Note:

First off, I want to thank everyone for your reviews. I never expected to get so many or get such good feedback, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Second: I've gotten a lot of requests (and a few pleading/sad reviews) to make this an A/U story. When I began writing it, I had a certain idea in my head, and I'm going to finish it out to the end, the way I imagined it. It is NOT A/U, unfortunately. Everyone knows what happens to Narcissa and Remus in the end - Remus goes his separate way, which is pretty much unknown, and Narcissa marries Lucius and mothers Draco, blah blah blah sadness all the way.

HOWEVER. I've been toying with the A/U idea in my mind, and I really like the Narcissa/Remus relationship. They're both interesting characters wth pretty dark backgrounds. And with all due respect to J.K. Rowling, I don't really care much for the Remus/Tonks relationship. So I'm currently working on an A/U sequel to this, which takes place AFTER Half-Blood Prince. When I start to publish it, ya'll will be the first to know.

So, now that you know that this isn't A/U, if there are any of you left reading, I leave you where we left off: Chapter Sixteen. Happy reading.

Narcissa awoke to darkness. Her hands scrabbled around, trying to figure out where she was, and touched cotton – the sheets of her own bed. How had she gotten here? She didn't remember.

She sat up in bed and felt around on her bedside table for her wand. Grasping it, she whispered, "Lumos." The room was immediately filled with light. She was the only one in it. She looked down. Still in her uniform. How had this happened? Where was Lucius? Where was Remus?

She jumped out of bed and ran into the common room, half-expecting to see Lucius and Bellatrix waiting there for her. But the only students there were a couple of first-years, playing Gobstones in front of the fireplace. They looked up when they saw her, but didn't say anything.

She opened the door and stepped outside, starting down the hall. Her mind searched frantically for a few minutes. How had she gotten to her bedroom? Where were Lucius and Trixie? The sky was dark outside – they should have been there by now.

"I'll go to the Owlery," she said quietly to herself, "and see if there's been a letter from Lucius. It's not like him not to show up. He can't just have decided not to come."

Indeed, there was a letter waiting for her, by owl post:

Narcissa –

Afraid I'm going to be delayed – Trixie has a nasty cough and isn't coming at all. I should be at the castle around 8:30.

Yours,

Lucius.

Narcissa looked at the clock. It was 7:45. Still time enough to go to Gryffindor Tower and check on Remus. "Maybe he has some idea of what happened to me," she said to herself, pocketing Lucius' letter.

But when she got to Gryffindor Tower, someone was already standing outside of it.

"Sirius!" she called, running towards him, "Can you tell Remus I'm here?"

He looked at her, his eyes a flat, angry stare. Narcissa stopped in her tracks. It had been months since Sirius had looked at her like that.

"Sirius?' she asked hesitantly, "Is Remus there?"

"He's there," Sirius said in an odd voice, "but he won't want to see you."

"What?" she asked, uncertainly. Surely she had heard him wrong.

"He won't want to see you," Sirius said in that same strange voice. "He's up in the tower with James and Lily. They want to be alone. I was told to keep a look out for you."

Narcissa stepped back, hurt, "You were sent to keep me away from him?"

"That's what he wanted," Sirius's expression grew darker, "You seem to be missing something, Narcissa."

"What?"

"Look at your left hand."

She did as he told her, and reeled back in shock, "My – my engagement ring! It's gone!"

Sirius snorted, "You seem surprised."

"What, you think I lost it on purpose?" Narcissa snapped, searching her pockets desperately, "I haven't taken it off since Remus gave it to me. Oh, where could it be?"

Sirius held out his hand. The ring was in its palm.

Anger vanished, "Oh, thank goodness!" Narcissa reached out for it, but Sirius yanked his hand away again.

"What – Sirius, give me my ring back!" she ordered, reaching for it.

"You gave it up easily enough," Sirius accused, pocketing it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Narcissa returned, her face growing hot. "You stand out here, accusing me of what? Of being careless? I – "

"How could you do this?" Sirius shouted suddenly, "How could you do this to him? He loved you, Narcissa!"

"What is it that I'm meant to have done?" she replied desperately, "You can't even tell me yourself!"

"Don't play coy," Sirius threatened, pointing one finger at her, "We all saw you, in Hogsmeade, with Lucius Malfoy. You were kissing him!"

Narcissa gasped, "That's a lie! That's a lie, Sirius, and you know it!"

"Do I?" Sirius asked mockingly, "Then how did we all see you?"

"Who saw us?"

"Me, James, Lily – and Remus," Sirius snapped, "So it's no good lying, you might as well stop now."

Narcissa stared at him, "But I'm not lying! I wasn't there!"

"Where were you, then?" Sirius leaned in until he was an inch away from her face, "The last we saw of you, you were outside school, watching us leave, waiting for dear Lucius and that slutty sister of yours."

"Don't you call her that!"

"Quit changing the subject. Where were you, Narcissa? Really, I'm dying to know." Sirius' dark eyes were little slits.

Narcissa stood stock still for a minute. Then, her blue eyes filled with tears.

"I don't – I don't remember," she replied faintly.

Sirius shook his head in disgust, "I bet you don't. And I bet you don't remember giving your engagement ring to your sister to give to Remus."

"Trixie?" Narcissa looked dumbfounded, "But Trixie's sick, she isn't even coming – "

"I saw her!" Sirius shouted, "I saw her, and Remus and James and Lily saw her, and we talked to her, and she gave him your ring back! Stop lying, you've got nothing to gain from it, we saw you!"

"I want to talk to Remus!" Narcissa screamed back.

"Well, he doesn't want to talk to you!" Sirius retorted, "Ever!" He turned to the portrait and said, "Dragon pox." The portrait swung open.

Without thinking, Narcissa shoved him aside and darted into the common room. Behind her, she could hear Sirius yelling something, but she didn't stop. There was a roaring in her ears. Several Gryffindor students were staring at her, but she wasn't looking at them. She could only see James and Lily, staring at her stonily.

"Isn't she in Slytherin house? Look at her uniform," she heard someone whisper.

"Lily," Narcissa said faintly, "Lily – "

But Lily stepped forward, "Go back to your common room, Narcissa," she said coldly, "There isn't any reason why you should be here."

Narcissa reeled as if she had been slapped. She had never seen Lily look at her like that, or speak to her so. Lily was her best friend at Hogwarts, besides Remus.

Remus –

Behind James, Narcissa could see the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories. He was standing in the doorway, his old jacket hanging on him; it had always been too big. He was looking at her with the saddest expression in his pale blue eyes. Sadness and betrayal were warring on his face. He blurred and faded in the tears in Narcissa's eyes.

Someone grabbed her from behind. Sirius.

"You heard Lily," he snarled, "Get out of here."

"No!" Narcissa screamed, "Remus!" She struggled against her cousin, but his grip was viselike. She didn't care if she was making a scene. She didn't care who stared at her.

"You heard him," James put in, as coldly as Lily had, "Go back to that pure-blood fiancé of yours."

"We'll give Remus back your diamond," Lily cut in, "I'm sure you can get a bigger one from Lucius."

Narcissa ignored them. She stared at Remus with pleading eyes.

"Remus," she whispered, "I wasn't there. I don't know who you saw but it wasn't me. I don't know what's going on here. I didn't do it, Remus; I would never go back to him. Please. You have to believe me, please."

His own eyes filled with tears. Silently, Remus turned and walked back up the stairs to his dormitory.

Narcissa sobbed. She wrenched herself free of Sirius' grip and fled back down the stairs, through the portrait hole, and out of sight.

Lucius found her, in the empty Slytherin common room, at 8:30.

"Narcissa!" he said concernedly, rushing to her side and sitting down on the couch, "Narcissa, darling, what's happened?"

She could not stop crying. He put his arms around her slender shoulders and pulled her thin frame against him, rocking her, "Shhh, shhh. Everything's going to be all right. Take a deep breath. Has someone upset you?"

Narcissa shook her head, "It – it's nothing," she choked, "It's honestly nothing."

Lucius looked at her with concern, "I was hoping to find you happy and well. Your sister Trixie says that you've been writing more cheerful letters to your father; I had thought that was the case. It hurts me to see you so upset, Narcissa."

She shook her head again. How could she explain to Lucius what had happened without confessing what she had done? There was no way.

"Are you very unhappy here, darling?" Lucius murmured, stroking her blonde hair.

Narcissa swallowed. Until an hour ago, she'd been the happiest person in the world. How had everything changed so quickly? How had everything gone wrong? And more importantly, why? Why had her friends turned against her?

She knew she had not been to Hogsmeade today. The last memory she had was of sitting on the grass with Lily, waiting for the boys' examination results. And then she had woken in her bedroom. What had happened in the interim?

She looked at Lucius, "You weren't – you didn't come to Hogsmeade earlier today and not tell me about it, did you?"

"What?" Lucius tipped his head to the side and looked at her quizzically.

She sniffed, "You weren't with some blonde, were you?"

His eyes widened, "You don't possibly think - ? Narcissa, I would never go behind your back with another woman." His voice sounded hurt, "You should know by now how much I care for you."

Narcissa closed her eyes. He was not that potent an actor; nobody was. He had not been to Hogsmeade today. Why would Remus and Sirius and James and Lily make up such a story?

"Narcissa – " Lucius hesitated, "If you are so very unhappy here – you can come back with me after the term is over next week. You don't need to come back to school. We can get married as soon as you want. My mother will see to the arrangements."

Narcissa's eyes filled with fresh tears. These were words that Remus would have spoken to her if he had seen her crying. How could this be happening to her? She looked at Lucius, at his concerned gray eyes, so unlike Remus' warm gray ones. No! He's not Remus, she chastised herself unhappily. He is Lucius.

She did not want to marry him. She was not in love with him. But the man she loved – her fiancé – did not want anything to do with her. He had cast her out. True, she did not have to marry Lucius if she didn't want to. She would be an outcast, alone, friendless. She could not live with Andromeda – she knew from her sister's letters that she was struggling to get by enough, with her husband and her new baby. She was not close to Trixie – she would not want to live with her.

She found her voice, "Lucius – I do not want to be married – just yet," she amended, staring at her hands. "But I do not want to return to school next year. Or finish this year." She looked up at him, "I'll pack my things. Please take me home."

Lucius nodded slowly, "All right then. We'll leave tonight. I'll go to Professor Slughorn and explain things to him."

He kissed her cheek lightly and left the room.

The tears Narcissa had been holding in spilled out over her cheeks. She looked down at her left hand, to the finger that, until a few hours ago, had been adorned with that tiny, imperfect diamond ring.

"Oh, Remus," she whispered.