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Chapter Forty-Three
I'll Make you a Deal
Narcissa heard a light tap on her door; she assumed it was probably her mother coming to chastise her. She had wished Andromeda was there, but she apparently had plans with friends. Andy was never shy about pointing out just what she thought of pureblood bigotry; her mother had called her uncouth and often reminded her that if she did not keep her mouth shut, she would never find a suitable husband and end up an old spinster like their aunt Cassiopeia.
Narcissa had always liked her Aunt Cassi; perhaps becoming a spinster wouldn't be all that bad, better than marrying a Malfoy. Taking a deep breath, she rose from her bed and made her way to her bedroom door. She was surprised to see not her mother, but her father, standing on the other side.
"Father."
"May I come in?"
Narcissa gave a small nod as she made her way back to her bed, sitting down on the edge. Cygnus closed the door, taking a few steps closer to his daughter.
"You should not have reacted in such a manner, Cissy."
Narcissa's eyes rose to meet his; he had called her Cissy, and he hadn't done that since she was little. "I know, Father; I apologize, I just…I do not care for Lucius. He is arrogant and rude and thinks he's entitled to think and say and do whatever he likes. I…I do not believe I could ever come to love him." Her eyes moved to a small stuffed dragon that rested on her pillow; it was close to nine years old and worn well past any repair spells. It had been a gift from Cygnus; he had gone on a business trip to a dragon reserve and had brought back for all three of his girls a small stuffed dragon as a gift. Narcissa was the only one who still had hers.
Cygnus sighed as he sat down beside his daughter. In his heart, both Narcissa and Andromeda truly were his daughters; he had been there the day they were born, and he had given them his name, his titles, and they were his heirs, and he loved them. His wife, on the other hand…he put up with her, but honestly, his girls were about the only good things that ever came out of their marriage.
"I know Lucius can be a bit…pretentious, but he comes an old pureblood family, almost as old as ours, in fact. His family has powerful ties to the Ministry, and, of course, you would never want for anything as his wife."
Narcissa said nothing, but nodded softly; she had spoken her mind enough for one evening, and her father was being much kinder than she had expected, considering how she had thoroughly embarrassed her family in front of her future in-laws.
"I'll tell you what, since nothing has been formally contracted, I will give you until your seventeenth birthday, and if you believe you can find a boy suitable enough both in blood and in prestige to become betrothed to, then I will cancel the betrothal with Malfoy."
Narcissa's blue eyes instantly brightened, and a hopeful smile pulled at her lips. "Really?"
"Yes, however, as I stated, he will need to be in equal standing with the Malfoys, and, of course, I will have to approve of him."
"Oh, Father, thank you." And for the first time in years, Narcissa wrapped her small arms around her father's tall frame.
He returned the hug, gently patting her back. "I just want the best for you, Cissy."
"I know, I…I love you, Father."
Narcissa did love her father; she always had, and as she grew older, their relationship had grown strained. For what reason, she didn't really understand, but whether or not his blood was flowing in her veins, she would always call him father.
"I love you, too, Narcissa." She never saw the tears forming in his eyes as he placed a soft kiss atop her head. "My beautiful daughter."
XXX
Severus had been sitting on the couch for the past hour watching his sisters as his parents took in a movie. If you asked him, however, he would quickly point out that he was not babysitting, but conducting research. He, in fact, had a paper in hand and had been taking detailed notes on all three of his sisters the entire time. At a quarter to nine, his attention was briefly taken away from his sisters as green flames suddenly sprung from the fireplace.
"Hey, Severus, you in?"
Severus groaned as Sirius Black's head popped through the fireplace. "I'm sort of busy; what is it you require?"
Sirius laughed as he stepped through into his friend's front room. "Why, I require nothing but your company, good sir." Sirius gave a slight bow, then pretended to tip his hat.
Severus simply raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be amusing?"
"Merlin, Snape, what happened to your sense of humor, one of your baby sisters swallow it or something?" Sirius gave a barking laugh at his own joke. Severus, however, was still not amused.
"Doggie." The word had some from Claudia, who was clearly pointing at Sirius.
"What?" Sirius cocked his head; his brow wrinkled as he looked down at the grinning toddler.
"Woof, woof," Lina suddenly added. Julia said nothing, but giggled along with her sisters.
While Sirius found absolutely nothing cute about at be called a dog by an almost one-year-old, Severus, knowing Black's future Animagus form, found it quite entertaining and couldn't help but snicker.
"You find that funny?" Sirius snorted. "You have one seriously screwed up sense of humor."
You have no idea, Severus thought, but simply shrugged. "So, why are you here?"
A very Slytherin-like smirk pulled at his lips as he plopped down on the Snapes' couch. "Thought you might like to hear a little juicy gossip."
Severus rolled his eyes as he sat down beside his friend. "Do I look like some snobbish house-wife with nothing better to do than listen to hen-cackling nonsense?"
"It's about Narcissa."
Okay, so perhaps his curiosity was piqued a little. She had been one of his closest friends in his past life, and while Lily was clearly closer to her this time around, their friendship was growing.
"What about her?"
"Well, my mum just got finished talking to my aunt over the Floo. You see, The Malfoys had come over for dinner and…"
XXX
Lily lay in her bed, already dressed in her pajamas, nestled under her covers, yet she was far from sleepy. She decided to go ahead and do some reading, hoping it would help tire her eyes, but so far, it wasn't doing much good, at least as far as helping her rest. Instead, she found herself enthralled in one of Sev's potions books he had let her borrow.
Petunia had said good night to Alex before making her way to her room to get ready for bed. Alex had been her saving grace; like a light at the end of a darkened tunnel, he had shown her the way: a way to be happy, to live, to love, and oh, yes, did she ever love him. Sometimes she felt like she didn't deserve him, that he was too wonderful, too perfect and that she failed in comparison, but it seemed that whenever her doubts surfaced, all Alex would have to do is look into her eyes, and any such foolish thoughts all but floated away.
"Night, Tuney." Petunia turned to peer into her sister's room; Lily had looked up from her book and smiled. "Want to come in for a bit?"
Petunia just shrugged, turning her wheelchair into her sister's room and up to her bed. "Good book?" she asked, glancing at the red hardback-covered book that rested in her lap.
"Oh, yes, it's one of Sev's potions books. This one's on ancient Egyptian potions; it's actually quite fascinating."
Petunia just rolled her eyes. "Can't you ever read anything normal?"
"Hey, I read plenty of 'normal books'; I read that romance book you got me last Christmas."
"Really?" She gave a look of pure disbelief.
"Oh, yes, I have to say the boathouse scene was one of my favorite chapters. In fact," she said with a giggle, "I've been thinking about asking Sev to kiss me that way."
Petunia couldn't help but laugh at the naivety of her fourteen-year-old sister. "Lily, it was just a French kiss."
"I know, but the thought of Sev's tongue down my throat used to sound disgusting, but now…well, I think I'd rather like to try it."
"Well, I doubt Severus would refuse if you asked."
Again, Lily giggled. "No, probably not; you know, sometimes when we kiss, he grabs and squeezes my bum."
"Does he now?" A small smirk pulled at Petunia's lips as she leaned in closer to her sister. "Does he ever grab your breasts?"
It didn't take but a second for Lily's entire face to turn a bright cherry red. "No, but he presses his chest against mine a lot. D-does Alex touch yours?"
Petunia laughed as she leaned back in her chair. "Oh, he's touched a lot more than that, Lily."
The young witch gasped. "Petunia, are you saying…um, how far have you two gone, exactly?"
Not that Lily was interested in knowing the exact details of her sister's physical relationship with Alex, but she couldn't help but be a little curious.
Petunia gave a smirking grin before simply saying, "Third base."
Lily gave a confused look, having absolutely no idea what she meant by "third base." "Petunia, what-?"
"Ask Severus; I'm sure he'd know." And with that, Petunia gave her sister a final goodbye and headed towards her own bedroom.
XXX
Severus had found Sirius's story quite entertaining; he had to say he was quite proud of Narcissa, and he just hoped she had not received too harsh of a punishment for her actions. His parents had gotten home around ten, and instead of thanking him for watching the girls, he was scolded for keeping them up so late. Really, he didn't see what they were complaining about; the later they went to bed, the longer they would sleep in the morning, allowing his parents to do the same.
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