Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to J K Rowling. Not me.
A/N: So we have the first foray into Narcissa's darker side here. Chronologically, it's not her first evil moment, but it's the first written. More shall follow! Anyway, stay tuned for the last part of the story.
LIFE'S LESSONS - 1973
LESSON TWO: BLOOD
Muggles were such quaint creatures, Narcissa had decided. They'd barely stood in the line for a moment, when the large man guarding the door had spotted them, and let them straight through. Bella had called him a bouncer. Narcissa had no idea what that meant, but she liked him. She hadn't been particularly keen on waiting in line just so she could dance and get extremely drunk.
Bella had decided that Cissy needed a break from the Black house, and from her fiancé. Bella wasn't sure how Narcissa could put up with Lucius. Bella couldn't bear to be in a room with him for more than a couple minutes before she was ready to kill him. She did notice how much in love the pair was, though it was no surprise. She'd been convinced they would wed since the tender age of twelve, when she'd witnessed him chase her around with his beloved snake cane.
"Bella?"
Narcissa's voice pierced Bella's thoughts.
"This kind gentleman would like to buy us a drink," Narcissa informed her sister with a smirk, gesturing to the young man standing next to Narcissa, "what would you like?"
"Long Island Iced Tea," Bella replied automatically. It was the most alcoholic drink she could think of, and she did love exploiting the men that tried to crack onto her.
"Make that two," Narcissa said, turning back to her new friend.
Bella observed the young man try and engage her sister in more conversation, but Narcissa now seemed uninterested. She snatched the two drinks off the bar, handed one to Bella, and waved goodbye to her friend.
"Bye! Thanks for the drinks!" she called out, cheerily, before disappearing into the crowd with Bella.
Narcissa could remember a time when the Black sisters used to do this all the time. It was so much easier in muggle nightclubs. In wizarding clubs, everyone knew who they were, and it wasn't easy. Here, a Confundus charm was all it took to get in, and no one was the wiser.
"Having fun yet, Cissy?" Bella enquired, setting the now empty glass down on a bench. She liked drinking fast. Mostly because it hit you faster, but she hated carrying glasses around with her just because they still had alcohol in them.
"Not yet, but I'm getting there," she replied, sculling the last of her drink, and placing the glass delicately on the bench, before dragging her sister out onto the dancefloor. Men seemed to materialise out of no where, as Bella and Cissa danced with each other. They lapped up the attention, as they danced, seeming not to have a care in the world. Drinks kept appearing for them, and they took them greedily, sculling and discarding them, as if they were drinking water.
The number of men around them dwindled as Narcissa and Bellatrix picked out their favourites and began dancing with them exclusively. And so there were four men, keeping Narcissa and Bellatrix to themselves. The men didn't seem to mind sharing as it would seem, as the girls ended up kissing both men dancing with them.
It didn't matter. Even though Bella was married, Rod didn't have any problems with Bella kissing other men. As long as it was only kissing.
Lucius, on the other hand, preferred to keep Narcissa all to himself. This was why Narcissa wasn't going to tell him. She was positive that he'd kissed other women, so why shouldn't she be afforded the same luxury?
By now, Narcissa and Bellatrix were happily drunk, and having a marvellous time. Until a rather angry woman grabbed Narcissa's hair, and pulled her out from between the two men.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you slut?" the woman screamed at Narcissa, still pulling on her hair.
"Get your hands off me, you stupid bitch!" Narcissa shrieked back at the woman, clawing at her hands.
The woman let go of Narcissa's hair, as Narcissa's nails began to draw blood. Narcissa righted herself, and began to launch another tirade into the woman.
"What the hell is your problem?" Narcissa yelled at the other woman, giving her a shove. She wasn't going to back down. No one pulled her hair, and got away with it.
"Keep your fucking hands off my boyfriend!" the woman warned Narcissa, who turned to look at the men she'd been dancing with. One of them had, quite smartly, disappeared. Narcissa figured that must have been the boyfriend. The woman gave Narcissa a shove back.
"Your boyfriend was the one dancing with me, you silly tart. Maybe you should keep a better eye on him then? So he doesn't go off looking for a better looking girlfriend," Narcissa replied, crossing her arms over her crest.
"Maybe if you weren't such a whore, he wouldn't have started dancing with you. What were you going to do next? Fuck him right here?" the woman's voice was getting louder again. She looked as though she was either about to burst into tears, or kill Narcissa. Apparently, killing Narcissa was the way she was leaning.
She launched herself at Narcissa, knocking her to the ground, laying punches into her. Suddenly, the woman was lifted off Narcissa, by the big burly bouncer that had let them in, and escorted out of the nightclub.
He came back while Bella was helping Narcissa up.
"I'm sorry ladies, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave as well. We can't have that sort of thing in here," he said, in a deep booming voice.
They nodded, leaving quietly. That was definitely enough excitement for one night.
"Where were you Bell?" Narcissa asked, wincing as she touched her eye. That was going to hurt tomorrow. She couldn't describe the anger she felt right now. She felt as though she could really hurt someone right now, if they rubbed her the wrong way.
"I was dancing," Bella replied with a shrug, and a grin. "You looked like you were handling yourself alright. I didn't see any reason to step in."
Narcissa rolled her eyes, as they rounded a corner. Narcissa stopped dead in her tracks. Bella looked quizzically at her sister, before following her gaze. The woman from the nightclub was just up ahead. She was staggering all over the place. Narcissa suddenly strode after her, quickly.
"Ciss!" Bella called out, but Narcissa didn't stop. She may have even started walking faster. Bella didn't want to follow her sister, but knew she had to. It surprised her greatly to see Narcissa put an arm around the woman's shoulders. Bella's surprise quickly turned to dismay when she saw them turn into an alley.
She wanted to run, but knew she couldn't. Whatever unmentionable things her little sister was doing to that woman, running would only draw attention to it.
It seemed to take forever for Bella to get to the alley. She didn't like the sight that greeted her. Narcissa was standing over the woman, frozen, as she gazed down onto the body. The woman was dead.
Narcissa seemed to hear Bella's footsteps and turned around. Her eyes were wide open, in realisation of what she'd done.
Deeming it safe, Bellatrix ran to Narcissa, as Cissy collapsed into her sister's arms for the second time in two days, and burst into painful sobs.
"I didn't mean to, I didn't. She just made me so mad. I couldn't stop kicking."
Bella stroked Narcissa's hair as she looked down on the body. It was dark enough down the alley, that people passing by wouldn't notice the people standing down here.
Bella knew that it was too risky to transfigure the woman into anything, as the magic would be picked up. They needed to just go, right now. The woman would be found a few days later, no doubt by some upstanding member of the community, but regardless of the uproar, nothing would be done about it. Narcissa would be safe.
"Come on, Ciss, we need to get to the Leaky Cauldron."
Bella dragged Cissy out of the alley and down the street to the Leaky Cauldron. Bella sent her usual haughty glare at the bartender, and any patrons of the bar, as they walked towards the fireplace.
They were in no state to be Apparating, which was why they were going to Floo home.
Bellatrix opened her locket, pouring powder into her sister's outstretched hands. She watched Narcissa Floo out of the Leaky Cauldron, before Flooing back herself.
Bella found Narcissa standing next to the fireplace, waiting for her.
"Thanks Bell," Narcissa told her sister, with a tired smile. "You could have left me, but you didn't." Narcissa frowned, as if she couldn't understand why she did it. After all, Bellatrix wasn't exactly known for her good nature.
"It's blood, Ciss. I can't deny it. Of course I'm going to help you out. God, I'd even help out Andie if the situation called for it." Neither sister really agreed with their aunt blasting Andie off the tree. On the other hand, they didn't like what she'd done either.
In the end, it came down to blood. They were sisters, nothing would, or could, change that.
Bella put her sister to bed, and went to bed herself. She couldn't sleep though. Images of the woman's lifeless body kept flashing through her head. It wasn't the first body she'd seen, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. She just couldn't understand how her sweet, innocent sister could be sucked into the murderess world in which she lived. It was not a happy thought for Bellatrix to be faced with, but she was going to have to accept it.
Narcissa's innocence had gone forever.