Chapter 4 Edited
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters. Anything that is recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling or the authors I credit in my quotes.
"Life is a game. This is your strategy guide." –Oliver Emberton
Lucius found Narcissa in the library, nestled between two stacks of books. She was so small that one would only notice her if they had purposely gone off in search of her. She knew this, and usually sat there because of it.
"I told you to meet me in the astronomy tower," He snapped. He crossed his arms in annoyance, glaring down at the girl. Narcissa tried not to cower, but it was hard. He was too much like Bellatrix with that expression
Narcissa closed her book, wrapping her arms around it like a security blanket. "I know you did. I never said that I would go," she whimpered, and stared at her feet.
"You were supposed to go." Lucius's grey eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Oh, so I was supposed to go. Pray, tell me, who is the authority behind this command?" Narcissa snapped before she could think about it. Her eyes widened at her mistake, and a sense of fear set in. Tests were stressful, and right now it felt that her emotions were fired as well as her self-control.
Her tests themselves had gone well, she assumed, though she wouldn't know for sure until she got her results back. Yet despite finishing her exams, she was still anxious, maybe even more anxious than she was before she took them. Before she was called for her O.W.L.S she had fully intended to meet Lucius later that day, but by the time she had finished she was too exhausted to put up with his attitude. So she went to the library to finish reading her potions book. She hadn't thought that Lucius would come looking for her.
"I told you that you were supposed to go." He snarled back.
Narcissa cringed back a bit, his tone reminding her again of her eldest sister. Whenever Bellatrix used that tone, it meant that someone or something was about to get broken. She dropped her gaze back down to the floor and whispered, "I am not in the mood."
"I am not going to wait for you be in the mood. If I waited for you to feel like doing something, nothing would get accomplished." He sneered. "The world isn't all happy feelings and butterflies. We are wasting time."
He grabbed her elbow and pulled her to her feet, causing her book to fall to the ground.
"Stop it!" Narcissa tried to pull her arm away, but he was stronger than her. His years of playing Seeker for Slytherin house had toned his muscles far more than Narcissa could ever dream of for herself. "I can walk for myself."
Malfoy scowled at her, but he released anyways. She darted away the few feet that it took to retrieve her book and returned in a matter of seconds. Glancing at Malfoy she frowned when she saw he was frozen from surprise. He didn't think that she would come back once he let her go. Narcissa didn't wait up for him, instead she went and stalked out of the library by herself.
Grumbling to herself, she loaded her book back into her backpack. She had half a mind to go back to her dormitories, where Lucius couldn't follow her. She never agreed to any of this, anyways, so why should she have to put up with their stupid bet? She figured, however, that in the long run, it would probably be better just to go to the astronomy tower and wait for Malfoy. He was already angry that she didn't show up earlier, if she left again she had no doubt that he would break something.
Narcissa looked up when Lucius caught up with her. He was still fuming, and refused to acknowledge her. It sounded like he was muttering insults like "that bitch" or "stupid little girl" under his breath. She chose to act like she couldn't hear him.
The two of them received an odd mixture of looks as they made their way to the astronomy tower. A couple of passing Hufflepuffs whispered, "Who is that? I don't think I have ever seen her before." Some Gryffindors muttered things like "Poor girl," or "Wonder what she ever did to end up with that snake". The Ravenclaw and Slytherin girls they passed looked jealous. Other than that, most of people who noticed anything gave them glares.
Narcissa frowned, irritated that people seemed to think that they were an item. She would be inclined to agree with the Gryffindors, if that were the case. How Elisa Goyle managed to stand him for a staggering two month was beyond her.
Lucius threw open the door to the astronomy tower, and flopped onto the ledge of the window. "I suppose I ought to teach you something." He sighed, kicking his legs up so he was half sitting, and half laying down. "What are your talents? What are you good at?"
Narcissa, who was awkwardly standing by the door, shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not very good at anything, other than reading," she admitted quietly.
"That basically is nothing, not for our purposes. You need to learn some more habits."
"What purposes? And why do I need to learn more habits? I have good habits!" Narcissa was confused, and slightly anxious. She had just finished learning for the year, she just finished her O.W.L.S for crying out loud!
"Let me be perfectly blunt," He replied. Narcissa couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You are a terrible pureblood lady of high society. You don't socialize, you can't hold a decent conversation, and you don't have any friends. I made a bet that you would be the darling of our society by the end of next school year, and I intend to win that bet. You are a good little book worm, you are the highest in your class, but that isn't the most important thing for a person of your lineage. We are going to fix that." Lucius barely looked at her as he said this, opting instead to toss a stolen snitch up in the air and catch it repeatedly. "If you can do this, you will save your family eventual embarrassment from your lack of social abilities."
Narcissa said nothing, knowing that he was right. She still wasn't comfortable with the turn of events, per se, but she knew he was right.
"Your current habits are great when it comes to avoiding people and studying," He continued. "You just need to learn habits pertaining to social interaction. Those habits will eventually turn into talents, and you need those talents to be a proper pureblood lady."
Narcissa frowned to herself. She had half a mind to storm out of the room, hiding her face in shame that anyone would think that there is something wrong with her. She knew that would make the situation worse, and that a lot more people than just Malfoy would begin to speak of her social ineptitude. They were already talking about it. They would talk, and they would find out. If she went along with the bet, she would sacrifice her pride, but maybe she could change her life. No one would find out her secret.
"Fine," she sat down on the window ledge next to him. "Tell me how." She was hopelessly pathetic looking. She looked like she had given up, which in essence, she had.
"I would say that you need to make some friends that aren't your sister, but in order to do that you would have to actually talk to someone first." He moved his legs a bit so she could have a little more space. "I would suggest that you talk to some people who are in your year, preferably in Slytherin, but someone from Ravenclaw would be acceptable as well. You don't have a lot of time to do that this year, but try anyways to talk to someone before you leave for the summer. You can make friends during parties that take place during the break, I suppose."
Narcissa just nodded. Lucius was talking more than she ever heard him talk before, which was saying something. He was a talkative individual by nature, seemingly always needing the attention of the world. The world seemingly was willing to give their attention to the Malfoy heir. Girls, money, media, they all vied for Lucius Malfoy's time.
"I expect you to owl me at least once a week to let me know of your progress." He stood up suddenly, calling over his shoulder as he left, "I really need to go. Someone is waiting for me, and I would hate to keep them waiting. Bye, Narcissa."
He sashayed out of the room. His light golden hair swayed behind him as he sauntered away. Narcissa couldn't help but stare. His hair looks better than mine. She thought to herself, patting absentmindedly at her own braid. And longer.
Narcissa just sat there for a while, thinking about how strange her life had gotten in the past day. . She stayed up in the astronomy tower instead of going downstairs. She looked out of the window that she was sitting next to, watching the remaining students' mill about hundreds of feet below her.
She knew that it would be good for her in the long run if she were to learn how to be a little more social, but she really didn't want to. Why was it unacceptable for her to prefer books to people? People were silly, and frivolous, and just plain ridiculous at times. She didn't want to be like them, like the other pureblood girls she knew. Andromeda was okay, she supposed, but all the rest were crazy. They were selfish, shallow, obsessive, and just plain mean. She didn't want to be like them. She didn't want to be like the girls last night in the commons room, throwing themselves at anything that even slightly resembled a man. She didn't want the most important thing she ever accomplished in her life to be marrying a wealthy, handsome, pureblood man and having his children. She wanted more for herself.
Just because you are learning to be a bit more social doesn't mean that you will be like them, Narcissa thought. In fact, this could be a good learning experience for you. It would be what mother would have liked.
Narcissa made it back to the commons room just before curfew. The room was nearly empty, except a tall third year boy who had fallen asleep on the sofa near the fireplace. The little blonde looked at him in disgust as he started to snore rather noisily, but continued to her favorite seat in the back of the room. She pulled out her potions book once again and began to read.
The monstrumaserum is a powerful, long lasting potion that was created by Carvellos de'Fatum during the Dark Ages. This potion gradually alters the drinker's personality, causing the person to slowly become insane. This potion will also obliviate any previous memories from three hours prior. These memories will be permanently obliviated. This potion is most effective when ingested, but when applied to the skin it may cause headaches and trouble concentrating. If enough is applied to the skin it can cause minor short term memory loss and severe mood swings until it wears off a five weeks later. Use this potion with extreme contact.
Narcissa looked up from her reading when she heard a portrait swing open to reveal none other than her sister. She scowled at her, about to lecture her about being out past curfew when she noticed Andromeda's appearance.
Andi, was first off blushing, her hair a bit askew despite her attempts to smooth it out. She had a few blades of grass trapped in her messy curls, as well as dirt and grass stains on her uniform. A faint scrape showed just below her the hem of her skirt. All in all, it looked to Narcissa that she had gotten in a fight, but she was smiling.
Andromeda looked around the room to see if her entrance had gone unnoticed. She didn't see her little sister in the corner of the room or her startled expression. Once Andi felt the coast was clear she began to creep as quietly as possible toward her dorm.
When Narcissa gave a little cough, Andi nearly fell down the stairs. She was able to catch herself though, and avoided falling on her bum.
"What are you doing here?" Andromeda hissed as she regained her balance. She regarded the stone stairwell with contempt before glaring at Narcissa.
"Reading." Narcissa raised her eyebrow. "What were you doing out in the grass?" She pointed to a particularly noticeable grass stain on her sister's stocking.
"Nothing." Andromeda attempted to sneer at her sister, but she ended up giggling instead.
"Nothing wouldn't have gotten dirt on your robes. Tell me, or I will tell Bellatrix." She knew that Andromeda was hiding something, and that concerned her. Narcissa stood up a bit straighter, hoping that Andromeda wouldn't see through her lie. They never kept secrets from each other. They never needed too, and Narcissa saw no reason that they should start now. But she got the impression that Andi wasn't going to talk without some heavy persuasion.
If left with a choice in the matter, Narcissa would not involve Bella in anything. She was exceedingly harsh, and often times violent. Yet because she was the oldest, she became the lead female figure in their family. When it came down to it, Bella was often times making decisions in regard to her younger sisters. Andromeda and Narcissa would often complain that her control was a bit unjust, being as she was just shy of four years older than them. They never said any of this to their father about this. Since their mother passed away, and their father became increasingly busy with work, they didn't the desire to argue with their family unless things got really out of hand.
"No you won't." Andi smirked. "But I will tell you anyways, I promised to earlier."