The week was anything but quiet with planning the downfall of the Marauders and Bella and Rodolphus' engagement. The only relief was that there was no homework all this week in honor of the Quidditch try outs this weekend. Everyone was abuzz with preparations for tomorrow's try outs.
Herbology had just ended and I was walking to the Great Hall for dinner with Aaron, Wilhelmina, and Lucius. While Lucius and Aaron discussed the upcoming sports event, Wilhelmina and I conversed of the plots to reek revenge on the Marauders.
Wilhelmina and I had bonded since I had seen on her on Sunday night. Since she was always shy and quiet, no one had ever noticed her, that is until she started sitting with us. She had confided in me that the Marauders had been singling her out for their pranks since last year, though no one ever noticed.
We sauntered to the end of Slytherin table, farthest away from the teacher's table, and sat down, ready to eat. I sat between Lucius and Wilhelmina while Bella and Rodolphus sat across from myself. Evan and his brother sat next to Lucius and Rodolphus.
One thing I had noticed this week that Bella was considerably happier. She no longer snapped at the younger students, well; not without reason, anyway. I did not expect her to actually wear the ring during the week and class, but she wore it with pride and smirked whenever she caught students and even some teachers marveling at it stature for such a single piece of jewelry.
"So, Cissa, have you stopped by to talk to Phineas yet?" Lucius asked just as the food appeared.
"Yes, but he was dreadfully boring, not what I would've expected of him, being family and all," I replied nonchalantly.
I had gone to see Phineas the previous day, and he was horrendously dull. He gave me a speech of how my parents were depending on me to uphold the Black traditions; meaning, I should excel in all of my classes just to flaunt my blood status, and I should leave a heavy impact on the school before I graduated six years from now.
"Was he really that bad, Cissy? When I went to meet him, he seemed worked up and lively," Bella chimed as she spooned some kind of soup or stew concoction onto her plate.
"Yes, that was because when you went to see him, you nearly got expelled because you dumped your little sister into the Black Lake, and you ran around the Great Hall during breakfast while everybody was eating," I riposted with a smirk, remembering all too well of Sunday morning.
"Yes, well, I'm excited for the try outs tomorrow," Rodolphus said, changing the subject to something everyone could discuss.
"Of course you are, Rod. You're the captain this year," I said, poking the meat on my plate before setting the fork down, unused.
Bella, Rodolphus, and Evan quickly got into a heated war of words of the latest Quidditch teams and placing bets on their favorite teams.
"You need to eat something or your stomach is going to cave in, and then what are we going to do for another chaser?" Lucius teased from next to me, joyously sipping pumpkin juice and enjoying his plate of pork.
"You know he's right, Narcissa," Wilhelmina piped in, not sure who she should really be listening and talking to.
"I know, but I'm too nervous to eat anything; I'm not fond of seeing my food twice, you know," I replied back smoothly, playing with the vegetables still on my plate.
It went like this the rest of dinner: the older Slytherins discussed the latest news of Quidditch while Lucius and Wilhelmina tried to convince me to eat something but to no avail. By the time dinner was over, we were all scrambling to get to bed early to prepare for the harsh morning wind tomorrow morning.
We reached the Common Room and stumbled up the stairs to our dormitories. They would probably all be empty, seeing as everyone was still at the Great Hall eating dinner. I hastily took a cool shower and slipped under the chiffon covers of my bed and closed the drapes. When my head it the pillow, I was lost in a dream land of pure perfection where everything was unblemished and beautiful.
Like all good things, it didn't last long, or not as long as I wanted it to last. I awoke at six in the morning and slipped out of bed. I quickly spotted my slippers and pulled a brush through my hair, silkening it to white gold.
I walked out into the hallway and bounded down the stairs. When I was on the landing to the Common Room, I over viewed the room and saw no one else. Taking advantage of the rare solemnity of the Common Room, I shuffled over to the couch by the fire, which was still profusely raging, and lounged out across its velvety surface. Before I knew what was happening, I felt my eyelids flutter close, and I was dreaming again . . .
"Cissy," I heard distantly," Cissy, wake up, it's seven, and we all still have to get ready."
I mumbled curses under my breath and stretched out feline-like, covering the entire couch. I sighed before I reluctantly opened my eyes again.
"Well, finally," Bella grumbled incoherently as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. I scanned the Common Room for familiar faces and saw that besides Bella and I, Rodolphus, Evan, and Lucius were already up as well.
"Hey, Cissa," Rodolphus mumbled from the stairs, "what were you doing all the way down here?"
I stifled a yawn and skirted to the edge of the sofa, only to fall of the edge and fall on my back.
I moaned and moved into a sitting position. I heard Bella giggle, or what one would've taken as a giggle from someone like Bella.
"Shut it, Bella," I grumbled, irritated that I was up after such a wonderful dream.
I wonder what kind of dreams Bella has?
"Why so grumpy, Cissy?" she teased as I pulled myself up into standing position, using the couch arm as support to keep from falling again.
"Because, Bella, it's seven in the bloody morning on a Saturday," I replied in a tone that told her that that should have been obvious.
"Cissa, you better get up before Bellatrix and Rodolphus throw you into another lake," Lucius said from his chair across from the fire. At the sound of this comment, I scrambled away from my sister and across the room to hide behind Lucius.
"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.
"If they're throwing me into a lake, you're coming with me," I replied seriously; although, I could hear the laughter edging behind the words that tumbled out of my mouth. Even though the statement was rather childish, he just laughed as I moved across the room, steering him in front of me.
I looked at Bella and Rodolphus. They both had different expressions on their faces; Rodolphus, like always, was amused, but Bella, being Bella, just set her mouth into a sort of frown.
"Come on Cissy, let's go get ready," she said, dragging me unceremoniously by my wrists upstairs into the girls' lavatories.
We dressed in emerald and silver Quidditch robes with our names etched onto the right breast of the robes. I looked at us in the mirror. If you hadn't already known, you wouldn't know we were sisters.
Bella had long, curly ringlets of ebony hair that shined midnight in the sun. Her skin was pale, but still a shade darker than mine, seeing as she took after our father more than our mother. Her eyes were hazel; although, when she was enraged to a certain extent, anyone who looked into them would swear that they turned black.
I was the complete opposite. While Bella looked fierce, I looked sweet and vulnerable. My hair cascaded like a golden waterfall down my back, stopping mid-back. My skin was pale, almost translucent if I was in bright enough light. My eyes were a deep blue with light blue specks swarmed out every now and then.
Most people believed that my mother had been unfaithful and that I was the daughter of another pureblood man. Some were even foolish enough to think that it had been Abraxas Malfoy. This was all untrue, of course. I was definitely my father's daughter, seeing as we have the same cool exterior and sense of control that one could only inherit by genetics of their parents.
"Ready to go?" she asked, still peering into the mirror. I nodded my head and followed her out of the lavatory. When we returned back to the Common Room, more students were filling the room's vacancy. Among these, was, to my chagrin, Violet Parkinson.
When she saw me, her eyes turned a frosty green and turned back around all in one motion. Bella saw this and whispered in my ear, "smart girl."
We snickered at her remark and made our way over to the boys who were now sitting patiently on the couch, awaiting our anticipated arrival.
"We're here," Bella announced and plopped down beside Rodolphus. Rodolphus put his arm around her and moved the hair out of her eyes, exposing her beautiful dark irises. He kissed the side of her face and intertwined his fingers into hers, which she responded by leaning her head on his shoulder and finishing the interlocking with their fingers.
I just stared at them and smiled while everyone else was talking amongst themselves. Bella caught me staring and raised her eyebrows a notch.
"What?" she asked barely above a whisper, as if she would scare away Rodolphus if she talked in normal decibels.
"Nothing, it's just nice to see you so relaxed, is all," I replied with another soft smile. At this, she turned her face to Rodolphus' chest, nestling her head in between his neck and shoulder.
"Have you decided on a date yet?" I asked them curiously, my voice still above a whisper. I looked around the room to see if anybody had heard me. Lately, if anyone talked of the wedding, all eyes would be on them. Luckily, it seemed no one had heard me.
"No, not yet," Rodolphus replied, absentmindedly stroking Bella's curls, "but we are hoping for an autumn wedding. We'll both be out of school, and Bella likes that the color of the abandoned leaves that fall." It was true, she did like the color of the leaves, but only because the rich burgundy and browns reminded her of blood sport.
"That would be just lovely. It would coordinate the colors of your wedding, wouldn't it? I daresay that you two won't be having a white wedding," I laughed jestingly.
"No, no. White would not become of us," Bella said still snuggled into Rodolphus' chest.
"Yes, you're more of a red and black kind of couple, aren't you?" I said while looking back and forth between Bella and Rodolphus, color schemes whirling through my mind.
"Of course, if only it were that simple. Our parents forbid Bella to wear a red gown, nonetheless black," Rodolphus said.
Bella snorted and looked up at me, "Yes, but I was hoping you would help me with that, Cissy. You see, our parents have a soft spot for you, and maybe, if you asked them, they might let me wear a red gown. I don't want to wear white or pink or whatever bloody pastel color they could think of; it would clash disastrously with our complexions, which our mother has conveniently overlooked."
"Yes, well, you know mother would not send you to your wedding looking anything but perfect, but I will try to soften her up a bit," I succumbed.
There was a loud bell and shuffling around the Common Room. I could see people throwing scarves around their necks and depositing gloves over their hands.
"Time to go, you three," Evan said, standing and helping us up.
"Alright, let's go. Good luck, Cissy," Bella said and walked away with Rodolphus out of the Common Room. I sighed and gathered my dragon hide gloves, slipping them over my dainty, pale hands.
I must've looked nervous because Lucius came up behind me and put his arm through mine, walking me to the Common Room door.
"Thank you," I gratified. I could feel my heartbeat speed up as we neared the field where Bella, Rodolphus, and many other Slytherins were eagerly awaiting the arrival of all of the judges.
"Ready?" he asked as we walked slowly onto the field. I could see Evan in the stands, sitting with some other Slytherins.
"I have no idea," I replied in a hoarse whisper. He gave me an odd look before placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks, but I'll be just fine," I recovered and walked onto the pitch with Lucius by my side once again.
We gathered around the trunk containing the balls. Rodolphus was standing next to it, waiting for everyone to gather around before starting. While we were waiting, I looked around to see who else was here. I saw a few third years, a fourth and fifth year, a few sparse second years, but I was the only first year.
Once everyone was gathered and ready, Rodolphus was already up in the air while Slughorn and Violet Parkinson's older brother sat at a table with parchment.
They started off with the beaters: Crabbe and Goyle, Selwyn and Yaxley, and two third year Slytherins. While watching, it was obvious that the best choice would be Selwyn and Yaxley, but Crabbe and Goyle were infinitely more intimidating.
After the beaters, they tried for the chasers. This would definitely be hard for the judges, seeing as there are three positions and eight people trying for it. We mounted our brooms and waited for further instructions. Once Rodolphus flew over, we finally claimed the sky.
At first, he just saw how fast we could fly without crashing. Of the eight of us, two crashed while turning and were hastily carried off to the Hospital Wing. This didn't seem to bother the judges, so we flew on until Rodolphus stopped us.
Next, he tested our hand eye coordination. We passed the quaffle amongst each other while Rodolphus shot stunning spells at us. In the end of this test, one of the older Slytherins were stunned, leaving Lucius, Bella, a second year named Candra, and myself.
On the last test, we had to go through and perform intricate maneuvers. The first few were simple enough, just making sharp turns and diving without falling, but they continued ascending into higher complications.
"Okay, Slytherins, last test of the day," Rodolphus announced, "after this, it'll be the seekers' turns."
I sighed and continued to listen. It was getting harder and harder and my body was almost completely rigid with soreness.
Rodolphus continued as we hovered in the air, "To finish the chaser try outs, we're going to play a practice game of quidditch with last year's team of chasers."
I could hear Lucius beside me panting hard, exasperated, "You've got to be kidding me."
"This is ridiculous, even for a Slytherin," I mumbled.
We watched as last year's chasers mounted their brooms and flew over to the opposing side of the field. They broke into playing formation, robes swirling in the whirling wind.
"Alright, let's go!" Rodolphus shouted and took his spot back on the ground at the judges' table. I could hear the Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws cheering in the stands.
The practice match was going perfect until the other Slytherin team grew rougher with their movements and attempts to steal the quaffle. Candra was about to pass the quaffle to me when as soon as the quaffle left her hand, one of the other team's buff players smashed into him, and he fell from his broom.
I watched the quaffle fly through the air, and apparently, the Slytherin who hit Candra saw the quaffle flying towards me. He was a good foot tall than me and twice my size in width. If he hit me, there would be no doubt that I would be knocked unconscious.
The quaffle was zooming nearer and nearer by the second, only it was slowly spiraling downwards as it came. The other Slytherin was already zooming after the quaffle at a dangerous speed.
A bell signaled that there were only five minutes in the practice match and we were tied one hundred fifty to one hundred fifty. If the other team got the quaffle, there was no doubt that they would score and win the practice match, which couldn't happen!
I stretched my arm out and reached downwards, sending me over my broom. I could hear Bella yell something at me, but I couldn't hear anything, just the whooshing sound as the Slytherin passed me with hardly an inch in between us.
With one hand on the quaffle and one hand firmly clutching my broom, I flung myself into a full circle, landing back on my broom. I soared over to our side of the field and passed the ball to Bella, who was now frantic with worry. She caught it and threw it through the middle hoop.
The stands roared and the ecstatic Slytherins and few Ravenclaws stood and cheered. My bones, by this point, were weeping for me to rest and my mind was pounding from the eruption of cheering and laugher. I descended and landed next to Lucius and Bella. I stepped around my broom and looked around to find Bella. I spotted her, hair in complete disarray with her eyes formed into a wild glare, shouting at the player who almost hit me.
"You bloody, oaf! You could have killed her!" I heard her scream. The player stepped back and looked at her as if she had just called him a mudblood.
"Why do you care, Bellatrix?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. He seemed to find Bella's state of madness amusing, which was evident by the gleam in his eyes.
"That's Bellatrix's youngest sister," Lucius answered as we walked over to the scene. Bella whirled around at his voice and sprinted over to us. She took hold of my face and opened my eyes wider.
"Pupils look normal," she stated as she continued the overlook of my appearance.
"Bella, what are you doing?" I managed to ask in between her prodding.
She shushed me and continued her search. She pulled up my sleeve and just about had a heart attack; there was a huge bruise on my upper arm. By now, Rodolphus had run over to see what was happening.
"Lucius, what's happening? Bella looks like she's about to hex somebody," Rodolphus said as he stepped in between Bella and me, "Bells, leave Cissa be. She's just fi-"
"Do not say that she is just fine! Look at that!" she said, pointing to the deep purple bruise on my left arm.
"Bella, it's just a bruise; The nurse can heal it in a heartbeat. It's not like he cut off my arm!" I reassured with a smile to show her it was no reason to get upset. This seemed to do the very opposite, and she flung herself at the unsuspecting Slytherin.
"Bella!" I screeched, "you're going to get yourself expelled!" I managed to pull Bella off the boy before the teachers started getting involved.
"Bells, get off Amycus!" Rodolphus yelled over the two. Bella was pointing her wand at 'Amycus' and 'Amycus' had his wand pointed right back. I had my hands covering my eyes in exasperation, but I could hear all of what was happening in extreme detail. I could hear Bella start to say a hex . . .
"Cruc-" Bella started. I snapped my head up and jumped in front of her wand, knowing she wouldn't finish the curse.
"Bella, are bloody mad?" I shrieked at her, "are you trying to get arrested?"
She stopped, chest heaving, eyes darting around to her surroundings, and she seemed to understand. She took a deep breath and stepped back from Amycus.
"You are fortunate that people were here to witness what would have been," was all she said before storming away back towards the castle without lightening her pace.
"Are you okay?" Rodolphus asked in a worried, fatherly tone. It almost made me laugh, if the situation had not been so extreme.
"Perfect, Bella just overreacted is all," I replied, pulling down my sleeve that Bella had ripped in the process of examining me.
"Now, I'm going to go find Bella. Anyone want to help me?" I asked as I dusted off my robes. I could see Evan running from the stands to get to us.
"I'll come, Cissa," Evan said once he got to us. Rodolphus and Lucius also agreed to help me look for Bella. We walked back to the castle, nodding at the rest of the judges, and continued on our way.
We searches the Great Hall, the library, the classrooms on the lower floors, and the Astronomy Tower. We finally gave up at around midnight.
"Where the bloody hell could she be?" Rodolphus said as we were walking back to the Common Room. It was well past midnight now, and the prefects were starting to roam the corridors again. The students who took Astronomy were all filing into the corridors with their star charts wearing their heavy robes, gloves, and scarves.
We finally made it down to the Common Room, but when we stepped inside, we were shocked to find Bella sitting on the couch by the sofa, wearing a particularly nasty expression on her face.
When we walked into the Common Room, she snapped her head up to look at us completely.
"Where have you been? It's nearly twelve thirty," she said calmly.
Rodolphus just gaped at her in disbelief. Finally, he choked out, "Have you been here the whole time, Bells?"
"No, I went up to the Astronomy Tower to cool off for a bit, but then I came back here," she explained. I moved to sit at my chair by the fire while Lucius, and Rodolphus sat at their usual places. Evan climbed the stairs to his dormitory.
"Cissy, did you ever get your arm healed?" Bella asked me once we were all settled in.
"No, not yet. We were out all day looking for you!" I snapped. The day's events were starting to get to me and I could feel my limbs going limp and my lids going heavy.
Bella didn't say anything, just looked at me. Finally, she said, "Well, I'm fine. We'll bring you to the infirmary tomorrow morning when you wake up to take care of your bruise."
"Fine, but no one wakes me up tomorrow. I want to sleep in without any interruptions for once," I forewarned all of them; they nodded their understanding.
"Okay, well I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Cissy, Rodolphus, Lucius," Bella said as she climbed the stairs to her dormitory.
"Something's wrong with Bella," I concluded; Rodolphus nodded his head.
"Well, we'll have to find out tomorrow because I'm going to sleep. G'night everyone," Rodolphus bid.
"Good night," I replied, settling back into the chair to relax before I went upstairs to sleep myself.