Chapter Twenty-Six
Narcissa hid her face in her hands. Why had she come to the game? Why? Someone, most likely Lucius, was going to get killed. She didn't understand how anyone could possibly consider it fair that the two boys with clubs were allowed to aim the fast flying ball-thingies only at Lucius. And Ari was getting a bit too involved in Narcissa's opinion.
"TO THE RIGHT YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!" She screamed as one of the two Boys With Bats missed one of the projectiles, which Lucius easily evaded. But Ari wasn't the only one yelling. Nearly the whole stadium was on their feet, shouting at the players. Narcissa watched apprehensively as Lucius stopped circling, and began shouting at Aston, the captain of the team. Ari sat back down, grinning. "Wouldn't it be funny if Lucius got hit?" Narcissa raised her head from her hands to glare at her friend.
"Why would that be funny?" She asked icily. Ari rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come on Cissy. I thought you were mad at him." Narcissa didn't reply. When someone was on their deathbed, you forgave them, no matter what their crimes had been. She assumed the same general concept applied here. She winced as Lucius swerved to avoid another close miss. He and Aston looked as if they were very angry now; they appeared to be exchanging insults, although their words were impossible to hear over the roar of the crowd. What happened next, Narcissa seemed to see in slow motion. Another speeding ball escaped the boys she decided were supposed to be blocking them, and Lucius turned his head in its direction. It was scarcely a split second, but it was enough. He obviously had no intention of getting out of the way. She uttered a small cry, and buried her head in her arms. She couldn't bear to watch. There was a muffled thud, and Narcissa was sure Lucius was dead. Why else would the stadium be growing so silent? But when the noise level reach what was surely an all time low, Narcissa heard a voice she had been positive moments before that she would never hear again.
"-And if that's the case, you need new beaters, Aston!" Her head shot up in shock. It couldn't possibly be-
But it was. Lucius sat on his broom in the same spot, with the same angry expression on his face. Aston, however, looked more confused than upset, and the game seemed to have come to a standstill. Lucius realized this as well, and shot off without further ado. A distressed muttering rippled through the crowd. Narcissa sat up.
"Ari, what-?" She stared at her expectantly.
"It looked like… But that's not possible… I think… Cissy, I think he just blocked the bludger with his arm!" Narcissa blinked in confusion.
"So?" Ari made an irritated sound.
"That's not possible! I mean, his arm would have snapped in half… But he doesn't… Is that even allowed?" This last question seemed to have had entered the mind of the referee as well, and a sharp whistle pierced the air. Narcissa watched as Lucius flew to the ground, looking smug, but the words they exchanged were inaudible.
…
"What was that, Malfoy? Are you hurt?" Lucius stared at Madam Hooch as if she had grown a second head.
"Yes… I'm fine. I caught the snitch." He pointed out. But of course, they already knew that, didn't they? Why else had they ended the game? The game was over, wasn't it?
"Let me see you arm." She demanded. Lucius held out his left hand, the one that still grasped the golden snitch. But the pushed it away in exasperation.
"Your other arm, boy." She grabbed his right arm and pushed up the sleeve, and examined the limb carefully. "Nothing but a red mark…" She muttered under her breath. After she was satisfied that he was uninjured, she became suspicious.
"Did you have you wand on you? Did you use magic to block the bludger? Because if you did, that's immediate disqualification-" Lucius interrupted her.
"I know the rules. I had my wand with me because I always do, but I didn't use it to block the bloody thing. Are you still on that? I've got the snitch right here." He repeated impatiently. By now, the headmaster and Slughorn were on the field.
"Is he hurt, Fesaba?" Dumbledore asked when he arrived.
"I'm fine!" Lucius snapped before Madam Hooch could reply. He regarded the Headmaster wit icy dislike. He'd not forgotten the man's threats to have him removed from the Quiddich team. And he did not appreciate being spoken about as if he were some invalid, unable to answer for himself. Slughorn wrung his hands nervously.
"But Fesabee, is it allowed?" Madam Hooch frowned slightly.
"I'm not sure…" She began. Slughorn scoffed.
"Bee, you know the rules better than anyone. You've got the rule book memorized!"
"I know! But I don't think that anyone ever though something like this possible!" Lucius rolled his eyes.
"While you're discussing this, might I point out that the game is over? That I caught the snitch?" They stopped finally to acknowledge him.
"Lucius, we're a bit more worried about you blocking that bludger with your arm. As your head of house, I feel responsible for any harm that may-"
"My arm is fine! I don't see what all this is about!" They said nothing, simply shaking their heads. After a bit discussion, Madam Hooch reached her conclusion.
"We'll overlook it this time Malfoy, but don't do it again. Now," She turned to the other team members, waiting expectantly. "The match is over. Slytherin is the winner."
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Narcissa rushed out of the stands, her slip-on shoes nearly causing her to trip. She had run out the moment the game had been announce over, and she now waited impatiently outside the Slytherin changing rooms. One by one the team members exited, all except Lucius. Narcissa lingered as long as her edginess would allow, then knocked sharply on the door.
"Come in Narcissa." She pushed open the door, and saw Lucius seated on a wooden bench, apparently unlacing his Quiddich boots, watching her with an amused smile. "You worried that I've broken my arm too? Or just to give your congratulations." Narcissa bit her lip.
"Are you alright? Every one said that… I mean, no one…" She stared.
"Wait, let me guess. They all thought I should have been knocked off my broom and killed? Probably wished it too." He said bitterly. Narcissa frowned.
Not… exactly. But Lucius," She paused self-consciously. "Well… Ari said-"
"You shouldn't listen to what Ari says, Narcissa. None of it." Lucius interrupted. Narcissa rolled her eyes.
"Why can't you two get along? You really have no reason for all your fighting." Lucius tossed his Quiddich robes into his bag.
"Ari and I… Let's just say we've known each other for longer than we should have. It's actually a pretty funny story…" He stopped when he saw the expression on her face. "But you wouldn't want to hear it. It's terribly boring." Narcissa shook her head.
"Fine. You're right. I don't." She made as if to step forward, but there was a bang, and Narcissa cried out in pain.
"Ouch! My foot!" Cradling her left foot in her hands, she hopped to a bench and sat down, examining her foot critically. Lucius stood and walked over to her.
"What did you do to you foot, Narcissa?" He asked with exaggerated patience. Narcissa felt her cheeks flush.
"Erm… Nothing… I just… got a splinter" Lucius looked by the locker where her shoe was lying, and he smiled knowingly.
"Ah, wait, let me guess. You stubbed your toe, pulled your foot out of that little slipper thing, and got a splinter. Am I right?" Narcissa nodded, not quite meeting his eye.
She pointed to a sliver of wood that protruded partially from her foot.
"Think I can get it out though."
"Don't." He said so quickly, she looked up in surprise. "You break it off, and then we'll have to cut it out." He said seriously as he walked over to her. Narcissa cringed at the thought. He sat down behind her, and reached around and gently took her foot in his hand. Narcissa screwed her eyes shut and wait. After a moment or two, she opened them again.
"Well?" Lucius held up the shard of wood.
"It's out. Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic? Now, we clean it." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at her foot. "Scourgify." she giggled.
"Thanks." As Lucius was putting Narcissa's shoe back on, his hand, quite by accident, brushed against the underside of her foot. She gasped slightly, and Lucius feared for a moment the he had hurt her, that he hadn't gotten the splinter out completely. But he looked closer, and realized that her lips were pressed together, and she was trying desperately not to laugh. A slow smirk spread across his lips.
'Ooho, ticklish are we?" Narcissa shook her head fiercely, but Lucius continued grinning mischievously. "Well…" His tone alarmed her, and she tried to get up, but his arm tightened around her waist. "I think not." His forefinger slid lightly across her delicate arch, and she gave a tiny yelp and attempted in vain to jerk her leg away.
"Lucius! Stop it! Lucius…!" He playfully traced circles on the bottom of her foot, then the top, then slowly upwards along her ankle and her leg. "Lucius!" She shrieked, twisting helplessly, and laughing hysterically. "Lucius, please, stop!" He probably wouldn't have, but at that moment, he door to the locker room open, and James Potter's head appeared in the doorway. In a flash, Lucius released her, stood, crossed the room, and drew his wand.
"What the hell are you doing in here Potter?" He snarled. James tripped back in surprise, revealing Sirius standing behind him.
"I think the question is Malfoy, what are you doing in here with my impressionable cousin?" Lucius sneered.
"Really Black. I think you forget that this is the Slytherin changing room, where, believe it or not, Slytherins are allowed. Pathetic Gryffindors such as yourself on the other hand, who've undoubtedly come to set off a couple of stink bombs or something equally as immature, are a different story." James rolled his eyes.
"Oh? And what about your little… friend? Is she supposed to be here?" Lucius threw a casual glance over his shoulder at Narcissa, not so much as to acknowledge her presence, but to make sure she wasn't doing anything that might cause him problems.
"She's got more right to be here than you two. And you're just sore because you lost the game so terribly today. Admit it." James's cheeks reddened and he made a violent move towards Lucius, but Sirius pulled him back.
"Don't. He's not worth it, James." Lucius chuckled darkly.
"Pathetic. Both of you. Get out before I make you." They two boys glared at Lucius as they retreated. Lucius shut the door behind them before turning back to Narcissa, who now stood with her shoes securely on her feet. He grinned.
"Don't worry, little Cissy. This isn't over yet."
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Narcissa's thirteenth birthday came and went, the winter holidays passed with little event, and before long, it was spring. It was an unnaturally warm afternoon in early May, and Ari and Narcissa were walking around the lake after classes.
"So, Cissy do you have any plans this summer? I'm going to Australia, can you believe it? It's supposed to be incredible. We have cousins there, see, they live in Cairns. I'm going diving in the Great Barrier Reef! My cousin Ashley, she speaks Mermish, she said she'd actually met some mermaids- bloody hell; I'm doing it again, aren't I? Sorry Cissy, where are you going?" Narcissa laughed.
"It's fine Ari. I'm not going anywhere exciting; to visit my Grandmum or aunt, maybe. But besides that, no, I'm stuck with Bella." She made an unhappy face, before looking up and realized that Ari wasn't even paying attention. She was staring intently instead across the lake.
"Hey Cissy… D'you reckon we could go swimming?" Narcissa laughed at this ludicrous idea.
"Really Ari! We aren't wearing swimsuits, the giant squid will probably eat us, and-" But Ari had already stripped down to her under-things and quickly leapt into the water.
"Come on in Cissy!" She squealed. "The water's fantastic!" She playfully splashed at Narcissa, who jumped back over Ari's clothing.
"Oh, Ari! Don't!" But by now, she was laughing as well. It wasn't long before Ari persuaded Narcissa to join her. Soon they were both splashing, having fun, when Narcissa stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong?" Ari asked in confusion. But Narcissa just shook her head and sunk down in the water until only her nose and eyes were visible. She stared in abject horror at something behind Ari's head. Ari turned, and laughed. "It's just Severus, Cissy. And he's so involved in that book, I doubt he'll even see us anyway. Unless…" Ari submerged herself as well, and waited until Severus had walked close by them, still engrossed in his book. Then, when he was directly in front of where they hid, he stopped. He look up from his book, looked back towards the castle, out over the grounds, then finally out towards the lake. At that moment, Ari floated on to her back, and began kicking her legs as hard as she could, instantly soaking Severus. He jumped back, swearing loudly. Ari burst in to a fit of laughter. Severus stared at her with a mixture of shock and confusion.
"What are you two doing in there?" Ari grinned.
"What does it look like, Severus? We're swimming!" He looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.
"Should I even bother to ask why?"
"Because it's hot and we felt like it." She stated matter-of-factly. "Isn't that right Cissy?" Narcissa slowly slipped under the water blushing furiously, praying fervently that he'd be gone by the time she resurfaced. Unfortunately, when she poked her head out of the water, he was still standing there, looking now as if he wanted to laugh.
"Okay then. I think I'll just leave, and we'll pretend this didn't happen." Narcissa nodded in agreement, but Ari just laughed.
"Oh, but you won't forget, will you, Sevvie?" She winked and blew him a playful kiss. He rolled his eyes.
"Sure Ari. Sure." He headed back up towards the castle, and Narcissa watched him leave, nervously.
"I don't know, Ari… Maybe we should get out. I mean, if someone else were to come by…" But Ari waved her concerns away.
"It'll be fine Cissy. Honestly, you worry too much-"
"Well well well, what have we here?" They both turned, and Narcissa suddenly felt a strong urge to die. But Ari smiled.
"Hello Lucius. Britt. Aston. Cissy and I were just swimming. Care to join us?" But Lucius ignored the offer, and instead bent and snatched a pile of clothing.
"I wonder to whom these could belong. Think they're important?" He asked to no one in particular. Britt snicker, but Ari turned suddenly less amiable.
"Put my clothes down!" Lucius smirked.
"Come get them." He challenged. Narcissa expected Ari to argue. Lucius probably did too. But instead, Ari jumped out of the water, dashed up the bank, grabbed her robes, ducked behind a nearby tree, and she emerged a moment later fully dressed. She and Lucius locked gazes for a split second, a silent battle of wills. Then, Ari shot forward, and attempted to retrieve Narcissa's clothing as well. But Lucius was faster.
"I don't think so, Adrienne. Why don't you just-" Ari launched herself at him, shouting, attempting to catch him off guard. It almost worked, but he managed to keep Narcissa's robes away from her. "Not so fast. Britt, Aston, why don't you two take this one back up to the castle." Ari fought valiantly, but she was no match for the two older boys, Quiddich players none the less. After a moment or two, Narcissa and Lucius were alone.
"So… Can I have my clothes back?" Lucius laughed, and Narcissa gazed at him beseechingly.
"You'll just have to come get them yourself. It's really too bad that Ari can't help you out." He watched Narcissa's evident internal struggle with obvious amusement. "How about I give you ten seconds before I take these lovely garments up to the castle and put them in the lost and found? Would you prefer that?" That decided it for her. She had no doubt that that was exactly what he'd do. And there was no way that she could go through the school in such a state of undress.
"Oh, alright, I'm coming…" She paused. "Is there any chance you'd close your eyes?" Lucius sneered.
"Do you really not know the answer to that?" Narcissa frowned.
"Oh… Fine." With a small shriek, she darted out of the water, and attempted to grab her clothes back, but Lucius lifted them out of her reach.
"Not so fast. You forgot the magic word." With one arm, he held Narcissa's robes just centimeters away from her fingertips.
"Lucius! Give them to me! Now!" He laughed.
"The magic word, Cissy. Or you can reach for them." Narcissa fought the instinct to wrap her arms around herself to cover her bareness, and stood on her toes, but Lucius stepped back quickly, causing her to fall forward. He caught her by the arm, and pulled her up against him. She gasped, and shook her hair out of her eyes as she tilted her face up to stare at him defiantly.
"Give me my clothes!" She hissed. Lucius chuckled softly.
"I'll give you a hint. It starts with a 'P'…" Narcissa glared. She wouldn't beg. She wouldn't. "And then an 'L'…" His hand, previously resting against her back, began to slide lightly up along her side, a malicious smirk on his lips. "'E'…"
"Fine!" Narcissa jerked away from him angrily. "Please! Now give me my clothes back!" He dropped her clothing into her waiting arms.
"You could say it like you mean it." She didn't respond, instead she tugged her robes on as quickly as she could, her fingers trembling with humiliation and rage.
"I don't appreciate being patronized, Lucius, and I don't think that it's necessary for you to treat me the way you do, alright? You act like Bella doesn't condescend me enough. And Severus! He's younger than me, and he doesn't even realize he's doing it! Oh, and while we're on that subject-"
"Damn Narcissa, calm down! Okay," He placed his hands on her shoulders, and stared seriously into her eyes. "Relax. Deep breaths. You're over reacting. Calm. Down."
"You're doing it again!" Lucius smiled.
"I know. You're right." He offered no explanation. Narcissa tried to free herself from his grip, but he held her, not roughly, but tightly enough for her to know that he wasn't about to release her. "But don't you think you're overreacting? Just a little?"
"Even if I am, that doesn't give you the right to treat me like…like… some brainless child! Like I don't know what's going on around me!" Lucius let his hold loosen, and placed on hand on the back of her neck, tracing circles with his thumb as he spoke.
"Alright Narcissa. We don't think you're an invalid. We don't think you're stupid. Although I'm sure that you don't really think that everyone treats you that way. What about Ari? And all the teachers like you, right?" Narcissa smiled grudgingly.
"I have transfiguration right after your class, and Professor McGonagall is always in a bad mood on the days you don't skip. I think that your ideas of teachers liking someone and the teachers actually truly liking them are two different things." Lucius shrugged.
"Maybe you're right. But we probably need to get back to the castle. I think it's going to start raining soon. Narcissa laughed at this statement. There wasn't a cloud to be seen.
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Two hours late, the rain outside was pouring so heavily that all the students had been called inside due to a flood warning. Narcissa and Ari used this as an opportunity to go to the library and work on a particularly nasty potions essay. They sat in silence, a rare thing, each flipping through thick text books. For a while, all that was audible was the quiet rustling of turning pages. Finally, Ari slammed her dusty volume closed with an exaggerated sigh.
"I'm bored Cissy!" Narcissa gently shut her book as well. She knew the silence was too good to be true.
"Well, I'm sorry Ari, but this really needs to get done-" She started patiently.
"Yeah, we can do some other time! Come on! See, my aunt thinks that May 4th is my birthday, I'm not quite sure why, but the point is that she sends me really neat gifts, and since today is May 4th, I want to see what she sent." Narcissa smiled. She honestly didn't feel much like working either.
"Alright. Let's go." Ari jumped up without a second thought about the work that needed to be done.
"Last year," Ari explained as they headed towards the common room "She sent me these amazing carved bracelets from Bangladesh, and I was about to put them on, when this note falls out. It said, in all capital letters, DON'T PUT THESE ON. So I didn't, obviously, and the note went on to explain that they were cursed, and they would shrink until they were the size of rings. Like, that you wear on your fingers. So, I'm saving them for a… Special occasion." Narcissa stared, and Ari laughed at her expression. "So maybe Auntie Myma is a little different."
"A little? That sounds like a bit of an understatement!" They both were laughing as Narcissa opened the door to the common room.
"Well Cissy-"
"You bastard!" They looked up in time to see Bellatrix launching herself at Lucius, who drew his wand. His lips moved, and the whole room grew unnaturally quiet. The spell was aimed at Bella, but both Ari and Narcissa felt the two strange waves of pressure that slammed Bellatrix across the room, against the far stone wall. She crumpled to the floor, a pool of blood growing around her head.
(A/N: Just so everyone knows, I'll be gone for the next four weeks (In Australia, like Ari!) so I won't be able to update for a while! But the more reviews I get, the faster I'll be inspired to update when I get home!
Dark Mermaid: Their relationship will definitely develop a lot more as they get older, but not much can (cough) happen while they're young. But I need to establish a history between the two of them; it's going to be very important.
Narcissa Andromeda Blaque: Well… I update more quickly this time, right? I try, and your reviews help!
Minastirith: Frodo Baggins is the one from Lord of the Rings, right? I've never read that series, and our DVD player froze when we rented the movie. But maybe it would be cute. But I'm glad you think my story's cute too!