Chapter Twenty-one
The remainder of Narcissa's first year at Hogwarts finished with much less drama than it had begun with, and before she knew it, it was June first, and the second semester was drawing to a close. And yet, as tumultuous as her time had been at the school, Narcissa knew that she would miss it terribly. Or rather, she would miss the people in it. She could barely stand the thought of a summer alone with Bellatrix, whom she had avoided for the past few months. Narcissa hadn't seen her mother since the Christmas holidays, because she and Bellatrix had received no direction on whether or not to return home for spring vacation. Upon arriving at the train station, no one had appeared to pick them up, and they'd been forced to return to Hogwarts and stay there. Narcissa's only comfort in that had been that Lucius had flat out refused to return home for the holidays, so at least Narcissa had company. Narcissa worried constantly, but Bellatrix, as usual, hadn't a care in the world. Narcissa decided, as she sorted dejectedly through her school books, that she'd prefer to just stay at Hogwarts year round.
"Cissy, have you seen my other earring?" Ari entered the dormitory, wearing one long, golden earring, and began searching for the other under her bed.
"It's on your table Ari." Narcissa replied. Ari quickly located it, then came and sat down by her friend.
"What's wrong with you?" Ari could detect Narcissa's moods almost as well as Severus, which was a bit unnerving, because as far as Narcissa knew, Ari had no special powers.
"I'm just not really looking forward to the summer." She admitted. Ari stared at her as if she'd sprouted another head.
"Why not?" Narcissa shrugged, and stood up.
"I don't know. I guess… It just won't be the same." Ari nodded sympathetically.
"I know what you mean. But it's only a couple of months. You'll be back soon enough."
"I suppose so. Are you doing anything this summer?" Ari nodded almost guiltily.
"I'm going abroad. You?" Narcissa sighed.
"Nothing that I know of." Ari patted her shoulder sympathetically.
"Poor Cissy. Hey, I know what we can do!" Ari leapt up with a burst of inspiration. "We can get you and Lucius together over the summer! I'm sure he'll be able to cheer you up." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Narcissa hit her arm.
"Enough Ari!" She cried, but couldn't help but laugh at her friend's ridiculous antics. "Well, we probably ought to head down to breakfast; we've still got classes- for now." Ari agreed, and as they descended the spiral staircase to the common room, they soon heard shouts from below.
"It's not my bloody fault! You can't blame other people all the time for your inadequacies, Bellatrix!" Narcissa bit her lip and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had grown accustomed to Lucius and Bella's arguing, and the nearly constant state of it was beginning to wear on her nerves.
"'My inadequacies'? Lucius, you're deluded! If you can't see that it was your fault, than you're either blind or-" But Ari and Narcissa didn't get to hear what else he was, because as soon as they appeared at the bottom of the stairs, Severus coughed loudly and nodded in their direction. Bella paused, and Lucius gave her a look that clearly read 'We'll settle this later.' Bellatrix stormed out of the room, and Lucius sat back down on the nearby sofa.
"Good morning Narcissa," Narcissa marveled at how quickly he had gone form shouting to calmly speaking as if the whole scene had never occurred. Narcissa returned is greeting and sat next to him.
"Severus, did you finish the potions essay?" Severus glanced up.
"Yeah, but it's not due until Monday. You've got all weekend, don't worry." Narcissa grinned.
"Brilliant. I was afraid I'd missed the deadline." Severus rolled his eyes.
"You'd know if you actually started paying attention in class instead of daydreaming about-" He paused. "If you stopped daydreaming." He finished. Narcissa gave him a sharp look.
"Real funny, Severus." Severus's lips switched.
"I know. Hilarious, right?" Narcissa sighed.
"Whatever. You know, I sometimes wonder if-"
"I sometimes wonder if you lot would stop arguing so we can go get breakfast." Ari interrupted. "I'm starved. Let's go."
The day wore on, and Narcissa managed to keep her mind on task, just to prove Severus wrong. It irritated her that he could so easily see her most personal thoughts, though he didn't do it often. It was equally frustrating that he could always say whatever she needed to hear to cheer her up, but only because he knew she needed to hear it. Narcissa frowned as the professor droned on, and attempted to even take notes. A small, crumpled scrap of parchment landed in front of her, shattering her fragile concentration. She shot an irritable sidelong glance at Ari, but Ari didn't seem to have moved, and wasn't even looking in Narcissa's direction. Odd, Narcissa thought as her eyes darted around the room to see who had passed the note. With a strange feeling she would have recognized as a premonition had she any sense whatsoever, she slowly unfolded the mysterious message. It read:
Don't be afraid while you still have the chance. Escape now. It isn't too late. Yet. Find the one you fear but is always with you, for flee your demons before they kill you. Time is growing short- Run while you can. Hurry, he'll be back soon. Run. Flee. Hurry. Take your life and go- away, far away. When all else is lost, you will be free.
Narcissa gasped and dropped the note. It vanished instantly. Was this some kind of sick joke? Kill her? Demons? Who would send her such a warning? More importantly, why?
"Ari?" Narcissa's voice quavered slightly. "Did you write that?" Narcissa knew the answer before the question even left her lips.
"Write what? Cissy, are you okay? You look kind of pale…" Narcissa took a breath to try to steady herself.
"I-I don't know. Professor," She raised her hand, but didn't wait to be acknowledged. "May I go get a drink?"
"Yes Miss Black. But don't dawdle." Narcissa stood and turned to exit, forcing herself not to sprint off. By the time she reached the door though, she knew something was terribly wrong. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pinch at the back of her neck, and every thing went dark.
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"I was there Lucius, she just fainted. No one could have possibly used a spell against her; everyone would have seen." Narcissa laid with her eyes closed in what she assumed must be the hospital wing. Lucius and Ari spoke in hushed whispers.
"I don't believe that. You said the last thing she did before she fainted was touch the back of her neck, right?" Lucius sounded angry, though Narcissa couldn't imagine why.
"Yeah, so?" Lucius made a sound of frustration.
"Well, look!" Narcissa felt Lucius gently turn her head so her face was pointed away from them. "Right there." Lucius touched the spot where Narcissa had felt as though she had been pinched right before she blacked out.
"I don't see any thing," Ari commented skeptically after a short pause.
"There! Are you bloody blind?" He snapped back. Ari huffed.
"What ever Lucius. Let's hypotheticalize here for a minute." Lucius snorted.
"'Hypotheticalize'? Ari, I don't think that's a word. I'm pretty sure it would be 'to think hypothetically for a minute', not hypotheticalize." Narcissa could practically Ari roll her eyes.
"Fine, whatever, let's 'think hypothetically for a minute'. Suppose she does have a mark on the back of her neck. So what? Maybe it's a mosquito bite or something." Now, Narcissa could almost hear Lucius rolling his eyes.
"Because, brilliant one," He replied sarcastically. "There's a spell I know-"
"And have undoubtedly used to torture countless muggles," Ari interrupted. There was a brief silence, in which she was sure Lucius and Ari were glaring at each other. When Lucius spoke again, his voice was so quiet, Narcissa had to strain to hear it.
"Britt never should have told you anything." His tone was soft yet full of malice, and Narcissa was glad he wasn't talking to her like that.
"He didn't. I just heard. But I really have no interest in joining at the moment. Narcissa might though." Lucius laughed bitterly.
"Funny. Really funny Ari."
"Well why not? Why don't you tell her, at least?" Lucius was quiet for a moment.
"I'm not getting dragged into this conversation again. Besides, Narcissa just twitched, which means she's awake. Hello Narcissa." Narcissa opened her eyes and smiled. "Hello Lucius. Hello Ari." Ari instantly slid off her chair and on to Narcissa's bed.
"Are you feeling better? We were all so worried..." Narcissa glanced out the window.
"I'm fine. But what time is it?" There was a guilty silence.
"Er… Late-ish. Maybe we should go." Ari stood up. "Lucius, if you stay much long, Madam Pomfrey is sure to come out." Lucius didn't even look up.
"I'll risk it. But by all means, please do leave." Ari rolled her eyes and stifled a yawn.
"Shut up Lucius," She mumbled tiredly. "'Night Cissy." Ari turned and left, leaving Narcissa and Lucius alone in the dark silence of the hospital wing.
"So…" Narcissa said awkwardly. "What did I miss?" Lucius smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Nothing. But I have a question. Before you fainted today, did you feel anything?" Narcissa blinked at him.
"Yeah. Just a little pinch though. I'm sure it was nothing." Lucius scowled.
"It was something! But not as bad as I thought it might be." Lucius sat back and pushed his fingers through his hair. He seemed almost relieved.
"I don't know what you were worried about. It was probably just a mosquito bite, like Ari said." Lucius eyes narrowed and she realized a moment to late her slip of tongue. "I mean, that just sounds like something she would say-" She said quickly, but knew Lucius wasn't fooled.
"And exactly how long have you been awake?" Narcissa blushed.
"Er… Not long?" Lucius rolled his eyes.
"Of course not." He grumbled sarcastically. Narcissa grinned sheepishly.
"But really Lucius, how could I break up that passionate grammatical argument?" Lucius stared at her for a minute, before his face broke into a grudging smile.
"Fair enough. But I don't suppose you-"
"Mr. Malfoy!" A shrill screech emitted from behind them. Lucius winced, and turned slowly around.
"Madam Pomfrey. I was just, er, leaving." Lucius stood and turned back to Narcissa. "So I'll just be seeing you tomorrow Narcissa." He turned to go, but Madam Pomfrey held out a hand to stop him.
"Mr. Malfoy, would you care to explain why you are disturbing my patient at one in the morning?" Her voice rose with each word.
"We'll you see, I was just… I mean, because I'm sick." He placed a hand on his stomach for emphasis. "Very sick." Her look of anger turned to one of concern.
"Really? And what seems to be the problem?" Lucius was quiet for a moment.
"I…er…Vomited." Madam Pomfrey nodded.
"Then wait over there; I'll go get a potion to fix you right up." She left and Lucius shot Narcissa a smug grin.
"See you tomorrow." He left silently, and by the time Madam Pomfrey appeared again, he was long gone.
"Where did the Malfoy boy go?" She asked in confusion. Narcissa gave her most innocent look.
"The Malfoy boy? He wasn't here. Why?" The woman frowned.
"I could have sworn…" She left the room, shaking her head and muttering to herself. Narcissa yawned, and sunk into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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Several floors below, Lucius was having less luck. Somebody cursed her. He was sure of it. The question was, who? The spell that had been used was one of varying degrees of severity, and who ever had performed the curse had used the least-harmful variation. But that was beside the point. Dark magic was dark magic, and the thought of someone using it on his Narcissa upset him a great deal. He rolled over, trying in vain to find a more comfortable position. The mattresses at Hogwarts were much too soft for his liking. But he didn't reach for his wand; a simple spell could have made the mattress much more bearable. He was too distracted. He flipped over onto his back again. It was useless. He was going to have to figure out which first-year student disliked Narcissa so much that they would use such a potentially dangerous curse on her. Immediately, several names came to mind. Potter, Black, and their friends. No, no they hated him, not Narcissa. It could have been an indirect method of trying to get to him, but Lucius pushed the idea out of his head. Gryffindors weren't smart enough to plan something like that. And besides, even if they were, to know- and use- any dark magic would have put them immediately in Slytherin, not the house of overconfident showoffs, known more commonly as Gryffindor. So it had to be a Slytherin. That didn't help much though, because it was never easy to tell how much a Slytherin knew about dark magic. Lucius knew that Severus would have known the spell, but he also knew that Severus never would have used it against Narcissa. Then there was that one second year who was in that class- what was his name? It didn't matter; If he was stupid enough to be held back a year, even if only re-taking that class, he wouldn't have known the spell. Ari was Narcissa's best friend, so it couldn't have been her. None of the other girls in Narcissa's year seemed capable of using said curse, so it must have been one of the boys. That left him with Rabastan Lestrange, Aldrich Nott, and Walden McNair. Neither of them seemed very likely. Not Rabastan, for sure. He'd be too worried about what Bella would do if she found out he'd hurt her sister. Not that Bella would care, Lucius reasoned, but Rabastan didn't know that. Better if it stayed that way. Aldrich wasn't the brightest kid, and was just beginning to learn the basics of dark arts; he probably wasn't capable. That left Walden McNair. The thought of him using a subtle, non-verbal spell was laughable. He was loud and rude, and if he made anyone faint, he'd want the world to know. So through process of elimination, he was left with… No one.
Narcissa was permitted to resume classes the next day, and the week ended without any further incident. But still, Narcissa couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. And there was, of course, the note. She hadn't told anyone one about it, and Severus had yet to pry into her privacy and figure it out. Lucius had been acting very odd, and Narcissa couldn't reason as to why. She didn't have much time to try though, because before she knew it, she was sitting on the Hogwarts express, on her way back home. Lucius sat next to her. Ari and Severus sat on the opposite seat. Ari was chattering away, though no one was really listening. Severus was engrossed with some novel across the compartment, and Lucius made it clear that he wasn't paying attention by his random statements (I wonder how much longer we have.) that he couldn't have cared less. Narcissa smiled and nodded, but after and hour, gave up pretending to care, as the other two had done in the first five minutes.
"So what are you doing this summer, Lucius?" Narcissa asked in a vain attempt to get Ari to be quiet. Lucius made a disgusted face.
"Some beach in central America." He practically spat. "Same as last year, and the year before that, and the bloody year before that," He sounded as if he'd rather vacation in Azkaban.
"What wrong with the beach? I love going to beaches." Narcissa asked in confusion. Lucius rolled his eyes.
"You wouldn't love it if you got dragged to the same bloody spot every summer, just because your sister claimed she liked it, but the real reason she said that was because she knew you hated it, but your father really didn't care that you hated it, because he hated you too, and even though she moved out three years ago, you still go with her and her idiot husband and brat son, who you have to baby-sit, because your parents don't care that the child's a monster, and could probably take care of himself anyway, so you're stuck in some hotel room with a little menace who jumps out windows while you're still under the sleeping potion he put in your drink, and then you get blamed for it when he breaks his bloody leg!" Lucius stopped. The entire compartment was completely silent. Lucius glared at them all defiantly. "What?" Severus was the first to stop staring, his eyes quickly flicking down to the book in his hands. Ari made a noise somewhere between a giggle and a cough, and resumed her chatter. Narcissa, however, continued to stare at Lucius incredulously.
"You know Lucius, you could just suggest staying home. I mean, since you obviously don't… Enjoy each others company."
"And that statement right there is proof that you've never met my parents. See, they need to keep me around to make sure I'm miserable. That or to keep me from destroying their most valued possessions, because, even though I've never given them any reason that I would, they seem to believe that I'd blow up the Manor, given the opportunity." Narcissa had no response to this, but it turned out that none was need, because at that instant, the door to the compartment flew open, and two students stumbled in. They were out of breath and wore identical looks of terror. Narcissa recognized the two Ravenclaw first-years as Padma and Michael, the Brown twins. They turned and Padma blushed.
"Sorry to, um, bother you all, we were-" Her brother interrupted her.
"Are. We are." Padma shot him a look annoyance.
"Fine. We are being chased by… Well, um…" Michael spoke again.
"A demon, I think." Padma nodded.
"Yeah, so would you mind if we, you know, stayed in here until she's gone?" Lucius rolled his eyes, and with out a word, stood and slid the door open.
"Bellatrix! Leave the first years alone! Go bother your cousin!" Bellatrix appeared out of a nearby door. Narcissa was about to point out that this statement made no sense, seeing as Sirius and his friends were first years as well, but Bella spoke first.
"You found them?" Lucius made a face as if to say 'No, you think so?'
"What, may I ask, are you doing torturing defenseless little children? Unless, of course, you think they're some sort of a threat?" Bellatrix narrowed her eyes.
"Can't a girl have a little fun anymore?" Lucius lips twisted into a cold sneer.
"If 'fun' is what you want Bella, you could have asked the Lestrange boys." Bella gasped as if she'd just been slapped, but Lucius wasn't finished. "I'm sure it would be their pleasure to show you a good time…" Two bright spots of colour appeared on Bella's cheeks, and Narcissa prepared for an outburst. As naïve as she was, she couldn't understand what it was that Lucius had said that Bellatrix found so offensive, but Lucius was smirking, Severus was choking back laughter, and Ari looked a bit surprised. The Brown twins looked as confused as Narcissa felt, but she wasn't about to let it show.
"Well, you've no right to talk Lucius; you take your whore with you everywhere… Apparently you can't go for an hour without a 'good time.'" Lucius's eyes flashed dangerously. It took Narcissa a moment to realize that Bellatrix had been referring to her. She jumped up, but Lucius placed his hand on her shoulder and forcibly sat her back down.
"That's enough Bellatrix. Get out." Bellatrix gave him a wide grin and sauntered off. The two Ravenclaw students, forgotten up until that point, left as well, but the worshipful look that Padma gave Lucius didn't go unnoticed by Narcissa. Lucius sat back down, still looking furiously. It was too much for Severus.
"Oh come on Lucius, you've got to admit that was pretty funny. Can't you ever laugh at yourself sometimes?"
"It's not a matter of laughing at myself, Severus. The point is something's got to be done about Bellatrix." Severus raised his eyebrows.
"Well don't blame us. I recall you were the one who swore to make her life hell, if I'm not mistaken." Lucius glowered at him.
"I know, I know. I'm working on it." Narcissa frowned, a look that didn't go unacknowledged. "Don't look at me like that Narcissa. You know as well as I do that she's got it coming to her." Narcissa huffed indignantly.
"Well, you don't need to…" She trailed off, for the inability to truthfully say that Bellatrix didn't deserve any punishment she got. Severus decided that it was time to change the subject.
"Did any of you notice that the girl's accent was… I dunno, foreign. But her brother's wasn't. Rather odd, wasn't it?" No one else seemed to have noticed, and the rest of the trip passed without disturbance. When the train finally arrived at platform 9 and ¾, Narcissa felt a knot of apprehension in her stomach. She was nervous of the state in which she and Bellatrix might find their mother. If they found her… Narcissa quickly pushed the thought from her head, and joined the crowded corridor. By nature, Narcissa was a fairly patient person, and was prepared to wait to exit the train, just like anyone else. Lucius however, was not patient in any way, shape or form. Narcissa watched in surprise as Lucius easily moved through the narrow space, seeming not to touch any one, but still a space cleared for him. After a few steps he paused and turned. Upon seeing that Narcissa hadn't moved, he grabbed her hand and proceeded in nearly dragging her off the train. Once they were on the platform, Narcissa saw Lucius's eyes immediately locate his own family, and then flick away as if they had been random faces in the crowd.
"There's your mother… But who's that standing with her?" Narcissa looked where Lucius indicated and sure enough, there was her mother, standing beside a man Narcissa had never seen before.
"I- I don't know." She approached the figures cautiously, but when her mother saw her she smiled and waved. When Narcissa was in earshot, her mother greeted her warmly.
"Narcissa, my dear. How have you been? And Bella darling, you too." After greeting her two daughters, she looked up again. "Lucius! Tell your parents I send my best wishes." Lucius gave Mrs. Black a small half smile Narcissa had come to learn meant he was particularly pleased.
"Of course Mrs. Black. I'm sure they extend the same to you. Goodbye Narcissa, Bellatrix." Narcissa watched him leave with a small sigh, which her other didn't nothice.
"Girls, I would like to introduce you to Sir Accusius Zanebono. Your new father."
(A/N: I would like to thank all who review the previous chapter; it had the highest amount of reviews of all the chapters… Yet! Alrightly then:
Carmelita: I'm sorry it was hard to read, but I hope not in a it's-too-sad-to-read-I-don't-want-to-read-any-more kind of way!
Dark Mermaid: Yay! You reviewed BOTH chapters! And I like the idea of being able to ground people who ground me : and if there's a longer wait, it's either because a) I'm grounded. No comment. b) I'm sick (Which I have been for a while which is why this one took so long) or c) I can't think of what to write, because I've got the whole story planned out from when Narcissa is fifteen to whenever the story ends, but until then, I sometimes get writers block. But I try! And remember: REVIEWS ENCOURAGE ME TO WRITE FASTER! Hehehehe….
Badgal-13: Thank you so much ,I try not to keep people waiting… LOL! And Narcissa ay not be evil, but don't worry: Lucius will be evil enough for both of them!
Pearldrop14: Updates Yay! Thank you!
Issy/ Lovely Lady Malfoy: So confused! Okay, anyway…Well, you know, the reason the Malfoy Manor is so big is so the oh-so-popular Malfoys can invite over as many people as they want, so I'm sure you could find space somewhere. ;)
Charmedchik13: Yes, Lucius is mean, but what can I say? People live what they learn. And Mahalia wouldn't exactly win the worlds best big sister award…
Ms. RealMadrid: Thanks!
Kelly: Hmm… Narcissa may toughen up a bit when she's older, but truth be told, nothing I've read in the Harry Potter books has given me the impression the Narcissa is very tough at all. Especially not when she groveling at Severus's feet (Quite literally) When she was asking for his help to protect Draco. I can understand that this may have been the motherly side of her fearing her son's life, but since Narcissa is such an obscure, unmentioned character, I'm just portraying her as I think she really might have been.
Until the next chapter! (Waves goodbye)