"

"Don't shout!" Narcissa's voice was full of panic and came out at a near whisper.

"Well maybe if I shout, you will actually listen to me!"

The two sisters had been arguing for a quarter hour in the and neither of them were growing any closer to seeing eye to eye. They had run out of things to say and were now just starring at each other, the seventeen year-old Andromeda enraged and her sister of fifteen concerned.

"You're not listening to me either," Narcissa finally replied. The two of them were fantastic at holding a silence, in an argument they would always be the ones to hold their tongue the longest. Andromeda was the only one Narcissa would ever slip up around. She knew it was useless trying around her elder sister because they would just go weeks without speaking if she didn't eventually break the silence herself. "I am not saying that I am upset or angry with you, only worried. You have to break it off, if father finds out-"

"Cissy," Andromeda breathed heavily. "There is nothing to break off. Where did you hear this from anyway?"

Narcissa shut her eyes and took a calming breath. At least she wasn't yelling anymore, but her tone was driving Cissa mad. "If I tell you, it will only make you more frustrated."

"Lucius." She stated easily.

Narcissa's eyes flicked to the ground. "That part doesn't matter."

"What do you mean that part doesn't matter? If you're believing these rumours about me why won't you even listen to the ones surrounding Lucius?"

"Because they don't matter." Narcissa replied defiantly, looking into her sisters eye. "There is nothing between Lucius and I, everyone just seems to think their is."

Andromeda snorted, "Oh yes, nothing at all. You spend every waking moment with him and look at him with the most adoring puppy dog eyes and giggle like a school girl at everything he says."

"But-"

"But he is betrothed to your sister." Andromeda finished for her.

Narcissa nodded curtly. "Exactly, so why would I bother wasting my time. Him and I are friends, as you and him are."

"Hm," Andromeda leaned against the wall. "Friends kiss? Because I never kiss him but I'm pretty sure you have."

"I have not."

"Never?"

She swallowed loudly, "No."

Andromeda shook her head with a mixture of amusement and disappointment. "He is going to break your heart. He is betrothed to Bellatrix, dating that Veela girl and he has you wrapped around his finger on the side."

"They're not dating." Narcissa replied a little too fast.

Andromeda looked around the empty corridor, each room she saw she knew was filled right now with all the Slytherin girls and with the racket she had been making just a few minutes before, there was no doubt in her mind that they were all listening.

"And neither are you two," she replied cooly. "Walk with me to the common room, I'm cold and the fire is warm."

Narcissa knew that it was a way to get out of earshot from the rest of the girls and that worried her. Andromeda was going to give her a talk where she reminds Narcissa that not everything works the way she wished them to in her dreamy world. She already knew that though and didn't need reminding. Andromeda just wanted to feel superior from time to time, she thought to herself. Trailing behind her sister they both walked to the crackling fire and sat in front of it, side-by-side.

"Cissy," Andromeda said very quietly. Her voice had changed a lot from moments ago. She sounded like the older sibling who had bad news for her baby sister.

"Don't," Narcissa pleaded, but Andromeda ignored her.

"Please be careful with Lucius, he is dating the Veela and as pretty as you are, that won't stop him from dropping you once he gets bored. That's what he does."

"He won't," she mumbled. There was a second of silence before Narcissa realised what she had just said and ran her nervous fingers through her long blonde hair.

"So you two are..."

"We flirt. That's all."

"You've never kissed?"

There was a pause, "We have kissed. But a kiss, is just a kiss, it's nothing. We have never discussed us being together, we simply enjoy the time we do spend together and then go our separate ways."

"You like him though."

The young girl didn't answer, choosing instead to point her wand at the fire, making it grow and warm them faster.

"Narcissa. He is dating-"

"No he isn't." Her voice was very sure.

"How do you know?"

She faced her sister and crossed her legs. "He told me. And before you say he is lying to me, I know he is not. I've known Lucius my entire life, as you have too. But him and I have always been quite close and I can tell when he's lying."

Andromeda studied her sisters face before answering, "All right. I believe you. But what about Bellatrix?"

A sad sigh escaped Narcissa's pretty lips, "I know."

Andromeda brushed some long dark hair out of her face and looked to the fireplace. Her sister looked very upset at this moment and she knew how attached she really was to Lucius. From a young age those two connected and Andromeda often wondered why her parents did not choose Narcissa for Lucius' wife instead. They definitely looked better together and Bellatrix and Lucius were not a good match.

"Think about it though," Narcissa spoke quietly. The tone in her voice implied that she knew these words were pointless but she continued anyway. "Those two, if they do marry-"

"When." Andromeda cut in.

"When those two marry, it is going to be awful. Both of them have such dominant, defiant personalities. They will hate each other."

"They already do," Andromeda agreed.

"Yes. So really..." She had nowhere to go from there.

Andromeda shuffled closer to her sister and put a loving arm around her, "I agree, they are a horrible couple. And I've often thought that you are much better suited for him. But that's not the way things are to play out, so you're better to just forget about him. Stop spending so much time with him, it's only going to hurt more."

Narcissa let her head lean into her sister, "I know." The two sat in silence for a long time. The fire began to die down and Andromeda waved her wand to keep it going. Neither girl felt like going back to sleep, both had a lot on their mind. "Andromeda," Narcissa said softly, pulling out of her sisters arm so that she could look her in the eye. "There really is nothing going on with you and that Ted Tonks from Hufflepuff?"

"Nothing, I promise." Andromeda was telling the truth and finally Narcissa could see that.

"Then why are there so many rumours?"

"I honestly do not know. I spoke to him once or twice before and we have just been paired up for a Potions assignment. We have to create our own potion, it's a year-end test. I'll be careful to not spend too much time with him doing it, and when I must, I'll make sure it's a secret. He's going to be difficult to be around though, a mudblood Hufflepuff! What did I ever do to Slughorn to deserve this?" Her face wrinkled up in disgust.

"Have you talked to him?"

She laughed, "Of course I have! He won't let me switch though. And I can't fail so I don't really have much of a choice, I have to work with Tonks."

Narcissa frowned. "Hopefully this doesn't feed the rumours."

"Oh it will, but they'll think of something new soon enough.

Narcissa nodded and let out a small yawn.

Andromeda saw Narcissa's eyes begin to droop. "I suppose we should return to our beds."

"Yes. Right now the girls are probably gossiping that you're out with a mudblood and I am admitting my undying love to Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa rolled her eyes and smiled at her sister.

"Well, I would never touch a mudblood and please never admit your love to Malfoy."

"How about this," Narcissa proposed, "If I ever find out you actually kissed him, I will find Lucius and tell him that he should break it off with Bellatrix and marry me instead. Likewise, if I ever tell Lucius that I care for him you have my permission to kiss a mudblood."

"Any mudblood?" Andromeda asked cheekily.

"No, just the one."

"But I've kind of had my eye on this other Ravenclaw one!" Andromeda joked.

The two laughed quietly before both standing up and slowly walking back to their dormrooms.

"All right, so no dreams about Lucius tonight, please," Andromeda advised when they reached the corridor leaving to both their sleeping quarters.

Her sister who replied with a very dramatic sigh. "Fine," she smiled before adding, "Good night, Meda."

"Sleep well, Cissy," Andromeda smiled and they returned to their respective dorms.

Narcissa crawled into her bed and drew the curtains close around her bed. Shutting her eyes she attempted to also shut out any thoughts of Lucius, but no matter how well she convinced herself otherwise, she knew deep in the back of her mind that she did care, too much, for Lucius Malfoy. He made her smile and warm whenever he was around. She missed him when she wasn't and even at this moment she wished she was laying in his arms. But he was Bellatrix's and she needed to constantly remind herself so. And as Andromeda said, she really should focus on spending less time with him. She was only ensuring hurt herself more by letting things continue with him.

While Narcissa was thinking of ways to continue convincing everyone that the idea of her and Lucius was ridiculous and nothing more than a rumour even though they were all right in their assumptions although they shouldn't be, Andemeda lay in bed struggling to understand how anything about her and Ted Tonks became such a popular rumour. She could never imagine herself with a mudblood. She was going to finish this potions assignment as quickly as she could therefore limiting the amount of time in the next week she was going to be forced to spend getting to know Ted Tonks better. Shuttering at the thought, she finally drifted off into a restless sleep full of dreams consisting of very unrealistic situations for her and Tonks to find themselves in.

Okay, so I didn't do fantastically at keeping to "rumours spiralling out of control" but at least it was a fantastic prompt and it got me writing again. To all the lovely people who follow my stories and read and review all of them, I am so sorry that I have been absent for so long. And thank you for sticking with me when I go on small writing hiatus'.

xx

CL