Chapter 34
"But I quickly made friends with the moon and my shadow;
To find pleasure in life, make the most of the spring.
Whenever I sang, the moon swayed with me;
Whenever I danced, my shadow went wild.
Drinking, we shared our enjoyment together;
Drunk, then each went off on his own.
But forever agreed on dispassionate revels,
We promised to meet in the far Milky Way."
- Li Po [Drinking Alone in the Moonlight]
Convincing Narcissa to take her out of school the Saturday of the Gryffindor Slytherin match was far easier than she expected. All it took was a letter complaining about how tired and stressed N.E.W.T.s studies were making her, and how excited she was for the wedding. Rose didn't even have to mention dress shopping to her at all—Narcissa's mind was so focused on the wedding already it was a natural activity. Even though Lucius wasn't a governor of the school anymore, he still had enough influence to arrange the outing. That was how Rose found herself sitting across from her mother one Saturday morning in April in a coffee shop in Diagon Alley before their appointment with the seamstress.
"How are classes going?" Narcissa asked, over a steaming cup of tea. She held the glass delicately with perfectly manicured nails, her pretty blue eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled at her daughter.
"They're going well, just a lot of work," Rose said honestly. "It's better now that I'm not working on the animagus transformation as well."
"Your father and I are so proud of you for that—to think, our daughter, the eighth animagus this century," Narcissa smiled, and Rose felt a warm wash of pride from her compliment. She hadn't been entirely sure how her parents would feel about it as historically animagi had a bit of a reputation for being criminals, so she was glad they'd decided to be proud rather than concerned.
"Thanks mom, I think it's the hardest thing I've ever done. I told you about the mandrake leaf, but did you know that for a whole week I had to wake up before dawn and go to a cave deep in the forbidden forest to collect morning dew?" Rose asked. She hadn't intended on bringing it up this early in their day together, but she didn't want to miss her chance.
"Into the forbidden forest? I wish they'd notified us about that," Narcissa said with a frown. "That sounds dangerous."
"Oh, I had nothing to worry about. Professor Hagrid woke up at four in the morning to escort me every day; nothing would have dared attack us."
"The gamekeeper?" Narcissa's eyebrows moved further towards her hairline.
"He used to be the gamekeeper, he's the Care of Magical Creatures Professor now, and it shows—you should have seen the crossbow he was carrying."
"A crossbow? That seems rather archaic, what's wrong with a wand?"
"That's what I thought too, but Professor Hagrid really knows his subject. You see, there are magical creatures in the forest that are resistant to magic, so a crossbow was a much better way to keep us safe," Rose said. She had no idea if this was true but was banking on the belief that her mother had never taken a Care of Magical Creatures class either and wouldn't know any different.
"Hmm," Narcissa hummed into her tea. "Draco describes him as incompetent, and with what happened the first week of classes... I would have preferred them to have sent Severus or Professor McGonagall with you."
"Oh mother, I love Draco, but you know how he is—always showing off for his friends. I saw his arm the day it happened, and he was perfectly fine; Madam Pomfrey healed him right away. And I heard from some of the other Slytherins that Draco was goofing around and not listening to Professor Hagrid's instructions." Rose shook her head in amused exasperation at her little brother. And then, deciding to pile it on a bit thicker, added, "Professor Hagrid even scared off a few dementors that came after us."
"Dementors attacked you?" Narcissa said sharply, and Rose backpedaled.
"I'm not sure if they meant to attack us or not, but you never want those monsters to get too close, do you?"
"Well… I will never speak ill of the man again," Narcissa concluded, going back to sipping her tea. Rose looked down into her own cup of coffee and sighed sadly.
"It's really a pity. I know Draco didn't mean it, but that incident at the beginning of the year has caused a lot of trouble for Professor Hagrid. Did you know father spoke to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures and that they've agreed to execute the hippogriff?"
"I'd… heard your father mention it," Narcissa said slowly.
"Professor Hagrid is really broken up about it—I mean, he's raised Buckbeak since he was a… a chick," Rose had no idea what to call a baby hippogriff.
"That's very sad," Narcissa agreed.
"I just feel terrible that he's done so much to help me, after all, I'd never have managed the transformation without him, and now his favorite pet is going to be put down because of our family."
"Well, dear, it really… it really can't be helped. You know your father. What's done is done."
"I suppose you're right. I just hope Professor Hagrid can win his appeal."
"There's an appeal?" Narcissa asked, her gaze intensifying keenly.
"Yes, I believe it's scheduled for the last week of classes."
"Well, we'll have to hope for the best," Narcissa concluded, and Rose could see the gears turning in her mind.
Many people underestimated her mother, thinking she was just a pretty face, but Rose knew otherwise. She could be devilishly cunning when she wanted to be, and Rose knew she didn't need to say anything more—her mother would handle it from here. After finishing their drinks, the pair rose to go. Walking towards the exit, they paused as a voice called out from a booth they passed.
"Cissy…?"
Rose glanced over at the voice and saw two women sitting across from one another. One had long dark hair and heavily lidded eyes—she was probably the same age as Rose's mother and just as beautiful. Across from her sat a young woman with short bubblegum pink hair who grinned and waved when Rose caught her eye.
"Dromeda?" Narcissa asked, her eyes widening in surprise. Rose didn't miss the tension in her mother's face.
"It's been a long time." The dark-haired woman smiled at her, her eyes flicking to Rose. "Is this your daughter?"
"I'm Rose," Rose introduced herself awkwardly. Narcissa's lips were pressed into a thin line and she seemed speechless.
"It's lovely to meet you Rose, Nymphadora here told me about you when you started at Hogwarts. It looks like you've grown into a very fine young woman."
"Mommm," the pink-haired woman whined and then grinned at Rose. "Can you believe she named me that? You can just call me Tonks."
"Thank you ma'am," Rose responded to the woman first hoping her mother would snap out of whatever funk she was in. And then, glancing at the pink girl, "Have we… met?"
"We overlapped at Hogwarts for two years. I don't blame you for not remembering, I was a Hufflepuff and tended towards a brunette back then." Rose's eyes widened as her hair changed from a bright pink to a shoulder length mousy brown color before her eyes.
"It's nice to re-meet you," Rose said, still not remembering the older woman.
"Nymphadora here has just passed her auror training, we were out celebrating." Tonks' mother said proudly.
"Oh, congratulations," Rose told her—she'd heard the training was incredibly difficult.
"Come Roselin," Narcissa said sharply, obviously annoyed by the conversation. "We'll be late for our appointment."
"Oh," Rose said in surprise as her mom rudely walked out the door without a word to the other two. "It was nice meeting you both, goodbye."
"Goodbye, dear," the older woman said, though she was watching Narcissa leave with a sad expression. Rose ran after her mother, shooting her a curious look.
"Mom… who was that?" She asked tentatively, she had never seen Narcissa looking so upset before.
"That was… Andromeda. My older sister," Narcissa told her, and Rose's eyes widened. She'd only ever known of one Aunt on her mother's side, and Bellatrix was currently in Azkaban.
"So that was my aunt and cousin?"
"They are not our family, Rose." Narcissa said coolly. "I haven't spoken to Dromeda in years, not since she married… that mudblood."
Rose fell silent at this revelation. She'd never known she had an aunt who had been disowned. It suddenly made her situation feel much more precarious. Rose had always known intellectually that her parents would be displeased if she didn't live up to their marital expectations, but the idea that she could be disowned by two people she thought loved her was terrifying. What would her parents think if they knew she'd recently been associating with muggles? What would they do if they knew the desires she'd been harboring for a certain werewolf? Rose wasn't sure which would rank lower on their list. Rose pushed aside the similarly disconcerting thought that her birth mother was also one of these despised mudbloods. Narcissa and Lucius seemed to have developed a selective blindness for this fact over the years.
"Mom, did you love dad when you first got married?" Rose asked as they walked. Narcissa glanced at her daughter and gave her a comforting smile.
"I respected and admired Lucius and trusted him to take care of me. He gave me two beautiful children who I love with all my heart... I wish we could have found someone closer to your age who you knew better, darling, but Stefan Dolohov is a good respectable man." Narcissa assured her.
"I know that mom. And don't worry about it, there's no one at Hogwarts I'd want to marry instead," Rose said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. No student at Hogwarts anyways.
When they got to the boutique, they were ushered into a private room with hors d'oeuvres and wine. Rose ooh-ed and ah-ed as Narcissa tried on various dresses that matched the color scheme for the mother of the bride. Rose—who hadn't even known her wedding had a color scheme, thought the dusty pink color that Narcissa had chosen looked quite good on her.
"Your dress won't be done for a while, but the designer had some similar ones she said you could try on."
Rose held up the bodice as the attendant laced it expertly up her back and helped her out of the changing room by carrying the lengthy train. Narcissa gasped and clapped her hands excitedly when she saw her. The attendant arranged the train carefully on the floor around her, and Narcissa gently set a veil onto the crown of her head. Rose lifted her eyes to look at herself in the mirror and her breath caught in her throat.
The shoulderless bodice with its sweetheart neckline and corset beautifully emphasized the little curve her body had—making her look less like a gangly toothpick and more like a curvaceous woman. The white fabric hugged her body to her thighs and then flared out into a long train of gossamer lace. The entire fabric was covered in delicate beading and tiny jewels that glistened when she moved. The veil Narcissa had set in her hair was simple and edged with a similar beading but was as long as the train on her dress.
"Mom, it's… incredible," Rose gasped, twisting from side to side to see more of the dress. She was sure she had never worn anything that made her feel this beautiful in her entire life.
"You look so beautiful," Narcissa told her, tears welling in her eyes. "I can't believe my little girl is going to be married in less than three months!"
"Three months!" Rose nearly choked, shooting a wide-eyed look at Narcissa. Her mother looked at her in surprise and then with a slightly guilty expression.
"Yes darling, don't you remember me telling you what a beautiful June bride you'll make?"
"You said a June bride… you didn't say which June you were talking about," Rose gasped.
"Did I not?" Narcissa asked uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, darling, you know how busy we've been with the planning. I hardly remember what I've written and what I haven't."
"I think the date is pretty significant." Rose grumped at her mother, feeling suddenly like the corset had become much too tight. "Don't you think it's… a little fast?"
"Oh, honey, I know you're nervous," Narcissa said, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly. "But you'll have been engaged almost eight months by then. And a long engagement is much harder than you think. Lucius and I were engaged almost two years before we finally got married. Believe me, you'll have much more power once he's wearing a ring as well, it's best to do it as soon as possible."
"Still..."
"Darling, once you're married and you start having children it will hardly matter who you're married to. They will become your entire world."
Rose nodded silently at this, remembering how beautiful Sam's little brother Kwesi was and trying to keep her panic from welling up to noticeable levels.
"It's going to be such a beautiful wedding. Margot and I were thinking of a large ceremony at first, but a small exclusive wedding is all the rage these days. People will be dying for an invitation." Narcissa gushed. Rose was privately relieved to hear this but didn't tell her mother that. After a few more hours of trying on various wedding attire and ornamentations, their time together was at an end.
"I'll speak to your father about the hippogriff," Narcissa told her as she dropped her at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, and Rose was grateful her goal had been accomplished.
"Thanks, mom," Rose said with a smile, looking up at the sound of someone approaching. She tried to keep her face completely neutral when she saw it was Professor Lupin who had come to escort her back to the castle. She saw her mother's gaze flicker across his patched robes judgementally before they returned to her daughter.
"We'll see you after exams," Narcissa said, stepping in and kissing her on the cheek. "I love you, darling."
"Love you too, mom," Rose said earnestly, stepping away from the woman and walking over to Lupin. She heard the quiet pop of her mother disapparating behind her. She slunk close to Remus as they passed the dementors, wrapping her arm around his for warmth. She was amazed to find that the heat of his body kept off the cold of the creatures as effectively as her patronus. When he didn't object to her presence, Rose couldn't find it in her heart to move away.
"How was your trip?" Remus asked casually after a few minutes of silent walking.
"It was… eventful," she answered. "I met an aunt and cousin I didn't know I had."
"Oh?" Remus said, his eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, Andromeda. Apparently, she was disowned for marrying a... a muggle-born," Rose said dejectedly, and Remus winced.
"Fun…?" he said cautiously, and Rose laughed.
"I also tried on wedding dresses," she told him, watching in satisfaction as his jaw tightened. She could feel the muscles in his arm tense and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I'm sure you looked… great," he said after a moment's hesitation.
"How badly to Slytherin lose?" Rose asked, deciding a change of subject was for the best.
"By two hundred ten points."
"So Gryffindor won the championship," Rose sighed, running a hand over her face in annoyance at Flint's incompetence.
"Afraid so," Remus said, but his grin belayed his condolences.
"I thought Professors weren't supposed to have favorites?"
"Tell that to Snape and McGonagall," he laughed heartily.
"You were rooting for Gryffindor then?"
"Well, my favorite wasn't playing this match, so I had to settle for them," he chuckled, and Rose felt tingly from head to toe and nuzzled her cheek more closely into his arm. 'This is stupid,' she thought, 'if you do this, it's just going to hurt more when it's over.' But at the moment, with his arm in hers, she couldn't bring herself to care.
