Written For:
- Day 14 of 366 Days of Writing Challenge: Silly
- Speed Drabble: Tomorrow, "Don't you understand why I need to do this?", Narcissa/LilyEvans
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Narcissa Pairings: Narcissa/Lily
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/My Mad Fat Diary: "Did you think you could just slip out of the world with nothing happening because of it? Do you think anyone can do that?", "How do you ever get over someone? How do you move on?", "Having this big secret that could come out at any moment...it's horrible."
Pairings/Characters: Narcissa/Lily
Word Count: 596
Let Her Go
Tell my love to wreck it all, cut out all the ropes and let me fall.
"Don't you understand why I need to do this?"
Narcissa and Lily were knelt down in the middle of Lily's bedroom, holding hands. Narcissa was the one speaking, staring forward at Lily with her eyes full of tears, but Lily didn't appear convinced. She tossed her curtain of auburn hair over her shoulder, scoffing.
"You're just being silly, Cissy," she told her, laughing—though the giggle was half-hearted. "You say stuff like this all the time—by tomorrow, you'll be straight back round here." She leaned forward to press her mouth to Narcissa's, but Narcissa turned away, and Lily's kiss landed awkwardly on her cheek.
"I mean it this time. I really do."
Lily leaned back, narrowing her eyebrows. "I don't understand, Cissy. You've been engaged to Lucius ages. It's never bothered you before." Their secret relationship had been going on since Narcissa's seventh year at Hogwarts. Lily had already been entertaining a relationship with James Potter, but her heart wasn't truly in it—not like it was with Narcissa.
Lily adored Narcissa. She brought an excitement into her life that she'd never experienced before, and she knew that Narcissa could show her a lot more. She just had to be brave, and let her family know what path her life was going to take.
But deep down, Lily knew that Narcissa would never tell them. Her older sister, Andromeda, had already abandoned the family's unspoken rules, and she had been scorched off the family tree for it. Narcissa wasn't as strong, wasn't as brave.
"This was always going to happen, Lily," she whispered, looking up at Lily with her sparkling, tear-welled blue eyes. Lily dropped her gaze to the floor, balling her hands into fists. "You don't know what it's like," Narcissa went on. "Having this big secret that could come out at any moment...it's horrible."
Lily kept her eyes on the floor. She didn't want to look at Narcissa - if she did, she knew she would burst into tears. "Well...can't we remain friends?" she murmured, trying to keep the desperate edge out of her voice.
Narcissa sighed. "I'd love to, Lily...but that's still just as dangerous. If my father knew I was having any kind of relationship with a Mudb—a Muggleborn, we'd both be in a lot of trouble."
"So what?" Lily continued, still not looking up. "What happens now?"
"We just...we just don't see each other anymore. You just pretend I don't exist."
Lily threw back her head, finally unable to bear it. Her green eyes glittered angrily, and Narcissa winced. "What is wrong with you? Do you think you can just slip out of the world with nothing happening because of it? Do you think anyone can do that? I love you, Narcissa!" she cried, the tears finally springing into her eyes. Narcissa threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Lily.
"I know," she whispered, rubbing her fingers in a circular motion on the back of Lily's neck. "I'm sorry, Lily. I love you too...but I have to do this. We have to move on."
Lily buried her face in Narcissa's pale hair, inhaling her scent; she always smelled of old parchment and lavenders. "How do you ever get over someone?" she murmured, feeling her throat thickening. "How do you move on?"
"You just...do," Narcissa replied, sounding unconvinced. "You just keep going, day by day, until one day it just doesn't hurt anymore."
"You've broken my heart, Narcissa."
Narcissa sighed. "My heart is broken too."
