"Cissa... I really don't think this tie matches the suit... Can't I just pick anoth-"

"Lucius Malfoy, we've been over this!" Narcissa snapped as she slipped a pair of white pearl earrings into her ears, "My mother sent you that tie for Christmas, and I want you to wear it to let her know you liked it."

"But... But it's Rod's wedding! Can't I wear something I like when my best mate gets married?"

"No."

"Cissa..."

"Stop complaining!"

Five months into pregnancy, and Narcissa was already dying to get it over and done with. Every morning, until recently, she would spend about ten to twenty minutes in the bathroom vomiting from nausea. She had tried all the remedies her medi-wtich, Bernice, had suggested, but none of them seemed to help.

Along with feeling sick in the morning, her back was starting to hurt in the evenings, and her feet were so sore that she could no longer wear her usual heels when she did her shopping. Lucius, being the saintly husband that he was, usually spent an hour just massaging her feet in the evenings. She couldn't blame him, because if he didn't she became such a grouch that it was deadly to be around her.

Then, the cherry atop her sickly sundae - she felt fat.

This damn baby was so much bigger than she had expected, and while her dresses could be altered to fit, many of the leggings that she used to wear to lounge around the house in were much, much too small for her. Lucius always commented that she looked glowing, or she seemed motherly, but in her own words, she was fat. The worst part of it all, was the fact that she spend her Christmas with her family, and seeing how thin and gorgeous her sisters were only put her in a foul mood. It was always so much nicer when it was just her and Lucius around the manor.

There were days when they went into towns, and Narcissa would worry that Lucius no longer found her attractive enough to compliment, and would spend his time ogling the thinner women in the stores. However, whenever she spied on him, he never seemed the least bit interested in any of the women, much to her content.

She had yet to voice her opinions of her large self to her husband, but somehow she was sure he knew that she was unhappy with her looks.

Her bridesmaid dress was a deep green, with a rather heavy skirt that trailed to the floor, and a long set of sleeves that pointed into triangles at the end, covering up the top of her hand. It did look rather stunning on her, despite the rather prudent bump of her stomach. She let out a sigh and tried to smooth it over in the mirror, her eyes watching her big figure sadly. Narcissa missed being small.

"You look stunning, not to worry," Lucius chuckled as he stepped out of the bathroom, still trying to fix his dark red tie and tuck in his white shirt, the black jacket he had purchased hung over the bedside, "and you know, dearest, it isn't very polite to outshine the bride."

"I'm sure Bella will look lovely," Narcissa muttered, finally deciding there was nothing more she could do about her body, and went back to picking at her hair, which had been curled and swept up onto a bun, much like she had done for her wedding, with a few hairs trailing down her neck. She quite liked the effect it had on her.

Lucius let out another grumble and ripped the tie off, setting it around his neck once more and attempting to tie it on properly. Watching her husband in the mirror only caused her to smile, and after noticing his frustration rise, she stepped in, "Let me do it."

"I can tie a tie, Cissa," he grumbled, "I tied that damn Hogwarts one every day for seven years..."

Narcissa swept over to him and swatted his hands away, pulling the tie out straight, then allowing her hands to complete the same routine she had done every day for seven years with herschool uniform. When she had finished, she stepped back, admiring it, "I think it's perfect now... But I don't know why mother picked out red for you."

"She says it goes nicely with my hair," he mumbled, rolling his eyes and beginning tuck his shirt into his pants. "Honestly... Blue goes just as nicely... Green looks the best."

"Still Slytherin at heart, love?" Narcissa giggled, patting his chest before returning to her make-up table, smoothing over some of her blush with a black brush, then stepping back to admire herself. That damn baby bump still caught her eye, and she smoothed over her stomach once again, frowning.

"Cissa..." Lucius groaned, stepping up behind and curling his arms delicately around her stomach, "You look wonderful... Stop obsessing over it."

"But Lucius... I'm horribly fat!" she complained, looking up at him in the mirror, "How can you stand it? And I'm only five months along! What's going to happen at nine? I won't be able to move without a team of house elves rolling me!"

Much to her dismay, Lucius burst out laughing, his grip tightening around her and his lips coming into contact with her cheek sharply, "Oh, Cissa... I don't care how big you get. You're my wife, carrying my child... How could I not find that the sexiest thing on this planet?"

"I don't know," she cried, flustered with everything. "Oh, Lucius I don't feel up to going today-"

"Stop," he ordered quietly, swaying back and forth with her in his arms. "Stop, Cissa. You look lovely... Everyone compliments on how gorgeous you seem, despite being five months pregnant. It's your sister's first and hopefully only wedding to one of my best friend's... How could you not want to go?"

Narcissa shifted, gently sliding her fingers over his arms, then murmuring, "People compliment me?"

Lucius grinned, and turned her face toward his, giving her a quick peck, "All the time. Let me get my coat, then we're leaving."

Narcissa quickly hurried over to the closet and pulled out the fur cloak Lucius had purchased for her at Christmas. It was early February, and the garment was so practical she nearly wore it everywhere she went, despite how expensive it was. She never understood why Bellatrix wanted the wedding to be in the winter, as no one could go outside unless they wanted to freeze, which meant the entire wedding party would be confined to a single room for the entire night once the ceremony was completed. But, it wasn't up to Narcissa to make her sister think logically, and held her tongue during most of the wedding plans.

"Is Andromeda coming today?" Lucius inquired as he stepped into a pair of freshly polished black shoes, "Will Dumbledore let her out?"

"I think she's coming," Narcissa replied, pinning the cloak and running her hands along the soft fur, "Though I think just for the ceremony... Not for any of the dinners or anything."

"Lucky little girl," Lucius sneered under his breath. "Can you imagine how large this wedding is going to be? All the Blacks and the Lestranges in one house? They are so much alike it'll be horrible."

"Mother has been ranting about the whole affair for weeks now... She can't wait to sit and debate things with Lady Lestrange," Narcissa chuckled, slipping into her own set of flat shoes, then finally making her way over to her husband, linking her arm gingerly with his. "Shall we?"

"Yes," he muttered, snatching his wand off the bed. "Hold tight."

"Always do."

"And there's my glowing little girl!" Narcissa's father boomed as she continued her search around the Lestrange manor to find her sister.

Narcissa forced a smile as her father crushed her in one of his bear hugs, then stepped away, "Hello father... I'm looking for Bella?"

"She's ... somewhere," he grunted, giving her arm a rub before stalking off toward a group of gentlemen who had just arrived.

Narcissa sighed, "Thanks for the help."

Lucius was off somewhere with Rodolphus, no doubt telling him little tips for marriage that they had come up with the night before. As for now, Narcissa wanted to check on her sister, and make sure she was doing alright. She remembered how nervous she was the day of her wedding, and she didn't want Bellatrix to go through that.

After interrogating a house elf, she discovered Bellatrix was hiding away in the gardens on the opposite end of the manor, out in the cold, by herself.

Narcissa moved as quickly as she could through the large manor, smiling at the people who tried to stop and talk to her. She mustn't be rude, but her sister was much more important than they were.

The air was crisp, as it always had been in the winter, and the sun was trying to find a free space in the sky to shine down on what was supposed to be a happy day, but it couldn't. Her sister was seated on a stone bench in the middle of a depleted rose garden, a thick black cloak wrapped around her slim body.

"Bella?" Narcissa called, picking up the pace as her breath blew out in front of her in thick puffs, "Bella... You're going to catch your death out here!"

"Hi Cissy..." Bellatrix muttered, shifting over on the bench to make room for Narcissa, the massive wedding skirt taking up most of the room anyway, "How are you feeling?"

"My feet and back hurt already," Narcissa laughed, slowly easing herself onto the bench, "but otherwise that I'm perfectly fine... How... How are you?"

"I'm getting married today," Bellatrix droned. "I should be happy."

"And you're not?"

"No."

Narcissa curved an arm around her sister's shoulder and allowed her to lean her head on her shoulder, not minding that her rather hard, hair-sprayed hair was starting to make her feel nauseous.

"It's not that I don't want to get married..." Bellatrix muttered, fiddling with her nails as she stared at the ground, "I ... I don't want to be some housewife, Cissy... I don't want to sit around and knit and do my nails, or go shopping... and be someone's ticket to getting a child!"

Narcissa cleared her throat, "Essentially you don't want my life."

"No offense..." Bellatrix mumbled, "But... basically."

Narcissa couldn't help but laugh. She was quite content with her life. It wasn't fast paced, or dangerous, but that suited her just fine. Lucius led the more interesting life, meeting Ministry officials to establish good connections, serving the Dark Lord at least once every few weeks. But for Narcissa, she was happy.
Bellatrix did not suit a housewife, and for a little while when they were younger, Narcissa wondered if Bellatrix would ever get married. She did not fit the Pureblood description of the perfect wife. But then again, a lot of women Narcissa knew didn't.

"Bella, you don't have to be what I am," Narcissa giggled, shaking her shoulder for some effect. "You can be whatever sort of wife you want... I know you boss Rodolphus around, and he usually does what you tell him to do! So, look, love, I don't see him forcing you to be someone like... Mother."

"Oh, I hope not..." Bellatrix cringed, and Narcissa figured she was picturing the very idea of it.

She hoped that she had comforted Bellatrix a little, "No one has to be the stupid woman that our parents create for us... We're a different generation then they are, and I think it's about time we did something about it."

"I suppose."

"There you two are!" Narcissa heard her sister, Andromeda, exclaim as the young teen tromped through the freezing courtyard, her outfit similar to Narcissa's, "Everyone's been worried Bella ran off somewhere..."

"I was thinking about it, to be honest," Bellatrix laughed dryly, smiling up at Andromeda when the girl finally arrived. "You look beautiful, you both do."

The two women on the bench squished up a bit more for Andromeda to sit on the other side of Bellatrix, and she rubbed the dark witches back soothingly, "I wish you'd let me bring Ted."

"He's some Gryffindor Mudblood," Bellatrix remarked coldly, shooting Andromeda a glare. "I wouldn't let him walk in here if my life depended on it... Are you still seeing him?"

"Yes," Andromeda snarled, her temper shifting at her sister's insult. "We are happy, and I really like him."

"Please, can we not do this today?" Narcissa pleaded, her tone firm, as though it was an order, "I'm hormonal enough... I don't need you two going crazy too... Think of the poor men in this family... Three crying, fighting sisters would definitely dampen a wedding."

The ceremony was lovely, even though it was indoors, and when it was over and done with, Narcissa was racing to find someplace to sit. Bellatrix had lost her nervousness once the actual wedding started, and she and Rodolphus were wed without any complications. Andromeda stayed for about an hour of the afternoon and dinner celebrations, but was forced to leave because she had missed too many important lessons already.

Secretly she knew her sister just wanted to escape being around the family. While all three sisters had loathed being at family get-togethers growing up, Andromeda was always the one who wanted to escape the most. It was a pity really, as Bellatrix and Narcissa shared most of their memories at those parties.

Severus had managed to show up just after the wedding started, and when they all asked what had happened, he explained he was having the job interview that day for a position at Hogwarts, and Albus bloody Dumbledore just wouldn't stop talking about the Potions position.

The old man had expressed his soft spot for Severus on countless occasions whenever the boy came up in Narcissa's conversations with him, and she was sure Snape would get the job. Perhaps not the job he wanted, but he would get one nonetheless.

Rodolphus looked handsome, his slightly shaggy hair slicked and gelled to perfection, and Bellatrix had never seemed so radiant, despite the fact she was wearing white. It almost seemed too odd for her to be in such a pure colour; she was anything but.

"You know who isn't here, again?" Lucius mused in the later hours of the night, a time when most people were drunkenly dancing while the band played a peppy song, "Regulus."

"You know, I haven't heard from him in months," Severus muttered, taking a sip of his water. Both Lucius and Severus pitied Narcissa for not being able to drink, and offered to spend the night sober with her. She told them it wasn't necessary, and that they should have a good time, but they insisted.

"I heard the Dark Lord talking about him the other day," Lucius muttered, "after the meeting was finished."

Severus shifted his chair a little closer and Narcissa glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was listening in, then nodded for Lucius to continue.

"He said Reg hasn't been reporting in when he was summoned," Lucius explained, "and the Dark Lord is getting irritated with him... I don't know who he ordered, but he asked someone to make sure Regulus Black is either found and returns for another meeting, or is left dead on the side of the road."

Narcissa gasped, clutching her hand to her chest, "How could he-"

"He does what he wants," Lucius muttered. "He owns our souls, Cissa. The minute we took the mark, he owned us."

"And if Regulus doesn't perform... then Regulus is going to be killed."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm not sure how many of you check my profile for updates, so I figured I would toss it in here too. Uni is starting again, and everyone is coming back from summer holidays, so I'm busier now. I'm not going to stop updating – at this point that would be silly! – but the updates might not be as frequent. A few times a week to maybe once a week. I don't want it to be like that, but that's how it has to be if I want to balance school, FF, book writing, and a social life! Thanks for all the fantastic reviews!