Some of this chapter may be inappropiate to under fifteens.
Weeks passed. Narcissa had long lost Andromeda to Ted - and that resulted in her little sister being called foul names by her family and so called friends. Once their Aunt had learnt the news, she was furious, shrieking profanties. This resulted Andromeda being blasted off their aunt's portrait. Bellatrix and Lucius seemed to be more distant than ever from Narcissa - along with Rodolphus, Crabbe and Goyle. The only one who remained talking to Narcissa, however, was Severus Snape. Late at night, they would talk into the early hours of the morning about their problems, and their opinions on matters. Narcissa's grades were beginning to suffer - she went from Outstanding to Exceeds Expectations and "Acceptable." Although they were still relatively good, they still felt like an underachievement to Narcissa. Coping with Regulus's death, schoolwork, and excruciating problems with Remus had taken it's toll on her. Often, after lunch, she would just sit with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter by the lake, watching the wildlife and talking, quietly. Sometimes, it would just be her and Remus, and they would lie against a tree, holding hands without speech, merely enjoying one anothers company.
Another
thing that was stressing Narcissa out was the fact she kept getting
countless letters from her parents, reminding her of her purity
towards wizards 'lower class' than herself, and to maintain that
position, otherwise consequences would be severe. She did not have to
guess who had spoken uncharacteristically to her parents - it was
clearly Bellatrix seeking revenge. As far as Narcissa was concerned,
Bellatrix was due to marry Rodolphus around mid August, despite still
'carrying on' with Voldemort. Narcissa had little respect for him -
if any at all. After all, he murdered Regulus - didn't he?
Of
course he did. There was no doubting the lengths of trouble Voldemort
would go to just to murder someone. Sometimes, all he had to do was
point his wand at them and say the two words, and Merlin was your
uncle. Or, he went to extreme measures to capture somebody, torture
them, and so on. Possibilities swam through Narcissa's mind, and
although James had suggested she should not dwell on it, shoving this
half explained death out of her mind wasn't possible. Not right now,
anyway. Sirius understood what she was going through more than
anybody else. Sometimes, all she had to do was look
sad, and he would hold her, without words, merely comforting her.
Remus didn't seem to like it one bit, but he never said anything. It
was only his best friend and girlfriend after all - plus they were
cousins, and if they did anything it'd be plain wrong. So, putting
his worries aside, he would slip his hand through hers, and watch as
her eyes lit up. Sometimes they went for walks after dinner, just him
and her, holding hands and kissing.
One
one paticular occasion, they were sitting by the lake after dinner,
just watching the crystal clear water. The moon did not appear that
night, much to their delight. Remus smiled at Narcissa. "I'm
sorry that I've been a bit edgy recently." he told her
apologetically, his eyes gazing at the horizon. Her hand tightened
around his in appriceation towards his apology.
"I'm sorry
too. It's just ... with Regulus d-dying ..." her eyes filled
with tears, and Remus looked slightly taken aback. He stood up, as if
agitated by her crying. She stood up too and grabbed his arm. "I'm
sorry ..." she trailed off as he pulled her close to him and
pressed his lips against hers for a passionate kiss. She was
suprised, but indistinctively her hands slid around his neck, his
hips brushing against hers. "Oh, Remus," she gasped as he
drew for breath before planting kisses along her neck, his hands
holding her close to him. Her hair brushed against his cheek
delicatley. His hands reached for her robes and he disregarded it,
continuing to kiss on her face, lips and neck. She wrapped her arms
around his middle, eventually resting her head over his shoulder. "I
love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." He
whispered back, his hands stroking her hair softly. And with that
said and done, he held her close to him, his head resting against
hers, as they both watched the lake in front of them calming, a
slight breeze lowering it's speed as they stood embraced.
"Narcissa
Black!"
"What?" groaned Narcissa groggily. She
looked up at Dumbledore's face curiously. Oh, fiddlesticks. She'd
fallen asleep in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore did not
tell her off or punish her with detention, he merely said with a
smile, "Make sure you get enough sleep, Miss Black - perhaps you
should cut the amount of time you spend outside after dinner."
He winked at her pleasantly, walking back to the front of the class
to resume the topic he had been discussing.
"So - the last
unforgiveable curse is ..." As Dumbledore began to describe the
killing curse, Narcissa switched off, thinking about last night with
Remus down by the lake. It had been so romantic.
They had lain and watched the stars, cuddled up together. She glanced
at Remus to see him grinning at her. Sirius wasn't paying attention
to Dumbledore either - he was staring blankly out of the window. As
soon as the lesson had ended, she walked over to Sirius's desk, which
he was sharing with a sleepy looking James. "Sirius?"
"Uh
huh," he glanced tiredly at her, watching her look suprised at
the dark circles he had under his eyes, the fact his hair was messy -
and he wasn't as lively anymore.
"Padfoot," Wormtail
scuttled over, looking flushed. "It's only Regulus, and he was a
bas-"
Sirius drew his wand so quick that no one else had time
to react. "You don't ever,"
he grabbed Wormtail's robes, "badmouth
my family AGAIN!"
"Padfoot
- let GO!" Remus was looking worried, approaching the two as if
hoping his presence would end any possible battle taking place.
Wormtail was drenched in a cold sweat, his teeth chattering.
"Fine,"
snapped Sirius, letting go of Wormtail. "You're pathetic,"
he told him, his face contorted with a mixture of misery and anger.
With that, he picked up his school bag, and headed out of the
classroom.
"I'll go after him," said Narcissa, her
expression worried. Remus nodded vacantly at her speech, as he
checked Wormtail was alright. James had appeared to of missed the
whole scene, yawning loudly and ruffling his hair. Smirking slightly,
she left in a flourish, her flat heeled shoes tapping away as she
desended. It did not take long to find Sirius; he was standing by the
Great Hall, his arms crossed. As she approached, he sighed. "Wormy,"
he begun, "is right in a way. Regulus was a bloody smug bastard
- but it seems he saw the light, if you will - and tried to leave.
But ... he didn't deserve to die. It's-"
"Not fair,"
finished Narcissa quietly, "I know."
"Wormtail
doesn't understand-"
"I'm sure he tries to. Look - we're
all here for you, even though Remus may be vacant for a while when
full moon is about, James playing Quidditch being ultimatley
DETERMINED to flatter Slytherin. Wormy cares too - he's just a bit
naive. And I care, O.K?"
Sirius smiled. "Dear cousin -
what would I do without you?" He kissed her cheek in
thanks.
Narcissa smiled back. "Come on, Padfoot,
we've got Potions next . . ." she pulled a face. He laughed at
her obvious discomfort pleasantly.
"Better get going then,
Cissy."
She
laughed and took his arm, making their way to the Dungeons.
Bellatrix smirked, watching her cousin and sister from the staircase. Oh, this was getting far too interesting.
