"I was worried you were dead. Your soul freed from your earthly body and said earthly body buried in the ground somewhere, all alone."

Narcissa lets out a laugh, shaking her head. "I've been with Lucius, Andi, that's all. Nowhere near dead and buried."

"You haven't spent a single minute with me in weeks," Andromeda complains. She sits down besides Narcissa on the couch in the commons, flinging her arm out and resting on it. She tucked her long legs beneath her, not caring about how her skirt rode up past her knees.

"I'm sorry, Andi. It's just that Lucius and I have been getting used to each other and it's been a bit all-consuming."

"You've been cruel."

"Now wait a minute," Narcissa chides. "I haven't seen much of you, either. Where have you been hiding away at meals and after classes? With a certain boy who's been reading you poetry?"

Narcissa is glad to see the sharp red blush that tinges across Andromeda's features. She was always the quickest to show emotion; it sprouted easily on her face, a kaleidoscope of her constantly shifting feelings. "Maybe." Andromeda grins, wringing her hands together.

"Well, there! You can't complain that I'm spending too much time with Lucius when all the while you've been trouncing around with your own mystery boy."

"Hmm. Well. I see your point. It's just… Cissa, how well do you know Lucius Malfoy?"

"Incredibly so," Narcissa says firmly. "Which shouldn't surprise you seeing as we have, as you've accused, spent nearly every minute together for the past month."

"Hmm," Andromeda says again, shifting in her seat. "It's just… Well. Oh, I just don't know how to say all this."

"What is it, Andi? What on earth has got you so tongue tied?"

"I don't like Lucius."

Narcissa scoffs, feeling suddenly abrasive. "I don't recall asking your opinion."

"I know, I know, and I didn't want to say anything, but I was looking into the ball for you like I said I would, and I saw some things, some terrible things, and I just had to tell you-"
"I don't want to know," Narcissa says sharply, cutting her off. "You were right before about only wanting a glimpse of your future. I don't want any more than the taste you've already given me. I want to be surprised, to live in the moment, to have a full life without knowing all of the secrets to it."

"But I saw something terrible, Cissa. I have to tell you, to warn you!"

"No," Narcissa says, holding up her hand. "Because you're wrong. There's nothing horrible in my future. I'm going to have the most beautiful, charmed, wonderful life."

"Well, there's a certain amount of truth to that, to be sure," Andromeda grumbles. "But please Cissa. Let me just tell you what I saw."

"No. Not after you said you didn't like Lucius. You don't even know him, Andi. He's much more than he appears to be, and you should know better than to just judge him by the reputation other people have given him!"

"Oh, be fair, Cissa. I haven't said anything too terrible. It's just, he has this reputation-"

Narcissa groans. "I've already gone through this with Bella, I don't want to go through it with you, too. It's bad enough having one over protective sister, I don't need two. I was hoping you'd be the one to actually be happy for me."

Andromeda sighs. "Of course I'm happy for you, Cissa. I can see that he means a lot to you, I just… God, Cissa. I'm sorry. I can't help but be protective. I just don't trust him. And I want you to be happy, of course I do… Oh, you're putting me in such a dreadful position."

"It's not a dreadful position, it's a simple one. You can either accept mine and Lucius's relationship or I just simply won't talk to you. Easy as that."

"Cissa! You can't do that!"

"I can and I will," Narcissa says firmly, crossing. She gives a freezing cold glare at Andromeda, her smiling expression completely dried up.
"Well, I… Oh, god, Cissa, seriously? Fine, fine. I won't try and tell you your future anymore and I won't say anything terrible about Lucius. Happy?"

"Delighted," she says coldly.

"Cissa… You know I love you. You simply must know that. You just don't understand how difficult it can be to be a big sister."

Narcissa rolls her eyes. "What Lucius and I have is wonderful. He knows me and cares about me and accepts me. So don't be cruel to him just because you don't understand him."

"I'll give him a second chance, okay? I'll do my best to see what you see in him."

Narcissa thinks for a moment but then nods. "That's all I ask. Now, are you going to tell me about this boy you've been seeing?"

"Well, I… That's actually a difficult matter." Narcissa raises her eyebrow but Andromeda continues on. "He's wonderful, you'd love him. He's just an absolute sweetheart. But it's… complicated, you see?"

Narcissa frowns. "I don't see," she says plainly. "What's the problem with him?"

"Oh, no, no. He's perfectly wonderful. Not a fault in the world. I guess it's just… We want to take our time before going public. We have some things we want to work out first."

Narcissa's frown deepens even further. "It seems as though there's something wrong with him."

"No! Oh, no, he's lovely. Just lovely. I'll introduce you to him soon, I promise. And you'll adore him, I'm absolutely certain of it. He's wonderful, Cissa. Truly wonderful."

"Uh-huh."

"I'll introduce you soon. You'll just be smitten."

"Alright, Andi. Now I've got to go. I've got homework to do."

"I've ruined things, haven't I?" Andromeda says with a sigh. "I haven't seen you for an entire month and now I've absolutely ruined things because I was mean about your boyfriend. I'm sorry, Cissa, I really am. Please forgive me. I don't want this to come between us. I miss you."

Narcissa sighs. "Take back all those terrible things you said about Lucius and about my future."

"I take them back. Forget I said a word."

"Alright. I'll consider forgiving you now."

Andromeda groans loudly. "Oh, just forgive me already, won't you? Please, please, please?"

Rolling her eyes, Narcissa gives in. "Fine, Andi. I forgive you."

Delighted, Andromeda pulls Narcissa into her arms. "You really like this boy?"

"I do," Narcissa admits softly, whispering into her shoulder. "Oh, Andi, I think I love him."

Andromeda pulls away a short distance so that she can look into Narcissa's face. "That's wonderful," she says, pulling her into a hug. "Your first love. That's wonderful, Cissa, just wonderful. Only, make sure you know for certain before you tell him, okay? It changes things. Changes your whole relationship. So, just… make sure you know for certain."

"Have you… Have you ever told a boy you loved them?"

"Too many," Andromeda admits with a sigh. "But I'm a bit of a fool. I couldn't tell when it was real."

"And this new boy? Do you love him?"

"I think so," Andromeda confesses. "More so than ever before. Which is another reason why we're taking it so slow. I want to make sure this one is for real. It would absolutely devastate me if I'm a fool again. I really, really like him, Cissa."

"Have you told him you love him?"

"Not yet," she says. "He told me he loved me and I wanted to say it back, but I was so terrified that that would ruin things. All those other boys I dated… Well, things seemed to go downhill after I told them. Some boys have this absolutely awful habit of telling you they love you just to get you in bed. It's awful. And I don't want to make that mistake again."

"Lucius and I have already had sex," Narcissa whispers.

"Oh! Oh…" Andromeda takes a moment and Narcissa can see her processing it. "You do love him, don't you? I've never seen you like this about a boy before."

"That's because there isn't any other boy in the world for me," Narcissa says softly. It felt good to say all this outloud to someone. Bellatrix didn't understand, and this wasn't something she was willing to talk to Severus or Rabastan about, and, well, apart from them, Narcissa didn't have many friends. There were many girls she got along with, but none she trusted to divulge secrets to. "He understands me, Andi, in ways no one else does. He knows what it's like to have people view you one way, but to really be something else entirely. I adore him. Everything about him, the big things and the small ones. I love the way he smiles, how you can never tell if it's a smirk or a smile. It's silly and I used to despise that about him, but I love it now. I love the way he always scribbles drawings on the corners of my pages for me while I'm doing my homework and he gets bored. I love the way he holds my hands in the hallways, how easy it is to talk to him, how he says my name, the feel of him kissing me … I can't stand you saying anything terrible about him because I love him, Andi. I love this boy."

Andromeda pulls her tighter in her arms, holding her. "You deserve love, Cissa. You deserve the greatest love in the world. And every little happiness."

There was restraint in her voice, something she was holding back, but Narcissa didn't care. She knew at this moment that all her words were true and she was overwhelmed. She loved Lucius Malfoy. The thought of him brought a smile back to her face. She'd tell him. Soon. When the moment was perfect.

Narcissa sits up and pecks her sister's forehead. "I really do have homework I have to get to," she says. "But thank you, Andi. For talking with me."

"I love you, Cissa."

"I love you, too, and I want to meet this boy of yours. I also want you to meet Lucius. To really get to know him. You'll see how wonderful he is. You'll understand why I love him."

Andromeda gives a hesitant nod. "Of course, Cissa. When the time is right."

Narcissa smiles, heading away with her mind on her revelation. For the very first time in her life, Narcissa knew that she was in love. It was a wonderful feeling, one she hoped she could soon share with Lucius.