Chapter Five

Narcissa grabs a nectarine from the table, taking a bite from it and brushing away the juice that slides down her chin. She wipes her face quickly as her sister Andromeda comes to join her at the table.

"I've seen you in the tea leaves," Andromeda says, sinking into the chair beside her. "And Madame Giavanni let me look into it further on her crystal ball."

Narcissa snorts but smiles. Andromeda had been captivated with divination and astrology since her first year and had taken to the idea that she was a seer. To be fair, a few of her premonitions had been accurate, but they were never anything more than vague foreshadowings into the future. "What did you see?" she says, humoring her sister.

"A boy," Andromeda says with a smile, pulling out some of her moon charts. "A blonde boy. Your son."

"My son?" Narcissa smiles, amused at this small prophecy. "And how do you know he's my son?"

"He has your eyes," Andromeda says confidently. "Bright blue eyes. And he frowns with his forehead, just like you do." She reaches out to touch the space between Narcissa's forehead where a crease marks her scowls. Narcissa finds herself scowling unconsciously and Andromeda smiles proudly. "Yes! Just like that."

Narcissa rolls her eyes, calming her features. "Well, is that all? Just a peek of my son? What about the rest of my children?"

"It was just the one," Andromeda says with a frown.

"Then I'm afraid you must be wrong," Narcissa says easily. "I plan on having many children. Five or six, at least."

"Well, maybe they just weren't born yet," Andromeda defends. "Although, he was old in my vision. I don't know. Not everything was clear. But he did have your eyes, Cissa. I'm sure he was your son. You were holding onto him, comforting him."

"Did you see my husband at least? Is he handsome?"

"I don't know, Cissa. It's not as easy as you'd think to control these visions. I only see brief glimpses. But I'm sure your husband will be plenty handsome and you'll be madly in love."

Narcissa laughs but finds herself smiling. "And my son? Is he handsome as well?"

"Very," Andromeda assures her. "Though he seemed grieved about something. Clearly he cares for you, though, Cissa. He loves you a lot."

"What other visions have you had recently?" Narcissa asks, bemused by this little possibility of her future. "Anything about Bella?"

"No," Andromeda sighs. "No, sadly not. Although, I don't think I really want to know about Bella's future. I've gotten feelings when I've tried to see her future and honestly, it just gives me the shivers. I can't really explain it. But Bella's always been so unpredictable. Maybe that's why her future has been so hard to see."

"Are you accusing me of being predictable?"

Andromeda laughs. "Of course you're predictable, Cissa. You've always been the one to play it safe. There's nothing wrong with that at all. I think you're far more sane and likeable than Bella."

Narcissa rolls her eyes, taking another bite of her nectarine and waiting until she's swallowed before asking Andromeda her next question. "And what about you?" she asks. "Have you tried looking into your own future?"

Andromeda smiles, pouring herself some oatmeal and stirring in sugar and berries on top. Narcissa rolls her eyes at her sister's sweet tooth. "I want to keep my own future a secret," she says, taking a goopy bite of oatmeal. "But… yes, I have tried looking into my own future. I couldn't help it. I was just too tempted. I didn't look too hard, though. Just enough to get an impression."

"And what did you see?"
"A man's hand," she smiles. "With a wedding ring. Rubbing my pregnant belly."

"Is that all?"

"Oh, that was more than enough," Andromeda smiles. "I didn't want to spoil it for myself. I'm much too excited to live it all for myself."

Narcissa laughs, shaking her head. "I see how it is, then. I'm just your little guinea pig. My future is only there for you to experiment your little talents on."

Andromeda nods, smiling. "Precisely. Madame Giavanni says I've got a talent for it, though. She's quite pleased with the progress I've made."

"Well, next time you go looking into my future, I want you to tell me what my husband looks like. I want to know just how handsome he will be."

"Are you still wanting to wait until mama and papa pick a husband for you?" Andromeda asks. Arranged marriages were still prevalent in the pureblood households, but they were slowly going out of style. Narcissa would still need her parents approval and blessing before even accepting a proposal, but she had been leaning towards allowing her parents to arrange her marriage for her instead of going through the process of trying to find a proper match for herself.

From what Bellatrix had told her the other day, Narcissa knew her eldest sister was planning on engaging herself to Rodolphus Lestrange before their father could betroth her to someone else, as he often threatened to do. Bellatrix was too wild, too uncontrollable. Cygnus Black demanded that she be married someday, and Narcissa suspected that that's why she had gotten so serious with Rodolphus so quickly. The Lestranges were a proper family. Good name, good title, and good enough bank account to make him a worthy match. It was a smart pairing, and Narcissa suspected that Bellatrix didn't much care if she had any true feelings for Rodolphus or not. His only purpose was to keep her from being married off to some stranger she couldn't control.

Andromeda was determined to find her own husband, a fact she had insisted to her parents time and time again. Her parents had agreed so long as she found a suitable fiance by the time she turned twenty and that he met all of their requirements: pureblood, good name, rich. As far as Narcissa could tell, Andromeda had not made any progress on this front. This glimpse of a vision that Andromeda had had, though, must mean she'd be successful eventually.

"I trust that mama and papa will make a suitable choice for me," Narcissa says with a nod. "I'll be happy with their choice. So long as I don't meet a man before they've settled on a match, I'll be delighted with whoever they choose for me." It was mostly the truth. Narcissa knew that her parents would be diligent in their matching for her, but she knew she made this decision mostly out of fear. It was too much pressure to find the right boy, the boy of her dreams who would love her and care for her and make her feel alive. It was easier to put the pressure on her parents and to just trust that everything would work out.

"Predictable," Andromeda cautions playfully. "You're dreadfully predictable, Cissa."

"I'm just old fashioned," Narcissa defends. "And you've already told me that I'm going to have a beautiful son, so I really don't think there's much for me to worry about."

Andromeda rolls her eyes but nods. "I'll keep looking," she promises. "If I see your handsome husband, I'll let you know."

Narcissa shakes her head but smiles, finishing her fruit. "I've got to get to class. You let me know how my future turns out." She gathers her things, hurrying off.

Andromeda shovels more sweet oatmeal into her mouth, calling out after Narcissa. "I will!"