Disclaimer: Still not mine, regretfully.

Sorry this took so long. School started. You know how it is.
On the bright side, because there is always a bright side, this is one of my favorite chapters ... guess who shows up!

I promise I will be forever yours
I promise not to say another word
Never you mind, what's done is done
I always was the lucky one
-"Still," Foo Fighters

Chapter Four
The Courtship

Two months pass, and it's Christmas again. Sirius and Narcissa are still ten. Everyone is at Grimmauld Place again, although there are three unfamiliar people also present, and these strangers catch Narcissa's eye as soon as she arrives. She and her sisters exchange a glance, then hurry over into a corner where they can be hidden from view, left alone to observe without distraction.

It appears to be a family of three. The woman is tall and thin with a sharp-looking jaw, and her hair is pulled back harshly off her face. Her eyebrows are raised seemingly without effort, giving her a permanently bemused expression. The man standing at her side is tall as well, only overtaking her by an inch or two, and his shoulders are broad, his neck is thick. His hair is a dark black while the woman's is a bright blond, almost white. The boy standing a little off to the side, presumably their son, has hair to match his mother's. It reaches to his shoulders but is pulled back off his face, yet his features are not harsh like those of his parents. He wears a nonchalant look on his face, as if he's far from amused by the people he sees, yet does not feel resentful about it. He appears to be about fifteen.

Andromeda gasps.

Bellatrix and Narcissa elbow her for making such a noise, but she ignores their warning, and she says, "Bellatrix! Isn't that the boy named – "

"Yes," Bellatrix hisses. "That's him. Now be quiet, or else someone will – "

" – find you and feed you to the dogs," a different voice growls from somewhere to the right.

The sisters jump, completely startled, and spin around to see who has found their hiding place.

Sirius chuckles at the looks on their faces. "A bit excitable tonight, my dear ladies?"

Andromeda glares at him. "You scared us out of our minds."

He sighs. "Yes, well, doesn't take much to do that now, does it?"

"How is it that you're so evil and yet you've only been alive for one decade?" Bellatrix demands.

He sighs again, this time with a grin. "My level of evilness depends on who I'm standing next to, really." He takes one step closer to her. "See? Now that I'm next to you, I'm practically an angel."

She slaps him across the back of the head. He glares at her. "I rest my case."

She looks as though she's going to slap him again, but her mother comes to his rescue. "Bellatrix, dear, there's someone who wants to meet you. Come along, he's just over – " She's pointing to an empty corner of the room. She frowns. "Oh – well – he was just there a moment ago." She takes Bellatrix by the arm and begins to lead her across the room. "Come along, we'll find him, I'm certain he's around here somewhere, we just have to – oh! Mrs. Lestrange! How are you, dear? You've met my daughter Bellatrix, I believe?"

Narcissa watches as her older sister is swallowed alive by the adult women. "I'm thirsty," she decides. "I'm going to get some juice."

She leaves Andromeda and Sirius, who are already deep in a debate about astronomy, and begins to push her way through the crowd towards the drink table. There are so many people in the room, so much noise, chatter, conversations, laughter, that Narcissa feels overwhelmed and suffocated. When she finally arrives at the table, somehow unscathed, she drinks a glass of juice all in one sip, grabs another, and leans against the table to catch her breath.

"I've never seen so many strangers in all my life," says a new voice, rather close to her ear.

Narcissa quickly turns her head and comes face to face with the blond boy she and her sisters had been observing earlier. She sees now, as he's looking straight at her, that his eyes are deep and mysterious and gray.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he adds. He's smiling, though it's almost a hint of a smile. His eyes flicker with something Narcissa can't recognize, and then he looks away. "It's just nice to finally see someone who looks as overwhelmed as I am."

She smiles back. "I don't know half of them, and yet most of them are my family. Actually – I think all of them are."

He laughs now. He's looking at her again. "That definitely makes me feel better."

"I'm ten," she says, though he hasn't asked. "I'm going to Hogwarts next year."

"Are you really?" he grins. "Well, very good for you. I already go to Hogwarts, you know."

Her eyes brighten. "Do you? What house are you in?"

"Slytherin." His grin is more of a sneer now.

This only excites her further. She sets her forgotten juice on the table. "Really? Are you really? That's what house my sisters are in! You must know them!"

"I probably do," he chuckles. "What are their names?"

"Bellatrix and Andromeda. Bellatrix is older; she's thirteen. What year are you in?"

"My fifth. I think I might have seen them here or there. Bellatrix has very dark hair, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does!"

"And Andromeda is rather quiet – a bit shier than Bellatrix, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is!"

"Yes, I know who they are," he says, eyes glinting again. He smiles down at her. "It's no wonder you're their sister – you're just as pretty as they are."

She blushes. "Thank you – that's kind of you, but Bellatrix is really the beauty. I envy almost everything about her."

His interest is peaked. "Almost everything?"

"Oh yes," Narcissa nods. "I wouldn't wish her temper on anyone – I'm glad that I'm more patient than she is. Once she's angry, you don't want to be near her."

He chuckles again. He glances to either side of him, then leans down close to Narcissa so that he can whisper in her ear. "And what's your name, my little beauty?"

"Narcissa," she blushes.

"Narcissa – pretty name, isn't that? Narcissa, how would you like to do me a favor?"

"I'd love to," she gushes, before she can help herself, surprised and flattered that he should ask something of her.

"Good, good … can you keep it a secret, just between the two of us?"

She nods vigorously.

"Good," he says again. "Now, I need you to be my eyes and ears for me. You seem to know a lot of important things, things that I'm interested in – things like what you mentioned about your sister's temper, I mean."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Next year you're coming to Hogwarts, and I assume you'll be sorted into Slytherin, meaning that at some point, we'll probably be seeing each other, won't we?"

"I do hope so," she whispers.

"Yes, yes we will. But, we've still got a whole year till then, so, until I see you again in September, I need you to keep an eye on your sister for me."

"On Bellatrix?"

"Yes, Bellatrix."

"But why?"

"Well, Narcissa, because – "

"Lucius! Oh, Lucius, there you are! Mrs. Black has been looking absolutely everywhere for you!"

The boy's mother appears from the crowd and puts a bony hand on his shoulder. "Come along, this way, they're waiting to – oh," she says, upon seeing Narcissa. "Hello there, little girl. And who might you be?"

Narcissa doesn't like this woman. She sticks her chin into the air with a look of pure pride, and says, "I'm Narcissa Black. I'm ten years old."

"You see, mother?" the boy says, shooting a wink at Narcissa. "She's hardly a little girl, isn't she? Very grown up indeed."

His mother chuckles, and a resemblance is quite apparent. "You're right, my dear. So sorry to have offended you, Narcissa."

Narcissa politely curtsies, as she has been taught to do, and then the woman leads her son back into the crowd, over to where Bellatrix and her mother are standing. Narcissa, more out of curiosity than anything else, follows them.

Bellatrix and the boy meet each other with raised eyebrows. Both are surprised at seeing the other, and yet both look as though they were expecting it. The mothers exchange a victorious wink, then take a few steps backwards from the scene, allowing their children to interact.

This does not appear to be the first time they've spoken to each other.

The boy drops into a dramatic bow before Bellatrix, who looks as though she's caught between a state of amusement and one of disgust. "Lucius Malfoy, my lady. Such a pleasure to finally meet you formally."

"I know who you are," Bellatrix says back, obviously embarrassed by his flamboyant display. "Stop that – get up – everyone is starting to look."

He returns to his former position, though people are still eyeing the two of them suspiciously. "I believe our parents are trying to see if we have any potential to be married."

She raises her eyebrows, surprised by his bluntness. "I'm under the same impression."

"Are you?" He's amused. "And what, may I ask, is your impression of me?"

She smirks. This is a challenge. "You're arrogant," she says, chin in the air. Even at thirteen, she knows exactly how to play this game. "Haughty, pompous, completely self-righteous." A pause. "However, despite this, you're quite charming, and I believe this combination makes you an utterly despicable human being."

Narcissa stares in shock at her sister. How could she say such a thing? Both mothers are looking on in horror as well, but then, to the amazement of everyone watching, Lucius sticks his hands in his pockets, leans back easily on his heels, and laughs. "Is that so?"

"Most certainly," Bellatrix says, eyes glinting to match his.

"I do believe you need punishment for insulting me in such a manner," he muses. "Perhaps I shall force you to sit across from me at dinner. Then you'll have to endure my company all night and, considering your opinion of me, I believe this should be punishment enough for you, shouldn't it?"

Bellatrix laughs. "Sitting beside you would be worse."

Lucius raises an eyebrow. He's obviously surprised that she's as bold as he is. "Would it? Well, in that case, I suppose I'm being rather lenient. I would punish you properly by seating you next to me, but then I wouldn't be able to look up at your pretty face whenever I please, would I?"

Narcissa blushes on her sister's behalf. Bellatrix never blushes. "Very well then. Across from you it is."

And the two of them link arms, turn, and head off in the direction of the dinner table. Lucius gives Narcissa a wink as he passes.

She watches them go, and an unfamiliar feeling flutters around in her stomach, making her feel quite uncomfortable. Sirius has, by this time, come up beside her, and now he's chewing absently on a carrot. "What was all that about?"

She doesn't even look at him. "Bellatrix is going to marry him."

Sirius, apparently shocked by this statement, drops his carrot in mid-bite. "Wait … that was a boy?" He stands on his toes and cranes his neck to get a better view.

"Of course it was a boy," Narcissa says, glaring at him. "His name is Lucius Malfoy. What did you think?"

"I don't know," Sirius says, staring at Lucius with a look of disgust on his face. "He just … he … I mean … look at him, Narcissa! He looks like a girl!"

"He does not!" she says hotly. "He's a boy, and he's fifteen, and Bellatrix is going to marry him!"

Sirius shrugs, bends down, picks his carrot off the ground, brushes it off, and takes another bite out of it. "Whatever you say. But seriously – if he wants people to see that he's a bloke, he should cut his hair, or take off the makeup, or – "

"He is not wearing makeup!" she snarls, grabbing his carrot and throwing it across the room. "Honestly, you don't know anything!"

She stomps angrily towards the dinner table as Sirius calls after her, "Hey! I was going to eat that!"