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

Warming

Narcissa clutched her mug of hot cocoa and delighted in its warmth. She giggled with Andromeda as they wrote messages to one another in the clouds their breath formed on the icy window panes. With the tip of her finger, Narcissa connected the heart that encompassed her initials with a certain somebody's. Andromeda snorted.

"Oh, be quiet," Narcissa said, drawing horns on Andromeda's stick figure portrait of herself and Bellatrix.

Andromeda grinned, apparently pleased with the addition to her image.

"Just wait until the New Year's ball. Lucius Malfoy will dance with me a thousand times and never tire."

"Mother will never let you attend; Bella said she was reluctant to even let me go this year," Andromeda said with an air of authority.

"That had less to do with your age and more to do with your behavior under Bellatrix's influence. Besides, I only need to ask Mother, and she'll let me."

Narcissa smiled at the thought of pretty dresses and handsome purebloods.

"I don't care how much you have Mother wrapped around your finger. A first year at such a gathering? You'll look foolish."

Narcissa tried to ignore her sister's logic.

"The way you talk, I'd think you didn't want me to come."

Andromeda's eyes glimmered slyly. "Perhaps I want a thousand dances with Lucius myself."

Narcissa elbowed her sister. "You do not."

"He is in my year… that must give me some sort of advantage."

Even if Narcissa didn't think her sister was joking, she wouldn't worry. "Lucius would never choose you over me."

Andromeda pretended to be offended.

"I am prettier," Narcissa sniffed, tossing her blond tresses over her shoulder.

"What's this? I certainly hope you aren't discrediting your own sister's beauty," a man laughed.

The two girls turned from their window drawings to face Uncle Alphard.

"Especially not when our Andy looks so much like her uncle!"

"I do not!" Andromeda protested, smiling as he ruffled her brown curls.

"Course you do," Uncle Alphard said. "We've got the same eyes."

Narcissa considered the statement, then shook her head. "Meda has Bella's eyes, Uncle."

Uncle Alphard chuckled heartily. "Those dark orbs! Not hardly; there's far too much brewing in Bellatrix's eyes to match Andromeda."

Narcissa shrugged; her uncle always had been fond of saying wild things.

"Eyes or not," Andromeda said, "I still don't look like some grubby old man."

"Sorry? Did you mention one?"

Andromeda stuck out her tongue at her uncle.

"Speaking of Bellatrix, where is the little hellion?" Uncle Alphard asked, clapping his hands together as he scanned the room. "I wanted to ask her about her term. She'll be taking her O.W.L.s soon, no?"

Narcissa nodded to the window. "She's outside."

"Barefooted," Andromeda added.

Uncle Alphard peered through the glass. Snow fell from the chilly sky to the white earth, giving the darkness a pleasing glow.

"Merlin's sake! Whatever are your sister and Master Sirius doing out there?"

"Having a contest."

Uncle Alphard looked incredulously at Narcissa. "But it's freezing!"

"I think that's the point of their little adventure. They want to see who can withstand the cold longer without running to warmth."

His face scrunched up as he continued to stare at his niece and nephew, Uncle Alphard appeared unsure how to address the situation. "How long have they been standing in the cold?"
Andromeda glanced at the clock. "Almost twenty minutes now."

Uncle Alphard stroked his chin. "They'll be sick before morning. Their mothers will not be pleased, not at all…"

"That's also an incentive."

Uncle Alphard laughed as though he knew just how necessary it sometimes was to do things just to spite the Black women. He pulled himself away from the window with a shake of the head.

"You'll take care of your brother, won't you, Reggie?" Uncle Alphard asked as he knelt next to the toddler so affixed on arranging his miniature cauldron set.

When Regulus nodded with a swish of his wild dark hair, Uncle Alphard turned his attentions back to the girls. "And you make sure Bellatrix's toes don't fall off when she recovers from the cold."

Andromeda smirked. "Don't worry about Bella, Uncle Alphie."

"She's cheating." Narcissa indicated the cleverly hidden wand just visible under Bellatrix's sleeve.

"Ah. Heating charms, no doubt. Well, she never was one to play by the rules," Uncle Alphard said.

Narcissa couldn't decide if he was amused or disapproving.

"But she does!" Andromeda said with the same defensiveness for her older sister that Narcissa felt. "They're just her own, that's all."

"Yes… I suppose you're right. Just make sure she doesn't freeze Sirius in the process."

Narcissa watched Bellatrix laugh confidently as Sirius began to dance around in an attempt to stay warm. When their uncle had left the room, Andromeda joined her sister.

"It'll take more than a few snowstorms to freeze either of their hot blood… Still, I suspect we'll have to end this ourselves. I don't know which of them is the more stubborn, but I don't think frostbite's the way to find out."

Narcissa nodded, grabbing her scarf as she followed Andromeda out the door to where Bellatrix and Sirius continued to face the weather and each other.

"Hello, Cissy! Care to join us, Meda?" Bella sang, all too cheerful in her assurance that Sirius would crack before she ever did.

"And-d-dy," Sirius said, teeth chattering. "How l-long have we b-been at it?"

"You and Bella? Ever since you were born, I think."

"Just give up, Sirius!" Bellatrix laughed. "You can't beat me."

"Yes I can," Sirius growled.

Measuring the interactions between her cousin and sister, Narcissa contemplated the value of obstinacy. Even after just a minute in the snowy night, Narcissa longed for the warmth of the abandoned parlor. Andromeda, meanwhile, threw back her head and let her eyelashes collected snowflakes.

"Sirius, I won't think less of you if Bella beats you just this once. Then we can go inside and you can beat her at Exploding Snap," Andromeda said, her consolation the only influence that could rival his determination to best Bellatrix.

He looked fleetingly from his smirking cousin to the glowing inside.

"N-no."

Narcissa sighed loudly. "Sirius, you won't win, Bella is-"

Bellatrix shot her little sister a warning glare.

"-infinitely better than you in every way," Narcissa finished. She grimaced at having stroked Bella's ego so unnecessarily.

Andromeda laughed. Perhaps because she wouldn't have to work as hard to earn Bella's forgiveness, she said, "Sirius, Bella is cheating."

"Meda!" Bellatrix shrieked indignantly.

Andromeda laughed even harder as she ducked an enchanted snowball.

Sirius, on the other hand, did not laugh as he noticed Bella's wand. Clenching his fist, he seethed. Bellatrix rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't take it so hard, Sirius. I would have beat you even without my wand."

Sirius was not mollified. As Bellatrix grinned at her sisters, walking towards the warm indoors, Sirius gathered a pile of snow between his hands. With a mad scream, he ran to Bellatrix and shoved the snow down her back.

Bellatrix's eyes widened in shock before she spun around to tackle Sirius to the ground.

"You bleeding little twit!" she screamed, scooping snow onto his face.

"You cheated!"

Snow flew around them as the pair scuffled on the ground. Narcissa exchanged a glance with Andromeda.

"Don't."

"Would I?" Andromeda mused innocently.

But before Andromeda could make an attempt to throw snow, the fray between cousins grew louder. Though Bellatrix was almost twice Sirius's size, Sirius was already numbed to the cold, giving him the advantage. Bellatrix, however, was not one to surrender. As Sirius shoved a handful of snow into Bella's face, she snatched his wrist and twisted until Sirius wriggled from her grip.

"Who's cold now!" Sirius roared as he stood, kicking snow on his fallen cousin.

But Bellatrix seized Sirius's ankles and yanked so that he fell, face first, into a bank of snow.

"You are!" she said gleefully.

"Bella," Andromeda said. "Be nice; it's Christmastime."

Bellatrix sighed dramatically, but reached out to help Sirius nevertheless.

"Come on, Cousin."

Narcissa was certain that Bella wouldn't have ended the fight so quickly if she hadn't considered herself to be winning.

But as Sirius clasped Bella's outstretched hand, he pulled her into the snow next to him.

Bellatrix shielded herself from Sirius's attack of both fist and snow.

"Let's go inside," Narcissa said. "It's freezing."

Andromeda shivered in agreement. "Sirius, if you stop fighting Bella, we'll give you your Christmas present."

Sirius paused and stared at Bellatrix, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You got me a present?"

"Of course we did," Bella said, pushing him teasingly. "What kind of crummy cousins do you think we are?"

"Cheaters, that's who."

"Winners," Bella corrected, scooping up Sirius from the snow.

After Sirius and Bellatrix had taken turns brushing the snow off one another, they followed Andromeda and Narcissa into the house. Bellatrix collapsed in front of the fireplace with a content sigh. Sirius, however, crossed his arms.

"Your present is in my room," Bella said. She yawned, but Sirius grabbed her hand anyway.

"Let's go then."

"You too, Reggie," Narcissa said as she picked up her smallest cousin.

Sirius and Bellatrix began to gallop as the warmth encouraged their spirits. As they exited the parlor, they barely avoided running over a house-elf carrying a stack of dinner plates. Through the dining hall Sirius and Bella ran with little observance to their disapproving mothers.

"Slow down, you two!"

But, of course, they didn't. As Andromeda, Narcissa, and Regulus followed, Sirius and Bella leapt up the long flight of stairs, sprinting to Bella's room.

By the time Narcissa walked through the door with Regulus, Sirius had already ripped the paper off a glorious collection of Honeydukes finest assortment of treats. Andromeda sat on the edge of Bella's bed. Narcissa handed Regulus to Andromeda, then climbed onto the bed also. Sprawled on the floor, Sirius and Bellatrix grinned at the vast amount of candy that surrounded them.

"Thanks, Bella," Sirius said. His eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Meda helped me pick it out."

With a happy glance at Andromeda, Sirius's focus returned to the candy.

He riffled through the colorful sweets, trying to decide what first he would eat.

"Here, Bella," he said, tossing her the Cockroach Clusters. "I don't like them."

Bellatrix wrinkled her nose, deciding instead upon a Licorice Wand.

In between bites of Chocolate Frog, Sirius examined a box of Bertie Bott's.

"Bet you're not brave enough," Sirius said, offering the jellybeans to Bellatrix.

Bellatrix took the box from Sirius, but did not try one immediately.

"Can I have a Chocolate Frog too, Sirius?" Andromeda asked.

"And a sugar quill?" Narcissa said.

Sirius distributed the desired candies, by which time Bellatrix had made up her mind.

"Ok, we each pick out five beans, and then we give one of those five to each other. Whoever eats the most without spitting any out wins."

Narcissa wrinkled her nose, wondering why anyone would want to chance the taste of rotten egg when the safety of sugar quills was available.

Andromeda didn't protest, and Regulus clapped excitedly, so it was decided.

The box of Bertie Bott's was passed around, and each cousin chose the five beans meticulously. Bellatrix, in particular seemed to take a very long time in choosing.

"Hey!" Narcissa said, "You're just trying to find the most disgusting flavors."

"So?"

Andromeda helped Regulus choose five, and then they proceeded to swap beans.

Bellatrix inspected that each person had indeed five beans and said, "Ok, have at them!"

Narcissa looked carefully at her selection. She placed aside the bean Bellatrix had given her, fearing it to be the worst. After much consideration, she decided upon a light golden jellybean. As Andromeda gagged and Sirius grimaced, Narcissa bit tentatively into the candy. Toffee.

But even after her initial success Narcissa approached the remaining four with caution. She shuddered, but swallowed a bean tasting of pepper and one whose flavor she couldn't determine. Bellatrix having succumbed to bogie and Andromeda to soap, Narcissa carefully popped the fourth bean into her mouth.

"Yuck!" she said, spitting her bean into an empty wrapper. "Dirt."

Bellatrix chuckled as she continued feasting on Licorice Wands. "Ha, they should make muggle flavored beans," she giggled.

"That's disgusting," Narcissa said, struggling to remove the offending taste from her mouth.

"I think the sugar's going to your head," Andromeda said. "How many of those have you had?"

Bellatrix shrugged.

In the end, Regulus won after a vomit flavored bean caught Sirius by surprise.

"Ew," Sirius said. He grabbed a Chocolate Frog to replace the flavor.

Though the round of Every Flavor Beans had stolen appetites from Andromeda and Narcissa, Sirius and Bellatrix seemed determined to finish the mountain of candy in one sitting.

"You probably shouldn't…" Narcissa said.

Listening to reason was a skill neither Bellatrix nor Sirius possessed.

By the time Sirius and Bellatrix had fallen into a jittery sugar rush, the floor around them was covered in empty wrappings.

Bellatrix was telling Sirius dirty jokes about what you got when you crossed a banshee and a werewolf as they roared with laughter.

"Bella, you've forgotten the punch line to your own joke," Narcissa sighed.

But Bellatrix didn't hear her little sister, so consumed by mirth, already in the midst of another joke.

"Because he's got the best wands!" Bellatrix roared, collapsing into a fit of laughter.

Sirius rolled around with laughter, kicking his legs at the air.

"G-get it?" Bella sputtered between giggles. "'cause, 'cause he's Ollivander!"

Knees touching, Sirius and Bella laughed into each other's face.

"Hey! Let's go make faces at the portraits," Sirius said.

Andromeda and Narcissa watched, amused but not surprised, as Bellatrix and Sirius jumped to their feet, only to slump back to the floor immediately.

"I'm really tired," Bella mumbled.

"Me too."

Regulus, apparently the wisest of the five, had fallen asleep curled against Andromeda ages ago.

"You can't sleep here!" Narcissa said, addressing Sirius as he pulled a cover from Bella's bed.

"Why not?"

Narcissa looked to her sister for support.

Bellatrix, however, was trying to steal the pillow away from Sirius, and thus proved less than helpful.

"Because, Sirius," Narcissa finally huffed. "We're going to have a girl's sleepover. Meda decided and Bella promised."

But before further argument could ensue, voices from downstairs interrupted.

"Sirius, Regulus, we're leaving," Walburga's shrill voice rang. "Say goodbye to your cousins and come down here."

Sirius flinched at the noise, stared imploringly at his cousins. "Hide me!"

Andromeda laughed even as she carried the sleeping Regulus across the room to the doorway.

Bellatrix gave Sirius an understanding smile but mocked him just the same. "Hide you? What kind of coward do you think I want for a cousin?"

Sirius straightened and lifted his chin proudly as he glared at Bella. "I'm even braver than you."

"Then go face your mother."

Sirius scowled at his gloating cousin, then stomped from the room.

"Besides," Bellatrix said, "If you go home and wait by the fireplace, we can visit by Floo and kidnap you!"

Sirius paused in his dramatic exit. "Mother would be furious."

Narcissa noticed that Sirius's voice lacked the appropriate contrition.

"I know… what better reason do we need?"

"Promise?" Sirius asked.

Bella smiled. "Maybe."

Knowing that was the best answer he'd receive from Bellatrix, Sirius grinned and bounded down the stairs to his parents.

Bella flopped on her bed next to Narcissa, and when Andromeda returned from delivering Regulus, she did likewise.

"You really shouldn't make promises you don't intend to keep," Andromeda scolded softly, watching her older sister.

"I always keep my promises."

Narcissa exchanged a look with Andromeda.

"If we don't kidnap Sirius tonight, we'll wait for New Year's Eve," Bella said matter-of-factly.

"We have a ball to attend," Andromeda said, adopting Druella's lofty way of speaking.

"I'm thinking about not going," Bella said. She played with a strand of Narcissa's hair. "It won't be any fun without Cissy."

Narcissa smiled too soon.

"There will be no one to tease."

Narcissa tried to turn from Bellatrix, but Bella pulled her back, strong fingers on Narcissa's shoulder.

"Sometimes I wish I had brothers," Bella said.

Narcissa thought it was just to be cruel.

"Then I'd have someone who would fight back, act wildly, wouldn't care about what I wore…"

"In other words, you want someone who is the opposite of what a lady should be."

Bella grinned. "Narcissa Black, don't con yourself into thinking you're a lady."

Narcissa heard Andromeda giggled. "No Black woman ever has been. They're all too ruthless."

"As long as we get what we want, why should this trouble us?" Narcissa mused.

"And I want a brother."

"No, Bella, you want to be a boy. Don't confuse the issue."

Bellatrix laughed. "Maybe it would help, but I can do anything a boy can do."

"Beating Sirius at childhood games is evidence enough. Really, Bella, you shouldn't be so mean to him," Andromeda said.

"I'm not mean to him," Bellatrix protested. "I gave him couple Galleon's worth of candy!"

"Half of which you ate," Narcissa said, fingertips dangling over the wrappings.

"It was his to share… but if it makes you happy, my stomach hurts."

Andromeda looped her arm around Bella's as she leaned her chin against Bella's shoulder. "Poor Bella, getting what she deserves…"

Bellatrix swatted Andromeda's arm half-heartedly. She stared at Narcissa, her dark eyes roving across the pale face.

"What?"

"Meda, if we could sneak Sirius out of his own house, surely we could sneak Narcissa out of ours?"
"I suppose so," Andromeda said slowly, as though she had to consider the issue carefully.

"And three eligible Black females certainly beat just two."

"Of course it does, Bella," Narcissa said. At the mere mention Narcissa's thoughts raced once more with gowns, and this time, her sisters.

Andromeda snorted, hitting Bellatrix with a pillow.

"You are such a liar, Bella; you don't want brothers. Not when you have sisters."

Bella's silence was as much as admitting defeat.

Author's Note: A very Merry belated Christmas! I hope to update quickly before returning to school. Happy New Years!