~Meeting the Parents~

A/N: I don't own anything.

This is my least favourite chapter, mainly because it was hard to write (no less within the limit- please let me know what to get rid of... 300 words over if anyone wants to help lol) and I'm sure its got loads of SPaG errors. As such, please count this as a sneak-peak sort of and I'll be fixing it if and where needed shortly.

Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

Yes! The door was open! Without hesitation, she slipped through it, her little legs carrying her across a luxurious, soft carpet to the centre of the room. Quickly, she swung her head back and forth, scanning her surroundings for the perfect hiding space. Behind the long, green recliner? No, they would be able to see her feet. Behind the long, dark green, velvet curtains? No, too obvious, that would be the first place they'd look for her. Where could she hide? Finally, her blue eyes rested upon a large, black oak desk. Perfect.

Narcissa ran towards the desk, her heart beating wildly. They would come soon – any second now, and she needed to be ready. Carefully bending down, ensuring that she did not crumple her new robes too much, she wriggled herself underneath the table. It wasn't much of a squeeze; like her father's desk, this one had plenty of leg room underneath, yet the large matching chair provided enough cover not to be immediately seen. Soon enough, she had managed to squirm around to face the room's door to see who entered and crossed her legs so that she could be comfortable.

Moments passed as she giggled quietly to herself. She was clever – absolutely clever – to have found this place. They wouldn't think to find her here – not Andy, not Lucius and above all, not Bellatrix. Narcissa could picture her oldest sister roaming around the manor looking for her, one finger twirled in curly black hair as she tried to think. The thought that Bellatrix would have to give up and admit defeat for hide and seek made Narcissa giggle even harder, and it was only that she could hear voices approaching that she had to stop and concentrate on catching her breath.

"I told you, you are very much mistaken."

"And I told you, you are a horrible liar."

The voices grew louder and within a few seconds, the room was bathed in a warm light. Narcissa gasped lightly and shuffled back further, watching as two pairs of shoes – one a wizard's and the other belonging to a witch who was following the first – entered the room. They stopped in the centre of the room facing each other, the door slamming shut behind them.

Narcissa held her breath, realising that the shoes were much too big to belong to either of her sisters or Lucius. They belonged to adults; rather, two angry adults based on the harsh tone of their voices. Quietly, Narcissa closed her eyes, hoping that if she could not see them, they could not see her. She dared not move, knowing from past experiences that it was much better to not be caught eavesdropping on adult conversation. She would be in big trouble if she were – hadn't Bella just last week been smacked across the bum with a wand for listening to her mother and aunt discussing some woman whose husband was naughty? Even now her bottom tingled from the possibility of her possible punishment.

Still, that did not mean she couldn't listen to the conversation – in fact, she had to, in order to know when the coast was clear and she could make a run for a safer location, free from adults. With her eyes still shut, Narcissa concentrated on the big words the adults were shouting at each other.

"Do you have proof this time, mmm? I'd like to see it – or is this all based on the silly gossip sessions you women like to participate in? Damn witches, nothing better to do than meddle in other people's affairs," the man's voice all but spat, his left foot stomping angrily on the carpet.

Narcissa almost gave herself away by gasping – the man had just sworn, and at the woman no less. She didn't quite recognise who he was and it didn't matter; he was not a nice man and she would make sure her parents knew that.

"Marigold seen you with that- that- whore! You were spotted canoodling in the Hogs Head before leaving with her- what, did you think that because it's such a filthy dump no one would see you? Ha! You may be a sneaky bastard, Abraxas, but you're not the Slytherin you thought you were."

Why was the woman angry with the man for being with a horse? Did he buy one and not let the woman ride it? Did she want a unicorn instead? Narcissa was confused, unnerved by the way the woman was also shouting now, screeching at the man like Bellatrix used to when she broke or lost a toy. Actually, if she were to be honest with herself, it made her feel a little scared. Narcissa's parents never screamed like this, nor did any of the other adults she knew. They all spoke softly with little smiles on their faces; these people probably had red faces and frowns.

Even as Narcissa had these thoughts, the man's voice rose, making her almost tremble. "You are my wife, Ariel, it is your duty to believe me! I did not sleep with that woman, and that is final! I don't care what they saw, it was not me."

"You are my husband; it is your duty to be faithful to me! This isn't like the other times, either. People saw you, they actually saw you! What do you think they'll say? What do you think will happen to poor Lucius, knowing his father is having an affair? Do you think they'll treat him kindly at Hogwarts, to know his father is a dishonest, lying, filthy cheat? Did they treat you well at school? No, you were cast aside, and so will my boy be unless you clean up your act!"

"Don't you dare-" Abraxas began, but she did not get to hear him finish.

Narcissa allowed her gasp to come out now, her eyes flying open as she realised that these adults were Lucius' parents. They were really angry. Unfortunately, she did not have time to contemplate why they were any further as the man's feet approached the desk. She sucked in her breath, too late knowing that she had been discovered.

"I think we have some company. Young lady, I think you should come out now," the foot by the desk tapped against the carpet as Abraxas directed her to come out.

Narcissa shook, unsure what to do. She could stay hiding there, pretending she wasn't really there. The adults might leave her be, but somehow, she didn't think that was likely. Reluctantly, she scampered out from underneath the desk, eyes lowered to the floor.

"Well, well. The youngest Miss Black, I presume? Narcissa? What are you doing in my private office?"

Narcissa knew it was rude to not look at an adult directly when they were speaking to her, but it took all of her resolve to dare a peek upwards. Mr Malfoy was tall – so tall that he had to bend down slightly to talk to her. As she had thought, his face was rather red and his grey eyes were narrowed. It took a moment for her to be able to come up with an answer, his intimidating glare making her feel even smaller than she already was.

Looking to Mrs Malfoy, her cold eyes also narrowed distrustingly and thin nose pinched in disgust, Narcissa stammered through her explanation. "I- I –uh- I was, I mean we, were playing hide-and-seek. I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to listen, really I didn't. I promise I won't tell Lucius you can't take him to the fair."

Abraxas looked at Narcissa with a look of amusement now, his eyes softening. He no longer frowned as a small smile appeared on his face, though not quite reaching his eyes. Narcissa hoped that he believed she would not tell; hoped that he was not angry any more.

"Great, even the child knows now. Can't wait to hear what Druella has to say about this- though she probably already knows," Mrs Malfoy turned to her husband, hatred reflected in her eyes.

"Now, now, I'm sure we can trust little Narcissa here, can't we?" Abraxas ignored his wife, still smiling down at Narcissa, who shifted a little uncomfortably, still half-waiting for him to yell at her for being in the room and listening to him. However, he simply leant down and patted her on the shoulder. "Yes, you're a good girl like your sisters, aren't you? Now Narcissa, you're growing up. You're five? Six? Yes, six, and therefore old enough I think to keep a secret. You see, I'm afraid I will not be able to take Lucius to a special fair this weekend because I'll be working-"

"-Yes, working real hard," Mrs Malfoy rolled her eyes, still glaring at her husband.

Narcissa wondered if she was upset that Mr Malfoy was too busy to take Lucius to the fair like he said- but surely the children at Hogwarts would not tease him for not being able to go? After all, Lucius was Pureblood and that meant he could boss them all around at school – Bellatrix could too. Nevertheless, it was still disappointing.

Mr Malfoy seemed to not hear his wife as he continued. "- However, I might be able to take him somewhere else that's very special. I want you to promise me not to tell him about what you heard, ok? I don't want him to be disappointed, especially when I can get him another surprise. You won't spoil it and tell him, will you?"

Narcissa quickly shook her head. She liked receiving surprises herself and better yet, not getting into trouble – no, she wouldn't tell.

Abraxas watched her for a moment before nodding. "Good girl. Now, run along and go play with the other children- dinner will be served shortly."

Without a second thought, Narcissa curtsied and scurried from the room. She thought that she could feel the adults' eyes watching her leave, but when she turned back, they were both looking at each other.

Her feet carried her down the hall, past the curious portraits aligning the walls. They tittered at her frenzied movements, probably wondering why a girl of her upbringing was running inside. She didn't care as long as she was as far away from them as possible. Hopefully the Malfoys wouldn't tell her mother that she had been there or that she had embarrassed herself. Unfortunately, she was too busy thinking about getting away that she did not watch where she was going as she turned the corner.

"Oomph! Watch it!" Bellatrix pushed Narcissa off of her as she stood up off the floor. Huffing, she brushed down her skirts before helping Narcissa up. "What are you doing running in here- you know mother won't like hearing about you doing that. More importantly though, why do you look so flustered?"

"I don't look fluttered." Narcissa let go of Bellatrix's hand and looked back, worried that the Malfoys were still watching her- she didn't want them to see her talking to Bellatrix and thinking that she was telling her their secret.

"Flustered, not fluttered. Merlin, your vocabulary is as bad as Andromeda's. Now, tell me why you were running- did the Malfoys catch you in the office? I saw them go in after you, but you were in there for a while. Did they yell?"

Bellatrix's lips were twitching slightly, as though she was suppressing a smile. Narcissa was probably imagining it though- her sister wouldn't find it funny that Narcissa got into trouble. She probably just didn't tell her that they were coming because she thought Narcissa had a good hiding spot in there.

"No, not really, at least not at me. They weren't happy but they said I could go if I-"

"If you what?" Bellatrix's eyes were sparkling now.

"If I promised that I wouldn't tell Lucius he wasn't allowed to go to the fair his dad was having and- oh," Narcissa felt her cheeks heat up as she realised that she had just told the secret. Once more, she turned around, checking to see if Lucius' parents were listening. Hurriedly, she looked at Bellatrix, "but you can't tell anyone. Promise Bella that you won't tell?"

Bellatrix's lips now rose into a full smile as she put two and two together. Taking Narcissa's little hand, she patted the top of it.

"I promise I won't tell him Cissy, I promise. But you should."

"What? I can't!"

"Think about it Narcissa, Lucius has a right to know. Wouldn't you want to know if you had to miss out on something? Besides, I'm sure if there was a secret about you, you'd want to know what it was, wouldn't you?" Bellatrix winked at her.

"Well, yes… wait, what secret do you know about me? What is it, tell me Bella!" Narcissa momentarily forgot about Lucius and looked at her sister who was now shaking her head sadly.

"I can't, I promised not to say. I guess you just have to wait to find out, like poor Lucius has to."

"But I want to know. Please, what is it Bella? Please tell me." Narcissa held onto Bellatrix's hand, pulling it closer to her as she begged to be let in on it.

Bellatrix pretended to consider for a moment, tapping a finger to her chin. "Mmm, well, I suppose I could tell you… it's not very nice not knowing, is it?" Narcissa shook her head quickly. No, it was not a nice feeling after all. "Alright, the secret is that Andromeda was the one to break your brush the other day, not me. She promised not to tell me, but, well, I didn't think you'd be happy that your sister was going around breaking your things and keeping it a secret from you."

Narcissa frowned. She had almost forgotten about her brush. When she had asked Andy, she had said she didn't know anything about it and to question the House-elves. She hoped Andy didn't tell her only because she didn't want to hurt her feelings; after all, it wasn't a very nice thing to do, leaving it in pieces on her dresser.

Bellatrix continued to pat her hand sympathetically. "Well, at least you know now. Anyway, here comes Lucius. You should tell him the secret about his parents- it's only fair that he knows the secret about him."

Sure enough, Lucius was walking down the hallway towards them, a disgruntled frown on his face. When he reached them, he glared at Bellatrix.

"There you are. Thanks a lot for tripping me back there, I'll be sure to return the favour soon." Lucius growled at her, pointing to his robes that were now all wrinkled.

"It was a pleasure, Malfoy. Anyway, forget that, Narcissa has something special to tell you."

Narcissa looked at her sister worriedly as Lucius gazed at her, a fine eyebrow raised. Could she tell him? Maybe Bellatrix was right, maybe he did deserve to know. After all, the secret wasn't all bad- his parents were already trying to plan another surprise for him anyway. Maybe it would be good that he knew now so he could get ready for it. Still, she had promised she wouldn't tell…

"Come on, Cissy, tell him! Oh alright then, I'll start. Your parents are planning a… surprise for you," Bellatrix smirked at Lucius, eyes still gleaming mischievously. "Narcissa heard them talking in the office. Quickly, tell him."

Lucius blinked at her, obviously confused. However, as he took in Bellatrix's rare smile, he bent down slightly to Narcissa, Bellatrix removing her grasp on Narcissa's hand and retreating as far away from Lucius' touch as possible.

"Is it a good surprise?"

Narcissa wavered, unsure how to answer. It was both good and bad, wasn't it?

Lucius' light blue eyes probed hers, making her feel somewhat calmer as she stared into them. Unlike his father, he had nice, kind eyes. Trusting eyes. Thinking carefully, she finally answered him as best she could.

"Um, yes and no. But I promised I wouldn't tell, it's supposed to be a secret surprise!"

"Well then, best not to tell me, isn't it?" Lucius smiled at her, winking. Turning back to Bellatrix, he smirked. "Anyways, I do believe we have a game to play, don't we Black? I think it's your turn to do the hiding, I believe."

Narcissa nodded and giggled at his wink, "I'll keep it a secret then."

Bellatrix's smile disappeared, and she glared at Lucius. Turning on her heel, she sniffed, "Well, you'll find out soon enough," and stormed off in the opposite direction.

Lucius smiled once more at Narcissa, now taking her hand as Bellatrix had. Together, he pulled them down the hallway, in search of her eldest sister before she could cause any further trouble.

Narcissa smiled as they walked, holding onto his hand tightly. She was glad he didn't want to know anyway; that meant she didn't have to tell. Besides, she loved surprises, and she was glad Lucius would get one soon.