Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.
Protecting
Narcissa folded her hands in her lap as she stared blankly at the wall opposite her. The intricate patterns of the green and silver wall paper were blurred, however, as tears ran down her face silently. Straining her ears, Narcissa heard the secretive hisses of the Dark Lord, her sister, and her son. She ran her tongue over her quivering lips, thinking desperately of her husband. If Lucius had not been in Azkaban, this wouldn't be happening. But, as Bellatrix so cruelly and often reminded her, Lucius had failed. If he hadn't, this wouldn't have to happen at all.
A strange, unfamiliar incantation was heard, then a scream of unexpected pain. Narcissa bit the insides of her mouth so that she would not scream in unison with her son. Do not cry out, Draco, Narcissa urged him silently, you will only encouragehim. There was a final, strangled noise and then silence. Narcissa clutched her barren left forearm, as if in doing so, she might save her son. But Bellatrix gave a laugh of pride, and Narcissa knew it was over. Then the Dark Lord Disapparate with a pop, the deed having been done. There was little chance to save Draco.
Voices grew closer to the door so Narcissa stood from her chair, wiping the tears from her face quickly.
"Do not fall into the same weaknesses of your father, Draco," Bellatrix was saying, "Pain is only how you perceive it. Chanel it properly and it can be advantageous. It stands as a reminder that you are still human, alive, and that your life belongs to a higher Cause. Use the pain for anger."
There was a pause. Narcissa could imagine her son's hand, frozen on the door knob as Bellatrix leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You have trained well enough, Draco. But you can do better. You lack the proper passion, if you want to succeed. Is not your life motivation enough?"
Narcissa's nails dug into the palms of her hands as Draco replied, "Yes, Aunt Bella."
The door opened and Narcissa rushed to her son. She reached out for his arm, but Draco flinched away. Avoiding her eyes, he pushed past her and disappeared upstairs. Narcissa whimpered a noise of protest, but then gathered her resolve and glared at her sister.
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, perhaps in surprise.
"You should have congratulated Draco," she said coolly.
"As you are training him, Bella, I think that duty falls upon you," Narcissa replied stiffly.
Bellatrix frowned. "Surely you are proud of him." It was a statement; not a question by any means.
Narcissa could not stifle a twinge of madness from her voice as she laughed, "Oh, yes! So very proud. How happy I am that Draco is following his father's footsteps! But perhaps, if I'm so lucky, he will be as good a servant as you."
Narcissa could think only of her first sight of Bellatrix upon returning from Azkaban, mangled, starved, and altogether absent.
"I do not think he will be quite so fortunate."
The two sisters stared, unblinking, at each other. Narcissa searched Bella's face desperately. It used to be that if she looked closely enough she could see the briefest flicker of Andromeda. But not anymore. Bella was Bellatrix through and through. Narcissa closed her eyes so that she didn't have to see what her sister had become. She wanted the part of Bella that had been Andromeda. For all her disloyalties, Andromeda would have understood such maternal pain. Narcissa wondered briefly if what she felt was disloyalty.
"Your eyes betray you, Cissy. You have been crying."
"I suppose you think I'm weak," Narcissa snapped, tears threatening her vision once more.
"No. I think you're foolish."
Narcissa felt her blood, every bit as pure as Bella's pounding through her head.
"Is it so terrible that I do not want this for my son; that I don't want him to follow you and Lucius?" she demanded.
"Whether you like this or not is hardly the point, Narcissa. You're not five anymore, so don't expect to get everything your way by throwing tantrums."
"I am not throwing a tantrum; I am trying to save my son," Narcissa cried in outrage.
"Draco must save himself," Bellatrix countered harshly. "If he doesn't mind his fate, why should you?"
Narcissa's hands were trembling. "Because I'm his mother and I've seen first hand what lives that mark has destroyed."
"Don't you dare accuse-"
"Think of Regulus!" Narcissa interrupted, "He was barely sixteen when he joined, and look what happened to him. He diedbefore he turned nineteen; and thus produced no family, no continuation of the name. Draco is only sixteen! Not only is that extraordinarily young to become a Death Eater, but now you expect him to bring down Dumbledore?"
Bellatrix did not reply.
"Or is it that no one believes Draco can do it, and that he too will fail. And thus he will…" Narcissa trailed off, staring disbelievingly at Bella. "You would watch your own nephew die?"
"Why do you think I requested to train him myself?" Bellatrix retorted, jabbing her finger at her little sister. "I want him to succeed. He is learning quickly. If I continue to teach him until he goes back to school, Draco's skill will advance considerably."
Narcissa did not back away but instead stepped closer to Bella. She muttered, "Did you ever consider that I do not approve of your teaching methods?"
Bellatrix scoffed. "Are you suggesting that you would prefer Draco in the hands of another Death Eater besides your sister?"
"No," Narcissa said, her eyes only a foot away from the burning dark pits of her sister. "I'm suggesting that I never wanted Draco in the hands of Death Eaters to begin with!"
The words screamed disloyalty, even to Narcissa.
"You have never protested our presence in Draco's life before," Bellatrix said dangerously.
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her sister's ignorance. "It is something that you will never understand, Bella, but what I say and what I think are two very different things."
Bellatrix stared at Narcissa with scrutinizing eyes.
Narcissa thought it better not to test her sister; especially not after Bella had spent the past few weeks practicing Legilimency on Draco. Indeed, not a minute after she had closed her mind, Narcissa could feel the urgent prodding at the edges of her thoughts.
With a snarl at being denied access, Bellatrix leered, "Are you trying to hide something from your sister?"
Narcissa stared back impassively. She knew Bella was just trying to distract her.
"Since when have you found it necessary to employ Occlumency?" Bella asked, her voice dripping with contempt.
Narcissa raised a cold eyebrow. "Since my sister found it necessary to invade the privacy of my own thoughts."
"Only to better serve our Cause!" Bella snapped back angrily, color rising in her cheeks.
Your cause, Bella. Your cause, Narcissa thought wildly, projecting her thoughts onto her sister.
Bellatrix's nostrils flairs, the message having been received.
And then, just as quickly, Narcissa's shields were back up.
Glaring into each other's eyes, Bellatrix finally spoke, "It is no matter that you try to block me out, Cissy. You are so obvious. I hardly need Legilimency to read your mind."
Narcissa's mouth formed an almost sad smile as she said, "Maybe when we were young. I'm afraid you'll find my mind much less obvious than it once was."
Bellatrix was breathing quickly, practically radiating frustration. Clenching and unclenching her fists, her face was twisted between anger and something that might have been hurt.
"What's the matter with you, Narcissa?" Bella finally screamed, pulling at her already tangled hair. "You've known about the Dark Lord's plan for almost three months now. You knew he was to be branded. Even if your husband had retrieved the prophecy like he was supposed to, this would happen eventually. Draco is almost of age; he would have made the choice to join our ranks anyway. You should support such aspirations!"
The difference, Narcissa thought angrily, was that the choice was made for him, not by him.
"My Draco is not a murderer," Narcissa said through clenched teeth, tears blurring her vision.
Bellatrix stared back, her eyes narrow slits. "Your Draco might not be, but the Dark Lord's had better be."
Narcissa glared into her sister's face, her head pounding with anger, "Bellatrix, the Dark Lord has my husband and my sister. He can not have my son."
A shriek of indignation was the initial response. "You dare suggest such clouded loyalties. Have you no sense of duty, Narcissa?!"
"I'm sorry, Bella. I had forgotten that duty now means, to you, blind servitude."
Bellatrix slapped Narcissa; the sound echoed around the room mingled with Narcissa's gasp of surprise.
"You're talking just like Andromeda," Bellatrix finally hissed, her eyes brimming with… something.
Narcissa faltered for a moment, suddenly wary of her sister. She took a step back, her eyes focused on Bellatrix's branded left forearm. "Meda would have helped me, at least," Narcissa mumbled in spite of herself.
The air in the room grew still and dangerous. Neither sister moved as the tension built. Each mind raced furiously, trying to determine the weight behind Narcissa's words. Memories of Andromeda fighting with Bellatrix during the months leading up to her eventual departure obscured Narcissa's ability to think. Thus, Bellatrix reached a conclusion before Narcissa did.
"That only proves your mounting betrayal to the Cause."
Narcissa felt her heart skip a beat at this accusation. Her mind raced as she searched for a solution. If Bellatrix, who boasted of being the Dark Lord's favorite, would not help her dissuade the crazy idea of ordering Draco to kill Albus Dumbledore, Narcissa had little hope of saving her son. Bellatrix used to be the embodiment of everything Narcissa could rely on to protect and defend those things important in her life. But now, Narcissa could hardly communicate normally with Bellatrix, let alone evoke sympathy in the latter.
Her throat constricted as she stifled a dry sob. "Bella… I don't know how to make you understand. But my husband is in prison, and you've already been there. What's going to happen to my only son?"
Bellatrix either didn't care, or couldn't formulate an appropriate response. Narcissa rotated the wedding band around her finger anxiously. And then it came to her.
"Severus," Narcissa breathed slowly, suddenly illuminated.
"What about Snape?" Bellatrix demanded suspiciously.
Narcissa ignored her sister, summoning her travelling cloak with a flick of her wand.
Bellatrix's mouth fell open in disbelief as she scoffed, "You can not be thinking of running off to whine to Snape for help?"
Narcissa sniffed, "Who cares how I whine if I get what I want." She walked towards the door, her decision made.
But Bellatrix rounded on Narcissa, grabbing her arm to prevent her from leaving. "I will not allow you to lower yourself to asking a half-blood for help."
Narcissa frowned, knowing all too well her sister's overwhelming distrust for Severus. She considered those opinions for only a minute before she thought again of Draco.
"Let me go, Bella."
But Bellatrix's grip around her wrist only tightened.
"I am your blood, and I am trying to protect everything we've worked for. You can not put your trust in Snape!"
"Just watch me, Bellatrix," Narcissa laughed, driven by something like madness, "If you won't help me protect Draco-"
"-you were told not to speak of the plan to anyone!" Bellatrix growled. "And the Dark Lord will know if you do, and he will punish you."
"There is nothing more the Dark Lord can do to me," Narcissa snarled bitterly. "He has already destroyed my husband and sister."
Bellatrix suddenly froze, her mouth opened slightly as if she wanted to protest, but no sound came out. She was almost numb, looking like a grotesque statue. Narcissa took advantage of the moment, yanking her arm from Bella's death grip. She turned away and stormed out of the room, Disapparating just as the door slammed behind her. Narcissa had lost everyone else; she was not about to lose her son.
Author's Note: I just couldn't resist a little sibling rivalry after watching the Red and White Queens go at it in Underland. ;) If it wasn't obvious enough, this takes place right before the whole Unbreakable Vow incident with Snape. As for Bellatrix being a Legilimens... Snape notes in HBP that "Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you [Draco] Occulmency" and I took this to mean that Bellatrix was capable of Legilimency as that's how Snape taught Harry. Reviews are appreciated and loved.