My sister cornered me in a hallway one afternoon after class in my third year. It was odd, because we hardly talked any more. Mum and Dad were still fuming that she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw. But Bella had taken it worst of all. Her relationship with Andy had already been on rocky ground, and in Bella's eyes, Andy's initiation into the group of Mudblood-loving book-huggers was the last proverbial straw. I was in the middle: being the youngest, I'd always looked up to both of my sisters and tried to play my cards to stay in favor with both. I feared Bella—she was the sister who killed kittens and beat up boys. Andi was the nicer of the two.

"Cissy," Andromeda whispered in my ear, latching onto my arm, "I need your help."

Curious, I followed her. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as if looking for someone. Ah. She was watching out for Bella, who had warned me to keep away from Andy, as she might be a 'bad' influence on me.

Andy dragged me into a deserted corridor. "Have you . . . have you heard anything recently?" she said, hesitantly.

"Heard what?"

"I don't know. Stuff. About me."

Frowning, I shook my head. "I've got nothing here." Then again, I was a lowly third year. Most of the good gossip only got as far as the fourth years. Somehow, being a fourth year automatically was much more prestigious as being a third year.

I only had one more term to complete before I'd move up in life. Or in school, at least. I was looking forward to embracing my new "cooler" status.

"Are you sure?"

"Andy," I said, frowning. "What's the matter? Should I have heard something about you?"

"No, no," she said, quickly enough to make me suspicious.

"Andy."

"Oh, look at the time," Andy rushed on. "I'm late for class. I'll catch up with you later, Cissy. It's been lovely talking to you."

She slipped away before I could stop her. I leaned back against the stone wall, huffing in frustration, until I realised that I was getting dust and cobwebs all over my robes and quickly removed myself.

I didn't understand what was going on. I was nearly fourteen. I should be old enough to understand these things by now—but I didn't. Disgruntled, I proceeded back to the Slytherin Common Room and immersed myself in homework. But the uneasy feeling that something bad was happening refused to leave me.

One evening, the Black family hawk showed up at the entrance to the Slytherin Common room bearing a letter for myself and my sisters. Since my mother knew that two of us were in Slytherin, she'd sent it to the majority, and because she knew I was responsible, she'd addressed the envelope to me. The letter wasn't very important, but it did include a special note for Andi, containing instructions on the etiquette books she was to study before the Christmas Ball which was fast approaching. At the age of fifteen, this would be the first year she'd be able to attend.

I didn't want to leave the comfort of my dormitory, but I knew my mother would expect me to deliver the letter punctually, so I ventured out into the dark dungeon halls, winding my way over to the more cheery passageways where the Hufflepuff dormitory was located. Andi had many Hufflepuff friends, to my chagrin, and most nights she could be found studying with them in their common room. The Hufflepuffs were much more willing to let students from other houses into their quarters than we were. In fact, I couldn't recall a single incident when we'd allowed Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs into our common room. It simply wasn't done.

The lights began to get brighter as I neared the entrance to Hufflepuff. I passed a prefect who smiled and greeted me, but did not chide me for being out so close to curfew. Only the stupid Gryffindor prefects dared to take points from Blacks, and they usually paid dearly for it.

The two Hufflepuffs lingering outside the fruit painting eyed me warily as I approached, but they did not leave. I recognized one as a Mudblood, but rather than create unneeded animosity, I merely ignored the girl. "Have you seen my sister of late?" I asked the boy.

"I was just in the common room and she wasn't there," he said.

Disappointed, I nodded to them and began the trek back to Slytherin. A hike to the seventh floor where the Ravenclaw Tower was located wasn't exactly what I'd bargained for. I wouldn't see Andy until lunch the following day (she never attended breakfast on the weekend), and I hoped Mother wouldn't find out that I'd failed to deliver the letter promptly.

And then, I heard a burst of girlish giggling from the depths of a broom closet to my left. I slowed instinctively, straining my ears. It was probably nothing, but . . .

Again, a girl giggled. "Stop that! Someone might hear!"

I quickened my steps, grasping the doorknob. Without hesitating, I foolishly pulled open the door because I thought I'd heard my sister—and unfortunately I was right.

Andromeda, still giggling, was leaning up against the wall, as a tall, blonde boy kissed her neck enthusiastically. As soon as the light struck the pair, he leapt away from her, and she gasped, "Cissy!"

I couldn't think of a blessed thing to say, so I merely stood there, my mouth gaping. I thought I recognized the boy. Ted Tonks, was it? A year above Andy, Hufflepuff. Then, the full horror struck me. She was dating a Muggleborn. A Mudblood! Father would be furious. Mother would disown her. And what of the Lestranges, who were setting up a marriage between Bellatrix and their oldest son, Rodolphus? Our family name would be disgraced.

"Please, Cissy, I can explain!" Andy's face was pained, and she took a step toward me. But then, my legs finally found their strength again, and I bolted, blindly.

Andy was running after me. She caught me quickly—she'd always been the fastest runner of the three of us—and grasped my arm. "Narcissa, listen to me," she gasped, pulling me to a stop, right there in the middle of the corridor. "You musn't tell anyone. No one. Do you have any idea what Mother and Father will say? What they'll do if they find out?" Her eyes were wide, pleading, but I saw genuine fear, and it frightened me even more. My older sister had never been afraid of anything before.

"Let me go," I pleaded. "You're hurting me."

"Cissy, you can't tell!" She shook me a little, and it seemed to knock me out of my daze.

"Let . . . me . . . go!" I finally shook her free and backed up a few steps. "How could you do this to us?"

She looked stricken. "I didn't mean . . ."

In the corner of my eye, I saw that Tonks boy round the corner. He wisely stopped, immediately realising that this was a family matter.

"It's bad enough that you got put in Ravenclaw in the first place," I spat. "Mudblood lovers, the lot of them. But I got over that, Andy. Father came to grips with it, even if Mother didn't. But now you're seeing one of them? A Mudblood? How could you?"

The betrayal was deep, like a knife cutting into my chest. In my young, inexperienced eyes, the boy she'd been with was little better than an animal. I couldn't understand what would ever possess her to choose him over our family.

Andy took a step toward me, but now her eyes were cold. "He is not an animal," she hissed, and I realized that I'd spoken my thoughts aloud. "And I never want to hear you speak of Muggleborns that way again. Ever, Cissy. Ted is a person, just like you and me."

"How can you possibly put him on our level?" I exclaimed, horrified, and behind Andy, I saw Ted wince. Still, he didn't interfere. I felt the tiniest bit of begrudging respect for the git.

"Really, Cissy, how draft are you?" said Andy scathingly. "Do you really believe all the rubbish that we've been taught since we were young? All the nonsense about Muggleborns not being worthy of magic and Purebloods being in a class all of their own? I thought you were more intelligent than that."

"I am intelligent!" I said furiously, grinding my teeth. "I can think for myself!"

"Can you? Sometimes, I doubt it, and now is one of those times!" Andy's shoulders were shaking. "Ted is a human, no better or worse than you and me. He could beat me in a duel, and I'm not ashamed of the fact that he's better in Transfiguration than I'll ever be. I'd wager he's better than Bella in more than one subject."

"Bella could beat his scrawny arse any day," I protested, feeling the need to stand up for my oldest sister.

Suddenly, Andy burst into uncontrollable laughter. I stared at her. "Have you lost your mind?"

She slumped against the stone wall, half-laughing, half-sobbing. "I'd imagined this scenario a thousand different times, but I never thought we'd end up in an argument over who was better, Bella or Ted." She let out a huge, shuddering sigh. "I've wanted to tell you forever, Cissy, but I couldn't. I want you to be happy that I've finally found a decent bloke for once, one who respects me enough to be more interested in me, rather than a good makeout session in a closet, one who doesn't give a damn about the dowry that comes with marriage to a Black . . ." She trailed off, and I struggled with my conflicting emotions.

When I didn't speak, Andy took another step toward me. "Cissy, I really like Ted. Can you try and see him as our equal? For me? Just try."

I looked over at the tall boy lingering a short distance away. I tried to imagine that he was not a Mudblood. I tried to see him adorned in imported dress robes, with the characteristic haughty smirk gracing his features. I tried to see him as part of the circles I'd grown up in, conversing with Uncle Orion about the rising revenue in the house-elf breeding business or laughing with Uncle Alphard about the latest mishap at the magical menagerie he supported and visited weekly. I tried to see him arguing with Bellatrix on who would receive more money when their respective parents died, then pulling out his wand to settle the matter with a duel, and Aunt Walburga having to floo the Ministry yet again with a bribe so they'd wave the report of under-age magic.

I tried, but all I could see was a lowly Hufflepuff, beneath me. Beneath Andy. He wasn't worth the trouble she'd bring on us.

But looking into Andy's eyes, I saw something there, something I hadn't seen ever before. Her eyes brightened with a sort of affectionate light when she looked at him, and I couldn't argue with the way she'd defended him so passionately. Andy had always stood up to other people for me and Bella, but never before had I seen her take someone else's side against us. She really cared for him.

I shook my head. It was all disorientating and confusing. "But Mother and Father . . ."

She flew at me. "You can't say a word, Narcissa, or so help me . . ." I ducked away from her flailing fists, shrinking back toward Ted. Andy lunged at me again, and I tripped, falling backwards.

The Mudblood boy caught me. He was quite strong. "Careful there," he said, setting me back on my feet and taking a step between Andy and me. "This doesn't have to come to blows, because honestly, if it did, I might have to take the younger sister's side."

Andy scoffed at him, hands on her hips, but Ted shrugged. "You're bigger than she is," he said matter-of-factly.

"I beg your pardon," I exclaimed, shaking his hand off my shoulder. "I'm fully capable of beating Andy in a fight!"

"Don't change the subject," snapped Andy. "You have to promise not to tell Mother or Father. Or Bella. Or anyone, Narcissa! I mean it!"

I looked at Ted. He had a name, now, but only because he'd caught me when I'd tripped. He deserved a name.

"Alright," I whispered. "I won't tell."

"Oh, thank you, Cissy! Thank you, thank you, thank you . . ." Andy threw herself at me again, but this time, her arms encircled my neck.

I pushed her away. "But this doesn't mean I'm happy about it all. And it doesn't mean I approve. And I don't have to talk to him," I added.

"Then you can be assured that 'he' won't attempt to speak with you," said Ted, nodding at me. "I understand—well, at least I think I do."

"Cissy, you should be getting back to your dormitory," admonished Andy. "It's getting late, you know."

"I know," I said. Then, without another word, I turned and fled back down the corridor.

It wasn't until I reached the safety of the Slytherin Common Room that I realised I still had Andy's letter.

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I've been so mind-blowingly busy with school of late (imagine trying to fit 62 hours of clinicals into one week) that I haven't had time to write, and when I do have a bit of spare time, all I want to do is sleep or vege out. Hope this makes up a little for the months of absolutely nothing. And a Merry Christmas to you all!

Posted 25 December 2008