Narcissa and her sisters arrived early at Grimmauld Place to spend some time with their uncle, aunt, and cousins. They would return later to Black Manor in order to spend the afternoon with just the Malfoys.
The day started off nicely. Narcissa read Regulus's favorite book to him, which he clearly enjoyed.
Then, Sirius entered the room.
"Go play with Dromeda," Narcissa immediately snapped at her cousin.
"Can't," Sirius replied lazily. "She and Bellatrix are having another argument."
Narcissa groaned.
Sirius just smirked at her.
"Well, I'm not going to humor you today, Sirius," Narcissa said. "Go entertain yourself for once."
Sirius looked at Narcissa in surprise for a moment.
"Well, you are in rare form this morning, Narcissa," he then drawled. "I didn't know such delicate flowers could have so much bite."
Narcissa felt tears starting to form in her eyes, but she didn't cry. She wouldn't let Sirius see how his words had gotten to her.
Why was she the only Black not named after a star? Why had her parents named her after a flower?
Was there something wrong with her?
"Sirius, be nice," Regulus pleaded.
"You two really are so perfect for each other," Sirius remarked. "You are both so weak and pathetic. Father and Mother should have named you after a flower as well, Regulus."
Narcissa stood up. "That's enough, Sirius," she snarled. "If you don't stop, I'll-"
"You'll what," Sirius interrupted mockingly. "Tell my parents. You really are pathetic, Narcissa."
"Is that so, Sirius?" Bellatrix's voice drawled dangerously from behind him.
Sirius jumped in surprise.
"Why don't you run off and go play with Dromeda?" Bellatrix suggested to her cousin. "I think she might be in need of some comforting."
"What did you do to her, Bellatrix?" Sirius growled.
"Why don't you go see?" Bellatrix smirked.
Sirius glared at Bellatrix as angrily as he dared before he walked past her and left the room.
"Honestly, Cissy," Bellatrix said, "I can't believe I still have to defend you from Sirius."
"I can defend myself just fine, Bella," Narcissa snapped, once again trying desperately not to cry.
"Not from what I was seeing," Bellatrix replied. "Sirius was right about one thing. Some days you really are nothing more than a delicate flower."
Regulus looked at Bellatrix as if he wanted to say something, but the look she gave him was enough to keep him silent.
"Look, Cissy, now you have a baby trying to defend you," Bellatrix taunted.
"I'm not a baby," Regulus muttered in a low voice.
Bellatrix looked at him dangerously. She really didn't like it when anyone tried to stand up to her.
Narcissa handed to Regulus the book that she had been reading to him.
"Go read a bit to yourself, Reggie," she said softly. "I'll make sure to say goodbye to you before I leave."
Both Bellatrix and Narcissa watched as Regulus, with some reluctance, left the room.
"Sometimes I really fear for the future of the Blacks," Bellatrix remarked. "Honestly, am I the only one who's not pathetic? First, there's Dromeda, who seems to think that we should not just tolerate but also respect Muggles. Then, there's Sirius, who's just a little brat. And let's not forget our parents and dear Sirius's parents. None of them does anything to stop Dromeda's or Sirius's shameful behavior. Then, there's you and Regulus-"
"Why don't you go tell our parents, our uncle, and our aunt to their faces that they're pathetic," Narcissa interrupted her sister angrily before turning and leaving the room.
Narcissa was still annoyed and upset by Bellatrix and Sirius by the time the Malfoys arrived at Black Manor.
As a result, she just wasn't up to dealing with Lucius. While he seemed to tolerate her presence now and no longer had any problem with engaging in the occasional conversation with her, there were still times when he seemed to be annoyed by her parents' insistence that they spend time with each other.
Narcissa, however, made sure to greet Lucius with her usual grace and properness. She didn't want her parents getting on her case as well. She also didn't want to risk earning Abraxas Malfoy's disapproval, knowing how much it would shame her family if Lucius's father suddenly decided he no longer wanted his son marrying her because she wasn't a proper Pureblood lady.
Fortunately, it was not long before Lucius and Narcissa were making their way to the study, as had become their usual routine whenever he came over.
"You are welcomed to any book you want," Narcissa said.
"Are you going somewhere?" Lucius asked in a mildly interested voice.
"Just to the garden," Narcissa responded. "I need some fresh air."
"I can understand that," Lucius remarked, "but if you just want to spend some time alone, you don't have to make any excuses for my sake."
Narcissa gritted her teeth. She hated that Lucius was able to read her so easily, while she couldn't even begin to understand him.
"I appreciate that, Mr. Malfoy," Narcissa said in her sweetest voice possible before turning and leaving the room.
As soon as Narcissa made it out to the garden, she no longer tried to keep the tears in. She allowed herself to cry openly and freely. There was no one around, after all, to see her painfully obvious moment of weakness.
Maybe Bellatrix and Sirius were right. Maybe she really was nothing more than a weak, pathetic flower.
"Narcissa," Lucius's voice spoke suddenly.
Narcissa spun around, her face flushing in embarrassment.
Could her day get any worse? The last person she would ever want to catch her crying was Lucius. It had been bad enough when she had once cried in front of Bellatrix, but Bellatrix was at least her sister. Lucius, on the other hand, was still in many ways a stranger to her.
"What's wrong?" Lucius asked.
Narcissa looked at Lucius in surprise. Was that genuine concern in his voice? While he had never spoken cruelly to her (even during all the times he had told her that he didn't really want to talk), he had never spoken to her with any real emotion either.
Narcissa began to cry even more.
"Please, don't cry," Lucius said, sounding slightly uncomfortable.
It was clear that he wasn't used to such open displays of emotion. But then again, he was an only child, and his father had never seemed to Narcissa to be one who would tolerate any crying.
Lucius hesitantly approached Narcissa.
"What's wrong?" he repeated.
"Like you really care," Narcissa cried.
Lucius looked surprised by Narcissa's outburst.
"What if I wanted to care?" he then asked. "Isn't that what you want anyways, to have someone actually care about you?"
For the first time, Narcissa felt like she was really seeing Lucius. She wasn't seeing his cold, uninterested exterior. She was seeing something that he usually kept hidden inside, something much deeper than what his exterior would ever suggest.
"I can tell how much our conversations have meant to you," Lucius continued, "even though you think they mean nothing to me. Your family doesn't really care to hear what's on your mind, do they?"
He did not speak the words unkindly. Instead, he spoke the words with clear understanding. Narcissa could easily imagine Abraxas Malfoy not caring at all about what was on his son's mind.
Narcissa then found herself shaking her head, confirming Lucius's words. How was he able to read her this well and this easily? Even Bellatrix and Andromeda had never been able to read her like this, and she had known them for her entire life.
"Please, tell me who has made you this upset," Lucius then pressed in a surprisingly gentle voice.
"Bellatrix and Sirius," Narcissa said.
She then told Lucius the whole story, all the while marveling at the fact that she was being this open with her feelings with Lucius Malfoy of all people.
"You shouldn't let them get to you like this," Lucius told her after she had finished. "I've met both of them several times now, and I feel confident in saying that they're not worth your tears. Bellatrix doesn't have half your brains, and Sirius clearly has his head stuck up his arse."
Narcissa was both flattered and amused. Lucius was the only person who had ever told her that she was smarter than Bellatrix (he was the only person who had ever called her smart in any fashion), and the mental image of Sirius's head being in his arse was enough to make Narcissa giggle ever so slightly. Of course, it was a giggle perfectly appropriate for a proper young lady such as herself.
Lucius smiled at Narcissa. He then began to tell her a story that he had heard about a man-eating flower that only ate the most powerful of wizards and witches.
"I have heard many stories," Lucius said after he had finished, "but I have never heard one about a man-eating star. I guess being named after a star isn't everything after all."
Narcissa laughed joyfully at Lucius's story.
To her surprise, however, he flushed angrily at her laugh.
"Forget that I ever told you such a silly story," he snarled at her.
"No, you mistake me," Narcissa quickly said. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing because I really loved your story, and it made me feel a lot better. I could never laugh at you, Lucius. You're much too brilliant for that."
Lucius's eyes lit up with both surprise and, a truly rare emotion from him, happiness.
Why was he so surprised at being called brilliant? It was clear to Narcissa that he was. Surely it was clear to him as well.
Wasn't it?
Perhaps they were more alike than Narcissa had previously realized.