Chapter 11

"Are you nutters?" asked Sirius. "That's my tight-arsed cousin Narcissa you're talking about."

"She's very nice as big girls go," said Lily. "And if she's scared of Malfoy it behoves us to help look out for her. And besides, making friends with pure bloods and doing the etiquette shit is what was all agreed on."

"Well, yeah, but this is my cousin."

"She said you and her sister might have had the right idea getting out of Slytherin," said Lily. "I reckon she's one scared lady at the moment, 'cos of her parents wanting her to marry Lucius. It's a shame you're so intermarried or you could offer for her, and then mutually break it off later when Lucius is squibified."

"I don't suppose the Noble and Ancient family Black would care about us being closely related," said Sirius. "She's a classy wench."

"There is no way you can call Narcissa Black a 'wench', you!" scolded Petunia.

"Well what else should I call her?"

"Lady?" suggested Lily.

"Nah, she's still a fifth former, you can't call schoolkids ladies."

"Well you're no lady," said Petunia.

"She has you there, mate," said James. "Petunia, you are a wench, and I like you the better for it."

"I should take exception to that," giggled Petunia.

"Oh really!" sighed Lily. "Aren't you two rather too young to flirt?"

"Tuney's safe to practise on … OW!" James jumped as Petunia fired a stinging hex into his foot.

"Serve you right," said Severus. "Make him dance until he apologises, Tuney."

Petunia giggled.

"Oh, showing him that I can is enough," she said.

It was Sirius' turn to get a letter next, which he read with a curious expression.

"Merlin's bedsocks!" he said. "My dad just congratulated me on taking an interest in politics, and the Wizgamot because I wrote to him about how criminals are handled; I think this is the first time he's ever praised me!" his eyes were hungry.

"Then you got lucky," said Severus. "Nothing I could do would make my dad praise me, because I'd have to be a beef-brained muggle like him."

"Sorry about that, mate," said Sirius. "But I'm not that interested in politics, what should I do?"

"Learn enough to make it seem that you are, because you're the heir, and that puts you in a position to protect Remus and the girls if people start caving in to the tripe this Voldemort and his followers are trying to get people to listen to, because the ministry will roll over and play dead," said Severus, intensely. "And I plan to do the same as scion of Prince."

"But it's boring!"

"Yeah? I'd rather have time with something boring than the excitement of watching a Ministry executioner behead Remus as a dangerous creature, or see Lily and Tuney carted off to an internment camp for the Impure, and I've heard both views put," said Severus. Sirius paled.

"Well when you put it like that …"

"There was a muggle who once said that war is diplomacy carried on by different means. Well politics is war carried on by different means."

"Bloody good point, actually," said James. "Trouble is, Siri and I are better at action."

"We sometimes have to do the things we are less suited for," shrugged Severus. "My dad made me learn boxing, a muggle fighting skill, and I hated it, but I learned to be good at it because it hurt less."

"I get the idea, I'll learn politics," said Sirius. "And I'm going to take your other advice and ask for betrothal enquiries to be made with Narcissa."

"I think it will give her the safety net she needs, and then she will feel safer about helping us," said Severus.

"And she's so beautiful," said Remus, and then blushed.

"Crumbs, our Remus, you can't have a Case this young," said James.

"Aw, don't rag him," said Peter. "We may think girls are icky but Frank holds hands with Alice."

They all laughed.

"I think it's more a question of Alice holds hands with Frank and he's too nice to tell her to back off," said James. "I like Frank, but he ain't a Marauder, is he?"

"No," said Sirius. "I have less trouble with having Narcissa as an honourary one. Damn, I'd better go and talk to her about being betrothed for her own protection."

OoOoOo

"You said what, Cousin Sirius?" Narcissa stared.

"I said that one way to stop you being betrothed to a cad like Malfoy or a buffoon like Rabastan Lestrange was to be betrothed to me," said Sirius. "We don't have to go through with it, and that gives you six years breathing space until I'm of age, or in very real terms, seven, until I leave school."

"I … good grief, Sirius, how did you come up with that idea?"

"I didn't; it was my friend Sev Prince, because our friends Lily and Tuney like you. And anyone who doesn't like Malfoy is worth getting to know better, in my book," said Sirius. "I don't do romantic so don't even look for me to go down on one knee like a prat, because I don't actually want anything to do with girls yet, outside of friendship."

"No, I can see that. And it's not as if Rodolphus isn't much younger than Bellatrix. I … thank you, Sirius, my parents are not happy about me wanting to refuse a betrothal to Lucius."

"Yeah, well, Uncle Cygnus isn't a lot more tightly wrapped than my mother, is he? Uncle Alphard is pretty decent. I think actually it's a really bad idea for us actually to get married because there is madness in the family and it's mostly in my dear old mum and your sweet sister, and if we had brats they'd probably wind up in the Janus Thickey ward."

"There is that, but my father and your mother have no inkling that they take their ideals past sanity, so I doubt they'd care. Your father, on the other hand might raise a few objections."

"He won't stand against mother."

"I was considering trying to get to know one of the Prewett boys; they are pure blooded, and we do have a precedent of their uncle, Ignatius Prewett, marrying your Aunt Lucretia so they aren't so likely to be muttering the Gryffindor mantra that all Slytherin are evil."

Sirius brightened.

"Well, it would be a thought; but if you hang out with us a bit more, you're more likely to meet them informally. Gideon is a bit of a player, always one for the girls, but Fabian is pretty steady, and decent to us younger ones. Not that Gideon isn't, but Fabian goes out of his way to help out."

"Thanks," said Narcissa. "Has he got a partner for the Yule Ball?"

"Not as far as I know. I tell you what, I'll write to my father and suggest that an alliance with the Prewetts would be pretty sensible in these times of suspicion, and ask him to put it to Uncle Cygnus. I'd rather not be immolated on the altar of marriage, I'm too young to die."

Narcissa laughed.

"I'll ask Fabian into Hogsmeade," she said.

"Gideon will question your motives," warned Sirius.

She pulled a face.

"Well, I'll have to live with that."

"Straight up, Cousin Cissy? Tell him like it is. Tell him you dislike and fear Malfoy and that your kid cousin vouched for him as decent, and that he'd be acceptable to your parents, and you want a marriage of convenience and if it develops into more, all well and good, but if not, there's no reason to be uncivil about it. Gryffindors like being told a straight story, and if there's a damsel in distress in the case, the big ones like it even better. We don't do subtle in Gryffindor Tower!"

"I shall have to give it a try," said Narcissa. "And I hope Lucius ends up having to go to the ball with Dolly Umbridge, who looks like a toad and screeches like a banshee."

"Oh that horrid female who has pink bows in her hair who titters a lot, especially when people are in trouble? He's welcome to her," said Sirius.

"She's one who pinches and nips slyly, and throws her weight around with anyone younger than herself; I can't stand her," said Narcissa. "I reckon if she had been in the same year as Bella, between them they'd have made Voldemort look like a pussy cat. She has a down on all part-humans, she's been trying for years to get Flitters sacked, but he's too clever to admit to being part … whatever he is. She hasn't a clue that Malfoy is part Veela, or she'd probably go off him instead of simpering at him like a love-struck duck."

"Pass the bag, already!" said Sirius.

"Yes, it is pretty sickening," said Narcissa. "And you'd better make sure she never finds out that your friend is a werewolf; she hates them."

"And who says I have a friend who is a werewolf?" said Sirius.

"Well, I thought it was obvious as he isn't likely to be having PMT and period pains every month," said Narcissa. "But so long as he isn't out trying to eat people … what do you do, chain him up?"

"He has runic protection which allows him to retain his mind," said Sirius, recognising that dissembling was useless. "He isn't a werewolf at all so long as he chants and wears the amulet. Just a bit … furry."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows.

"Powerful stuff."

Sirius shrugged.

"Sev Prince. He's good at that sort of thing. So is Remus for that matter. You can run with us if you like early in the mornings; we do it to keep fit to sustain spells longer and it covers for Remus on those nights."

Narcissa nodded.

"I will. Do the Prewett boys go?"

"Are you kidding? They like their bed!"

"Oh well." She managed not to look disappointed. "Thanks, Sirius; I appreciate you sticking to family, even if you do have your differences with us. I … I write to Andi, you know. I can't out of school, but school owls tell no tales."

"Yeah? Well send her my congratulations on a successful rebellion. My dear old mum wand-burned her out of the family tree but I don't see why marrying muggle-born is such a crime. Look at our own inbred family and its madness, and the Malfoys have trouble breeding. A bit of new blood is good, right?"

Narcissa shrugged.

"Possibly. I like your muggleborn friends, they are nice polite girls. If everyone who was new to magic was as cultured, I think there'd be fewer objections. And I'm going to be teaching etiquette and writing to the kids in Slytherin who haven't been taught properly, too."

"You're OK, Cissy," said Sirius.