"You two will make the best couple," Bellatrix said. "Don't you think so, Lucius?"
Lucius smirked, draping an arm over Narcissa's shoulders and pulling her closer. "Of course I do. My family already loves her."
"We'll be continuing a rich line of pure blood. It'll be amazing. Wouldn't it, Cissy?" Bellatrix replied. "You'll be with Lucius, and I'll be with Rodolphus. It'll be the best!"
Narcissa forced a smile, pretending to like being so close to Lucius and hearing Bellatrix purposely leave out Andromeda, who everyone knew was dating Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born. "Of course, Bella." The lie slipped off her tongue like butter.
"Everything will be perfect! We'll continue the Black, Malfoy, and Lestrange line of pure blood! And you two love each other, which is even better."
"Yes, we love each other...don't we, Narcissa?" Lucius whispered into her ear, and Narcissa had to hold down the urge to throw her off him. Bellatrix laughed a girly giggle, and Narcissa wondered what the hell was wrong with her.
Narcissa tightly nodded, knowing he wouldn't let go of her unless he answered her question. She felt his cold hand slip underneath her shirt and finger her bra strap.
She wouldn't - no, she couldn't let him go there.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go," Narcissa blurted out, standing up abruptly and discreetly fixing her shirt. "I'm going to go take a bath in the Prefect's Bathrooms."
Bellatrix waved her away, and once Narcissa was out of their earshot, she sighed in relief.
She couldn't believe them. Lucius was one of the meanest people she had ever met, and also one of the most abusive. He only loved her because she was pretty and she was able to fulfill his desires.
All Bella could talk about these days was pure blood and marriage. She always excluded Dromeda now, and made sure to talk ill of them whenever she had the chance to.
Narcissa didn't know what had gone wrong with her. Why was she suddenly so obsessed? Narcissa remembered the days when all three of them used to sit outside and talk about school and true love.
She thought that she was free, that she had a life ahead of her where she could choose what she wanted.
When had that been taken away from her?
"We will never be a couple, Potter!" Lily yelled, throwing an exasperated look at him. "Why can't you understand that?"
James backed off nervously, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you, Evans? Usually you're not so worked up."
Lily seethed in anger, not believing him. Her, angry? He was the one prattling around about them having babies. How could she not be angry?
"You're the one provoking me!" she retorted, running a hand through her tangled red hair. She winced as it got caught in a certain clump. How had it gotten so bad?
James was getting mad too now. "Jeez, Evans, no need to shout. I'll stop, it's okay."
Lily twisted her foot into the ground, turning the other way and sprinting towards the Prefect's Bathroom. She needed to get away from there, and fast.
He said he'd stop; she had lost count of the amount of times he had said that. He always told her that, said that he'd stop pressuring her, but every time, he came back, fresh with new cringe-worthy pick-up lines.
She knew now not to believe him anymore when he said that. She was fucking tired of him and his stupid games; why didn't he see that she didn't - and would never - love him?
She wanted to fall in love at her own pace, and make her own decision on who she wanted to spend her life with. James was just obnoxious and stupid and didn't know when to quit.
Lily sighed, rounding the corner. Would she ever be free from him?
Narcissa opened the door to the Bathrooms, sighing as a cloud of hot steam enveloped her. This was really the only good thing about being a Prefect, she decided.
Stepping inside and closing the door behind her, she found that it was absolutely empty - save for one person, who was tugging at her hair and mumbling profanities.
Narcissa stayed near the door, unsure of what to do. Lily Evans was a fellow Prefect, so she was allowed to be here. What wasn't allowed was for Narcissa to be close to her - she was a Muggle-born Gryffindor, compared to pure-blood Slytherin Narcissa.
Lily Evans was wrong on so many levels, yet Narcissa had a strange urge to go over to her and help.
She sighed. What bad could come of it? They were the only two here, and there was no way Bellatrix or Lucius could get in here.
Lily felt a hand in her hair that wasn't hers and jumped. Seeing Narcissa Black, she frowned.
"What are you-" she began, but Narcissa just sat her back down, and took her hair in her hands.
"What does it look like? I'm doing your hair," Narcissa said, working with her fingers from the bottom up.
Lily bit her lip, unsure. Why, of all people, would Narcissa Black do something remotely nice for her?
"Relax please." Lily let down her tense shoulders. For some reason, Narcissa's voice seemed to calm her. The many thoughts flying through her head seemed to disappear.
"Why are you doing this?" Lily asked, genuinely curious now, and more at ease.
"I don't hate you, you know." Lily's eyes widened. They were supposed to hate each other, weren't they? "As a fellow girl, we need to stick together in rough times."
Lily couldn't help it; she laughed. Rough times? It certainly was tough on her to deal with James during all waking hours - and it showed in her poorly maintained hair.
But then something struck Lily. She had said, "We have to stick together." Was she talking about the both of them?
"Are you having a hard time too?" Narcissa's hands stopped, and she set them down. Lily's hair was now in one perfect braid, free of tangles.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, turning to face her.
"We shouldn't be talking."
"I know. But, we are now, aren't we?"
Lily smiled, waiting for her. Glancing up, Narcissa allowed herself to smile too.
They were free here, after all.
It was now a nightly occurrence, for Lily and Narcissa to meet in the Prefect's Bathrooms. Hardly anyone used it so late, so they were always guaranteed the privacy they needed.
They were two girls that were never free to do what they wanted, say was they pleased, get what they wanted - but at least, when they were together, everything seemed alright, even if only for a few minutes.
Narcissa was a girl locked in a tower, losing her voice as she sang softer and softer.
Lily was the one to hear her.
They would tell each other everything - Lily seemed to be the only one who understood the delicate position that Narcissa was in, and sympathized with her, and Narcissa was the only one in the whole castle to agree that James was a git and should sod off from her.
"Lucius is such a bastard," Narcissa heard herself saying to Lily. Under normal circumstances, you would never hear someone perfect like her saying such foul words, but, who ever said that she was completely clean? "Yesterday he started groping my butt. I can't tell you how much I wanted to slap him, there and then."
Lily groaned, making a face. "You should have. That's so low! Speaking of low, do you know what James did to me today?"
"No, I don't. What did he do this time?"
"You won't believe this. He stole my Defense Against The Dark Arts book and wouldn't give it back to me unless I kissed him."
"That jerk! Don't tell me you actually kissed him."
"Of course I didn't! The day I kiss James will be the day pigs fly," Lily exclaimed. "I Stunned him before he could blink, grabbed my book, and ran."
"Did you release him?"
Lily snorted. "No. I heard they found him around lunch though."
They laughed together, both finishing their braids at that moment. Another one of their traditions was to braid each others hair.
Narcissa loved Lily's flaming red hair - it was like playing with fire, and she never got to do things as dangerous like befriend Lily Evans. It symbolized breaking free, and while subtle, it was exactly what she was doing.
Lily loved Narcissa's hair too, but for different reasons. It was pale blonde, soft and almost transparent, and Lily found solace and understanding inside of it. She had friends, yes, but not like her. Narcissa understood her on an entirely different level, and doing her hair always made her feel like she was getting farther away from James.
They were two Rapunzels trapped in towers, but if they were going to escape, why not do it together?
Soon enough, Narcissa found herself waking up, looking forward to the night. Lily found herself only going through the day to get to the night.
It wasn't long before they found each other hugging before they left, or holding hands as they talked.
So they weren't all too surprised when one day, they found each other kissing on the floor of the Bathrooms.
It was meant to be, the two of them - their love seemed to be decided for them by other people; Lucius with Narcissa and James with Lily. No one would listen to them, or hear out their quiet singing.
Lily knew that James would never stop, but what could she do about it? He wasn't forced upon her like Lucius was on Narcissa; instead, he forced himself onto her and she could find no way of getting out of it other than Narcissa.
Lucius was betrothed to her, and Narcissa was smart enough to not end up like Andromeda. But, that never meant she would have to love him.
It was a small act, her loving Lily, but it meant too much to the both of them for it to be silly.
They were rebels; they were breaking out.
Lucius pushed Narcissa against the wall, and she felt herself breaking in his arms.
"You won't run away tonight," he said, and Narcissa felt the fear rising inside of her. Did he know about her and Lily? He couldn't!
He kissed her roughly, and Narcissa forced herself not to gag. She opened her mouth for him, allowing him to take advantage of her.
Narcissa held back tears as her clothes were ripped off by him in haste. This was the life she had to endure; it was what she was born into.
But at least for now, she could live with Lily.
"I'm fucking tired of this!" James shouted, and the world spun as James slammed Lily into the wall, dust sprinkling onto their heads. James was mad, and for once, Lily was actually scared of him.
James was a jerk, yes, but he never treated her badly.
Until today, it seemed.
"Why won't you love me? Why don't you?" he said. Lily found her voice unable to work. She was frightened by him and his sudden outburst. He wouldn't do anything to her, would he?
She was proved wrong when his hands and mouth were suddenly where they shouldn't have been.
Lily openly let out a sob when his mouth left hers, cursing herself for being so vulnerable. She was imprisoned by him, in more ways than one.
At least with Narcissa, she felt like she was free.
It was later than usual on that fateful night when the two met up in the Bathrooms. Usually they talked some before making out, but this time, as soon as Lily walked in, Narcissa forcefully kissed her, sending the two into the bathtub together.
They kissed each other frantically, and clothes flew off fast. They had never gone this far before- but they were in a bathroom, so why not clean themselves?
It was a desperate act, but after what had been done to them, they needed to remind themselves that they were loved and that they had somebody to live for.
They were two Rapunzels trapped in towers and they would never get out, but they were allowed some peace in captivity, right?
Later, they sat together, braiding each others hair. They were nude, and more wet than they should have been, even if they were in a bathtub, but they were honestly too tired and too sad to care.
"I love you Lily. You know that right?"
"I know. I love you too, and you better remember it."
Narcissa and Lily were the forbidden romance, the apple that shouldn't have been plucked. They were locked in two different towers, but maybe their long hair could build a bridge between the two of them.
But it would fall, because all fantasies fade, and all they'd be left with was a reality in which Lucius was Narcissa's perfect husband and James was Lily's perfect lover.
A/N: I liked this more than I should have.
Done for:
Pairing One Hour Challenge - Lily/Narcissa, braids, and Rapunzel by Emilie Autumn.
Harry Potter Femmeslash Project Challenge
Pairing Diversity Boot Camp - Prompt #32: Dangerous.
Create-A-Potion Challenge - Draught of Living Death Ingredient #2
Legendary Creatures Competition - Griffin