When class was over, Narcissa began her daily trek to the library. She moved quickly, hiding beneath the throng of older students until she was in the safety of her sanctuary. Except today, something was different. Today, she had a stalker.
'Look.' She turned, glaring at Yamato until he cracked his goofy grin. 'Thank you for your help, but I need to study.'
'Do you? Or do you just want to hide?'
She bit her lip, turning over a few possible insults in her mind. What to say to get rid of him... Narcissa opened her mouth to speak, then she froze. Her whole life, she had been alone. Her brief stint at muggle school had come to an abrupt end thanks to Bella; and it was not as though she was exactly friends with her sisters. The best Narcissa had come to hope for was to get through the next seven years by being invisible – and already she was off to a pretty bad start.
Yamato's description rang in her mind: 'The darkest witch to grace Ravenclaw Tower.'
Could he believe as much and still want to be her friend?
'You're not afraid of me?'
'Should I be?' They spoke in whispers, tucked into Narcissa's stalwart alcove.
'The others are. They fear my family.'
He shrugged. 'I don't know your family. I only know you.'
He didn't. Yamato Chang knew nothing about her, but perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps Yamato was the friend she never knew she wanted.
'Can I ask you something?'
Narcissa, halfway through a bite of her breakfast, looked over the table at Yamato. They sat at the end, a bit apart from the other Ravenclaws, who eyed them with distaste.
She swallowed. 'I suppose.'
'What is it with you and the hair?'
Narcissa felt her pale face flush red. She dropped the lock she was twirling and pretended to be very interested in the deep blue tablecloth. 'What about my hair?'
'I mean...' He stammered. 'You brush it a lot, and then there was that thing with Slughorn.'
Since that one, fateful encounter with the Potions Master, Narcissa had wisely taken to tying her hair back during his classes. Her skill had also improved tremendously, thanks to Yamato's unnatural understanding of the subject.
'Just vain I suppose.'
'No. That's not it.'
Narcissa glanced down the table to a couple of second years who seemed to have stopped talking suddenly. She could almost see their ears grow as they strained to overhear the conversation. I could make their ears grow... She smiled darkly, her wand pulsing desperately beneath her robes.
No. She shook the thoughts away. I will not be like them.
With a sigh, Narcissa decided to tell her friend the truth. 'It's blonde.' She began, stating the hopelessly obvious. 'It is the only thing that sets me apart from them.'
For a moment she thought he was going to laugh, or worse, call down the table and tell their classmates about the vane, pale little girl who had worked so hard to prove she belonged. Instead, he just nodded. 'Your family.'
Now it was her turn to ask something, something that had been gnawing at her in the fortnight since they had become friends. 'Why are you friends with me? I mean, why not the other first years?'
He gave her a look that plainly read: would you want to be friends with them? Then he shrugged. 'They don't really want me around.'
Narcissa felt her brow crease. 'Why not?'
'Because I'm Asian.' He turned to wink at a couple of watchful Gryffindor first years, both of whom stood quickly and all but ran from the Great Hall. 'Some think Hogwarts should be a bit more... selective, in its students.'
Narcissa stared at her friend for a moment, chastising herself for not realising it sooner. Then again, it had barely crossed her mind that Yamato was Asian. It just didn't seem that important. 'Selective, huh? I know a bit about that.'
'Are they really so bad? Your family, I mean.'
Narcissa opened her mouth to respond, but before she could a bowl of fresh fruit salad exploded in the centre of the Ravenclaw table. Yamato flinched, mumbling something in his native tongue as he wiped a slice of strawberry from his forehead.
'Thought you could hide from me, Cissy?'
Narcissa leapt from to her feet, fingers fumbling for her wand as a second spell hit the table, sending the second, third and fourth years scurrying away.
'Leave me alone, Bella.' Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She had let her guard down. Only for a second, Narcissa had forgotten to keep one eye on the door and one foot on the floor for a quick escape.
Bellatrix sneered. 'Or what?'
Or what? Not yet. Narcissa had heard from Andromeda that their eldest sister was on the warpath, fuelled by their parents' scorn. She had convinced herself that when the time came she could stand up to Bellatrix... Stand up to her insane sister who pulled her hair and made her cry; who stole her clothes and cut them to shreds. She could make Bellatrix leave her alone.
Just not yet.
'Please, Bella.' She heard the whine in her own voice, and knew she had made things worse.
A pair of plain Slytherin girls flanked Bellatrix, and she now looked to them, grinning from ear to ear. 'Please. Miss Genius said please!'
The girls laughed. It was false, but they were every bit as afraid of Bellatrix as Narcissa was. And with good reason.
Yamato, who was caught awkwardly between the sisters Black, motioned as if to stand. This act, the barest movement, brought him to the Slytherins' attention and he flinched as Bellatrix's curved wand dug harshly into his throat.
'Alright, Cissy. I can leave you alone. For now.' She cackled, prompting another false guffaw from her classmates. 'But someone's gotta bleed for the shame you brought on our good name.' Her eyes flickered darkly over Yamato, not unlike a snake about to crush the life from its prey. 'How about your mudblood boyfriend.'
Narcissa felt her chest tighten. She felt her eyes begin to fill. No. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Turning, she searched desperately for someone, anyone who would come to their aid. There was nobody there. No staff. Not even a prefect. Not that it would have done much good, all the students were afraid of Bellatrix Black.
They were alone.
'Let's see what happens when a Ravenclaw gets hit by a curse.' Bellatrix winked at her sister. 'A very special curse.'
Narcissa felt a tear roll over her cheek. Why did she have to be different? Why did she have to be clever? This was not part of the plan. Yamato was not part of the plan. She met eyes with her friend, and for the first time there was no hint of his cocky smile; only fear.
No. Bellatrix had bullied her for eleven years. She had lied about her to get her into trouble; she had mocked her; cut her hair. Narcissa was used to it, and one day she would get her revenge, but there was no way she would stand by and let Yamato bear the brunt of her sister's insanity.
The Slytherin girls began to tug Yamato from his seat to a chorus of Bellatrix's cackle.
'Stop.' Narcissa whispered.
Bellatrix laughed harder then, her wand pressing into Yamato's throat until his skin turned white from the point.
'I said... STOP!' Narcissa snatched her wand from her waistband, turning it on her sister before Bellatrix could react. 'Expelliarmus!'
The spell hit Bellatrix quick as a bolt of lightning, the force of it knocking her to the ground and sending her curved wand hurtling through the air. The two Slytherin girls stared at Narcissa for a second, their eyes wide with shock. One of them bent to help Bellatrix to her feet but she slapped the hand away.
'I don't need any help from you,' Bellatrix snarled, shoving they girl harshly into the Ravenclaw bench.
Then Bellatrix turned her attention on Narcissa, cruel eyes filled with fury. A thin trail of blood had begun to trickle from the corner of her lip and her mess of dark curls hung like a lion's mane around her face.
Narcissa took an inadvertent step back, very aware of Yamato a few paces behind her. Go and fetch a teacher, she willed her friend. Please, go!
'Traitor,' Bellatrix hissed. 'You little traitor, I will cut you to shreds! Wand!'
The second Slytherin girl hurried forward and pushed her own want into Bellatrix' outstretched claw. Narcissa felt herself moved further from her sister, he wand hand quivering as she raced through the list of duelling spells she knew. Narcissa had read hundreds of magical books but reading the spells were not the same as having learned to cast them.
Bellatrix swept drunkenly toward her, torn robes sweeping the floor. She raised the purloined wand toward Narcissa and...
'ENOUGH!' Albus Dumbledore's voice shook the great hall, causing a few more bowls of salad and oatmeal to explode across the benches. 'Get to class, all of you!' Dumbledore boomed.
Narcissa felt her heart thunder against her ribcage, a sigh of relief tearing from her as she was spared her sister's wrath for another day. She looked toward Dumbledore, who glowered at Bellatrix until she lowered the wand and passed it back to her classmate. Narcissa snatched up her book bag and took a single step away from her sister, desperate to get to Transfiguration and put thoughts of duelling Bellatrix from her mind.
'Miss Black.' Dumbledore's voice was stern. Narcissa and Yamato stopped, turning to look at the headmaster. 'This does not concern you, Mister Chang.'
Yamato shot Narcissa a look of concern, backing slowly out of the great hall along with the half dozen other students whose breakfast had been interrupted by the confrontation leaving Narcissa alone with her scorned sister and the furious headmaster.
