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Dear Diary,
I do not know how I am meant to wait for another full month before I can see Lucius again: each day seems like a full month. My only consolation is this diary: the only outlet for all my thoughts, emotions and memories.
Escaping into my past is a great comfort to me, so I will attempt to do so again in this entry by relating a little of what happened to me in my third year.
As Rabastan had predicted, Rodolphus did join the Death Eaters within the year, to be precise, during August. Before Rabastan told me this, I did notice a difference in his manner when he returned to school. He seemed more serious, joking and laughing less. On our second day back, I met him in the corridor, and he was so deep in thought he looked straight through me without any sign of recognition. Bella was also broody and quiet: very unusual for her, although at first I had no idea why.
However, on the Saturday evening following our return to Hogwarts, I again found myself seated beside Rabastan in the common room, and he had news to relate that shocked me.
"Rodolphus took his Mark this summer. Father's very proud of him, and the Dark Lord seems impressed enough with him. I'm so proud to have an older brother like him." Rabastan grinned and glanced over to where Rodolphus was sitting, alone for once as Bellatrix had gone to the library. "Bella didn't join this time, of course the Dark Lord hasn't known her for long enough, but I think she may in the summer."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to me with a look of surprise. "Didn't you know? Bellatrix went with Rodolphus to his initiation. I was sure she'd have told you."
"No, she didn't," I replied. "You said she didn't join?"
"No, but I think it won't be long. Apparently, the Dark Lord said she had great potential: Rodolphus was even more pleased with that than he was with what the Dark Lord said about him. He has quite an attachment to your sister. For her part, she wanted to join, I believe. She seems quite impressed-"
"Rabastan, please don't speak so loudly. Don't go telling everyone that." Desperate to change the subject, I asked: "Did you see any Quidditch over the summer?" Rabastan was a big Quidditch fan, as most boys were, and he had been successful in gaining a place as Keeper on the Slytherin team last year.
My question had the desired effect: he immediately launched into a long monologue about Quidditch, giving me the opportunity to think about what he had said. I wondered why Bella hadn't told me: probably trying to protect me, I supposed. I hoped Andy didn't find out: she was so angry when she first found out about the Lestranges' connections to the Dark Lord, that I didn't want to see her reaction to this information. I briefly toyed with the notion of asking Rabastan not to reveal it, but thought better of it. That would only lead to awkward questions about Andy, which could cause problems for her. I certainly did not want that to happen.
The next day, I walked towards my first lesson of Divination, in North Tower: a route that would take me past Gryffindor tower. I heard voices, and rounded the corner to see Sirius and three other boys all stood in a semi-circle, with Severus Snape at the centre, between them and the wall.
"How's it going, Snivellus?" Asked the boy standing next to Sirius. He was tall, with messy black hair, brown eyes and glasses. He had a slightly sadistic smile on his face as he stood there with his wand pointing at Severus. Nearest to me, there stood a pale boy, who looked a little ill. His expression betrayed disapproval at the activities of his friends, but he did not intervene. A small boy, looking at the boy who had spoken with an expression of great admiration, stood to Sirius' left.
"You're going to pay for this," Severus snarled. He stretched out a hand for his wand, but just as his fingers brushed it Sirius flicked his own and it went sailing another two metres across the ground.
"Stop it!" I cried.
Five faces turned towards me. Sirius looked livid.
"Leave us alone, Cissy, or I might have to hex you," he snapped.
"What are you doing?"
"Teaching Snivellus here a lesson," said the boy with black hair. "You have a problem with that?"
"Y-yes," I said feebly.
The small boy giggled. "Oh really?"
"Narcissa, just get going!"
"What are you doing?" I repeated. "Bella warned you not to forget-"
"I don't give a damn what Bellatrix told me to do! And I don't care what you think, either. Besides, she's one to talk.."
"Who are these people?" I demanded.
He sighed. "James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew."
The Potters weren't too bad to be associating with, but judging by this boy's behaviour towards Severus I was sure Bella wouldn't agree. And the other two, although thankfully not Mudbloods, were not respectable wizarding families either.
"Just leave Severus alone!"
"Mind your own business!"
"I'll tell Bella!"
"Do we look like we care, Cissy?"
I was livid. After a few seconds, I decided to try a different tactic. "I'll tell Andy you've been bullying people, Sirius."
He looked a little abashed. "Fine, we'll let him off this once."
After they left, I hurried over to Severus.
"Are you alright?" I asked, helping him to pick up his fallen possessions.
"Strange that Black's more scared of Andromeda than Bellatrix," he murmured.
"Andy would be ashamed of him, and he couldn't bear that. Although it may not seem that way to you at the moment, he does have somewhat of a conscience." After a pause, I added: "I think I will still tell her, though. If anyone can put a stop to this it's Andy."
"You'll be late for your class, Narcissa. Thanks for your help, but I'll manage on my own now."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Go on."
I got up and walked towards Divination, feeling extremely uneasy. I hoped we'd learn how to tell the future soon: at that moment I would have given a lot to know Sirius'.
When I arrived in the Common Room that evening, I went to sit near Andy. After a while, Isabel and Patricia got up to go and fetch something from the dormitory, so I took the opportunity to speak, making Andy jump a little.
"I think you need to talk to Sirius," I said.
"Why?" A puzzled frown. "Has he done something wrong?"
"He was bullying Severus. With three others: two of them weren't even respectable families-"
Her frown deepened. "He's had that circle of friends from early on in first year, Cissy. Didn't you notice?"
"Well… no…." I realised how little I had seen Sirius at school. Part of it could be put down to him being in a different house, of course, but I still felt it was very strange I should have seen so little of him. Of course, later I worked out the reason: he'd been avoiding me.
"They've always been getting up to jokes and tricks, but bullying… what exactly did he do?" Andy's concern made me almost wish I hadn't told her: I didn't want to worry her.
"They'd cornered him without a wand, and they were calling him names. Sirius wouldn't let him get his wand back. I don't know what else… that's all I saw. Sirius wouldn't listen to me, but I thought you might-"
"I'll talk to him," Andy replied, looking troubled.
"Thank you."
"That makes two I need to talk to," she murmured, more to herself than to me.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," she said, looking so terrified at her mistake that I knew there was something the matter.
"What is it?"
"Nothing!" She repeated with more force.
"But-"
"Mind your own business!"
It wasn't often Andy snapped at me: in fact it was almost never, so I decided not to pursue the subject any further. When Andy raised her voice, I always knew for definite that there was a good reason.
I would learn later that Andromeda's fears were well founded. The other person she had to talk to, which I considered for a moment at the time but then dismissed (childishly believing that, as I hadn't told Andy Rabastan's news, she wouldn't have found out), was of course Bella. I learned later that she took the Dark Mark the summer between my third and fourth year: immediately after her seventh.
Thinking of Bella's decision pains me more than I can express: I do not believe I can write anymore.
Until my next entry,
Narcissa Malfoy.
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