The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.


Narcissa watched Andromeda prepare herself for dinner from the window-seat of their chamber. Her mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions as she tried to comprehend her situation. Lucius' advances earlier in the day had been... unexpected, but not altogether unwelcome. She frowned. Just thinking about the near-kiss made her stomach flip. Afraid that her sister might notice her expression, she turned her face to the small window, watching the rain drizzle outside. Lucius couldn't be developing real feelings for her. He must have just started seeing me as an ally, not an enemy, and gotten carried away... she told herself. The thought that she might be right made her heart ache. Suddenly she wished for the cool, emotionless demeanour of Bellatrix. Her sister had been right about love. She moved a hand up to touch the pane of glass. Love complicates things.

'Narcissa?' Andromeda called, breaking Narcissa's daydream. 'Could you lace me up?' She turned her back to her sister, presenting the unlaced corset. Narcissa pushed herself up and grasped the burgundy cords, wrapping them around her hands to get the right tension. Andromeda was once again flouting her mother's wishes for black and had chosen a shimmering red-and-gold dress.

'You seem awfully distracted, sister,' Andromeda said, wincing slightly as the fabric began to tighten around her waist.

'It's nothing, Andy.'

'It's about dinner, isn't it?' Narcissa paused in her lacing-up, worried that her sister was onto hers and Lucius' plan. 'I can feel it too,' she continued, oblivious. 'There's something in the air tonight.'

'Oh,' Narcissa replied, noncommittally. Occasionally Andromeda came out with strange comments, words that were suitably vague but could be assigned to an important event with hindsight. Her parents didn't believe she had a gift for divination, but sometimes Narcissa suspected that her sister wasn't as scatterbrained as she pretended to be. She believed her sister had a better grasp of reality than the rest of them combined.

'All done,' she tied off the cord with a bow. Andromeda turned to her with a grateful smile.

Druella entered the room without knocking, breaking the moment of sisterly affection. Their mother smiled, holding her arms out proudly.

'There you are, my dearest.' She moved forward to Narcissa and wrapped her arms around her, but the hug was cold and rigid. It only made Narcissa's thoughts drift back to Lucius and the warmth of his embrace. 'Look at you,' Druella pulled back. 'You can see it, clear as day. You're a woman now, Narcissa.'

Narcissa blushed, feeling uncomfortable as if it were an accusation. Her mother still believed that she had given herself to Lucius, when in reality, the pair had raised a corpse from the grave... but I couldn't tell mother that. 'Where's your sister?'

'I'm over here,' Andromeda replied, with a cheery wave. Druella rolled her eyes.

'Not you, dear. Bellatrix.'

'I think she's in the library, with Allesandria.' Andromeda didn't seem phased by her mother's curt reply. Narcissa wished she could care less about her mother's opinion as well, considering her plan for the evening was designed to thwart Druella's scheme.

'That witch,' Druella sneered. 'She's not fit to be in this house.'

'Mother,' Andromeda exclaimed, surprised. Druella quickly hid her disgust with a feigned, cheery expression, a disguise she was familiar with.

'You know, your Aunt Walburga says that Allesandria murdered Abraxas' wife.'

'You can't go around saying that,' Narcissa replied, horrified.

'Of course I wouldn't,' Druella dismissed with a haughty shake of her shoulders. 'It's not polite dinner-time conversation.' She held out both arms at waist level. 'Now, darlings, accompany your frail mother downstairs.'


The layout for dinner was identical to that of their first evening in Malfoy Manor, the table set with the Malfoy silverware. When Druella and her daughters entered the room, Bellatrix and Cygnus were already sat at the table while Allesandria leant over Abraxas' shoulder, whispering in his ear. She looked up at Druella and narrowed her eyes, the red-rimmed mouth contorting into a cruel smirk. Her hand lingered on Abraxas' arm before she took her leave of the entire room.

Abraxas looked serious but said nothing about his mistress' disappearance. He stood in silence as the ladies seated themselves at the table, before returning to his seat. Narcissa glanced to the doorway, willing Lucius to arrive. Her whole body seemed to ache for him, desperate to see his face again, no matter how she tried to suppress her feelings. She wanted to end this marriage. She wanted to return home and lead her own life... even if it meant never seeing Lucius again. Her heart twinged underneath her dress. Do I really mean that?

Lucius obliged her in good time, arriving a few minutes later. He sat down opposite Narcissa at the end of the table, shooting her a covert smile in anticipation of the night's events. Nervous, she glanced down at her plate as a stream of house-elves entered from the kitchens carrying dishes. Lucius seemed to have as little appetite as her, moving the salad around his plate idly. Their eyes kept meeting across the table, despite Narcissa's attempts to avoid his gaze.

Bellatrix ate silently beside her, glaring at her plate. Narcissa tried to make polite conversation with her sister to no avail through the salad and fish courses.

Eventually, with the serving of the main course, Lucius stood up from the table. Everyone paused to stare at him.

'Excuse me, one moment.' He bowed and then, surprising Narcissa, he moved across to her seat and reached forward for her. She tried to fight a smile as he kissed her hand, before turning swiftly to leave the room, his robes billowing out behind him. Narcissa did her best to avoid her mother's gaze, embarrassed, and moved her eyes back to the silverware in front of her. Underneath the table she nervously gripped her wand.

'So, Abraxas, as I was saying...' her mother started up. She was interrupted by a clap of thunder outside the hall.

'Is it raining?' Andromeda frowned. A breeze began to whistle through the doorway, the thin curtains beginning to sway with its power. The fires slowly dyed down to embers in the grates, plunging the room into darkness.

Narcissa swished her wand underneath the table, muttering a spell under her breath. The silverware began to shake against the wood, clattering against one another. All of the table's occupants looked around wildly, their faces a mixture of confusion and terror. Andromeda, on the other hand, seemed mildly amused. Another flick of her wrist with a silent spell and the large portrait against the far wall, which depicted Abraxas' father, began to shake free of its hook. The portrait flew across the table, the frame skirting above the tapers. Abraxas screamed, ducking in his chair, his hands moving up to cover his face as the portrait flew over his head and slammed into the opposite wall.

An evil laugh began to overpower the noise of wind and thunder, and with a flash of lightning, Narcissa bewitched a blue ball of light to float to the centre of the table. Druella was horrified, her hands gripping Bellatrix's arm as she stared in wonder at the glowing sphere.

'Abraxas Malfoy,' a deep voice commanded. Narcissa made the ball glow brighter, in time with the words. 'Have you betrayed me so easily?'

Abraxas looked up at the ball through his hands, still cowering in his chair.

'Speak!' The voice demanded. The ball flared brightly, almost blinding the dinner-guests. Abraxas was speechless. 'I prevented the match once,' the voice continued. 'Malfoy and Black always twain.'

The ball of light began to fade, the voice dropping to a whisper as it repeated itself. 'Malfoy and Black always twain.'

Like the flick of a switch, the fires were back, burning happily in their hearths. The portrait flew across the room and into its original position, the foreboding figure of Nathaniel Malfoy staring down at them. It was as if nothing untoward had happened at all. Druella was the first to find words.

'Abraxas,' she half-pleaded, terrified from the paranormal encounter. Abraxas' expression was shielded.

'Dinner is over,' he pushed himself up from the table and almost ran from the room. Narcissa watched him go.

'We should go upstairs, Druella,' Cygnus insisted, removing the napkin from his lap.

'But...' she tried to protest, glancing around the room in confusion.

'Now.' Cygnus moved around the table and held a hand out to her. As she was led from the room, she cast confused looks back at her daughters.

'Go to bed you three,' she entreated, her gaze turning up to her husband's, pleading for an explanation.

Narcissa still felt on-edge, worried about the success of their haunting. She tucked her wand back into a fold of her dress and pushed herself up from the table. 'You heard mother,' she insisted, gesturing for her sisters to go upstairs. 'We should go up.'

'Very curious,' Andromeda shrugged, plucking a new potato from her plate before she left. Bellatrix was pensive, following after her in silence. She paused on the threshold and cast an enquiring glance back at Narcissa.

'I'll be just a moment,' she called, reaching for her goblet. Bellatrix gave her a nod and followed quickly after Andromeda. It appeared her sister was as equally shaken as Druella, but simply better at hiding it.

Narcissa let out a sigh of relief when they were all gone, putting the goblet back down on the table. Lucius re-entered the room, grinning.

'How did it go?' He asked, moving over to her.

'Terrifying,' she admitted, finding herself smiling back at him. Her hand moved to the table to reassure herself, feeling unsteady in his presence. Lucius moved to the the table, reaching past her for his drink. His robes brushed her bare arm and she shivered with the contact. He took a sip of his pumpkin juice then set the goblet back down, his fingers skimming her skin with the movement. Blushing, Narcissa stared down at the floor. 'I suppose he'll call the engagement off tonight.'

'He might need another push,' Lucius suggested, giving her hope. She was glad for it - she didn't want to leave the Manor so soon.