Hey there, people. How are you this fine rainy day? (Well, it's raining in England, but then again, when doesn't it rain… These are the questions that haunt me… -sighs-) Anyways, here is a new chappie of Bella. It's a very Cissy-filled chapter, so… yeah. Enjoy!
Oh, and unless JKR is willing to sell the rights to Harry Potter for a Mars Bar (Yumm…) and a cheesy smile, hen no, I do not own HP.
Oh, and also, the 'T' on my keyboard isn't working very well (I have o pres it about twenty times to get one letter out) so a few may be missing. :D
Chapter 11
The Slytherin Common Room erupted with cheers as the Team walked in. Nott, one of Lucius' friends, had gone to the kitchen to get some food, and the two tables put out for it were creaking under the weight. After they'd changed, the party really began. The music was so loud that Dromeda could hardly think. She was sitting on the sofa watching everyone, until Narcissa came and flopped down next to her.
"Hello, Drommie." She said happily, and the elder wondered if Bella had let her near the butterbeer.
"Hey, Cissa. You having fun?" Dromeda asked, fiddling with the chipped nail polish on her nails.
"Yeah. Why aren't you celebrating? You're the keeper; they'd never have won without you." Cissa said, smiling and chewing on a biscuit, holding out another for her sister.
Dromeda took it with a smile. "I don't know. What's the time, Cissy?"
Narcissa glanced at the clock on the wall. "Quarter to eleven. Why? Your not gonna try and send me to bed, are you? Bella said I could stay up for as long as I want."
"Cissy, if you listen to Bella all the time, you'll end up in Azkaban with her. Seriously, don't you think you should try and get some rest? You'll enjoy your birthday more tomorrow-"
"Drom, I'll be fine. I'm not some baby who needs protecting. I can do a levitating charm all by myself." She smiled happily at this last statement.
Andromeda ran her fingers through her sister's hair. "Fine, fine… I suppose it's Saturday tomorrow, anyway. Any ideas where Bella's got to?"
"She's over there." Cissa said, nodding towards her eldest sister, who was dancing with a few friends of hers, Lucius' arm around her waist. She caught her sisters' eyes and grinned, gesturing for them to come over to where she was. When they were there, she bent down and shouted over the din of music, "Like it, Cissy?"
Cissa nodded, pouring herself a drink and taking a gulp. "Do you do this after every Quidditch match?" She yelled back.
"Every one we win." Lucius smiled at the blonde. "So yes, basically every one."
Bella giggled, kissing his cheek, her eyes still on her youngest sister. "What do you think?" She asked her.
"I like it!" Cissa grinned widely. "And I love your skirt, Bella. Where'd you get it?"
"Can't remember." The raven-haired girl said, smoothing down the impossibly short denim skirt she was wearing. She smiled at Narcissa and smoothed her hair down where it was sticking up a bit. "That top suits you, by the way."
Cissa smiled back, putting her drink down on the table. Andromeda flicked Bella's arm, capturing her attention. She mouthed something at her, and Bella nodded once, her black gaze flickering over to the youngest Black for a second. Narcissa looked confused. "What are you guys talking about?" She asked slowly and carefully.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Cissy." Bella said, looking around the room.
"Drommie…?" Cissa said, turning to her other sister.
Dromeda shrugged. "You'll know soon enough, Cissa. Never mind."
Narcissa glared at her sisters for a minute, as if trying to read their minds, but Bella started a conversation with Lucius before her sister could pry any more. Dromeda eagerly joined them. Cissa frowned angrily at them. "Why won't you guys tell me what's going on?!"
Bella laughed, smiling at her baby sister. "Cissy, calm down. Why can't you trust us?"
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her, folding her arms angrily across her chest. "Bella, the last time I trusted you, I ended up dangling by my ankles out of a third-floor window. What on earth would make me believe you again?"
Bella shrugged, as if this was a fair point, and turned to Lucius again. Andromeda, taking this as her queue to go, walked away to talk to one of her roommates. Cissa stamped her foot angrily. "Just TELL ME!!"
Bella raised an eyebrow at her. Narcissa screamed slightly, storming away to see if she could get the answers out of her other sister. Watching her go, Lucius said quietly to his girlfriend, "Did she just stamp her foot? I thought they only do that in stories…" She laughed, and slipped her free arm around his neck, pulling him towards her for a kiss.
--
"Dromedaaaaaaaaaaa!!" Cissa moaned, tugging on her sister's hand. "Please!! I promise I won't tell Bella you've told me. I'll act how I'm meant too." Andromeda just shook her head silently, smiling slightly at her sister's tone. "Please, Drommie! Is it… about tomorrow? It is, isn't it? It's about my birthday! What are you planning?"
"Cissy, it's not about your birthday. It doesn't really involve you."
"So… what's the harm in telling me?"
"Please, Cissy, just trust me. I can't tell you."
"WHY-"
"Because Bella will kill me. Now, go pester someone else." Andromeda flapped a hand in her sister's face as if shooing her away. Narcissa pouted, looking into her sister's eyes. "Please?" She whispered.
"Cissy, I've lived with you for eleven, nearly twelve years of my life. The puppy-dog eyes don't work on me, as cute as they are. Go… annoy Bella, or… someone, just not me. I'm talking to my friends."
"But Bella's busy." The blonde said, looking over at her sister, who was currently engaged in a corner with Malfoy.
Dromeda shook her head slightly when she saw her older sister. "What about Regulus? I'm sure he's not busy." She said, looking around the common room for her cousin.
Cissa sent one more glare at her sister, before turning on her heel with a small humph and walking away. She soon found Regulus; he was sitting in a corner on his own, piles of parchment and books littering the desk he was sitting at. Narcissa shoved some books over to make room for herself, and sat on the desk. "Hey Reggie."
He only glanced up for a second before his eyes returned to his work. "Hi, Cissy."
Cissa swung her legs for a minute as Regulus returned to the essay he was writing. She looked around the crowded common room, through the many partying Slytherins, for her sisters. Bella was easy enough to find; she was still in the same corner with Malfoy. Dromeda, however, had disappeared… there she was, talking to a girl Cissa recalled as Alecto Carrow, not a very attractive girl. Narcissa could see her sister was trying to think of excuses to get away from Carrow. The blonde sighed heavily.
"Cissy, could you pass me my Charms book? I think you're sitting on it…" Regulus asked, looking up at her.
She did, and watched as, with mumbled thanks, Regulus bent his head over his work again. "Why won't you come join in the celebration, Reggie? Is this the whole Gryffindor thing again?"
Regulus looked up, setting down his quill. "Parties aren't really my thing…" He murmured.
"Well, you can't study all the time. That'd be boring." Narcissa said evenly, picking up his quill and putting it out of his reach.
He rolled his eyes. "Actually, this is quite fun. I'm doing it for extra credit. The teacher didn't even ask for it to be done."
"So… why are you doing it?"
"Extra credit. The teacher gives you a higher mark at the end of the year."
"And that leads to…?"
"A higher mark."
Cissa gaped at him. "You're doing extra work… for nothing but a higher mark?" Regulus nodded at her, smiling proudly. She looked at him disbelievingly. "I swear we are not related." She said, jumping off the desk and walking away. She looked around again. Bella had finally detached herself from her boyfriend's lips and was talking to him normally. Narcissa skipped over to them. "Bella, I'm bored." She said. "Can I stay with you?"
"No." Bella snapped. Cissa suck her lower lip out as far as it would go, pulling the puppy-dog eyes to the limit. Bella glared at her. "Go away, Cissy. Bella's busy. Go bother Drommie."
"But she told me to bother you." Narcissa whined, grabbing her sister's hand as she pulled the puppy-dog eyes again. Lucius made an 'aww'ing sound. Bella looked at him. He shrugged.
"She's good at the puppy-dog eyes…" He said to her. Narcissa grinned at him, glad that she'd got through to someone. Bella glared at him, shaking off Cissa's hand and taking Lucius' instead.
"Cissy, please just go annoy someone else. Dromeda? Regulus? Someone in your year, a friend or something? Just leave me alone!"
"BELLA!!" Cissa whined, wrapping her arms around her sister. "I want to talk to you!"
Bellatrix desperately tried to unwind her sister's tightening arms from around her waist. "Cissy… can't… breathe…" She gasped. Lucius looked on amused.
Narcissa loosened her arms, looking up at her sister again. "Bellaaaa…" She pouted again, pulling the puppy-dog eyes more than ever as she looked up at the fifteen-year-old.
"See, Bella, how can you not resist those…" Lucius started, but Bella shook of her sister and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the common room. Lucius grimaced at Narcissa behind Bella's back. The younger giggled, receiving a glare from her older sister.
Cissa stuck her tongue out at Bella, muttering "Stroppy cow…" under her breath. Bella didn't notice; she only slammed the door behind her and Malfoy, but not before Lucius could be heard saying, "I really like your sister, Bella."
Narcissa smirked, spinning on her heel to find someone else to talk to, seeing as Bellatrix was in one of her many bad moods again. She walked over to Alisa Bulstrode, one of her best friends, and started talking to her animatedly.
--
When Narcissa woke up, she shifted into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Opening them groggily, she realised that at the end of her bed was a huge pile of presents. Of course, it was her birthday! Bolt upright now, Cissa leapt into the pile and tore open the paper.
Alisa sat up in her bed, next to Cissa's. "Cissa? What's going on? Oh… yeah… happy birthday!" Alisa grinned at her.
Cissa smiled back as she tore open the wrapping paper. 'Wow…' She whispered, holding up a beautiful necklace and matching earrings. She caught the rotating label in one hand, and recognised Andromeda's messy scrawl. Happy birthday, Cissy! Have a good one! Love you loads, Drommie xxxx Cissa grinned at her sister's card, and looked at the jewellery again. It was mother-of-pearl, pinkish in some lights, but white in the other. She slipped the necklace over her neck, and put in the earrings, still in her pyjamas.
She dived into the pile again, her hands finding something solid. She pulled at it, and when it was out of the pile, she could see that it was a huge lumpy parcel, as tall as her. Narcissa spotted a card- Hey, Cissa. Happy birthday, you're twelve at last! Hope you like the present; we can start training soon. Love you always, Bella xxxx Cissa looked up at the huge object wrapped in paper again, and started tearing at it. When all the holographic paper was off, the blonde's eyes widened at what the present was. A shining broomstick fell onto the bed, the shining gold letters on the handle reading 'Comet 290'
Alisa's eyes widened. "Woah, Cissa! Who gave you that? And that necklace really suits you."
Narcissa grinned widely at her best friend. "Thanks. Oh, that's from my sister. Bella, you know… black frizzy hair, black eyes."
Alisa nodded, eyeing the broomstick. She was quite a spoilt girl; she was used to getting whatever she wanted, and was probably giving in to temptation already. Cissa cleared her throat, leaning over to attack the pile again. In ten minutes, the floor around her bed was littered with wrapping paper. She'd got loads of presents from everyone: her sisters, Regulus, even Sirius. There was also a note from her parents. ('Your present's at home, Narcissa. You can see it when you come back for the Christmas holidays. Enjoy your birthday!')
She came down to the Common Room with a huge smile on her face, new earrings and necklace on. Bellatrix and Andromeda were already there. Cissa immediately started talking. "See, Drom, I'm wearing it! Do they suit me? I really like them! And oh, my God, Bells, you got me a Comet 290! I love you!" And threw herself at both her sisters at once.
"Hey, birthday girl!" Bella said, grinning at Cissa and pulling something out of her bag. She placed it one Narcissa's blonde head with precision. "There. Matches your new necklace."
Gently feeling what was on her head, Cissa grinned back. Under her fingers, she could feel a tiara. She smiled so widely that she felt that her face was going to split in half. "I feel like a princess!" She giggled.
Dromeda shifted the tiara slightly. Bella glared at her. "You are a princess, darling, for today, at least." Her middle sister said.
Bella rolled her eyes. "Stop putting ideas in her head, Drommie, or she'll be demanding royal liberties soon."
Andromeda rounded on her. "I'm putting ideas into her head? I am??"
"Yes. You are." Bella said simply.
Dromeda slowly went red, as if she was filling up with boiling water, like she always did when she was angry, but then she glanced at Cissa and composed herself, managing not to kick Bella's shin as hard as possible. "Come on, now." Andromeda said, smiling. "Lets get the Princess to her royal feast."
Narcissa ran round the sofa and out of the Common Room, not waiting for her sisters, who hurried after her. Well, Dromeda hurried, Bella walked as slowly as possible until Andromeda grabbed her wrist and dragged her along.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, Cissa grinned wider than ever and sat down at the Slytherin table. Regulus, sitting next to her, hugged her awkwardly from the side and said, "Happy birthday, Cissa. Did you like your present?"
She grinned at him, edging her tiara slightly forward on her head. "Oh, yeah, thank you so much! I loved it!"
She ate breakfast in the best of moods, chatting excitedly to her sisters. When they were both in good moods, even Bellatrix, Cissa brought up the dreaded question. "So, what's the thingy you won't tell me about?"
Bella and Dromeda exchanged looks. "Cissy," Bella said, putting down her apple. "You'll know soon enough. It'll be better if it's a surprise, honestly."
Narcissa narrowed her eyes at Bella, who glared back, until Dromeda threw a bubblegum wrapper at her head. "Don't give it away, Bella. And it's her birthday, stop scaring her."
Bella glared at Andromeda, pulling the wrapper out from her curls and sticking it on Dromeda's forehead. "Anyways, Cissa," Bella said, turning to her sister with the smiles Dromeda hadn't received. "What do you want to do for your birthday? We've got the whole Saturday…"
Cissa shrugged. "I dunno. We could just… talk? Without killing each other?"
"But where would the fun in that be?" Bella laughed, watching Dromeda try o remove the sticky wrapper from her forehead.
--
The rest of the day was spent in the Common Room, talking and laughing for the three Black sisters. Dromeda, with a rather sticky forehead, Bella, in a good mood for once, and Cissa, who could not be happier, sat on the sofas until six in the afternoon, where Dromeda asked Cissa if she'd come with her to the library to return a book.
They came back to find the Common Room in a completely different state than they'd left it; disco lights whizzed over the walls, and not a single flat surface could be found that hadn't been covered in plates of food or confetti, or both. Dromeda laughed out loud at the lengths her sister had gone to.
Narcissa gaped at the newly decorated Common Room, until Bella's voice came from behind, making her jump. "Told you it'd be better as a surprise. Happy birthday."
Narcissa whipped around and jumped at her sister, throwing her arms around her neck in a bone-crunching hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!! You're the best!"
"I was in it too!" Dromeda said, mock dejectedly. Cissa let go of Bella and hugged Dromeda instead. Bella laughed.
"C'mon, Cissy, you've got a party to enjoy. Lets not waste time hugging Little Miss Sticky-Forehead."
"And who's fault is it that my forehead is covered in bubblegum, Bella?" Dromeda asked, but Cissa grabbed both their hands and dragged them into the party.
Well, did you like it? I hope you did. Suggestions are welcome, more than welcome, in fact. Please review. I have… erm… virtual chocolate. Yes I do. Yumm.
Ellie xxxx