Box Full of Letters
It had been one thing when Bellatrix went to Hogwarts because Andromeda was at home to spend time with. But this year Andy had gone too. Narcissa had known both her sisters would go and she had stood on the platform, happily waving them off the best she could, forcing down any hint of tears that tried to creep into her eyes. At ten she was too old to show too much emotion in public.
"Do not make people stare at you for the wrong reasons. Jealousy is an appropriate reason."
She was much closer with her sisters than her parents. She was her parents' malleable little china doll, but with her sisters she was a living breathing person. She could not help but show emotion when they were concerned, and at ten, Cissa had not quite yet learned how to shut everything off so that outwardly she resembled nothing more than sculpted marble.
She was happy for them to go to Hogwarts, feeding off their excitement, and her idea that with her sisters gone she would receive more attention than she did already. Narcissa had been wrong about that, her parents gave her no more attention than they had before. Cygnus was busy with whatever he did at the Ministry; Cissa had no idea beyond what Bella had explained it as: giving money to the right people to get what he wanted. Druella was busy with parties and other social events. Cissa went to a lot of them, but she was only involved when her mother hosted, as long as she agreed with everything her mother suggested. Which, of course, she did.
Mostly, she played by herself, or forced the elves to interact with her, despite not liking all of them. She liked her elf, Mopsy, and her sisters' personal elves, but some of the elves were downright creepy. Even the ones that were not, like Kreacher – their cousin's elf nanny, did not make for good playmates and companions. But any of them were better than being alone.
And her sisters were not reliable about writing. Narcissa wrote to them every day; often because there were limited things she could do with her time. Andromeda wrote back at least once a week but Bella was not good at correspondence. Bella did not answer her letters meticulously like Andy did, and she always asked about Father, even though Cissa had told her over and over that she was not making him mad and he never even raised his voice at her. Bellatrix wrote short letters, and never talked about the social scene, or what anyone was wearing. Even when Narcissa asked, she got little to no information out of her sister. Bella's answer was they wore the same stuff as they did outside of school, which was not enough information. At all.
Whoever sent the Hogwarts letters should have known they could not take away both her sisters for an entire year. She was not used to entertaining herself, she always had someone her age to play with. Sometimes, Cissa felt like she was getting replaced by Hogwarts. Both her sisters had their friends there to interact with, all the other people in their social spheres plus classes and extracurricular activities. The feeling of replacement was especially strong when it came to Bella. The youngest Black girl was definitely starting to get annoyed with Bella's friends because they were stealing her sister. If Bella was not so distracted, she would probably write more.
However, it was hard to be mad at her sisters, mostly she simply missed them, a lot. Especially with all birthdays were going to be celebrated away from her sisters this year, being as her parents did not celebrate birthdays when the birthday girl was not present. Birthdays were more an excuse to throw a party to show off. Andy and Bella would have their birthdays within the next couple of months, without Narcissa. In the spring, her own birthday would be spent without her sisters and in her mind that was the same as no celebration. Being as it was her important eleventh birthday they would probably have a party, but it would be without Andy and Bella.
The thought was absolutely depressing.
Even if her sisters had their birthdays at Hogwarts, Narcissa still had to figure out presents. And she needed to go shopping soon, or Bellatrix's present would not arrive at Hogwarts on time. It would be best to buy Andromeda's present as well, no real guarantee that she could get to Diagon Alley a second time due to how close Andy and Bella's birthdays were.
And maybe they could go today, her spirits perked up at the thought. She hoped so, that would be something to do. There would be other people in Diagon Alley to interact with or watch, and she could get the newest issue of Witch Weekly. She could not remember her mother having plans for today, although Narcissa did not have the social calendar memorized. Nothing had been said at breakfast, so if she reminded her mother about needing to purchase presents, maybe a trip could be arranged.
She took a quick check in the mirror before she left her room, smoothing out her hair and her skirt, even at home she had to look her best because she never knew who might drop by. Leaving the mirror, she headed down a flight of stairs and a wing over to her mother's sitting room. Unless Druella had company this was where she could be found. All the party planning was performed there, sometimes intimate tea times, although generally social events were held on the first floor. Upper floors were for family only, or if they had overnight guests and had to open rooms. Overnight visitors could be fun, sometimes Narcissa and Andromeda had to give up their rooms to other young ladies, which meant sharing a room with Bellatrix. Narcissa enjoyed the occasional sleepover. She liked having her own space and she did not want to go back to living in the nursery, they were far too old for that, but there was something cozy about sharing the same room and falling asleep in the same bed. Nothing bad could happen when it was them three.
As Narcissa expected, Druella was in her sitting room, and from what Narcissa could see from the doorway, probably writing letters. Correspondence was important. Narcissa could hardly wait for the day when she would have intricate owl correspondence like her mother, more people to write to then her sisters. It seemed glamorous, having to devote a portion of the day to writing letters. Important people were answered first; she knew how the system worked because she had asked about the sorting system. Perfectly organized, each letter in it's own slot, in order of importance. If a particularly close friend wrote back before Druella got to a less important letter, the less important got pushed to the side. It was also good for Narcissa, anytime she got confused about which of the lesser families were not in their good graces, all she had to do was check the letter desk.
She softly knocked on the doorway, "Mother?"
Druella turned, the sunlight coming through the window catching her hair and making it gleam. Narcissa made a mental note to put her own future writing desk near a window so the same thing would happen to her hair.
"Yes, Narcissa?"
"I was wondering if we could make a trip to Diagon Alley, for Bella's birthday?"
Druella looked thoughtful for a moment and Narcissa's hopes fell. If her mother was busy they would not go, or she would be sent with a house elf, which was not what she wanted. It was better to go with mother; they looked at more shops and would go for lunch. Other than Gringotts, she had been almost everywhere in Diagon Alley, but she liked all the stores and did not want to miss out on a full day of shopping. She crossed her fingers behind her back, even if that was juvenile.
It seemed luck was on her side today when her mother put aside her ink and quill and stood up.
"That seems a reasonable request. We do need to buy birthday presents to send. I could do with some fresh air, my letters will wait."
Narcissa beamed at her own success, pleased she was not going to be stuck at home. Shopping in Diagon Alley and having lunch with her mother was far more enjoyable. Plus, shopping for anything almost always meant she got things for herself, if there was something she particularly wanted. Neither of her parents said no very often, and wardrobes always needed updating.
"Let me get Bella's last letter, I asked if she needed anything."
That was not entirely the case. Narcissa had been unsure what her sister would want. Andy was easy to shop for, buy the newest book and be done with it. But Bella read more non-fiction than fiction, and she did not like fashion very much. She liked to look good, but she did not spend time looking at what was in the magazines and deciding what would look good on her and what was a terrible idea and what was a waste of a design. Bella had no pets, although pet supplies would make a terrible birthday present. Their relatives tended to buy them clothes or jewelry or little bric-a-bracs but none of those were especially good presents for Bella, who had a habit of flinging the breakable knick-knacks at the wall when she got angry. Cissy was not going to get her sister something likely to be ruined later, on purpose. Even if it was likely to be treasured because it was from her.
Since Bella was incredibly difficult to shop for, she had asked her sister what she wanted, which was considered tacky by many members of the Black family. Family knew one another and knew what to get. Plus there were rules regarding appropriate presents and inappropriate presents so that limited things. Her relatives did not care what they got Bellatrix because Bella would never be anything less then polite to their faces, but Narcissa wanted to get her sister something she would really want. Plus Bella had requested some items in a note to Druella that Narcissa had yet to pass along, which meant she needed the letter anyways.
Her mother saw through her ruse anyways, "Narcissa, did you ask your sister what she wanted?"
Narcissa started to wrinkle up her nose and resisted, it not being a pretty look on anyone, but the corners of her mouth still turned down in a well-practiced pout. "I want to get her something better than everyone else will get her. Plus Andy can't pick something out so it has to be extra special from both of us. And she did write down things she actually needs."
Druella raised her eyebrows but let it go. Chances were whatever Bella had said she would like would be things that made sense to buy her, and Narcissa's heart was in the right place, the darling. She only wanted to make her sister happy, and being that she was all alone at home, Druella could not blame her for trying to plan an excellent birthday package to send her sister. Besides, Cygnus would never find out.
"Go grab that and your coat and meet me downstairs in twenty minutes. I need to powder my face."
Narcissa walked at normal speed until she was just far enough for her mother to not hear her footsteps and then ran the rest of the way back to her room. She would have to smooth out her clothes and fix her hair before meeting her mother, but she was too excited to contain herself and better to get that out in private.
Quickly, she evaluated the outfit she was wearing to decide whether it was suitable to be seen in public and if she had worn this particular combination of clothing and accessories to Diagon Alley yet. She deemed it acceptable, and it did not look too young either, which was something Narcissa was constantly worrying about now. Her navy cloak would be best for this. The one with the ermine trim would be prettiest, but she was not sure if it was entirely cold enough to be wearing the fur yet, better to be on the safe side and stick to the plain wool. She was too old to get away with wearing something she thought was pretty but not suitable for the weather.
Some people carried handbags, but Narcissa felt silly carrying a handbag simply to carry one and she had nothing to put in a handbag. She would be carrying the list today, but it made more sense to put those two pieces of paper in her cloak pocket, especially when she would be giving one to her mother. Maybe when she was older she would want to carry a handbag. Maybe when she had a wand.
Twenty minutes passed quickly; as soon as her mother arrived downstairs Narcissa handed her Bella's note. Druella looked at it and seemed surprised, but quickly summoned a house elf, passing the note off and instructing to send those things immediately. Maybe she should have passed the note on earlier; maybe it had been more important than she thought. She did not dwell on it, a quick tug later and they were in Diagon Alley. It was a shopping day! Shopping days were always good. Even if side along made her feel a bit nauseated.
Bella had suggested a couple of books, and so the pair headed to Flourish and Blott's first. Narcissa was glad to get it out of the way because it was one of her least favorite stores. She liked reading fine but both her sisters had their noses constantly in books, and Narcissa would not list it in her five favorite activities. Maybe not even the top ten. But books were always a good present for her sisters, and generally they were not something relatives would purchase for them. She had no plans to give them to her sisters; she would pick them out and then they could give them to each other.
Her mother suggested Twilfit and Tatting next, to get Bella a new pair of gloves. Gloves were not on the list, but Cissa knew that going to a clothing store meant she would walk out with something for herself. Upon entering the store Narcissa left her mother's side, she would not be needed to pick out gloves, and the spring look books were already out. She could pre-order some spring outfits if she liked anything well enough.
Narcissa carefully scanned the look books from her favorite couple of designers, and with some assistance, ordered two complete spring outfits. Soon, look books would be sent to their residence and she would pick out more clothing, but it pleased her to know that she would be marked down as having pre-ordered these two outfits already. Everyone who was anyone who came into the shop would know where the Black family had put their money. Her own name might not hold much clout in the world of fashion, yet. She would have to rely on her surname for now. One day it would be because she, specifically, had done it, but it was satisfying enough for now to know she was indirectly influential. More then an hour passed before the pair left the store. Druella picked out the gloves for Bellatrix adding to it a lovely emerald green scarf.
It was a quick stop into Ollivanders next, because Bellatrix had requested some sort of wand polishing something or other. Narcissa had not realized people polished their wands, but she was all too happy to stop by Ollivanders no matter the reason. Soon enough she would be coming back to get her own wand. There were some beautiful ones laying out on the counter, and Narcissa started imagining a delicate birch one as her own.
Ollivanders was only a quick stop. There was no reason to look at anything else once the polish was purchased, unlike the other stores. Narcissa still dragged her feet a bit as they left. May, she reminded herself; she only had to wait until May. But that was still seven months away!
"Shall we stop by the jewelry store before or after lunch?" Druella asked, drawing Narcissa out of her wand thoughts.
"Before," Narcissa said. As if there was another choice. Before meant she would have even longer to admire whatever it was they bought for themselves. Before meant they would get to show those things off while at Fortescue's. Mother seemed pleased with her answer.
Something surprising was that Bellatrix had requested jewelry. Surprising, but thrilling! The jewelry store was one of Cissa's favorites, for many of the same reasons she liked Twilfit and Tattings, and then some. Everything sparkled and shimmered, and she was allowed to try on anything she wanted, including one of the priceless wedding tiaras. The saleswoman told her it was a good look on her, something Cissy had no doubt of. But she had no need for a tiara, as pretty as it was, not to mention they already had family heirlooms worth far more should she require one.
Bella's taste in jewelry was not the same as Cissa's, and nothing Bella requested were things Cissa would wear. But then, an onyx pendant would not work with her coloring, she was too fair and fair-haired. It would look nice on her sister, matching Bella's darker hair and eyes. Being that the request list was merely a guideline, Narcissa also picked out a bracelet that could make a nice matching set with the pendant, but was also lovely on it's own. The bracelet was a little more to her own tastes, but if she bought her sister something she would also wear, then she could borrow it later on.
Her and her mother hardly were going to leave the jewelry store without buying something for themselves either. Once Narcissa had seen the jewelry on Bella's list she had evaluated what she needed next in her personal jewelry collection. She had all the basics, all the things appropriate and necessary for a girl her age. She wanted pearls like her mother, but that was not something young girls wore. That was something for married women, and frankly, she rather hoped she would inherit her mother's strands.
Eventually, she had decided it was time for new earrings. She had a new dress that really needed a new set to go along with it, and now she had pre-ordered those spring dresses, which meant she needed more than one pair. So while her mother browsed necklaces, Narcissa tried on earrings, carefully evaluating the selection before finally settling on a pair of tiny gold and diamond starbursts, and a pair of sapphire waterfall earrings. When the saleswoman told her she had excellent taste, Narcissa was pleased, even if the lady probably told that to everyone. At least in this instance it was absolutely true. Druella picked out a couple of broaches for herself, along with one of the necklaces she had been eyeing, and an old fashioned locket was picked out for Andromeda.
Lunching at Fortescue's was always a treat. For one, she was guaranteed ice cream, and as far back as she could remember, ice cream had been a favorite of hers. Secondly, there were always lots of people; they were bound to run into someone they knew. Thirdly, it meant spending quality time with her mother, who would ask her what was going on in her life. They would discuss their purchases, current fashions, and other tidbits they never seemed to have an opportunity for at home. Lastly, they always got a preferred table, and those were tables of importance and people paid attention to them. Plus the food was good, and she got to choose what she wanted to eat. If she wanted, she could order fish and chips.
Druella ordered a cup of crécy soup to be followed by the filet of sole with lemon and capers. Despite looking the entire menu over and seeing a lot of things she would like, Narcissa settled on the exact same thing. Druella ordered a cheese course for them as well, and at Fortescue's the only dessert worth having was the ice cream. There were other choices but it made no sense to go to the best ice cream maker in Britain and not have the ice cream. Once they had finished with their main meal, they browsed the flavors of ice cream, ending up with a chocolate fudge sundae for Druella (who knew whatever she ordered was bound to be shared with her daughter), and a raspberry cone with hundreds-and-thousands for Narcissa. She was very careful not to get any ice cream drips on her dress; that would be a disaster.
After lunch, there was only a little more shopping to do. Most of the things that made up the package had already been purchased, but they did have to pick out a nice bit of stationary to write a birthday message and some birthday sweets. All things sent home with the house elves, which would be in charge of wrapping it all up together and getting it to the post. A package like this would be too big for their family owls to carry.
The last bit of present was something that Narcissa had no idea about until they went through the door of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Narcissa rested her chin on the counter as Druella flipped through the pages of the brooms catalog. A beautiful new model had come out recently, and Druella and Cygnus had discussed sending one to their eldest. First years may not have been allowed broomsticks, the girls did not need to travel on broomsticks, and it was rather unladylike, but they could still own broomsticks. Not a Quidditch broom, but one for recreational flying. It was a time-honored tradition, ever since the dawn of magic. And whether or not the broom was for Quidditch, the Quidditch store still had the best contacts in the broomstick industry. Druella made sure to put in a custom wood request, mahogany. An excellent status present even if Bellatrix never used it. Narcissa thought her sister would probably use it. It was too pretty to not use. Not using it meant never showing it off. That went against Bella's nature.
The day ended with a quick stop at Madam Primpernelle's for Druella to pick up a new bottle of her signature perfume. Cissa thought Madam Primpernelle's was probably her third favorite shop, after jewelry. Everything smelled so nice and she loved testing the perfumes. A quick dab of each of them as she worked her way down the line, and up her arms. One day, she would be old enough to pick out a signature scent, but that was going to be further in the future than a wand choosing her. Neither of her sisters had a signature scent yet. Truthfully, she was not entirely sure when that milestone happened, when she had asked about it, she was told she was too young.
The nicest thing about perfume testing came after they returned home, after her mother headed back to her correspondence, after the day had ended and everything had been wrapped up and she was back to where she started, alone. The smells remained. Not forever, just for a while, and despite knowing the perfume would fade away, while it remained on her arm, she felt less alone.