Part Four:
Narcissa stared around her at the unfamiliar place. She hadn't been to Diagon Alley in years: Lucius had always gone with Draco to get his school things, while she'd stay at the manor. In fact, the only time that Narcissa had really gone out, besides to other Death Eaters homes, was to the Quidditch World Cup two years before. Draco had been so excited...
She fought back tears as she went into a store called Madam Roggo's Foreign Objects. Ophelia had been wanting to get some shopping done, and had given Narcissa a list. Rather reluctantly: Mrs. Crabbe had been planning on sending a servant, but Narcissa, who was sick of being in the Crabbe's large house, was more then happy to volunteer.
"Are you sure, dear?" Ophelia asked. Then she laughed. "I mean, I didn't know you'd ever gone shopping before!"
Narcissa had taken offense to that comment, even though it was true. "For your information, I've done plenty of shopping." She was lying through her teeth, but what did it matter?
"Alright, alright, don't get so defensive." Narcissa could tell that Ophelia was getting sick of having the guest in her home: her formerly warm and welcome attitude had been replaced with a polite stiffness. She thrust the list at Narcissa. "Here, knock yourself out."
Narcissa wasn't at all offended that Ophelia hadn't wanted to come with her: in fact, she was downright relieved. She needed some time alone.
But now that she had arrived at Diagon Alley, she wished she'd at least brought a servant with her. She hadn't thought shopping would be very hard, but she didn't know where anything was, so it made things a bit more difficult.
As she scanned the shelves for powdered Spanish rat (she hated to image what Ophelia could possibly need that for) when she spotted the back of a man's head. He had sleeked back, very light blond hair, and was wearing a heavy black cloak, in spite of the warm day. Narcissa gasped...no, it couldn't be him, the breakout wasn't planned for another two weeks, at least...forgetting her mission, Narcissa backed quickly out of the store...
And straight into someone.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Narcissa mumbled, turnign around. And gasping at the person she'd bumped into.
Remus Lupin.
"Narcissa?" he asked, looking surprised. He forgot the things he'd dropped on the ground.
"Um...h-hello, Remus." She looked down at his dropped items. "I'm sorry, let me-"
"No, no, I've got it," Remus said quickly, bending down to pick up the basket of potion ingrediants. Narcissa took this moment to examine him. He looked just as her son had said: light brown hair that was greying, a tired face, shabby robes. Actually, Draco (being the snob that he was), had put more emphasis on the sorry state of his former professor's robes, but he'd said a little about his facial features.
When Remus straightened up, he looked at Narcissa again. And cleared his throat.
Narcissa spoke first. "How are you, Remus?"
"Um...fine, just fine." Narcissa knew, from what she had heard from her husband and his Death Eater friends, that Lupin was doing a lot of work for some anti-Voldemort group. Narcissa noticed that his eyes were a bit bloodshot. Remus cleared his throat again after an akward silence. "Well, I...heard about what happened. I'm sorry." He sounded sincere.
"Thank you." Narcissa felt the tears filling her eyes again.
"It...must be very hard." Remus seemed very uncomfortable. Narcissa thought that he would leave, and she couldn't bear the thought.
"Would you like to grab a drink with me?" she asked quickly.
"A-a drink?" Remus seemed very surprised at the offer. Well, he had every right to be surprised. She hadn't spoken to him since that night twenty years ago...she could tell that he would've rather refused, but he was too polite. "Um, alright. Yes, we can got get a drink."
They walked to the Leaky Cauldron in silence. Narcissa hadn't been in the pub since she was seventeen, and it hadn't changed much. She thanked God that it was dark in there: she didn't want anyone she knew to see her with Lupin and think anything. Thankfully, Remus led her to a small table in the back: he didn't want anyone to see him just as much as she wanted anyone to see her. Being a werewolf and all, he wasn't very popular in the public eye.
They didn't speak until they'd both ordered their drinks: Narcissa a red currant rum (she'd been a heavy drinker since the day she'd married), Remus a gillywater (it was the afternoon, after all). Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, until Remus said, "Wow. It's been, what, nineteen years now?"
Narcissa nodded. "Nearly twenty."
Remus nodded, swirling his finger around his drink. "I wish I weren't lying when I'd said that things were fine. But I was."
Narcissa looked at him. "Oh?"
"Well...did you hear about Sirius?"
Of course, he was bound to come up. Narcissa nodded. "Yes...I've spoken to Bellatrix. She was very pleased with herself." The last sentence was spoken in a bitter tone. "I'm sorry." She knew that her cousin had been good friends with Remus.
Remus sighed. "Well, losing a friend isn't as bad as losing a son, I suppose." He saw Narcissa's eyes fill with tears again. "Oh...I'm sorry..."
"Remus...it's all my fault."
"Now, Narcissa," Remus said gently, patting her hand. "You were trying to save yourself. It was probably too late for him by the time you got out. Don't beat yourself up over-"
"No!" Narcissa cried with a sniff. "I was the one who started the fire!"
Remus gaped at her. "No, Narcissa, you-"
She suddenly felt very angry. "Don't tell me you don't know the truth, Remus. I know that you run with my niece, in that little Order of the Bird thing of yours. She told me that she knew what really happened, so-"
"Narcissa, Tonks never told me."
Narcissa snorted. "Tonks? Of course, the little Mu-the brat would go by her nasty surname."
Remus almost smiled, but he stopped himself. "Narcissa...you started the fire?"
Narcissa nodded sadly. "I wasn't even thinking about Draco. I just...wanted to destroy his things." Remus could tell that by "him", she meant her husband. He frowned.
"He wasn't good to you, then?"
Narcissa was suddenly thrown back into the past again...
It was a warm March evening, and she was walking down the cooridor after a visit with the headmaster and her parents. They had officially taken her out of the school, and now she was going to her dormitory, for the last time, to get her things.
"Narcissa!" The seventeen-year-old girl was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of her younger boyfriend's voice. She turned around and saw fifteen-year-old Remus Lupin running towards her. He reached her, and gasped out, "Tell me it's not true!"
"Tell you what's not true?" she demanded icily. She had been dreading this moment, had hoped she could leave without having to do it: say goodbye to the boy she loved.
"Everyone's saying that you're dropping out of school, that your parents are here and you're leaving." Narcissa nodded, and began to walk away. But Remus wouldn't let her off that easy. He fell instep with her. "Why?"
"I'm getting married." She said it with a sharp indifference. She knew how hard the words would hit him.
The shock was evident in his voice. "Married? What? To who?"
"Lucius Malfoy." She tried to make her voice proud, like she was the luckiest girl in England.
"Malfoy?" The 26-year-old was already well known (and hated) in the magical community. "Why?"
"Because he asked me to." Narcissa didn't look at him. She spoke like she was speaking to a stupid little kid.
"Do you love him?"
The words shook Narcissa up inside. She stopped walking, as did Remus. She couldn't avoid his gaze any longer. "He's...nice." Narcissa had only met Malfoy once, at a dinner party. He wasn't exactly "nice", but she hadn't seen his mean side...yet.
"You didn't answer my question."
Narcissa shook off the young man's sharp words. "It's none of your business, Lupin. You're just jealous."
"How could you do this to me?" he demanded, causing her to jump. Lupin wasn't much of a yeller, but his voice was very loud now. "What we have, Narcissa, it's-"
"Never going to make it." Narcissa spoke as calmly as she could, but she could feel her bottom lip quiver. "Look, it's not like we have much of a chance in the future, is there? You're-"
"Whatever, Narcissa," Remus said quickly, not wanting to get into how he was a poor werewolf. He narrowed his eyes. "I reckon Sirius was right about you. You're nothing but a Slytherin snob."
"That's right, Remus. You should've remembered that." With that, Narcissa took off at almost a run. Remus didn't run after her, but he left her with these parting words:
"You'll be miserable, Narcissa. You're walking into a trap!" She replied by sticking her middle finger up at him, a crude gesture that required no words.
Now, she looked across the table at Remus. The only boy she'd ever loved. And he'd been right: she'd walked right into a trap. Ever since her wedding night, she'd relived that last conversation in her head. She wished she'd told him the truth, and said, "Remus, I love you. Take me away from all this." But it had been too late, damage done. She never thought she'd see him again.
Remus gave her a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I was right," he said sadly, as if reading her thoughts.
"Oh, Remus," she whispered. "I wish I'd never left that night."
"What did he do to you, Narcissa?"
It was the same words that her niece had spoken to her, just days before. They had angered her then, but when Remus said them...
"He..." She couldn't say it. She broke down into sobs and put her head on the table. In a quick motion, Remus moved to her side of the table, putting his arm around her.
"There, there," he said. "It's okay now. He's in Azkaban."
Narcissa looked at him, her eyes slightly puffy. "Not for long," she whispered, her voice full of fear. "There's a breakout planned-"
"What?"
Narcissa wanted to slap herself. Stupid! He was a member of an anti-Voldemort group, and she was giving him valuable information...about her Death Eater husband! But when she looked into his concerned eyes, she didn't care.
"Do you know when, Narcissa?"
She shook her head. "No. I just know that it'll be soon: within the next few weeks, I think." She blinked. "Oh, God, Remus. He knows where I am! He's going to come after me!"
"No, he's not." Remus stood up. "Come on. You'll need to fetch your things: you're coming to stay with me. I'll protect you."
Narcissa hesitated. After all, she'd just betrayed her husband. But what had he ever done for her, anyway? And here was the man she'd loved, never stopped loving, offering to protect her. She couldn't refuse.
She stood up. "Okay. Let's go."
Narcissa stared around her at the unfamiliar place. She hadn't been to Diagon Alley in years: Lucius had always gone with Draco to get his school things, while she'd stay at the manor. In fact, the only time that Narcissa had really gone out, besides to other Death Eaters homes, was to the Quidditch World Cup two years before. Draco had been so excited...
She fought back tears as she went into a store called Madam Roggo's Foreign Objects. Ophelia had been wanting to get some shopping done, and had given Narcissa a list. Rather reluctantly: Mrs. Crabbe had been planning on sending a servant, but Narcissa, who was sick of being in the Crabbe's large house, was more then happy to volunteer.
"Are you sure, dear?" Ophelia asked. Then she laughed. "I mean, I didn't know you'd ever gone shopping before!"
Narcissa had taken offense to that comment, even though it was true. "For your information, I've done plenty of shopping." She was lying through her teeth, but what did it matter?
"Alright, alright, don't get so defensive." Narcissa could tell that Ophelia was getting sick of having the guest in her home: her formerly warm and welcome attitude had been replaced with a polite stiffness. She thrust the list at Narcissa. "Here, knock yourself out."
Narcissa wasn't at all offended that Ophelia hadn't wanted to come with her: in fact, she was downright relieved. She needed some time alone.
But now that she had arrived at Diagon Alley, she wished she'd at least brought a servant with her. She hadn't thought shopping would be very hard, but she didn't know where anything was, so it made things a bit more difficult.
As she scanned the shelves for powdered Spanish rat (she hated to image what Ophelia could possibly need that for) when she spotted the back of a man's head. He had sleeked back, very light blond hair, and was wearing a heavy black cloak, in spite of the warm day. Narcissa gasped...no, it couldn't be him, the breakout wasn't planned for another two weeks, at least...forgetting her mission, Narcissa backed quickly out of the store...
And straight into someone.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Narcissa mumbled, turnign around. And gasping at the person she'd bumped into.
Remus Lupin.
"Narcissa?" he asked, looking surprised. He forgot the things he'd dropped on the ground.
"Um...h-hello, Remus." She looked down at his dropped items. "I'm sorry, let me-"
"No, no, I've got it," Remus said quickly, bending down to pick up the basket of potion ingrediants. Narcissa took this moment to examine him. He looked just as her son had said: light brown hair that was greying, a tired face, shabby robes. Actually, Draco (being the snob that he was), had put more emphasis on the sorry state of his former professor's robes, but he'd said a little about his facial features.
When Remus straightened up, he looked at Narcissa again. And cleared his throat.
Narcissa spoke first. "How are you, Remus?"
"Um...fine, just fine." Narcissa knew, from what she had heard from her husband and his Death Eater friends, that Lupin was doing a lot of work for some anti-Voldemort group. Narcissa noticed that his eyes were a bit bloodshot. Remus cleared his throat again after an akward silence. "Well, I...heard about what happened. I'm sorry." He sounded sincere.
"Thank you." Narcissa felt the tears filling her eyes again.
"It...must be very hard." Remus seemed very uncomfortable. Narcissa thought that he would leave, and she couldn't bear the thought.
"Would you like to grab a drink with me?" she asked quickly.
"A-a drink?" Remus seemed very surprised at the offer. Well, he had every right to be surprised. She hadn't spoken to him since that night twenty years ago...she could tell that he would've rather refused, but he was too polite. "Um, alright. Yes, we can got get a drink."
They walked to the Leaky Cauldron in silence. Narcissa hadn't been in the pub since she was seventeen, and it hadn't changed much. She thanked God that it was dark in there: she didn't want anyone she knew to see her with Lupin and think anything. Thankfully, Remus led her to a small table in the back: he didn't want anyone to see him just as much as she wanted anyone to see her. Being a werewolf and all, he wasn't very popular in the public eye.
They didn't speak until they'd both ordered their drinks: Narcissa a red currant rum (she'd been a heavy drinker since the day she'd married), Remus a gillywater (it was the afternoon, after all). Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, until Remus said, "Wow. It's been, what, nineteen years now?"
Narcissa nodded. "Nearly twenty."
Remus nodded, swirling his finger around his drink. "I wish I weren't lying when I'd said that things were fine. But I was."
Narcissa looked at him. "Oh?"
"Well...did you hear about Sirius?"
Of course, he was bound to come up. Narcissa nodded. "Yes...I've spoken to Bellatrix. She was very pleased with herself." The last sentence was spoken in a bitter tone. "I'm sorry." She knew that her cousin had been good friends with Remus.
Remus sighed. "Well, losing a friend isn't as bad as losing a son, I suppose." He saw Narcissa's eyes fill with tears again. "Oh...I'm sorry..."
"Remus...it's all my fault."
"Now, Narcissa," Remus said gently, patting her hand. "You were trying to save yourself. It was probably too late for him by the time you got out. Don't beat yourself up over-"
"No!" Narcissa cried with a sniff. "I was the one who started the fire!"
Remus gaped at her. "No, Narcissa, you-"
She suddenly felt very angry. "Don't tell me you don't know the truth, Remus. I know that you run with my niece, in that little Order of the Bird thing of yours. She told me that she knew what really happened, so-"
"Narcissa, Tonks never told me."
Narcissa snorted. "Tonks? Of course, the little Mu-the brat would go by her nasty surname."
Remus almost smiled, but he stopped himself. "Narcissa...you started the fire?"
Narcissa nodded sadly. "I wasn't even thinking about Draco. I just...wanted to destroy his things." Remus could tell that by "him", she meant her husband. He frowned.
"He wasn't good to you, then?"
Narcissa was suddenly thrown back into the past again...
It was a warm March evening, and she was walking down the cooridor after a visit with the headmaster and her parents. They had officially taken her out of the school, and now she was going to her dormitory, for the last time, to get her things.
"Narcissa!" The seventeen-year-old girl was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of her younger boyfriend's voice. She turned around and saw fifteen-year-old Remus Lupin running towards her. He reached her, and gasped out, "Tell me it's not true!"
"Tell you what's not true?" she demanded icily. She had been dreading this moment, had hoped she could leave without having to do it: say goodbye to the boy she loved.
"Everyone's saying that you're dropping out of school, that your parents are here and you're leaving." Narcissa nodded, and began to walk away. But Remus wouldn't let her off that easy. He fell instep with her. "Why?"
"I'm getting married." She said it with a sharp indifference. She knew how hard the words would hit him.
The shock was evident in his voice. "Married? What? To who?"
"Lucius Malfoy." She tried to make her voice proud, like she was the luckiest girl in England.
"Malfoy?" The 26-year-old was already well known (and hated) in the magical community. "Why?"
"Because he asked me to." Narcissa didn't look at him. She spoke like she was speaking to a stupid little kid.
"Do you love him?"
The words shook Narcissa up inside. She stopped walking, as did Remus. She couldn't avoid his gaze any longer. "He's...nice." Narcissa had only met Malfoy once, at a dinner party. He wasn't exactly "nice", but she hadn't seen his mean side...yet.
"You didn't answer my question."
Narcissa shook off the young man's sharp words. "It's none of your business, Lupin. You're just jealous."
"How could you do this to me?" he demanded, causing her to jump. Lupin wasn't much of a yeller, but his voice was very loud now. "What we have, Narcissa, it's-"
"Never going to make it." Narcissa spoke as calmly as she could, but she could feel her bottom lip quiver. "Look, it's not like we have much of a chance in the future, is there? You're-"
"Whatever, Narcissa," Remus said quickly, not wanting to get into how he was a poor werewolf. He narrowed his eyes. "I reckon Sirius was right about you. You're nothing but a Slytherin snob."
"That's right, Remus. You should've remembered that." With that, Narcissa took off at almost a run. Remus didn't run after her, but he left her with these parting words:
"You'll be miserable, Narcissa. You're walking into a trap!" She replied by sticking her middle finger up at him, a crude gesture that required no words.
Now, she looked across the table at Remus. The only boy she'd ever loved. And he'd been right: she'd walked right into a trap. Ever since her wedding night, she'd relived that last conversation in her head. She wished she'd told him the truth, and said, "Remus, I love you. Take me away from all this." But it had been too late, damage done. She never thought she'd see him again.
Remus gave her a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I was right," he said sadly, as if reading her thoughts.
"Oh, Remus," she whispered. "I wish I'd never left that night."
"What did he do to you, Narcissa?"
It was the same words that her niece had spoken to her, just days before. They had angered her then, but when Remus said them...
"He..." She couldn't say it. She broke down into sobs and put her head on the table. In a quick motion, Remus moved to her side of the table, putting his arm around her.
"There, there," he said. "It's okay now. He's in Azkaban."
Narcissa looked at him, her eyes slightly puffy. "Not for long," she whispered, her voice full of fear. "There's a breakout planned-"
"What?"
Narcissa wanted to slap herself. Stupid! He was a member of an anti-Voldemort group, and she was giving him valuable information...about her Death Eater husband! But when she looked into his concerned eyes, she didn't care.
"Do you know when, Narcissa?"
She shook her head. "No. I just know that it'll be soon: within the next few weeks, I think." She blinked. "Oh, God, Remus. He knows where I am! He's going to come after me!"
"No, he's not." Remus stood up. "Come on. You'll need to fetch your things: you're coming to stay with me. I'll protect you."
Narcissa hesitated. After all, she'd just betrayed her husband. But what had he ever done for her, anyway? And here was the man she'd loved, never stopped loving, offering to protect her. She couldn't refuse.
She stood up. "Okay. Let's go."