Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

School Shopping

The small space between shops overflowed with wizards and witches bustling about in the rush before the school year started. Narcissa gazed around at the storefronts happily, bursting with delight that finally she would board the Hogwarts Express with her sisters. Her arms were linked with them, Andromeda on her left, Bellatrix on her right. She fought of the urge to squeal with delight as Andromeda read the supplies list out loud.

"…and, let's see, a cauldron, a wand of course…" Andromeda read. She glanced down at her little sister, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

Narcissa couldn't help but smile back.

"Obviously," Bellatrix laughed, "Let me see the list, Andy."

Narcissa looked over at Bellatrix whose expression was smug, as she was clearly the superior of her two sisters, having already completed four years at Hogwarts.

"…yeah, you're bringing a toad over my dead body…. Darkness Lurks Within the Shadows: Identifying and Protecting Against the Dark Arts," Bellatrix snorted, "Just stay away from Auntie Walburga…"

Andromeda shot her older sister a stern look as she glanced around at the surrounding crowd.

Bellatrix shrugged, "Don't look at me like that; it's true!"

"Well, where shall we go first then? Flourish and Blotts?" Andromeda suggested with an exasperated sigh.

Bellatrix met Narcissa's imploring smile knowingly. "I think Cissy wants to head to Malkin's. She's obviously in desperate need of more robes. I might have seen that set twice already this summer!" Bella teased, rolling her eyes.

Narcissa shrugged, "Sorry if my fashion sense isn't distorted, Bella."

"It's true, you know," Andromeda laughed, rubbing an imaginary speck of dirt from her sleeve.

"Well, then; looks like I have no choice. Madam Malkin's can't wait a minute more."

Andromeda gave an irritated huff. "I hate shopping for clothes with you, Bella. And besides, why do you get to choose where we shop first?" she asked, pulling the list from her sister's hands.

"Because, Dreary Drommie; mother said I was in charge," Bellatrix retorted gleefully, her chin held proudly in the air.

"Only because you're oldest," Andromeda noted wryly, shaking her head with a laugh. "I, on the other hand, am much more responsible."

Narcissa stamped her feet impatiently at her sisters' pointless bickering.

Bellatrix laughed, "Come off it, Andy, we'll get our books as soon as we're finished at Madam Malkin's. Besides, I think Cissy might throw a royal fit if we dawdle any longer."

Narcissa grimaced as Bella ruffled her perfectly placed blond hair carelessly. Her older sister laughed but Narcissa could only scowl. She was sorely tempted to smack the arm that had ruined her hairdo but she was pretty sure that Bellatrix would hit back. Actually, she knew that Bellatrix would hit back. And harder.

"Such an attractive look for you," Andromeda laughed, smiling appreciatively at Bella.

Narcissa was not amused. If her sisters ever stopped their frivolous chatter and good natured bickering it was to team up against her.

"Fix it, Bella," she whined.

Bella laughed, "Now, Cissy, I'm not allowed to do magic outside of school."

"Like that's ever stopped you before…" Andy noted wryly. She caught her sister's sneer with a smile. "I'll fix it, Cissy."

Narcissa softened a little as Andromeda's gentle figures smoothed the blond hair back into place with a certain expertise that came only with practice and care.

She looked at her reflection in the nearby shop window critically. Andromeda laughed at the delighted smile that crept upon her face.

"Perfect as ever?" Andromeda asked hopefully, a note of teasing in her voice.

Narcissa nodded ignoring Bellatrix as she mumbled something about narcissism.

A little bell jingled as Narcissa pushed open the door of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, followed closely by her older sisters.

Madam Malkin who had been mending the sleeve of a lurid purple robe looked up expectantly.

"Ah, hello, dears," she said cheerfully, walking over to greet them. "School shopping already?"

Narcissa heard Andromeda reply in her usual friendly way as Bellatrix made a typical snarky retort. She didn't care if her sisters made fun of her appreciation for fine clothes and fashion. She was, after all, a Black, and should thus look like one; even if Bella's tastes were of questionable decency and Andy's somewhat common. Narcissa couldn't help but let her eyes wander as she stared longingly at a set of pristine green robes embezzled with the finest silver clasps. It would look so lovely with her eyes, and her hair, as it cascaded down the back. She would look like a true Slytherin princess.

She pulled herself away from the dress robes rather unwillingly as she turned back to her sisters.

"I was thinking you could take in these robes a bit," said Bellatrix, analyzing her figure in the mirror.

Madam Malkin huffed back, "I was thinking I could let those robes out. They are hardly appropriate for school attire."

"She's right you know…" Andromeda laughed, leaning her chin on Bellatrix's shoulder, addressing their reflections. "Better to keep the boys guessing; that way there's no getting bored."

Narcissa saw Bellatrix smirk in the mirror; if the rumors were true, the boys were anything but bored.

"See how that's working for you, my dear," Bella laughed, poking Andromeda playfully in the side, "I think you might just be utterly boring."

Andromeda gave her sister a shove as Narcissa scolded, "Be nice, Bella."

"Ha, that's a laugh," Andromeda snorted, though Narcissa saw an unmistakable look of understanding and warmth pass between her older sisters.

Madam Malkin clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Come, come, dear," she said, ushering Narcissa onto a pedestal. The tape measure fluttered around her body quickly as Madame Malkin took down measurements on paper. "Your standard Hogwarts robes, I expect? First year, but my you're getting old. It seems like just yesterday you were pouting at your mother's side when Bellatrix was getting her first robes."

Narcissa wrinkled her nose.

Bellatrix, who already seemed bored by the shop sighed loudly, "Really, I don't see why she can't just get her Slytherin robes and be done with it."

Narcissa saw Andromeda cast Bellatrix a look that clearly said don't make a scene, Bella.

"Now, Ms. Black," Madam Malkin said through a mouthful of pins, "I wouldn't be so certain if I were you…"

Narcissa stiffened and looked down upon the elderly woman. The very thought that she would be in any house besides Slytherin was repulsive.

Andromeda choked back a laugh.

Narcissa smiled at her sister appreciatively.

"Yeah, Narcissa Black, a Hufflepuff; I can see it now," Andy teased, winking at Narcissa.

Bellatrix whacked her on the arm. "Don't joke about such things, Andy. She's liable to get ideas."

Bellatrix winked at her and Narcissa laughed in spite of herself. Since the day she first heard of Hogwarts, Narcissa knew that she would be in Slytherin. She would walk proudly to the Sorting Hat and it would barely half to touch her head before declaring her a Slytherin and then Narcissa would trot off smugly to join her sisters at the most noble table.

Narcissa smiled faintly at the vision.

"There you go; how is that?" Madam Malkin asked as she slipped a newly pinned robe around Narcissa.

She looked in the mirror, turning a little to examine the robe from every angle. Frowning a little- Hogwarts robes were so mundane to her usual robes- she replied slowly, "It's pulling a little in the shoulders… I think."

Madam Malkin chuckled as she readjusted the pins. "Always my toughest customers, you three."

Narcissa saw Bellatrix role her eyes as Andromeda picked at her nails impatiently.

When Narcissa's robes had been properly fitted and Madam Malkin had refused for the fifth time to take in Bellatrix's robes, Narcissa left the shop with her sisters.

Much to Andromeda's obvious displeasure, they hurried through Flourish and Blotts with great speed as Bella had no interest in books and Narcissa's enthusiasm wasn't much better. They made their way through the other shops without much fuss, occasionally delayed by some fellow Hogwarts students of Andromeda and Bellatrix.

Ollivander's had been the last stop.

Narcissa looked down at her wand fondly as the three sisters sat on an outside terrace of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, reveling in the last warmth of summer before the inevitable fall chill. She twirled it in her fingers; it fit comfortably in her hand. Narcissa liked the thought of having a wand of her own. It wasn't the power or responsibility that came with owning a wand, but the feeling of passage, as if she was truly a witch now.

Bellatrix grinned over her scoop of mint chip with a certain understanding.

"What?" Narcissa wondered.

"Our little Cissy's all grown up," Andromeda teased, watching as pink and lavender sparks jumped from the wand gracefully.

Narcissa smirked as she placed her wand tenderly in Bellatrix's outstretched hand.

Bellatrix held Narcissa's wand next to her own at eye level as if comparing the two before handing it to Andromeda.

"What?" Narcissa asked again, noticing the smirk plastered on Bella's face.

"My wand's longer."

Narcissa smiled faintly at her sister's typical maturity. She licked the strawberry ice cream that had dripped off the cone onto her hand contently as she replied calmly, "You're taller."

Andromeda twirled Narcissa's wand around her fingers.

"Very pretty," she decided, handing the wand back to its owner. "I bet that's why you chose it."

Narcissa raised an eyebrow. "Funny, Meda, but the wand chooses the wizard," she retorted in a voice similar to that of the wandmaker himself.

Bellatrix chuckled, "Yeah, but you would choose a pretty wand, Cissy."

Narcissa rolled her eyes, placing the wand in a pocket of her robe as they stood simultaneously.

As her sisters began to argue loudly, debating whether Narcissa was more likely to end up in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, a warm feeling wrapped around her heart. She was finally going to school with her sisters. She wouldn't have to sit around the house all day bored out of her mind, waiting for the occasional owl. Hogwarts would open its doors to the three Black sisters and she would be welcomed eagerly into Slytherin as proof to just how pure her blood was.

"But Narcissa just isn't brave, Andy," Bellatrix was laughing, "Gryffindor would never take her."

"And good riddance," Andromeda added thoughtfully, giving her little sister's hand a squeeze. "Well, then, Hufflepuff it is!"

Narcissa gave Andromeda a well deserved pout before Bella ruffled her hair once more.

"Never. My little sister will be a Slytherin, and nothing else," Bellatrix declared with a haughtiness that only a Black could possess.

Narcissa beamed at Bellatrix with the utmost gratitude. Arm in arm with her older sisters on either side, Narcissa walked down Diagon Alley with her chin held high.

She was no longer a child.

She was a Black and would thus be a Slytherin.

In a few short days the doors of Hogwarts would be opened and she would cross the threshold proudly.

With her sisters.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed update! I could make excuses but all they'd amount to is school work and the unfortunate need to go to bed before midnight. I thought I'd post a school related scene as an appropriate start to yet another year (even if it does restrict my fanfiction time)! Always taking requests/suggestions for scenes... Thank you for reading; as always, reviews are appreciated beyond all belief!