Sisters

Disclaimer: Not today.

Author's note: Look! Look! Chapters within WEEKS of each other! I'm SMOKIN'!

Tea and delicate little biscuits. Her sister never changed.
Her husband was imprisoned, she was under inquiry, her manor had been searched three times in one week, each time unannounced, her privacy invaded by nosy reporters, she was hosting one of the "Ministry's most wanted" in her living room and she served tea and delicate little biscuits.

If Narcissa hadn't looks so terribly overstressed, Bellatrix would have laughed openly at the tense, forced domesticity.

'You comfortable?' Narcissa asked, as Bellatrix tried to remember how she would have sat in the days before her imprisonment- comfy chairs, plush surrounds, gold and silver, tea trays and porcelain tea pots were all like old memories catching up.

'Thank you. You mind?' She asked, pointing to the tea pot. 'I haven't served tea for almost fifteen years, wouldn't want to break it.'

'Don't mind at all, sister dear, really rather rude of me not to think of serving you myself.' She waved her wand and sent the porcelain tea set in motion. 'I've been all over the place of late. It's so dreadfully unusual to be rattling around all alone in the manor, I tell you; my comfortable little routine is completely ruined. Not that I haven't been alone before, goodness…' A teacup settled in front of Bellatrix 'Lucius often went away on business trips when he was governor of Hogwarts…' the sugar cube slipped out of the tongs, but was quickly caught again 'but there was always the knowledge of HOW LONG he'd be away for, now that he's… he's…' She looked terribly discomforted as the little jug poured milk into Bellatrix's tea.
'In Azkaban?' Bellatrix supplied helpful. The milk jug clattered to the ground. And Narcissa's mouth formed a hard line; she waved her wand and cleaned up the mess.

'Really Narcissa, it's not like he's dead. Only incapacitated for a short time.' Bellatrix sipped her tea. She was somewhat disappointed (privately and NEVER admitted to her delicate sister) the Dementor's had joined The Dark Lord before Lucius had gone into Azkaban. After all, HE had denied his Master and gone free, never looked for the Dark Lord, never truly suffered in his name. Oh she didn't HATE him, nor really dislike him at all. Her brother in law could be quite charming when he put his mind to it, but she could never really forget the torture she had suffered and he had escaped without.

'Put your faith in our Dark Lord, Narcissa dear…' She patted her sister's pristine hand with her own somewhat dirty one. 'He won't see any of his followers under Ministry rule for long…'

'But it will never be the same.' She sighed sipping her own tea and sinking back into her chair 'the Ministry will be after him, I hardly think he'll be able to come back home…'

'The Dark Lord will have a place for him, my dear; he has a place for us all…' She smiled dreamily, though long used to the type of Luxury Narcissa now lived in, the Riddle house, after Azkaban had looked like heaven, it was more of a home then the Lestrange manor.

Narcissa obviously didn't really share her sister's positive view. She wrinkled her nose slightly, but avoided an argument by keeping silent.
'What of Draco?' She said instead, putting her cup down. 'He's ever so used to having his father around, and he's getting to that unruly stage of adolescence, he needs discipline, his father could handle him, but I'm not sure I can manage that sort of authority on my own…'

'I've never met Draco.' Bellatrix mused, taking a biscuit 'Well, since he was a baby, that is. Missed a whole stage of my Nephew's life, how depressing…'

'Oh don't mope Bellatrix, it's most unbecoming.' Narcissa sniffed.

'Do you have photographs? I'm terribly fond of photographs…' She was terribly fond of anything really outside of four small walls, Dementors, prison food and bars. And her question had a two pronged reasoning. One, she was genuinely curious about her hitherto unseen nephew, and two, it distracted Narcissa from her annoying melancholy about her husband. Lucius deserved what he got for getting caught. Bellatrix would even be slightly disappointed if the Dark Lord didn't punish him for his failure. SHE should have been the one to lead the group in charge of the prophecy's relocation. She wouldn't have bungled like he did.
But he WAS her brother in law and she really SHOULD respect him, family, after all was very important…
She folded her arms as Narcissa fetched the photo album, she respected him as her sister's husband, as one of the Dark Lords more trusted, as a fellow Death eater, but her problem lay in her belief she could do better. And an underlying bitterness about his fifteen year long freedom.

'Why didn't you go back to the Dark Lord? Why didn't you search for him?' She burst suddenly, as her sister sat down.

Narcissa froze, tensing up like a muggle in the wand light, stopped half stooped to put the book down as she sat. It was obvious by the look on her face she'd been both expecting and dreading this question. Slowly she moved again, sitting down and avoiding her sister's gaze.

'Perhaps if you and your husband had decided to have children you would have understood.' She said primly. 'Draco was only a baby at the time. As much as I revere the Dark Lord I am not cut out for such active pastimes as you, sister. I never was one to get my hands dirty. I didn't really approve of being a single parent.' She said in such a way to cut off conversation.

'We didn't HAVE time for children, Narcissa.' Bellatrix said snippily 'WE devoted OUR time to serving the Dark Lord…'
'Both of you were in his fold, sister.' Narcissa replied, looking back up at her, finally 'I was not.'

'We also hadn't been married as long as you two. And nothing takes precedence over the Dark Lord's bidding!' She announced, getting rather angry.
Narcissa looked stonily at her sister and finally opened the book.
'It's water under the bridge, Bellatrix.' She sounded calm again. 'I know you resent us; I know you think... you think Lucius deserves his imprisonment, you hide nothing from me anymore sister. I don't want to take it up. I don't want to talk about it. Come, sit by me and meet your Nephew.'
She patted the seat beside her. Bellatrix shrugged and sat by her sister, her anger dissipating as she flicked through the novelty of photographs of the times she'd missed.