Disclaimer: Still not mine. Property of JK Rowling.

So, I lied. Instead of posting a Sirius-flashing-back chapter after every two Narcissa chapters, it'll be after every four. If that sentence just confused you, I apologize. Just wait and see what happens.

And sorry for the delay again. This time it was because I was in a car accident. Yes. It wasn't major, and I'm perfectly fine, but I haven't been in a writing or posting mood lately. My sincerest apologies.

Enjoy this chapter! I like it almost as much as the previous one!

"Endulge yourself. Massage your feet. Take a nap. Give yourself a hug. You deserve it." - my chocolate wrapper

Chapter Five

The Mistake

Eight months pass. Sirius and Narcissa are eleven. They're at King's Cross Station, on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, waiting to board the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

Narcissa can hardly stand still. The excitement is so much for her to take; she can hardly believe that she's finally off to school with her sisters and her cousin, after so many months and weeks and days of waiting, waiting, waiting.

And she hasn't forgotten the task she's been secretly accomplishing for the past eight months. She's been watching Bellatrix very closely, reading in between the lines of each of her letters. She's only seen Bellatrix for the past two and a half months, during summer holiday, but it's been enough to gather solid information about her feelings regarding one Lucius Malfoy.

Narcissa tries to remember, as Bellatrix is saying farewell to her mother, just one day when Bellatrix didn't mention Lucius. She can't think of one. Ever since that Christmas, everything Bellatrix talks about is marriage, or men, or both. Apparently, she and Lucius spent many an hour in the school's library, talking or laughing about nothing in particular, and about everything, both at the same time. During the summer, when she couldn't see Lucius everyday, she would spend her days prancing around the house like a queen, ordering her sisters to do this and that for her, and scolding her mother for running the house in "the wrong fashion. Really, mother, when I move out and get my own house, I would do things like this, let me show you …"

Narcissa looks away from Bellatrix as her mother calls for her. "Narcissa! Narcissa, my darling, come over here!"

She hurries over to her mother, who immediately captures her in a very tight embrace. "Now, my little darling, you'll be fine, won't you?"

"Of course I will, mother."

"Always remember your manners, won't you?"

"I will, mother."

"I've told your sisters to keep an eye on you, all right?"

"Yes, mother."

"And don't let Sirius get you into any trouble, understand?"

"Yes, mother."

"Good, then." She lets go of her daughter and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Write to me as soon as you've been sorted, darling. I'll see you at Christmas!"

"Good-bye, mother," Narcissa says obediently. She gives her mother a kiss on each cheek and then follows Andromeda onto the train. Sirius waves a good-bye to his parents and Regulus, then hops onto the train behind her. "Here we go!" he whispers into her ear, and she smiles.

Andromeda leads them down a narrow corridor, past students of all ages, all of whom are eagerly catching up with old friends or trying to meet new ones. It takes awhile for them to find an empty compartment. Bellatrix is nowhere to be seen.

"She's probably off with prettyboy," Sirius yawns, stretching out his arms.

Andromeda snorts. "I wouldn't be surprised." The train begins to move. "Look," she says, "I'm going to try to find a few of my friends. I'll be back later. Stay out of trouble, both of you."

Sirius feigns offense. "When have I ever caused trouble?"

She shakes her head at him, as if to say that he's hopeless, then saunters out of the compartment and closes the door behind her.

Narcissa slides off her seat and goes over to the window. The scenery rushes past in a blur, churning in and out of itself as if it's being tossed around. She puts a hand to her stomach, for it feels like the same process is taking place in there. She can't remember a time when she's been more nervous or excited at the same time.

She stands by the window and Sirius sits on the seat – both in silence – for a few minutes before they hear a knock on the door.

Shooting a glance at Narcissa, Sirius slowly opens the door.

There are two students standing in the corridor. Both appear to be the same age as Sirius and Narcissa. The one who knocked is a girl, and the first thing Narcissa notices about her is her hair, which is a bright red. She's carrying so many books that she's almost buried behind them, yet she still doesn't have as many in her arms as does her friend. He's a little shorter than she is, with light brown hair, clothes that look a little worn, and a wand behind his ear.

"Hello," the girl greets them, peering at Sirius and Narcissa over the top of her books. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," says Sirius, sliding the door open a bit wider. "You can put your stuff – "

But she dumps them onto the seat next to Sirius before he can finish. Now that her hands are free, she wipes them off on her skirt, pushes her hair behind her ears, and then sticks out her right hand. "I'm Lily," she says, shaking Sirius's hand.

Her friend, also free of his burden, slumps down onto the other seat and looks as though he'd love nothing more than to sleep for a few years.

Lily glances at him. "That's Remus," she says. "I don't really know him. I just met him five minutes ago in the corridor." She suddenly notices Narcissa. "Oh – hello! Who are you?"

"Narcissa Black," says Narcissa, shifting uneasily.

Lily seems to sense this uneasiness, and suddenly she looks embarrassed. "I'm sorry – I tend to scare people with my forwardness, I think … my mother specifically told me to be less outgoing when I'm trying to meet people, but … sorry."

Sirius shrugs. "Narcissa's just shy."

"I am not," she says, glaring at him.

Lily laughs, glancing between them. "So you two know each other well, then?"

Narcissa nods, still glaring. "We're cousins."

"How lovely!" Lily exclaims, looking genuinely excited by this fact. Her eyes shine merrily whenever she speaks, but there's something about her that Narcissa doesn't like at all.

"I hope I meet people quickly," she goes on, taking a seat next to Remus. "I've already begun reading several of my textbooks, you know. Looking up spells, reading over a few theories, nothing too serious. I just don't want to be too far behind everyone else. My parents aren't magical, you see. Both of them are muggles – at least I think that's the right word. Bit of a surprise when they found out that I'm a witch."

Narcissa tries not to appear too disgusted. She knew there was something wrong with this girl – a muggleborn! She can't believe it. She can't stand the thought. She shoots a glance at Sirius, and he looks a bit uncomfortable, too.

"So," Lily goes on, completely ignorant of the feeling she's just created. "What house do you two hope to be in? You'll have to be in the same one, won't you? I've heard that it's rare that siblings or relatives get separated."

"Slytherin," Sirius and Narcissa say at once, distaste evident in both their voices.

Now it is Lily who is uncomfortable. "Oh," she says slowly, her smile lessening a few centimeters. "That's … well … that's a good house, I've heard." She glances at Remus, who raises his eyebrows at her, and both of them shift uneasily in their seats.

"What about you?" says Narcissa. She doesn't really care so much – she's just curious to see where a muggleborn thinks she has a chance of succeeding.

"I think Ravenclaw would be my first choice," says Lily quickly, grateful for a slight subject change. "But Gryffindor sounds excellent, too. Remus, what about you?"

"Same," he says quietly, staring at his feet as if they're fascinating.

Sirius chuckles. Any discomfort he was feeling has now vanished. "Don't say much, do you?"

Remus looks up. "Me?"

"No, the werewolf sitting behind you. Yes, you."

His eyes grow round at the word "werewolf." However, it's only for a split second, and Narcissa wonders if she'd imagined it. "Oh," he says, "well … I'm just a bit tired, I guess. Would you like me to say something?"

Sirius shrugs. "Why do you have so many books?"

Remus shrugs back. "I like to read."

"All of those are just for fun?"

Remus glances carelessly at the books. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Why are you so surprised?"

Sirius shrugs again. "I just don't like to read much."

There is a silence. Narcissa is watching everyone very closely, but especially the red-haired girl. Lily.

"What's your last name?" she suddenly asks.

The girl looks up. "Mine?"

Narcissa nods.

"Evans," she says.

And that settles the matter for Narcissa. She takes a seat next to the pile of Remus's books, making sure to keep a good distance between Lily Evans and herself. Her mother has warned her that even the slightest of conversations with a muggleborn could have frightening effects on one's magical abilities. She's heard all of the horror stories, all of the accounts about wizards and witches losing their powers or dying mysteriously after too much contact with a mudblood. She shivers. She looks out the window, deciding then and there that she'd rather die in a train crash than get sorted into the same house as a muggleborn.

The train arrives at Hogwarts, the first years are greeted by a very tall and hairy man, the man leads them across a perilous and murky lake to the castle – and so begins Narcissa and Sirius's journey at the magical school. As they walk into the Great Hall, all in a line, one awed face after another, Narcissa reaches down and takes Sirius's hand in her own.

He raises his eyebrows at her and tries to pull his hand away, but this only makes her hold on more tightly. "I'm scared," she whispers.

He chuckles, shaking his head at her, as if to say that she's hopeless. "You, of all people, will be fine. If you don't belong in Slytherin, then no one belongs in Slytherin. And I mean that as a compliment."

This calms her enough that she laughs at him. "You have the strangest compliments, you know."

He shrugs. "But they do make you feel better."

And she realizes, to her bemusement, that he's right.

Meanwhile, the first student is called up in front of everyone to sit on an uncomfortable-looking stool to be sorted. Everyone looks as though they pity this boy very much, because none of them fancy the idea of being the very first one to be sorted. The hat is placed on the nervous boy's head, two moments pass, Narcissa wrings her hands, wonders why it's taking so long, and then suddenly the hat bellows, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The boy, looking rather relieved, hops off the stool and scurries over to his Hufflepuff housemates, who are all on their feet cheering and clapping wildly for him. Once the hall settles down, the next student is called. A girl. She sits herself up on the stool, glances up at the hat as it comes down over her eyes, and –

She doesn't even have to wait for two seconds. The hat barely brushes her scalp before screeching, "RAVENCLAW!"

Narcissa bounces back and forth from foot to foot. She's terrified, excited, anxious, and pessimistic all at once. She doesn't know what she's so worried about, but she feels that something is about to go terribly wrong. Her stomach is in knots. To distract herself, she begins to keep track of how many students are sorted into each house.

The next student is sorted into Gryffindor.

Then Ravenclaw.

Another Ravenclaw.

Another Hufflepuff.

Another Gryffindor.

"Not many for Slytherin, are there?" Sirius whispers.

She turns to shush him, to hit him, something, when suddenly, she hears, "Narcissa Black!"

She spins around with such a start that she feels something crack in her knees. Sirius gives her hand a squeeze, she swallows, and then she hurries up to the front of the hall, in front of everyone, where the success of the next seven years of her life will be decided.

The stool is much taller up close. The hat is darker, more menacing. Narcissa slides herself up, folds her hands in her lap, holds her breath, and looks up. Everyone in the hall is looking at her. She can see the reds and golds on the robes of all of the Gryffindors, the greens and silvers on the robes of the Slytherins. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff blur together, and there seems to be far too many students there … they couldn't possibly all be students, could they?

She feels something on her head, and soon the hat slips down over her eyes. It's cool and soft, but she can hear a low grumbling that seems to be inside her mind and yet outside of it at the same time. After a minute, the grumbling forms the word "Yes." The word is long and dragged out, sounding very much like the hissing of a snake. "Yes," it says again, "Of course … no question … it must be…"

Narcissa is completely frozen, paralyzed by so many emotions that she can't even breathe.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Her breath comes back to her in gasps, her knees tremble even more fiercely, and she can feel herself smiling. Slytherin. She is a Slytherin. As she hops off the stool to the sound of every single Slytherin clapping madly and cheering ferociously, she thinks that she has never been so happy in her entire life.

"I told you you'd be fine," Andromeda says, grinning as Narcissa takes a seat at the table. "You worry too much for your own good, I think."

Narcissa looks around her for congratulations from Bellatrix, but Bellatrix is deep in conversation with two other Slytherin boys. Lucius is nowhere in sight.

"Sirius Black!"

Narcissa's head whips back around to the front of the hall. She's on her feet almost immediately. Though she's standing, she's still quite short, and she has to get on her toes to see Sirius properly.

He strolls up to the stool as if he's walking to the bakery to buy bread. Shooting out his famous grin at anyone making eye contact with him, he slides onto the stool, gives Narcissa a wink, and then sits still as the hat is placed on his head.

A minute passes. Narcissa has her fingers crossed over her chest.

"Narcissa, honestly," scolds Andromeda, who's trying to pull Narcissa back down in her seat. "You're being ridiculous. Sirius will be sitting next to you in three seconds. Really, you act as though you can't go for too long without that boy before going mad."

Narcissa doesn't budge.

Another minute passes.

And another.

And two more after that.

Narcissa crosses her fingers more tightly. She feels rather than sees her knuckles turning white.

Another minute passes. Sirius shifts. He begins to fiddle around with his fingers.

Narcissa frowns. He only does this when he's confused.

Another minute passes. People begin to whisper. And then, suddenly, without any warning, and with a screech that seems to rip apart everything that Narcissa's bated breath is holding together, she hears, "GRYFFINDOR!"

She doesn't move.

The hat is lifted off Sirius's head. He hesitates before getting off the stool. Narcissa can tell that he's purposely trying to avoid her gaze. The Gryffindors are all cheering madly, stomping their feet, clapping their hands, waving their hats through the air, but as Sirius walks towards their table, he's quiet. His smile is strained, forced. He takes a seat, shakes a few hands, accepts several congratulations, and then falls quiet again, staring determinedly towards the front of the Great Hall. He still hasn't looked at Narcissa.

Very, very slowly, so slowly that it hurts her to do so, Narcissa sinks back into her seat. This isn't right. Something went wrong, there was a mistake, the hat said Gryffindor but it really meant Slytherin … it was simply a hat, it certainly made a mistake every now and then …

Bellatrix's attention has been caught. Her face also is blanched white, and she leans forward so that she can see both of her sisters. "What on earth just happened?"

"It has to be a mistake," Andromeda says, looking as though she might cry. "I mean, Sirius … he's our cousin … our blood … he can't … they can't really think …"

But Bellatrix is already thinking ahead. "What are we going to tell our mother? And his mother?"

"Maybe we don't have to tell them right away," Andromeda says, trying desperately to strategize. "Maybe … maybe we can … I don't know … tell them something more traumatic so that in comparison, this won't seem so bad."

"Except that it is bad," Bellatrix says, glaring at the sorting hat as it announces that its next victim belongs in Hufflepuff. "This is so, so very bad …"

Andromeda glances sideways. "Narcissa? You haven't said anything. What do you think of it?"

Narcissa doesn't respond. She's staring down at the table.

The older sisters exchange a glance, decide not to bother with Narcissa any further, and then begin to brainstorm the letter that they will inevitably have to send home.

Narcissa stares. Her stomach is now still and heavy. Her eyes are stinging. She feels very cold, she feels as though someone has slapped her hard across the face. She isn't aware of anything for the next few minutes until another familiar name is called.

"Lily Evans."

She looks up. She feels a small pang in her gut as Lily is sorted into Gryffindor. She'll get to be with Sirius everyday.

Narcissa will hardly see Sirius at all for the next seven years.

Remus Lupin is called after a while, and then there are names she has never heard and doesn't care about, so many names that they all blend together after awhile …Alfred Parkinson, Nita Patil, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter … she stops listening after all of the p's are finished. She hardly notices when new students join her table. She says nothing and greets no one – everyone simply assumes that she's shy.

After the ceremony, and after everyone has eaten, after everyone is released to their Common Rooms, and even after Narcissa is shown to her dormitory, she says nothing. She stays awake long into the night, though it isn't until about two in the morning that she really begins to cry. All of her housemates are asleep, so they don't hear her. If they do, they pretend to be asleep.

She stays awake long into the night, rocking herself back and forth, knees drawn to her chest and face buried in her knees so that her sobs are muffled, and she can only think about one thing – Sirius didn't even look at her.